boston trip

As you may have previously read in this post, we took a trip to Boston last week for the Boston Marathon and a mini-vacay.  We went with our friends, Tim & Melody, and Tim was running in the marathon.  The rest of us were comfortably watching from the sidelines! :)

As everyone knows, there were tragic events that took place a week ago at the finish line of the marathon.  Luckily, we had all left the downtown area an hour before the bombs went off and we were not staying at a hotel downtown.  I'm not really go into any story about the events because I was not directly involved and found out like many of you all, witnessing the tragedy on television in our hotel room. Of course my heart aches for those directly affected and the city of Boston... it truly is an amazing town.

But, onto the fun memories...

We arrived in Boston late Friday night {April 12th}. The first couple days of the trip included some touristy things. We got to do some fun sight seeing in the downtown area.  We went to the famous spots like Old North Church & Paul Revere's house.  It's so neat that Boston has so many historical sights right in their downtown area.  It was Paul Revere's house, then right next door was a Starbucks! :) You don't have to drive outside of the city to see all the history the town holds.

We took a trolley tour to see the city and we were able to jump on and off at any of the stops we wanted to actually spend time at.  I highly recommend the trolley tour for a way to see the city in a shorter amount of time without tons of walking.

Taken with my phone during the Old Time Trolley Tour

Getting ready for the race... Tim needed to go pick up his number and packet for the race, as well as get some of his official Boston Marathon gear! Since we stayed at a hotel near the starting line, on our way into the city so he could get all of his necessary items, we drove the marathon course. That was also a great experience because we were able to see several outlying towns of Boston.  Some of which were so incredibly beautiful! I love east coast architectural style, so I was gawking at many of the gorgeous homes, churches, & adorable store fronts of these towns.

Then... race day!!!

And yes, there are Dunkin' Donuts literally EVERYWHERE!  It didn't bother me by any means, I probably ate there 3 or 4 times on the trip!

The marathon was such a cool experience to me.  I used to be a runner {not to be confused with a marathon-er} so a little bit of me feels the racer's pain and excitement {although, likely not to the same extent as they experience}. For whatever reason, seeing people do well or working so hard can get me emotional, more in running than in any other sport.  If you get me near a high school state track meet I'll be a weeping mess! Melody & I both agreed, next time we should bring our tissues!

What was so awesome for Caleb, Melody, & myself is that we got to see Tim three times throughout the race.  That may not sound like a big deal, but for a marathon that basically runs in a straight line, plus one that is such a huge event where there are literally a million spectators, we were pretty proud of ourselves for our rock-star strategy.  We saw Tim at mile 6, 16, & 25!

Tim finished with a time of 2:58:43 - about a 6:49 mile pace.  My body aches just thinking about it!
We all agree we had a great time on the trip! Can't wait to watch the Boston Marathon again someday!

*All pictures taken by me unless otherwise noted

{exciting, fun, adventorous} week

This week has been a great week! Why? Because so many good things are happening!  First off, I got offered a job! Yay! {and I plan on taking it}  :)  It has been hard to be patient since graduating and passing boards, but I've tried to rest in the fact that I know God has a place and a plan for this phase of my life & career.  I'll be working as a nurse practitioner in a hospital and skilled nursing facility {which is an in-between place for people between hospital & home} in Blue Springs, Missouri.  I'm really excited and a little nervous about starting.  I don't have an exact start date yet but right now I'm celebrating in the fact I'm no longer looking for an NP position!

Yesterday, I told this news to my family while celebrating my mom's birthday.  I started off with "I have a little bit of news to share..." and I saw that initial look in my family's eyes when for a split second they thought maybe I would say I'm pregnant... but then it all dawned on them that it was probably just a job. They all still acted excited though for the job anyway! Ha! {One huge life change at a time, people!} :)
Dinner was great though!  Here's a picture of my mom and I after dinner.  I get told all the time I look like my mom.  I'm used to hearing people so much that I know it's true but sometimes it's hard to see it in yourself when people say you look like someone else.  Well... I see it in this picture...

It's like we have the exact same face! It's a compliment for me so, I'm blessed with that!

Another reason why this week is about to get even more awesome is because we are leaving shortly for Boston!  We are going with our friends, Tim & Melody.  Tim is a stud of a runner and he is running in the Boston Marathon.  I've never been to Boston so I'm excited to see some of the historical sites there, as well as experience {from the sidelines} the legendary Boston Marathon.  The weather is supposed to be nice and mild too!  Plus, who wouldn't want to travel with these guys...

They let me take pictures of them recently to try out a lens I rented to take on our Boston trip. :)

What a wonderful week, I'm truly blessed!  Can't wait to share Boston pictures and memories with you all soon!  East coast... here we come!