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.}

Fun In The Sun

Actually, not much sun.  Just fun.  You see, the sun and I don't really agree.  I either end up with some kind of over-heated sick feeling, or a major sunburn.  So instead I layer myself in mega-proof sunscreen and stay in the shade as much as possible.  For short amounts of time.  And sometimes only at night.

Sun or no sun, we have been having fun!  We kicked off our 4th of July celebrations with my Mom's birthday.  Her birthday's the 3rd and every year she is absolutely convinced that the fireworks are for her.  I think it's safe to say I get my "birthday princess syndrome" from her.  My mom and I both have a great amount of love for our birthdays.  So, to celebrate we had dinner at our house then headed to Madison for Rhythm and Booms.  This year we tried a new super secret spot to watch the fireworks.  I won't tell you where it is because it was awesome and we had the place to ourselves.  If you promise to bring your own drinks and bug spray I might invite you along next time.  There was one other family there.  Until we started playing Heads Up.  It's kind of like charades, but the person guessing holds the iPad on their head and then it videotapes everyone giving the clues.  We have a video of the point in the evening when the other family there apparently decided we were too loud and left.  You can see them walking behind all of us in the video.  Whatever people, we were having fun and the fireworks hadn't even started yet!

We spent the 4th at the annual Jones family party - complete with parade.  The first couple of years I went the kids had bikes, scooters, and big wheels.  Now they have 4-wheelers, go karts, dirt bikes, Gator/Rangers, and...well...Paul's poor newly licensed still without a car cousin had her bike.  Luckily we came to her rescue with some pretty sweet signs that I think might have made everyone feel a little bit bad for her.  There are rumors about a Facebook group starting for donations.

 {I fought with the captions for over 30 min on these pictures and have no idea where they went.  So, in a nutshell:  Paul protecting himself from squirt guns and silly string, the start to the parade, grandpa bringing up the rear, the boys and their sweet rides.}

We took a trip to the Farmer's Market last weekend and ate the entire bag of cheese curds that we bought by mid-afternoon.  Oops.  They were SO GOOD!  And squeaky.  We also spent a couple of hours at Lake Wingra on a kayak.  I didn't take the camera with me for obvious reasons.  It's a lake.  Think about it.  I think it's safe to say that I am too nervous of a kayak rider {I didn't paddle much, so yes, rider.} to go kayaking again anytime soon.  The good news is it was only $5 with my college ID.  That I still have and take full advantage of whenever I can.

In our quest to participate in as many fun things Madison has to offer that we possible can we also met up with Paul's Aunt and Uncle for Concerts on the Square last week.  So much fun!  Nothing better than drinks and music.  I think we also picked the best week possible to go.  This week is about 20 degrees warmer and 500 times more humid.

This week is the first time in 14 years that my family is not headed to the Dane County Fair.  It seems a little strange to think that we won't be going, but by looking at the forecast I am ok with staying away.  This is once again going to be the hottest week in July, as it always seems to be.  Instead of standing next to hot furry animals, I am perfectly ok with staying in the comfort of our air conditioned house with a much smaller furry animal who enjoys the heat as much as her momma.

This weekend we get to go to the wedding of 2 of our very good friends.  I feel so honored to be part of their special day and can't wait to celebrate with them!  I just hope there's some shade...