An Excuse for My Blogging Absence

I have been a bad blogger lately. I admit it. I have been traveling and dog sitting and just plain have not gotten around to it. I do have some pictures to share but I have not gotten them on my computer yet. UGH! Here's the run down of where things are right now.

BIKRAM

I am still cleaning the bikram yoga studio once a week in exchange for free bikram. So far I have only been able to attend one class a week (at most) but sometime in the near future I hope to complete the 30 day bikram challenge.

INTERNSHIPS

I am officially halfway through with my internship hours at Kirkwood. They have gone well so far and now I have a plan to complete the hours by the 7 of May. I am so excited to have an end in sight! 70 more hours to go!

I still have a lot of hours at my agency site, but, to be honest, I don't want those to end. I love the agency I am at and I am getting so much from the experience. I have about 40 more hours to go and wish it was more.

SCHOOL

I have 6 more class sessions to attend in order to complete my masters degree. I am in my last two classes right now. One meets every other Wednesday and the other meets every Tuesday night. 4 more Tuesday night classes and 2 more Wednesday night classes before I am finished. Unfortunately I won't officially graduate until August once I take the Praxis exam and complete my counseling portfolio for approval.

LACROSSE

We are currently 7-3. We are on a five game winning streak which is the longest in MBU women's lacrosse history. We have two games in Chicago next weekend and then we head to Georgia for conference tournament during Easter weekend. It has been a great season so far. It is awesome to know that we will definitely finish at .500 or above!

FAMILY

Always lots of fun with the family. I am anxious to be home more (less work traveling) to spend time with my favorite little people.

60 HIKES

Hikes every weekend possible are going well. Tom hurt himself on our hike last weekend, but we are hoping to get back to it soon.

I think those are all the updates for now. In short.. life is BUSY but good. I have definitely not been this busy since college days and it feels totally different. I am anxious for May 7...that is for sure.

Spring Break Overnight with the Knolls

I got back from spring break with my team on Wednesday (which should explain my lack of blogging), interned all day Thursday, and headed to the lake to see the Knolls and my little Joe on Friday. It was a quick trip and I was sad to go, but we had a great time while I was there.

This is Joe and me on Friday night. He wore his "My Auntie is Awesome" shirt for me.

What a sweet little guy!

Friday we just hung around the house, ate dinner, and played games. It was a lovely relaxing evening. Joe slept really well and didn't wake until 7 am on Saturday! After hanging out in the morning we headed out for the day. We went to a couple stores then had lunch on the lake.

That's Joe's girlfriend Sophie the Giraffe. The kid is in love.

Check him out snuggling with his GF

After lunch and a couple more stores we went to John's parents house where we did a little target practice. I was apprehensive at first, but I ended up having a good time and feeling pretty bad doing it :)

John teaching me a few things

Taking some shots

My cluster of shots. Apparently that's what you are looking for!

I can't wait for another visit in May or June. I had a great time and know it will be even more fun with some sunshine on the boat.

Hiking

Tom and I recently bought a book call "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of St. Louis". Instead of complaining about the lack of hiking available in our metropolitan area, we decided to see what is out there. The book is awesome and has made for a very fun weekend tradition for us. So far we have gone out three times and not once has the weather been ideal. It has still been a blast. I am definitely looking forward to the day we go hiking and actually sweat with just shorts and a t shirt on!

Last Saturday was our first hike. We quickly realized how important it is to read the whole listing as we drove to a trailhead in Eureka and walked on a flat trail. We were so bored and upon further reading realized that the good part was all the way down the trail in wildwood/Chesterfield. We got back in the car and headed to a hidden little gem off Kiefer Creek Rd. The hike was pretty and difficult at times. I can't imagine how different it looks with leaves on the trees.

Tom and me on the trail

Typical Tom and me on the trail

Just posing up in some trees

I wish this dang picture wasn't turned...he's jumping off the log...

Me jumping off the log

I should have put a size comparison cause this leaf was huge!

This past Sunday we headed to a trail out in Eureka by Six Flags. It was easy to get to. The actual trail was 3.5 miles out and back and VERY hilly. We enjoyed it despite the mud. It was actually a pretty darn good workout and we only saw one other person the whole time.

This is as pretty as it gets before everything starts to grow back.

A little rest at the turn around point

I am eager to continue using this book and discovering more hikes this spring and summer. It has definitely been a highlight of my weeks thus far!

Game Time

The season has finally begun! After what seemed like the world's longest practice season, we have finally entered game season. This is my third season at MBU. When I came in 2008 I had 8 girls on the team. I recruited around campus (and one girl I already knew) to complete the team, however we still played man down in every game unless I played. Only 3 of those 8 players had high school lacrosse background. I was teaching the game and trying to develop players at the same time. It was a tough job to say the least.

Last season I brought in 5 freshmen and 1 transfer student. We grew in numbers and ability. I lost most of my team from the year before, but kept a number of strong players. The team was incredible in terms of attitude and hard work. They grew so much and gave me great hope for the future of the program.

This year I brought in 7 freshmen and 1 transfer student. Again, a great group of girls. We did well in fall ball. I was excited to finally start game season. Friday morning, the day of our first game, I woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground... super. I hate to be negative nancy, but there is nothing I hate more than coaching in the cold. Not to mention we were playing SCAD, a team that beat us by 15 goals last season. However, the girls came out strong and pleasantly surprised me. We scored the first two goals of the game. Although they scored six unanswered goals first half we were able to hold them within two goals second half. The final score was 12-6, but I was still very proud of them... and I wasn't too cold since the game was exciting!

Saturday we continued our season playing UDallas. It wasn't our best showing but we still won 9-8. I wish we could play them again and show our true colors. I am glad we got that game out of our system because we have 2 more games in Kentucky this weekend. Can't wait to travel with my girls. I hope we have a weekend to be proud of!

Enjoy the UDallas game pics below:

Amanda is a grad student who is playing her last year of eligibility. She has been with the program since the beginning and has been such a trooper through it all.

She moves faster when she is carrying the ball :)

Can't wait to report our season as we move on. I think it will be a good one.