Truth: We're indecisive. 
Greg and I have never known exactly what we have wanted to do with our lives.  We both have had a general idea of the direction that we wanted to go, but never a sure path we wanted to follow.  Its so annoying.. 

At 16 I had the opportunity to go to Peru and serve the people there for several weeks, at 19 I moved to China and taught school children.  These experiences helped shape my dream.  My dream of traveling the world and being a humanitarianist.  Sounds kinda corny but it's true, I want to explore the world and discover the beauty it has to offer, through both it's landscapes and it's people.  I thought the best way to do this was to be a doctor or to go into public health, but that's because I wanted a degree first.  Before anything, I wanted an education.  I don't know why I have been so driven to get one, I've never even been sure of what I wanted to do with it, but its never been an option for myself to not finish college.  When I married Greg, I knew his dreams.  He wanted to be a lawyer.  He wanted a family.  Travelling the world helping people would pose difficult with a family.  I wanted to be with Greg more, and leaving him behind for weeks or months at a time to go abroad didn't sound so appealing to me.  But he still encouraged me, that we could make it work.  Even with his encouragement, I still felt lost.  I changed my mind about my career path a dozen times.  It was an internal struggle, being so confused about what to do in life is exhausting.  And then I settled.  Settled sounds sad and dismal, but it's really not. I settled into reality.  My major is Health Science with an emphasis in biology.  Mostly its a biology degree, I call it an everything degree because it opens the door for everything I have ever thought about being.  Since I had changed my mind so many times I had taken quite a few classes in everything related to the health care field, and my advisor has designed my degree so that when I finish in May I can apply (if I so choose) to med school, PA school, accelerated nursing programs, and MIL programs because I have the pre-reqs for all of them. (Sad!) But, I think, I have officially decided.  I want to be a medical laboratory scientist.  Nerdy and sciencey and right up my alley.  I still have two semesters left and Greg's career could take us to my dream job before I even have the chance to start my masters. 

Greg has been a lot like me, never quite sure exactly what he wants to be.  We always talk how we are envious of those who just know what they are going to be when they grow up.  Greg wanted to be a lawyer for most of his college career, until the last year and a half.  Then he wasn't sure anymore.  He still signed up for and took the LSAT and without doing any studying for it did well.  But he didn't feel right about applying for any schools. (mostly because I really want to finish my degree before we move away.. I know, selfish.)  He graduates next month and just when we both thought we were completely lost we now know what we are doing.  And it feels amazing!!

When Greg was a kid there was a show he used to watch, I never heard of it so I can't tell you what it was called but it was about a lady (i think) who was in the foreign service.  It was only one or two seasons long and it was one of his favorite shows.  It has stuck with him and has been something that he has always been interested in, but not something he ever really considered pursuing.  Then last month it just happened, we decided*.  He is taking the FSOT in October.  It is an extremely difficult test with a very small acceptance rate for those who do pass, only like 3% of those who apply actually get hired on.  The whole acceptance process takes at least 6 months and it can take up to 18 months before ever getting an invite, if at all!  It's nuts! and its long.  But it is all very exciting.  And although the chances are slim of getting in and there is no guarantee, it is a start.  We have direction in our lives and it feels fantastic!!

Of course, just like the LSAT, Greg wants no one to know.  But here I am telling the internet world, because I am excited about our future whether we get in or not.  So... Hi Internet World!  We are Greg and Whitney and we are FSO wannabes! 

**How did we finally decide?  Prayer.  Lots and lots of prayer.  Just saying... its amazing. :)** 

The Sea is Calling

Have you ever seen the Royal Caribbean cruise line commercials?

The sea calls me daily! Greg and I are addicted, it's a problem...

But look at this water!  

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Once again we took journey with our best friends the Lima's!  Man do we love these guys! This time we set sail out of New Orleans and headed for paradise!  We hit up Jamaica, Cozumel and the Grand Cayman's, all the while not having a care in the world (well, except missing our little baby)  It was amazing and so relaxing and perfect and ... I want to go back.  :)

We decided to take a few days to explore New Orleans before we took off on the ship.  It's a very interesting place to say the least.  Many areas have still not been rebuilt since the hurricane and buildings just sit there empty and graffitied.  It was an eerie feeling walking past some the larger buildings like the hospital.  We met a lot of nice people there and it was fun to befriend the locals, they became protective of us and would help us get to our destination so we would not accidentally cross onto a dangerous street.  Apparently, the streets are very defined there.  We stayed at a hotel near the airport and so we had to make the trek to downtown New Orleans (We went the weekend of the BCS Championship game AND the NFL playoff game which was terrifying all in itself with all those Saints fans, so pretty much there were zero hotel rooms) It was fun though to see all the people there supporting their teams.  :)  I love college football.  Moving on....  Instead of taking a taxi to downtown from our hotel we decided to try out the public transportation.  They use two different systems for the the two different cities and it was quite the adventure, all just leave it at that.   We hit up the famous Bourbon Street which was unimpressive to 4 non-partying college kids.  Though if we were it would have been a blast I'm sure. We of course enjoyed beignets at the famous Cafe du Monde which were aaamaazzing!  Our second day in New Orleans we went on a river boat tour up the Mississippi and enjoyed local cuisine.

French Market, New Orleans

Eating Beingets at Cafe Du Monde

We loaded up on the Carnival Conquest and set sail for paradise.  

On the way...

We played Bingo

We got cute towel animals

We played miniature golf 

Relaxed at the comedy club

Enjoyed a good book.

Tested the casino.

Then we arrived in Jamaica.

We went zip lining through the jungle on all these different lines! 

On the 6 wheeler going up the mountain.

It was so much fun!

Back on the ship.. :(

The next day we arrived in the Cayman Islands

We went and swam with the sting rays on a sand bar in the middle of the ocean.  Freaking amazing!

Brandon and Jenny

Heading back to the ship.  

Our third stop was in Cozumel, Mexico.

On our boat heading to go snorkeling.

Greg got sick.... 

Shopping

Two huge ships!

Our last day was spent at sea.

Swan ice cream.

We celebrated my birthday!

Our waiter showed us some cool tricks with napkins.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunsets.

Ahh... So. Much. Fun.

I love seeing new places of the world.  There is so much beauty to see!  It amazes me how gorgeous the earth is, and how diverse!  I am a seeker of beauty, of adventure and of new experiences.  I have had the opportunity to explore many different countries and places and the beauty of this world is astounding.  Seeking out the uniqueness of this planet is something I feel like I was born to do, as corny as it may sound!  I thrive on it. The problem is, I often feel like if I am not planning my next big venture I am missing out on life or running out of time.  So to ease my anxiety I have decided that while I am in between my big adventures I am going to try more to enjoy the beauty around me, because it is every where.  oh man....       

My Baby is One!

It was Charley's birthday on the 6th and she turned ONE!  I can't believe how quickly this last year has gone and how wonderful the adventure has been.  I never would have imagined that having a child could bring so much happiness.  This little girl is truly the light of our lives.  To say she is spoiled would be an understatement.  At least she is cute.  :)   For her birthday breakfast we made jungle animal shaped pancakes and she was in heaven!  We decided to take her to the little aquarium that is here in Boise.  It's nothing compared to the elaborate aquariums found near the ocean, but for a one year old it was pretty exciting.  She loved all the colorful fish and being able to pet the different sea creatures.  Aunt Taylor joined us for the fun.  

Dad found a sand box in the shape of a ship and fixed it up for her.

We celebrated her birthday on Easter and had all the family over.  If you haven't guessed it yet the theme was rainbow.  We had rainbow everything and did it in our back yard (which we barely finished in time)  She got a TON of gifts and loved ripping the paper off each one of them.  When it came time for the cake, she would only pick at it like a bird.  I wanted to get a good cake smash photo with her, but she would simply not dive in.

Since she is one, I think an update is due.  She started walking a few weeks before her birthday, and loves to dance and explore.  She likes to draw with chalk on the sidewalk, paint, and color.  She loves the outdoors and water.  She loves to play with her baby dolls and push them in her stroller.  She LoVes to read and learn new things.  She loves animals and knows different animal sounds; monkey, duck, cow, sheep.  It amazes me how quickly she is learning and how easily she picks things up.  We love our baby girl and are so happy to have her in our lives.  Happy Birthday to our little miracle!