Bethany's Wedding

On Saturday my cousin Bethany got married to a guy named Khord. The wedding was on a farm and was supposed to be outside, but due to the rain had to be moved inside. It still worked out really well and they made the best of it and had a beautiful ceremony and reception. I had fun hanging out with my family and taking tons of pictures per usual at family events. I uploaded the majority to facebook, but will add some here so you can have a small taste of the fun that was had. So Khord welcome to the crazy Hanson extended family.

Beginning of Summer

Now that I have 4 weeks of summer to reflect on I have done quite a bit so far. I don't have quite as many pictures as the end of the school year because I have been slacking on my picture taking so I apologize for that. Here's a bulleted list with some explanations of things that I've been up to so far this summer:

• Watched my dad graduate from Hawkeye and then went out to eat at Peppers
• Went to zoo brew with Courtney
• Made dinner with Courtney, Meron, and Emily at Meron's house and watched the Bachelorette
• Had happy hour at Granite City with Courtney, Meron, and Emily and caught up on how our rotations were going
• Went camping with my family for Memorial Day at Saylorville (it rained most of the weekend which wasn't that cool)
• Started my rotation
• Went to Minnesota to visit Chris and met some of his friends and hung out with him
• Hung out with Erin, Marc, Courtney, and Chris at Jethros, Blue Moon piano bar, and the farmers market (was also my first farmers market of the year)

I've had a pretty good summer far I just wish it would be a little nicer outside and not rain quite as much. Some other highlights include watching the first season of Arrested Development on Netflix, getting to the 51st level of Candy Crush. 

End of School Year Rewind

Since Traci recently reminded me that I haven't posted in quite some time I decided that I would do a couple recap posts of what I've been up to lately. I really don't have an excuse of why I haven't blogged. I mainly just forgot about it.

The end of the school year was full of a lot of time spent with friends, which was really nice.

For relays weekend it was great to spend time with friends who came back to Drake and just seeing people that I haven't seen around Drake in awhile. Intervarsity sponsored a free taxi service and so Courtney and I helped out by passing out cards on Thursday night at one of the bars. We had some nice conversations with people and all the students were really excited and appreciative of the free taxi service and the ability to get home safely. The actual relay events were also a lot of fun and the weather was really nice so that is always a plus.  I also went along with some friends to all 4 campus bars, which was something that Courtney, Erin, and I have been talking about for the past year. We finally did it and had fun. I also ran my first (and probably only) half marathon on the Sunday of relays.

I also spent quite a bit of time with the ladies from yellow house. We did a lot of random hanging out those last few weeks of school, which was a good time. I'm really glad that these girls came into my laugh during pharmacy school because otherwise these last couple of years would have been quite a bit worse.

Some other highlights of the end of the school year included:

• VEISHEA: introduced Courtney to the celebration and also hung out with Isaac, Carina, and some of their friends
• Had my cousins bridal shower in the great town of Castana
• Courtney's parents were in town and we went to the Flying Mango (a restaurant where we have wanted to eat at since freshman year)
• Mother's Day picnic with my family and grandparents
• Pinning ceremony: all the of the pharmacy students got a pin and nametag before we went to go on rotations
• P3 party bus: after our last final most of our class went together on a party bus
• Finished my classes and took my finals now I'm done with classes forever

I think those are the only big things that happened in the last few weeks of school or at least what I can really remember. It's crazy to me that the school year ended 4 weeks ago and that I won't be in school anymore. It still hasn't fully sunk in to me yet. Here are some pictures from the end of the school year events:

Courtney and I at the parade

Siblings at the parade

Erin, Laura, and Nikki downtown

Some of the members of the old FYS reunited downtown

Chris and I at the relays

Pharmacy girls during relays

Erin, Courtney, Nikki and I at the library

Friends after the half

Family after the half

Grandma and me

Chris and me

At Flying Mango

With the mothers

With the grandparents

Family

Party bus

Pinning Ceremony

Christmas Festivities

Sorry it's been awhile. I was busy with end of the semester things and then Christmas, and Urbana, and I just didn't blog. But I'm back for at least a few days with some posts about what I've been up to.

My Christmas festivities started the Saturday after I was done with finals (December 15). We continued my moms family tradition of going bowling and wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. More people participated this year, which was nice and also funny. We make up strange things for us to do while bowling instead of normal bowling. For instance granny style, backwards, under someone's leg, etc. It's a lot of fun to just be silly with the family. The top 4 scores from the first 2 rounds of bowling then played a championship to determine this years winner. Isaac took away the top prize of the "traveling" trophy. I say traveling like that because it's supposed to be traveling, but people just leave it at my grandparent's house (which they love).

Then I sunday I helped with the Christmas program at Hope. My job was to help walk my class up front and then back to our classroom. It was a really cute program based on How the Grinch Stole Christmas and they all did a great job of memorizing their lines and knowing the actions the songs.

On the 22nd we headed to my dad's side for Christmas. We did the usual gift exchange-this years theme was 'as seen on tv'. I ended up getting grey away and a hearing aid thing. I really wanted a chia tree, but it was stolen from me too many times. It was good to see a lot of my cousins that I haven't seen for a while and to catch up with my family.

On Christmas Eve we went to my grandparent's church for our traditional oyster soup and chicken noodle soup dinner before the service. This is with my grandma's side of the family so a lot of our extended relatives. I mainly hung out with Carina and Isaac and a few of my younger cousins. Isaac and Carina also began to master the art of cats cradle once again with the help of my aunt and her smart phone.

Christmas day we woke up and my grandpa's side of the family came over for the day. We have Swedish pancakes and then catch up throughout the morning. We also usually have frozen pizza and beef stew for lunch. I spent the day talking with family and then played some games with my younger cousins. After everyone started leaving Carina, Isaac, and I went to the movie Silver Linings Playbook in Sioux City. My cousins from my mom's side Lacey and Kylie were also there so we sat with them. It was a really good movie that I would recommend to anyone.

We celebrated Christmas with my immediate family on the 26th when we were all back home.

Thanksgiving Break Recap: Sunday

On Sunday we also slept in since driving to and from Brookings wiped us out. We then headed back to my grandparents and had lunch. We then got to work on making a family Christmas tradition of cookies-that I don't know how to spell.

After making the cookies we also set up my grandparents Christmas tree (we're getting really good at this) and then we hung out for a bit at my grandparents before we each headed back to school.

Thanksgiving Break Recap: Saturday

Earlier in the week my mom got the idea for us to go to the SDSU playoff game and my dad, Carina, and I also thought that was a good idea (Isaac's a loser-which should explain everything). So we decided that we were going to go.

We got up early for the 4.5 hour drive to Brookings and also used our experience from the previous day and dressed up even warmer. We arrived to SDSU and were greeted by Kris at the family and friends of the players tailgate. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the Shafrath's and Pratt's at the game and even better that the jackrabbits won and are moving on to the next round of playoffs.

I had a lot of fun at the game and really enjoyed the atmosphere. It reminded me a lot of high school football in that way that everyone seemed to know everyone. It may have just been because I was around the players friends and family so they all knew each other.

Thanksgiving Break Recap: Friday

On Friday we woke up and headed to Ames for the ISU game. It was going to be a cold one so we tried to put on as many clothes as we good as you can tell from Carina in the picture below looking so (not) stylish.

While we were outside tailgating it wasn't too bad or cold. Then my mom and I went to our seats on the hillside and were sitting on the ground and not a lot of people were around us and we got really cold. We were planning on leaving the game early anyway because we were going to Beauty and the Beast so we decided to call my grandma at halftime to see if she would be ready to pick us up and found out that she was actually on her way to Ames already to shop and such until we were ready to go. So my mom, Carina, and I headed out from the game and she picked us up.

It's strange that the ISU regular season is done. I will miss going to the games on Saturdays and it's strange not knowing where I will be next football season so I don't know if I will be able to watch the games at Jack Trice.

After the game we headed to a few stores in Ames to do a little shopping and then changed our clothes in the Starbucks bathroom, which was an adventure in itself. Then we headed to Ankeny and ate before heading to Beauty and the Beast at the Civic Center.

Beauty and the Beast was great and I really enjoyed watching it. It was really similar to the movie and so I knew all the songs and were able to sing along (in my head of course). It was also longer than I expected it to be, but the time just flew by. They really did an amazing job with the performance!

Thanksgiving Break Recap: Thursday

For Thanksgiving we headed to my Grandma and Grandpa Albers house for festivities. After stuffing our faces with tons of delicious food the family headed to a farm to go shooting. It's become a new found love of my family to go shooting at events such as camping or whenever we're all together. I've never actually shot a gun, so this year was a first for me. I found out that I am too weak to hold the gun for very long and I didn't actually hit the clay, but I at least shot it. Here are some pics from the fun:

After the shooting adventure we went back to my grandparents. My cousins Alicia, Brooke, mom, and Carina all played the Game of Things and had a lot of fun. It would have been a little better if halfway through the game more people didn't come and listen to what we were saying, but it was still a good time.

After that people started snacking some more and then started to head home. We stayed for awhile because I wanted to watch Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade on the Hallmark channel, but part way through the movie my dad reminded us that he had to work in the morning so we headed home. I made it home in time to watch the ending so that was good.

Thanksgiving 2012 was a successful one I will say. It was a little disappointing not going to the Hanson side as well, but we will get to see them for Christmas so that will be great!

Thanksgiving Break Recap: Wednesday

I'm going to do a little recap of my Thanksgiving break the rest of this week so I hope you enjoy it. These next few posts will probably be my last until after finals, but I'm not for sure.

I had class until 4 on Tues. and headed home after that. I didn't do too much at home that night so that's why I'm not really including it.

Wednesday I got to sleep in, which is always welcome. Then I ate breakfast and attempted to do a little homework. I didn't really get anything done [and that was the only amount I got done while at home]

In the afternoon my mom made us put up our Christmas tree. Last year we ended up not putting one up, which was fine with my siblings and I, but not my mom so she made sure we did it over Thanksgiving break this year. I'm not really sure why we aren't a fan of putting up our Christmas tree, but none of the 3 of us really like it. It may be some suppressed event in the final.

Then I went with Traci to her church for their annual Thanksgiving potato bar. I've gone with her either the past 3 or 4 years we really couldn't remember. This year the potatoes were extra good so it was a wonderful dinner. After eating we went to her church's Thanksgiving service. After the service we headed back to her house.

I helped Traci make snicker salad with her mom and then we just chatted for awhile. It was great to catch up since I haven't actually talked to her in quite some time. We also got scared by a little mouse that was in her house. We probably should have tried to give it a cookie, but instead tried to set a trap, which didn't work. After chatting for awhile I headed back home and went to bed.

Haunted Forest

Today I was in Ames to give flu shots at ISU during the day and then I stuck around and studied a bit while Isaac finished classes and such. Then Isaac, one of his friends (Will), and I went out to eat. We went to a mexican restaurant in Ames and then we hung out for a bit before going to the Haunted Forest.

I've always wanted to go to the Haunted Forest in Ames, but I never have anyone to go with. The friends that I've asked to go all say no. I believe I've also asked Isaac in the past and his usual answer is no. This year though I decided to try again and I was surprised when he said yes.

So we traveled to the Haunted Forest and got our ticket and waited in line. As we were waiting in line we discovered we were the only people over 14 in line. I told the boys that this was going to be so much fun and it would be a blast. They weren't so sure.

We finally entered the forest. It really wasn't that scary since I don't think we were the target audience. We ended up pretty much just going for a little walk through the forest were we had a few people pop out at us, scream at us, talk to use, or follow us with a chainsaw.

Overall, I'm glad I did it because I've always wanted to. I don't think it was probably worth the $11 we paid, maybe $5 would have been more appropriate. If you ask Will or Isaac though I'm sure they will tell you that they had SO MUCH FUN ;)

Catch Up

Well I seem to be doing lots of catch-up posts lately so sorry about that. I'm not going to say that I will for sure start blogging regularly, but I will try to more consistent for the rest of the semester.

Here is what I have been up to since August when school started.

• I go to school everyday, but Friday. I'm usually pretty busy with school related things and tend to have a least 1 test and 1 quiz each week if not more than that (hence the lack of blogging)
• So far my classes have been going pretty well and I'm enjoying the majority of my classes as well
• I've started looking at rotations for next year. I'm for sure going to Alaska for my ambulatory care rotation and I'm also looking at doing a rotation in India, possibly for the FDA, and some at a variety of other locations throughout the country, but mainly in Iowa. It's crazy that I'm starting to actually look at rotation!
• I've been watching Iowa State games and have gone to 3. My grandpa has actual seats this year and I got to sit in them for 1 game, but was on the hill for the other 2. Iowa State has been playing pretty well so far and the games have been really packed so it's been a lot of fun. Hopefully they will pick it up after last game and win some more games so it's a little better to watch!
• I went home one weekend and ran a 5k with Traci and Halie. Traci and I also made an appearance at a high school football game where Deb and Aaron met us. It was great to catch up a bit with all of these people and running was fine as well I guess.
• I've started going to "study tables" with a group of my pharmacy friends. That is what we are calling it where we go to each others houses and study on Sunday evenings. Depending on what class we are studying for it tends to be more just eating and chatting and less studying, but it's a lot of fun. I'm glad that I have this small group of girls to keep me sane during some parts of pharmacy school.
• I'm a leader for KQ (Sunday School) and Powerlife (confirmation) this school year. It's a lot of fun so far and I'm leading a great group of kids. 
• Lutheran Church of Hope is currently doing an all church study on The Story. It's been really great so far. The sermons, all children's programming, and adult studies are doing topics based on the weeks reading. So far I've really liked it especially since I'm doing it with all different age groups. I love looking at each story for a little bit different perspective.
• I went to the movie Pitch Perfect on Tuesday and it was amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone. It's hilarious!
• I've been doing quite a bit so far this semester for my pharmacy experiential hours. I'm doing some hours at an ER so that is really cool to be able to see what a pharmacist can do in an ER setting. Also I gave flu shots for the first time yesterday and I'll be giving some more on Friday and Saturday.

Ok that's all I have for now and can remember doing this first month and a half of school. If I remember any other highlight I will be sure to share it, but I don't think there was much more since I mainly just go to school and work.

Jester Park

Last weekend my family went camping (big surprise) and we went to a park that we hadn't been to before. Jester Park is near Ankeny and we got there Thursday and I left on Sunday. The park has tons of walking trails, a bison and elk exhibit, and a natural playscape. It was fun to walk around and go exploring. Here's the breakdown of the weekend and also some pics at the end.

Thursday:

• I got there after work and then my dad and I went to Grimes and had some Chinese food since it was just the 2 of us.
• We drove around the park for a bit to see what was all there
• Then I spent the rest of the evening watching the olympics
• My mom and Isaac around around midnight

Friday:

• We ate breakfast and did some other random things
• We explored the park a bit more-this time by foot. We went on some of the walking trails, saw the bison/elk, bird blind, and the natural playscape
• I made Isaac take some pics with me, but he wasn't really having any of it

Saturday:

• Woke up and went to the farmer's market
• Then we went to my uncles house and saw where I would be living this year and looked at what furniture I would need to bring. We also talked to them for a bit.
• Went back to the campground and Carina and Kyle came. 
• Isaac left to move back into school
• We ate supper and after supper went exploring some more.
• My mom, Carina, Kyle, and I went on some different trails and walked to the bison/elk and natural playscape
• Carina was much more willing to take pics so we had some nice pics from that
• After our walk we got dad and we went to the High Tressle Trail Bridge since Carina hadn't been in the dark and took some pics there

Sunday:

• Carina went back to camp
• Mom, dad, and I went on a bike ride and went back to the bridge so we could see it in the daylight
• I then headed back home so I could make it in time to watch the closing ceremony

It was a nice little weekend of camping. We ended up pretty much just staying around the campground, which was nice and relaxing. Normally I like to go do a bunch of stuff, but this was a nice break.

Fourth of July Festivities

I saw lots of fireworks the week of the 4th. On Saturday June 30th I saw some while camping. On the 3rd I watched them in Hampton, the 4th in Urbandale, and the 7th in Waterloo.

For the 3rd my mom, Isaac, and I went to a family friends house near Beeds Lake and watched the fireworks from her driveway. I've never seen the Beeds Lake fireworks before and have always heard how horrible and slow they were, but I didn't think they were too bad. There wasn't too long of pauses between them so maybe they were better than usual this year I'm not really sure.

On the 4th I headed to Des Moines and went to the Ramada Inn, which has an indoor waterpark. There I met up with Courtney and her mom, and her cousin Kelly and Kelly's kids. During spring break of my sophomore year I went with Courtney to New Mexico and stayed with Kelly's family. It was great to see them all again and to hang out all the pool pretty much all day. I was really sore the next day from all the swimming, carrying, etc. that we did that dad. After swimming we went out to eat at Applebees. Then we separated and Courtney and I met up with Amy, Matthew, Steph, Amanda, and a couple other people and went to the fireworks in Urbandale. They were pretty good fireworks and listening to Amy's comments while watching was very entertaining. 

On Saturday I headed to Waterloo to hang out with Traci. I got there sometime in the afternoon and talked with Traci and Anna for a while. Then Traci and I left and went to Walmart, Hobby Lobby, and Staples to do some errands. When we got back we made some guacamole (which was delicious and I ate a ton of it) and grilled brats and ate that. Then we watched the movie the Ides of March, and then walked over to where they were shooting off fireworks and watched them. In the morning I went to church with Traci and then we spent some time watching Wimbledon. So now I'm very knowledgeable about tennis ;)

Camping some more

If you couldn't tell already we've gone camping quite a bit this summer. The last weekend of June we went camping at Little Wall Lake near my grandparents house with my grandparents and aunt and uncle.

On Friday I went to Des Moines to meet up with Erin. There we did a bit of shopping and I bought a new pair of running shoes, then we went to the movie Magic Mike, and then went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was great to see her again and catch up.

Then I headed to the campground and talked a bit and then headed to bed. On Saturday we got up early and headed to Des Moines for the farmers market. Carina and I had a little fun in the car with the strange straps that are there and I locked her up. At the market we each got a breakfast burrito and then walked around a bit and looked at everything. It was pretty hot out so we didn't stay for too long.

Then we headed around the Ames/DSM/Story City area for some Junkin' in June. My aunt and cousin were looking for some things so we all went together. I think everyone found a few treasures while we were out doing that.

We went back to the campground, showered, and then watched some of the boat races. It really wasn't that fun because there wasn't that many boats out there racing by the time we got there. So Carina and I ended up doing a little photoshoot.

After that we hung out for the rest of the evening, watched some fireworks, and chatted. On Sunday we  loaded up the camper and headed home.