An Engagement

September 26, 2009:
I can remember this day as if it was yesterday. The day (night) Lucas asked me to be his wife.

At this time, I was living at home with my parents and doing the internship. Lucas was living in Eau Claire, finishing up his last year of college. Lucas had come home for the weekend and was spending the night at my parents' house.

At this point, we had been together almost 5 years (our anniversary was just a couple weeks away - October 11) so I figured this day would come, but I really had no idea when.

That night, we were headed to bed, but every time I would doze off, Lucas would ask me a question. He just would not stop talking... It reminded me of a little kid who is too afraid to sit still because they might fall asleep. I can't even recall what he was asking because it was just goofy stuff that made little sense. I could tell by the way he was acting that he had something on his mind, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Out of the blue, he got out of bed and told me he had to go get a pair of socks on because he can't sleep without them. The room was dark, with no lights on. When he came back to bed, he sat me up, got down on both knees, took me in his arms asked me to marry him. I said yes. I cried. & he cried. I was SO happy. It was still dark, I had no idea what the new ring on my finger even looked like, but we sat there in the dark holding each other for a few minutes. Then I asked him to turn the light on so I could see it. After seeing it, I looked up at him with a big smile and said,well, are you going to kiss me or what? :)

Looking back on this, I'm still surprised Lucas was able to keep this a secret.
If you know Lucas at all, you know he is TERRIBLE at keeping surprises for me a surprise. Then, I even found out he actually picked up the ring at the mall when I was with him! Sneaky. Sneaky.

An internship.

In order to complete my Health Care Administration program @ UWEC I had to complete a year-long internship. I was fortunate enough to be chosen for my first choice facility: the Golden LivingCenter Three Oaks in Marshfield. The internship began at the end of August 2009 and ended the following summer - August 2010.
Throughout my year there, I would be a sponge: Learning everything I possibly could. Volunteering to help in anyway I was able. Observing the staff and their interactions with the residents and each other.
Loving every minute of it.
I've always been very observant and perceptive. I can pick up rather easily on a person's thoughts before they say a word. Through observing the many people and the many reactions to those people I was able to develop in my mind the type of employee/employer/coworker I desired to be. I didn't stray much from the person I was, but rather refined who I was in relation to this new work-career life.
I always give the best "reviews" to UWEC's HCAD program because the internship is such a great opportunity. It is the best hands on experience a college student can have. & the opportunities are endless.
The internship validated to me that I was right where I needed to be. I wanted to be with the elderly population. Serving them. Making a difference in their lives. Putting smiles on their faces. Every. Single. Day.

Time

Time has flew by... Two years have flew by with no blog posts.
What was missed?
An internship.
A proposal [engagement].
A college graduation.
A job offer.
A move.
A puppy.
Another move.
A wedding.
Unfortunate news.
A death.
A baby on the way [an expecting sister].
Yet, another move.
Another baby on the way [me].
A miscarriage [me].
A surgery.
A birth of a beautiful niece.
More to come... {in less than two years!}
And, as always, the best is yet to come...

Colorado, Take Two

The three pictures below were taken on the streets of Boulder, Colorado. We saw a lot of crazy street entertainment including this over-flexible gentleman. He was hilarious.


He was able to shimmy into and out of this tube by folding himself completely in half.

You can see two little kids in this box... he also fit the third little boy into the box.

To end his show, he fit himself into the box, now that is some serious flexibility. He was rather tall too, probably at least 6'3''.

We went hiking in Boulder at Chautauqua Park.
This was our first hike the second day we were in Colorado.

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous everywhere we went.

The place with the best flowers and landscape though was at the mini golf course. We would have loved to go "regular" golfing at the course also but didn't get a chance to. The "regular" golf course looked just as beautiful though.

Lucas and I at the mini golf course.

More pictures to come... Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak, Miramont Castle, the Denver Zoo and
our personal favorite... Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes, Park Colorado.
Stay tuned! :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Lucas & I to you! :)



So, the picture taking this year at Christmas was a little difficult... this was our second attempt and the three following were no better... maybe we should resolve to take better pictures?!

Colorado

Here are some much anticipated photos from Lucas and my trip to Colorado this summer! :) Thanks again to Jaclyn and Andy for hosting and entertaining us while we were out there. It was fun to hang out again - it had been forever! We took over 800 photos... so, I will only be sharing a few of my favorites from the beginning of our trip, there will be more to come... Enjoy!

Below is our first picture together in Colorado; it was taken at a scenic pulloff alongside the highway on our way to Boulder.

The Tea Shop was at the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. If you have never had Celestial Seasonings Tea, you are missing out! This tour was free and super fun!! If you are even near Boulder, CO, I encourage to take the FREE tour... and don't skip out on the peppermint room! ;)
This one was taken on our hike in Boulder... honestly... none of these pictures compare to how beautiful it actually is!
One of Lucas' favorite things to do is golf... when we decided to fly out to Colorado rather than drive, he was a little bummed because that meant he wouldn't be bringing his clubs... So, when we ran into this AWESOME mini golf course... we couldn't pass it up! It was BEAUTIFULLY landscaped and the four of us had such a great time!
This picture was taken from the top of Pike's Peak... we took the Cog Railway both up and down - an absolutely breathtaking experience. One interesting fact about Pike's Peak: the song "America the Beautiful" was written at the top of and in regards to Pike's Peak.
I can clearly see why!
More to come soon!!

Busy? I think so!

Clearly, I have been out of the blog world for nearly 3 months! Reason being I am just too darn busy - then again, who isn't busy?!
So, what have I been up to?

• Working: My practicum experience is going well; it was a little rocky to begin with but is beginning to smooth itself out.
• Visiting Eau Claire: Every other weekend or as often as I can because I miss everyone out there so much!
• Planning: For my wedding!!! Lucas proposed to me on September 26. :) :)
  
• Uploading: So many pictures!! From Zeke being born (Teddy's new little brother) to Colorado to engagement ring to food for my other blog that I share with my sister: Mom Taught Us.
• Cooking/Baking: Again, for the other blog. Check it out! : http://momtaughtus.blogspot.com
• Working Out: My mom, sister, aunts and cousins are taking an exercise every Thursday called 20/20/20. 20 minutes of cardio. 20 minutes of Abs. 20 minutes of strengthening. I also try to walk as often as possible with my mom.
• Homework: Even though I'm working full time, I do have assignments/quizzes/projects for the classes I am enrolled in throughout my practicum. I suppose they figure if they keep us busy enough we'll stay out of trouble! ;)
  

So, you can look for updated blog posts of all the things I've listed above in the near future! :)