Hats Off - We're Grads!

You already know, but guys, we did it! Jesse and I both graduated this month, which means we are finished with school forever! (I know, never say never, but I can say this one with full confidence.) One Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, one Bachelor of Nutrition Science, one Masters in Business Administration, and one Doctor of Optometry later, we. are. done.

We are so incredibly thankful all of the encouragement and support we've had over the past... oh,... 23 years. Which basically means that we don't know how to not be students, so we may have a little trouble figuring out life beyond school. (How do you live on a calendar year of January to December, not August to July; and months, not semesters?!)

It's a pretty sentimental time, as we part ways with many of our friends. For me, I've been through the trenches of optometry school with these people. They've understood the struggle, and celebrated together in each victory along the way. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little scared to do life without them, but I can't wait to see their successes in the future!

School has consumed a lot of our life, especially over the past four years. It has been a real challenge, and our marriage has suffered on some levels because of our commitments to our education. I know the "real world" is not going to be a piece of cake, and that life is full of stressors. We've learned to love through this phase of life, but we are looking forward to time together without having to redirect our attention to our studies. I definitely couldn't have made it this far without Jesse leading and supporting me (and telling me to suck it up a few times).

Jesse says, "Whew! We made it through!"

San Luis Obispo, CA

In March, Jesse and I spent my final Spring Break week back in California!  Jesse's brother, Matt, and wife Heidi, moved there several months ago, and we were excited to visit their new town.  Most of you already know that we are actually considering San Luis Obispo (SLO) as a possible place to move after my graduation. We haven't made any final decisions yet, but I wanted to share our trip with you in the meantime.

We flew from ATL to LA, then took the Surfliner Amtrak train up the coast. I have always wanted to travel by train, and this experience did not let me down. It was a beautiful ride, right along the coastline. It was so nice to just store our luggage, then relax after a long flight.

We had a full week in SLO, and Matt and Heidi were eager to show us around. We walked around Pismo Beach, took in the amazing view at the pier, and grabbed a snack at ChipWrecked.

Did a little kayaking in Morro Bay, around Morro Rock:

There were lots of great restaurants to try in downtown SLO. Here's a sampling of some of the tasty dishes we had:

(Batch: Snickerdoodle cookie w/ coffee ice cream sandwich)

(Luna Red: Fried Brussels w/ Bacon dust; Bacon wrapped blue cheese dates; Olive oil cake; not pictured- Lamb sausage pizzetta)

(My new all-time favorite restaurant - The Spoon Trade: Rosemary Chicken and Waffles w/ kimchi; Sourdough bread; Halibut sushimi w/ avocado puree; Burrata toast; Sweetbreads with Homemade Fettuccine)

(The central coast's version of BBQ - the famous SLO Tri-tip Sandwich)

We visited the Mission and also hiked Bishop's Peak - one of the mountains that surrounds SLO (which you see in the background below).

Every Thursday the main street of SLO is shut down for the Farmer's Market. I was in heaven surrounded by fresh produce, and I of course helped support the locals by trying some of the foods available.  :)

On one of our last days there, we went tide pooling. We didn't see very many fish, but it's just incredible to stand that close to the ocean and soak up the nature.

And because we couldn't get enough of the outdoors, we walked through Montana de Oro State Park which has trails that line the bluffs. The views here were the most incredible of all! The cliffs are so high and steep, and the ocean is constantly crashing beneath you.

We even got to celebrate Easter while we were there with an awesome worship and church service. We cleaned up a little bit and snapped this fancy photo:

It was so wonderful to visit with family and see how happy they are in their new location. We can't wait to go back! Until next time, Cali....