Adventures In Wonderland: Serious Catch Up

Hello to you all! I hope you haven't disappeared from my life just because I've been such a terrible blogger. It's just that so much has been going on that sitting down to write a post has been at the bottom of my To Do pile. I don't really know where to start so I will just post the basics and hope that works. Then I can move forward and blog about some of the specifics. So, where to start?.....

Okay, so Ross and I have been together for about 10 months and are still crazy about each other...and just crazy. We have a condo about 45 minutes from Boston which I have had so much fun decorating. It has two bedrooms and four (!!!) bathrooms and is about 1600 square feet. We have a nice big yard for Diezel (that crazy German Shepherd) to roam around in. I love having a guest room because it allows us to host visitors at any time. My mom came out from California in October and hopefully Mom and Dad will be able to come out together (with Arrow) this Spring.

Not the best picture since Ross looks unhappy, but you can imagine how hard it is to get a picture of both of us given that when I hand my camera to someone they look at all the buttons and the lenses and back away slowly. Few photographs of the photographer.

My handsome devil, not the best picture but I think he's always gorgeous.

Moving on to grad school. I completed my first semester of the grad program in December and am now two weeks into my second semester. I am no longer nannying as of December because this semester is when it starts to get insane at school. I miss the kiddos all the time and hope to work here and there to keep in touch. This semester is when I get my first client in the clinic at Northeastern (the Northeastern University Speech-Language and Hearing Center). I am also involved in a Language Literacy program which means going to a charter school in Boston to help with early literacy skills. this has all been challenging, but fantastic. I still love Northeastern and am certain that I made the right choice when choosing where to go.

Next up - vacation. Ross, Dee, and I went to visit my parents in Napa Valley for Christmas. Dee rode in the cabin with us thanks to a little simple paperwork. She did amazingly! Not a peep from her and no fear. She even rode the moving sidewalks and escalators in the airport! Our girl is pretty much a genius. We had a wonderful Christmas with my parents and really enjoyed the time off together. After a week or so at my parents' house we all packed up for Lake Tahoe. We picked up my Grandma at the airport from Texas on our way to the Tahoe house. She is 82 and recently had a second knee replacement surgery and is still up for it all. I hope I am half as whip smart and awesome as she is when I hit 82. Not to mention that she doesn't look 82 at all. Our time in Tahoe was particularly wonderful. The area has had a particularly snowy year, meaning tons of powder to explore. I'm talking 6 foot high snow drifts. Dee loves the snow and so does Arrow, they had a ball playing together. I really enjoyed showing Ross around the area and seeing his reactions. We went up the gondola to Heavenly which is about 10,000 ft elevation. We also spent one morning doing an ultimate snowmobile tour. We had our own guide and went completely off trail through fields, over frozen rivers, and up some pretty steep mountains. It was incredibly fun. We have pretty much made the decision that we will be moving to Lake Tahoe when I finish grad school. Something that makes my parents incredibly happy. Ross fell in love with the area and all the available activities and I'm so happy because I've always pictured myself returning to California eventually.