Cross Country Meet #1

On Saturday (08/30/08) was my first cross country meet of the season. It was at St. Mary's University, which is known for their very difficult course. With the exception to St. Mary's 5k (3.1 mile course) we run 6k races. This is a very difficult course, considering a little more than the first mile is all uphill going into the bluffs. I actually did surprisingly well. I took 7th for the team and 13th overall-and our team took first! This hasn't happened in a long time!!! I ran it in 22:12 which was 1:10 minutes faster than last year. I even negative split each mile (which means I got faster every mile). It was a difficult run, but I actually really enjoyed it. A lot of my family and friends were able to make it to support me which was AWESOME! That's definitely one of the things that I miss about high school running; almost all of our college meets are at least two hours away, so it makes it difficult for family and friends to make it. Bennett even made it to his first cross country meet-I was so happy to see him when I was done!!!

This is a picture of me coming into the finish line...I was so happy to see the red and white flags just ahead!

I got to see Bennett right after I finished, it's a bummer that he doesn't fit into his WSU gear  yet. But he was still too cute!

A team picture with the plaque after the awards ceremony. This was a very exciting sweep for us!

1 Week Down-15 To Go

Yes, unbelievably the first week of school is over (for me anyway). I have gotten very lucky with only having four day weeks this semester. I even already had a test in one of my classes and I did very well. I do have a lot of classes but they don't seem too bad after all, therefore it should be a successful semester.

I have really forgotten how much school takes out of you. The last few nights I have came home and all I want to do is sleep. I end up napping for a little while and then not being able to sleep all night. Hopefully next week will go a little better.

Not much else to really talk about at the moment. I will for sure have another update on Saturday after my first meet. WISH ME LUCK!

Day Two

Today was the second day of the semester. I have been to all of my classes except for one which is a night class which was cancelled this week, so I will have yet another new experience waiting for me in the days to come. The semester seems as though it will go smoothly. However, I have completely forgotten about how tiring it is!  The last two days I have come home extremely exhausted and ready to nap! 

This is a picture from cross country last year. A few people have transferred,  but most are back and we have a ton of new runners this year. Cross country season is my favorite time of the year ...it mean's FALL IS HERE! We have so many fun memories to look forward to this year. I know it is going to be a great time. 

As many of you already know, Jake and I moved in together and got our first apartment in March. Things have gone extremely well for us so far. I will be spending quite a bit of time in Winona this year due to cross country, track, and because I miss my friends. This will definitely take away from my home time but we are very used to that at this point. There will be pictures of the apartment coming soon! We have recently re-arranged a few things so no pictures yet.

Summer is OFFICIALLY Over!

As of 8:00am today, my summer vacation is over! Today was my first day back to school and although I love summer, I was more than ready to go back. Classes don't seem to be too bad (so far) and it was really nice to see everyone again. 

I went to watch my little nephew again this evening so that my brother, sister-in-law, and her sister and husband could go celebrate my brother's 30th birthday! Considering Kim and Heather got me blogging, I was harassed for not updating my blog since the last post...SORRY! So school and tonight gave me more than enough reasons to update. 

I haven't done anything too exciting since the last

 blog except go to a Dave Matthews Band concert. It was a great way to close out the rest of the summer. It was a great time with a lot of great people! This is an opportunity that I wish came around more than once a year.

Top: Jake and I before the show starts when the sun was beginning to set. It was a beautiful day and evening for a concert!

Left: Dave Matthews Band in their opening song for the night.

Fortunately I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends the last week of summer. Going back to school is going to be another big adjustment for me, but i am very excited! I always like starting new things and enjoy things that keep me busy. I promise another update very soon!

Summer's Almost Over

As the middle of August approaches I have began to look back on my summer and what I have done. To be completely honest I worked most of it (YUCK!) , but I was able to do a few things that has been the highlights of summer. 

On July 3rd I was able to be with one of my best friends to celebrate her ever-so-important 21st birthday! Seeing since it was on July 3rd, we were able to have all of our friends and family join us the next day for fireworks and a few other events. That was by far my most memorable and favorite two days of the summer! Yes, she did survive but it was a rough night for her!

I have also gotten to spend a lot more time with my nephew! He is getting so big so quickly! He is almost 7 months old now! It has been so much fun to watch him grow and be able to see his personality develop. He can always cheer me up!

Jake's dad's company has a picnic at Jellystone every year. This summer Jake and I decided to start our vacation a few days early and make it a whole weekend experience. It was our first time camping together and it went incredibly well (believe it or not)! We had so much fun, hopefully this is something we will continue to do in years to come.

The day after our camping trip I headed out East to Washington DC to visit my family for a few days before meeting up with our friend's Brian and Laura. They moved out to PA for Brian's grad school and now it was time for them to move back. Jake flew out a few days after me and from then on it was all work (and a little play). 

On Thursday (above), we left in the morning to finish up some stuff with the moving truck before heading to Philly for lunch and then off to Point Pleasant, New Jersey to go to the beach. It took us a little while to get there, but it was well worth the trip before DRIVING back to the midwest. We had a great time and believe it or not, I would do it again in a heart beat!

This last weekend I returned back home on Saturday night. I was invited to go Canoeing on Sunday so I figured why not. I had sat in a car for just about 24 hours straight, I should go do something fun. I had the time of my life! There were various cliffs for jumping spots throughout the trail and this was one of them. Yes, maybe not the smartest thing to do...but it was a thrill!

Now I just have a little bit left of my summer. I'm sure it will be filled with more work, practice, and  hopefully other various fun activities. Until then...this is my summer so far in a nutshell.

The Start of my Blogging

For those of you who know me, I tend to be a very busy person. Therefore I have found myself pondering many thoughts but never really speaking of them because I don't have the time or the energy at the end of the day. Through knowing other bloggers, I have found that it is somewhat of a release and it keeps others in touch. I have decided to start blogging and sharing some of my experiences to keep the ones I love updated and for something new and fun to do. I hope that everyone who looks at my blog will enjoy!