YAY!!!

Grant proposed his dissertation research today and it went AWESOME!!! He worked soo hard on his presentation and it went off without a hitch! He received all good feedback and everything that was criticism was constructive and improved the work he is planning to do. That work, by the way, is way over my head and I try to pretend to understand it...has to do with Hypoxia (having low oxygen) and skin blood flow...

Anyway, we are so happy and celebrated by going out to dinner and enjoying a drink together...not a lot of us time with all the preparation that was going on so that was nice!

Who Knew...

how boring it can be when you aren't working!!! Its been a week and a half since I was done teaching and I still have another week before I start work at ORI. I know that I should be excited and into the time off, but its been hard to keep myself busy. The first few days weren't so bad...I reorganized our spare room and set up a desktop computer and printer so I can print at home now, but after that there hasn't been much...which is how I ended up with pictures like these...




(my computer has a built in camera and program that does this to the images...kinda scary, huh?!)

Contrary to my sluggish existence, Grant has been super busy finishing up his presentation for his Dissertation Proposal this coming Thursday. Luckily I will be making some banana bread for that so I will have something to keep me slightly occupied tomorrow. This is a big step because it is the last thing he has to do before the actual research and writing of his dissertation...he has been working toward this for so long!

Wedding Dress... CHECK!!!

This weekend has been so fun! We drove up to Portland Friday night and have been on the go ever since. Yesterday I spent the day wedding dress shopping in Portland with the girls. It was really fun but I didnt see anything I loved. There was this dress in Seattle I had tried on and I just knew it was the one. My mom and Lindsey and I drove up there today and bought it! I'm so excited because it was within my budget and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever worn! These are pics of me trying on the duds...can't put up ones of THE dress in case the boy sees it...




The other fun thing this weekend was my friends Nick and Katie from high school got married. They had a small ceremony friday with just family and then a beautiful reception last night. It was like a mini high school reunion. We had a blast! It was so fun to have Grant finally meet some of my friends from way back. Here are some pictures of the night...

Wedding VENUE!!

We think we've found the place we are going to get married!! We are really excited because it is in Bend and it is SO inexpensive! They don't release Sept 2008 dates until Sept 4th of this year so Grant is going to camp out the night before so we can get the date we want...Sept 13th, 2008. We drove to Bend yesterday on a whim to go check it out here are some pictures to give you an idea of the place...

This is the entrance of Aspen Hall where the reception will be held. To the right is a small pond.


This is the main room of the hall. To the right there are several doors that open onto a stone patio.


Here is the patio where we think we will have dancing...



The patio overlooks a small pond which has a path that allows you to walk all the way around it.




This is the grassy area we would have the ceremony overlooking the pond.

What's New...

Its been a crazy few weeks! We've barely had any time together, but we've had lots of fun! Grant spend the last week in Costa Rica...relaxing and having adventures with Matt and Joel. I spent the week catching up around the house and school AND getting a new job!!! I will start working as a research assistant at Oregon Research Institute on September 4th. The pay is good and the benefits are amazing and I will be working just across the street from UO so G and I can still carpool or ride the bus together. Such a huge relief to know where the next pay check is coming from.

This past weekend I went with my mom, tim, and Lindsey to Odell Lake and just relaxed in the sun. Then last night we celebrated Grant's dad's bday at his parents house. Its been a whirlwind and lots of fun, but we are excited to have some time alone together this week!

Thank You...

We just want to thank everyone for all of the support and congratulations we have received since our engagement! We are so blessed to have so many people that love and support us individually and together!

Omaha, KC, Manhattan, and the LONG Drive Home...

The last leg of our trip was awesome. We spent a few days in Omaha and then headed to Kansas City for the weekend. We spent Friday at a Royals game and it rained SO hard! Then Saturday we headed to the amusement park! Our last stop was Manhattan to see where Brett calls home. We then started the long trek home. Sunday was a 17 hour driving day and Monday we drove 22 hours from Fort Collins, Colorado all the way to Eugene!!

Our trip total mileage was 4,168!! That is a LOT of driving in 9 DAYS! Here are some pictures from the rest of our trip...