Mike and I were lucky enough to go back to MN for Christmas again this year. It was a GREAT trip and it was so wonderful to see all our friends and family. We actually used our time at home very efficiently and ended up getting to spend about 1 week with the Sodahl's, 1 week with the Theiler's, and 1 week with friends. Highlights of the trip include going to Duluth to see my family, going to LaCrescent to see Mike's family, having a few crazy "girls nights" with my amazing friends, wedding dress shopping with Jenna (yay for her!), saying goodbye to Joelle & Dane as they left to move to Seattle, celebrating the 2nd annual Big 10 Rockin' New Year's Eve with friends, and much more!!! It was a great Xmas break! Here are some picture highlights:
First night back in MN - at our old college stomping ground Blarney's
Xmas celebration with the college girls! :)
What better way to celebrate the college crew's reunion than with a boys vs. girls game of flip-cup?!?
Saying goodbye to Joelle & Dane before they move to Seattle! (you can even see the moving truck in the background)
Dad, me, & Mike up in Duluth enjoying the lights! (too bad Mom isn't in this picture!)
Me & Jared up in Duluth (and notice his wimpy small beer...hehehe!)
Decorating Christmas cookies in Duluth
In LaCrescent having an early New Year's celebration with the Theiler's!
New Year's Eve at Big 10 with friends!
We flew back to the island after New Year's and the day after we got back we had our first visitors of 2010 - the newly engaged Jenna & Chris! We had SUCH a great time with them and I was sad to say goodbye when they had to leave :( Here are some picture highlights of their visit:
Jenna, Chris, Mike, & me at Lady C's
Jenna & me! :)
Chris, Jenna, & Mike on a catamaran cruise around the island!
Cool picture of Mike on the cruise
Jenna & Chris - singing sensations at BB's Corner Bar! :)
Jenna & me enjoying a beautiful day at the Westin
The day before Jenna & Chris flew out, we had 4 more visitors (Amanda, Tony, Mary, & Joe) arrive to the island. It was fun to have one night of overlap between ALL the visitors and it was definitely interesting to have 8 people in our tiny apartment! :) We were actually so crammed that Mary slept upstairs with Mike and me. But in the morning I woke up early to drive Jenna & Chris to the airport and while I was gone Mary woke up with me gone and Mike sleeping 2 inches away from her....it was pretty funny b/c she said she was still half asleep and was a little disoriented waking up next to Mike...haha! :) After we said goodbye to Jenna & Chris, we had a wonderful week with Amanda, Tony, Mary, & Joe. It was SO fun to have them here and we are so lucky to have so many great friends who come visit us! Here are some picture highlights of their visit:
Our visitors Joe, Mary, Amanda, & Tony enjoying some live music on the beach!
Mary, Amanda, & me at Happy Bay!
Beach Day!
Mary, me, & Amanda
The whole group
Amanda, Mike, Tony, Mary, & Joe on a catamaran cruise
After all of our visitors left, I had to really hit the books hard. This semester is insanely busy for me and on top of all my normal classes, most of my time is being spent reviewing for the Step 1 Licensing Exam that I will be taking in May after I leave the island. Last week, I took the biggest test of the semester (a 4 hour Comprehensive exam). I was very nervous about this one because I didn't quite feel ready to take it but I found out a couple of days ago that I PASSED! So that is a HUGE weight off my shoulders now! The 2-digit score on the Comprehensive exam is a predictor of how I will do on my licensing exam (a 3-digit score)....and I scored well enough that I am already predicted to pass by a good margin (so I am on the right track with studying) but I am not quite where I want to be as far as scores go so I just need to keep studying so I am in top shape when the real thing comes along in May. As most of you know, this Step 1 Licensing exam is one of the main things they look at when I apply for Residency so I am trying to take the studying very seriously!!
The day after I took my Comprehensive Exam, we had MORE visitors arrive. Mike's good friend Ben and Ben's roommate Kyle came to visit us for their spring break. Their timing was great because I had just taken my big test so I was ready for a weekend off and that weekend just happened to be the 30th Annual Heineken Regatta! It was such a fun weekend and we spent the days watching the sailboat races from the beach and on Sunday we went to a free concert on the beach and actually wound up getting into the VIP section thanks to one of Mike's triathlon friends. It was a blast and it was great to have more visitors!
Ben, Frank (friend from here), Kyle, & Mike at the Heineken Regatta concert!
Concert stage
Sean, Danielle, Brad, & Ivana (4 teachers who work with Mike) enjoying the concert
Since our visitors have left, we are now trying to get back to our normal routine. I am back to studying because I have 2 final exams this week, and Mike is back to living his island life. This morning he ran a half marathon, no big deal after having friends here and not training at all for a week...haha! Now Mike is off with some of our island friends watching a surfing competition and I am at home studying for my finals...poor me! Haha just kidding! I can't complain because no matter how much I have to study, it is still pretty sweet to be able to take my breaks on the beach! :)
I can't believe we are down to just over a month left on the island! Our time to leave is coming up so quickly and while I will be happy to move on to my clinicals in the USA it is going to be REALLY difficult to leave our island! I know Mike and I are both getting sad about leaving this beautiful island but we can't wait to be back in the USA closer to all of you! :)
Anyway, back to studying. I hope everyone is doing great and we will be seeing all of you soon!
~Carly
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