Our adventurous weekend in D.C

After Bear turned in his dissertation we headed to D.C for a long weekend.  We needed a getaway and Bear needed some time to relax and free his mind from thinking. D.C is one of  our favorite cities and our best friend lives there (see pic above) so it seemed like the perfect getaway. 

^ We arrived on Thursday night and had all day Friday to explore and play tourist.^

^Exploring the Library of Congress.^

^Touring the Capital. Bear was very focused on learning all about the statues in the rotunda. :) ^ 

^On the roof top of the Newseum.^

Friday evening we met up with some of Bear's old high school friends. I'm kicking myself that we didn't get a picture of all of them. It was so fun watching Bear be among some of his old friends. They went through old year books and told funny stories about each other. 

 On Saturday we walked all around the Mall and Tidal Basin. Bear has been reading a book on Thomas Jefferson and wanted to go spend some time at his memorial.  

^Thanks Ryan for taking one of my favorite pictures of us. ^ 

^ Cheering for the Gators. They had just made a touch down. ^ 

Later in the day we headed to the bar to watch the UF football game. That was probably one of the highlights of the trip.  I wish I would of gotten a picture of the entire bar. It was decorated all in Orange and Blue and was packed with people cheering for the Gators.

^Sunday Brunch^ 

We ended the weekend with Sunday brunch and a stroll around the portrait gallery.

Shento had a Birthday

Shento had a birthday last month and we celebrated. It has become a little family tradition celebrating the pups b-day. Shento loves it because he gets all the treats, rubs, and attention a dog could ask for. 

A couple years ago, Bear and I started having a dog birthday cake cook-off. We would allow ourselves a certain amount of time, a pantry full of ingredients (dog friendly of course), and Shento determined the winner by eating the 'winning' cake first. 

^Shento got extra spoiled this year because my co-worker brought him some adorable puppy cupcakes. If we're being honest I think he liked those best. ^  

^ The winning pup cakes. It's amazing what you can do with pumpkin, flour and oats. ^

Happy Birthday to our little puppy. I can't believe it's been 8 years since we first met you at the dog park. When I first saw you and your long droopy ears, I ran to Bear telling him I was going to steal you. Little did I know your foster mom was standing a mere inch away from me and heard my plan of attack to grab you, run through the dog park and take you home. She politely told me that I didn't have to steal you, I could adopt you. And i'm so glad we made that decision eight years ago.

camp DISS

Camp DISS 

definition: Camp Dissertation: an intensive couple weeks that consist of getting very familiar with the computer screen and key board, understanding the effects of not sleeping, comprehending the meaning of reading, writing, editing and re-writing, acknowledging you’re hungry but knowing that chocolate has all the nurtirance that you need and it’s easy to eat, and lastly managing the stress by giving yourself multiple large knots in your neck and back area that take weeks to go away.

Sound fun? Sign up for a PhD program and you will get to enjoy all of that. 

A couple weeks ago Bear turned in the first draft of his dissertation to his advisor. This is the last big step (beside apply to jobs) that he will take in his PhD program. The stack of paper that he printed is an accumulation of years of research and hard work. It feels slightly unreal that this entire process of being a grad students wife is winding down. But as the wife, I couldn't be more excited about what the future holds and proud of all of Bears hard work.