Yes we are still alive......somewhat!

Where to begin. We have been gone from the blogging world for so long! (Yes Stephanie and Aliotti... it is about time!) Well Collin's golf lessons had to stop due to the violence that has been ongoing for quite some time in Salinas. It never stopped us before, however, towards the end of January a shooting happened that was only 3 blocks away from the golf course. We have yet to return to Salinas. Collin was sad but we still do take him out to hit golf balls at the park or the actual golf courses we have close by.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous out here in Monterey. We have had minimal rain (which I know we will be paying for it in the summer) and actual warmth with our sun. With this wonderful weather we have been able to attend our wonderful farmers market on Tuesdays. We have our juice lady who makes the best fresh fruit juices that are all natural! They are amazing! We also have our burrito guy who makes the best fresh tortillas and burritos. We have been able to hit the beach or the park depending on the day of the week. We could not ask for better weather during this time of year.

We got a new car! It is absolutely amazing! We are so blessed to have been given the opportunity to buy it (Thank You Uncle Jeff). We did need it seeing as my Honda was from '96 with only one working seat belt in the back and many well loved miles. With Collin getting bigger and with more extra curricular activities we needed a car that gave us some extra breathing room. We (especially me since I drive it everyday) are very happy with the car.

School is in full force right now! Jed is officially graduating this semester (clap,clap,clap,clap) and I am so proud of him! He has stuck with it for so long, even when he was ready to throw his hands up, and is done this May! He already has his cap and gown and watch for those save-the-dates in the mail soon with the exact time and date of the graduation! As for my schooling it is going. It has been such a tough semester between Collin, Jed's school schedule, my school schedule, my work schedule and with Jed's senior capstone. His capstone is what is taking up most of his time because it is just like a thesis which he has to present to the deans of the Business School of CSUMB. They have to do it in groups so whenever he has to meet, it is really hard to say no because there are 2 other members in the group that also have lives of their own. We both have been trying to get a little more flexible with meeting times but it is very difficult.

Work has been going great! I work with some really incredible ladies! I am so happy that I was able to have one more semester with Sami, but I am sad that she is leaving. I am so stoked that my best friend MarMar came back to help us out! I love working with her. I am equally stoked that my mormon buddy Stephanie is working with us as well but will miss her when she goes back to Utah in the summer and not returning in the Fall (to the preschool). Also.....Nicole is coming back which just makes me so happy! I cannot wait to get to work with her this summer!

So I have also had some down time inbetween this craziness that I call my life to be able to meet some really cool people. First off I have the best moms from my preschool! They are sooo kind and caring and wonderful people. I have had the chance a couple of times to get to hang out with them outside of work/school and they are just amazing women. Support our troops but also we need to Support our troops spouses because they do so much at the homefront and we love them!

I also got hooked to a game, thanks Nicole, called Scrabble! I love this game and you better believe that once this semester is over we would probably play every night if we could. We play almost every weekend and yes she does win. However, I did win once and it was a beautiful thing! We need to do more game nights and start introducing other games....again though this needs to happen after the semester is over.

Jed has been snowboarding for many, many years now and as I said before with our wonderful weather we have been recieving, it has been hard to hit the slopes without the precipitation to get the snow. However towards the end of Feb. and most of Mar. he has been able to go and snowboard for the day. However, he did get hurt this season which has his left shoulder out of commision. He has a 2nd degree AC separation and his bone is sticking up on top of his shoulder. He went to see the orthopedic surgeon and he does not need to have surgery! Just needs to wear a funny brace/sling and let it heal on its own. So far the bone has gone down in just 3 weeks which is a really good sign. He is still going to get an MRI down to make sure that there was not any more damage done to the shoulder and of course he will be out on the slopes again next season!

Collin is going to Kindergarten in Aug!!!! I am so proud of him but it is also very bittersweet! My baby is no longer my little baby. He is so grown up and has become such a wonderful young boy! Now I know that he will always be my little boy, but he has also gotten to that stage where he looks at me like why are you still hugging me and kissing me? He will start Aug 4th at San Carlos School. I am so excited that we got him into that school because that is where I went and came out with some really great lifelong friendships that are still very strong to this day. He is excited too!

So this is what is going on so far in our lives. We are definitely trying to survive this semester. Plan a graduation celebration for Jed, planning for Easter this weekend, hoping for our wonderful Passover meal (thank you Weinraubs!), surviving final papers and exams, and celebrating Collin's 5th birthday. I will try my best to maintain this site for all of our family and friends, but again this semester is one of the craziest ever!

with much love
Veronica and Jed