I have had an incredibly busy few weeks. We had guests staying in our
home the last two weekends, and then this past weekend we went up to
the mountains for our mini summer vacation. It was fun having so many
things going on, but I'm completely exhausted. I am really looking
forward to this weekend, when I have no plans at all.

The last weekend in June, Daniel's childhood best friend (Patrick) and
his dad came to stay with us. Patrick's little brother was in a
lacrosse tournament here in Denver so they wanted to come and cheer
him on. Patrick's Dad was incredibly generous. He took us out for
many meals and wouldn't let us pay for anything while he was here. He
also took Daniel white water rafting on Monday. I couldn't go because
I had to work. I'm so glad Daniel got a chance to spend time with
Patrick. They hadn't seen each other since high school when my
family, Daniel's family, and Patrick's family all went on a cruise to
Alaska together. We are inviting the whole family to our wedding and
it seems like they might make the trip out to Phoenix. Patrick and I
really enjoyed talking about science. He just graduated with an
engineering degree and got a great job in Boston. He is considering
medical school and was very interested in the research I'm doing.

The following weekend my Dad came to stay with us. He was on his way
to our favorite family vacation spot, Estes Park. We have gone there
every summer since I was about 4 years old. This year he had to go by
himself because the rest of us were scattered across the country and
couldn't get time off work. The first thing we did together was go to
a Rockies game. After the game there was an amazing fireworks show.
My Dad got us really good seats too. I practiced some calming and
de-stressing techniques and was able to watch the fireworks without
even covering my ears. I was still very tense, but I was able to
enjoy it without aching arms and ears. Over the weekend he also took
us shopping for our wedding gift- a new kitchen table and chairs! I
am so happy because I've been wanting to replace ours pretty much
since we moved into our house 2 years ago. It was given to us by
Daniel's family and it was the table that he sat at when he was a
little kid in the 1980s. And it shows. So we were very excited to
get a table that reflects our style a little better. And now we're
inspired to change all kinds of things in the house. We don't have a
ton of money right now, but we're going to save up and change things
little by little. Also while my Dad was here we picked out our
wedding rings and ordered them. I finally found one that looked good
next to my engagement ring. Daniel has known what he wanted for
months so it was just a matter of ordering it for him. And finally,
we started our registry! My Dad helped us pick out some things he
thought we might need/want for the house and kitchen. We went to
Crate and Barrel and got fantastic service. An employee took us
through the whole store giving us tips on what things family members
like to buy, and the products themselves. She spent a lot of time
telling us about the dishes and the materials they're made out of.
She also had answers to all of our concerns like how to get all our
gifts back to Denver, and how many sets of dishes and glasses and
things to register for. It was so much fun to go through the store
and pick anything we wanted no matter the cost! He left on Monday
morning, the 4th of July. I went into work for a few hours on the
holiday so that I could come home when the furniture was delivered on
Wednesday. I'm so lucky my work is flexible. That's why it pays to
be on salary and work in a professional environment. My supervisor
even told me she doesn't care if I have to leave or anything, as long
as my work gets done. :-)

Speaking of work, it's been going really well. Things slowed down a
lot last week so I haven't been nearly as busy. On July 1 I
officially became an employee of the state. I now work for the
University of Colorado as a research trainee. That means I'm on
salary with full benefits (including matching up to 10% on my 401k!).
We got to go over to the new lab and see what our workspace will look
like. It's the same size as our current lab now, but with half the
people! We also have extra rooms around the perimeter of the lab that
frees up some space in the lab itself. We will officially move July
18th if everything goes as planned. This Wednesday is our orientation
so I'm really excited to learn about my benefits and enroll.

This past weekend Daniel and I went to Estes Park. We picked up my
Mom from the airport and met my dad up there. It was a very short
trip, but really fun. I just love the mountains and it was so nice
and cool up there. We went on a very steep hike and I'm still a
little sore from that. Jackson loved sniffing and exploring the
wilderness. We also spent time with our family friends, the Cylwiks.
They meet us up there every year. Eric and Scott both brought their
significant others, so with them and Daniel and I we actually
outnumbered the parents for the first time. It was interesting to see
the dynamic shift from the parents taking charge to the kids. We got
back last night and I'm back at work today. I am looking forward to
having Daniel all to myself this weekend! And then in 2 weeks, we'll
have another house guest for 2 weeks, and then my Mom is coming to
visit again. I love having so much to do this summer. Our whole
lives feel like vacation, but better because we get to sleep in our
own bed.