Lupin

Our excitement for this week has come from Lupin. While I was doing laundry on Monday night, he seized an opportunity to sneak out without my noticing. Usually he is easy to spot, but apparently his ninja moves were in peak performance that night. It wasn't for several hours that we realized he wasn't inside (when his automatic pet feeder turned and he didn't come running was our first clue). We looked around outside...but Lupin was nowhere to be found. We waited the next day in hopes that he would be back. When he wasn't we made fliers and I contacted several shelters in the area with descriptions. Wednesday night Moria came over and helped me post the fliers around the apartments on our block. The next morning I got a call that Lupin was hanging around!! I rushed back and found him across the street in the courtyard of an apartment complex. He looked fine except for being kind of dirty. He seemed happy to be home and has been on his best behavior. Hopefully he learned something about why he isn't allowed outside. We are going to get him back in his collar though. We've been bad and haven't been making him wear it. After our scare though he is going to just have to deal with it.


Tomorrow is my graduation from the CLS program. I'm really excited to be finishing. Next week at this time I will be packing for my Kansas trip and I can't wait. Kevin gave group meeting this week and that went pretty well. He is dealing with some pretty interesting stuff right now which is making lab enjoyable.

Santa Cruz

Yesterday Kevin and I headed to Santa Cruz with our friends Brian and Dave. None of us remembered our camera, so I found a few pictures online of Seabright beach which is where we were so you could get the idea. Visuals are always nice.

It was a pretty nice day, but like usual the water was REALLY cold! I brought my shorty wet suit from my scuba days and that helped me to enjoy the water a little more. The waves weren't at their best for body surfing, but we managed to catch a couple in. We only got a little bit too much sun this time so that is always a good thing. (four years ago when Kevin and I took our road trip out to Cali we were at this same beach and got fried.)


We were right by this cool little cave that had an underpass to another tiny beach. That beach was right next to the Boardwalk. We walked over there for a little bit before we left, but with Labor Day Weekend there were way too many people there so we left.

Kevin has to give group meeting this week and I am trying really hard to focus on studying. I only have a little longer to go so I need to push hard and finish strong! I'll be back in Kansas in only 12 days so that is pretty exciting!

Stanford Football Begins

Football season has begun!!! Stanford played Oregon State on Thursday and amazingly enough...they even won. Our ususal tailgating group was a little slim with a weekday game and with the 95 degree weather. We managed to sweat it out though to cheer on Cardinal. Even without the undergrads here yet, the student section got pretty loud and we had a great time. More people showed up after this picture was taken and we were actually suprised at how many people were willing to leave air conditioning.

They moved the students this year and put us behind the football team and in the shade for pm games. The first few rows were reserved for student athletic recruits...but there we hardly any people there so we made our way up to the front. Then we were able to joke around with the cheerleaders and a few camera men which made things even more fun.

I'll be in Kansas during the next home game against San Jose State so it wont be until Oct. that I will get to go to another game. By then I'm hoping it wont be quite as steamy.

10 Lakes, Yosemite

Well, we survived our first backpacking trip and had an amazing time! We left Friday evening with a couple others from our group and met up with the others who left earlier. We camped Friday night in the Yosemite Valley backpackers campground. Sat morning we loafed around our campsite and got all of our gear together. Then Kevin and I had a chance to drive around a bit and take a few pictures before meeting up with others to start our big hike. Here is a picture of our entire group just before heading out.



Our original plan included doing a climb up half dome, but due to permit issues we decided to do a 6.3 mile hike up to 10 Lakes. It was a steep hike which definitely counted as our workout for the weekend. At one point I thought we were never going to stop going up until we finally reached the top where we could look down and see an AMAZING view of one of the lakes.

That view made all of it worth it! After setting up our tents and getting a fire started, a few of us went for a swim. It was incredibly cold, but it felt good to rinse off some of the sweat and grime from the day. Then it was time to eat!! Our friend Brian brought a pork roll with him. It was his birthday and his parents had sent it to him from Philly and he wanted to share a bit from his hometown. We ate so much food that night and still had a lot leftover. We were having problems filling our bear canisters which lead to a slight problem, but it all worked out in the end.

The next day our group sort of dispersed. Kevin and I stuck around a little longer with two others from our group because we wanted to take in a little more of the view. We found a better swimming spot and were tempted to swim again but decided against it. This is the lake we camped by and played in. It was absolutely gorgeous and we really want to come back again and spend a little more time exploring the other 9 lakes! There were a lot of small trout there and I wished we had brought a fishing pole.



We reluctantly started our hike back. The first 1.5 miles was rough since it was mostly up again, but after that it was all downhill and we made really good time. After getting back to our car we met up with Brian and Moria again and started our drive back. We stopped halfway through at Mountain Mike's pizza and it was delicious. I think we were all a little tired of trail mix, cliff bars, and beef jerky and ready for a really hot meal! We also stopped in Tracy, CA for drinks at Sonic. We don't have one in the bay area and it has been two years since I've been there. Also, three out of six in our group had never been to a Sonic ever!

It was an awesome trip, but it felt great to shower!! We want to go back, but we may stick to car camping and day hikes for a little while to avoid getting quite as stinky! I think a few of us are going to go back in May when the waterfalls are booming.

Toga Party!

Well, I survived my final and passed!! What a relief it is to have that test finished! My reward was no studying this weekend and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Part of our weekend included going to a Toga Party to celebrate friends' birthdays! We had a great time making the costumes and trying to look "greek".

I think Brian has the look down, but Kevin isn't doing too bad either.

Jason, Collin, Kevin

Me and Moria

Besides the toga party, we also spent the weekend getting ready for our camping trip next weekend. We still need new shoes, but we are mostly set and I absolutely can't wait. There will defintely be lots of pictures from the trip.

Now that the weekend of freedom is over I have to get myself going on studying again. I have a couple rotation finals left to take so hopefully I will be able to get one out of the way later this week before heading to Yosemite.

Study Study Study

I probably shouldn't be blogging right now, but I needed a study break. I feel like all I've been doing is studying and I am ready for my final to be over. I still have a lot of stuff to go over, but hopefully I will feel a little more confident by Friday. It wouldn't hurt for a few prayers though!!!

My friend Moria and her sister Laura made me an awesome study kit last weekend so I thought I would show you a couple pictures. They were very clever in their preparation and I feel lucky to have such good friends.





Inside were various goodies including goldfish crackers, bubbletap, batman fruit roll-ups, Nerds, Milano's, and more. It was fantastic and I am still enjoying it!

Our new camera just got here today so we will be posting more photos soon. I think we are heading to San Jose on Sunday to check out the Farmer's Market at San Pedro Square so stay tuned!!!

Haircut

Cara cut my hair for me.
-kevin