Last weekend we went to Washington! It was great.
First, the week leading up to our little trip was crazy. We were both so busy that neither of us really thought about our trip much until the morning of. But we made it through, and we took our homework with us when we went. Spencer's Aunt Sandy used to work for Alaska Airlines, so they hooked us up with transportation. Her husband, John, was so kind to fly down to Salt Lake, so we could fly for free as his companions. On our way back we got standby tickets through her, so they were cheap (and Dad covered them for us. Thanks, Dad!).
We went there for Spencer's Grandpa's 80th birthday. We both worked and Spencer had class on Friday, so we flew out Friday night and got to Grandma and Grandpa Thornock's house later that evening. We had some yummy dinner and had a really nice time talking and hanging out with everyone. Josh, Katy, and Carrina were there, along with Dad and two of his sisters. It was so good to see family and to meet some, too!
On Saturday most of them went to the Seattle Temple, and I got to spend some time with one of my best friends in the whole world! JUDI!! I haven't seen her for 3 years, I think, so I was really excited to go to Seattle so I could see her. It was so good to catch up and talk and just to see her again. We went to a cute little restaurant for breakfast and then did a little bit of shopping at the mall. After that, we went back to the house and had a little party for Grandpa. We ate a big ham lunch and then had cake and ice cream. We spent the afternoon playing card games and chasing Carrina around, and trying to squeeze some studying in where we could without too much away from our family time. I only took a couple of pictures, but I'll add them when I upload them from my camera.
At our wedding, Grandma had offered a Kitchenaid stand mixer to us if we ever were up in Washington and could get it. I had completely forgotten about that, but she didn't! She gave it to us and we managed to squeeze it into my carry-on and take it back with us! Haha. It was funny to see my suitcase go through the scanner thing at the airport. And a little embarrassing. The security guy promised it's not even close to the strangest thing he's seen go through. I've always wanted one, and I'm so happy to have it! I made some chocolate pies with it last night. :-) So, thanks Grandma! I want to try out some more bread recipes and things with it now.
We flew back home early Sunday morning. The afternoon flight was looking pretty full, so we took the 7 am one to be sure to get home that day. Josh and Katy flew with us, so we got to play with Carrina on the plane. She got a little stir-crazy, but was good. She loves Spencer. We were sad to leave Washington, but we're excited to see Dad again in just a couple of weeks, along with everyone else! We're going to try to take another trip up to Washington before we move out of Utah, too. It was such a nice weekend away, and even though we were worried out our midterms, we needed a break.
I had a midterm on Monday, and Spencer had one on Tuesday. We survived them, though neither of us have scores back yet. On Wednesday (yesterday), I had my dreaded Mammalogy Lab final. I studied on the plane, and over the weekend, and for about 4 hours Monday night, and 2.5 hours on Tuesday night before I hit a wall. Then I just kind of lost all of my motivation. I reviewed some more things on Wednesday before I had it, but I was mostly feeling resigned to my fate. I think it went alright, but I'm SO happy that it's over! I don't have a final in that class, either, so I'm totally done! Phew. That class has been a marathon of memorization. So, last night I got to take a break from studying. I made some french silk pies for a Christmas party in Spencer's office, caught up on some dishes, and bought and set up a little Christmas tree! I was listening to Darwin's Origin of Species on audio book while I did all of that. I have to finish that book before I can take my philosophy of biology final, as it's a requirement for the course. So, it was a productive, and really great night. Plus, having a Christmas tree in our apartment just makes me happy. I could only find 2 decorations and some candy canes for it though, so we might have to have a crafty night soon.
I'm kinda feeling like school is over, but it's not quite yet. I have two finals left and Spencer's got quite a bit of stuff to finish tonight, and then several finals. We're almost there, and I can't wait for break!
Oh, I almost forgot. I finally got my student teaching assignment! I'll be teaching 7th grade at a school just 2 miles north of campus, which is awesome because we share a car. I'll have 6 periods of 7th grade biology, with about 200 students total. Yikes. But, it's just one lesson to plan each day, so that's good. I'm excited. 7th graders are fun/crazy. My first day there will be January 7th.
Spencer's still waiting to hear from more medical schools. University of Michigan emailed him to let him know that, while they can't offer him an interview at this time, his application is still open. They might invite him to go interview in the future, but maybe not. So, that's that. It's not bad news, but it's like being on a wait list for interviews. So, we wait. And someday we'll know something.
Tonight we're going to the midnight showing of the Hobbit with James and Miranda. I can't wait!
I'm going to remind you later that you said that 7th Graders are fun.
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