Visiting Milwaukee

Back in October, Julie and I took a little roadtrip over to Milwaukee to visit Meghan!
I loved seeing her apartment (with furniture in it) and just taking the time to explore the city.
Megs and I both get lonely out here at school so its nice to know that we are only a (six hour) roadtrip away from each other.

Just chillin in Megs apartment. We watched Salmon Fishing in the Yemen one night. I only remember this because I loved that movie so much. 

We went to some biodomes! Who knew those were actually real. I felt like I was in a Polly Shore movie!

And of course visited Marquette University. Had to get the tour!

I even got to see my first great lake!

 And we had dinner at the restaurant that is in Miller Field. 

 Jules and I even went on a little hike at a rest stop on our way home. 

It was just the best to explore a new city with some wonderful people. It was also before school got too crazy so that is always a bonus. 

Holiday Travels

I had the pleasure of spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas in Detroit with Meghan's incredible family. Jules came for Thanksgiving as well. I had so much fun!
Christmas was full of tons of laying in front of the fire and reading several books. I loved being in such a beautiful home with a fantastic family.

Also, when I was in Detroit with Meghan for Christmas we took a little trip down to Jules' hometown of Vermilion, OH!

While in Vermilion, Drew was home in Ohio for the holidays and came up to see me! I am the luckiest girl around!

My brother got married!

On December 1st, 2012 my older brother Ray got married!
He is just the best brother and him and I have had so much fun over the years.
Ray married such a wonderful girl named Teila. I'm sorry that I haven't been around to get to know her better, but the time I have spent with her has been wonderful and its cool to think that I have a new sister.

I made the long journey home to Seattle for the wedding (because those are just not the kind of things that you miss). My semester was not over yet so I was only home for about two days. It was very quick but I was so glad to see my family!

Here are some photos from the lovely day.

Here is the lovely couple. And you've gotta love the look of a winter wedding. 

Sibling photo! This is the first time all five of us have been together in like 5 or 6 years!

 So good to be with Mel again. Even if it was for such a short time. 

Don't my parents look cute. My dad just kept going on and on about how I better document him in a tux because it won't happen again. He just loved how good he looked. 

There's my little brother, Jeremy, in the background. I've never seen him look more like my dad!

Spring cannot come soon enough!

I should be doing homework right now. But I really don't want to.
Since I felt like changing the look of my blog, I figured I better write something new on it.
Well of course lots has happened since I last wrote. I am nearly done with
my first year of my doctorate. It is crazy to think that I only have one more year
of actual classes.

My first semester was really fun. I love my classes and had such a great time getting to know my cohort, school, and the twin cities.

I also had a blast doing some fun things with just the two best friends a girl could ask for,
Julie and Meghan!
I love that Jules lives so close that we have gotten to have many adventures together. It
is also wonderful to have Meghan going through this whole PhD process at the same time. It is also an added bonus that her family is not too far away. They have welcomed me into their home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I can guarantee that I will be visiting again.

This second semester has not been quite as fun. I dont love my classes nearly as much as last semester. It is also just getting harder and harder to be away from all my family and friends. (I think this never ending winter also has quite a large part in bringing me down.) But spring is in the air and even though the temperature is still in the 30's, I am hopeful that the weather will be improving and I can finally leave my apartment.

To cheer myself up I will do a little review of some fun I have had. Oh the memories.

I sure do love legos and legoland at the Mall of America. Jules and I also made sure to go on a roller coaster there. 

Jules, Rosie and I exploring some gardens. Oh how I miss summer!

The spoon and cherry at some sculpture gardens. This is a well known sculpture in the Twin Cities. 

Jules had a birthday! Her parents came into town and it was wonderful to have dinner and then explore the ice castles with them. 

I'll do more posts about some other adventures that I took. :)

July

Now that we are getting closer to the present, I guess I will let July have its own post.
I became homeless in July.
My lease for the house I was living in ended in June so for the first half of July I was livin' it up on Mel's couch.

Ok lets back up.
Some important information to know.
So remember back in October - Decemberish when I was frantically applying to PhDs.
Well I had some interviews and turned down an interview
and decided to get my Phd at
the University of Minnesota!!!
Woot Woot! (This school is literally where counseling began.)
(Also their mascot is the golden gopher. I think thats a good sign.)
It is in Minneapolis and a top ranked school in my field of study.
I will be getting my Phd in Counseling Psychology.
(It will take me another 4 years. At least. Hopefully at most.)
There are only three other people that were accepted along with me.
Madness.
Just further proof that you never know where life will take you.

So on July 15th I packed up my car and headed out on a cross country road trip slash move.
If it couldn't fit in my car, then it didn't get to come.
Here is proof of the madness.

(once Meghan sends me the pictures cause they are all on her phone.)

I then proceeded on my 20 day road trip!
(I had never counted the days until just now. Wow that is alot.)

I spent a couple days in Rexburg with the wonderful Kennedy family.
(They are so near and dear to my heart.)
And of course my bffff Griffin and some great friends like Drew, Ford, Jack, Ryan, etc.

A little stop off in the Opal capital of America.
Spencer, Idaho.
(I know right, who would've thought.)

Then off to Utah to be with my best friend of so many years,
SAM!
I had a blast playing with her kids and just spending time with her.
It had been two years since I had last seen her!

Those kids of hers really wore me out.
Also I got to see a ton of temples in Utah.
(At least five. Oquirrh Mountain is pictured above.)
Cause well, thats what happens in Utah.

I also had the privilege of attending Michelle Castillo's sealing at the Draper temple.
She is amazing and I want to be her when I grow up.
She also has the most amazing family that I claim as my own.

Next it was off to Denver to spend a day with Brady.
Love that kid.
Then one night in St. Louis.
(I got a ticket in Kansas. It was not a good day.)
(Speaking of, I should probably pay that ticket.)
But I did get to see the St. Louis temple.
(Which I didn't know was there. lol.)

Then I finally made it to Indiana.
Where I spent a week with Jackson and his family.
I had a blast and his family is so wonderful.
He really does have the sweetest mom.
He took me to the IMA.
Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Jackson is laying on some art in the contemporary wing (don't worry it was allowed).
It was this section of floor with tons of tiny people holding it up.
Ah modern art.

Next I spent one night in Milwaukee.
Had to get my Meghan fix.
Then finally arrived in Minneapolis on August 3rd.
I will tell you about my new home,
but that will have to wait because this post is entitled July and we are breaking into August territory.

April - June

Apparently nothing happened in the month of April.
Well actually I started dating a guy named Jackson that I met in Utah.
We dated for about 4 months but broke up recently.
We are not in the same place in life and that is a hard thing to handle.
We are still friends.
He is still important to me.
But I guess some things are just not meant to be.
Other than that nothing happened in April.

More importantly, 

in May,

I graduated!

With my masters in community counseling from Gonzaga University. 

Oh yeah! 

My parents came out for the event and my sis and Glenn of course live here already and would not have missed it. 

Also in may, I went on a trip to Seattle with Jackson.
Those pics are on my facebook so I will just share a few here.
It was super fun.

Road trip!

So in March I needed to go to the American Counseling Association conference in San Francisco to give a presentation and show a poster.
(At a national conference!)
So some friends and I (Lindsay, Meghan, and Julie (aka Jules) (pronounced Hules)) decided to turn it into a week long road trip of fun and amazingness.

We drove through Oregon and saw some nice ocean views.

Meghan even got to touch the Pacific ocean for the first time!

And we illegally took a banana into California.
(Apparently you can't bring outside fruit into the state. They think they are their own country or something.)
Julie almost died with the guilt.

My favorite part of the trip was the redwood forest. 

It was so overwhelmingly huge and peaceful. 

Check it out. 

We also lived it up in San Francisco. 

We took a little trip out to Alcatraz. 

It was amazing to learn about the history and break outs. 

The audio tour is even narrated by inmates and guards. 

Saw China Town.

And Fisherman's wharf. 

I even tried lobster for the first time. (Thanks Megs!) (She actually does read my blog) (I think.)

And another special treat for me was taking my friends to see the Oakland temple.

I love temples and the gospel of Jesus Christ so sharing that with close friends is just such a special and sacred experience for me. 

This is also where my parents were married so it has extra meaning. 

It is where my family began. 

Oh wait, what did I go to San Francisco for?

Thats right the conference!

I did my presentation and here we are with our poster. 

I also met Irvin Yalom and he signed my book. 

So psychology nerdy of me. 

I also got soaked. 

Rode a subway for the first time.

And flew home with only the contents of this bag (see below). 

(Lindsay and Julie drove the rest of our stuff back.) 

Whew. What a trip!