Playing Catch-Up

      One year has gone by; can you imagine it?  An entire year without me writing in here (more or less).  That's not to say that nothing important happened roughly over the last 365 days or so.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  Here is our past year at large, and then I'll rewind and try to focus in on the more important experiences specifically in the next few blog posts.

Since August 2013:

We lived Happily Ever After in Seattle, until we didn't...

Mike completed his second year of Medical School at University of Washington (Go Huskies!)

I had a myriad of adventures Nannying for a family with two little boys, "B" and "T"

(Those included visiting the Ballard Locks, The Pacific Science Center,

The International Fountain and Monorail at the Seattle City Center, various play gyms

around the city, every park imaginable, etc; but more on that to come)

Mike played intramural football with his class

I organized musical numbers every week for Sacrament Meeting as the Ward

Music Chair

We hiked and camped in the rain-forests in Olympic National Park over Thanksgiving

We celebrated Christmas in Colorado, "Urquidi Style"

We flew to Utah for my cousin Dallin's Sealing in the SLC temple and to 

celebrate New Years with the LeStarges

I put myself through the ringer and applied to not one, not two, but SIX graduate school 

programs (to which, I gained acceptance to: University of Montana, University of Wyoming,

the third most competitive program in SLP in the nation, University of Washington, and 

the one I accepted: Eastern Washington University.  I was wait-listed at CU Boulder and 

rejected at Western Washington.  But who cares about them anyways?)

We rock-climbed, watched Sea Hawks and Mariners games with friends, made dinners, drank

root-beer, shared our home with the missionaries to teach lessons, shopped at the local

farmer's market, and partook in many varied local cuisines

Mike presented a poster at a medical convention in Carmel, CA, so we vacationed there

and visited San Francisco with a few of his classmates in the Winter

Mike went to Colorado for Trey Blumel's wedding, and I went to Utah for my

cousin Amanda's wedding in the Spring

My mom graduated from Regis University with a Bachelors in Elementary Education

and got a job teaching 4th Grade in Longmont! She worked hard and graduated Magna,

or Suma (whatever is highest) Cum Lade! 

I ran my first ever 5k with a friend!!

We completely set up and took down my sister Bri's wedding in Colorado in early Aug.

Mike and I packed up the house and moved to Spokane, WA where he will complete

his 3rd year Med School Rotations, and I will do two years of Graduate School study at 

Eastern Washington University in Speech and Hearing Sciences

        So, more of a novel than a list.  But you get the point.  The busier you are, the harder it often is to think to tell the world about it.  To follow will be plenty of boring photos and whatnot, so feel free to scroll through saying "that's nice" and "umm hmm" to yourself for the next few entries so the next time we're at family gatherings catching up, you'll have some fuel for the conversation ("I read your blog and see you went..." and so forth).  Or you can promptly shut the computer and yell "Oh, the Humanity!", in which case, I suggest one of two things.  First, you should ditch blog-surfing and adopt a new past time that doesn't compromise your sanity.  And you should really consider a no-shave, technology-free-Granolite-deep-woods-vacation-cleanse to rid yourself of any of the harmful side effects that come from being too invested in other people's social media lives.* 

*These side effects include, but are not limited to: boredom, lack of interest, itchiness, Irritable Bowl Syndrome, chaffing, sweaty palms, poor eyesight from screen glare, sedentary lifestyle, obesity brought on by sedentary lifestyle, loneliness, loss of sense of purpose, loss of sense of reality, PMS, PTSD, insanity, inflated ego, deflated ego, and balding.