This One's For You, Kayla!

We were at a friend's house watching the Packer game last week when one of the friends there quickly turned to me and said, "Hey!  You haven't had a blog post lately!  How am I supposed to keep up with what's going on with you and Paul?"  So Kayla, this one's for you!

Let's see, we need to rewind a bit.  October came and went in a quick hurry.  We didn't even carve pumpkins like we normally do but instead stuck Mr. Potato Head like pieces in one pumpkin and I quickly carved a moon into the pumpkin I used at school for a couple of lessons.  We did manage to attend a costume party for a friend's birthday.  Me as a Minion and Paul in his {supposedly couple's costume} banana outfit.  Apparently a Minion was the way to go this year since my kids at school are still talking about my costume!

November is slipping by as quickly as October did.  We celebrated Paul's 27th birthday with friends and family and had a great time.  He is about 1/2 what through his second clinical and only a few short months away from graduation!  We've managed to sneak in a couple of family game nights of course with our faithful fur ball nearby.  She'd hate to miss out on the fun!

Last weekend my mom, brother, and sister were out of town at a cattle show.  Anyone who knows our family well knows that if mom's not home, dad doesn't eat.  Well, not more than eggs, cereal, and left overs at least.  So, in exchange for fixing our toilet and my pencil sharpener we had dad over for supper.  Again, with the faithful fur ball nearby.

When we were watching the Packer game last weekend Kayla mentioned that in addition to knowing what's going on with Paul and I she can also use our blog to keep up on the latest Millie stories.  And of course, no blog post would be complete without one!  Let's go back to that dinner with dad.  I bought a bag of rolls to go with dinner and at the time we left for the Packer game the next day there were EIGHT rolls left.  Let's just examine the "crime scene" I found when we returned home:

Ok, I'm sure you saw where this was going.  We came home to find an EMPTY roll bag on the kitchen floor.  We instantly turned to Millie and honestly, laughed about how she ate EIGHT rolls in just a couple of hours.  And managed not to choke on the bag.  However, did you see this turn of events?

That's right, when I walked into the bedroom I found just one lonely roll on our bed.  Upon closer inspection...

...I realized that no, Paul didn't leave it there for a late night snack {kidding, though how thoughtful that would have been!}  No, our chunk-o-saurus dog was too full to eat the last roll and instead left it for later.  When I started laughing and called Paul into the room to look at it she jumped on the bed and just stared as if to say "Sorry mom, I just couldn't eat the last one, but it still looks really tasty!"  So, for the rest of the night our chunky monkey laid around looking like a kid who ate too much turkey on Thanksgiving.  

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We have many things to be thankful for this year and are glad we can spend our holidays surrounded by friends and family.  Oh and Kayla, don't worry - I didn't delete you from Facebook for stalking us!  :)

That Time We Went Camping

Alright, this story is long overdue.  The week before Labor Day we realized we had yet to use the camping gear we bought after the wedding with our registry discount.  The thought at the time was that if we didn't buy it, we'd never go.  Turns out we bought the stuff, and still hadn't gone.  So, in true Paul and Julie fashion we decided Monday to go camping on Wednesday.  No big deal since we didn't plan to go too far.

Wednesday arrived, I headed to school, and promised to be home by lunch.  Paul spent the morning packing the car and the cooler.  Not only packing, but preparing food, drinks, and more food.  It was fantastic.  I swear we had enough stuff to eat for a week.  

And then we stopped at A&W.  You can't drive by without stopping.  :)  Let's not forget that the day we went camping was one of the few super hot days of summer.  That's key to this story.  We set up our campsite, went on a short hike, took Millie swimming, and took a nap.  We slept in the tent.  That's also key to the story.

By this time it was about 4:00 and boredom was starting to set in.  We (mostly Paul) don't do well with boredom.  And for as bored as we were the dog was equally as unsettled by all of the noises and people going by.  We were spending most of our time trying to keep her from barking and were worried about the night ahead.  We made dinner, went to the camp store to buy an extra bag of wood thinking we'd run out, and made plans for s'mores and campfire games.  Around 8:00 Paul mentioned his idea - if we were still awake at midnight we should go home.  My response - Why are we waiting for midnight?  Enter: ATTACK of the mosquitos.  We instantly became a bug buffet.  So, pack it up we did.  And were home by 9:30 with the thermostat in the car telling us it was well over 85 degrees out still.  Ick.  But, we DID sleep in the tent.  It totally counts as camping!

Now our entertainment consists of staying inside and playing Princess, Hunter, Beast.  It's kind of like rock, paper, scissors except Paul insists we stand facing opposite directions then jumping around to show...

Beast

Hunter

and Princess

Princess wins over Hunter, Hunter kills Beast, and Beast eats Princess.  Unless you play by my rules.  Then Dragon wins over all.  Don't worry, we'll make it through a full night of camping some night!

Exhausted

Dishes are piling on the counter.

The mail hasn't been sorted through in days.

Laundry hasn't been done in 3 weeks.

The weeds outside are growing taller than I am.

All signs point to....the start of the school year.  And this girl is absolutely exhausted.  I LOVE my job and wouldn't trade it for the world.  But, I put every ounce of energy into my day starting the minute I walk in the door.  So, in my classroom?  There's no laundry, dishes, or weeds.  All of my notes, papers, and projects are neatly organized and put away.  I can't stand it when my classroom's a mess.  Not to mention all of the teaching and learning that goes on during the day.  Our house on the other hand takes a quick turn towards trashed alley.  It's get cleaned up...later.  

I'm not complaining or asking for pity.  I promise.  It's just what's real right now so I'm sharing.  And warning you to stay away because under no circumstances am I allowing anyone in our house right now.  To those of you that have a key - you've been warned.

The end of the summer absolutely flew by.  I have no idea where August went other than most of it was spent at school at all hours of the day and when not there then in our newly created home office working on school items.  Time for a story.  When we got Millie we bought her a lion.  His name is Leo.  She has slept with him in her cage every night since the day we brought her home.  I started to get worried that if we ever lost Leo or he became broken we'd be in trouble.  So I bought another one.  And then another.  She now has 3 Leos that rotate their way into her nightly bedtime routine.  {And a few more stashed in the closet.  I'm a loving and prepared doggy-mommy.}  Ironically enough Leo is the only toy she has never purposefully chewed up.  Apparently all of these extras aren't necessary.  

So, to my point.  All of my back to school planning in August totally put a stop to Millie's daily routine of snuggles, walks, and belly rubs.  And, she totally let me know she was missing out.  While working one day I found this little friend in my tub of school work...

I also received many of these "What in the Hello Kitty are you doing staring at the

computer so much for?" looks...

Before school started and Paul started his first clinical we snuck in a few goodbye parties for PT school friends, campfires, an outdoor movie, and the Taste of Madison.  Last weekend we made our last trip of the summer to Appleton for Brittni and Scott's wedding.  We had SO MUCH FUN.  My voice is still hoarse from singing over the band {and the first week of school and my new-school-germs-cold.}  Unfortunately we never took a picture of our dressed up selves, but I do have this fantastic picture of us girls getting ready.

This summer has by far been our most favorite ever.  We had so much fun and made more memories than we ever could have imagined.  Though we're sad to see it go we're excited for what the rest of the year will bring and are happy to have a bit more of a regular routine, as crazy as it may be, back in our lives.  So for now we'll look forward to changing leaves, pumpkins, and cooler days and night.  Oh, and Thanksgiving.  I saw a Thanksgiving related recipe on Pinterest today and am totally craving Thanksgiving food.  And the best news of recent shopping adventures?  Candy pumpkins are back in stores.  I may have eaten an entire bag already.  They are my absolute favorite fall candy.

We Made It!

Paul is done with classes.  Forever and ever.  Except a few continuing ed classes he'll have from time to time.  But, in comparison to what he just went through - we're not counting those.  He took his last ever final on Thursday then celebrated with his class Thursday night.  

It's a bittersweet feeling knowing that the people you've spent every day with for the past 2 years are headed all over the country and you won't see many of them again until graduation, and some maybe never again.  Luckily a few will be in the area still and we have Facebook, email, and phones to help us stay connected!

I was busy sleeping when Paul took off for class Thursday morning, so I didn't get to take a picture of him on his last day of school like I'd hoped to.  But, I did manage to find this one from his first day of grad school.  I'm sure he'll LOVE me putting this on here.  

So, cheers!  Cheers to grad school being {almost} done!  Here are a couple more pictures from this week that I stole from PT friends.  Their celebration stop Thursday morning and a class picture.  

Happily Ever Afters

There's probably some unwritten rule about no longer celebrating the anniversary of when you started dating after you get married.  Too bad.  We're celebrating!  HAPPY 5 YEARS TO US!  We're spending the day doing a whole lot of nothing.  We did go for a run, but beyond that not much.  That's ok though - we wouldn't have it any other way.  

Flashback:  August 3rd, 2008

We've been busy celebrating other happily ever afters too!  Two weeks ago we we went to Appleton for the wedding of 2 of our great friends.  Remember this post?  The one where I explained how much I don't like summer heat and how it had been the hottest week of the summer?  Well, Mother Nature listened and provided us with WONDERFUL weather for J and Ashley's wedding.  70's and partly cloudy is my kind of day!  {I did still manage to get sunburned.  I told you the sun and I don't get along!}  We had a great time and were so happy to be there.  And, we got to spend the weekend with our friends Jenny and Tyler as well!

Last weekend I headed back to Appleton for my friend Brittni's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party.  She was one of my Bridesmaids and I feel super lucky to be one of hers as well!  We had some GREAT girl time at the hotel, dinner, and out that night.  

College roomies with the bride

Room Upgrade!  We've got an extra room, a whirlpool tub, and robes!

Ready for our night out!

Tonight, Paul is headed to the bachelor party of one of his groomsmen.  Yup, it's definitely wedding season!  {We're not going to talk about how it's already August and summer is ending way too quickly.  Nope, not doing it.}