Yes, we have been away for two months now, and our apologies. It's been a busy few months, and so far, everything's been going well for us.
Christmas was a slight downer for us. Because of Jen's back, travel was out of the question, and Christmas Eve and Day were over an hour away. Doesn't sound like too much now, but Jen's back was acting up on her (we think probably from the cold), so we celebrated quietly at home. On Christmas Day, Jen's parents stopped by for a quick dinner, but aside from that, there wasn't much going on. We did not even put up a tree, but we managed to decorate our mantle at least!
FYI - We also barely kept awake for New Year's... so ONTO 2011!!
Before Jen's accident, her sister thought it would be a cool idea to go to Disneyland as a family. The plane tickets were a bargain, and we all ended up in a suite at the Disneyland Hotel, so that was a blast! In total, 11 people went: Us two; Jen's oldest sister; Jen's other sister, her husband and three girls plus a friend; and Jen's sister-in-law and nephew. We were there for almost 3 full days, and instead of posting photos directly in the blog, we'll put a slide show on the side for your enjoyment.
Disneyland was the beginning of a round of good things for us. About a week later, Jen got an email from CSU, Northridge, telling her she had been accepted into their online Master's degree program! She will be the first of her four siblings to go to graduate school, the first of her cousins on her mom's side, and the first to go for a Master's on her dad's side (she has two cousins that are lawyers, though, so not the only one to do post-grad work!). Since it's entirely online, we can stay here and not have to look for another place or new jobs. Her first classes start in May, with a two week "orientation" to make sure she's got her computer set up properly.
A week after that, we celebrated Jen's 30th birthday. Although it felt like the party lasted more than just the day. The Wednesday before, her office threw her a party and bought her Sprinkle's cupcakes. That weekend, we went shopping for some essentials and had a blast just hanging out, but couldn't go anywhere because we were also house-sitting, and on Monday, we went out with two families from church, the Snows and the Bishops, to go get Five Guys, a new burger place near us. The next day, when she returned to work, and her sister (Who also works at Stanford) brought balloons on their carpool together. Here she is entering the office with them:
Then, we had a party on the Superbowl for her! It's a long story, but Jen's birthday clashes with this event, so since it was such an important year, her folks came to our house for a "surprise" party. (We say "surprise" loosely because she started to find out that weekend that SOMETHING was going on)
Also, on February 1, Jen became a complete, full-time employee! She already was permanent since September, but she was at 30 hours/week, and now she is 100% time. This means a little less time at home, but a bit more money, so we're happy for that at least!
Despite working more, we've still found time to have some fun. Last week, since Jeff had the weekend off, we decided to hit the Tech Museum for their exhibit, Body Worlds Vital.
The exhibit itself is pretty interesting. We copied this from The Tech Museum's website, since it explained it so well:
BODY WORLDS Vital, in its first-ever showing, celebrates the potential of the human body and the body in motion. Featuring authentic human bodies, the exhibition shows the body in health, distress and disease. These detailed anatomical studies, compositions, and representations allow visitors a penetrating gaze at what lies beneath the skin.
Physician and anatomist Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS exhibitions are the original, precedent-setting public anatomical exhibitions of real human bodies, and the only anatomical exhibits that use donated bodies, willed by donors, for the express purpose of serving BODY WORLDS' mission to educate the public about health and anatomy. The bodies are preserved through a remarkable process called Plastination enabling visitors to learn what lies beneath the skin.
We got to spend the day in San Jose, then ventured on over to the Great Mall to get a few other essentials afterwards. All in all a great day!
It looks like we'll have quite a few trips this coming year. Even though we don't have to, Jen does want to go to CSU Northridge to tour "her" campus. We are also planning a trip to Utah the first weekend of May for Jen to get her other degree. Lastly, Jen's job has a conference in Philadelphia that we want to turn into a small vacation, since Jen's never been to the East Coast, and Jeff has not returned to New Jersey since his mission.
Hopefully we'll keep you all a bit more posted!
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