Summer Days!

Well today was the day.  What happened, you might ask?  Nothing terribly special, in fact it was an ordinary Saturday in Sacramento but indeed, something happened.  I went shopping with my mom in the morning, found some good deals, had a terrific lunch, and went to Starbucks to work for awhile.  And then, it happened.  What I had been putting off.  What I had put on the back-burner. What I didn't want to think about.

I finally finished unpacking from France.

It was difficult but with all of my effort, I hoisted my suitcase up and dumped it's contents (skirts, shirts, scarves, glow sticks, papers, maps, public transportation tickets, 1 chest x-ray and more) onto my bed, zipped up the suitcase took it out of my room and began the dreadful process.  And hour and a half later it was done.  There were no signs of France in my room.  All of my French clothes hung up or shoved in draws, all of my maps and souvenirs neatly put away with my books, and the last of my euro stowed away in a coin pouch.

It's a sad day my friends.

But nevertheless, it needed to happen and now it's time to move on.  And I have been moving on, which is why it took me so long to complete this task in the first place.  I have been all over the place, Oregon, Sacramento, the bay area and have spent all of my free time with friends, family, or searching for that next step in my life.  And what fun it has been!

Since I wrote last, I have been up to Bend, Oregon one more time. We watched Stephen START in a game last Thursday.  That's right, he is a starter now.  So proud!  The Bend Elks did great last weekend and we had so much fun as always (even with a rain delay)!

Double Rainbow

Storm clouds moving away

San Diego chicken was the entertainment of the night

And this week, Sarah and I had our fun at the California State Fair!  Along with her roommate, we had a day of fun in the sun, walking around the exhibits, seeing the hypnotist, and visiting the midway at night!  And no trip to the fair would be complete without outrageous fair food!  And we definitely had our share!

Have to take a picture with the Golden Bear

Love this pic by the frog fountain!

Another Golden Bear!

Floriculture exhibition complete with live parrot

Deep fried twinkie. That was lame compared to...

Chocolate Covered Bacon!! Yummy!

Midway at night

Parting view

Add in a few bike rides, lunches with friends, a lot of job hunting, and way too many TV marathons and there goes my month of July.  Summer is going by fast and I cannot believe I have been home for almost 2 months. Life isn't going to slow up anytime soon either! And I wouldn't have it any other way!

C'est la belle vie!

End of Oregon Trip

Wow, that was fast!  I went up to Oregon for two weeks and now I have been home for almost a week.  Time is not slowing down and neither am I.

For my last weekend in Oregon, I went to Becca and Bryan's wedding, one of the main reasons why I was back in Oregon.  It was a beautiful ceremony and a wonderful reception.  So much fun spending time with many of my wonderful friends!  Can't wait to see them all again! Congrats Becca and Bryan!

Steph and Me

Reception at Sweet Cheeks Winery

Kyle and Me

The Newlyweds

Dancing Queen

With the ever-entertaining Father Dave

Kyle being MJ

Cutting the Cake

After seeing everyone again the next morning at brunch, I drove over to Bend where Mom and Dad were waiting to watch Stephen play.  It was also the 4th of July so the whole team wore camo uniforms that they would auction off to support our troops.  They played great and won 12-2!  There were also fireworks after the game, set off from Pilot's Butte, the tallest point in Bend.  We hung out with Stephen's host family after the game and we all went out for a late dinner and dessert.  It was a great 4th of July being with family. 

Stephen signing autographs before the game

Family - Go Elks!

Sibling picture! Love this!

The team

The next day, it was time to go home for Mom, Dad, and me.  It was by far the longest amount of time it has ever taken me to drive home from Oregon.  10 hours later and safely in Sacramento, it was bedtime to prepare for the St. Francis Volleyball camp the next day.  And these days were longer than last time because we missed a day of the week with the 4th of July on Monday.  But it went by fast, and now the 2nd camp is over and it's on to my next exciting adventure, whatever that may be.  

C'est la belle vie!