Happy Memorial Day!

Today for Memorial Day we had a family BBQ at my aunt's house and it was wonderful!  I got to see my cousin and her daughter after not seeing them for a very long time and I got to spend some quality time with my other family members, included four legged ones.  We had so much food that we just kept eating all day long, and with strawberry shortcake and blueberries I couldn't help myself!

It was a beastly hot day and my aunt and I were sweating trying to run around to grill the meats and set up the other foods.  Luckily she has a nice little gazebo sat up under some shady trees so we had a nice escape from the heat, with that and guzzling as many water bottles as we could!  The backyard looked beautiful; my aunt has been re-landscaping to set up different areas and along with the gazebo she also has her multiple gardens and a new humongous fire pit.  My favorite part was of course my two favorite puppy dogs, Lily and Shadow.  Shadow being the spotted one begging for my food and Lily the black-headed cutie who ended our cuddling session by licking me all over my face..

Lucky us, we got dinner and a show when my cousin's friend broke my aunt's lawn swing and they had to run out and replace it.   After those shenanigans we finished our BBQ with a blazing campfire thanks to my aunt's wood gathering, a container of lighter fluid, and moi.  It took a while to catch but those years of Girl Scout skills finally paid off in the end.  Finally after the fire our show continued with a fireworks display arranged by cousin and his friends, somewhat redeeming the whole swing fiasco...  All and all it was a great Memorial Day BBQ and we already made plans for another to celebrate the Fourth of July before I leave for Spain.  I love spending time with my family!


The car ride back I had an epiphany about graduating.  It was one of the first moments that I was actually able to see that I'm really just starting off my life.  It was just this feeling of so much more to come, it's a wonder what some great music can do to get you in such a fantastic mood!  For the first time since finishing at URI I'm really looking forward to the upcoming summer and whatever surprises my future holds.  Time to start looking more into Fulbright and those education links in Spain that my boyfriend's mom gathered for me.  It's funny to think that a year ago today I was on a plane flying to Europe for the first time.  I never thought my life would be so full of travel and adventure, it's getting really exciting to see all the potential adventures I still have ahead for me!

Post Graduation: Week One

Well my first week after my graduation from URI is complete, parts of graduation day I'm glad to put behind me like: the sweltering heat, the three+ hour ceremony, and the hour traffic just to leave the parking lot.  It's weird to think that already a week has gone by since then though.  Weirder still to think that for the first time since I've been five that I will not be going back to school in the Fall.  A hard idea to wrap my mind around, but I think the reality will finally hit me when everyone has gone back in the Fall and I won't be returning...


Despite being my first week as a college graduate and adjusting to life at home again, it has been a relatively fun week. After graduation my family stayed for a while and we had a small BBQ.  It was great to see them since we've all been busy this year and we're all really close with one another.  Afterwards a few of my friends came over to have a campfire and that was great because I hadn't seen one of them in a few months and it was our first campfire of the season!  A big deal for all of us to start our annual campfires.

During the weeks after finishing student teaching I have been volunteering in the first grade classroom I worked in for the past two years.  It has been a great way to keep busy during the weeks and to get to do something I love, as well as get that all needed teaching experience for a 'big girl' job.  I've been keeping busy hanging out with friends.  Trying not to think too much about that 'big girl' job...