Graduation

I did it! I am now a college graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Strategic Communication and a minor in Mathematics. It took 4.5 years, 9 semesters, 4 internships, minimal study time and now I have a degree.

Graduation day was absolutely fabulous. It actually started out right where school began, at Ovids cafe in the library, which is the dinning hall where I ate almost everyday freshman year. A friends took me to breakfast and we exchanged Christmas gifts. After that I when home and got ready for all the festivities. 

We went to a reception at my college so my parents got to see where most of my classes where, then we went to the alumni house where I got my first UK Alumni key chain, which I am currently proudly using. After that it was time for graduation, which wasn't too painfully long actually. If any of you watch The Sing Off you would have seen UK's a cappella group competing on there this season and the lead singer performed at the ceremony, he was so good! Here's one of their performances. 

My grandparents watched the ceremony online in Vancouver. Which made me happy and sad at the same time. I felt so loved that they wanted to sit around a computer screen and watch this two hour ceremony just to see me walk across the stage and then so sad that they couldn't be there and that they're so far away.

After graduation we had dinner at probably the best restaurant I'd ever been to in my life. The food was delicious, the place was beautiful, and the service was outstanding. When we asked our waiter to take a picture he immediately pulled out a chair and stood on it so that he could get the best angle for us. I didn't think guys even knew about angles!

By the end of the day I was exhausted and happy. I got to celebrate with everyone I love and that's really all that I wanted.

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas friends! Here's are a few snapshots from our Christmas morning. We made a yummy breakfast with flax seed pancakes, sausage, and fruit. Then we opened presents.  I got some nice things for my future career, pretty work clothes from my parents and a wedding planning book from Natasha. I think Tucker was the most spoiled out of all of us though.

Now we're lounging watching White Christmas and getting ready for Christmas dinner. Later we're going to go over to our Canadian friends house for dessert and games. When we were little Natasha and I would always bring over our favorite present to show the other kids what we'd got, now that we're older its turned into wearing our favorite outfit. Hope everyone's having a very merry Christmas!

Haul Out the Holly

The day after Thanksgiving is always when we decorate the Christmas tree. We sleep in and eat a light brunch while we pull out the boxes, set up the tree, and decorate. 

After lunch we usually go see a movie, this year it was the new Hunger Games movie. I think we all loved it by the way, my dad and I both read the books so I especially couldn't wait to see it. 

Family Thanksgiving

A bit late but better than never here's our family Thanksgiving celebration from last month. We always get together with our Canadian friends to celebrate since all our family is up north, this year it was hosted at our parent's house.

Natasha and I had fun decorating the table that had a paper runner. We drew on the seating arrangements and some festive decorations. It was quite pinterest inspired if I do say so myself. After dinner we sat around and played games; we made a homemade version of Pictionary which was a sheet of paper draped over a table but it worked. 

It was Tuckers first visit to they're house. He was spoiled beyond belief! So much food and love for one little dog, he was so happy, and our parents were glad to have a dog in the house again. We're going to have to do a lot of work when we get home to undo the begging habits he picked up. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm Thankful For

Now we've come to the point where we think about the really important things in our lives that we're truly thankful for. Not the little things that make our lives happier, the big things that our lives wouldn't be the same without. Natasha and I both have so many blessings that we can easily forget to be thankful for because they're just normal to us. But not everyone's as lucky and it's important to step back and evaluate what you have and to really appreciate it. So we picked a couple of the biggest things that we have to be thankful for and we'll tell you why.

Our parents:

Sarah - There's this peace that you have inside when you know you're parents are truly right for each other. Maybe it's one less thing I have to stress about. Maybe it's nice knowing they're happy. But I love that they love each other and Jesus, they've set a perfect example for a good marriage just by living it and I hope that I'm as happy after 27 years of marriage as they are.

Natasha - In addition to setting a good example for what marriage should be like, I'm glad I still have parents who help me out. I'm not ready for all the responsibilities of adulthood and I'm thankful they haven't been forced on me and I've had to 'figure it out'. I'm happy I have great parents to help with the transition of being an adult and are always there to help me with something when I need it. 

Our Grandparents:

Our grandparents are so far away, we have no idea what it's like to have that giant family in the stand for all your sports games and awards. But ours are special because they are so far away. It makes all the time we get special, it gives you a chance to miss them, it makes news exciting because they wont have already heard it. And it's nice to know that even thousands of miles away you have someone praying for you and loving you everyday.

Our boys:

Sarah - When I was single, if you had asked me what qualities I thought were important in a man, 'humor' would have been low on the list. Not that I didn't appreciate humor, it just wasn't a top priority. I thought romance, taste, and ability to pick a good restaurant were more important. Then I met Charlie, who makes me laugh everyday and I'm so thankful I was so wrong. He makes my days lighter and fun and most importantly makes me smile everyday.

Natasha - Now that Brad is away I've realize how thankful I was to have him around, he is the person that I'm the closest to. While he is gone I'm thankful I can talk to him each night and tell him about my day and hear his voice. And I'm most thankful for holiday breaks from military training, which means I get to see Brad over Thanksgiving break and I can't wait!

Having a Job:

Sarah - I actually have 3 right now on top of going to school and even though it can be a lot sometimes I'm so happy I have 3 jobs keeping me busy rather than no job at all. It's not just about having money either. It's something to keep me busy, makes me schedule and prioritize. I've met great friends and made good connections at these jobs. Without them I wouldn't have met Charlie and I can't imagine college without him and all the other close friends I have now because of work.

Natasha - I'm getting a little tired of my current job but I've always enjoyed working. I like being good at something and being rewarded for that with money. In high school I worked at a fast food restaurant but I always tried to be better and faster at my job because I like being good at it. 

Thank You Mood!

Last night the three of us (Natasha, our mom, and I) got to go to a Project Runway viewing party. A local radio station was hosting the event and our mom entered for a chance to win tickets and won! We had so much fun. They had a photo booth as soon as we walked in the door, plus lots of yummy snacks and frozen yogurt.

Our favorite part was by far the Mood bags. If you've ever watched the show you've seen the contestants leaving the fabric store with their Mood bags and Tim Gunn proclaiming, "Thank you Mood." You can bet we were repeating it all night long.

Now that Natasha and I are away at school we don't get to spend a lot of time with our parents and this was such a fun excuse to come up for a visit. Who doesn't love a girls night let alone a mother/daughter/sister night!