Volleyball Nationals

This year Volleyball Nationals happened to fall right on the weekend after my graduation and before Zac's hooding and commencement. It also happened to be in Dallas this year. We were excited because that meant we'd have the chance to catch up with our favorite friends, The Thorntons--YAY! In the beginning only Zac was going to be playing. He plays with MIT's GVC (Graduate Volleyball Club) team. However, my bud, Darcy, asked me to play with her as the eighth member on her team since I was already planning to be there to watch Zac play. I figured I wouldn't get a lot of play time, but in the end, I played every game as outside hitter and had a total blast! Thanks Darcy and team.
I had the opportunity to play with the funnest, most amazing women! They are from all across the nation, have incredible lives, are very smart and are genuinely fun to be around. Our team name was "Easy As Pi" and all of our uniform numbers corresponded to a number in pi. Did I mention that most of them are MIT alum? Too funny.







My team, Easy As Pi, always lined up as "Pi" at the beginning of each match. Here are some examples:



Zac's team at the beginning of a match:

My Graduation

I became an official Wellesley alumnae on May 27th 2011. The weather was beautiful, the speeches were interesting and I was surrounded by family and friends. I couldn't have asked for a better graduation day. I am one lucky girl!

Me and my mom

Me and one of my favorite music professors, Claire Fontijn

Me and my boys before the ceremony began

Katie Slezas, my English buddy, and myself in front of Founders Hall where we spent most of our time at Wellesley





Amy, Lily, Sue

Katie, Amy, Danielle

Claire (and son), Amy and Lucia

Grace (and son), Amy

Cory (QR and Stats professor), Diana, Amy and Ruth

Cory, Amy, Adan

Me and DawnMarie

Cute Estelle!

Susan Cohen, my Dean and saving grace!

Me and my Medieval/Renaissance buddy, LeeAnn.

Janice, Amy, Amanda and Sierra

Dottie, Amy and Ashley

Hidden Surprises

A couple of days ago I came across a pack of Yu-Gi-Oh cards I had meant to give to Tyson for Christmas. I delivered the cards to Tyson, unwrapped, and informed him how I had forgotten all about them after they had become hidden and forgotten among some papers on my desk. He was absolutely delighted! He just couldn't believe his luck. He said, "Mom, you have got to blog about this." I agreed and we took a picture of his hidden surprise. What a great, cold, January day!

Germany

Earlier this month, Zac and I had a quick trip to Germany for a job interview. We didn't get much sight-seeing in, but we did see a few neat things in Ulm. Gerald, Zac's old lab-mate, showed us around and even let me borrow his awesome camera. I really enjoyed the Christmas mart and the Ulm Cathedral. The stained glass windows were awe-inspiring. Last year Zac and I read "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet. I thought a lot about the book when touring the cathedral (think masonry, flying buttresses, etc). We climbed about 250 stairs to a spot above the bell tower. The stairwell was narrow, round staircase with little windows here and there. You could see for miles! Luckily I'm not terribly afraid of heights.
Ulm was beautiful! We walked along through the streets, along the city wall, next to the Danube and soaked in all of the beautiful architecture. There was also a house that was so old, it was beginning to lean over. It looked as if it would topple over into the nearby canal. Zac was fascinated with the interlocking beams. I took a picture of one to remember the detailed workmanship. A big thanks to Gerald for showing us around. We were lucky we had him there, he ended up being our tour guide and translator.

Warning: picture overload ahead!



Live sheep in their full size nativity just outside the cathedral!!!












We climbed these spiral stairs for what seemed like forever. I felt quite dizzy after awhile, but it is now one of my favorite memories of the trip.
















Eating some traditional German food: Sauerkraut and Bratwurst...yummy!




See! It leans!





These next few pictures came from a little town/village on the way to Stuttgart- Blaubeuren. We walked through the monastery grounds to get to a path around the entrance to an underwater cave entrance. They dive it, wouldn't you know! Zac was fascinated. The picture with the church and the water is my favorite. I'm proud to say I took that picture!





Waiting for our flight home at the Stuttgart airport.