Homework Much?

This semester I have stepped it up a notch and am taking 3 classes. After this winter semester (also will be 3 classes) I will be finished with my Business Administration Associates degree. Right now I'm taking Business Marketing, Business Management, and Principles of Accounting 1. I go to school Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday night after working all day. I don't get home until after 9 on those nights. So needless to say, my only free time to do my homework is on the weekends and on my breaks at work. The past three weekends have gone as follows:
1) 11 hours of homework on Saturday
2) 9 hours of homework on Saturday and another 5 on Sunday
3) 11 hours of homework on Saturday and another 3 on Sunday

This coming weekend probably won't be any better. But I have to figure something out, because October is going to be a crazy busy month for us. Joel will be traveling for work, there's the tour of the White Pine Trail (I will not be able to ride in it this year. I only got up to 50 miles this summer and haven't had time to train anymore.- maybe next year), there's the Colorburst Tour in Lowell, possibly camping one last time, and Kaitlyn & Geoff's wedding. It saddens me, but I will not be decorating for fall/ Halloween this year. It falls on a Wednesday night and I'll be in class and Joel will be out of town. There's no point in getting everything out if I can't even enjoy handing out candy. But that just means I'll have to kick it up next year! Fall is my absolutely favorite season. Yes, summer is fun with camping, kayaking, and the warm weather, but fall is amazing! You have the beautiful colors, the brisk nights, apples, caramel, soups, the crinkle of leaves, and so much more! I just LOVE it!

August- Gone in a flash

Oh my!!! Time is flying away from me! I only blogged once in August. Well, there's much to say. On August 15th, my new nephew, Alexander Anthony Steffes, was born. He is a cutie and looks just like his dad!

Aunt Kara holding Alex for the first time- only a few hours old.

Uncle Joey holding Alex- 3 weeks old

Joel and I also celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on August 20th. I can't believe how fast time has flown by! I love him more and more every day. He's such a wonderful man! And he keeps his cool during times of trials. My truck starting driving funny so we took it for repairs. We dropped it off on Sunday, Aug. 19th. Monday we celebrated our anniversary with Chinese food and cheesecake. Tuesday Joel was driving me to work and we were rear-ended in our Taurus on the s-curve. Wednesday we were told that the insurance totaled it out. Thursday evening Joel picked up my truck and the bill was over $1200. Yikes! Friday Joel was running errands, getting the check from the insurance, arranging for a test drive of the new car we wanted to get, etc. Friday afternoon we were leaving town to test drive the car when my truck broke down on the highway. Problem: fuse blew. Solution: change the fuel pump and hope that that was the issue that caused the fuse to blow. There goes another $350-$400. oh brother! Joel's mom was so kind to drive over and pick us up Friday evening (after working all day). We had a nice chat and drive home with her. Saturday morning we test drove and bought our new car. We now have a 2006 Ford Five Hundred. It's a gray car and is fully loaded: moon roof, leather interior, heated seats, electric car starter, etc. It's a really nice car. We put a good amount of money down, but still financed. It feels weird not buying a car out-right, but this is a much nicer car than we're used to driving. Sunday evening we drove our new car home and picked up my truck. Just in time for school to start on Monday evening!

Joel and I also just got back from an amazing trip to the Upper Penninsula. We got to ride in the car together for 4+ hours and didn't even get bored. The first night we got to the cabin around 9 and unpacked the car. On Friday we hiked to the lake near the cabin and explored around the neighborhood. Saturday we took a trip to the Tehquamenon Falls and hiked from the Lower Falls to the Upper Falls (4.8 miles from parking lot to parking lot). Then we tried some amazing smoked white fish, whitefish chowder, and fried white fish and chicken tenders at Brown's Fishery. The fish is caught fresh daily. Sunday we hung around the cabin and kayaked on the little lake near by. We got to use our new inflatable kayak for the first time! Monday we played with throwing knives and hung around the cabin. It started to rain around 6, so we turned the generator on early and watched movies. We cooked over the campfire for almost every meal and got ice cream in town three of the days. We had a great time. We came home Tuesday evening and got ready to go back to the real world. Now it's back to working 5 days a week and going to school 3 nights a week. Tuesday evenings I will have scouts, so I'm looking at a very busy semester. I don't know when I'll get my grocery shopping in- especially if we are traveling on the weekends. Well, the sooner I finish school, the better.