28th Bday-Now I'm offically closer to 30 than 25

Last weekend, Chad and I went to Chicago to visit Kristin and Andy and celebrate my 28th birthday! It was a great weekend! We had lots of yummy food, including Hot Doug's sausages , yummy and plentiful tapas from Baba Reeba's, and fushi (sushi but made with fruit) from Orange. We also went on a boat cruise and got to see all of the unique architecture that Chicago has to offer. All in all, it was a great weekend trip. Thanks for being great hosts, Kristin and Andy (and Milo).

High School Flashback

Soooooo...........I'm off to my TEN YEAR High School Reunion this weekend. It's very weird to think that I've been out of high school for ten whole years. Well, I'm technically in a high school every day for my profession but that doesn't count because now I am the one in charge!

I have absolutely no idea how this will turn out. No set expectations. All of my best friends from high school (Lauren, Sarah, Holly, Jessica, and Melissa) are going though so we'll make it fun no matter what!

1998 Princeton High School class rules!

I heart Colorado

This past week, Kristin, Andy, Chad, and I had an AWESOME vacation in Colorado! We have tons of pictures (500+ compliments of Chad, the photographer) so I'll only include some of the best here.

Highlights of our vacation:
We spent the first night in Boulder sampling all of their food and tasty brews. We were celebrating Chad and I's engagement and just being on vacation! Here's a beautiful view of the mountains. Seeing these mountains in the background every day is definitely something that I could get used to!

After experiencing everything that Boulder had to offer, (except the scones at the tea house-I'm still bitter about that) we all headed off to our cabin in Peaceful Valley for the next six days and nights. It was an idyllic cabin, complete with our very own boulder in the raging river in our backyard. Here are some pictures.

Once we got settled in, our wildlife extravaganza began. We saw tons of wildlife in the RMNP (about an hour from Peaceful Valley). Here are some of my favorites.

We also did TONS of hiking. The extreme elevation made this hiking some of the hardest that I have ever done. It's amazing what two miles elevation makes in your ability (or inability to breathe). Chad and I even climbed a "mountain" the last day we were there. That was the hardest hike that I have ever done. I'm not sure that I'm going to the miss all of the uphill hiking of Colorado, but the scenery was totally worth it!

Yes, that is waist deep snow on our hike.

Also, we took some photos at the Continental Divide!

In addition to the hiking, we also decided to risk our lives on a White Water Rafting expedition on the Cache le Poudre river. Click on the below links for a video and pictures of our excursion. It was a lot of fun, until the last Class IV+ rapids where I thought that I was going to become a widow before I even got a chance to marry Chad.

Video here:http://www.vimeo.com/1214246

Photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kristin.sutter/RaftingCacheLaPoudre

All in all, our vacation was one of the best that I've ever had. Kristin and Andy are fun vacation partners! Also, if you want a more detailed description of our vacation day-by-day, go to Kristin's blog: www.kristinsutter.blogspot.com

The skyline in Columbus is very drab compared to Colorado...

I am now part of the engaged world...

If you don't already know the exciting news....Chad and I are engaged! HUGE SURPRISE!

First off, here are a few pictures of the ring above. I have had several requests for a picture. However, it's much more sparkly and perfect in person. I also received a dozen red roses from Chad. They are gorgeous, as you can see from the pic above! He had them delivered to me at school. Ah...how sweet! I also received another bouquet from Kristin and Andy--they were waiting for me at home after school. What a nice sister:) That's the colorful bouquet pictured above.

Anyway, here's the story. First off, I'll give you some background: I told Chad that I really wanted my proposal to be a complete surprise. He surpassed all expectations of a surprise. I had absolutely no idea when, where or how it was coming. I told a friend earlier in the week that I thought that we would get married in a year or so...haha! Obviously, I had NO idea this was coming.

Monday morning (6/9/08) I woke up for my last day of school--it was a teacher day with no students so it was a low stress day. I went to wake Chad up before I left and he was acting all stubborn about getting out of bed. Imagine that--Chad acting all stubborn:) So, I proceeded to tell him in my best teacher voice that he needed to get up NOW or he was going to be late. He called me in to the room one last time and I fully expected to see him laying back down in bed; instead, he was down on one knee with a ring. I thought that I was dreaming--there was at least 30 seconds of silence where my mind was trying to comprehend the situation in front of me. I was 100% shocked, but very excited and happy!

Chad did a wonderful job both with the proposal and the ring. I couldn't have wished for anything more. We're just enjoying our engagement now--no plans for a wedding yet!

Rain=Misery

This is me smiling. The only smiling that I did on this particular backpacking trip is on Saturday and when we got to our car on Sunday.

Things I've learned:

1. Carrying a backpack on your back makes hiking at least twice as hard.

2. Water is heavy.

3. Mud makes hiking at least twice as hard.

4. Sleeping on a hard ground sucks.

5. Rain makes everything very wet, very heavy, and very awful!

6. And for some positives--the trail that we went on was beautiful!

7. Freeze dried food really isn't all that bad.

8. Chad is an excellent planner--all of our food, water, equipment, maps, etc. worked perfectly.

9. Chad and I are tougher than I originally thought.

10. Chad is an eternal optimist, even in the rain when I'm yelling at him.

Quick Overview of the Trip:

Saturday: Arrived at 3 and hiked for 5 hours for a total of approximately 9-10 miles. Stopped to set up camp when we were deliriously tired. Sleeping on the ground without an air mattress is not fun, even when you're dead tired.

Sunday: It wasn't supposed to rain until 11 or 12 in the afternoon; however, we woke to raindrops on the tent at 6:30/7. Then, I spent the worst morning hiking that I have ever experienced. It was absolute misery. I actually cried...twice. I wanted to give up countless times but I had to keep sloshing through the deep mud, hills, tree branches, and never ending trail because I had to keep going or die. At 10:30, 5-6 miles later, our nightmare ended when we reached the car.

Even though I was intent upon selling my recently purchased backpack on ebay on Sunday, I think that I'll backpack again...when there is no rain.

Adventure?

In about a half hour and counting, Chad and I are about to leave for our first ever backpacking excursion. It's about two hours away from Columbus and we're going by ourselves. Here's the link to the trail: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wayne/recreation_sites/trails/wildcat_hollow.html

I wanted to make sure and post just in case we never make it back.

Hope everyone else enjoys their weekend of nice hot showers and flushing toilets.

Jenn

Beautiful scenery

Look, I posted a picture! So, enjoy this beautiful scenery and relax. I'm sure that you deserve it. I already can't wait for the weekend...

This is a picture of the Grand Teton Mountains, where Chad and I have gone for the past two summers. However, we're going to the Rocky Mountains this summer and I bet that I'll have better pics then!