Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my family. We had 8 days - we spent the first in Las Vegas with my parents then went to Cedar City for 3 days. We stayed with my sister Jenny and her family. While we were there we did a lot of hiking.
Our first day we went with Cam and their 3 oldest sons to Yankee Meadow. Even though it is quite close to our family cabin it was the first time any of us had been there - and it was quite spectacular.

 

The next day Ryan and I went hiking at Three Peaks, which is pretty much right in Cedar City. I guess it was more a walk and climbing around on huge boulders, but we had a good time. We also spent some time driving around Cedar City so Ryan could reminisce about his mission (Cedar was his last area) and just hanging out with Cam and Jenny and their family.

 

 

We met my parents in St. George the next day to hike around in Snow Canyon. On our way to meet them I decided to try calling one of my closest friends form high school, Krissie. I hadn't seen her since I got home from my mission and had only talked to her on the phone a couple times. I wasn't actually expecting her to answer the phone but miraculously she did. She lives in St. George (hence the idea to try calling her) and she was actually home, so we stopped by to visit for a few minutes while we waited to meet up with my parents. It was so great to see her.

My grandparents lived in St. George almost all my life. I visited them a lot, and passed through St. George a ton. But I had never even heard of Snow Canyon. I couldn't believe it - it is amazing. We loved hiking there. We'll go back again I am sure.

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving was great - lots of super tasty food and tons of people and chaos - normal for my huge family. Since we were ALL together we also did family pictures. I'm not sure when we will ever be all together again. We've had everyone together for most holidays,b ut our family is getting BIG and peple are moving and leaving on missions, so we shall see. Hopefully we'll get everyone together again soon.

 

 

Ryan and I looked up a bunch of different activities to do in Las Vegas during the days following Thanksgiving. We took some of my family along on our adventures, but it turns out a lot of the things were closed for the holidays, which I wasn't expecting (even nature preserves). So that was disappointing. But we still had a good time.

All in all, it was a great trip.

We Did It!

Yesterday Ryan and I ran a 5k to raise money for children with disabilities. I realize that people run that far, and farther, all the time. I realize that finishing it in less than 30 minutes ( at a pace of 9 min 25 seconds a mile) is not all that impressive compared to runners. But I am not a runner. I had rarely ever even run a mile at one time before getting Penny a month and a half ago. I enjoy maybe the first 5 seconds of a run, and that's about it. I do hate running less than I used to now that we run Penny almost everyday, but still. Finishing a 5k was a big deal for me. I have no aspirations to run a marathon or even a half marathon. Like I said, I don't enjoy running. Running for hours at a time does not appeal to me. But I did feel good about myself after finishing this run, and I think it was for a very good cause.

Just after we finished the run

We did it with people from my department at TCU - the two ladies beside me are professors - the others are graduate students.

Palo Duro Canyon

Ryan and I have been saving up his vacation days in hopes that we would be able to go to New Zealand and/or Australia after Christmas. We have saved up a lot of airline miles which is how we planned to get there. However, one of the difficult thigns about adoption is planning - you can't really. You won't necessarily get 9 months to prepare. You could be chosen any time between conception to after the baby has already been born, so it is tricky. We want to be able to do a lot of diving in the Great Barrier Reef when we go over there, something that you can't take a baby to do with you. So we waited until a few weeks ago to really start planning our trip since as the time gets clsoer it seems less and less likely that we will get our baby by the time we would go. Well, it turns out that to use miles to get there you have to plan about a year ahead since there are limited seats and they go quickly, so I am not sure when we will get there - bummer. I'm sure we will one day though.

So, we have 7 days beyond the days we had already set aside for Thanksgiving. Ryan can carry days over, but only 5. So that means we had 2 days to use before the end of the year. What a problem to have. But don't worry, we solved it. TCU had semester break so I didn't have to teach yesterday. We have been wanting to go to Palo Duro Canyon for several years but could never find a good time to go. This was a good time, so we went!

It is a 6-7 hour drive, so we stopped along the way to stretch our legs and use the restroom. The rest stop was huge with several different areas. In one of them we found this:

You know you are in Texas when...

Palo Duro is about 45-55 minutes from Amarillo, but we really didn't even go in to Amarillo. We had Penny, our adorable dog, with us and there wasn't much there that we wanted to do that would allow dogs. We went straight to the park and did a few hikes on our way to our campsite.

The weather forecast had been really bad with lots of rain warnings. We had considered foregoing the camping and just staying in a hotel, but we really like camping so we decided to try it. I'm so glad we did. I think it rained for a few minutes our first night, but no big deal.

Sunday morning we headed in to the closest City, Canyon, for church. We only got to stay long enough to take the sacrament since we had Penny in the car, but it is always good to get to do that. We did some leisurely hikes spaced throughout the day, which were fun. My favorite was this unmarked trail that led to these cool caves. The only reason we knew to do it was because one of my friends is from Canyon so she knows the park well. We were so glad for the tip! We also spent time listening to conference talks and playing games on Sunday.

Monday we went on the LIghthouse Trail. We did the main 6 mile hike. It is one of the most popular trails but we got a headstart and didn't pass anyone until our hike back. This trail along with the one to the caves we had done the day before were by far our 2 favorite - the hikes that really sold us on the park.

We had considered doing 11 miles but Penny seemed quite tired by the end (she does a lot of running back and forth so went farther than us) and we decided we had already had the best views so we decided to save Ryan's final vacation day to use later, went back to camp, packed up, and headed home.

Our thoughts on Palo Duro and our time there: We had a great time, and so did Penny. She really likes camping we think, (and, by the way, she is excellent in the car - she just lays so quietly in the back that you forget she is even there). The hikes were fun, it was nice to ahve some elevation change. It is beautiful there, definitely our favorite state park in Texas. I don't know that I would enjoy it in the summer, but in Fall or Spring I would recommend a trip there. If you have never been to Southern Utah or the Grand Canyon then you will especially be amazed. It is very unique for Texas. So the conclusion, we really liked it and recommend it.

Mud Run

I am not a runner. In fact, I hate running, I always have. I would rather swim a mile than run a mile. I can run a mile faster than swim one, but I enjoy swimming,and not running. Last month the furthest I had ever run at one time was just over 2 miles, and that was only once. But Ryan and I have been talking about doing a mud run for a while. For those of you who have not yet heard of mud runs, they are a combo of a run (usually a 5 or 10K) and a ropes course (you havea bunch of obstacles). The problem with them (besides the running) is they are usually really expensive. But a few weeks ago there was a deal (on LivingSocial, which is like groupon) where we could get them 1/2 off - so we did. We did the Patriot Games, which was a 5K with 18 obstacles. We finished in 32 minutes, which was better than we had anticipated. We were in the top 1/3 of our group. I wouldn't say we did awesome, but I was able to run the whole thing, and we had a lot of fun. Although, the whole time we were talking about how much we wished Penny could be with us and how much she would love it.

Before

After

Penelope

We have wanted a dog since before we got married. The first 5 years we were married I commuted 75 miles for school. After I graduated we started working at the temple every Saturday and I started commuting 50 miles to work. We feel like it isn't nice to leave a dog alone all the time so we haven't gotten one. Instead we have pretended that other people's dogs are ours. When we go to Las Vegas to visit my family we borrow my sisters' dogs to take on hikes and walks and such - we really love them.

This is Bella, my sister Jenny's dog - she is the best dog, we are huge fans.

This is Tilli, my sister Maggi's dog - she is super playful and we just love her.

And then we also get to dog sit occasionally for Ryan's boss. This is Chester and we love when we get to keep him.

Now that I am only working 15 minutes away 3 days a week and only working at the temple every other week we felt like we could finally get a dog. We spent a lot of time looking for dogs on-line then finally decided we would just go to shelters and find one. The second place we looked we found her - our perfect dog.

We always wanted a lab but Ryan's mom is a bit afraid of large dogs so we didn't think we could get one. But we saw her and she just looks like a 6 month old chocolate lab but she is 3 so shouldn't get any bigger. She came house-trained, good on a leash, and good at riding in the car. She is not at all destructive and doesn't bark. We couldn't think of anythig more we would want in a dog. Her name is Penelope, we call her Penny. We just love her and are so excited to have a dog of our own!!!!!!!

MIA - Our Summer

Well, I will admit, I haven't been great at blogging the past few months. But we are still alive and well. So here is a run down on the adventures and excitement in our lives since we went on our cruise:

1) My mom came to visit. It was a super quick trip, I think she was only here 3 days. And since I had just come home from a 2 week long trip I had to work most of it. But I did work from home so I still got to spend time with her. We didn't do very much fun stuff. We went out to eat a couple times, which was nice, and I took her to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens, which was probably the highlight. But I am a dork, and not only did I not get any pictures of us together, this is the only picture I got of her.

The Beautiful Botanical Garden

The Botanic Animals - You may have to click on the collage to see it, but in the upper right corner there is a squirrel hanging from a branch by his back feet, I've never seen that before.

2) May 31st my post-doc ended. Well, that is when I officially stopped getting paid and collecting data. I am still working on analyzing data and writing manuscripts, but I am no longer a UTD employee. I really liked the people I worked with the past few years so it was sad to say by (although I still go in to CBH every so often to do a little work and see people). But here is my labs see ya later party and my last day:

3) In June we dog-sat Chester again. This is our 4th time having him but this time we got him for about 2 weeks, so we got even more attached. One Saturday morning we took him for a walk along the Trinity River. While we were there we saw this raccoon - he let Ryan get within 5-10 feet. Super cute!

4) While Chester was with us we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! Strange that it has already been that long, and at the same time strange that Ryan hasn't always been part of my life.

5) My youngest sister Maggi had my 20th nephew (my parents 26th grandchild)! Liam David Ross

6) Since we had a 3 day weekend for 4th of July we decided to take a little vacay. Our friend from college was living down in San Antonio for the summer so we decided to go visit. On our way we stopped in Austin and went to lunch with my cousin Sasha and his family, which was fun. Next time we will have to spend more time with them and take some pictures.

Our next stop was at the Natural Bridge Caverns, which we highly recommend. We went on tours of 2 different parts of the caves and really liked them both. Here is a splattering of some of the pics.

We then went on to see Marie and Adam and their kiddos. We didn't get to do anything too exciting with them. We got there late Saturday evening and left Monday morning. But we had fun just hanging out with them - catching up and playing games. We had a good time.

Their daughter Katie took this picture - not bad for a 5 year old.

On our way back home we stopped in San Marcos at what used to be Aquamarina Springs but is now part of Texas State. The water was super clear so we were able to see a lot of fish and plant life. And then we got back to Burleson.

7) The next day I flew to Las Vegas to visit my family and meet my 2 new nephews (Jenny had my parents 25th grandkid right before we left on our cruise - Caleb). It sometimes happens that since my family isn't on vacation when I am their normal lives go on so they are busy still and I end up spending time at my parent's house by my self. I don't mind being by myself, but I spend plenty of alone time and when I am in Las Vegas I would prefer to be with people. So this time I set apart one day to spend with each of my sisters and my parents. I told them I would do whatever they wanted with them. We did get together a couple times for an after shower for Maggi and a Taco Tuesday, which was fun. But I really liked being able to spend some individual time with each of my family members. Unfortunately Jenny wasn't able to come down, which means she missed out on the together time, but I did go up to see her in Cedar for a day on my way up to the cabin. My bff Wendi, who I have known since I was about 6 months old or so, and her husband and daughter came up to the cabin with me. It was really nice - nice at the cabin and nice to spend more than just an hour or two with Wendi (which is what I normally get when I visit Las Vegas) and to get to know her husband Jason a bit more. The one bummer was that while we were at the cabin I somehow pinched nerve in my lower back which resulted in me being somewhat of an invalid the remainder of my trip - bummer.

At the Cabin.

Jenny's 3 younger boys - Caleb on the left,Ben top right, Jesse bottom right. (Nathan, their older son,was out in the yard doing something with his dad.)

I joined Mindy and Emily's families for an ice blocking FHE. I had a lot of fun watching them all, but it would have been even more fun if I'd been able to participate - stupid back!

Everyone (except Maggi, baby Liam, and me) had a lot of fun playing in the pool. Emily was the star - not only did she do back flips herself but she taught all the kids how to do back flips and dives. What a super cool aunt!

Super adorable baby Liam, and his beautiful mom.

8) Our air conditioner went out, completely. During the hottest summer ever. (Literally, we broke records. Over 70 days of triple digit temperatures. This following a winter of record cold, snow, and ice.) Our house would get up to 96 degrees during the day. It was HOT! It took 3 weeks for our A/C to be repaired. The first few days we stayed at Ryan's parents house. Then we spent a couple days sweating it out. Then we borrowed a window unit from our neighbor and barricaded ourselves in our bedroom. It was rough, but we survived :).

9) I went back to Las Vegas. This time to take care of my sister Molly's kids while she and Bruce took their oldest daughter, Paige, on a graduation cruise. I didn't get to see too much of the rest of my family as they were all out of town. My parents went with Maggi's family to Hawaii the morning after I arrived. Missy's family was at the cabin. Mindy's family had just moved to SLC the week before (which we are all very sad about.) Emily was in town so I got to do stuff with her. And Jenny's family lives in Cedar. But taking care of the kids occupied me. We were busy every day. We went swimming, went to parks, went to water parks, went to Ethel M's, Bass Pro, Shark Reef, Bellagio, Flamingo, Bounce U, and more. It was fun. Unfortunately, the day after I got there, while my parents were flying to Hawaii, my dad's best friend, Ron Gifford, passed away. That was super hard. Both of my parents have been friends with Ron since elementary school. And my dad and Ron were as close as any brothers. They've even lived within 5 minutes of each other almost their entire lives. Ron was like an uncle in our family, so it has been hard on all of us, but especially my dad. (Ron's family too, of course.) The lucky thing for me was that since I was there I was able to attend his funeral, and I got to see more of my family. But obviously I would prefer Ron to still be around. I cried every day for a week after he passed away. And still do occasionally as I think of him every day. He was an amazing man who left everyone who knew him better people. So lucky to have had him in my life.

My camera battery died so I didn't get many pictures during this trip - but here is Mary at her riding lesson and then pictures of the kids at Shark Reef (Timmy was especially excited about it).

Here is a picture of my dad (the one closest to the camera) and Ron at a TCU vs UNLV basketball game we went to when they came to visit last year. It's not a great picture, I know, but it's what I've got.

9) I got back from Las Vegas on a Saturday. On the following Monday I started teaching at TCU!!! I am teaching two general psychology classes and a research methods class. So far I am liking it quite a bit. I like the people in my department, and I really like my students. The first day of school was my first day to ever be in a general psychology class, so it is interesting teaching it. Although I have had classes on most of the chapter topics I am also learning as I go along, which is fun. I missed teaching during my post-doc. Now I miss research. I only have to teach MWF so if I can ever get ahead in my lesson plans I will work writing up my results from my post-doc - but that is the part of research I hate. I miss collecting and analyzing data. But so far I am loving teaching again so I'm happy to be a horned frog.

And that was our summer - hope you enjoyed it.