Dream Come True in Boulder

Two weeks ago a dream came true.  Nikki and I are roommates once again!  Four years after moving out of "The Mansion" in College Station, we have reunited in Boulder.  It's crazy to think about what life has been like for each of us in those 4 years.  We've grown a lot, experienced a lot, and changed a lot, but being roommates again couldn't be better :)
Probably the last 5 times (at least) that I have moved  my family has been so great to get me moved.  They've done the packing, heavy lifting, driving, etc.  But finally, enough was enough.  This time I hired movers!  It was kind of weird to see them doing all the work, but also a fantastic decision.

Unloading time in Boulder

 Joe and Richard from Two Men and a Truck did such a nice job of moving my stuff.  They lifted everything like champs, were quick, and took care of my belongings.  Nothing broken!  I would definitely use Two Men and a Truck again and recommend them to anyone moving.  There's my little plug for them ;)

Nikki and I have the 1st floor, and 4 other girls live in
the basement completely separate from us

Once it was all in, Nikki and I quickly got to work arranging the furniture and unpacking all the boxes.  We were totally exhausted by the end of the day (there's always more stuff than you think), but it all worked out just right.  The furniture fits great.  We're very pleased with our decorations.  All of our kitchen supplies together make a complete kitchen.  Within a day or two I felt completely settled in and it felt like home.

Making it a little classier with the Ash Gray walls

Down-sized desk area and my en-suite bath

The final arrangement of living room furniture

Nice and open into the dining area

This black shutter hung bare for 2 years with "potential".
I am so happy to show that it has finally reached its
potential ;)

I upgraded to more kitchen space!

Moving to a new place also includes figuring everything out again.  Where is the grocery store?  What's the fastest way to get places?  How do I get this door locked?  All of these things have the potential to be frustrating, but I prefer to find them exciting and embrace the adventures of wandering around looking for things.  I've already discovered some great running trails.  And maybe my favorite thing is how bike-friendly the whole town is.  Bikers have their own roads and there are always bike lanes.  It makes for a much safer biking experience.  I also love that I have a great view of the Flatirons out my window and on my drive home from work.  Every time I top the hill and see the range before me I can't help but praise God for His majestic creation!

But back to where I started, the coolest thing is getting to have Nikki as a roommate again.  It's fun to see how we've changed and yet there's so many things about us that haven't changed a bit.  Check out the comparison.

College Station, TX 2005

Our first grocery store trip after moving in

1st time we decided to be roommates at
Wildflower #9

Check out the first version of my room with the very
vibrant Crocodile Smile walls :)

Boulder, CO 2012

 

 

Still having fun!

A Week in the Springs

After great time with family and friends in Texas, it was time to move back to Colorado.  It makes me so happy every time to get back and see the magnificent mountains in front of me!  I came back to spend a week Colorado Springs so that I could finish packing, visit with friends, and study.  Of course, I tended to do more of the visiting with friends and less of the packing and studying. :)  But it was great!  It also happened to be a week of great freebies!  After missing out on things like this for a year, I took full advantage of these offers.
It started with 7-Eleven free Slurpees!!!  Hannah joined me on a 7-Eleven hopping adventure.  After visiting 4 different stores and drinking each Slurpee in between, we were sugared out!  The mango one at the end really did us in.  It was decidedly my best 7-Eleven Day yet!

4 different 7-Elevens, with flavors including lemon creme,
blue raspberry, banana, Coke, pina colada, and mango

Yes mango!  Actually not the best flavor, but
it still made me happy :)

When we saw each other the next day we both admitted that we totally crashed after coming off of that sugar high.  It's probably a good thing that free Slurpees only come around once a year.

Then Friday was a double freebie day!  First, I hit up Starbucks.  They were promoting their new Refresher drinks.  It's all the hype because they use green coffee extract so that they don't taste like coffee.

There were two flavor options: Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime.  I planned on only going to one Starbucks and getting the Berry Refresher because it looked the best to me with the fresh blackberries.  I got it and it was so delicious that I was then curious about the Cool Lime.  So I have to confess that I went to another Starbucks and got another free Refresher so that I could try both flavors.  

 I obviously really liked the Very Berry Hibiscus

They were both very tasty.  And if there was one word I would use to describe them it would be: refreshing!  Well done on the name Starbucks!  If you haven't gotten to try these yet, I would recommend them.  They're a great summer drink.

The same day was also Cow Appreciation Day!  For the 3rd year in a row, Meredith and I put on the cow costume to get our free Chick-fil-a. 

Yumm!!!

We love free food!

3 years of Cow Appreciation Day:

2012

2011

2010

We're already thinking about year 4.  I think we need some better cow costumes.  Ours are pretty pathetic.  That's my project before next July.

Throughout the week I also got to spend some quality time with people and visit some of my favorite local places like La'au's, Poor Richards, Dat's Italian, and VisionTrust.  I completed my 70th Jack Quinn's run!  Now I just need to figure out how to get to 100 so I can get the running suit. :)  And I got to go to the Asian Pacific store to scope out any items that might be similar to my Pohnpeian favorites.  It was so much like shopping in Pohnpei, and I loved it.  Here's what I found:

Jackfruit, Mangosteen, Soursop, Golden Kiwi and Thai bananas

Obviously these are not exactly like things I got in Pohnpei, but it's still fun to try new fruits.  Plus I wanted to share a little bit of the island with my Compass group from church.  They were great sports and gave the fruits a try even though they were pretty scared.  I don't think they'll be rushing over to the Asian Pacific store to pick up any of these, but I appreciated their willingness to try. ;)  I will never try Jackfruit again!  It was the stickiest mess I've ever gotten into.  I didn't think I was ever going to get the sticky goop off of me or the knife.  I didn't learn until later that you're suppose to oil everything before you cut it.  Lesson learned!  My favorite was the soursop.  Nothing like having it fresh off the tree, but it did have the same flavor.  When you freeze it a little bit, it's just like having a soursop sorbet.  Yumm! 

To top off the week, I even got to see Lori for a little bit!  She was passing through Colorado Springs, and it worked out that we could meet up.  It was like two worlds colliding!  We had only known each other in Pohnpei, so to see each other in Colorado was kind of strange but really fun.  It was a great week!  It reminded me how much I enjoy Colorado Springs.  But it was time to pack up and move on.  And that's what you have to look forward to in the next post...

1st Month Back

When I left Hawaii, I flew to Colorado.  I was excited to have a few special people  there to greet me as I came out to baggage claim.

It was pretty late, but I was still on Hawaii time so I was ready for some dinner.  I had put in my request for my first meal back: Snarf's!  I realized that I had really been missing a good, tasty sandwich.  So my parents were so kind to have one waiting for me as soon as we got in the car.  For all those people who had asked, there you have it; my first meal was a loaded ham sandwich from Snarf's.

Since then it has been quite a whirlwind of traveling between Colorado and Texas.  My adjustment back was surprisingly smooth and not so shocking.  I think the hardest thing might have been remembering which side the blinker is on after driving mostly Japanese cars for a year.  It's been a great time of visiting people, catching up on everything, and spending quality time with so many people that I love.  Here are some of the highlights of the past month:

1st restaurant: Poor Richard's
Very Veggie Burger

Day 2: Jason's Deli salad bar
Fresh vegetables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Surprise Ranger's game for Father's Day on
Nolan Ryan t-shirt night

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world!

Meeting Emalyn for the first time.  Precious!

Getting to spend time with these two kids...

making their first homemade pizza!

Spending time with the Ainsworths around the fire pit

Showin' off our Pohnpeian skirts!

We even had a Pohnpei Potluck in Texas.  It was a lot of fun (and sometimes a little challenging) to recreate some of the things that we always had in Pohnpei.  I loved sharing some of the quirky things I picked up on the island.

Every Pohnpei Potluck must have BBQ chicken leg quarters

Thankfully we had a very patient grill master.
Will they ever get cooked?!?!

Yes, we even tried the Ramen & Kool-aid

Maggie was the first brave soul to give the crunchy
version a try

Not feeling so good about this...

giving it a try anyway...

it's not so bad!

 

What a good sport!  She tried it all!

The spread: Rice, chicken, tuna in coconut soup,
"pwik dip", green salad, veggies, and cheese

Always a must at Maryanna's meals

Looks yummy, but for it to be truly Pohnpeian you'll have
to pile that plate quite a bit higher ;)

To top it off we even had cake and ice cream (Neapolitan of course) which was so fitting of a Pohnpeian celebration.  I don't think anyone will be making Ramen & Kool-aid any time soon, but what fun to share the fun of the island!

 Somewhere in the midst of all this, my mom and I made a very last minute trip to Colorado.  I got a phone interview for a job on a Friday and they asked me to come for an in person interview on Monday.  "Umm...I'm in Texas.  How about Tuesday?"  So off we went to Colorado.  I did the interview and took the job.  I will now be teaching 8th grade math in Denver.  I'm very excited to be teaching older students and only teaching math.  Sometimes I think I've lost my mind thinking I want to teach middle school, but I am confident it is going to be another great experience.   Plus I'm getting in the whole range of education; 2nd grade, 1st grade, college, and now middle school.  I'll know what I like best :)

Our trip to Colorado was also at the exact same time that the Waldo Canyon fire was wreaking havoc on Colorado Springs.  It was unbelievable to see it in person.  We couldn't believe the size of it and the amount of smoke filling the air.  Everyone was so thankful when the conditions improved and the fire was able to be contained.  I have been amazed at what a great job the firefighters have done.  The community has really rallied together to support all of the people that have lost so much.  There are still many years of recovery to come, but it's always amazing to me to see that God brings good even out of situations that are so devastating.  He provides strength and comfort, and I have seen that first hand from some of the families who have lost all of their possessions. 

A beautiful sunset despite the smoke

 I was also so happy to be home for the 4th of July since flag holidays are always a lot of fun with my family.  We had plenty of  good food, hot sun, and awesome fireworks.

The first customer to the photo booth, quite the look!

What a cutie!

Zach the Villain

The annual flag shirt family photo

Festive cakeballs

Ready for some fireworks!

4th of July just wouldn't be complete without some S'mores!

After that, it was time to hit the road for Colorado to start this next adventure...