One year down, one to go . . .

August marks the midpoint of my time in dental hygiene school. It has really been an incredible year! I have been tested mentally, physically and emotionally and have really grown a lot. I finished up my summer term where my fellow students and I spent the whole summer learning new injections on each other. This was what I was most frightened of upon hearing that I got accepted into school last year. I survived though-with only one breakdown in clinic so far.
I am dumb-founded by how much I have learned this year yet overwhelmed by how much more that I feel I need to know. This next year will be crazy!
Through all the ups and downs of this year I have made so many wonderful friendships with my 30 fellow classmates. We are a rowdy group with boisterous personalities-and I wouldn't want it any other way. I know that I have made some life-long friends with these special ladies. No one else will ever understand the special bond that we have from this crazy experience of hygiene school!

Sunset dinner on Mt. Bachelor

I was very excited this Sunriver trip because I was able to meet up with my good friend Aryn. We were finally both in Bend at the same time. We met for a morning run along the Deschutes river. It was beautiful and the time flew as we caught up. Afterwards we enjoyed some coffee and chatting. Aryn suggested that I take Eric up to the restaurant that she works at on Mt. Bachelor. They have a sunset dinner with beautiful views. I loved the idea since our anniversary was coming up.

I surprised Eric the next night with the dinner plans. We drove out to Bachelor and took the ski lift up to the restaurant. The view from the lift was gorgeous! It only got better when we got to the restaurant. The deck goes almost 360 degrees around the restaurant. We enjoyed the breath taking views of Mt. Bachelor and the surrounding lakes as we waited for our table.

Aryn was our server which was an extra treat. The food was amazing. We filled up on crab dip for our appetizer and were so full that we barely touched our dinners (they were excellent too). My dad even gave us a bottle of his Minassian Young wine to enjoy. It was a perfectly romantic evening.

It was dark when we left dinner and took the ski lift back down the mountain. It was a full moon and the view was just as wonderful on the way back down. We were so happy that we had gone out-it was a dinner that we will definitely remember.

Summer time in Sunriver

Eric and I spent another week in Sunriver with the family. We had a wonderful trip! The weather was warmer than last time but the dry heat made it bearable. We spent the first few days with my parents and went on several bike rides, floated the river and played some tennis. Laura, Fadi and the kids joined us in the middle of the week. We biked, swam and ran (Mollie even joined us one time) during the day and spent the nights in front of the TV watching the Olympics. Eric went fishing almost everyday-morning or night. It was so full of activity, we will need a few days to recover!

Introducing Theo and Jessica Taylor

Immediately following the triathlon, we were on the road to Salishan for Eric's cousin Jessica's wedding. We barely made it in time! The wedding was beautiful! They were married outside in a garden-like setting. Jessica wore a knee-length white strapless dress and Theo was in linen pants and flip-flops.

Afterwards we enjoyed some appetizers and drinks while mingling with family. They had a DJ who played live music the whole time. After dinner they got every one's attention by playing a scavenger hunt game. This game is a tradition at French weddings (one of Jessica's closest friends live in France). It was a riot.

We spent the remainder of the evening on the dance floor. Mike even did his famous "fast feet" dance just for me-very entertaining!

Triathlon Time!

Last weekend my cousin Meagan and I participated in our second triathlon. We did the same race as last year in Blue Lake park. Once again, the 1/2 mile swim looked about 12 miles long! We made it through without drowning and actually had fun (after my mini panic attack at the start of the swim). After that, we were on to the 13 miles bike ride followed by a 5K. The bike is my personal favorite although it does make running immediate afterwards quite challenging. Our parents, Meagan's boyfriend Lucas and Eric were there to cheer us on the whole way. We were exhausted at the end but we did both manage to beat our times from last year. Until next year . . .