Halfway There!

I just turned in my LAST paper of the year (and a 20 pager, at that)! Hallelujah--that means we are HALFWAY there. How did that happen? Honestly, I feel like we just got here, so it's really hard to believe that we're almost done. (Side note: the operative word really is "we". In these last days of the term, my husband has been both chef and chauffeur when I was totally overwhelmed. My completion of my Master's degree will be every bit as much of a reflection of his hard work as it is mine--he has been SO helpful and supportive!) Anyway, I get way too spastic if I start thinking about what may or may not happen a year from now, so I'm trying to take my husband's advice and just enjoy the sweet relief of not having anything to hang over my head for the next three months. We are SO excited to spend the whole summer in Corvallis. All anyone can talk about is how spectacular the summers are here, and we've already had a little peek :). Here's a bit of what we've been up to (when I haven't been knee-deep in papers) these past few weeks when I've been absent from the blog world:

We spent a weekend with my side of the fam in Bend--golfing, hiking, relaxing, and enjoying the local fare (and booze--it's not a trip to Bend without a visit to the Deschutes tasting room)

We tried out a few different local hiking trails--Mary's Peak, Peavy Arboretum and just plain exploring the seemingly endless walking paths near our house. We still have tons of places on our list in and around the Willamette Valley to hike this summer.

We had such a good time on our visit to San Diego reconnecting with friends and family and celebrating some nuptials. It was a crazy, busy, fast trip and on some days it felt like we consumed more coffee than food, but it was absolutely wonderful. While we don't necessarily miss San Diego the place, we sure do miss the people! Here are a few photos from the wedding:

Normal husband...

Crazy husband...

And, best of all, our nephew was born WHILE WE WERE IN SAN DIEGO! Honestly, we had hoped and dreamed and prayed that this would happen, but it still seems unreal that it actually did. Gosh, we love and miss this little nugget (and his mom and dad and grandparents)! Seriously, though, how cute is he?!

For now, we are looking forward to more glorious days like this:

Happy Summer Break!