Return from the Blogging Blahs

A case of blog binging again...
Scroll down for 3 new posts :)

26.2

Bucket list item #37: Run a marathon.

Check.

!

Fargo marathon was much better than expected. Brian and I both did better than we expected (3:53 for me!). And I haven't run again since. Hopefully all that calorie burning was enough to call it good for the next year or two?

Happy Graduation!

4 years of work has paid off. And the Dr. is in! Congrats Brian!

Viva Costa Rica!

Costa Rica! The end of med school was celebrated with a trip to Costa Rica! Since the beginning of year one, the pains of med school were endured with the thought of "Just wait, at the end of this, we'll go on an exotic vacation with friends, and no kids!" Well, it happened. A few weeks ago, with our friends Jared and Jennifer Jackson, we hopped on a plane and spent 7 days in beautiful Costa Rica. Summary of it's awesomeness in photos:


Roads were absolutely ridiculous. From the narrow windy paths up near vertical mountain roads, to driving for miles the wrong direction on the interstate, the hours of driving I did kept my heart racing and the trip adventurous.



Arenal Volcano--Costa Rica's most active volcano.



The gorgeous hot springs of EcoThermales.



Hanging Bridges-- walking through and over the rain forest was incredible!



La Fortuna Waterfall--brrrr!



Never smile at a crocodile...



Ziplining down the jungle




Manuel Antonio-- the kind of beach you dream about. Secluded, gorgeous, water perfect temperature... Ahh, I want to go back!

BUNGALOW BAZAAR!

If you live in Iowa, come check out a handmade event I'm selling at. Facebook "Bungalow Bazaar" for samples of what is being sold. I'd love to see you there!
Key Fobs--perfect for keeping your keys around your wrist as you unload kids, groceries, or bags for easy access to unlock a door--and it doesn't help that they're super cute. Also sold with coordinating coin purses.
Luggage Tags--easy to find your luggage next time you're at baggage claim. Or maybe use it as an ID holder or gift card holder, you pick!

As of late...

• Brian matched here for Anesthesia Residency--4 more years, but it includes a small salary instead of large debt. Yipee!
• We bought a house! Are we really THAT old? We don't even feel old enough to be Allowed to make such a big purchase.
• Shopping sprees! Our house is being built: aka-- builder says "here's your budget for x, y, and z, now go shopping!" Very tempting to just add on upgrades to everything because, really, what's a few more thousand compared to the overall price?... yikes, the thought makes me sick...
• Brian finished med school with 6 weeks of vacation and will assist in the stay-at-home-parent thing until late June. We're ecstatic and adjusting--yesterday his frustration was "I took care of the kids all day and couldn't get ONE thing done on my list." While attempting a straight-face, I can only reply "Welcome to our home, honey" :)
• Life is good. Busy but wonderful. I can't quite shake the worry of what bad thing must be around the corner, because, this really can't keep up, right? so says Newton... Regardless, we feel blessed beyond measure.
  

High Five!

To celebrate our 5th anniversary, I secretly planned a weekend getaway for Brian and I. Brian knew I was up to something, but didn't know if we were just going somewhere for dinner or what. After packing his suitcase up without him looking, we drove the boys to our good friends house, and kissed our kids goodbye. I punched in an address into the GPS and told Brian to drive. He was clueless on where we were going, heading 2 hours north and figured we must be going to the middle of nowhere. He wasn't too far off. Our secret destination was the quaint tourist spot of Galena, Illinois.

We stayed in a nice condo, pretended to be rich ate at a fancy-smancy restaurant, and recklessly stayed up late watching TV and eating junk food, knowing we could sleep in to our hearts content in the morning without our two little alarms ringing/singing/whining in our ears.
We toured Galena's downtown and even went through President Ulysses S. Grant's home.

In the late afternoon and evening we went cross-country skiing along candle-lit trails and drank hot chocolate, and even the weather cooperated by getting close to 30 degrees.

We an awesome weekend, although I constantly felt like I'd left something important at home (our kids), but thanks to Nicole and Mark, Ethan and Gavin had a really fun time playing with their friends Markus, Jonah, and Gracie.

So with the first 5 down, here's to the next 5...

5 million years I mean... Eternity's gonna be great!