World Traveler

Ok, so I am not really a world traveler, but I have made my way around the nation this past month.

Two weekends ago I got to go to LA with Padna and Papa to see Aggie Engineer run at Santa Anita, and to do this:

It was so beautiful, and we had such a great time. Aggie didn't win, but he sure did try hard! Which is all that matters right? Well maybe not in the horse racing business.

Next stop: Newtown, Pennsylvania. Never heard of it? Not surprised. All I know is that I flew into the Philadelphia airport and then drove 30-40 minutes to get there. It was my first business trip. I felt like such a grown up. But it was a long week. I was gone Monday to Friday. And I had not seen Robert since the previous Thursday. While I didn't think being apart from him for that long would be a big deal (we had done it before when we were dating), I was wrong. The week was really busy, so I don't think I completely realized how much I missed him until I saw him on Friday. I almost cried. Actually I did cry a little bit. It was weird because I couldn't really explain why I was crying. I just kept saying things like "I am just so tired" and "I just missed you so much." It was kind of pathetic, but I think Robert thought it was cute. I slept better than ever that night with him by my side. It was a good feeling.

Next stop: Monarch/Telluride, CO. A much needed vacation with family after a crazy work trip. We got to see the Wests and Feagins. We tore it up on the mountains.

I skied for 5 straight days (something I have never done before in my life). We had a great time getting to hang out with our brothers and parents. We just love them.

Speaking of brothers- this is probably one of the best brother pictures I have ever seen. Granny and Mac sent it to me. I had it printed and framed because I love it so much.

Snowshoeing looks weird when you spell it.

I always think I am spelling snowshoeing wrong, but spell check is assuring me that I am not.

We went snowshoeing last weekend with our good friends the Kennedy's. It was so awesome. I love snowshoeing. Maybe more than skiing. I said that to Robert, but he reminded me that we have only been once and it just happened to be the most beautiful winter day we could ever ask for. Sometimes I make bold statements.

Here we are getting our gear ready to go. Check out that hottie in the shades.

These are the Kennedy's. They are awesome and let us come over to their cool house all the time.

I can't even tell you how beautiful the hike was- we were in Rocky Mountain National Park. I had never been there before, but I was not disappointed. We went off the main trail and walked all over the mountain on untouched snow.

Me and my awesome husband on a lake! That is one thing we cannot get over- people walking on frozen lakes. It seems so unnatural... so deadly- but then again, I guess we are from Texas. It's really not as big of a deal as we thought.

We owned snowshoeing.

Here's the whole group.

Needless to say snowshoeing definitely made the winter here a little more more bearable.

But then it was -20 degrees when I got to work on Tuesday.

Snow Day!

So I totally forgot to mention our Snow Day here in Denver. Well, I don't know if I would call it a snow day because I still had to go to work. Apparently not all cities shut down when there is 8-12 inches of snow on the ground, which to me is a little bit lame.

Below is our parking lot in our aparment. Note my husband's car...

We spent about 15 minutes scraping off mine. And then Robert, because he is so great, drove me to work. I would have completely hyperventilated the second I slid on ice- even if I was only going 5 mph. I have begun to overcome that fear, but it is a very slow process.

But look how beautiful the drive was! And how scary the roads were! I now know why Colorado has state income tax. To pay for the snow plowers.

Lunch Break

Oh man has it been a while! I had some free time on my lunch break, so I figured I would give a little update. (Sorry for the lack of pictures- I need to get some on my computer here at work). So much has happened this past month... Where do I begin?

We got to go back to Dallas for 10 days over Christmas. What a blessing that Lockheed Martin shuts down for that time. It was so great seeing family. I couldn't believe how fast the 10 days went by. By the time we were leaving it felt like we had just gotten there yesterday.

Robert and I were totally spoiled at home. On our drive back we had to fold down all the seats of my Forerunner, and the car was completely packed. We drove home all in 1 day (wow, was that an adventure). We got back to our apartment around 9pm-ish and then had to unload our car. While the old me wouldv'e said, "Let's just leave it til tomorrow," the new me now knows how easily cars get broken into- even in nice neighborhoods. (Evelynn (aka GPS)- we still miss you.) So we unloaded. In the snow. We dumped it all into our living room. Then we opened a bottle of wine. Then we were a lot happier.

Now we have been back to the grind. Robert is looking for a full time job, and I am really enjoying my off-Friday weekends. No work this Friday! Yay! It makes the week so much better, I cannot even explain it.

Also- in approximately 20 minutes, I will be heading down to donate blood in the parking lot of where I work. For those of you who know my very deep fear of needle, you will be surprised to know that I volunteered to do this. And I have not been nervous about it at all- until now. My hands are getting a little sweaty. But there is not turning back- they need my blood. Or at least I am telling myself that. I will let you know how it goes.

Oh- and Happy MLK Day! What an awesome day to look back and reflect on how the Lord used one person made such an impact. The Lord is big. Let Him work through you.