The Next Big Adventure

My life has been a series of adventures the past little while.  I won't bore you with mundane details of travelogue-ing nor a week-by-week play-by-play of my day-to-day existence (I do wish I could think of more ways to put a hyphenated phrase in that sentence...).  But, here are a few highlights.

1.  I finally graduated.  

It is official.

2. My fabulous parents and sisters trekked out to Nebraska to celebrate my graduation with me.  My sister flew in on May 2nd during a ginormous snowstorm that included 8 inches of snow and thundersnow (a super cool phenomenon I only experienced twice in Nebraska).  Luckily it had all melted off by graduation day 3 days later, but 'twas a little chilly.  Hence the coats and hoodies:

Stopping by the UNL dairy store for a delicious treat.

3.  I spent a fantastic week at Girls Camp with fabulous folks.  I've been able to go the last 3 years here in my stake and oh, will I miss it.  

We were on a giant swing.  Despite pictorial evidence which would suggest the contrary, I was not at all terrified - there was a lot of laughing and it was crazy fun.  But the juxtaposition of the two of us in this picture never fails to make me crack up.

4.  I moseyed some 5,000 miles to play in Europe for a bit.

Playing on a great little bike tour on a chilly, rainy day at Versailles, France.

Waiting for the Flamenco show in Barcelona. Ole!

5.  I drove 1,500 miles to Washington to spend 2 glorious weeks with my family.  

We did a lot of weenie/marshmallow roasting.

And Just Dance'ing.  (sidenote:  watching 10 nieces/nephews simultaneously dancing to Just Dance to the same song is a singularly delightful experience.)

6.  I packed up my car in a most obnoxious fashion...

Easy-ish access to the cooler...(and yes, that plant made it, though 'twas a little iffy for awhile there)

The cart added essential and phenomenal space...

Now that is a ridiculously full trunk.

...and drove/camped 4,000 miles across the country with my sister.

4,000 miles later and we still never ran out of things to talk about...

We stopped at a plethora of places along the way.  Here are a few:

- Insert Fantastic Yellowstone Picture here that may or may not have been accidentally deleted off the camera :-(  -

  

Yellowstone to see Old Faithful and the Paint Pots.

AND 

Gettysburg.  What a beautiful, sad, and sacred place to be.

AND

Niagara Falls (and a Wookie made by a friend of mine back in Nebraska.)  The Falls really are stunning.

AND

Palmyra, New York: Smith Family Farm.

AND

Walking into The Sacred Grove, Palmyra, New York.  A beautiful and truly sacred place. 

I feel like that last picture there is rather symbolic of my foray into The Next Big Adventure.  I've moved myself to Boston, Massachusetts to start a post-doctoral research position.  The girl in that picture is walking steadily forward, her eyes on the road ahead.  But, I am well aware that there is trepidation in her step, not because of fear per se, but mostly because of the uncertainty in her world at the moment.  There is a lot of new.  There is a lot of unknown.  The road is steep and the learning curve is high.  While change is not my forte, I am also well aware that all of this trepidation and newness is exactly what makes this life an adventure.  And so, here we go adventuring!  Wish me luck...

:-)