Spring and Summer 2016

Spring was great, full of:

- 2 sets of house finch broods and mating alligator lizards on our porch
- plenty of family and friend time
- exploring new hobbies
- tutoring and TAing Research Methods at Mesa College
- presenting classroom research at a conference in Long Beach
- Girl Scout events, including a backyard campout
- a trip to Kauai with Mom and Tony! We snorkeled nearly everyday, and did a helicopter tour of the island.

Here's a glimpse of April/May:

Visited my friend Patrick in Tucson, AZ, and my friend Kaelle came down to SoCal for a visit!

Appropriately posed in front of a silo in rural Pennsylvania.

Last month (June), my Mom and I flew out to the east coast.  We started out looking for housing for me in Ohio and were very successful!  We found a great condo in a quiet, safe neighborhood only a few miles from campus (with an attached garage for those nasty winter days!)  I already have a roommate and furniture lined up.  It was especially neat to see Kent this time of year.  Back in February, it was a cold wasteland, but it is so lush and beautiful in summertime!  Definitely a change from San Diego's stable climate.  We spent some time exploring the area, including Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is very close to where I'll be living and full of hiking trails through forests and streams.
After that, we drove east to visit family in New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.  My great uncle turned 80 and we were able to attend his surprise party and spent some time with relatives I rarely get to see.  We also stayed with my grandparents and celebrated my 25th birthday (!!!)  While in Maryland, we spent a couple days in Washington D.C. since I hadn't been in over 12 years.  I loved the tour of Printing and Engraving building and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  Will definitely have to go back for more museum time, since one days was barely enough to cover half of one! 

I'll be in San Diego for another couple of weeks, saying goodbye to family and friends (and going to the beach as often as possible) before taking off in early August.  I'm going to be driving my little Honda Fit (packed to the brim) across the country, stopping in Denver for a conference along the way.  I am really looking forward to going back to school and getting acquainted with O-H-I-O!