Andrew's Journey

Today is a pretty important day for my family. Today Andrew takes his GRE. This test will help him as he spends the rest of this semester talking with potential graduate advisers and filling out applications to various grad schools all over the country. This test is an important factor in determining where we will be in about a year from now.

Getting to this point

When Andrew first went to school he made a lot of mistakes (and he'll admit to them, so don't think I'm a jerk!) haha. It was one year and one semester into his college education that we became engaged the day before Christmas Eve, and life took another exciting turn.

This was taken the day we got engaged December 23, 2007

That last semester before our June wedding was an interesting one. Andrew and I began to talk about his career goals, and he told me that he really had a passion for cooking. He always has from helping his mom in the kitchen growing up. Andrew really struggled with his career decisions because he wanted to be the provider for his family. (Andrew's traditionalism is something that I absolutely love about my husband, but it took me a long time to explain to him that I would much rather him find a way to provide that would make him happy rather than just financially secure.) So before school started again for the Spring semester we were looking at Culinary school options for the Fall.

Unfortunately, with Andrew's mind on Culinary school he sort of forgot that he was still attending school. He stopped going to classes, and then missed the drop date. He was stuck with a 15 credit hour semester of F's. But what did he care? This wouldn't effect culinary school!

Fast forward three years, Andrew is about to finish his Associates in Culinary Arts and has been working at various restaurants to support us (well mostly me as I finished up my Bachelor's degree). He's unhappy working in the kitchen, and feels the need to at least get a Bachelor's degree. For a while we talked about a business degree, or may nutrition to accompany the culinary degree....but another passion of Andrew's kept popping up. His love of animals.

Andrew's graduation from Culinary school (2011)

One of my favorite stories that Andrew's mom tells, is how she and Andrew's dad had to sit down with Andrew as a boy and explain to him that not everyone wants to talk about lizards all the time. haha This is so my Andrew! He's one of those people who will study something with all of his energy if he is truly interested in it. It may seem like Culinary school was a waste of his time, but I think it really showed him that he was capable of being great at something. (And who would complain about their husband getting a culinary degree?! I often say it was our best investment!)

I have now watched Andrew put in two years at Weber State University in the Zoology program. He has helped with numerous research projects and even secured a grant to study bees in Southern Utah. He received several awards and scholarships this year based mostly on his enthusiasm and efforts both in and out of the classroom. The grades from that fourth semester of college still present him with challenges. Especially now that he has decided he wants to go to graduate school. But it has only made him work harder to get good scores on his GRE.

Andrew's Zoology Service Award 2013

I can't explain fully the change in Andrew from high school to now. I know that he has never in his life studied so hard for a test as he has for his GRE that he is taking in a few hours. I know that this is the first time he has worked hard at something not directly related to his passion. (There isn't any biology on the GRE.) And mostly I know that I am lucky to have been by his side to watch the transformation. Many people look down on us for getting married so young, but I know that I have really gained so much from watching my partner become a godly man and leader.

Good luck on your test today my love, no matter the score I am so proud of your efforts and it shows me how dedicated you are to your goals. I love you. 

Zugspitze!

On the first day with my parents we packed up and left Munich for Garmish in my parents rental car. I was super excited that they were bring their car because I thought I could knock off one of my Bucket list items -- to drive on the autobahn of course! But alas, those Europeans still like their manual transmissions. So it looks like before I can cross that one off, I'm going to have to get around to that other Bucket list item learning to drive a stick shift.

The Zugspitze!

Before we even stopped at the hotel our first tourist attraction was the Zugspitze. We navigated our way from the bahnhof to the train that would take us to a cable car, that would take us to the highest point in the German Alps. I wasn't too impressed with this brilliant idea my parents had....after all I live in Utah, mountains aren't exactly new. Boy, was I wrong! This was my favorite part of the trip, second only to our time in Rothenburg.

First of all, I just have to share this adorable picture of my parents. My mom decided that she needed to use her newly bought hiking poles....let me just tell you there was absolutely no hiking involved. haha But she did look like a super cute skier.

So I think the best way to explain the experience is to take you on a ride!

First you take a nice scenic train ride. 

Then you take a short walk...

 

 And board the cable car! 

Once you hit the top, a snowball is a must! 

The cross marks the highest point in the German Alps. 

So there were a few things against us on this trip. The melting snow made it so that we couldn't actually do the hike to the golden marker at the highest point. And the visibility was not so great either. The picture above was taken at just the right moment, because for most of our lunch we couldn't even see it!  But looking at the photographs of the men who built this museum, having amazing discussions with my parents over cake and coffee, and watching my dad throw snowballs over the ledge made it one of my favorite stops on our trip. (Not to mention I got a killer red wool beanie, which I proceeded to wear for the duration of my trip!)

This is my graduation

Well, I did it. I finally finished my Master's degree on July 26, 2013. This has been a difficult degree to earn, not because the program is hard, but because the circumstances were not my favorite.

When I did my undergrad I was blessed to have Andrew working full time. I only worked 20 hours a week on campus, so I was able to take a more than full time load. I worked really hard to finish school in 3.5 years. (The half was student teaching, if I had chosen a different minor, I could have finished in 3.) I take a lot of pride in that. But I wasn't able to do that this time around.

I had my first full time job, and I was forced to go slow. I also took a semester break between degrees because I had planned to go a totally different route. Looking back, I'm glad that things worked out the way that they did, but there was a lot of hurt and disappointment when plan A fell through. Then I watched people I graduated with finish school back in December, and as stupid as it is...I felt jealous, and disappointed in myself. (Ok, I already called it stupid...so ease up already!)

In reality, it only took me 2 years and one summer class to finish up my degree. But it's felt like an eternity. I feel joy, relief, and excitement now that I have finished my MA. But...graduating in the summer means there are no graduation activities, and no graduation. What's more, is doing this 100% online has meant there is even less of a celebration. I have definitely made friends online, but not like I did in my undergrad.

So...Saturday I celebrated my graduation in the best way that I know how...

Dog Park - Andrew has become a true night owl lately, while I'm pretty well synched into my morning schedule. I woke up bright and early and decided I would take Archer out for more than just his business, I would take him on a nice little walk. One of the reasons why we ended up at our apartment complex, is because it allows German Shepherds and it has it's own little dog park. Archer recently was neutered and hasn't been allowed to play for almost a month now. (There were some complications.) So I walked him down to the dog park, and he had the time of his life! We met Earl (an American bulldog mix), Blue (an appropriately named Blue Heeler), Bear (a 7 month old Great Pyraneese) and MJ the lab. Archer had a blast and was laying down by the gate within an hour. I was glad I could let him play so hard, because I knew Andrew and I weren't going to be home much that day...

House Shopping - We started out our day looking at a potential house to rent. My hopes weren't high because it's not a traditional rental situation. One of Andrew's professors is going on a sabbatical and wanted us to rent his house while he is gone. After looking at the house and talking with the owner I was thrilled. We agreed to rent the house as soon as our current lease is up, and now I'm so excited about more space, a fenced back yard, and no more 3rd floor living!

Shopping - I debated getting a really expensive diploma frame for my MA degree. When I graduated with my undergrad I decided that I should wait and get the expensive frame for the bigger degree. However this time around I still couldn't bring myself to shell out $150 for a frame. So I decided that what I wanted was a really nice watch. It would be a nice reward to myself for finishing, and I would get a lot of use out of it. More than just hanging it on the wall. So I had a lot of fun trying on watches and was surprised by the watch I fell in love with. I had my heart set on rose gold, but ended up with this beauty!

Lunch - We headed to Park City to the Fossil outlet, and I decided to surprise my old boss's wife with her favorite cookies for her birthday. They caught us on the drive and offered to take us out to lunch up at their resort in East Canyon, since they were already headed there. We took them up on it, and enjoyed some awesome conversation and their kind-hearted generosity. (I honestly can't explain how much I love my old boss. He was an amazing man to work for, and he continues to help me even though he isn't my boss anymore.)

Pool - Andrew was a trooper. He shopped with me through the outlet mall, TJ Maxx, and World Market. So we decided to end our Park City day with one of his favorite activities. We found a place to play Billiards. Andrew is my little pool shark, and while pool isn't one of my favorite things to do I know that he loves it.

Pizza and a Movie - We ended the day with some pizza and a movie back at our place. I snuggled up with my puppy, and it was a really nice ending to a fun day! 

So I didn't get to dress up and walk across a stage. No family was able to come up for my special day, but I had my #1 supporter there with me and it's more than I could have asked for.

Happy to spend the day with this goof-ball