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! 

Go Ducks!

Since I left Oregon last August, there have been a lot of changes to the school specifically in our sports department.  Instead of the ducks playing at Mac Court like they used to, they now play here:

Matthew Knight Arena

I really wanted to see the inside so I took a tour and it was amazing.  Check this place out!

Duck Store (1 of 2)

Walking into the seating

Donor's Club

Another view of Donor's Club

Founder's Club

Hallway to Locker rooms

Where the teams gather before they charge the court

Courtside

Check out that awesome floor

Inside corridor 

I'm just upset that they finished this the year after I graduated.  I can't wait to catch some volleyball games here in the fall!

GO DUCKS!

Busy Bee!

While my newest posts might not be nearly as exciting as my travels and adventures in France, I will continue to update my blog.  But it's difficult!  I have been so busy, I have had no time to write.  So let me fill you in...

Justine left for Malawi and while I miss her terribly, I know that she is doing wonderful work and she is loving her time there.  I already received an email from her and it was sooner than I expected!  I have written a couple of letters to her myself and I am happy to say that a normal sized letter will only cost you 98 cents to send to Malawi.  Fun fact for the day!

After Justine left, I coached a volleyball camp at St. Francis with some of my teammates from high school and my high school coaches.  I had not played volleyball in a very long time but I am happy to say that I've still got it!  It was a great week with the girls and although tiring at times, seeing them improve over the course of the week made it all worth it.  Nothing is more gratifying than getting a hug at the end of the day because you spent so much time with a 5th grader on her serve, her passing, or her hitting and you gave her camper of the day in front of her teammates and her parents.  And of course, witnessing the energy of tweens again!  I don't know how they do it!

When camp was over, I made my much anticipated trip to Eugene, Oregon.  I had not been back to Oregon since I left last August.  Luckily, many of my friends are still here and I have been able to hang out with a lot of friends in the last week.  I have also kicked up my job search.  And I am happy to say that it's going really well!  No more news as of right now but hopefully I will have good news to report soon!

Finally, I just spent the last weekend in Bend, Oregon visiting Stephen (for the first time since Christmas!) and my parents.  They drove up to watch Stephen play this weekend with the Bend Elks.  He is up here for the summer playing on Bend's summer league.  They have a really nice field and great facilities for the guys.  I think he is having a great time up here playing ball and hanging out in the beautiful city of Bend.

That's about it for now.  Here are some photos for your enjoyment!

Jamie and Me! Reunited!

Stephen pitching

Parents watching nervously..

View from the house we stayed at

The Cascade mountain range

Bend Elks Stadium

Sisters in the background

Mirror Pond

Loving every minute I have in Oregon! More to come!

C'est la belle vie!

Home sweet home!

Well after 36 hours of straight traveling, I finally made it home last Thursday.  It was an interesting trip to say the least as trans-Atlantic flights generally are.  There were so many little things that I was so nervous about but now that it's over I can finally breathe.

First of all, meet my traveling companions:

so not fun lugging these guys around

After taking the train to Paris, I took a taxi to the airport, flew to Iceland (no volcano problems, in fact Iceland was beautiful!), flew to Seattle, (saw Greenland on the way, which was also beautiful), and finally made it through customs and caught the shuttle to my hotel.  AND with all with my luggage that weighed more than I do.  Then, I met up with Chris in Seattle and we went to go see Pirates!  On my flight from Seattle, I saw the beautiful Crater Lake (covered in snow as if it was February) and...

Mount Shasta from the plane

So far since I have been home, I have been having a blast!  My second night back, I went to the Wrangler with some friends.  Nothing to welcome someone back to the United States then a country bar with a live band.  The next night was something I have been looking forward to for months: the sleepover with my friends from high school!  We went out to dinner first and then went back to Jenna's house for some drinks and time to catch up.  So wonderful to see everyone and be all together one last time before Justine leaves for 2 years!

the girls with our friendship bracelets! 

friends

taryn, sarah, and justine

jenna and me

Sunday, I was invited wine tasting with Justine and her family for her Dad's birthday.  So we took a short day trip up to Napa and went chocolate tasting and wine tasting.  The chocolate fair was amazing.  I have never had chocolate that good in my life.  And then we visited Domain Chandon for some sparkling wine.  It was a little overcast as it has been for the last week but still a wonderful day with good company. 

with my bestie

hanging out with the wind-chimes

rock made out of wine-bottles

inspired by france

hanging out at Domain Chandon

at the front entrance

And that's just the beginning, I have a lot of exciting plans for this week!  It's good to be home.  I miss France but I am really enjoying being home and spending time with my family and friends!  One adventure is over and another is just beginning!

C'est la belle vie!