Work Hard, Play Hard

It blows my mind that we have been home for seven weeks!! In looking back at our pictures, we have been busy little bees for the last month and a half.  After our first weekend back, we dove head first into the working scene.  Nate decided to go back to work for a man he worked for a few years ago setting tile rather than taking on his own jobs with his company.  This would make it easier for him in the long run because he could just go to work and come home without having the extras of owning your own company like phone calls, estimates, etc.  I emailed my old boss at the restaurant I used to work at and asked if he would have shifts available for me for the summer.  Both of our bosses were more than happy to have us back on board and we were actually a little excited to work again for a little bit.

Nate works Monday through Friday, and sometimes on Saturdays, during the day.  I work five or six nights a week until about 11 or 12 pm.  This makes it a little difficult to see one another because we work completely opposite schedules.  It was hard to get used to not seeing each other after spending every second of every day right beside each other for the past nine months!  It was also a bit difficult for us to transition into “work mode” once again and not “Central American mode.”  We actually have to move fast, take orders from other people and be someplace at a certain time once again.  It took me a little longer than I expected to get back into the swing of things.  

To make a little extra cash when we first got back, we had a yard sale.  We don’t have a whole lot of stuff left after selling pretty much everything we own, but we went through things one more time and found a good amount of stuff!  Our parents and my sister also “donated” to the Long Way South yard sale fund and the whole day was a success!  We even tried to sell Brady for a buck but we just couldn’t seem to get rid of him 😉

We have really been enjoying our free time in our home state.  Maine is truly beautiful and has a lot to offer.  There is a really nice hike about an hour away from my parent’s house that I take the dogs to.  It is about 5 miles total but really steep and offers gorgeous views at the top.  Nate has been riding his bike on the Eastern Trail and I have really been getting into running, even more than I already was!  I run almost everyday and am up to ten miles on my long days!  Although surfing and running are very different, there is something about the mindset you get in on those long runs or long surf sessions that is the same.  It’s a freeing feeling running through the woods not knowing where you are going to make your next turn or being out in the ocean searching for the next wave that will give you the ride of your life.  I love just throwing my camelbak on and going, not knowing when I am going to stop. 

We have enjoyed nice dinner dates with friends and family too.  Our good friends Jena and Jonathon had us over a couple times now for deliciously homemade dinners followed by a game night.  We have also gone to our friend Greg’s house to BBQ and hang out with the pups.  One day, we even treated ourselves to fresh Maine lobsters- man did we miss those!! We also celebrated Nate’s mom’s birthday at a nice restaurant in Portland.  We feel so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives!

For the Fourth of July, I went out on my parent’s boat with them with the two dogs.  We cruised around the lake for about four or five hours.  It was a beautiful day to go swimming, throw the ball for the pups and even jump off a big huge rock! 

Last weekend, Nate and I celebrated our eleven year anniversary!  Who would have thought two young high schoolers would fall so in love that they decide to not only spend the rest of their lives together, but live in the back of a truck and drive throughout seventeen different countries?  That’s the ultimate test on the relationship right there! 😉

Here’s a little throwback for you all:  This is a picture of us on Nate’s high school graduation day in 2002.  I am sixteen and Nate is eighteen. 

And then here is us this past weekend on our anniversary.  Oh, how times have changed 😉 

We feel pretty accomplished with the last seven weeks.  We have been spending a lot of time with family and friends, working hard, playing hard and still remembering what life is all about.  As of this moment, we have 42 days, 18 hours and 23 minutes left before our return flight back to Costa Rica… not that we are counting or anything 😉