Fourth of July @ Carter Lake

The two weeks leading up to the holiday weekend were filled with change in life and work. I am not sure which was harder. As many of you know I have been involved with someone for the past ten months and we are no longer involved. For the first time in my adult life I was involved with someone that I truly respected and enjoyed being with, but sometimes life just gets in the way. And in the end our timing in life just couldn't blend. I miss him, but I have hardly had time to think about it.

All the changes at work have been fabulous. I am really having a great time with my new team and with mid-year assessment coming up in the next couple of weeks, I am looking forward to see how my progress stacks up against the rest of the team. The biggest adjustment has been my time schedule. I am in bed by 8P most nights and the alarm goes off at 430A. I really like my daily stop at Starbucks and being in the office by 615A. Its quiet and refreshing. And my new office looks east towards Mt Hood, so the sunrises are an added bonus to the early morning.

In addition to the work and life craziness, I had two large projects for school that I wanted completed before I headed to Colorado for six days. The goal was to get away from my life with no laptop or textbooks. Ten days before I left, this idea seemed impossible, but after some long days, I made it. Both papers were completed and turned in on the 30th of June, and I was FREE.

So, I hopped a plane on the 2nd of July and headed to Colorado. The first two days included painting Laura's kitchen...yellow to blue. I love the new color and might have to borrow it for my own kitchen one day. By Thursday afternoon Laura, Ryan, Sadie and I were driving north to Carter Lake to meet the rest of the crew. We played for four days in the sun and had a great time. I got plenty of sleep and relaxation. By Monday I was spending the day with Ryan and attacking all the laundry. Sadie came over for dinner and by 8P, she and I were off to the airport for my trip home.

Enjoy the photos!