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Dad and I planned a camping trip and invited whatever family was available and willing. This time it was Dad and I, Katie, Jim, and Uncle Tom. We spent a total of seven days together and yes, it was a lot of together time. The first night we got there it was pouring rain, which is always an awesome way to start a camping trip. So we reserved a yurt in the Porkies. Now, I had never heard of a yurt before but apparently Katie stayed in a real one in Mongolia. (She would). There were two bunks and a wood stove and just enough space for Dad to sleep on the floor. (It was his idea). We got the stove going and heating up really nice and we were all feeling warm and cozy. And then it kept getting hotter…and hotter…so hot we were all sweating and we had to go outside into the rain just to cool off. We managed to figure out how to open the circular “oculus” as Tom referred to it and that let a little bit of air in. Anyway, we survived the first night.
The next day we did a five mile day hike in the rain. We climbed the lookout tower where supposedly you can see Mirror Lake and even the Apostle Islands 30 miles away on a clear day. I couldn’t tell you if this “lake” really existed because you couldn’t see more than 10 feet in front of you. But anyway, it was a fun yet soggy hike. That night we ditched the whole cooking in the rain idea and went into the town of Ontonagon and ate pasties. Mmmmm.
Another night in the yurt and then the next day we hiked in several miles to a cabin. We also took a short hike to some nearby falls. The rain had stopped and we were all dried out. The next day we hiked back out to our car and headed to the Apostle Islands in Northern Wisconsin.
We got there and spent some time in the town (which name escapes me) and camped on Madeline Island. In the morning we went to an outfitter who does kayaking trips and we spent a whole day kayaking on Lake Superior and visiting the sea caves along the shore. It was a beautiful day and the lake and scenery were gorgeous.
After this we headed for Minneapolis. We were very grateful for the hotel bed and the showers by the time we got there. The next day we toured the campus of Jim’s alma mater, the University of Minnesota, and we saw the new stadium they built for the school’s football team. It looks like a beautiful stadium and I am sure the students, fans, and the team will love the spirit I think it will bring to Minnesota’s football games. Then we went to see a Twins game, spent our last night in Minneapolis, and went home.
The End.

On February 21, Andy and I got engaged! We went to downtown Chicago on Friday night to see the Bull’s game. The next day we went skating in Millennium Park, which I love to do. After we were tired of skating Andy wanted to walk around the park a bit. We went and saw the bean and took some pictures. Then we walked over to the edge of the concert pavilion. It was a little quieter over there so Andy decided it was a good place to get down on one knee, pull out the ring, and ask me to marry him! I said yes and then we went to the Art Institute and had a wonderful rest of the day. He surprised everyone, including me! (Although I was hoping it was coming soon!)
We are in the beginning stages of trying to plan our wedding now but have not really planned anything officially yet. I am excited to put together a wedding website and maybe a wedding blog. I will keep you updated, my thousands of faithful readers! 😉

I got back a few weeks ago and have been busy since then! It was a great trip. I learned some Spanish and even having just basic Spanish skills I can already see will be helpful. One day when I was volunteering at Children’s Memorial I had a six-year-old patient that spoke English but his mom didn’t speak a word of English. I was able to ask her if she wanted me to play games with him and how to play bingo to win a prize. Even though the first words that came out were, um, French and she just kind of looked at me, I got better from there and I could tell she was happy to see I was trying to communicate in her language.
I went with three other nursing students and we all got along great. I climbed two volcanoes and one was at night and was some of the toughest hiking I’ve ever done. But it was so rewarding when we watched the sun rise over the mountains! We stayed mostly in Xela and traveled to Lago Atitlan and Antigua. The only bad things were that we got sick the first few days we were there and the bus rides were terrifying. The roads are very windy and some of the drivers don’t take it slow at all.
Now I’m back into school mode but I’m really liking my new quarter because I have my labor and delivery clinicals. I really, really like it!

For pictures, visit my online gallery.

I’m actually going, look I’m packed already! I finally finished my last exam for the quarter and I can relax for a few days, enjoy Thanksgiving, and be on my way to Central America! I am going to Quetzaltenango, called Xela (“Shayla”) for short. We’ll be arriving in Guatemala City, spending the first night there, and then taking a five hour bus ride to Xela. There we will go to the school we’ll be staying at, it’s called El Mundo en Espanol. We’ll take 20 hours of Spanish classes per week (“medical Spanish” my fellow students keep calling it. Well, I’m still working on basic Spanish skills, so we’ll see about that). We also will be doing some volunteering, but where that will be is to be decided.

There are a few things nearby that I am looking forward to seeing, like a nearby volcano, a big lake, and a village where people do lots of weaving. I am going with three fellow nursing students and I will have two and a half weeks to spend there. I hope that it all goes well! I will try to put some updates on here every so often.

This past weekend I went back to UW-Madison for the annual UW band alumni football game. The game was fun – we beat Akron 38 to 17 (or something like that). I figured I’d been out for two years and it was the last time I would still know people in the band. My freshmen were all seniors now, imagine that! I love going back and visiting the band because it reminds me of how much fun I had, how hard it was physically and emotionally, and it also reminds me of how lucky I am now that I no longer have to deal with blackened toes, bleeding blisters, and sore hip flexors and calf muscles on a daily basis. Whew!

As one alum summed it up, “we’re all young at heart, but old in the knees!” True that. And thanks to Sabrina’s trumpet roommate who pointed out, “you’re older than Sabrina? So you’re like double old!” And only getting older, buddy! That’s me, Sabrina, and Carlos in the picture. Two other clarinets from my day were also there. There was also an old man with a piccolo. There are no flutes or piccolos in the UW band and I don’t think there ever have been. No one could really explain that one to me. Oh well. On Wis!