one week down...

...I don't know how many to go, but I'm not counting!  

Well, my first week of grad school is over and I'm still alive!  As I mentioned before it actually wasn't too bad because we only had 2 actual days of Biochemistry, but I feel like I've read a lot more material than that already.  We have quizzes everyday, which I've not done so well on.  I guess just reading the assignment for the next day at 10:00 pm isn't enough to retain what's needed to answer questions on a quiz.  I'm working on that.

This weekend was a good one.  Friday night Michael and I went on a date to the movies and saw Vantage Point.  It was pretty good, nothing to shout about, but thrilling in the moment.  Then on Saturday afternoon the doctor who is the Medical Director for the PA program held the annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament at his house.  All three classes of PA's went (class 37 who graduate in August, class 38 who are starting rotations in August, and us class 39, the newbies) and had 1 or 2 teams paying and the medical residents went, too, since the doctor is on that board as well.  It was really fun.  

That evening, our class had already planned a barbecue to get to know each other better.  So we went to a classmate's house and barbecued and just hung out.  We had a great time.  I spent all day Saturday in the sun watching games, visiting and eating.  What could be better?!

Today I taught Relief Society which was fun.  I get nervous, but I really enjoy doing it.  The lesson was on prayer and personal revelation.  The Joseph Smith manual did a good job, and adding to it wasn't hard, especially with the great comments from the ladies in the ward.  

Now it's 5:30 and Zander is at a friend's house, Michael and Keagan are on a walk, and we have no idea what we're having for dinner.  What a relaxed, fun weekend we've had!

I'm baaack!

Yes, I'm alive and well.  I just finished my second day of school in the PA program.  It was two days of orientation basically, so not a lot to report.  Tomorrow we start into our 2 1/2 week screaming fast course of biochemistry.  I've read my reading assignments up to this point, and so far it doesn't seem too bad.  ALL the staff keep telling us how excited they are to have us there and to have a new class starting and to see us succeed.  It's pretty nice.  

So, the full time hours don't bother me.  I've worked full time (although not in about 2 1/2 years) before, so that's not bad, but SITTING ALL DAY LONG is a little wearing.  My job was very on the go.  I probably never sat for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.  Now I'm in a chair from 8-5, with a few breaks in between.  I find myself very tired in the afternoon and remembering that's what happens when you're not moving (or standing in surgery) all day.  I miss my job and my friends there, but am making new friends at school.  They keep telling us how we're building friendships that will last a life time right now, so play nice!  Yes, they actually said that to us. 

 

We finally did get a nanny hired, and it's a girl I worked with at Huntsman.  Her mom was an MA with me and she worked in the file room.  She has a 6 week old baby and brings him to the house.  So far, it's been great.  I know her and trust her and the boys seem to like her.  The first day (yesterday) Keagan had a fever.  She made an appointment and took him to our doctor (PA actually =)) and he had strep.  I had strep last week, so not a big surprise.  So then today seemed pretty uneventful for her. I decided the first day should always be hard, because the rest seems like a breeze, right?!

All is well in the Gonzales household.  Except the part where we got robbed last week.  Someone came into the house, through the back sliding door which I didn't lock for the first time ever, when I took Zander to preschool.  FIFTEEN minutes later my husband came home for lunch and the TV wasn't mounted on the wall.  Our comforter was missing (which we later found on the side of the house????) and his wedding ring and my iPod are gone.  Oh, and they emptied our cup of change. Lame!  Then they unlocked the front door and walked right out.  WITH A 42" TV IN THEIR HANDS!  We're a little unnerved and are getting a security system for the house.  With the hubby traveling for work occasionally, we're not taking any chances.  The good news is we have insurance, so with the price of the deductible, all our things will be replaced.

Okay, besides that, all is well.  Our family is doing good, Michael's job is going well, I'm right where I should be, and the kids are happy.  We truly are blessed.

Barcelona, Part II

Here comes several more pictures of our travels together.  The day after this the conference started for Michael, so I played tourist on my own.

When you travel by yourselves, you get really good at taking pictures of yourselves!

This is the hotel we moved into after 2 days of staying in a very small apartment.  I didn't think I was such a diva until I moved from that to a 5 star hotel.  Wow!  I love being spoiled!  And somebody else picking up the tab...  hehe

These are pictures from the Olympic Stadium.  The olympics were held here in 1992, but the stadium was built in 1929 for the Internation Exhibition, and in hopes that the olympics would be here the next year.  These pictures are taken from the outside, of the field, and the "covered seating" that was built then lifted into place so there were no beams to obstruct the view.  Pretty cool!

Placa d'Espanya

This is the "gateway" to Montjuic (mountain of the Jew, named for the Jewish cemetary there).  This is a hill where the MNAC is (a picture that is in the last post) and where the Olympic stadium and events were held.  There are also various gardens and other museums.

A city plaza, about 10:00 pm

A view of Barcelona from Mount Tibidabo

Mount Tibidabo is an interesting place. It stands was up on a hill (obviously) that you can see from anywhere in the city.  We took a trolley car up part way, then the "Funicular", a sort of train that goes to the top.  At the top, there is a cathedral and an amusement park.  Bizarre combination.  But it was beautiful.

One of many random shopping buildings, by night.  

Hola de Barcelona!

Michael and I on the tour bus!

I know you've all been anxiously waiting so here goes.  We arrived last Friday afternoon, it took about 3 hours for us to unload, get our bags and get out of the airport.  Then it took another 30-45 minutes to get a taxi.  We finally made it to the apartment we were staying in while waiting for the guy with the key, realized we had left our camera in the taxi.  We got inside, spent about an hour on the phone with the taxi company to no avail, took a small nap, I got in the shower to warm up, and we went out for the evening.  It was colder than I thought and we couldn't figure out how to turn the heat on until later.  I warmed up, we bought a new camera, and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Yeah Hard Rock!  I love that place.  What I don't love right now is how bad the dollar is doing.  The Euro is much stronger right now (1 Euro = $1.60), so we are paying 1 1/2 times more for everything.  Other than that, prices are pretty equal.

On Saturday and Sunday, we bought a pass to a hop-on-hop-off tour bus (the double decker kind) and toured around the city that way.  A great way to go.  Gave us a good feel for the city, and where the highlights were.  Well here are a few photos from our first few days in Spain!

Us eating at Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona!

The beach boardwalk at Port Olimpic, and two old men enjoying the sun.  hehe

Barcelona's pride and joy, La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)

This is an interesting building.  One entrance is all gothic style, very similar to other cathedrals, but much more elaborate, designed by Gaudi.  The other entrance was built recently by a different architect and very modern and blocky.  It's quite bizarre, if you ask me.  The towers and very tall and ornate, as you can see.  Eventually there will be twelve towers for the disciples of Christ and a taller one for him.  It still isn't finished and has been under construction for over 100 years.

MNAC: el Museu Nacional de Arte Catalunya

This houses the art museum, but even though we went inside, they closed about 20 minutes later, so we didn't buy a ticket.  Maybe another day.

La Casa Mila or La Padrera

This was an apartment building built by Gaudi, one of Barcelona's most famous architects.  I has a courtyard in the middle, so all the room have natural lighting.  The curves of the building are supposed to imitate the "waves of the Mediterranean." Even the roof of this building is amazing, maybe even more interesting than the inside.

Okay, here a glimpse of our first two days.  I'll do more later, but I'm burning daylight trying to get this all done. So much to see, so little time! The internet is a little different here (and my computer keeps switching from English to Spanish!), and I've had some troubles.  But eventually, this will get done!

Later.

Here, there and everywhere

I know it's been a while.  But I don't have much to report, although I'm very busy right now...

Michael and I leave for Spain, Barcelona specifically, on Thursday and will be gone for a week!  He's going for a conference for 3 days, and he had enough sky miles to fly me over for free.  We'll have three days together, then I'll have 3 on my own while he's in the conference.  So, today I'm doing laundry and starting to pack bags for us and the boys.  Grandparents are watching the boys while we're gone...thanks moms and dads!

On another note, yesterday Michael scored tickets to an afternoon Bees baseball game.  We went at lunch time.  It was 80 degrees out and lovely, even though it was a bit windy.  Today, even as I'm typing this, it is snowing outside.  And hard.  This has been the craziest year. 

So, tomorrow is my last day at work.  It would normally be such a great day, but I really love my job and especially the people I work with.  I've been there for 3 years and am good friends with everybody I work with.  I'm really going to miss seeing them all the time.  You guys rock!

After we get home from Barcelona I'll be home for two weeks, then school starts!  I'll start my 2 year marathon of classes every day from 8-5.  And I think we may have found a nanny!!  I'm so excited.  A roommate of our niece called and said she was interested.  The downside is it's only for the summer, but then I found someone through the nanny website I've been using that is available after summer and wants a long term job, like 2 years!  If that works out, it would be awesome.  A huge relief to me.  Whew!

Well, that's about it for now.  My next post will probably be from Espana!  I'll try to load my favore 1-2 pictures everyday so I can share some of our adventures!  Ole!

My New Do!

I did it!  I cut my hair short and dyed it blond, well put in blond highlights anyway!  I'm thinking either people love it or hate it because they either rave about it to me or don't say anything at all.  It's such a drastic difference that it's not like people just don't notice.  So when they don't say anything...

That's okay because I like it!  Here is a pic!

Keagan-pants turns 2!

Don't ask me how he ended up with that nickname, but it's what I call him.  I think it comes from 'cutie-pants'.  He loves bikes.  The problem is he's not big enough to pedal, and we're so lucky that he got a new one for his birthday!  

His vocabulary is really growing.  Up until about 1-2 months ago, he could say "mama" and "mo" (or no).  Now he says mom, dad, juice, chew (shoe), bompa (grandpa), eye (I, eye, and ice), mo (no), Pabo (Pablo from Backyardigans), among many, many others.  And of course 'mine' is as clear as a bell!  He is two after all.  Everyday he has a new word, it's so fun! 

We are having issues with sleeping in a bed.  This is naptime.  He refused to go into his room, and ended up falling asleep on the stairs.  This is even more funny because just the day before I was joking with my visiting teacher that he'll end up sleeping on the stairs all night if he doesn't stay in his bed.  Moms always know best.  =)

We had a party tonight with both our families here, and had so much fun!  He got lots of gifts that he loves...a lawnmower (bubble blowing), tool belt and tools, fire truck, tricycle, ball, Thomas trains, Thomas pajamas, a Backyardigans movie...man is this boy spoiled or what?

Happy Birthday Buddy!!