Give and Take: Sunny skies, snowy slopes

We've been in Denver now for 8 weeks, which means this contract is about 2/3 of the way done. Yikes! The good news is that the second half of any assignment I've been at seems to go by slower. I think in general, we are settled-in more, not as focused on the job aspect of it (for both of us), and are more focused on exploring and making the most of our remaining time. We've already been up to the mountains 12 times and plan on doubling that before we leave. Those are some lofty goals and sore legs! We're super thankful to be able to live here and experience Colorado in so many ways. I know that Will especially is loving this assignment. Me? I definitely love living in Denver and getting to improve on my snowboarding skills! Don't get me wrong. But my job has been a bit challenging at times. It's funny, because a lot of people ask what our favorite assignment/location has been so far. And I'd say location: San Diego. Hospital: Seattle. I just had it so good there! It's interesting working at so many different hospitals because I get to see and compare different policies and ways of doing things. Truth be told? It makes me miss my Helen DeVos team even more. Which is pretty convenient since I'd love to go back there full-time in the future. We'll see. Speaking of the future, Will and I have some pretty amazing goals planned out for the year 2016 (oh, Happy New Year by the way!). We'd LOVE to do one more assignment after Denver. Somewhere warm, sunny, tropical, yukulele-ish... don't worry, I'll keep ya posted. ;) We will likely go home to Michigan after that assignment and do the whole "settle down" thing. Which honestly sounds pretty good... it's funny how glamorous or cool this whole travel nursing thing sounds. Which it definitely is! But you find yourself missing little things, like familiarity, community, family, a church you can be regularly involved in. Our best friends are having a baby ANY DAY NOW and it's thrilling! I'd love to actually own a couch and be able to have a home and decorate. You know, all those domestic, boring-sounding adult things. But truly, it sound like music to our souls. And of course it doesn't mean our traveling days are over! There's a big world out there... and we still have lots to see.
Since arriving in Denver, this is a small collection of what we've been up to:
Obviously, we've been up in the mountains a bit. And it's been incredible! I've gotten so much more comfortable snowboarding and have even made it through a few black diamonds. It's just such a beautiful place...

My parents visited us between Christmas and New Years and we had a blast! It was fun hanging out with them and showing them around our new home.

See? Told ya we had fun.

We've loved living near our friends Justin & Jessika. Even though they're crazy ;) Ha! Oh, and our cool bro Kevin visited us, too! We heart visitors.

#quadbabes

Fun with Patsy! Such a fun gal pal. And a bad-A snowboarder. #goals

We spent Will's birthday weekend up in the mountains at Breckenridge with these goofs. It was pretty cool, I guess.

I definitely must say that my most favorite mountain-riding days are when it's just me and this man. He is truly amazing. He's so patient with me and shows me so much grace, even when I get really frustrated at times. He's just phenomenal. He balances me out and puts me in my place when I need it. Thank the Lord. For so many reasons.