Birthday Catchup

Alright, let's be honest with ourselves. I've been neglecting my blog. Shocking, I know. But as such I have missed several family birthday shout-outs. And today I'm going to remedy that. Buckle up buddy, this won't be short.

First, let's start with Bear.

I don't know of anyone who can make me laugh harder or longer than him. He's also the best at getting me to laugh at myself - not always the easiest task.

He's also one of the hardest workers I know,

AND he's one of the funnest people to be around. Best of both worlds.

And last but not least, he is such a cute dad to two of the cutest little girls on the planet.

And on that note, it was also Sophie's birthday. Soph is so smart - just the other day she was teaching me about photosynthesis. She's 3.

She has such a fun personality and constantly keeps us entertained.

Not to mention that she is darling. Also tanner than I am. Not hard to do, but still. I'm slightly surly about it.

And then there's Dane's birthday. He's a whopping 4 years old and about 17 times smarter than me. I wish I was joking.

He is such a cute older brother to Campbell (most of the time :) and I'm sure he'll be such a good example for his soon-to-be baby brother.

He is constantly asking questions and wanting to learn. And he's even been known to help around the house.

So I guess what we learn from this is that I have a really great family. I am so grateful for all of them and for the chance to celebrate them on their birthdays. Happy (belated) birthday Bear, Soph, and Daner! I love you all.

To my favorite man in the world:

 

 

Happy Father's Day. I love you Daddy.

#9

So, a while ago I crossed off #9 from my Boston Bucket List - I went to a concert in the House of Blues. And not any concert, mind you. I went to the Fun. concert! They just so happen to be one of my favorite bands at the moment (see here). It was hands down the best concert I've ever been to. My friend Jerr had an extra ticket and I was so happy because I had tried to get tickets but they were sold out. Not to mention that we were on the floor about 6 people deep from the stage. That was cool too.

The pictures aren't great quality, but that's what you get when you take them on a phone...

Outside the House of Blues

Jerr and I

The crowd behind us. The House of Blues was literally packed. Nate (the lead singer of Fun.) told us that we were freaking them out with how many people were there.

I loved it, sometimes he would just stand there grinning at us, acting like "Is this real life?"

Of all the concerts I could have gone to to complete my bucket list requirement, I'm not sure I could have picked a better one. Seriously, such a Fun. night :)

My thoughts on running. Also the Boston Marathon.

My roommate has a shirt that says, "Life is short. Running makes it feel longer."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

So, the day of the Boston Marathon is a holiday around here (mostly because it's patriot's day, but they intentionally put the marathon on that day so the whole state has the day off). I was pretty stoked since I've never been a part of the marathon before. And, to top it all off, some of our good family friends flew in for the marathon since their daughter was running in it, so I got to spend time with some familiar faces. Good times all around. I have a depressing lack of pictures since my camera is broken (still. Good heavens, I really do need to do something about that because at the moment I have little-to-no proof of my life here in Boston), but I do have a few gems. The only photos I have of me or my visitors are from Mike's phone, so a huge shoutout to him for that.

Here is the starting line on Saturday before the race.

Annette and I at Cheesecake Factory for dinner on Saturday night.

In Boston Common there are these duckling statues from the children's book "Make Way for Ducklings." The day of the race they were all dressed up with masks and capes in celebration of the marathon. I wish I could have gotten a picture of all of them, but there were too many kiddos in my way, so this will have to suffice.

This is at one of the T (Boston's subway) stops. The T was out. of. control. on marathon day. Seriously, every single car was like a game a sardines, trying to see how many people we could fit in the tiniest space possible.

 My favorite sign I saw that day was a girl who, for every male runner that went by, held up a sign that said, "With that determination and stamina, you can call me ANY time" with her number on the bottom of it. I really wanted a picture, but, alas, was unable to get one.

Also, a note on the marathon. Despite being blazing hot and the fact that I got a sunburn, I absolutely loved it. It was such an amazing experience to be surrounded by thousands of people who were cheering other people on. That's all they were doing. We were all supporting thousands of runners that we didn't know, but appreciated anyway. I was near the finish line and if there was ever a runner who was struggling or who was walking when they reached us, everyone would cheer just *that* much louder to show them that they really had come so far and we just knew they could do it. And then, when anyone from the army ran by, the crowd cheered even louder. And when someone ran by who was pushing someone else in a wheelchair, the crowd absolutely erupted. It was such a special experience to be a part of something so big and so supportive. I don't think I've ever been somewhere where so many people were joined in a common, selfless cause to encourage and cheer for everyone they saw. Suffice it to say, I'll be participating in Marathon Monday again. Specifically as a spectator. Don't get any crazy ideas (Linds, I'm talking to you.)

Burnt. (Don't worry Mom, it wasn't that bad.)

To the best Mom a girl could ask for:

My parents were here for the weekend to help me get a car (more on that later), but they left today. I'm so grateful I was able to actually spend time with my Mom on Mother's Day (though it was cut shorter than I would have liked). I am so grateful for her and all she does. So Mom, here's to you. I love you so much!

Summer

I have some exciting news! For my summer synthesis (my capstone if you will), starting May 14, I'm going to be in the....

NICU at Brigham and Women's Hospital!!!

I am beyond excited about this because being in the NICU was my first choice, and Brigham and Women's is nationally ranked as one of the best hospitals in the nation! Seriously, what an amazing opportunity.

I love this city and all it's amazing hospitals.

Favorites

Come to find out, I have some interesting favorite things, things that other people don't bother having favorites for. Like my favorite compliment. The other day I was at my friend's house and she asked if I would be going dancing with them that night. I told her I couldn't because I had an assignment I needed to work on. Her response was:

"Dang! 'Cause you've got moves for days!"

Probably my favorite compliment I've ever gotten.