Thanksgiving and Snowboarding

This year we did something different for Thanksgiving. We skipped the holiday traditions with family and road-tripped it to Vail, Colorado with some of our best friends, Aaron and Denise Power. This was an especially great time for the trip, as I'm mid-thesis in my masters program, Jeremy had just finished one job and was about to start another at Lockheed Martin (woo hoo!), and Denise had a week off of work for Thanksgiving. 


Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip:

Clayton, New Mexico

The Dinosaur Statues

This is how Denise learned to snowboard

Then she padded her knees and booty in preparation for Day 2...

Vail Village at night

Blended Ninja Pie at our "Friendsgiving" Dinner

Typical

Cold kisses - it was -26 F that morning!

The Return of the Wasp-Monsters

It has been quite some time since something new has graced the face of this blog. I'd like to say that I've been so busy doing important things that this little page was left un-updated. But that's not really true. I'm just lazy. So here's the speedy version of what's new so as not to bore you:


- I let the garden die (remember the laziness I referred to?)
- We're finally in a season where we have enough time to travel to see family. It's fantastic.
- I've been knee-deep in thesis - and am glad that's something you only have to do once....
- We're skipping Thanksgiving all together and going to Vail, Colorado with The Powers instead
- Jeremy got a new job!! He'll be starting at Lockheed Martin (Missiles and Fire Control) on November 29 - right after we get back from our snowboarding getaway






Last fall, ironically right around this time, we had a little humorous trouble with wasps in the house. So much trouble that it spurred Wasp Blog #1 AND Wasp Blog #2. 




They're back. 




And this time I have no handy husband nearby to hunt them for me. Jeremy's been finishing a project for work in Cleburne, TX which means he often stays there Monday through Thursday. This has shown me a lot about myself:


I hate sleeping alone.


I'm too lazy to cook if Jeremy's not home to eat it. My new dinner norm is cereal. How nutritious of me. 


I am also incapable of bringing in the garbage cans after trash day. All former roommates can vouch for me on this. 


I thought I was a pretty capable woman, but one year of having a man around the house has debunked that myth. When the wasps started trickling back into the house again, I figured there must be another nest in the chimney. Turns out I don't know how to close the chimney flue. 


Smoking them out would be another logical alternative --- but I can't light a fire to save my life. 


So instead of trying to nip the wasp situation in the bud, I'll just continue to kill them when they find their way into the living room. Not because I'm brave, but because I'm lazy.




So the moral of the story is that this story isn't about wasps at all, but about how gracious I am to have a husband who will wasp-hunt for me and eat my food and bring in the garbage cans. 


Thanks for making it all the way through my ramblings - next time I'll be organized and concise.






Love,


K

Canada Trip - Part II

We arrived home last night from our trip to Alberta. Jeremy absolutely loved spending time in the mountains - he said it was the best trip he'd ever been on! Our second week there the smoke from the fires in BC finally started to clear out, so these pictures of the mountains are MUCH better. 

Peyto Lake

We saw incredible scenery for 230 km along Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper

Athabasca Glacier at Columbia Icefield

Patricia Lake

Pyramid Lake

Medicine Lake. This lake was named "Big Medicine Lake" by natives, because it mysteriously disappeared every winter and reappeared every summer. Big Medicine referred to magic - the natives were afraid of the magic they thought caused this disappearance. The secret is small fissures in the bedrock of the lake - when melted snow isn't filling the lake during the winter, the water leaks out.

Lake Louise

We're already brainstorming our next trip to Canada to visit friends and snowboard!

Love - 

K

Canada Trip - Part I

We're still in the midst of our anniversary trip to Canada, but here's a little update of what we've been up to and just a few pictures. We've spent some time in my hometown of Cochrane, Alberta and have been staying with our dear friends Ron and Sandi Richard. Shameless plug here - Sandi is a FANTASTIC chef and has a show on Food Network Canada. Check out her website here and purchase some of her healthy cookbooks!

I've had a blast visiting with old friends and introducing Jeremy to the breathtaking part of the world that I grew up a part of. Last week we spent 3 days in Banff National Park. I've posted some pictures of the highlights of that mini-trip. Right now we're in Jasper National Park - look for pictures of that adventure soon!

Lake Minnewonka - just outside the town of Banff

A waterfall we passed on our 3.5 km hike up Sulphur Mountain

At the top of Sulphur Mountain overlooking the town of Banff. We were bummed that the first week of our trip was super hazy because of forest fires in BC (the province just to the west of Alberta). The mountains look grey and hazy in most of our Banff pictures because the smoke was so thick. It's MUCH clearer now, so we'll post better mountain pictures soon!

The view down Banff Avenue

Hiking up to the Teahouse and Lake Agnes just above the Chateau Lake Louise. The Lake below us is Louise. 

We spent this hike getting to know a couple from the Czech Republic. 

Mirror Lake

At Moraine Lake we climbed on top of the pile of logs and boulders creating the dam for the lake. This was the view from the top!

Early morning (and cold!!) at Bow Falls

Beautiful flowers on the outdoor terrace at the Banff Springs hotel

Johnston Canyon Upper Falls

On our drive back to Cochrane Saturday afternoon - in front of Vermillion lakes with Mount Rundle in the background

We are having a wonderful relaxing vacation and can't wait to tell you all about it! (And for good measure, just in case you didn't assume, we miss all our friends and family back in Texas, but we are not eager to return to the heat!)

Love-

K

Adventures in DC

This week my friend Megan and I flew to Washington, DC for a conference on adapted physical activity. A few months ago we decided to fly out a little early to play the tourist role since neither of us had ever been to DC.


Wednesday morning we woke up at 4 am and drug our sleepy selves to the airport for our flight. Apparently we were checking in at the same counter as a group of 50 high school students going on a class trip. When I reached the ticket counter, the clerk asked for my last name. In my early-morning fog, I didn't realize that she never asked for my first name OR looked at my passport.... (great security American Airlines - what if I was a terrorist??)


I got to security and handed the officer my passport and boarding pass, and she looked at me with annoyance and asked "Who's Madelyn?" I hadn't had much coffee yet, so I said, "I don't know, who is Madelyn??" Apparently the boarding pass I was given was issued to a woman named Madelyn Irwin. I started to head back to get a new boarding pass, but the security officer insisted that the pass I had printed from home the night before would suffice. I never thought about my bag...


Upon arriving at Dulles airport, my bag was not on the carousel. LONG story short - Madelyn went to Reagan International and so did my bag. The airline finally brought my bag to our hotel later that night.


We definitely did a crash-course in DC sight-seeing. A two-hour bus tour of the monuments (on which we were the only two passengers - awesome because the tour guide dropped us off at our hotel), sushi with my friend Roseanne who lives in DC, and a 20-block walk to an incredible frozen yogurt shop. The metrorail (subway) was extremely intimidating at first, but Megan and I felt so accomplished when we finally figured it out without help! Even though we both live near Dallas, we definitely felt like country kids coming to the big city ;) 


Thursday morning we toured the Capitol and even sat in on the Senate! We spent the rest of the day traveling to Virginia and beginning our conference - The National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities (what a mouthful).


Here's some of our best pictures:

In front of the Capitol 

View of Washington Monument from the Capitol

This sign says "Ban all nuclear weapons or have a nice doomsday."

The woman who posted the sign has camped out in front of the White House every day since 1981!

Pershing Park on Pennsylvania Avenue

The painted rotunda inside the Capitol building

Even though it's been great to visit DC, I can't wait to get home and see my man tomorrow!!

Love, 

K