Graduation

Now that we have arrived in Arizona, I think it's time for me to update you on Graduation!

The night before graduation there was a graduation banquet. It was a great chance to spend time with everybody one last time.

We have so many amazing memories with these people. They were our family for the four years we spent at Palmer. Only a handful of other friendships in our lives are able to rival the kinship we feel with our Palmer friends.

The next morning began early with the awards ceremony:


Brett received the President's Award for being on the Dean's List all 10 trimesters at Palmer.


He also became a member of the Pi Tau Delta Chiropractic Honor Society for maintaining a 3.9 GPA and never receiving a grade lower than a B in any class while at Palmer.

Lastly he received a Clinic Award for his work as a Clinical Teaching Assistant in the Academic Health Center at Palmer.


After the awards ceremony it was time for the graduation ceremony. Here are all of the graduates walking in:


First he received his bachelor's degree:


and then he got to walk across the stage and receive his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree!

After receiving their diplomas they got to turn their tassels and officially become doctors!!



Finally, they all tossed their business cards, which is a Palmer tradition.


YAY! He did it!! :)


After graduation, the fam went to Biaggi's to celebrate.


More pictures of graduation can be found here.

At This Point...

...Moose is pretty much fed up with the whole moving process. I think his look pretty much says "screw you guys, I'm going to hide out in my cat hut..."

I Introduce to You...

Brett, Doctor of Chiropractic!!

Many more pics and blog posts to follow, but I wanted to give you at least one picture for now!!

Vibrant

There is a cemetery a few blocks from my house. It's a really old cemetery with graves dating back to the 1700's. It's really quite picturesque, and the other day when I drove by I noticed that the trees there were looking especially vibrant as their leaves changed color. So, naturally, I pulled into the cemetery and started snapping pictures (what? Doesn't everybody do that?). Here is the result:

The Art of Moving

Boxes...


Boxes...


...and more boxes!

My Attempt

We got Moose a "pet taxi" for his ride to Arizona. Moose has never been the world's biggest fan of small confined spaces with cage doors. However, he is the world's biggest fan of Temptations Tuna Treats. So, in an attempt to get him comfortable with his temporary digs, I placed a trail of tuna treats leading up to, and then all the way to the back of his carrier. We'll see how this goes.

Update: Moose has now eaten all of the treats leading up to his carrier. After that he stuck his head in and sniffed around a bit, but he didn't touch the treats inside. Maybe he will after we have gone to bed and he figures that there isn't much threat of getting locked inside.

Update #2: We woke up the next morning and all the the treats that were placed inside the cat taxi are now gone. Moose must have gotten the courage to venture into the carrier while we were sleeping.

Recent Craftiness

I haven't had much time for my usual crafting lately, but I have managed to create a project or two. Amanda's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. When we were in Bloomington together she mentioned how she hates having to wait for her hair straightener to cool off before putting it in her suitcase. I hate that too. Fortunately, I recently came across a pattern to make a heat-resistant travel curling iron/hair straightener cover, so I thought I would give it a whirl.


That black elastic strappy is there to hold the cord. I am pretty pleased with the end result. I may start taking orders for these babies. ;)

Another recent craft was the product of my own imagination. Brett & I always seem to have the painful "what do you want for dinner" conversation every week before going grocery shopping. THEN halfway through the week we forget what we planned on making. Does this happen to anyone else? We would also think of an item we needed from the grocery store during the week, but by the time grocery shopping day rolls around we have usually forgotten it. I introduce to you my solution:

I made a weekly menu that has a space to write what is for lunch and dinner. There is also a section for dinner ideas for next week to help us avoid trying to figure it out at the last minute. At the bottom I have included a section for a shopping list. It truly has been wonderful. I'm pretty sure I'm a genius. The best part is that I laminated it with my handy dandy laminator so the whole thing is dry-erase! Did I ever tell you that Amanda gave me a handy dandy laminator for my birthday? Oh man, that thing is a Godsend. You have no idea how much I like to laminate.

But wait! There's more! (I feel like this is an infomercial) It also happens to be magnetic! Here is a picture of it so that you may bask in the practicality of it all:


I might start accepting orders for these things too. :)

Anyway, the moral of the story is that the agonizing "what's for dinner" conversation is no more. No more unnecessary trips to the grocery store either.

Adventures In...?

Adventures in Iowa is about to get a change of scenery. Brett has accepted a position in Scottsdale, AZ, so we will be headed that direction for a year or two. Because of this, Adventures in Iowa is going to need a new name! Adventures in Arizona just doesn't have the same ring to it. So, I am asking all of you for help with re-naming the blog! Please send your suggestions by commenting on this post. In a week or two we can all vote for our favorite!

Thanks for your help!

~Amy

The Universal Symbol for "Go to Bed"

Brett was out of town interviewing for some jobs in the Phoenix area this week. I confess that I have a very difficult time sleeping when I am home by myself. I blow every single noise that I hear way out of proportion and convince myself that some sort of intruder is trying to break into my house, or that the ghosts and goblins are up to no good in the basement. You know, the usual stuff. Naturally, this leads to me staying up way too late watching television.

I can remember my mom telling me about how when she was a kid they would play the national anthem after the day's programming had ended, and that was when she knew it was definitely time to go to bed. The other night I stayed up so late that I got the multi-colored bars and that horrible high-pitched beeping sound (anybody else in favor of them playing some nice classical music instead?). Anyway, I took that as my signal that it was definitely time for me to go to bed.

Needless to say I am glad that Brett has returned home so that I can resume my normal sleeping schedule. :)

Nothing Runs Like a Deere

Yesterday Brett & I decided to head across the river to check out the John Deere Museum.

We always said we would check it out, and with only a few short weeks left in the Quad Cities it was now or never.

Some of the tractors have really, really big tires.




Here's Dr. Brett driving one of the super cool tractors:


Look! A really, really big bulldozer thing!


Some wise words from our friend John Deere:


The view of the whole pavillion:


Amy behind the wheel. Do I look the part?

Some of these things were pretty sweet. They were fully equipped with comfy seats, heat, a/c, cupholders, cd players and GPS systems. I may consider a second career in farming.

This one looks kinda fun:


Brett couldn't resist playing with all the buttons and knobs. (Neither could I.)


Here's Brett playing the combine simulator game:


Here I am taking a turn. I failed miserably. Don't ask me why I habitually stand like that, I must be channeling my inner ballerina or something.


This looks like an interesting contraption! I have absolutely no idea what it does...


And for your viewing pleasure here are some more cool giant machine things. I'm pretty sure that's the technical term. :)




Alternate title for this post: California Girl Tries to Talk About Tractors.

A Visitor

While packing boxes last weekend Brett & I heard a mysterious loud tapping sound coming from outside. We investigated and found this little woodpecker pecking away at our house, and we now have a pecked-away dent on the outside of our sunroom. Hopefully that won't be coming out of our security deposit. ;)

Baby Panda Sneeze

This is so adorable! Totally worth 16 seconds of your time! Check it out:



Those of you who get e-mail blog updates will have to actually go to the blog to see the video. While you're there you can check out my new October/Graduation themed blog header.

Check it out here.