Can I go back on vacation, please?

Well, after being back to the real world for 2 weeks now, I figured maybe I could post some pics from vacation. The only thing is that I really didn't take that many pictures, or rather that many interesting pictures. But anyway, this one is of Mama and Daddy by the little mountain stream that runs down the road where our property/house-to-be is. Right after you turn onto our driveway, you cross this stream, and they are standing in the driveway in this picture. Have I mentioned how excited we are about our house?! We can't wait till it's finished! Party in the mountains next summer and everyone's invited! :) This pic is of Ben and me at New Found Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Believe it or not, it was actually pretty chilly here in this picture! Probably had something to do with the fact that we were 5,046 feet above sea level. Oh yeah, and if it looks like we are cringing in pain in this pic, it's only because we were trying to hold our eyes open and not squint as we smiled for the picture while we were facing the bright sun that was glaring into our eyeballs! And you can't really see it very good here, but if you look at the mountains in the background, you can see why they are called the "Smoky" Mountains. This picture here is Nantahala Falls... the last and biggest rapid on the Nantahala River, where we spend a lot of our time when we go up there. This is a Class III rapid, which means it's a pretty damn scary thing to run in a canoe/kayak (at least for amateurs)... but it's a whole lot of fun in a raft as long as everybody stays in! By the way, this picture does not do it justice at all.. it looks like 10 times more scary in real life. And there had been a lot of rain up there so the river was up a little and the water was more fluffy than usual. FYI: the word "Nantahala" is a Cherokee Indian name that means "middle sun" or "midday sun," therefore the Nantahala Gorge is referred to as the "Land of the Noonday Sun."
Anyway, on a different subject, today I had the pleasure of meeting with the Director of the Graduate Program in Clinical Health Sciences. I am going to be applying to the program but the deadline is November 1 to start in the Spring because I missed the deadline to start this Fall. But he agreed to let me start taking a class as a "Special Student" this Fall quarter which starts in August! (I know, I know.. not that kind of "special." Just special in the fact that I will not be officially enrolled in a degree program.) Then I will take another class for the Winter quarter, and by February when the Spring quarter starts, I will hopefully be accepted into the Graduate Program and be an official "Grad Student"!! Yay! You can go ahead and practice referring to me as "Dr. Taylor" so that way you will be used to it when the time comes. ;) So I guess since I'll be starting school in a couple of weeks, even though I'll be working, I could technically imagine myself to be on "vacation" until classes start! VACATION HERE I COME! :D