Orlando Temple

On our way home from Disney, we decided to stop at the Orlando Temple.  This Temple is very special to Michael because this is the temple he visited the most after becoming a member.  Its a very beautiful temple; I loved the palm trees and tropical landscaping.  

We were lucky and able to join a large group of YM/YW and help with baptisms and confirmations.  We had a great time and I am so happy that we were able to attend.

Our Trip to Disney World

As one of my birthday presents, Michael bought tickets for Disney (one of my most favorite places).  My parents decided to give us two nights at the Grand Floridian (a Disney Hotel) as a graduation gift.  So, last Wednesday thru Friday we were in Orlando getting our fill of DisneyWorld.

The first day Mom came over and we went to Epcot.  The Flower & Garden festival was going on and we were hoping to see some pretty plants, but really only saw some interesting topiaries (pruned into the shapes of princesses, dwarfs, Mickey, etc).  We think there might have been more elaborate displays in the countries section of the park, but we never made it over there.

We rode some rides, I chickened out on a couple.  Mom had to endure the embarrassment of me asking to be let off Mission Space at the absolute last minute.  In my defense, the ride kept announcing if you have issues with motion sickness or being in small enclosed spaces, this ride is not for you (both of which I have).  I kept telling myself, "I can do this, I won't be such a baby".  But then we got on the ride, I saw how small the little compartment was and then saw the vomit bags and I knew I just couldn't do it. The worst part was an 8-year-old boy was on it with us and his father and HE stayed on no problems.  So, yes I am 27 years old and a bigger baby than an 8-year-old.

That evening, we met my sister Becca in Downtown Disney for dinner.  We ate at an Irish pub and then explored the Lego shop (Mike bought a kit for a Ferrari) and indulged ourselves in the Ghiradeli shop.  My mom drove home that evening and Mike and went to Hollywood Studios to ride the Aerosmith rollercoaster and Tower of Terror (Mike only, I chickened out).

A Lego dragon

Becca & me at dinner

The next day we did Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and had a great time.  We also spent some time at the hotel pool, which was so nice.  We had to endure a lot of summer rain showers, but it was worth it for the trip.  

On Main Street

At Animal Kingdom

We were really hoping to take a trip to celebrate graduation and have some downtime before we start our internship, but our budget just couldn't afford much of anything.  We are so happy that we were able to get away, even if it was just a couple of days at Disney!

Memorial Day at Caladesi Island

Even though the day started out cloudy, we risked the rain and headed out to Caladesi Island.  This is a state park located near Dunedin, Florida and has been voted the number one beach in America for two years (or so they tell me).  You have to take a ferry to get to the island and once there it is "natural Florida", complete with mangroves, gopher tortoises, scrubland, and rattlesnakes!  

The beach was beautiful, but crowded.  We had a great time sitting by the 

shore, people watching, and looking for seashells.  The rain never came and we were able to enjoy lots of sunshine!  We were going to hike on the nature trail, but the idea of rattlesnakes scared me away.

More pictures of our new home

The front room/sunroom/office

Livingroom

Dining Room

Kitchen

Our New Home

Here are some pictures of our new house.  We are LOVING it!

(of course the pictures are loading in a weird order)

The backyard and beginning of my garden

The fenced-in portion of our yard

The front of our house

The front again

The back of the house

Week with the family

Mom and Dad came to visit this week and help us get settled in our new home.  We were very busy and got much accomplished (both work and play).  I will post more details and pictures later in the week.  Mom took all the awesome photos with her new camera, so I need to get the pictures from her computer.  We will be traveling this week to Florida via Atlanta for our much anticipated graduation.  I will post more as we get time...

Take me out to the ballgame...

Tonight we went to the Phillies game to see them play the LA Dodgers.  This was our first time seeing them play and we had such a good time!  The stadium is a great venue and the weather was perfect (60s and breezy).  Since Mom is here this week, she was lucky enough to come with us. :) I am usually not the biggest sporting events fan, but I have to admit that the game was fun, and great outing and I would definitely go again.  

AND to top the whole thing off, tonight was Dollar Dog Night!  Our hot dog tally: 

Shelley: 1 1/2

Mom: 2

Mike: 4!!

What a great night at the ballpark!

New Jersey Residents

Our big day finally came...we moved to New Jersey yesterday.

The move was a move: long, tiring, a little disorganized and chaotic, but exciting nonetheless.  Our movers arrived at 8:30am and didn't leave our new house until almost 4:30pm.  Stefanie came to help too and she and Mike did a lot of the work as well.  

We are starting to get settled, little by little boxes are getting unpacked and things are finding their new homes.  I feel like there is an unending supply of boxes to unpack; just when I think I have finished a room, I find a couple more boxes that need unpacking.  My mom comes on Monday to help and I can't wait for the new energy--we are pretty spent.  

We LOVE our new place, though.  The neighborhood is so quaint; there are trees, kids riding bicycles, and best of all--no trash!  We have a small yard and I can't wait to start landscaping.  Our house has so much more space than our old one and lots of light.  We are so happy here!

Everyone needs to come and visit, we would love to have guests!

I will post pictures once we get the place in photographical order....

What we have been up to

The past month(s) have been very busy, as evidenced by the lack of posting.  Here are some highlights of what we have been doing:

• Spring Break trip to Palm Beach with the Biancos  We were lucky enough to be able to take a few days off and get out of the dreary north.  We spent 5 days in Palm Beach laying by the pool, walking the beach, and relaxing with family.  We managed to avoid too bad of sunburns, but still ended up a little red.  It was very hard to leave the beach and the sun.  I will post pictures later of our trip.
• ICU Rotation  We spent our last official month as medical students (official because technically our last month is this month, but we are working with a friend who is kind enough to give us some major freedom in our schedule) in the Intensive Care Unit.  We had a good time and enjoyed who we worked with.  Michael especially loved this rotation, he is a fan of critical care medicine and the doctor we worked with is a physiology junkie (Michael's favorite subject).  It was a great learning experience and I am glad we did it before we start our internships.
• Mom's Graduation  This past weekend we traveled to Florida (again, lucky us) to attend my Mom's graduation from college.  She has worked very hard over the past 4 years and finally made it to the end of her long road.  She graduated yesterday and we celebrated afterwards at a luncheon in a new hotel here in Tampa.  We are so proud of her and I am so happy that we were able to witness the graduation ceremony.  Also, while here, we did some hiking and Mom and I shopped for some fabric for a new quilt we are going to work on together.
  

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• Packing  We have spent the past month organizing and packing our house because we are moving this Friday!  I can't believe the time has passed so quickly, but we get the keys tomorrow evening.  Our house is pretty much filled with boxes and so we are ready to go.  We can't wait, the new house has central heat and air and with the recent hot weather in Philly, we can't move fast enough.  Once we get settled, I will post pictures of the house.