We leave for Europe TODAY. (well I still need to get some sleep first, and our flight doesn’t leave for another 17 hrs, but we’re still leaving TODAY). After months of planning (ok, mainly on Cameron’s part, thank goodness my hubby is organized!) and anticipation, it’s hard to believe that our trip is finally here! I don’t think it will hit me until I’m on the plane that we’re actually going…
As excited as we have been for this trip, this past weekend also marked another big milestone that has been a long time coming–Cam’s graduation from his Master’s program @ U of M! The past week has been quite the whirlwind. I had my final day at my job here in Ann Arbor, which was bittersweet (alright, definitely much more sweet, I liked my job, but I’m glad to be done!), and then Cam’s family arrived from Oregon! It was nice to be able to visit with Cam’s parents, brother, and sister-in-law, and we had a really great time together the past few days. We were able to visit Frankenmuth, Holland, Lake Michigan, downtown Detroit, as well as spending plenty of time in Ann Arbor, and we were blessed with beautiful weather (for the most part, with the exception of graduation morning which was a little stormy, but the rain stopped for the ceremony!) We also ate. A LOT. His parents were excited to visit their favorite Ann Arbor/Michigan restaurants one last time, and so we packed lot of meals that we in to a 5 day span, which was really filling, but a lot of fun too 🙂 The highlight of the weekend was seeing Cam graduate in the Big House, we are all so proud of him! I hadn’t been inside the stadium since the fall, and there is just such a wonderful sense of familiarity I get whenever I’m there, as it reminds me of all the memories of the past 5 years. Many things have changed since I went to my first U of M football game as a freshman, and seeing my husband graduate this weekend, I feel like things have really come full circle. This weekend marked the closing of a chapter of our lives here in Ann Arbor, and Cam & I are both more than a little sad about it, so we definitely plan on coming back for plenty of football games! The graduation managed to miss the thunderstorms that rolled thru Ann Arbor early Saturday morning, and the event was made all the more momentous due to the fact that President Obama was commencement speaker. Politics aside, I felt extremely proud of my alma matter, and I truly enjoyed his speech to the graduates.
Cam’s parents headed back to Oregon on Monday, we headed to Lake Orion to celebrate my dad & grandma’s birthdays, then yesterday was all about saying goodbye to friends and packing! We are backpacking through Europe meaning we’re just bringing backpacks. Not to be redundant, but I just think I should repeat, I am ONLY bringing ONE backpack for FIVE AND A HALF WEEKS of traveling. I figured this fact was worth repeating as many of our friends and family have been a little confused about this. The confusion probably has something to do with the fact that usually I have difficulty using just one suitcase for a weekend trip…I’m staring at my packed backpack right now, and I did my best to pack only what I need, and I’ll admit, I think I did a pretty good job. The real test starts when we land, and we’ll see just how superb my packing skills are, and if what I brought will get me through our trip. (I figure what’s the worst that can happen, it’s not like there aren’t stores in Europe!) This has been an busy, emotional week, and leaving for this trip is something that I’ve been looking forward to for so long. I am filled with excitement (and I’ll admit, a little bit of anxiety), and am really looking forward to all the things that Cam and I are going to get to experience together during our time there. Near the end of our trip we’ll be celebrating our first wedding anniversary, and I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by!! This trip is the perfect end to an amazing first year of married life, and I can’t believe how blessed I am sometimes 🙂
Ok, I need some sleep, sorry if this post rambled/made no sense, I don’t have time to reread it before I go to sleep! I am going to try my best to blog here and there on our trip so I can share our experiences while they are fresh in my mind…so keep checking back/follow my blog for updates!! Ciao everyone!! xoxo