Nicole's gone :-(

This morning at 6am, I took Nicole to the airport. It was so fun having her here. I can't believe that she went through all of that flying back and forth and missing classes and all to be a part of our engagement. Yesterday we got our engagement announcements in the mail. They are so cute! I can't wait to send them out. We started making a list and it's so hard to figure out who to send them to. I don't want to leave anyone out, but also I don't know who will actually care if they receive one or not. And this will be the start of our wedding invitation list too. Of course, that list will have to be much smaller.

Now I have a chance to write about my spring break! It was so relaxing after the incredible stress of finals. On Saturday morning I woke up and I really thought I was going to throw up. At the time, I thought it was something I ate, but now I realize it was nerves. I have never been so nervous that I threw up, but I came really close that morning. I actually ran out of the room in the middle of the exam because I felt so nauseated. But I got through it, and my grades are in. I got basically all Bs. I got an A- in spanish, and a C+ in biology lab, but all the rest are Bs. I worked incredibly hard for those Bs, so I am happy. And the C is just one credit, so it shouldn't hurt my GPA too much.

When I got home, Dad took me out for dinner. The next morning I went to church with my grandparents and my grandma's brother and his wife who were in town visiting. Aunt Gail and Uncle Jim actually live in Terre Haute and they took care of Nicole after her accident and drive her to the airport and back a lot, so they are really important to our family. That afternoon some family friends the Cylwiks came over. We met Eric's new fiancee, April. They have been dating less than a year and they're already engaged. My mom told me that she's glad Daniel and I aren't getting married quickly just so we can have sex. Apparently that's what Eric's mom thinks he is doing. They are finishing up their last year of college at ASU. They struck me as really immature and young. I know they are older than Daniel and I, but in my opinion much less mature and they've known each other such a short amount of time. But I shouldn't judge. I don't really know April that well, maybe they will be happily married for 50 years, who knows. Another thing that was funny is that April said they are inviting 300 people to their wedding, and her budget is $10,000. I think she is crazy to think that she can have a huge wedding for that little amount of money. I mean, it's possible, but I don't know if she realizes how little money that is.

That night my mom got back from her ski trip. I feel bad for her because she feels so guilty spending any amount of money since she doesn't have a job. My dad insisted that she go on the trip and the people she went with are good friends of the family, so they are helping pay. My dad exchanged work for them with their taxes for mom's share of the trip. I'm glad she went because she had a great time and she deserves to have fun. On Monday I got my hair all cut off. I went back and forth from thinking it's way too short to thinking it's cute for the first few days, but now that I'm used to it, I like it a lot. And most everyone has said they like it too. Then we met Chris and Aimee for lunch. They brought all four girls, but it was like they weren't even there! The babies slept the entire time, and the older girls sat in silence and ate their lunch. It was really nice to see them and spend some time talking. That night I went to my grandparents' house to spend some time with Aunt Gail and Uncle Jim. That's when we had the whole ring conversation. Little did I know, they all knew that I would be getting my ring very soon!

Tuesday we met Teresa Francis and her two boys Rylan and Kian for lunch. Then we went to the park. Rylan is 16 months and Kian is 3. They are so cute and really well behaved, but not nearly as well as Chris and Aimee's. It was difficult to keep them entertained long enough for lunch to come. That night, Chris and Aimee brought Olivia and Sarah over for us to babysit. They are so tiny and in my opinion, at a very easy age. They lay there most of the time. The only hard part was keeping Sarah's pacifier in her mouth so she didn't start crying. And as soon as I took her diaper off to change her, she peed right there on the carpet. It was actually really funny. In those few hours, I realized how much harder twins are. There was about an hour where my mom was busy that I took care of both of them. I realized that if I was holding one or feeding one, I didn't really have many hands left to take care of the other if she starts crying. It makes me appreciate my parents.

On Wednesday mom and I went shopping. I wanted to get some more summer clothes (since it was like 90 degrees in Phoenix that week!) and shoes. I love shopping with my mom. We went to church that evening and had a delicious dinner that my mom cooked that night. I think my favorite thing about being home is home-cooked meals.

Thursday my grandma, mom, and I went to see The Reader. I have wanted to see it for so long, and when I saw that it was playing, I had to see it right away. It was a little awkward to watch with my mom and grandma because there is a lot of nudity and a lot of sex scenes, but I think I'm getting to the point where I'm old enough that it's not as awkward. It was really good, but not quite what I thought it was going to be. It wasn't as romantic as I would have liked. Ever since the rehearsal dinner, I've wanted to go back to Roy's so we went there for dinner and then my mom and I went to the Coyotes hockey game that night. One of my dad's clients has season tickets 3 rows from the ice, so he gave us them for that night. It was actually really fun. I was probably the only college-aged female there, and my mom was the only woman without her husband. It was kind of funny to see how surrounded we were by men.

On Friday we went to the zoo with Teresa, Kian, and Rylan. It was really fun to spend time with them and be outside all day. I love the sun, and even though I got burned pretty bad, I'm still glad. It was really hot that day. Kian and Rylan are so well-behaved, they didn't get tired or crabby at all. And as soon as we got to the car that afternoon, they went right to sleep. I found out later, that my mom and Teresa talked about my engagement that day when I wasn't nearby. Yet another person that knew! That night my whole family went out for dinner to my favorite restaurant, Maggianos. It was delicious and nice to spend some more time with my grandparents because I won't see them for a long time.

On Saturday morning, I got my nails done (my mom made sure they looked pretty because she knew I'd be putting a ring on very soon) and we went over to my mom's friend's house. They just moved in a few months ago and I had never been to their new house. They had a ton of lemon, grapefruit, and orange trees so we picked some. Mom insisted I take some back to Denver even though I didn't really know what I would do with them. Later I found out that they were really for Nicole! Mom took me to the airport and it was off to Denver.

It was a fun week, but I missed Daniel and all my friends here in Denver. I love the sunshine and warm weather I get while I'm there. And I actually kind of like that my mom's not working because we got to spend so much time together. I really needed the break from school. I am determined that this quarter I am not going to let myself get so far behind in the beginning. I am taking less credits, and now I know how to study for chemistry and biology so I can do much better. I will get better grades this quarter. And our big project for this quarter is to find a house to move into! I guess I'm growing up....