Traveling Adventures and Other Happenings

Hmm....two months between posts..... In our defense we've been working hard and having a blast, so that counts for something, right?

Grad school is going well but is definitely keeping me busy. I'm currently working on my action research project proposal and man, I am glad I did not go into the research field for a living! I'm really interested in my topic (using positive psychology-based methods to improve student happiness and overall success) but there's so much information that it gets frustrating to sort through it all sometimes. What keeps me going though is knowing that the reading and research I do will directly impact my students and my teaching--so that makes it all worth it in the long run :) On top of classes, I'm going through the job search process to hopefully find a teaching position for the fall. Although I'm really enjoying my classes, I can't wait to get back in the classroom full-time again. So fingers crossed that I can find somewhere as awesome as MEH and ACLA were/are!

Brian has, not surprisingly, been working his butt off. Intern year is much like people warned us it would be with him working long hours and sometimes crazy shift schedules. He still loves pediatrics, but we were both excited when he finally had a couple of rotations where he could take leave. We took advantage of his vacation days and were blessed to be able to do a fair amount of traveling during that time. 

First there was San Antonio for Nate the Great's wedding, 

then we went up to Seattle to visit Mama & Papa Taylor, 

and down to Portland to see sister Katy, Matt, & the kids,

and most recently we went out to Hawaii to spend some time with our friends Drew & Sara. 

Blessed really is the only word for it. As much as it stinks to be far away from family and many of our friends, I love that we live in a time where we can 1.) visit them so easily, 2.) keep connected via texts/calls/facebook, and 3.) pick up right where we left off. We love to travel and hope to do a lot more of it in the future to continue visiting family & friends. 

But it hasn't all been happy fun times. Brian's Aunt Joyce passed away in February. Death is never easy to deal with, so being able to visit his family was timely and healing. Aunt Joyce loved life, so toasting to her, sharing fond memories, and enjoying the trip with her on our minds seemed like things she would have wanted us to do. 

Living life to the fullest and loving those around us--that's really what it's all about, and what we hope to do.