Last day of college, over the years

Well, it's 5:27am on my last day of undergraduate classes and what am I doing? Blogging and watching the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. About that, quickly, I promise. I thought that wanting to watch the royal wedding was just silly. What have William and Kate done? Well, Kate has at the very least gone from commoner to princess which is something with which women around the world can identify. Yesterday, I laid down around 5:30 to take a nap, but didn't wake up until 4:45am. I turned on the tv without remembering that today was the royal wedding, and once I saw it, I couldn't help myself. Watching Kate drive past famous monuments and government buildings to Westminster Abbey was exciting. It was like I was cheering for her. I still feel a little silly about this, but what to do?

Ok, so this is how my life is. I, too, will marry a prince soon! Ok, not really. Well, in less than two years I will be marrying a man who is prince enough to me. Unashamed blog shoutout: Love you, Austin Probe!

Ok, really though, update on my life. As I said, today is the last day of undergraduate classes. Looking back, I love that the class I associate with the beginning of my college career is Intro Philosophy and the last class I will attend is Music Cultures of the World, all while majoring in Spanish with a focus on Education. What a well-rounded experience! Also of note, I admit to spending my final Spanish course at Trinity watching the FC Barcelona/Real Madrid game on my laptop. However, I will say that it was part of UEFA Champions League which makes it an important game and if I hadn't watched it, it would've been the second time in a week that I missed an important Barca/Madrid game because Bladimir Ruiz, while a hilarious and amazing professor, is Venezuelan and just doesn't get it.

I can't believe this is my last day of undergrad classes. It really is almost unbelievable. I saw some pictures of kids at my high school on Facebook from Vanguard's Field Day. I can't believe my last was four years ago. I miss Vanguard. I'll miss Trinity. Trinity has done a great job preparing me for the real world, but I'm not ready. I'm not ready to graduate and move on to getting my Masters, and yet I can't wait. I'm not ready for another chapter to end and have the wonderful friends I've made in college spread across the country (Or have others spread around the world. Lookin' at you, Austin Freeman.) the way my friends did in high school.

And now, I'm making myself tear up like the little baby I know I am. So here's to some of the happiest memories at Trinity:

- Finding out that my roommate, Nicole Heroux, is a Red Sox fan, but also that she is amazing and I couldn't have had a better person to live with for my first three years at Trinity (except for that semester when we were gallivanting around Europe).

- Learning that law was not how I wanted to change the world, but through the youth of this great nation who have more potential than we have ever given them credit for.

- Finding women who shared my joy in playing racquetball (intensely), and spending my last year sharing an apartment and an unforgettable experience with them, Elyse Janish and Stephanie Croatt.

- Making friends with, having eye-opening and God-loving discussions with, and journeying through college (and occasionally on the beach) with the best Bible study group I can imagine! Heres to y'all, Virginia Settlemyre, Emily Schatzle, Kylie Reynolds, Bethany Dawson, 'Scott' Collins, and Mariah DeSerisy.

- Having the strangest and best relationships with people I will never forget and always cherish. Like all the ridiculous discussions I've had with Charlie Mitchell or the crazy times I've had with Harry Yu through the years - from board game night to tossing lemonade on him at TigerFest to playing overnight in the library.

- Discovering the women who share my passion for middle school students and knew it just as early. To the amazing Katie Mason and Amanda Aird. Ladies, get excited for an amazing experience in the MAT program! (Especially Amanda, since we'll be living together and have to help each other through the intense moments - good and bad - of becoming phenomenal teachers.)

- Awesome nights at the Thursty Turtle, Me & C.A., and Club Rio playing darts and singing our hearts out, unashamed of our abilities (or lack thereof), and having experiences to remember at Whataburger in the middle of the night. To Emily, Kylie, and especially Virginia for driving and letting Emily and me indiscriminately kick things.

- To the women of Trinity debate for Monday nights that went too late, silly yet strangely academic conversations, and unconditional love and support through the years. To Lauren Williams, Sarah Clemons, and Emily Hall.

- The friends I made in Spain who became so important and so close in just four months, especially Allison Haugen, Courtney Smith, MacKenzie Tanguay.

- Friends from high school who stayed close over the years, especially Diane Valahu and Austin Freeman.

- Having the best family I could ask for over the years. I love you all so much, Mom, Dad, Ryan, and Steph!

- The summers in-between at Peaceable Kingdom, the TRUE happiest place on Earth with the campers and staff I will never forget. Here's to my best friend, Derek Ponsetti!

- Sharing this experience with, in my opinion, the most amazing man in the world. No one (outside my family) has ever supported me and loved me so unconditionally. I can't imagine what I'd do without you. You are the absolute greatest and I can't wait to marry you and start a life together!

- To anyone I'm forgetting, including those involved with theProject (especially Ben Newhouse & Katie Storey), Interlibrary Loan (Aimee Belanger, Jackie Arevalo, and Maria McWilliams), and the Academic Honor Council.

Now that I've been much more nostalgic than I ever intended and hopefully mentioned everyone, I will finish my homework before my last class and be sure to enjoy the beautiful day ahead of me!

Until next time.

Winter break update

So it's been quite a while since I posted and there is a lot to tell! I finished up with the semester. It didn't do as well as I would have liked, but I've got a better handle on Honor Council this semester so I plan to finish strongly!
Christmas was great! I stayed home with the fam and Austin stayed in Temple too. The boys got lots of toys and I got to spend lots of time with my family over the break. It was a great reset before this semester. I also got to see many old friends, and most more than once.
New Year's Eve was especially wonderful! Austin and I went to the Aguirres' house and had a wonderful evening with old Vanguard friends including Diane, Johnathon Barger, Johnathon Chapline, Erin Frisch, and Chris! While at this shindig, Austin proposed! I, of course, said yes, and here's how it went down. At a few minutes before midnight we stopped the movie (The Other Guy - instant classic!) and I helped Austin Aguirre and Mrs. Aguirre hand out sparkling grape juice to everyone. Chris was handing out confetti poppers to everyone and with ten seconds left, we started counting down. At midnight, we all released our confetti and yelled "Happy New Year!" But mine didn't work. I told Austin this and he thought it was weird. So he took the bottom off of my popper and looked inside. "There's crap in here." He took the confetti out. "It's shiny crap." He pulled the ring out! He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! It was absolutely wonderful. Then Chris played Nocturne for us on the piano and Dr. and Mrs. Aguirre poured some champagne for us. It could not have been better.
After that we spent the last week and a half hanging out and visiting people.
I headed back to San Antonio on Monday after stopping in Austin for dinner with Lauren and started class yesterday.
Tonight I played cribbage and casino with Nicole and Andy while we watched Kick-Ass. This weekend is Tubby's birthday party and the MLK March on Monday. All ready for my last college semester. When did that happen?!
Until next time.

Holiday time!

Since Leigh's marathon, Laurel's engagement, and Ryan & Kristina's wedding, I've been pretty busy with school. This past week has been pretty nice with the Thanksgiving break, but for the last couple of days I've been doing homework in preparation for the craziness that's about to come. Thanksgiving, as always, was great. I spent it in Wimberley with the Probes, and Nicole and Andy came out as well. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my fam so that makes me sad :( Friday we did the crazy shopping morning and then yesterday I decorated the apartment for Christmas. I have 14 days until the semester is officially over, but I have so much work to do between now and then it's insane. Thankfully, I had this "break" to get a head start. Well, I should probably get some exercise in and clean my room before I confine myself to the library for the rest of the day.
Until next time.

Marathon Day

Today, a great friend of mine ran her first marathon in San Antonio. Not only was I extremely proud of her, but watching others cross the finish line in the full and half marathon was very inspirational. I still don't intend to ever run a marathon, but I hope to be friends with other marathoners because it's a great thing to see a friend or even a stranger cross the finish line. No matter how tired or uncomfortable or in pain, you can tell how proud someone is to have just done that. It's really cool to see. If you've never seen a marathon, I highly recommend hanging out near the finish line for a while. It reminds you of the strength we have as human beings.
In relation to that, I need to be strong this week. I've got a lot of things on my plate and I'm certainly staying busy. With a full week ahead of me and the pace only picking up after Thanksgiving (Can't wait!) I really need to hunker down and do my work. I also have to remember that although I can stop and have some water at the halfway point of this busy time, I've still got another 13.1 miles, figuratively speaking. But of course, I will also make time for things that keep me sane.
In other news, the Cowboys won today! We'll see if they can do it again this season. At this point, I'm banking on a loss and enjoying the pleasant surprise if we do win. Aim low, and you won't be disappointed, right?
Even more exciting news, my roommate got engaged on Thursday night and we now have a cat in the apartment! She's adorable and her name is Tasi! What's more, my brother and Kristina got married Friday! I'm so happy and so excited for them. They leave Tuesday so Kristina can meet Kevin's (Ryan's biological father) family. They'll love her. I know I do!
Well, I've got two more hours at work and I better get back to it and finish up my homework for tomorrow. My goal this week is to wake up every morning with the homework for the day completed. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Until next time.

Back at it

I think I might actually keep up with this blog this time around. I haven't quite decided what I'll be posting/talking about, but I suppose for now that makes it all the more interesting. Update on life since the summer:
Well, I moved into my first apartment this semester. I'm living with three other girls and I love it. Senior year so far has been hectic and at times chaotic, but full of experiences (both good and bad) and plenty of fun. I register for classes tomorrow for my last undergrad semester. I'm so excited for next year. I can't wait to be in a school and apply things I've learned in education classes so far. I'm really excited to jump in, but at the same time I'm scared. Of course, my nerves won't stop me. By the time I get to next August I'll be as ready as I can and it's going to be an amazing year and a great experience.
Also this semester, I turned 22. No more fun milestone birthdays, but it was a great time with my college friends. Austin and I celebrated our FOURTH anniversary. It's kind of hard to believe it's been that long, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's really not that long. By the way, he's doing well. Finishing up his undergraduate in Aerospace Engineering at A&M in May and then who knows? He's taking the GRE on Tuesday and he'll do wonderfully! Then it's sending in applications and seeing what we hear. All in all, lots going on, and consequently life is amazing!
Until next time.

Camp Bluebonnet, Dad's birthday, and the first day of Out On a Limb

So Camp Bluebonnet was good. The usual: Lifeguarding, tie-dyeing, and lots of leftover Juicy Juice. Always a crazy and busy week, what with the 200 campers, but it's always a blast! At least they don't stay the night! Consequently, we had evenings free. Monday was pretty chill. Derek, Ashley and I went into Heights and did some shopping and ate at Chick-Fil-A and were total gluttons about it. Tuesday Derek, Ashley, and I went to Dead Fish for Trivia Night with my parents. Our team name? Ya Burnt!...We're borderline amazing. Wednesday the whole staff (including our amazing cook Angela!) went to Las Casas for dinner and then went to the movies for Trevor's birthday (which was on Thursday). Thursday night we didn't do much. Friday was Bobbie Shae's birthday and after cleanup a bunch of us went to Waco to Ashley's and hung out there. Good times had by all! Saturday, Austin and I went back to Temple and watched the U.S. lose their match against Ghana. Sad day :( That night we went to Austin with my parents for Dad's birthday on Sunday. We had dinner at a burger place called Mighty Fine and then saw Jeff Dunham's 2010 show at the Frank Erwin center! It was so great! Sunday was pretty chill. The boys got a slip-n-slide so of course I had to teach them how to use it ;) Today has been amazing. I was on Camera Duty for the first day of Out On a Limb (children with multiple missing limbs) which was awesome! Here's a picture that is not only amazing because we have a camper with Dallas Cowboys prosthetic legs, but also because this is a common sight around the pool for this camp and it never gets old!

Until next time.

So this last week was awesome. We had Camp Grey Dove (siblings of past/present cancer patients) and had an amazing time with a whopping FIFTY kids! This week is Camp Bluebonnet (diabetes) and there are around 200 kids (obviously they don't stay overnight). They bus in from Austin every morning and leave at 3:30 so we have evenings off this week. On Tuesday, Derek and I are going to Dead Fish for Trivia Night with the parents and Austin gets back Tuesday night!
This past weekend was awesome! Sheila, Llama, Shilpa, Emily, and I went to College Station and it was so much fun! I played my first game of beer pong...and sucked it up. On Saturday the staff went out to Bo's Barn in Salado and I actually did some two-stepping! This weekend I think I'm going to Waco and Ashley's house on Friday and on Saturday for Dad's birthday we (Mom, Dad, Austin, and I) are going to Austin to see Jeff Dunham. We're staying the night that night so hopefully Derek will come hang out for a little while too. Then next week it's Camp Out on a Limb for children with multiple missing limbs. In short, the next two weeks are going to be amazing!
On a side note, the World Cup is going well. We currently have a spot into elimination rounds, but we still have one more game to play against Algeria on Wednesday morning. If we can win this one we should be set!
That's all the news that is news.
Until next time.