Silver Dollar City

Robert and I went to Silver Dollar City yesterday as a fun start to the summer.  My parents have season tickets so we got to use their free "bring a guest" tickets.  Woohoo!  It was a lot of fun.  We had thought since it was Memorial Day it might be crazy, but it wasn't packed at all.  Here are some pictures from the day:

Stuck in traffic at the SDC exit

Robert's first time to ride the SDC train

The little act during the train ride

The beautiful flowers Robert and I planted in March

The end of Summer

Bet you didn't know it's the end of summer.  It's time to buy new notebooks, make sure the old backpack will make it through another year, grab so pencils, and put on your thinking cap.  Well, it's time for me to do those things at least.  After seven short days of summer break it's time to start thinking about school again.  I start at Drury in just six days.  It doesn't feel real.  I just graduated from college where I felt totally safe - lots of friends, professors knew me, I knew where are the classrooms were, the hours of the library, how to get around time.  Now it's time for this next step - a place where I don't even know the name of the street it's on (Drury Lane, seriously?), where the library is, I don't have an ID card (been in three times.  I'm not in "the system."), I'll be a part of a cohort of nine other students who just so happen to be Drury alums who will know everything about Drury and will definitely be in "the system."  What do I wear on the first day - do I go for the typical first day of school look (jeans, nice top, dressy sandals), the "I go to grad school" look (khakis and a dress shirt with dress shoes), or the "It's summertime, baby" look (shorts and a t-shirt)?  Do I take my laptop?  Is the professor going to present everything at lightning speed?  Is my first day of class seriously going to last the whole time (9:00am-6:00pm)?  I could easily list a dozen more hypothetical questions right now.
When people ask what I'm doing next and I tell them I'm going to grad school at Drury they've all seem totally taken aback.  Apparently it's crazy to start a graduate degree two weeks after you finish your undergrad (maybe so).  Or perhaps it's the fact that I'm too young (yeah, I'm only 20).  Or that the program is packed into a year (but it's still four terms.  It's not like I'm fitting two years' worth of stuff into two semesters).  Plus, I figure it'll be easier since I'm already in full-time school mode.  It won't be weird to be in class and study each day.  I think it would be more difficult to graduate SBU, take a few years off, get used to working 8:00-5:00, get used to having a steady income, and then go back to full-time school, only make money from a part-time job, and be lectured all day.
At this point I just need the first day to get here already.  At this time next week I'll know the answers to all these questions.  Until then...

Sick

Being sick is no fun.  Shocking.  It started Wednesday evening and has carried on to the present.  I'll spare you the details, but the throw up tally is at 12 currently.  I think the worst of it is over.  Now I'm tired and achy all over.  I took a four hour nap yesterday and slept for 12 hours last night which helped.  I've lost 4.4 pounds so far.  Crazy!

I've been thinking about my first summer job lately since it's summer break now.  For two summers in a row I worked 40 hours a week in the SBU physical plant office.  The second summer I got to work with my dear friend Leigha.  Here are a few photos to reminisce:

So mature

Doing the dishes

Watering the bushes

Hopping on the trash with a blown up trash bag under my shirt of course

With our dads :)