Thursday, May 17, 2012

Road Trip to Michigan


MICHIGAN IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! I can’t get over how humongous the green, mossy trees are and how every time I turn around there is ANOTHER lake with nature trails surrounding it. I think Ann Arbor is the perfect fit for Austin and I for the next chapter of our lives. Although there aren’t huge mountains to climb there are lots of other outdoor-sy things that will serve us well. We can’t wait to learn how to sail, save our money for a few kayaks and use our binoculars for some bird watching.


And besides all the gorgeous nature the town itself is incredible. It has lots of culture, art, diversity, farmers markets, local restaurants (as opposed to chains), etc. AND, it is really close to Detroit and only a few hours from Chicago so we can visit the big cities and access major airports for more world travelling. :) It is seriously everything we want in a new location!


Despite being extremely tired from 26 hours of driving (one way) and being 7 months pregnant with an already rowdy little boy, the trip was surprisingly relaxing. We spent the majority of our time searching for a place to live. But, we managed to squeeze in a lot of exploring and visited the University of Michigan campus. We even spent an afternoon at the Binder Park Zoo with some of Austin’s family: Uncle Carlos, Auntie Ellen, Grace, Cecilia and Auntie Judy. It was super fun!

Tired from all that driving

House hunting...


House hunting....


House hunting............

and MORE house hunting.... haha
One of MANY lakes we walked around





We had time to visit the campus where Austin will be doing his PH.d this fall

All the campus buildings are really cool looking

This is one of the concert halls on campus

This is the U of M student center building

We met up with some of Austin's family at the Binder Park Zoo (Auntie Judy, Auntie Ellen, Uncle Carlos, Grace and Cecilia)

Auntie Judy with the little cheetah, Cece. :)


BYU Graduation


WE FINALLY GRADUATED!!!! Well, I should say I  finally graduated because it took me 5 years to get only 1 bachelors degree. But, Austin completed 2 bachelors degrees and even took graduate courses for fun and finished it all in 4 years. haha. After all the boring ceremonies we had SO much fun hanging out with Austin's family and my family who came all the way out from Oregon for the occassion. We stayed a few nights with them up in Park City and had a blast!



Austin received a duel Bachelors degree in Geology and Russian and I received a Bachelors of Music degree in Media Music Studies.

Us with Megz! We love her so much! 

My parents and Hope came all the way from Oregon for the ceremony

BYU has been really good to us! 

We spent the weekend with them at their condo in Park City

That same weekend Austin ran a full marathon in Salt Lake City

I was so proud of him! He finished and made really great time!