"I want to ride my bicycle...."

We had a busy, fun weekend, and went on a grueling great bike ride through Branford...the cutest little New England town you've ever seen. The road we were on was lined with beautiful homes, tiny views of marsh land, fresh leaves and vibrant flowers. 

Josh, Mattie, and Daniel 100% kicked my buns! I still had a great time and appreciated everyone's moral support :) Poor Daniel even walked with me up the wimpy hills that I couldn't cycle up...what a guy!

(bonus points if you know what song the title of this post if from...without googling it!)

Cadaver Ball and Some Dance Moves

I have to back track to post some pictures of Daniel's Cadaver Ball. It is a formal event held to honor the donor cadavers that were used by the med school students during anatomy lab in the fall.

 As I explained this to my Stepdad Larry, he said 'That sounds a little creepy'. Haha, I agree. But I think to the med students, who had to saw off their cadaver's legs, holding this ball is the nicest, uncreepiest thing they've done all year :)

Study Group! They've been through a lot together.

DB, Travis, Kaitlin, Dramos

 Among Daniel's classmates, he is not 'Daniel' anymore. He is "Dramos" 100% of the time. In the fall, everyone recieved a nickname, and Daniel's is randomly one of the most popular and well used among the class. When they are referring to myself and Daniel, we become the "Dramos's".

[how do you make things that end in an s plural again?]

 

This is Daniel's famous Snooki dance. Snooki is a girl from TV that Daniel impersonates very well with this dance move. I'm pretty sure every time he does it, one of his classmates will pee their pants laughing hysterically. The rest yell "DRAmoos!"

I might get in trouble for posting this one :)

Babysittin'

Besides my CES job, I babysit the cutest little boy named Orion. It's usually just once, sometimes twice a week, but during April, Orion's mom Eva went on a 2 week trip to Venice. Very exciting for her! I had the opportunity to watch Orion day after day, and we had quite a fun time together. 

Bright Blue Eyes and Super Blond Hair.....and Dimples! 

This was on one of our many shuttle rides around town. Eva is much better at writing how Orion speaks, but this is my best attempt at 'Ride the Shuttle' 

"Ida suddle? Okaaay"

I am called "Az-a-ze" 

 I love this one for some reason. Such a toddler. Bubbles. Phone. Not a care in the world.

 We visited a pet store one day...

...And slid down the big red slide a million times every day :)

He's become one of my favorite people here in New Haven. He's 2, very sweet, and VERY smart.

Fun Family Weekend

Daniel's mom and sister came to visit us last weekend! We had fun checking out New Haven, New York, and attended Daniel's 'White Coat' Ceremony. 

My pictures don't cover the whole weekend, but here are a few. These are of the ceremony
where all the PA class recieved their nice, professional 'white coats', marking the beginning
stage of becoming a clinician.

Daniel is hiding on the back row, just to the mid-right.

Raquel GREW this artichoke! It's her first baby 'artie' ever, and she flew it up to Connecticut to share with us :)
This sentence pretty much sums up Raquel. 

We went on a Yale Tour, checked out the British Art Museum, ate lunch at 'the carts' (a must), went to the Manhattan Temple, ate at Garry's Papaya and Magnolia bakery. Walked through central park, went to the MET art museum, and visited with Aunt Connie and Uncle Jeff. It was a great weekend, and we are so glad they were able to come visit us! 

p.s. there are flowers in central park too! 

Spring is Springing!

So, I recently heard an opinion that the phrase 'spring has sprung' is much too past tense, and not appropriate to use during spring while everything is still springing :)

Anyway you phrase it, spring is here in New Haven and I have loved being apart of it. I've been outside so much, and able to take a couple photos here and there of all the blooming plant life! I am slightly obsessed with flowers...and so, most of my pictures are of just that. Flowers. Lots and Lots of them! 

 Welcome to Spring Time at Yale!

A spark.

I'm not really sure what I've been up to these past few weeks (ok, well I have been working a lot more...) but still all the sudden, I find myself desperately wanting to expand, grow, do more, learn more, see more, create more. I felt this way (over ambitious might be a good word) a month or two ago, but the feeling has been absent for a while. I am so curious as to how/why my mood has changed so instantaneously. I think half of it has to do with the fact that it's getting warmer outside! My desires and efforts have shifted to outdoor activities. Still I'd prefer my ambitions be a steady stream, and less of a flash flood :)  My new ideas are to: do more photography (started), tackle a huge organization project throughout my house (started), finish decorating my bedroom, begin 2 flower gardens (started), grill more food outside, visit NYC each month (went this weekend)....and these are just the ideas I've thought about considerably, not the quick, in-and-out random thoughts.

We'll see how it goes :) I'll post some new photos of spring soon! It's so sO SOOOO beyond beautiful here right now! It's my first real spring, and I'm loving it! 

Ethan, Ethan, Ethan!!!

We had a mini photo shoot while in Honeymoon Island, he did a great job don't ya think? Ethan is Daniel's second cousin (i think) and new best friend. They had a lot of fun together over the break :) On the last day of our visit, Ethan really began to start walking! It was so exciting and fun to be there watching it all happen. We love this little guy! His parents are pretty cool too :)