It finally came

I was beginning to wonder if I truly graduated with my masters. I did get a letter saying the diploma would be late because they had to redo them. But finally last week it was hand delivered by my postman. Its amazing how good one stupid piece of paper can make you feel. And that piece of paper represents 40 hours a week of writing, reading, attending classes, and trying to manage the most important people in my life- my family for 2 years. I think it is the word "master" that describes it best....

I decided recently, after being bored out of my mind with no classes, (Kristin is gone, Jeff is working, and I'm on top of my game at school) that I need to enjoy the stress release. But I am a nutty, high achiever who loves school and am actually lamenting the fact I'm done. (I am enjoying the pay raise, however) I came to realize that I'm addicted to the stress. There is something that is addicting about constantly being in hypervigilant. So I have decided to put away any thought of taking another class, at least for this year, and work on my hobbies. Then I realized I am even hypervigilant about my hobbies... which include... fishing, shooting my bow, stamp collecting, scrapbooking, and quilting. Most people only have one or 2. I'm not sure what to do about that, but I think I will just have to wait for my sister to come so I can focus on one of them. ;)

New Hampshire boys are pyromaniacs

I don't know what it is about New Hampshire boys(men) but they all seem to love fires. I was thinking today about Jeffrey's comment about learning to make s'mores for Nichole just like dad does for mom. That seems to be one of those rites of passage in this family that causes the men to grunt because it is a manly thing.Even my niece Carly loves her Uncle Tim's s'mores... to bad you're not coming in Sept. Carly.
But we also love a great bonfire. The pile has been in place I think since March so it was very dry. And we are fortunate enough to get tropical storm Hanna coming through (as if we needed more rain this year) tonight. As usual, Tim made the fire and it must have gotten to be 20 feet high. These are the simple things that we enjoy and make life just a little sweeter.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Although Jeff was ready to "get out of there", parting with his girlfriend of 9 months was difficult. I thought he handled it well, but I felt SO bad for him. Nichole lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and both are returning to home, 2000 miles from each other, to start working and saving money for school (Nichole) and a plane ticket to Utah (Jeff). At least he figures this is the priority. So graduation was bitter-sweet and both were sad to leave each other but glad to go home.

This was the first year that graduation was held at the BI and it was outside. We sat in adirondack chairs and were very comfortable. Graduation was the usual and it didn't take long to pack up and start for home. Of course there was a quick trip to Friendlys for lunch. Jeff is missing Nichole and trying to find work, which can be difficult at best. We'll have to wait to see what the future holds. Hard to wait, right Jeff?

Niagra Falls

We had 2 days before we had to be at Word of Life to go to Jeff's baccalaureate and graduation services so we thought we'd drive up to Buffalo, NY to get a look at Niagra Falls. We went over the border to the Canadian side because we heard the view was much better. The picture above shows both the Horseshoe falls and the American falls. There is alot of water that goes over those falls. The water comes down so fast that it makes a mist that is felt from a quarter of a mile away. It is definitely a touristy area but to look at the falls and think about the sheer power of falling water, it is worth the trip.

There were some crazy people who felt they needed a closer look so they went on the Maid of the Mist boat trip. They all wore blue rain gear. It was fun to watch them from up above. Mandy wanted us to go on it in the worst way. I told her I didn't need to do that to know what it feels like to be wet.... And I must say I'm not regreting my decision.

Shenandoah National Park

I guess I'm the only one who thinks that the passport book that is put out by the National Park Service is great... but I don't care. My goal is to see every national park in the country and get my book stamped.

We've been to Shenandoah National Park before. But it is such a pretty drive. We drove the 105 miles on Skyline Drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains. The only problem with the mountains is that they are always hazy. But the haze gives them their blue hue. There are about 75 over looks that you can see the Shenandoah Valley. The grass is really green up there and it looks "lush". It really amazes me that each park has its own feel to it. This one is no different.

The last time we were in the park, a deer walked right up to the car and licked Tim's hand. They do get tame in the park. We didn't have that kind of luck this time but we did see a fawn with its mother. It still had all its spots. We love watching the wildlife.

The beginning

Kristin is now enjoying college life and starting a new chapter in her life. It's hard to believe that she is there, at my old alma mater, experiencing some of the same things I did 2o some odd years ago. I'm excited for her. She just wanted us out of there ASAP but I understand.... not cool to have your mom there embarrassing you. She wouldn't let me take pictures either but promised that she would. So I'll have to put in my order of what I want. She thinks we were happy to get rid of her. Actually, we knew she was ready to get started and are excited for her. No sense prolonging the agony at home. So she is there, in dorm 29, with 5 other girls. And I hope she has the time of her life! .... and makes A's in her classes. :)

Rocky Mountain National Park

It was time to leave Glenwood Springs and use our last full day to travel to Denver to where we were staying near the airport. We decided to travel by way of Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive was beautiful and we drove through tunnels in mountains and along the Colorado River for much of the way.There was Columbine growing at the visitors center coming into the park. It really is a beautiful flower!

Each park we have visited has had a different look and feel. There is one road going through the park. Everyone starts at 7800 feet and ascends to 12000 feet via hairpin turns, winding roads, and cliffs (white knuckle driving). The views are gorgeous! There are mountains and meadows and streams. We saw moose and elk in this park. At one point, there was a whole herd of female elk and their offspring. They make a sound like Nyah, Nyah in a high pitch sort of way. They just had their babies in July and some were still spotted.

We enjoyed every bit of the wildlife we saw on this trip. We have decided we are definitely mountain people. We enjoyed most of what we saw in Colorado. I think I'd like to spend more time here at some point. We've been away from home for 2 weeks (2 and 1/2 for me) and are very anxious to get home! We fly out tommorrow.