A Bit of Ithaca Before AZ

Ben and I went to Taughannock "Tuh-gan-ik" Falls Saturday. It was a beeeautiful day and we enjoyed a nice hike/walk and some waterfalls. Check out Ithaca New York on a good day (aka the summer time)

Ben really wanted to "walk on water" but he settled for this rock in the middle

Sacred Grove ish looking.

250 feet tall I believe

I swear Ben has more shirts than just this one, but he happens to wear it whenever I take pictures that go on the blog

This is what the waterfall looked like behind us... our "photographer" above didn't quite get the memo that that was what we wanted to capture in our picture :)

After our hike/walk we went across the street to the "beach." Actual waves, water, boats, but no sand. The sand consisted of small rocks or pebbles. It was very pretty and almost like the real thing. I'll take it for now as it's only 20-30 minutes away.

Our date ended with dinner at FiveGuys, yum. We sat outside and stared at the building that will soon become PaneraBread! Hooray for Ithaca getting more chain restaurants.

Finally Complete

So it's official.... now that student teaching is over I can finally feel like I've graduated!! My last day was on Wednesday and I've had these past two days to do my own thing. I've realized a few things. I do not like being bored. I don't do well when I don't have anything planned. Exercising always makes me happy and excited, especially with other people.

I got to play soccer for the first time since I about broke my ankle in September. It was really fun to play, and there were about 20 girls there playing 10 vs. 10. The field was the only downfall. It felt like I was running and kicking in quicksand. The grass was soooo tall and it made it difficult to dribble and kick hard. But... it didn't stop me from scoring a goal! haha. That's one good thing about Arizona, I don't think I ever played in long tall grass, just dirt.


This isn't the exact grass, but it looked close to this

It was Wednesday that I played soccer, and oh was I sore on Thursday! I'm excited to get back into soccer... I really do LOVE it. Thursday was good because I had a lot planned out to do. Put away winter clothes, bring out the spring. (I don't think I've ever had to wait until May 20 to do that) Clean out the den closet. Scary. Make "chalupas," this shredded pork with green chilies and beans over Fritos mmmm. We had the Sister missionaries over for dinner so I thought I would make chalupas. My mom makes it whenever there are a lot of people over so I thought it would be perfect. The meat was supposed to cook for 6 hours and then be able to shred. This was definitely not the case. Apparently the water wasn't hot enough so I had to turn it way up before our dinner appointment at 6. It ended up being good but it sure scared me for awhile. As many people know, my brother Michael got his mission call to the New York Utica mission.....which just so happens to be the mission we live in! So crazy. Since he got his mission call I've been talking to the Elders and Sisters in our branch. My mom has given me questions to ask them and it's so fun to talk to them knowing that Michael will/could literally be one of them in less than a month!

I'm getting ready to go to Arizona for about 7 weeks. I'll be missing the best part of Ithaca weather, but it will be fun to be with family and friends. But... I will be missing one KEY family member, my husband. Ben takes his big qualifying exams to stay in his PhD program June 24-26. He has been studying non-stop, literally, for them since we moved to Ithaca. It consists of reading more than 200 articles and then writing essays on them (from what I understand). We will both be flying to Arizona for Michael's farewell next week, but then Ben will be flying back to Ithaca to finish studying and take his test. He told me I would be bored if I came back to New York because of all his cramming and final study weeks before this huge test. So.... I'll be staying in Arizona for about 4 weeks without him. It will just be like our long distance engagement all over again. haha.

It is goodbye Ithaca and hello Arizona for the next little while. Two of the most different places to live in the U.S.

BUT BOTH VERY PRETTY!

Why did the duck cross the road?

Dear Ithaca,

You are getting really pretty lately. The green is great, and I like being able to get in my car without needing to scrape it off. There has also been a lot more animals outside lately (well besides deer). Going to school last week I almost ran over a duck. Yes, a duck. A large duck was standing in the middle of the road. He was doing good because he was in the crosswalk, but our light had turned green. Luckily it was 7:15 a.m. so there weren't a ton of cars around. The duck finally realized it was not in the right place and flew away. Who knew a duck could fly so well? Then.... today I was coming home from school. This time a duck brought its four babies along with it to cross the road. Again, not sure what it's thinking (well he was headed to Walmart so maybe they were going to the store?). The car next to me and I stopped and waited to see what direction they were going. About 10 seconds later the mom led the babies back to the sidewalk. Geeze! I can't imagine running them over. Please keep your animals on the side of the road. Thanks.

Not Yet a Mother

So this is us...me driving the Paijetta and Ben always happy smiling singing etc. See the green out the window? Yes, I've been waiting for that since January.

Even though I'm not technically a "mother" yet, Ben still wanted to uphold the Lewis family traditions on this day. Apparently breakfast in bed is one of them. I was so excited to not set an alarm for the first time in a long time. But the internal clock inside my head told me it was time to get up at 7:30 anyway! So Ben got up at started going at it in the kitchen. We had gone to the store the night before and purchased stuff for blueberry pancakes and cinnamon toast. I heard Ben in the kitchen with pots/pans/etc. He can't find the Pam, then he burned the first pancake. "Oh no," I hear.. wondering if I should check on the situation. Next, he burned the second pancake and wondered what was wrong. "It said heat to 375 degrees... I figured that meant high on the burner." After that he managed well and brought in the breakfast on a cookie sheet. Pancakes, toast, strawberries, bananas, and o.j. I mentioned I wanted my toast buttered and he asked if I wanted both sides done... Oh how I love my Ben.


I guess you could say I'm trying to be more "motherly" and make other things besides dinner. Banana chocolate chip cookies were the first shot. Actually turned out pretty yummy... The only annoying part was getting to the "mix all ingredients" step and realizing I don't have baking powder. But nonetheless it was a good start...

I've Graduated From College?

Last weekend Ben and I flew to Utah for my BYU graduation. It was so fun to be with him as I graduated and was able to be with both of our families. Ben's sister Diana was graduating from BYU as well, and his cousin Austin was getting married too! Ben's family drove up, as well as mine. Thursday we were lucky to have nice weather for some outside pictures and waiting for the big graduation with Elder Christofferson speaking. I got to see some of my friends before and after the ceremony. The highlight of Thursday was walking into the Marriot Center and having my family be right above me to wave and take pictures. As we walked onto the floor waiting to go up to our seats, I spotted myself on the jumbo screen! I told everyone around me and we waved, smiled, thumbs up, and finally found where the camera was coming from. After about 20 seconds of air-time I guess they had enough of us. It was a great beginning to my BYU graduation weekend. haha.






Thursday night we had a nice family dinner at Macaroni Grill (thanks to the tradition set by Rachel's graduation two years prior). I got to hang out with my best friends after dinner. We watched the Suns game and reminisced about old times :). I truly do miss them and wish they could be here in Ithaca with us! Friday morning was rainy. My School of Education had our graduation in the Smith Field House at 8 a.m. Both of our families were all able to make it. I loved all the support and it was so fun to be with everyone again. We raced over to Diana's graduation and then sped to Austin's wedding in Draper. It was pretty cold up on top of the mountain but great to see another temple wedding since ours 4 months ago! That night we went to the reception and said goodbye to Ben's family.


I've got a pretty good looking husband!


Saturday was a Christensen day. We got some good shopping in (including getting a jean skirt which I have looking for, for months). Then we went to the Salt Lake temple (my first real time) with my brother Michael and my parents. That night we got to see "How to Train a Dragon" and hit up Crown Burger to finish off a great Utah trip. It was so worth it to fly out for my graduation and be able to be with my friends and loved ones. The only weird thing was going back to school Monday morning to the 3rd graders. I do enjoy going, but it felt like I should be done after receiving that fake, white diploma a few days earlier!


And two good looking brothers!