7 QT 53: Mountain views, coffee, and diplomas
It's Friday! This first week back in town after vacation was an adjustment for sure - but this week also flew by! This weekend Joseph and I are going to a friend's wedding. Then we're off to the local county fair (where we went on our first date!).
But before we take our iconic Langr wedding reception selfies, here's a quick look back at the adventures that we've been up to:
1. Livin' that Colorado life
Joseph and I spent the entirety of last week in Colorado. It was great to be able to unplug, relax, and see the gorgeous mountain views. We spent time in Denver before heading out to the Lost Creek Wilderness Loop, a 30-ish mile hike. We conquered the trail in 4 days, 3 nights.
Although it wasn't explicitly required, we brought supplies and hung up our food in bear bags. Just thinking about bear bags had me a little concerned about what unwanted visitors were going to wander through our campsite. I spent our afternoons thinking how I would react if a bear rushed our tent. Or a moose. How would I respond to a moose? Or a herd of moose - I mean a herd of meese.
Tuesday afternoon, something flung itself against our tent without warning. Well, Joseph had a little warning because he was awake. I however was not aware at all. I sat straight up from my sleeping bag and started to go into defense mode before Joseph told me what happened. It turns out it was just a psychotic chipmunk who jumped onto our tent from a tree up above.
Other than that (and some birds and tiny little fish!) there was no wildlife to report. If you're looking for a quiet, gorgeous hike, we highly recommend Lost Creek Wilderness!
2. Check out these views!
Here's our view on the third day of hiking - we climbed a little past the 12,000 feet elevation level for this view.
This picture is also a view from our third day of hiking.
One of the neatest things we came across was this beaver dam on our hike!
3. Oh, I am diploma official
I graduated from Washburn University in December 2016 with a bachelor's degree in history. For the life of me though, I couldn't figure out why I hadn't received my diploma in the mail. It's been more than a year and a half after graduation, after all. Surely it doesn't take that long to print.
Then I begin overthinking why I hadn't received the diploma yet. Could it be the printing charges I never paid off? Maybe it was something worse than even that. So I contacted the office this week and asked what was up.
"You picked up your diploma in April," they responded.
Then I remembered that I did, in fact, pick up my diploma in April. Of last year. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember where I put the diploma. And to replace it was going to cost me $400. So I called home to my parents and asked if it was there in a stack of documents. Nope.
It turns out that the diploma was sitting in my official Washburn diploma holder the entire time. Right where it was supposed to be. Granted, it was packed away in a box we hadn't unpacked yet since the move, but still.
I need to e-mail back the Washburn office and explain, but that doesn't seem to be a stellar example of how well I'm doing in adult life. I mean, I put things where they need to go, but then I promptly forget I've put them there. Life after college is going well, thank you for asking.
4. Coffee and Jesus, what more could you need?
This week, a friend gave me a shirt that has my new life motto on it - "With Jesus in her heart, and coffee in her hand, she's unstoppable." I wore it to my adoration hour on Wednesday morning after drinking my morning coffee.
Here's what it looks like - with an obligatory appearance from a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee:
If you want one of these stellar shirts too, you can find them here.
5. My own, personal cup heater
For my birthday, Joseph gave me this nifty little coffee warmer. Now, instead of running up and down the stairs throughout the work day to heat up my coffee cup, it sits nice and toasty right beside me. How handy is that?
6. This 'looking young' thing is going to pay off some day
Wednesday night we went to a social in Kansas City to learn more about what's new at Kansas State University (Joseph's alma mater) and the Saint Isidore's Student Center (where we got married!). We were joined by parents of current students, college students, campus ministers, chaplains, and prospective students.
After getting to know the couple at the table over a little bit they asked if we were considering going to Kansas State. Well, we'd love to be back there after hearing about all of the amazing things they're doing, but no. We both graduated almost two years ago (we even both have our diplomas in our house).
But I think there are advantages to look 16 when we're actually in our mid-twenties. Imagine how young we'll look when we're fifty. At least, that's what I tell myself each time I'm mistaken for a high school senior.
7. Wilson had a road trip, too
Because Wilson is not a mountain climber (can you imagine?), he did not make the trek out to Colorado with us. Instead, he took a short road trip to my parents house, where my siblings watched him for the week. He rode back with my sister, Madysen, when she came up to Kansas City to visit us.
Unfortunately, on the drive to my parents last weekend, I forgot to take Wilson's full water bottle off the cage during the car trip. It promptly sploshed and sloshed water over everything in Wilson's cage during the hour drive. We got him out of the back of the car and found him floating around his cage in his litter box. It wasn't a great start for the trip for Wilson. He seemed to have recovered when we were reunited, though.