In-laws

I am exhausted. The last week has been really busy, and I feel like I finally have time to take a big breath. Last weekend, Daniel was gone all day Saturday and overnight until Sunday afternoon. He had training to be an orientation leader, and then he went camping with his fraternity. I hate it when he's gone, especially because my roommates were also gone and I was home basically alone most of the day on Saturday. Then, even worse, our roommates invited all their London friends over to the house. I felt completely out of place and to be honest, not very welcome in their conversation so I made Jackson hide out with me downstairs until they left for dinner. When Daniel got home, we spent the whole day cleaning the house until it was completely spotless.

Monday I had my usual marathon day of class from 9am-9pm. This Monday was even worse because the chemistry lab was really long and hard. But when it was over, I had just enough time to go home and drop off my stuff before we left for the airport to pick up Daniel's parents.

It was so awesome having his family here. We stayed up really late that night talking (a lot about the wedding). I didn't even care that I had to get up early the next morning. On Tuesday, I had an anatomy test at 10am. I was actually really happy that the test was that day because it meant I could leave as soon as I was done which is a lot sooner than the usual end time for that class at noon. I felt like the test went really well too. I studied quite a bit, but I didn't have time to really cram the night before or that morning. I haven't gotten my grade yet. After my exam, I met up with Daniel and his parents for lunch. They took us out to a popular place near campus. Daniel performed in a recital at 12. Not only did I come, and his parents, but a ton of his fraternity brothers came too. He had a whole little cheering section. I think he really enjoyed it. Usually it's just me there to see him. His parents were so impressed and did their usual embarrassing "bravo" and clapping really loud and standing up at the end. They are so enthusiastic about their little boy. After the recital Daniel had to go to class, so we went grocery shopping and then they took me to work on their way to the airport. They picked up Daniel's Aunt Renee and his Grandma (on his dad's side) and then came straight back to my work. I met them downstairs and showed them around my lab. I introduced them to my supervisor and the post-doc that I work with pretty much every day, Judy. They were so impressed. Julie took pictures of me with everyone, and all the equipment and everything. Judy and Laura both told them very nice things about me. They don't know much about science, but they were so supportive and excited that I got this amazing job. It's amazing that my in-laws care so much about me- not just Daniel. They really feel like my own family.

We went back to campus and watched some of Daniel's wind ensemble rehearsal. I gave them a little tour of the music school, and then it was time to go home. Daniel invited his fraternity brothers over for dinner, so we had to cook up some burgers and bratwursts. About 6 or 7 of his brothers came and we ate a ton of food. Daniel's parents bought us so much food! That's what's great about having parents in town: they pay for everything! That night, I was so exhausted, but we had a very full day planned for Wednesday.

I had class from 9-10am and Daniel had class from 10-11am. At 11, his family met us at school and Daniel gave them a tour of campus. We went out for dinner at the quintessential Denver pizza place- Beau Jo's. Then we spent a few hours at the Denver Botanical Gardens. This time of year is absolutely gorgeous here. Everything is blooming, and the weather is perfect. So we took advantage of it. Then we went shopping! Grandma wanted to buy us a gift, and we asked for a backyard gazebo to provide a little shade. There is absolutely no shade in our backyard. We started at Home Depot, but we weren't happy with the selection they had so we went to Target. We found one that was very reasonably priced- so we bought it! Actually, Grandma, Aunt Renee, and Daniel's parents all split it. They are all so generous. We spent the rest of the evening assembling the gazebo and doing some other home repairs that Daniel needed his dad's help with. By the end of the night, we were all exhausted. There were still a few things we didn't get to do that we wanted to- more wedding planning, mostly. But in one month Daniel and I will be traveling to Phoenix. We are planning on driving there for about a week in early June. And the goal is to put down a deposit on the venue while we're there. December is a popular time for weddings in Phoenix, so we need to get our name in early.

I am so tired, but I wish they could have stayed even longer! I'm happy for every second we got to spend together. I think I must have the best in-laws on the planet. They love me as much as Daniel, it seems. They really care about us and want what's best for us. Julie gets a little weepy every time she talks about our wedding. I am so lucky that I get to be a Rosen :-)