My 21st Birthday

Yesterday March 26th was my 21st birthday! I had a blast a had a few drinks. It felt nice. my friends and family are amazing and i was so glad that I could celebrate with them. I had one drink right after midnight and it was really good! :) Even though it was my birthday I still went to all my classes and then work before I could really relax and enjoy my day. Work was entertaining because my coworkers thought I was crazy for being there and tried to get me to go home. I stayed but they took one of the blueberry coffee cakes and made a candle and sang me happy birthday at the end of the shift. It was creative I must say. 

Once I got off work I came over to Greg's house where he threw me a small party. I had my closest friends over to celebrate and they enjoyed trying to encourage me to drink drink drink. haha. We had cake and just hung out and talked for a while. Nothing special but a great time to just hang out. I hadn't seen a lot of them since before spring break. I am a little tired today but feel that my alcohol intake has not inhibited me for today. I never really want to get to that point when I drink. I always want it to be a causal affair. Tonight Greg is taking me out to dinner and we are going to the Olive Garden here in Flagstaff. I might try some of their house wine or have a drink but it won't be anymore than that. 

Now that I am 21 it feels like I am a real adult. I feel more responsible now and that I am not a little kid. Its a weird feeling but so cool at the same time. 

First Day of March

Awww March 1st! Today I made Chicken and Dumplings from scratch for our couples dinner and then to top off the night I made Chocolate covered Strawberries for dessert. Everything was delicious. :) It is a great way to start off the new month. Also, an exciting thing about March is that I turn 21 at the end of the month! I am not much of a drinker, but I do like the occasional sweet/fruity drink. I think the most exciting thing is that if I wanted to I could order a drink while out at a restaurant. Not that I am going to its just the fact that I can is what's exciting to me. 

Things for the wedding are going well. It is getting closer and closer and I can't wait til' the day is here! There is only 3 1/2 months left! :) Our next biggest task is picking out our invitations. We have registered for our wedding so that is done. You can check out the wedding website to find out where we are registered at if you are interested. Other than that nothing else is really going on that is super exciting. There are 2 more weeks and then spring break. It will be a really rough couple of weeks but it just means that I will truly get to enjoy my break. The thursday before spring break I am 3 exams in that day. All of them in a row. I am going to die that day, but I will be so happy when it is going to be over. 

Valentine's Day

On Saturday Greg and I spent the day together snowboarding and skiing at Snowbowl. It was cold but the weather was really nice. The start of the day was a little slow because it was really busy. Everybody wanted to go down the mountain. After lunch was better because it cleared up a bit. I went into the snow park and decided that I wanted to try a few jumps. The first time I went down the row of three jumps I fell all three times and I bet it was pretty funny to watch. I went down the mountain and came back up and tried it again. I was successful my second time through until the very last jump were I completely biffed it and landed right on my butt. It really hurt and it took me a little while to get back up. I had a nice round purple and blue bruise. It is still a little sore but I have gotten over it. :) After the end of the day we were so tired. I guess I feel asleep on the way back to campus. I certainly don't remember the drive home. 

We thought we might be too tired to go out for dinner on Saturday and also every place was going to be packed so we went out to dinner on Friday. We went to Olive Garden. It was still busy but it was well worth going  a day early. I didn't get my gift though until Saturday. Greg made me wait. He got me a card that had coupons for me to redeem that say for example a massage or I get to pick all the TV channels/shows that I want to watch for the day. Also he got me a huge Hersey's chocolate bar for me to eat! A girl loves her chocolate. :) For dinner on Saturday we just ordered a pizza and ate in. That was the best decision that we could of made! We were so tired from snowboarding and skiing all day. 

I love Greg so much. He made Valentine's Day this year very special!

My Dad

My dad has been in the hospital since Saturday and is hopefully going home tomorrow! He has pancreatitis and has been in a lot of pain. He was able to eat some solid food today for the 1st time since Saturday and they took him off the IV fluids. That is always a good sign. He is also off the pain medication they had him on. He is still really weak and has some recovering to do but is on the road to recovery. Which is always a good thing. Thank you to all who knew and have been praying for him. He needs those prays still because he is still not 100%. We never know what life will throw at us, that is for sure.

Ski Trip 2009

Over the last three day weekend, Greg and I went to Durango Colorado and went skiing and snowboarding with the college group from our church in Mesa, AZ. We left thursday afternoon and it was a 6-7 hour van ride to the cabin we have been staying at for years. There were 28 of us that went this year and I felt like it was the perfect size. We got situated Thursday night to get ready for the next 3 full days on the mountain.

Friday morning the group got up at 6:30am to get ready to go snowboarding and skiing. We had breakfast and then made our way to the mountain. The lifts opened at 9am so we were ready to head up the lift to the top of the mountain. My whole goal of the weekend was to get my brand new boots, bindings, and snowboard broken in! By the end of the first day I felt like I had my gear forever! It was a great feeling. :) We took a lot of blue runs down the mountain and caught up with some friends and went down the mountain together for some lunch. After lunch we took a little cat nap up at the lodge and was ready to go down the mountain again. 

Day 2 and 3 were more amazing than the 1st day. The fellowship and getting to spend time with people we don't normally get to see a whole lot of was awesome. Greg and I had a few trails on the mountain but we were able to communicate with each other and grow closer as a couple! The mountain was gorgeous with all the different amazing views we got see that God created.

Hopefully Greg and I will be able to continue on the tradition of the ski trip and have just as an amazing time or even a better time. On Monday we made our way back home after an amazing trip. It was nice to be back in Flagstaff, but it was hard, at least for me, to leave Colorado and come back into the realm of reality.

Heading Back to Flagstaff

Tomorrow I will head back to Flagstaff. It is bitter sweet in a way because I am going back to the place I love to spend time and feel the most comfortable, but it also means that I have to go back to school and work on Monday. :( I am going back to school with a new goal and purpose so that should help keep me motivated. I can also say that I will be graduating with my Bachelor's Degree next year! My new major is Psychology with a minor in Biology. With this degree my plan is to go onto nursing school after Greg and I are married and he has started teaching and earning a salary. I will only have to go to school part time because I have a majority of the requirements taken already for the Community College Nursing Program. This is the plan. God my have something different for us that he has not shown us yet, but this is the direction I am feeling led to take. I am ready to start out the New Year and School Year with a bang. 

Greg is still pursuing his Music Education Degree. He is set to graduate in May 2011. He passed his upper divisions in December and now preparing for his Recital in the Fall of this Year. His course load this semester is much lighter and should be less stressful. The other focus for both of us this semester will be preparing for our marriage. That is going to be a another course within its self! We can't wait for the semester to be over already so all we get to do is focus on our Wedding Day!

Carrie's Photos from 2008