Letting Go...

A Few of My Favorite Things

2011-05-29T19:14:00.000-06:00

We've been in Dallas for almost two weeks (crazy how time flies) and we're getting pretty well settled in. More on that soon- with photos. But for now just a little list of a few of the things that make me happy to be in Dallas:

1. The Lake House- thanks D&P
2. Listening to Kidd Kraddick in the Morning on KISS FM - I've listened to him since I was in middle school and he still cracks me up!
3. The beautiful sunsets at White Rock Lake
4. Getting to have lunch with my mom on a random Friday afternoon
5. Fun local restaurants like Jack's Backyard
6. Help unpacking from my mom-in-law
7. Taking a hot shower and not worrying about the water temperature decreasing in 5 minutes - this happened ALL THE TIME at our Colorado house
8. A sweet Bikram Hot Yoga studio just down the street
9. The little dog park at our apartment so that Pep can run around with new puppy friends
10. Free WiFi- from our apartment complex

There are other benefits of being here too, like the general awesomeness of being near most of our family and many of our life long friends, but this is just a short list.

I heart Texas :)

Moving Update

2011-05-11T21:10:00.000-06:00

It's been a bit since I've posted, but it's not due to laziness... I swear. We have been busy little bees here in the Horn household. For the past few weeks, we've been traveling, packing, finding a place to live and generally doing anything and everything moving related. Here are a few pics of the progress so far:

After we packed away her kennel, Pepper kept laying in the spot where it used to sit. You can see the grooves in the carpet below her. I think she was a little bit sad.

This is what my bed looked like while I sorted through all of my clothes. Yikes!

I had segmented the bed into four quadrants- 2 were for things to keep, one was for donations, and one for consignment. It was very "Clean Sweep"-esque. Does anyone still watch that show?

Michael was a little sad at the whole process... Let's be honest we all were (including Pep), but we're also really excited about getting settled in our new digs.

Since this is our sixth move in less than six years (Yikes again), we decided to hire professional movers. We moved ourselves when we came to Colorado, and although it worked out fine, it was really challenging. This way, we ensure that our things will be well handled and hopefully will cut down on nicks and scratches that we incurred last time. We will still carry a small U-haul with us that will hold our outdoor gear like bikes and climbing equipment and skis as well as few high price items like our clothes and jewelry.

Yesterday we drove through some horrendous weather to pick up the U-haul in Golden, which is a suburb of Denver. It had been beautiful here ever since we got back from St. Lucia (a new blog on that soon), but of course the day we started the major moving, a HUGE storm came through and dumped snow! This is what our drive in to Golden looked like:

CRAZY!!! I kept telling Michael that I feel like we live in Narnia... where it's always winter and never springtime! But after getting through all of that, we were able to pick up our sweet little U-Haul! Yay! Michael was able to pack in it under an hour, which was awesome! Way to go, babe.

Here's the rest of our hoard of boxes, ready to be packed up. We staged everything in the garage for the movers. They just had to deal with the furniture and packing the kitchen.

As we speak our awesome team of packers is loading everything up, and should be on the road again by 3 or 4. They are fantastic and from Houston. Needless to say, the wintery drive in was a bit of a shock to them and they are hoping not to have to chain up on the way out. Here's a picture of Doc wrapping up the couch. AMAZING!!

Dallas here we come!

Consumption

2011-04-20T11:03:00.000-06:00

I revealed yesterday that we will be moving back to Tejas this summer, but realized I forgot to mention when. We will hit the road for home on May 16, 2012. Yes, that's right, we have less than 1 month before we vacate our precious little Colorado home and as with any move there's LOTS to do.

The first thing I wanted to ensure was that we get rid of a bunch of the items currently lingering in our fridge, freezer, and pantry. I was inspired by this entry from Sherry over at Young House Love, my uber favorite blog to follow. So yesterday we made a list of all things food in order to diminish our grocery bill and our stash and to ultimately lighten the load when we move.

Here's what we've got to go through:

Breakfast options:
Cream of Wheat
Oatmeal
Grits
Cinnamon Rolls
Homemade banana nut bread
Bisquick (for pancakes or biscuits)
Greek Yogurt

Lunch/Dinner components:
African potatoes- 2 servings
Chicken- 6 breasts
Tilapia- 4 fillets
Whole Wheat Penne- 1 box
Brown rice- 2 boxes
Pasta sauce- 1/2 bottle
Quinoa- 1 1/2 servings
Lasagna noodles- 3/4 box
Edamame
Frozen corn

Condiments/canned goods:
Canned chicken/tuna- 6 cans
Black beans- 1 can
Cream of broccoli- 1 can
Cream of celery- 1 can
Diced tomatoes- 1 can
Tomato soup- 2 cans

Fresh fruits/veggies:
Carrots- 2 bags!
Lettuce
Butternut squash
Tomato
Mango
Oranges
Apple
Pears

Snacks:
Hummus
Crackers
Almonds
Lots of baking stuff!!

So we took this list and created the following list of meals for the next week:

Tuesday- African potatoes and rice
Wednesday- Stuffed Red Peppers
Thursday- Chicken stir fry
Friday- Italian tilapia with pasta and asparagus
Saturday- Lasagna with warm pear salad

I am also planning on making a carrot cake to get rid of our hoard of carrots; Michael will be making fresh juice all week to whittle down the collection of oranges; and I made an awesome mango smoothie to utilize the mango and all of my remaining Greek yogurt.

In just one day, we have already started to obliterate our list, and we should only have to buy a few things to get us through the week. WOO HOO for forward progress!

Making it Official

2011-04-19T18:35:00.000-06:00

For the past few months, I've had a hard time generating blog entries, because much of what we've been discussing and pursuing has related to a recently publicly revealed decision: WE'RE MOVING BACK TO TEXAS!

The decision to return has a great deal to do with the end of Michael's commitment to the Army Reserves. When he left active duty to join the Reserves, he was granted a decreased time commitment (from four years to two) as well as stability, meaning he wasn't eligible for deployment during his entire stint in the Reserves. This has been such a blessing, as one 15-month deployment was quite challenging and something we'd rather not revisit.

Michael's required Reserve commitment, and thus the end of his stabilization, ends this September. If he were to resign with the Reserves, or any other faction of the Army, he would again be eligible for deployment, a risk we just aren't willing to take. In light of the resulting decrease in both pay and benefits, we would have a hard time maintaining our lifestyle here... so, sayonara, Army... and Colorado.

Add to that, the opportunity for Michael to work for his dad's manufacturing company, A. C. Horn & Co., and the answer to where we'll start our next stage of life was easy: The Big D!

We are currently working out the details of where exactly we'll be living, but we're most interested in the Lakewood and Lake Highlands areas of Dallas. We'll be sure to keep you updated on where we finally land, but for now we're working on packing up all of our things here and saying goodbye to the wonderful friends we've made in Summit County over the past two years. Colorado will always have a special place in my heart.

Songs for Japan

2011-04-01T20:49:00.000-06:00

My heart goes out to the people of Japan, including our American soldiers who are currently serving overseas and assisting in the clean-up efforts.

As I was browsing music on iTunes tonight, I discovered a fantastic album that has been compiled by dozens of artists all in support of the Japanese Red Cross. There are 38 songs on a single album for only $9.99.

Check it out!

Obsessed Much?

2011-03-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

There is a silent killer in our home which invades during the winter months... it's called...

STATIC ELECTRICITY

It's so bad that about a month ago Michael was leaving the house and decided to give me a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Innocent enough. Except that I was typing on my computer with my earbuds in, and when he walked across the carpet and kissed me, an electric shock rocketed through my head and OUT MY EAR! Instantly causing me to burst into uncontrollable tears.

That night, we decided to employ a little machine which we'd purchased last season and never used...

OUR HUMIDIFIER

And since then, Michael has become obsessed with it. He checks on it regularly throughout the day to make sure it still has enough water. He even called to me tonight, from the shower mind you, to see if I could check on the water level and fill it up. Needless to say, I declined and informed him that it could wait until he got out of the shower.

It's really quite humorous.

However, I must admit there has been a drastic change in our quality of life as a result of this little guy. Gone are the days of electrically-charged good-byes. Hallelujah!!!

A Case of Mistaken Bedentity

2011-02-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

This story starts quite a while back... back to the summer of 2009 when Michael and I first moved to Colorado. That summer we packed up all of our belongings and hauled them to Breckenridge where we promptly unpacked them ourselves.

Fast forward to two nights ago in February of 2011. I had stripped the bed during the day and washed the sheets, but had yet to put them back on at 10 p.m. After having guests for a few weeks, we were really tired so we opted to sleep on the guest bed, which had nice clean sheets on it thanks to Michael's sister, Suzanne.

The next morning we arose rested, refreshed and (practically) hearing little birdies chirp outside the window. We both remarked how astonished we were to have slept so well in our guest bed, especially in light of the fact that we'd both recently noticed a decline in our slumber on our mattress.

After much discussion and wrinkling of eyebrows, we decided to switch out the mattresses. We'd rather sleep on the other, more comfortable mattress, even if it was meant for guests.

And that's when it hit us!!

As we stripped the guest bed, including it's mattress pad, we realized that it was in fact the original mattress which we'd purchased when we lived in Texas!!!!

WHAT?!?!?

How could this colossal mix up have occurred? Not that we desire to give our guests a poor sleeping experience, but most people save their awesome mattress for the bed they sleep in every night, right?

All we can figure is that when we first moved in, we were a little frazzled and must have put the wrong mattress in each room. As you can see below there's quite a difference between the two, but apparently we missed it...

Thankfully our mattress has been returned to its rightful place and will be waiting for us this evening!! YAY!!

Visitors, visitors, visitors...

2011-02-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hey world... I promise that we have not fallen off the face of the planet. On the contrary, we've been very busy hosting wonderful guests for the past month- hence my absence from our blog. Here's a short recap of the friends and family we've been hosting since January.

In January, Ben, Bekah, Averie, and Hailey Cairns loaded up their sweet mini van back and came to Cod-er-ah-do for a whole week! Bekah had never been skiing before, but after one lesson she was a natural (not that I was at all surprised). Averie also got to learn "skaping" with Uncle Mike, although she wasn't a huge fan.

The third day the Cairns were here, we got to spend an entire day sans kiddos skiing with Ben and Bekah thanks to the awesome Belly Button Bakery staff (that's the weirdo name of the childcare center at Copper). That evening we took further advantage of the Bakery by dropping the girls off at Kids' Night Out and then had a lovely dinner at CB Grill. It was great to have such wonderful life long friends come visit.

A couple weeks later, Michael's parents came to visit and packed in 5 full days of skiing. We were able to ski with them all but one of those days, which was a real treat. We didn't get many pictures, probably because we were concentrating so much on skiing, but here's a classic one of Doug in his sleek new helmet and goggles.

The day after Doug and Priscilla left, we traveled to Steamboat with new couple friends from Michael's Reserve Unit, Mike and Quincy. Qunicy's aunt had a sweet condo that she let us borrow for the weekend. It was a blast to go on an actual ski vacation and get to ski for fun all over the mountain.

Also, Mike works for Naked Juice, so we had an unending supply of the stuff!

Our final visitors of the month, were both of Michael's sisters and our brother-in-law, Richard. We didn't get to ski with them much, but we had a blast chatting and eating Girl Scout cookies every night. Again, there weren't many pictures taken, but here's one I sniped from Leslie's Facebook page of her and Suzanne.

We're visitor-free for a few weeks until my sister comes for Spring Break, but it sure was fun having so many awesome guests. Hurray for winter!!!

Good Bye Christmas Tree...

2011-01-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today I began the process of taking the Christmas decorations down at our house and I remembered that I'd wanted to blog about some of my favorite Christmas ornaments. I realize it's January already, but I basically didn't blog the entire month of December, so here is my belated blog.

In my family, we had a really fun tradition of giving/getting Hallmark ornaments every year as the first gift of Christmas. We would also purchase ornaments wherever we went on our family vacation each year. Both Courtney and I had a huge collection of ornaments by the time we left the house.

Our small house only accommodates a little 4 foot tree, so we don't have all of our ornaments on display, but here are a few:

This is a Hallmark ornament from 2007 which Michael and I both purchased for each other since we'd adopted Pepper at the beginning of that year.

These cute bears were purchased this year at Copper as a tribute to our time teaching little ones at ski school.

These snowpeople were given to us by my mom in 2005 when we got married. They hang at the top and are the last two ornaments we hang.

Mom bought this Hallmark Pooh Bear for Michael because he loves honey!!

This ornament was from 2004, the year we got engaged! I just love the little fly on the leaf! So cute!

This is one of my childhood ornaments- a sweet little Precious moments figurine that's pretty heavy, but so pretty.

I bought a series of these ornaments in Russia this summer. I just love the shape of the little churches.

This gorgeous panda came to us from Michael's parents straight from China. There's also a bell and a ball that have the same intricate detail.

So there's a little insight into our family tree... and here's what the whole little package looks like:

Merry (Belated) Christmas!!!

The Saga Continues...

2010-11-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

We called the Chevy dealership this morning and they reported that Ruby is in paint and the Silver Fox was ready for pick up! So our wonderful friend Doug took Mike to pick up the Silver Fox this afternoon around 3.

Then at 4:45 I received this text: "Funny thing... I'm back at Hudson (the body shop) because the breaks went out. Thankfully I was at Enterprise Rental (changing over our rental contract) which is 2 blocks from Hudson. Ronnie's (the repair guy) is about to take a look."

UGG!!! Basically, the brake line got bumped, for lack of a better term, during the accident and the Jeep was leaking brake fluid. Therefore, even though the repairman had test driven it on the highway at 70 miles per hour, once Michael got in, the brakes went out. Praise the Lord he wasn't on the highway or slippery roads and that he was easily able to get back to the repair shop and have them check it out. This is what they found:

The good brake line

The bad brake line

So, the Fox is back in the shop getting the brake line repaired and refilled with fluid. Hopefully we'll be back to our whole fleet by the end of this week... hopefully.

dear indoor plumbing, water in a glass, and a roof over my head rather than a tent

2010-11-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

dear indoor plumbing, water in a glass, and a roof over my head,

i am so very thankful for each of you and how your presence in my life makes everything so much easier. this time last year i was sitting among brambles making thanksgiving dinner out of cheese, hashbrowns, and very little water. i am thrilled to have slept indoors this thanksgiving and not have to search for water (but also glad to have had the chance at nols to experience "roughing it").

love, nicole

dear my awesome family

2010-11-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

dear my awesome family (all of you!),

you are the loves of my life!! i couldn't make it through life's ups and downs without you. i absolutely adore you. thank you for such a wonderful weekend back in dallas. it was a blast- from running in the Turkey Trot with our own turkey, to making Mamaw's dressing, to watching hilarious episodes of the SNL Lawrence Welk show spoof! i can't wait to see all of yall again soon. you are more than i could ever have asked for and much more than i deserve.

love, nicole/co bear

dear frontier airlines

2010-11-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

dear frontier airlines,

thank you for safely transporting us to dallas on tuesday. i also really loved the awesome chocolate chip cookie you served on board and the "extra leg room" area that we got to ride in.

love, nicole

dear working car engines

2010-11-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

dear working car engines,

you make it so easy for us to get from one place to another. with you we can get in the car, decide where we want to go, and go there. without worrying about it. you're the best!

love, nicole

More Epic-ness

2010-11-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

As you might recall, last week we had our EPIC car accidents which I blogged about here. Since then we have been chatting back and forth with our AMAZING insurance company USAA- the best insurance on the planet, if you ask me- thanks, Army! And have gotten things moving right along. We were able to get the Jeep (aka the Silver Fox) towed to the body repair shop the very day after the accidents, and we took the 4 Runner (aka Ruby) in today.

Since both of our vehicles are tied up, we went ahead and splurged on a rental so that we could, you know, keep driving around town and doing fun things. So, they hooked us up at Enterprise rental with this beauty:

A sick, 2011 GMC Yukon with leather seats, satellite radio, and an engine that doesn't like to run...

We of course didn't figure out the "engine that doesn't like to run" part until we started driving it. At first, the truck was okay. We couldn't get the heat to come on no matter what we did (only cold air blew), there was no washer fluid, and only 1/8 of a tank of gas when we picked it up. Not to worry, we weren't going to have the thing for long and it drove decently enough.

Then, we were driving to work on the highway yesterday and the check engine light came on followed by the digital message informing us of the "Engine Overheating" and subsequent "Power Being Reduced". For a brief moment we wondered what all that meant, and then the car began to power down. Although Michael had his foot on the accelerator, the speedometer slowly ticked down from 50 to 40 and eventually to 0. ON THE STINKIN HIGHWAY!!!

We pulled over, stared at each other in disbelief, turned off the car, turned the car back on, and miraculously went on our merry way with no further troubles.

We thought that perhaps the problem was that we didn't turn the car on early enough before we left. So this morning we let it heat up for 20 minutes- it was only 1 degree outside after all. Then, on the way to Copper, the stinkin Yukon powered down not only once, but THREE times! GRRRRR!!!

Luckily we called the nice people at Enterprise Rentals in Silverthorne and they drove a new vehicle out to Copper for us and towed the crazy Yukon all the way home. We are still quite unsure as to what was going on with this massive vehicle, but for now we have a lovely Nissan Pathfinder with working heat, lots of fuel, and most importantly a properly working engine!!

dear awesome ice breaking tool

2010-11-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

dear awesome ice breaking tool,

thanks for helping my awesome husband break up the 3 inch thick ice on our driveway this afternoon. it would have taken a TON longer had it not been for your fantastic ability to break up huge blocks of ice. now we have a clear driveway that is ready for tonight's blizzard!

love, nicole

dear crisp mountain air

2010-11-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

dear crisp mountain air,

thank you for blowing through my hair and reminding me of the awesome power of God. although i cannot see you, you effect a great deal of my day up here in the mountains by bringing in weather, moving around snow, and determining whether i play outside in a t-shirt or puffy jacket. you bring me a breath of fresh air.

love, nicole

dear mini skiers

2010-11-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

dear mini skiers,

thank you for being the most adorable thing on the mountain-especially when you are trying to carry your own skis. and for your sweet innocence which reminds me to not take myself too seriously.

love, nicole

dear apple in my fridge

2010-11-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

dear apple in my fridge,

i am so thankful that you are available to me whenever i am hungry. you are so tasty and delicious- especially with a little peanut butter.

love, nicole

An Epic Day - Praise the Lord

2010-11-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Lord works in mysterious ways and sometimes uses crazy situations to remind us that He is with us and watching over our every move. Yesterday there was a freak blizzard in the mountains during which we experienced not one, but two car accidents. Mike, Pepper, and I are all just fine- praise God. So here's a little rundown of the day's events.

Our friend B needed to run an errand to Dillon, so I offered to drive him. I chose to take the Dillon Dam Road because at the time, the weather wasn't too bad. However, as I was driving white out conditions with blowing snow and almost no visibility came up. The Dam Road is extremely exposed with the Dillon Dam on one side, and a huge drop off on the other.

This is the Dam Road on a clear day.

I was driving very cautiously at about 5-10 mph, as were most of the other drivers. The visibility was so low, that I had to use the guard rail as a guide across the road. Then, about 3/4 of the way across the road, a large Toyota Sequoia came barreling down the road (I estimate he was going 25-30 mph in A FREAKIN BLIZZARD) and side swiped me. Praise God that no one in either vehicle (including little Pepper Dog) was injured. Had he been about 1 foot over, he would have hit me head on and we would be in a much worse situation. I was literally praying aloud in the car the entire way across the Dam and know the Lord heard my prayers. We had to continue to the other side of the Dam because stopping was simply not a safe option. Luckily, there are security guards on either end of the dam so they were able to call each other and the police and get the situation taken care of. Two minutes after I pulled off the road, they closed it due to low visibility- go figure!

While I was waiting for the state police, I called Mike and he offered to come help me. Unfortunately, as he was driving on I-70, a moving truck cut him off causing him to lose control, spin out, and drift off into a snow bank where he hit a small tree. Even though this tree took a little chunk out of the driver's side running board, it caused him to stop before running into some much larger trees a few feet away.

This is the Silver Fox this morning before getting towed out. Mike was traveling in the far left lane in the opposite direction than the Jeep is currently facing.

The police came out and tagged the vehicle during the night, although when we called them, they told us that since there were no injuries they had too many other accidents going on the come deal with the situation.

He, too, was completely unharmed, but had to dig himself out and hitch a ride back to town to get a wrecker for the Jeep. Due to the significant number of accidents on the highway (which later became utterly shut down for a stretch of about 100 miles all night) the tow truck service was not able to retrieve his vehicle until this morning. Praise God that he is safe and that a really nice lady picked him up in the middle of a blizzard, drove him to the wrecker in Frisco, and then to our house in Breck! What a blessing!!

Both vehicles sustained significant damage - the Jeep has a bent front tie rod and the 4 Runner is missing the driver's side rear view mirror, part of the back fender (some of which the city police officer brought us from the road, and some of which is still lodged in the side of the Sequoia that hit me), and the passenger door won't open. It is truly a miracle that neither of us got injured. Praise God! Also praise God that we have great insurance coverage from USAA. They are already processing both of our claims and have been nothing but nice.

Poor Ruby!

I never realized how much I use my driver's side rearview mirror until it went missing.

By the time I was finished talking to the officer that arrived on scene, I-70 (read: the only way home) was closed. So Pepper, my friend Brandon (whom I'd been taking to Dillon on a errand) and I called our friend Tyler who lives about 5 (non-blizzard) minutes from where the accident occurred to hang out until the storm passed. Needless to say, by the time it passed, it was quite late and we didn't feel like pressing our luck, so we wound up sleeping at Ty's for the night. Another huge blessing as other cars and truckers were being routed off the highway and forced to get a hotel or sleep in their vehicles. Thanks, Tyler!!

We are so grateful to God for the hedge of protection around both of us, our friend B, little Pepper, and the other drivers yesterday. Although we were both quite shaken, and our cars are damaged, we don't even have a nick on us. We are truly hemmed in behind and before.

Side note: Pepper had fun playing with Tyler's cats all night!! Haha. It was a good laugh at the end of a rough day.

dear pepper dog

2010-11-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

dear pepper dog,

i am thankful for your playfulness, curiosity, and never ending love. whether you are romping through new snow, hiking with us in the mountains, or just gnawing on your bone, you bring joy to my life! you are the best dog and you always know how to cheer me up, even when i am down. thank you for being such a loyal companion. i look forward to many more years together.

love, nicole

dear Protector God

2010-11-17T14:32:00.002-07:00

dear Protector God,

i am thankful that you keep us safe in the midst of fear, anxiety, and the unknown. i praise you for knowing all that will happen to us in our lives even before we were born. i find such safety in knowing that you are all-knowing and that you have a plan and purpose for our lives.

love, nicole

dear snowflakes

2010-11-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

dear snowflakes,

thank you for piling up on one another all over copper mountain and the rest of summit county. you are beautiful and also very fun to ski on!

love, nicole

dear emmanuel fellowship

2010-11-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

dear emmanuel fellowship,

thank you for providing a place for us to worship this morning in both english and spanish. praising El Senor with such a passionate, loving group of people was a huge blessing! i can't wait to go back again.

love, nicole

dear friends and family

2010-11-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

dear friends and family,

thank you thank you thank you for the tons of birthday wishes, calls, texts, facebook messages, gifts, and cards. i was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that i felt yesterday. i am beyond blessed! plus, i didn't have to sleep in a tent last night like i did last year on my b-day- yay!

love, nicole

dear denise austin

2010-11-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

dear denise austin,

thank you for being cognisant of the fact that your voice is not the most pleasing to listen to when i'm doing yoga and therefore providing a "music only" option on your videos. it is greatly appreciated and motivates me to stretch after a long day of skiing.

love, nicole

dear bubby/veterans/military families

2010-11-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

dear bubby,
thank you for your selfless service to our country and for your willingness to do what it takes when others do not. i am so proud of you and grateful that i get to stand by your side and be called your wife. i admire and adore you. you are, and will always be, my hero.
with boundless love, your sweetie

dear veterans at home & across the globe,
i am beyond thankful for your sacrifice and service to this country- whether it be over seas (time and time again), stateside during a national crisis, or simply chugging through the daily grind that is the military. you have strength that others merely dream of and we are proud of you. thank you for willingly giving of your time, your energy, your bodies, and your hearts. we are always behind you and grateful for your service.
love, nicole

dear military wives & husbands, families & kids,
you are the backbone of today's military- the unglorified support behind the front lines. without your steadfast love and support our men & women couldn't go out there an accomplish everything they are called to do. thank you for all the tears you've cried, for all the days you've waited & for all the unabashed love you have for your service member. your spirit and dedication cannot be matched. thank you, thank you, thank you!!
love, nicole

dear Cat

2010-11-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

dear Cat,

thanks for calling me this morning and asking me to go skiing. even though the conditions weren't great and i almost got killed by an instructor (who shall remain nameless), it was really fun to be out in the crisp mountain air skiing like a girl!

love,
nicole

Thankfulness

2010-11-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

I ran across an awesome blog today http://thxthxthx.com/. It's an entire blog devoted to thank you notes for everything from loneliness to donut shops. It has inspired me to commit to writing a thank you note each day leading up to Thanksgiving. Thus, I present to you my first thank you:

dear pinecones outside my window,

thank you for sitting in the tree and getting covered by snow which makes me feel all warm and wintery inside. you make me excited that winter is coming.

love,

nicole

Guest Blogger- Skiing with my mom By Michael

2010-11-07T16:51:00.003-07:00

My mom came in for a visit last weekend. We had a wonderful time together and I was so happy that she came. Surprisingly, we got to ski for two full days while she was here! I knew the mountains were going to be open, but I had no idea that we would get two full days of great skiing. When she told me she was coming, I figured we go get a run or two in at Loveland or A-basin. Instead, we skied from open until close on Sunday and Monday.

Family ski trips are among my favorite memories from growing up. Nearly every year the Horn family made the trip up to Colorado. It was a great opportunity to get away from the business of Dallas, enjoy the beautiful mountains, and spend time together as a family. It was also this commitment to skiing every year that gave me the passion for the sport that I have today.

My mom is a great skier. She has beautiful form and she skis her ability. There is no pretention to her skiing – she just enjoys making left and right turns on simple slopes. She likes the athletic challenge, but is happy with a day on mellow slopes. She is the kind of skier that I like to ski with – someone with no expectation or competition in mind.

Priscilla also has a pretty amazing history in the sport, although she would never let you know. In grade school, Mom learned to ski in Lucerne, Switzerland. My grandfather was stationed in Germany in the late 1950s so she was able to learn in the birthplace of modern skiing. Mom also went skiing in Hokkaido, Japan with my uncle Lee in the early 1960s. They were on a Boy Scout trip, and Mom skied on a pair of “Haga Hickory” wooden skis. In those days, skiers used lace-up leather boots. There was no gore-tex, prima-loft, or vented goggles. Heat-molded, comfort-fit boots were not available. Skiers didn’t have shaped skis. The modern comforts that make it easy for us were totally absent. Skiing back then was about the skier and the mountain. It was simple. And that’s the way Mom skis.

I think it is pretty darn cool to hear about Mom’s early days of skiing. I also think that just about everyone in Summit County would find my mom’s adventures in the early days of commercial skiing pretty darn cool. But if you ask her about it, she will tell you that it was no big deal.

On any given day in Dallas, my mom is usually involved in about five different things. Priscilla Horn is not the type to sit around eating bon-bons and watching soap operas. If she’s not volunteering, attending a bible study, hosting a party, visiting her mom, or exercising – she’s visiting her granddaughter in Atlanta. She has a lot on her mind. So getting Mom on the ski slopes is a great thing. She has a chance to relax, take in the mountains, and forget about all of her commitments. We were also able to share something that I love.

Why do I love skiing so much? The answer is simple – peace and adventure.

Skiing is peaceful – no matter how busy life gets, when you can make turns down a snowy slope, what else is really important? The serenity the mountain gives is like nothing else!

Skiing is an adventure – No other sport offers the exhilaration of flying down the side of a mountain, with your feet fixed to two planks

Mom loves skiing for the same reasons. She may not need to ski fast, ski bumps or jump cliffs, but she feels the same things. Although Mom downplays her enjoyment in the sport, you can tell that she truly loves it! What’s my evidence? Last Monday we skied at A-Basin, which had only 3 trails open. The lift lines were long, the snow base was shallow, and the runs were repetitive. Yet even the mention of leaving the slopes before 3 PM brought a look of disappointment to her face. The bottom line - mom wanted to ski.

But who am I kidding really? The thing my Mom loves the most is her kids! She didn’t come out here to ski – she came out her to visit her son and daughter-in-law. Priscilla loves to spend time with her kids especially because we are so spread out. Suzanne and Richard live in Atalnta, Leslie just got a job in New York, and Nicole and I live in Colorado. It's challenging for mom to travel all over the countryside to visit her kids, so the chance to spend time with us was a big thrill for her. I think she was just happy being together. I can’t remember the last time I spent so much quality time with her.

Last weekend was a great experience and will be a great memory for many years to come. We never expected to have such a wonderful time on the slopes, but I’m glad we did. I look forward to many great ski trips with the family in the future.

We're selling Pepper...

2010-10-26T11:21:00.000-06:00

's kennel. This was the way a text message I sent to my mom came across yesterday. She called later, after reading the entire message and scolded me for freaking her out! Oops. Sorry momma :)

Yesterday we listed Pepper's old kennel in the Summit Daily and decided to include a cute picture to go along with it and convince everyone that it's worth purchasing. Pep hasn't used this kennel in quite some time (or maybe ever) because it is WAY too big for her, so she was none too keen to get in it. Therefore we did what any good dog parents would do and bribed her by placing little bits of turkey Hansel and Gretel style leading into the kennel. Then we shut her in there and snapped a quick pic.

We now have a cute ad and she's (likely) not scared for life... Dogs only have a 7 second memory, right?

Blizzardy McBlizzardville

2010-10-26T11:14:00.000-06:00

For the past few weeks we have been sitting around wondering when winter was going to arrive. Mike started getting a little stressed last week when we heard that we were almost 2 weeks behind our snow fall totals at Copper compared to this time last year, but I calmly assured him that winter would not forget us. And then yesterday morning we woke up to this:

The previous night's evening rain shower had transformed into this beautiful stuff called snow!! Unfortunately, the storm caught everyone in Summit a little off guard, or as Mike put it "with its collective pants down." So Pepper and I stayed hunkered down all day sitting back and watching the beautiful snow pile up outside our door. It is magnificent and I think it's safe to say that winter is here to stay!

Epic Fail... except for the sunrise

2010-10-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

Last week, Michael and I embarked on what we thought was going to be an epic adventure through Zion National Park. He had to attend annual training for the Reserves in southern (and I mean southern) Arizona at Fort Huachuca for two weeks. He left on October 1, I finished my last day of work at the preschool on October 8, and then drove all the way across Colorado and New Mexico to meet him.

We had a good time at Fort Huachuca where we visited the Kartchner Caves and Coronado National Monument on the US/Mexico border.

The border... yikes! I'm not gonna lie, I was a little sketched out by being right along the border especially since Michael spoke with a border patrol agent who told us that there are always scouts hiding in the hills! Border patrol= a very intense job!!

Kubla Khan in Kartchner Caves

We spent a week together at Fort Huachuca and then headed out toward Zion via the Grand Canyon. My family had an epic adventure at the Grand Canyon when I was a kid (and by epic I mean HORRIBLE!) so I was very excited to go there and leave with a better taste of the beautiful canyon.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon after literally driving all the way across the state of Arizona so we caught a glimpse of the canyon and then set up camp for the night.

I'd never been car camping and let me tell you, it's the way to go! You have all the benefits and conveniences of your car but still get to sleep out under the stars.

Sunday morning we woke up before the crack of dawn, layered up, and went to the rim to watch the sunrise. I thought I had seen some beautiful sunrises before, but this was simply majestic. What a perfect way to celebrate the Sabbath Day by basking in the glory of the Lord's creation!

Just magnificent!

You may be surprised that that was the extent of our Grand Canyon experience, but it was. We would definitely like to go back and hike the North Rim, but it's always good to leave wanting more.

So, we hopped back in the car and continued our drive to Zion National Park! Before we got there, we drove across the Lake Powell Dam, which is both beautiful and sad at the same time. It's crazy to be driving across the desert and find such an immense amount of water. What an anomaly.

Eventually, we made it to Zion, which is one of the most beautiful National Parks in the country.

Our intention was the meet up with two of our friends from NOLS, Dane and B, and drop a slot. Zion is a canyon system made up of numerous vary narrow canyons called slot canyons. When we were at NOLS we spent a great deal of time "dropping slots" which basically entails climbing to the top of a canyon system and then climbing back down through the canyon through a series of rappels. The one we had selected, Behunin Canyon, had about 11 rappels with the largest being a free-hanging 165 foot rappel! We were super stoked until we woke up Monday morning to rain!! Slot canyons can flash flood during a large rain storm within minutes and they are not a place in which you want to be caught! We thought about staying around to climb, but unfortunately most of Zion is sandstone which just crumbles when it's wet, so that wasn't an option either :(

With heavy hearts, we decided to forgo trying to drop the slot and got back in the car to head home. On Monday we drove across the state of Utah and the rest of Colorado racking up four full states and over 2,000 miles for this little road trip! The best part of the drive back was that we drove through Green River, Utah where we had stayed the night during our NOLS course. Even though Green River literally consists of only two gas stations, a state park and an RV park, it was very exciting for both of us to return to a place that was the start of our epic journey in the canyons.

I guess we'll just have to try again next time...

NOLS Part 2- Backpacking in the Winds

2010-10-21T22:37:00.000-06:00

After getting all of our gear packed, we loaded busses that took us out into the Wind River Mountain Range in Wyoming for 10 days of backpacking.

(Please note: my backpack becomes much more svelt over the course of the next 94 days as I became a much more efficient packer thanks to NOLS)

Once we were dropped off, we held a few short classes on topics such as "How to use bear spray" and "How to wipe in the backcountry" (but we won't go into that...) before staggering our start times and heading off into the wild unknown. Our first camp site was simply breathtaking:

In fact, almost all of our campsites were absolutely gorgeous, but one of the most interesting things we learned in the Winds, besides how to read a topo map and find routes through confusing terrain, was how to cook in the backcountry. This was a concept that hadn't occurred to me prior to NOLS. But out there, we cooked everything from cheesy fried bagels to pizza.

Our first meal- cheesy cashew pasta

Cheesy pizza with sausage (a NOLS favorite)

Yummy backcountry brownies

And of course, oatmeal cookies

Last December I wrote this post with more details about our travels in the Winds.

Why My Husband Rocks

2010-10-14T09:21:00.000-06:00

I've never done a post like this before, but I saw on a fellow blogger's website that she dedicates one day a month to declaring to the world why her husband is awesome. Well, mine is pretty cool, too, so I thought I would share a few of the things that make him great.

Number 1- He ALWAYS makes me laugh- even when I don't want to.

Number 2- He takes me on awesome adventures.

Number 3- He lets me pack as much as I want.

All of these bags were for the two of us for one trip- this was in the pre-baggage fee days.

Number 4- He's an Aggie.

Number 5- He proudly and humbly serves our country and safely returned from a 15-month deployment to Iraq.

Number 5b- He looks GREAT in uniform!!!

Number 6- He's really strong, Ms. Parrish.

Number 7- He let us adopt sweet Pepper Dog.

Number 8- He's a good cook.

Number 9- He doesn't get mad at me for doing stupid things like driving our truck into a snowbank.

Number 10- He loves it when I take pictures of EVERYTHING!!

Well, most of the time any way.

But the biggest reason my husband rocks is because he's my best friend. Through all of our ups and downs, and the craziness of life, he stands beside me. We are truly sole mates. I love you, Bub!

NOLS Part 1- Getting together all of our gear

2010-10-13T12:30:00.000-06:00

As promised, today I am starting my multi-part series on our NOLS adventure which (insanely) began over a year ago! I am currently stuck in a hotel room in Sierra Vista, AZ while Mike finished up the last of his 16-day Army Reserve career course, so I figured I should get on it.

As I got to thinking, I realized that instead of jumping right into our trip, I should start with the tedious prep situation that preceded leaving for Lander. As many of you remember, I broke my right arm just 6 weeks before we were set to leave.

We then spent about a week trying to decide whether or not to even go to NOLS. Luckily, after much prayer, debate, and talking with family, we decided to go balls-to-the-wall and give it a try. I was even able to train prior to the trip since my awesome Daddy lent me "The bionic arm" from his bicep surgery. You can see it on my right arm here on the Mohawk Lakes Trail.

So once we made the decision to go ahead with NOLS, we had to get all of our stuff together. Were I going on another long-term backpacking trip, I prepare much differently knowing what I now know, but at the time, all we had to go from was the packing list. So we began setting out all of our things in the guest bedroom.

Notice how shiny and new all of our things are. They definitely do not look like this any more. Also note things that were totally unnecessary like our ski helmets near the head of the bed. Ridiculous, now, I know, but at the time, we thought we'd be shredin' during the winter section.

We also spent a lot of time preparing our boots by sealing them with Nik-Wax and I even spent some time traipsing around the house in mine in order to properly break them in.

Once we got to Lander, we spent two days getting all of our gear laid out (known as "exploding") in a couple of bays at the Rocky Mountain Headquarters. It was a total organized mess, to say the least.

Our group gear for the backpacking section. Note the orange vests which we had to wear because it was hunting season. A few years ago a NOLS-y got SHOT! during a backpacking section reportedly because he was wearing a fur-lined vest that confused a hunter. Check the next blog about our backpacking adventure to see whether anyone on our trip had a similar experience.

The whiteboard outlining all of our needed gear. We used this each section to make sure we had everything that we need.

Our gear before the "explosion" began

Mike going through all of his stuff

All of my gear for backpacking laid out

Going down the list with Kai

After two days of going through everything and getting all packed up, we were finally ready to hit the road and spend 10 days backpacking through the Wind River Mountain Range in Wyoming. Check back soon for pictures and stories from that part of our adventure.

Incognito

2010-10-04T14:45:00.000-06:00

I've had my fabulous MacBook for a little over a year and I started noticing that it's gotten a few scratches so I decided to buy it a new outfit:

Isn't it so pretty?!? I got the iPearl cover for just $25 on Amazon from iPearl, Inc. It fit perfectly and looks really sleek. They also included a clear keyboard cover which is great because my pink cover just busted (side note: don't let a three year old play with your laptop keyboard cover during nap time).

I miss you, NOLS!!

2010-10-03T09:53:00.001-06:00

A little over a year ago, we were here. Just settling in to the RM in Lander, WY and getting ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. And now that fall is steadily settling in to Summit County, I desperately want to return to NOLS. I had planned on providing updates throughout our journey, but we had less internet access than I had originally thought and, let's face it, I was way more wrapped up in the adventure than in blogging about it. After we returned, I promised to provide more updates, but that too fell to the wayside. So I am committing once again to provide a little insight into our adventure with a picture inspired update once a week or so over the next few months.

For now, here's a photo of our fantastic group before the beginning of our backpacking section

To Facebook or Not to Facebook... That is the question

2010-09-30T15:59:00.000-06:00

One month ago, on August 30, I deactivated my Facebook account and committed myself to a thirty-day fast in order to focus on my studies. The decision was two fold: 1)Since all of my classes are online, I was concerned that being on the computer all the time would totally warp my brain and 2) (and more importantly) I was concerned about the distraction (and subsequent repercussions) that checking FB would have on my grades.

Now that I am a good month in to grad school, I have realized a few things.

1) I am much more inherently interested in grad school readings than I ever was while getting my bachelor's degree. Therefore, the allure of wasting time on the Internet in lieu of reading is not very strong. I actually thoroughly enjoy reading from both my text books because everything I am reading is interesting and relevant (unlike Anthropology 101- which interestingly enough was my only stupid "B" in college).

2) I am not missing being on Facebook quite like I thought I would. I realize I should have known this since I survived (gasp) a whole three months at NOLS without it! But being out in the back country and avoiding FB is much different than living in the front country and keeping oneself at a distance. The fact of the matter is that I can make it through most days without knowing which of my friends is "hating my day and all who cross my path" or "going out to the clubz with my sick bffs". Not that most of my true friends' postings say these things, but you get the idea.

3) I am enjoying the anonymity of not posting my every day life occurrences on Facebook. I realize that I can be quite the culprit in the aforementioned statements (posting such updates as "on a date with my awesome hubby" or "ladies night with the girls") and it's nice to know that the people who really truly care about me are getting their news by emailing or calling me (or from my blog postings). Haha!

Since I have reached the end of my intended fast, and have figured out to to handle grad school and real life, these thoughts have brought me to the question of whether I should get back on FB or not.

The question sparked a long conversation between Michael and me today-- side note: using "me" is grammatically correct here and it always bugs me when people don't use this particular grammatical rule properly-- culminating in the realization that not having a Facebook account in our generation, is like someone in our parents' generation refusing to buy a cell phone.

Sure, you don't HAVE to have either one of these things to survive and certainly there are many people out there who don't have them and get by just fine. But the fact of the matter is they are relevant, vital pieces of the social aspect of our lives. Cell phones opened the door to being able to contact people at any place and any time. No more waiting around for Sally to be next to the phone in the kitchen to ask if she wanted to go hang out. You could call her in her car, on a walk, or even at the gym.

In much the same way, Facebook is a major way that people communicate and is increasingly becoming the way people do business. It's a fixture of our society and to utterly avoid it causes one to miss out on what's going on in the world- even if that simply means not learning that your friend isn't going to Taco Tuesday tonight.

Hip Hop!

2010-09-27T11:32:00.000-06:00

MAJOR UPDATE THAT I FORGOT ABOUT!!

I have joined an adult Hip-Hop class at the Summit County School of Dance and it's AMAZING!! Knowing that I was going to be sitting and staring at a computer for three hours every Monday and Tuesday night, I decided I needed to get involved in something that would get my heart elevated and my body moving at least once a week.

Then, I saw an add for an adult hip hop class.

So, I signed up.

And was told to recruit friends.

So, I did.

And now, every Tuesday night for an hour, I rock out and get to dance with my Summit County girlfriends. If you've ever thought about taking an adult dance class, I highly recommend it. Especially if you can do it with friends, because it makes it ten times more fun.

Update-A-Rama

2010-09-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

I realize I've been a little M.I.A. the past week, so I figured I should give a little update on our life:

#1. I put in my two-weeks' notice at the preschool. This was a long, tough decision, but it basically boils down to one thing: I'm not cut out for daycare. The school I was working in was nice, but not really the true school environment I was looking for. I have the heart of an educator, and simply getting through the day watching three year olds for 10 hours a day, just wasn't cutting it. Put on top of that, the fact that I'm taking 6 hours of grad school, and I decided to "move on to the next thing". My last day is October 8!! Yay!

#2. I LOVE GRAD SCHOOL!!! It is the ideal college situation because I don't have to take stupid classes that I don't care about (like anthropology- yuck!) and I'm (mostly) working with people who really care about education and realize that it's not just daycare (see above for my dislike of daycare). I'm taking two classes this semester and they are both terribly interesting (one is literacy education and the other is applied behavior analysis). I definitely have to be self-motivated since they are all online, but it's very cool Skyping with your fellow classmates and professor. I feel very futuristic.

#3. Michael is currently in El Paso on a mission and is going to Ft. Huachuca for the month of October for the Reserve Captain's Career Course. The sad thing is we aren't together, the great thing is we're getting full captain's pay for about three weeks :)

#4. I'm going down to southern Arizona (aka northern Mexico) to meet up with Michael mid-October and we're going on a mini vacay to the Grand Canyon (insert laughter from my family here) and Moab for some climbing with our buddy B from NOLS!! More details and pictures to come later.

#5. Pepper has recovered from her porcupine attack, only to rip off one of her toenails during our latest climbing adventure. She's been on meds for the past week to prevent infection and has a new found love of peanut butter. (P.S. it took her about two administrations to learn what "medicine" means)

#6. Both Michael and I will return to the ski school for our second season starting some time around Thanksgiving. Michael will be instructing full time and I will be the indoor manger again along with instructing once a week. So, if you're in the mood to go skiing, give us a holler and we'll put you on the calendar.

Rather long recap, but I think that's it for now.

Countdown to Winter

2010-09-18T11:13:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I came home to this beauty:

A 2007 Burton Lux 150 demo snowboard!! The best part?!?! I got it for $108 INCLUDING SHIPPING!! Thank you Evo.com! If you're looking to buy anything for this coming winter, from skis to boards to outerwear, this is the website to check out.

I only started learning to ride last season, but had a great time. This season, although I will definitely be on skis, I really want to get better on a board and thought that having my own is the best place to start. So, how much longer until the first snowfall? Potentially just a few weeks :)

In the Face

2010-09-13T09:24:00.000-06:00

Last night we had a few friends over to watch the (sad) Dallas Cowboys game. It was great to have a house full of friends, and watch a little football, even though it didn't quite go the way we'd hoped... thanks, Alex Barron.

Afterward, we said farewell to our last three friends, Ty, Emily, and Eric and headed out for a little late night walk with Pepper. As we were leaving the house, I commented on how dark and difficult it was to see, since there was no moonlight and our (very safe) street has about zero street lights.

As we rounded the corner of our house, I saw a shadowy figure saunter across the street, and motioned for Eric to slow his car so that I could get a better look at it using his headlights. Just as my eyes adjusted, and I realized that the stocky little creature was none other than a porcupine, I saw a flash of white dart toward it, and began to scream!

Michael, thinking the creature was a squirrel, on steroids apparently, had let her off the leash to go check out the critter!!!

And as a result, our little Pepper wound up with a face full of quills- well, 9 to be exact.

Never having dealt with a porcupine before, I thought you weren't supposed to pull them out. So I ran back to the house, got the keys and the 4 Runner, and started calling the emergency vet hospital. Unfortunately, there is only an on-call vet in Summit County. The closest actual animal hospital is in Eagle about a hour's drive from our house.

So, we did the only logical thing we could think of: we went the (human) ER.

Sadly, they were unable to help us, but they did inform us that we could pull them out with pliers ourselves. And save a ton on sedation and vet bills. So, at 11:00 pm Mike, Eric, and I sat in the backseat of our 4 Runner and while Eric expertly extracted the 9 quills from around Pepper's eye, cheek, and lip.

She was a total trooper and didn't even whimper, even when one got caught and broke off.

So, the next time your dog gets quilled in the face by a huge porcupine because you let her off the leash at 10:30 at night, just grab a pair of pliers and yank.

Where Were You?

2010-09-11T13:06:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe it's been 9 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Although the images are haunting and hard to watch, it's important to remember what took place that day and all of the lives that have changed so drastically since.

God bless all of those who were so tragically taken from us then, and for those who continue to put their lives on the line today. We shall never forget.

More Pictures!!

2010-09-10T09:22:00.001-06:00

Today we received an email from our wonderful photographer, Lisa of StoryLens Photography, with this link to the gallery of our photos from our photo shoot last week.

I really enjoy the first series, although prior to the shoot, I had favored the dress featured in the final set. However, as we were shooting, a giant squall moved in (making for some fantastic scenery prior to the rain) causing my hair to blow around like crazy, and making it difficult to capture very many good shots. Darn, mountain weather! It can change on a dime. I love the shots along the road and my the fence.

I hope you enjoy checking them out.

(almost) Wordless Wednesday- Time with my bestie

2010-09-09T14:52:00.000-06:00

Getting towed in after our boat died :(

A Lesson Learned

2010-09-08T14:26:00.000-06:00

This weekend we decided to head home and visit our sweet families in Dallas. We left the house at 4:35 am on Saturday for our 7 am flight (we were striving for 430, but I "always make us late") and headed to Denver. It was a cold morning at only 30 degrees and it was pitch black outside as we made our way through the mountains to the Denver Airport (aka Western Kansas).

Michael was at the helm and took the roads cautiously as a result of the utter darkness. We chatted and laughed the whole way to the airport, until we suddenly decided to check the clock, realizing, with sheer panic, that it was 6 am and we still hadn't hit the exit for the airport!!!!

YIKES!! We finally got to the parking garage at 620 and sprinted to the American Airlines kiosk inside. We arrived at 624, more than the required 30 minutes prior to departure, but were amazed to find that we could not check in to our flight. A lovely man informed us that we would need to speak to a gate agent, which we did, and were rewarded with our boarding passes.

The panic wasn't over yet, however. We still had to make our way through security and (I thought) the dreaded DIA shuttle. Luckily, we were departing from terminal A which allows you to bypass the shuttle and use a much shorter, more convenient security line.

We flew through security (even though Michael had to get patted down) and then ran to our gate just in time to hop on the flight and soar to our destination at DFW.

After all that hassle, we had a fantastic time hanging out with my parents, visiting both my and Michael's grandparents, and chillin with both of our sisters. It was a very restful weekend and full of familial love. We missed seeing Michael's parents because they were in Atlanta celebrating our neice, Margaret's 1st birthday!! Boy does time fly.

Our trip home was much less eventful, save the 20 minute search through the parking lot for our car. Due to the initial rush, we could not remember where we'd parked! Thank goodness for panic buttons.

So, ultimately we learned this lesson: Don't fly out of DIA at 7 am and allot yourself at least 2 hours, especially if you're flying out at the crack of dawn!!

Picture It

2010-09-05T20:35:00.000-06:00

For our fifth anniversary, Michael gave me a photo shoot in the mountains with a fantastic photographer named Lisa. We spent the morning with her this past Monday near Lake Dillon taking tons of photos. Tonight we got an email with a few previews of the session. Check out: http://storylensinc.com/news/2010/09/dillon-summit-county-portraits/ to see the pictures. We have our favorites... which is your's?

The Grand Escape

2010-08-25T22:10:00.003-06:00

Got a little story for ya, Ags...

As many of you know, Michael is in Argentina right now, leaving me and Pepper alone in the house to fend for ourselves. As such, I have been very cautious about keeping the doors and windows locked. This has kept us quite safe, however, it came back to bite me yesterday when we went out for a walk.

We went for a little hike up the hill, and when we got back to the house I tried to open the door and realized it was locked! Dun, Dun, Duuuun. No problem, I thought, I will just climb in the open window in our living room. However, after I raised the screen I realized that the window was locked. Therefore, I was forced to go around to the back of the house and climb through the world's smallest window into our mud room. Suffice it to say, I did not look too graceful, I have bruises on my legs and forearms, but I got in and unlocked the back door. I'm just glad that my neighbors didn't call the cops on me breaking into my own house.

You might think that was the end of the story, but Pepper had a different idea. Once I got inside, I opened a few of the windows in order to let in the mountain air. Pepper heard another dog outside and started going crazy, but I told her to calm down and didn't hear much more from her, so I thought we were good to go.

About half an hour later someone came to the door and I was surprised when Pepper didn't attack the guy who came to the door, so once he left, I walked around the house trying to find her. She was nowhere to be found, and that's when I realized it...

I had left the screen up when I was trying to break in to the house.

And Pepper saw it as a perfect opportunity to make her escape.

I found her about 15 minutes later galloping through the field across from our house- happy as a clam. What a little stinker! I guess that's what I get for trying to keep our house safe. Oh well...

5 Years Down...

2010-08-20T19:59:00.000-06:00

5 years ago today, I said "I will" to spending the rest of my life with my best friend and the most wonderful man I have ever met. I cannot believe all that we have done in the past few years, nor can I believe how quickly it has all passed. It's simply remarkable and I praise the Lord each day for giving me the opportunity to live my life with Michael. He has challenged me to go places and do things that I never would have done of my own accord, and he's supported me through some of my greatest challenges. I cannot wait to see what the next 5, 10, and 70 years bring...

Honeymoon in Kaua'i- 2005

Whistler, B.C. - 2006

Yosemite National Park- 2007

Fort Hood, Texas- 2008

Breckenridge, CO- 2009

Sint Maarten- 2010

Love you, Bub!!!

Wordless Wednesday- A picture collage of Courtney's visit

2010-08-18T13:51:00.000-06:00

Love you, sister!

GMA

2010-08-17T07:45:00.000-06:00

This weekend my sister has been in town and we have squeezed in a TON of fun activities! I'll blog more about that soon, but for now, I'll focus on one of my favorite things that we have been doing each morning: sitting on the couch in our PJs and watching Good Morning America. For some reason, this activity is something I have enjoyed since I was a little girl. It wasn't always GMA, of course, back then it was Inspector Gadget, but the concept is the same: lazing around in comfy clothes, eating breakfast, and vegging out before starting the day. It's a lovely little guilty pleasure. Until just recently we didn't have cable service, so I haven't been able to partake in such a wonderful activity, but now I am able to take full advantage- at least on my days off.

Pepper sleeps in a tent

2010-08-11T22:41:00.000-06:00

The past six weeks since my return from Russia have been a little hectic. Michael has been working at Copper as a resort services agent and I started work as the three year-old teacher at Summit County Preschool four days a week. Between both of our busy work schedules we haven't had many days off together which has restricted us from hitting the trail and doing any serious hiking or backpacking.

But all of that changed about two weeks ago. Michael has taken on a few extra Army Reserve commitments over the coming months, so he decided to start working part time for Copper. The best part is that his awesome boss, Cara, agreed to let him work Wednesday-Friday which correlates perfectly with my schedule. So, for the first time since we lived in Texas (over a year ago for anyone keeping track), Michael and I actually have REAL weekends together!!! YAY!! What a blessing.

In celebration of our new-found multiple days off together, we decided to hike the Mount of the Holy Cross this past weekend.

Mt. of the Holy Cross is named for the cross shaped couloir on the north eastern slope. The summit is 14005 feet and the 11.5 mile trail gains over 5,500 feet of elevation. The most challenging part of the climb is that from the trail head you must hike to about 11700 ft and summit the Half Moon Pass then descend into a valley before regaining the lost elevation and ascending the summit. In light of these challenges, we chose to hike in on Saturday afternoon, spend the night in the valley and then attempt to summit on Sunday... all with Pepper in tow.

Obviously we got pretty used to backpacking during our three month adventure at NOLS, so we weren't too worried about making it through the night; however, until this weekend we had not gone backpacking with Pepper. Initially we had planned for her to sleep in her own little "pup" tent (not that she was very excited about it) but once we got to our campsite we realized that segregation was not going to be possible. We had checked the weather beforehand, which called for .05 inches of rain, but around 6:30, once we got settled and had eaten dinner, it began to rain- and didn't stop until 5:30 am!!! The good news: Pepper slept at our feet in the tent all night long with now whining or disruption.

We were truly amazed!! What a great pup!

Sunday morning we woke up early, made breakfast (yay for oatmeal and Vanilla Chai), and hit the trail. We were surrounded by a heavy fog initially, but we had high hopes for an opportunity to summit.

Our first glimpse of sunlight

Rising above the clouds

Cresting the false summit (and running into mean, nasty clouds)

Unfortunately, just as we came over the false summit and began to approach the saddle of Mt. of the Holy Cross, a huge thunderhead rolled in and we (along with most of the nice people we had met on the trail) decided to hightail it down the boulder field and back to safety. We made it back to camp just ahead of the rain shower and waited it out before packing up and heading back to the Jeep.

Although we were disappointed, on the bright side, this was our first 14er attempt that ended without a summit (that's 10 attempts for Mike and 6 for me). The overall experience, though, was super fun!! We spent a bunch of time reminiscing about how much we love our friends from NOLS, all that we learned, and how sad we are that we can't relive the experience again and again. I guess we'll just have to keep on camping!

The Death of Foxy

2010-08-01T20:53:00.000-06:00

Pepper is unequivocally the best dog ever. If you've ever checked out our pictures online you've realized that we take an inordinate number of pictures of her doing everything from sitting in the Jeep to playing in the snow and especially hiking, her favorite activity. The only drawback to our Pepper dog, is that she destroys any and every stuffed animal toy that we have ever purchased. She's really excited to play with the animal at first, but within a few minutes the seams are ripped to shreds, the stuffing is torn out, the animal is dead, and she has lost complete interest.

However, while we were in Dallas, my sister purchased Pepper the best dog toy on the face of the planet: the "indestructible" Crazy Critter Fox.

The toy is everything that a regular stuffed dog toy is, but without the stuffing. I don't know why, but this someone makes the toy "indestructible". Throw in two squeakers, one in the tail, one in the head and you have the recipe for a great dog toy. Ever since we've returned home, Pepper has played with Foxy on a daily basis. She even takes Foxy into her kennel at night to sleep with her.

We have both been amazed at the longevity that Foxy has experienced. Never in Pepper's three years has she been so attached to a toy, or so we thought. Tonight, Foxy finally met her demise. Pepper chewed through the seam in Foxy's head, turned her inside out, and silenced the squeaker. She is now no longer interested in Foxy, she's only interested in playing with her towel. Such a sad day in the Horn household.

RIP Foxy

April - August 2010

Pepper's favorite dog toy

Burro Days!

2010-07-26T20:20:00.001-06:00

This Sunday, Nicole and I attended Burro Days in Fairplay. Of all the summer festivals we've attended in the High Country, Burro Days was my favorite.

Fairplay is just 20 miles south of Breckenridge on the other side of the Hoosier Pass. Despite the close proximity to Summit County, Fairplay (and its sister town, Alma) are a world apart from the posh ski towns. The people who live there seem to be just a little "off the grid." Fairplay resembles an old western town, having preserved its old main street. The main drag is complete with saloons and shops, but not without the modern tourist requisite gift shops.

Needless to say, the change of scenery makes for a great festival!

What we thought Burro Days was, and what it actually is are two different things. We thought it was a silly race down the main street with a few donkeys. Maybe a few local artisans and merchants would show up - but this is Fairplay - how big could this festival be?

The race is not the cheesy race around town that we thought. It is an intense challenge. Each participant runs to the Summit of the Mosquito Pass and back WHILE pulling a burro alongside. The total distance is 27 miles - longer than a marathon! The slogan of the race great: "Get your ass up the pass!"

The race starts on Front Street (the historic old western street). Volunteers dressed in as cowboys line the streets as local security. When the race begins, the cowboys shoot their guns in the air, and a stampede of runners and burros make their way down the street. The whole thing is over in about a minute. So while the 27 runners and their burros work their way up into the mountains, crowds of people spread across the town to enjoy their day.

Burro Days is one of the biggest festivals in the high country. People came from all over the U.S. to get a taste of the unique flavor of Fairplay. Merchants came from many different states, not just Colorado. Nicole and I purchased a CD from a Peruvian man. There was even a man from Texas who led a cowboy church.

Needless to say, we had a great time!

Time for an change

2010-07-25T07:32:00.000-06:00

While the title of this blog might make it seem like I just up and decided on a change, that is not entirely the case. This morning I logged onto my blog only to be informed that the entire background had been deleted! Are you kidding me? Who deleted it?!? Did it just evaporate into cyberspace? Are there little hacking elves that live in our crawl space that come out at night to sabotage my "cutest blog on the block"? Probably not. But something happened, and I can only imagine that it had something to do with the website change over from whence I downloaded my background.

Hence, the new format. Some of you might not even notice it, but it has changed. Alas. New fonts, new font colors, and a new background. Oh well, I think I like it, and I'm starting to feel at home here in the blue tones of my new Georgia fonts. I hope you find it pleasant and soothing as well.

In other news: keep your eyes peeled for an update from Michael soon. I think I've officially drawn him into the blogging world. We'll see :)

Whistle While You Work

2010-07-19T22:34:00.002-06:00

One of the things I love about living in Summit County are the cool mountain nights. The soft breeze blowing through the Aspen trees, the chilly night air seeping in through the open windows; it is, in a word, magnificent. And, as a bonus, it means that I can enjoy a piping hot cup of tea without breaking a sweat- the way I would if I were in Tejas right now.

So, you might think that since I have such an affinity for a nightly cup of tea, it would follow that I would own a fantastic tea pot. WRONG! For the last year, I have been heating up water in our little mini saucepan and then (precariously) pouring it into awaiting mugs. This process often ends with scalding myself, the counter, or in some extreme cases Pepper, with boiling hot water. When Michael does it, it almost always ends in water boiling over the top of the pot and then making a crazy sizzling sound as it hits the hot stove top.

I honestly don't know why it has taken me such a long time to come to the conclusion that I should purchase a tea kettle. But two weeks ago something came over me and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to find one. I got there and realized that a) there are about a billion choices and b) the cute ones are REALLY expensive. So expensive, that I left BBB empty handed...

And came home and made a (sauce)pot of tea...

And almost suffered second degree burns.

So the other night, Michael and I went to Target. And he made me get a teapot. And my life has been better ever since.

Climb every mountain

2010-07-17T08:41:00.001-06:00

When we started the climbing section at NOLS I was very nervous. For one thing, I had never actually climbed out doors and one of the major goals of the camp was for everyone to lead their own climb by the end of the three week session. Needless to say, I was quite skeptical of my ability to accomplish such a task. To make matters worse, there was a participant in our group who was not very well prepared for the strenuous nature of the course, and eventually broke down during the climbing section. The whole situation caused quite a bit of distraction for our instructors and a LOT of stress for the group. By the end of it all, the unprepared participant wound up leaving the group and the rest of us continued on our journey.

Some how, by the end of the three weeks, both Mike and I wound up leading our first climbs at a great little place in Red Rocks called "Cut Your Teeth Crag".

Even though we wound up having a great experience at climbing camp, we both thought that it would turn out to be a stand alone experience that did not transfer to our regular lives.

Fast forward to spring time and Mike's 28th birthday. For some reason, we began reminiscing about climbing camp and how exhilarating it was. We looked at our pictures over and over and I became inspired to buy him a bunch of climbing gear for his birthday. Once we got back to Summit County, we purchased a local climbing guide and discovered there are tons of awesome, secluded climbing spots all around the area.

And last Tuesday, we finally went climbing. We were both a little skeptical about how much we would remember, but between our two brains, photos from NOLS, and the benefit of our wonderful instructors' reminders ringing in our heads, we successfully set up top rope sites, climbed, and Mike even led a 5.8!!!! It was so much fun to go out on our own. So, if you're looking to go 'scend it- give us a call!!!

Mike and his first lead climb, Big Pendulum

Zuma Rock

Sugar... my arch nemesis

2010-07-13T10:59:00.001-06:00

Over a week of eating clean and I am still loving it. This week we transitioned out of the detox phase into the maintenance phase. Last night, Michael and I went to the grocery store on an exploratory mission to determine which of our favorite "healthy foods" would be allowed- side note: grocery shopping is one of our favorite activities to do together.

Breakfast is one of the hardest meals to avoid sugar, so we started there. One of our favorite morning meals is granola, yogurt, berries, and a glass of OJ. After checking out labels, wandering up and down numerous aisles, and fielding many "what are those health nuts doing?" stares, we determined that in one sitting we regularly consume upwards of 80 grams of sugar PER BREAKFAST!! WHOA! GROSS! And here we were thinking we were eating healthily.

So we tweaked our breakfast plan a little and selected some lighter fair. We looked at labels before purchasing granola and yogurt, focusing on minimizing sugar content; decided to skip the juice for now; and inserted eggs as our source of protein. We also decided to actually measure out a serving of granola before chowing down- what a novel idea.

Dr. Oz, who I love, recommends no more than 4 grams of sugar per serving in anything that you eat, which can be pretty hard to come by, but is definitely worth trying.

Eating Clean

2010-07-11T07:55:00.001-06:00

After ski season, Michael and I had the wonderful opportunity to go back to Dallas for about six weeks. The whole trip was wonderful, but as usual, left its mark on our midsections- my favorite place to gain weight. Once we got back to the mountains, we decided to make a little change to our eating habits in an effort to both loose a little and be more aware of what we're putting in our bodies.

(Insert my personal dietetic consultant, one Ms. Rebekah Cairns). As many of you know, Bekah and I lived together while the boys were deployed. She is a great personal trainer and motivator, as well as the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to what is/isn't good for your body. For a while, Bekah has been "carb cycling," which was my initial inspiration for our new diet plan. However, after reading up on it and realizing that no, I don't feel the need to have only 5% body fat or get in shape for a bodybuilding competition, I gave Bekah a call and she recommended "The Eat Clean" diet.

The basic premise behind "Eating Clean" is to eat five to six meals/day with a balance of protein and complex carbs at every meal and to rid your body of processed foods, white flour, and most of all refined sugars- basically the idea that "if your grandmother couldn't eat it, you shouldn't either".

So, I read up, decided to follow the seven day "detox" plan, and Michael and I commenced eating clean last Monday.

Now, I had some trepidation about beginning such a diet- Would I be craving things all the time? Would I be able to cook enough chicken to sustain myself? Would I turn orange from eating a whole sweet potato every DAY?!? But alas, it has been seven days and I have had no such worries. One of the biggest things I've noticed is an increase in energy. I love afternoon naps but in the past week, even though I started working, I haven't had any desire to take one.

This week, we begin the regular maintenance phase, which allows you to stop eating quite so many sweet potatoes, and add some dairy, more fruits, and a variety of grains. Last night I picked up the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, which has tons of great recipes (and pictures) of clean meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and special occasions.

We by no means desire to become total health nuts, or to stop eating the foods we love (ie oatmeal cookies), but being more aware of what's going into our bodies and how it affects us is always a good thing.

Я люблю Россию- I love Russia!

2010-07-01T15:43:00.001-06:00

As many of you know, I have a very special place in my heart for orphans and have felt called to serve them for about a decade. In 2006, my mom, Courtney, and I were supposed to travel to Russia to serve with Buckner, but due to the G-8 conference, the trip was canceled. I was devastated and ever since I have been searching for a chance to go to Russia and serve. This year, I received that chance. I applied for an internship with Buckner International and was offered the opportunity to serve in Russia for the month of June. So, at the end of May, I packed up my things, kissed Michael goodbye and started off an adventure to St. Petersburg.

In the months leading up to the trip, our team was told that we would be given information and direction from the director of Buckner-Russia once we got there. However, once we arrived, we realized that most of the daily details, save where were going to serve, were pretty much up to us. You see, Russia is in a bit of financial crisis right now- much like the rest of the world- and the crisis is directly affecting Buckner and their ability to operate effectively in Russia.

Up until two years ago, there were eight full-time employees for Buckner-Russia. These ministry team members were able to stay in direct contact with each of the orphanages affiliated with Buckner and provide services on a weekly basis to the staff and children. They did everything from Bible studies, to English clubs, to just stopping by and checking in on the daily goings-on.

Due to decreased funding, there are now only two full time employees for Buckner in Russia. As a result, they are no longer able to keep up with the orphanages with the same diligence. Consequently, much of the responsibility of providing Bible experiences and English exposure falls to volunteer groups and internship team members.

Lauren, Caryss, me, and Melissa at Peterhof

This is where my team and I came into the picture. We were given the challenge of providing Vacation Bible School experiences for the kids while helping Buckner maintain positive relationships with their orphanages. It’s paramount that we keep the orphanages well taken care of, so that they will be willing to work with Buckner.

During our stay, we visited a different orphanage each week- for a total of four, in addition to one hospital/orphan crisis center. Typically we would travel on a Monday, spend three full days with the kids, and then travel back on Friday. Two of the orphanages were village orphanages that house children specifically from the village in which it is located and the other two were city orphanages that we visited at camps in the country.

The Children's Home in Lapohinka

Camp for Children's Home #2

Culturally, there is a huge emphasis on children going to camps during the summer. It began back in the Soviet era and continues full-force today. The idea is that after the harsh months of winter, kids need a chance to get out in the summer air and run around. So, each summer, the government funds three-week camp experiences for the orphanages. Now, camp to me means structured daily activities like horseback riding and canoeing, but in Russia it literally means run around outside… all day… sometimes unsupervised… on ridiculously high, Soviet-era jungle gyms… even if you’re five. Therefore, a lot of our time with the kids was spent playing. We played tag; hide and go seek; duck, duck, goose (who knew “duck” was the same work in Russian and English); hopscotch; and football, as well as checkers, chess, and Phase 10. The kids crave someone to play with them individually but since the ratio of children to caretakers is often 10:1, it just doesn’t happen that often.

Slava was much better than me at ping pong

Although I hadn’t anticipated it, playtime was one of the best opportunities that we had to minister to the kids. The language barrier, short attention spans, and a lack of discipline led to rather short Bible classes, but when we were playing, we had the kids’ full attention and the opportunity to pray over them individually. They crave one-on-one attention and affection and that’s just what we were able to give them. Sometimes the only thing they wanted to do was walk around holding my hand or sit and play with my hair. What a blessing to be able to provide that love and attention, if even for a short time.

Veenyera loved doing my hair

There were numerous eye-opening experiences for me over in Russia, but the single greatest thing I realized was the need for prayer for the country, it’s people, and the evangelical leaders who are trying to impact their world for Christ. The Russian Orthodox Church makes it very challenging for Evangelical churches to thrive in Russia. They are constantly writing legislation that seeks to squash the work of the church and yet the power of the Spirit continues to move.

Though it’s illegal for Protestant groups to rent property in the city, they find locations to house their churches. Though they put out propaganda to vilify evangelicals, their membership continues to grow. The truth is that the Spirit is at work in Russia, but we must pray for their empowerment, we must provide funds where they cannot, and we must go and serve if we are able.

I am so very thankful to every person who made it possible for me to go and minister in Russia. Without your prayerful support I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet little kids like Kirill, Max, and Sasha. I wouldn’t have had the chance to learn about the challenges facing Russia and the pressing necessity to support Natasha and Ismail, our Buckner directors. And I wouldn’t be able to spread the word. Please continue to pray and support Russia, they need you.

Some of my favorite kiddos, all of whom spoke a little English:

My buddy, Max and I at Lapohinka Children's Home. He gave me the book Rufus the Red Kangaroo and asked me to exchange gifts with him "like real friends do." So, I gave him a bandana. He also picked me a sweet lilac bouquet.

Me and Sasha at Children's Home #2's camp. I taught her the English alphabet and she taught me the Russian alphabet.

Kirill and I at Tikhvin's Children Home. Within 20 minutes of meeting, he brought me his English reader so that he could read to me. His favorite English phrase is "What time is it?"

An imperfect perfectionist...

2010-06-30T11:12:00.001-06:00

As many of you know, I am a little bit of a perfectionist... (mom, stop laughing). So much so, that I often will stop doing something if I don't feel that I can do it adequately. That is what I feel has, sadly, happened to this blog. When we moved here, almost a year ago, I started the blog in an attempt to keep our friends and family updated on all of the things we were up to.

However, life got the best of me.

We headed off to NOLS in September, so I stopped blogging, and then, we started ski season, which was crazy, so I stopped blogging, and then we went home for two months, and I went to Russia, and now, here we are- June 30, 2010 and I've blogged 10 times in a year.

Here is where I would normally make a vow to stay diligent, stay faithful, and continue blogging forever and ever. But, I know that I can't do that, because sometimes this crazy life of ours just gets the best of me. I will however, promise to try a little harder, and have even placed a reminder for myself on my iCal so that maybe, this time next year, I'll have a little more to show for myself... maybe.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2009-12-23T02:29:00.001-07:00

What a whirlwind! We have finally made it back from our incredible semester at NOLS. 94 days in the field and we have both lived to tell about it. I anticipated having more opportunities to update our blog while we were transitioning between sections, but that clearly did not happen. Instead, I'll have to fill in the gaps now. In order to attempt to convey our experience, I'm going to select one summative photograph from each section and write a little info about each. Tonight, I'll begin with our first section, backpacking in the Wind River Range of Wyoming...

During our 9 days in the Winds, we did a ton! We hiked for miles, summitted peaks, baked pizzas, read topographical maps, navigated harsh terrain, bush-wacked, climbed boulder fields, dealt with snow, and made tons of fires. But one of the most meaningful things that occurred during our first section was making connections with each other. We were taught the basics of outdoor education and how to survive in the backcountry, but more importantly we started to get to know each other and laid the foundation for the friendships that we now can't imagine living without.

The above photo depicts Angela, our course leader, teaching us how to bake a pizza in the backcountry- something I had never dreamed of prior to NOLS. We started by making a "dough baby" in a bag out of flour, seasoning, and yeast and then letting the dough rise for 10-15 minutes. In order to maintain the proper temperature, someone gets to put the dough baby under their layers near their belly, thus the "dough baby". Once the "baby" is ready to be born, you knead it and lay it out in a fry-bake and bake it up. We even made our own tomato sauce, then covered the top with cheese and fried summer sausage. What a treat! We use the same process to make bread, cinnamon rolls, and my personal favorite, cheesy garlic bread.

It was truly a privilege to get to hike and camp in the Winds. Unlike many of the natural areas that we have previously visited, the Winds are seemingly untouched by human visitors. We only saw three people the entire time we were on our journey and two of them were seen the first day near the trailhead. We were constantly surrounded by pristine lakes and streams and mountainous boulder fields.

I was quite apprehensive about this first section, seeing as the longest camping trip I'd previously been on had only been five nights, but my fear quickly subsided. Out there, I learned to use a whisper light stove, read a topographical map, navigate off-trail and push my body beyond comfort while still enjoying myself. And boy, let me tell you what, sometimes it was challenging! However, with the help of three wonderful instructors and many incredibly encouraging friends, I began to feel comfortable leading a group off-trail through the wilderness. The foundation laid during our first nine days stuck with us through the subsequent sections. We were challenged to develop our own moda (style) and travel with it throughout our journey. Because, even though it's not the front country doesn't mean you can't still be stylish!

It's hip to be a square... in Wyoming

2009-09-16T13:32:00.002-06:00

We have officially arrived in Lander at the NOLS Rocky Mountain Headquarters! And it is amazing! We got in yesterday around 3 and then had our orientation at 6:30. There are two sections of our course which have 14 or 15 students each. It's a very interesting group of people ranging in age from 20 to 34. Everyone has some level of outdoor experience, a few have even been on other NOLS courses, but there's plenty of room for everyone to learn. We all come from different backgrounds and disciplines, but everyone shares the common desire of wanting to integrate teaching and their personal passion for the outdoors.

Today has been a busy day which began with breakfast at 7 am and then rations and gear selection at 8. We traveled from our hotel about two blocks down the street to the Rocky Mountain Headquarters where we "exploded" all of our gear and pulled out the things that we need for the hiking section of the course. NOLS has an amazing gear shop that has everything in it that you could ever want or need for a course. You could literally walk in here with only the shirt on your back and get set with everything for your course.

In addition to culling through our gear, we went to the Gulch and collected our rations. NOLS provides rations of rice, flour, cake mix, pasta, cheese, animal crackers, and all other kinds of food, which each tent group is responsible for combining and turing into food for each meal. We have a couple of cookbooks to share on the trail, which have amazing recipes for everything from pancakes to cinnamon rolls. I've never cooked with rations before, so I'm excited to see what kind of stuff with come up with. Apparently people get pretty creative especially toward the end of a section when there's not much left.

For the hiking section (which is 9 days long) we will each carry 15 pounds of food. We began the process by making bags of food for everyone and then a gulch girl took us around in our tent groups (3-4 students) and filled our food bags with rations. Afterward we split up the weight with each other so that one person wasn't carrying more than the others- side note: cheese is HEAVY!!!!

This afternoon we will have our first class on packing our backpacks and we'll also get more of a run-down on how the course is going to flow. We have learned, that we are only going to be in Lander once during the course around October 8-10. Other than that, we will either be in the field, or at the 3 Peaks Ranch, which is NOLS horse packing camp headquarters. WOW!!! We're really going to be out of touch! We will, however, be able to send mail every time we receive a resupply- about once every 8-9 days and we'll receive mail between each course section. Here's a quick rundown of the course:

September 18-27: Backpacking in the Wind River Range of Wyoming
September 27-October 7: Wilderness First Responder at 3 Peaks Ranch in Wyoming
October 8-10: In Lander for Defensive Driving, resupply and rationing for the remainder of the course
October 11-31: Climbing in the Red Rocks of Nevada- near Las Vegas
November 1-28: Canyoneering at the Dirty Devil in Utah
November 28-December 17- Backcountry Skiing in western Wyoming
December 18: Return to Lander

The next three months are going to be insane! But amazing.

Well we're off to our next class... I'll try to write more later.

We Shall Never Forget

2009-09-11T17:44:00.001-06:00

Like most Americans, I have quite vivid memories of the events of this day 8 years ago. It started as a normal, run-of the mill day during my senior year of high school and by the end of it, the whole world had changed. I happened to turn on the news that morning before leaving for school, just in time to watch Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson reporting that there had been some type of explosion at the World Trade Center. It's amazing now to think back to that time and all of the unanswered questions that began reeling through the media: What was happening? Who had done this? Who would be next? Would America ever be safe?

After the events of that day, our entire country pulled together. For months afterward, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing tons of American flags blowing in the breeze, or yellow ribbons hung on trees or pinned to a lapel. Now, eight years later, it's easy for the "average American" to forget that we are still dealing with the ramifications of that day. There are soldiers fighting overseas and protecting our borders; firefighters and police officers who stand ready to answer the next call, whatever it entails; military and government officials trying to figure out just how to protect us from our enemies; and families who are still dealing with the loss of their mommies, daddies, sons, and daughters.

Today I had the blessing of getting to thank a few of those men and women. There were about 50 Colorado firemen and women participating in the 9-11 Memorial Firefighter 14er Challenge, whom we inadvertently ran into on our hike today. These people work tirelessly to save lives on a daily basis and they represent some of the bravest souls who laid down their own lives on 9/11 for people they did not even know. It was an honor to hike with them.

Today I heard a lady say that she wishes the media wouldn't put all those "sad" videos on TV every year, because it just makes her too heartsick. But I, for one, am thankful that there is a collective remembrance on this September 11th. I'm thankful for all of the brave men and women, civilians and civil servants, who fought for us that day and who stand ready to fight again if need be. God Bless America.

Let the Countdown Commence

2009-09-10T21:17:00.010-06:00

Today marked a huge step in our journey toward NOLS- Pepper has officially left the building. My parents came down to visit us for a few days starting this past Sunday, and when they left today, they took our sweet puppy back to Texas where she'll reside for the next few months. Michael's parents were kind enough to agree to look after her while we're gone. It was very bittersweet to say goodbye to her today because she's been my constant companion for the past two and a half years, but at the same time her departure marks the beginning of our countdown to NOLS. How exciting!

The past three days were a blast, though. Mom and Daddy got in late on Sunday night. Monday, we traveled to Copper Mountain and rode the free chair lift to about 11, 200 feet. From there, we hiked for a while and then ate lunch on the top of the mountain for only $8 a person! What a deal!! And bonus, it was absolutely delicious! Way to go Copper Mountain! You've won me over that's for sure.

Tuesday we had breakfast at the fantastic Butterhorn Bakery and then went to Breckenridge for the afternoon. There are so many fun shops to check out down there. Pepper especially enjoyed going to the dog park and meeting a few new friends. While we were at the dog park, I pulled to the side and had a phone interview with the Copper Mountain Ski School. It sounds like things went well, but I'll know for sure next week. Unfortunately our NOLS timeline conflicts with training week for the school instructors, so we're hoping to get "on the job training" the week of Christmas. The manager I interviewed with was very encouraging, so just keep your fingers crossed. Michael's interview is on Saturday, so hopefully his will go well, too.

Wednesday was our last day with the 'rents, so we went to Vail. We did a little more shopping there and had a fabulous lunch at a great Mexican restaurant. It's amazing how quickly Summit County clears out after the summer season- there was literally one other couple in the whole place. Lots of places actually offer 2 for 1 specials throughout the "shoulder season" between September and Thanksgiving. Woo Hoo for being local! Wednesday night we went out to dinner to celebrate my 25th birthday a little early since we won't be around for it in November. Michael got me a big, fuzzy robe which will be awesome on chilly winter mornings- in fact, I'm trying it out right now as I blog. Thanks, babe!

What a fun visit... and now we only have six days left until we head to NOLS! Can't wait!

4 years!

2009-08-24T10:00:00.010-06:00

4TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER!

It's hard to believe that four years ago Michael and I were sitting on the beach in Hawaii, soaking up the sun and barely believing that we were married. Here we are with four years of marriage under our belt and a load of blessings that we couldn't have ever imagined.

Here's a list of a few things we've done in those four years:

1. Moved five times- Bryan, Kentucky, Fort Hood, Harker Heights, and Breckenridge (not to mention a short pit stop in Kansas)

2. Survived and triumphed through a 15 month deployment

3. I graduated from college and started my teaching career

4. Traveled to Hawaii, Canada, New York, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Mexico, DC, Maryland, and all over Texas

5. Learned to love each other unconditionally

6. Rehabed from two knee surgeries and a broken elbow

7. Signed up and began preparing for a NOLS course

8. Made some major life decisions- stay in, get out, stay in, get out?

9. Learned Army lingo- FRG, MWR, orientated, SCO, AO, AAFES, APO, PX, DFAC... ug!

10. Made bunches of new friends while staying in touch with our old ones

11. Transitioned from active duty to the Reserves

12. Started looking for jobs as ski instructors... and the list goes on

I am so thankful that the Lord has guided us through these and so many more decisions. It's quite a transition to go from well-taken-care-of college students, who have not a care in the world (except passing semester exams), to being responsible, self-sufficient adults who have to make hard decisions in life.

I've learned in the past few years, and especially over the past few months, that not all decisions are cut and dry; there's not always a right and a wrong answer. Sometimes it's choosing the difference between two very good options or trying to chose the option which causes the least amount of damage. It's like those adventure books I used to read as a kid- the "chose your own ending" kind. You never know exactly which is the best answer and it's not always possible to see all of the repercussions of your actions until you've actually made the choice. Luckily in life, unlike in those adventure books, that's where the Lord comes in. His guidance through His Word, prayer, and wise counsel has seen us through some of the toughest decisions of our early years. And I know He will continue to be faithful. Just as David says in Psalm 103:

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits;

³Who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases;

⁴Who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

⁵Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

He has proven over and over that He has our lives in His hands and will continue to provide for us just as He already has. One thing I know for sure, in spite of all the other decisions I have to make in life, I'm thankful every day that I made the decision to marry Michael. He is my best friend and every day I find something new to love and enjoy about him. Happy Anniversary, Bub!

To Texas and Back Again

2009-08-18T21:17:00.006-06:00

Michael and I spent the past week in Texas while my best friend from high school, Michelle, got married to her beau Miles. It was a blast!! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and as an added bonus, we were able to spend quite a bit of time with both of our families. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Miles Terry!!!

We were planning to drive back to Colorado on Sunday, but after an eventful weekend that involved staying out past midnight three nights in a row, we decided to stay an extra day. It's amazing how quickly I have gone from being able to pull all-nighters in college to barely being able to function after a few nights out on the town. Guess that's what growing up does to you. We got back late on Monday, but luckily had a smooth, uneventful drive.

Today, I returned to the orthopedist for a check-up on my elbow. They took another set of x-rays and determined that everything is still in place and healing quite nicely. I am still relegated to wearing my sling for one more week, but after that, I'm good to go. Over the past week, I have regained quite a bit of movement in my arm- evidence this post. I am finally able to type without having to use the hunt-and-peck technique with just my left hand. It's not fun- I assure you.

I also started physical therapy today. For anyone who has ever attended physical therapy you know just how fun the visits can be, but right now I'm only working on "gentle" therapy, so that means that when it starts to hurt, I can tell them to back off a little. THANK GOODNESS! Because boy do they like to crank down on you. In about two weeks we'll start working with weights and really "punching it up" as my doctor likes to call it, but for now, it's pretty easy. I can only go twice a week- thanks to Tricare- but they gave me a bunch of exercises to do at home so that will help as well. We have exactly one month until we start our NOLS course, so I have a specific goal in mind which will help me to grin and bear it through the pain.

2009-07-28T02:38:00.004-06:00

I realized today that our blog is way overdue for an update. So much has happened, that I should probably just make a list:

1. We found a great little house- 2 bd/2bath with a garage and mudroom!

2. Michael got a part time job doing maintenance work for our property manager

3. Pepper and I hiked our first 14er- Mt. Quandry 14,265 ft!

4. We learned that making pancakes and cookies at 9,100 feet is a little different than at sea level

5. We met some amazing neighbors- Krassy and Anna who are from Bulgaria and will take care of our house while were at NOLS

6. We got to see how the Summit County ER works from the inside after I fell off my bike and broke my right arm

7. We found the Walmart and the Target!

8. We saw our first bir of Colorado snow- in July!!

9. We found our family vet after Pepper got an eye infection

10. We found our family doctor after Michael got a boil under his arm pit (yes, we realize that our little family has been plagued with doctor visits, but we're pretty much out of the woods at this point)

11. Michael has checked in with his unit in Denver and they are great! Very flexible about him missing drill the next few months which is a huge blessing

12. We're both applying to be ski instructors in December

13. My orthopedist approved me going to NOLS and has prescribed physical thearpy starting August 17

Although things have been a little rocky, the Lord has reenforced over and over that we are here for a purpose and that he is going to take care of us along the way.

We Made It!

2009-07-17T06:19:00.010-06:00

After an event-filled couple of days, which included getting on the road a little later than expected, we have finally arrived in Colorado! It's quite surreal to actually wake up this morning and see the breath-taking Rocky Mountains against the clear blue sky. We have been talking, dreaming, and planning for this day for months and now we are standing on the edge with nothing holding us back any longer.

Throughout our move, the Lord has provided for us tremendously. Recently we had to fix a flat on Michael's truck and determined that he did not have the proper "Nissan specific tools" to raise and lower the spare. Consequently, we had to go to the dealership in town to get the spare reattached, but we failed to acquire the jack and other tools prior to our departure. There was much going on, and it simply slipped our minds.

After signing all the documents on Wednesday afternoon, we went and picked up our puppy from our wonderful friends Les and Kelly. While there, the boys started discussing the truck and we came to the realization that it was a very unwise idea to travel for 16 hours without the ability to change a flat. Les, who also owns a Nissan Frontier, offered to let us buy his tool set and order his own so that we would be well-equipped on the road. Incredibly, just a few hours later, Michael and I were in the car, on I35 just north of Temple and we heard a loud rumble under the truck. I glanced behind us, just in time to see our spare fly 20 feet in the air, bounce off the concrete median and roll across two lanes of rush-hour traffic on the opposite side of the highway. Although there were numerous cars and 18-wheelers on the road, miraculously, no one was injured and the spare was left intact.

We turned around, picked up the spare which had rolled back into the grass median, and exited at the first available opportunity. We had no idea where we were and so we began praying that the Lord would lead us to someone who could evaluate the tire and reattach it. Not two minutes later we came across the Pedroza Tire Shop- a tiny tire shop off the side of road in the outskirts of Temple. There, three hermanos en Cristo (brothers in Christ) assisted us and ensured that we gave us doble seguridad (double security) on the reattached tire. Because of their wonderful service, we made it all the way here with no trouble at all.

Praise the Lord that no one was injured and that our truck did not sustain any damage. And, had it not been for Les's generosity in providing us the tools and the skills of these wonderful men, there's no telling when we would have finally gotten on the road.

The Lord never ceases to amaze me in providing for the "little things" in our lives whether it be clothes on our backs, food on the dinner table, or something as obscure as a tire iron. In Romans 12:12, we are reminded to always be rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, and continue steadfastly in prayer. My precious mom shared that scripture with us when we finally arrived at their home Wednesday night. What a wonderful reminder as we start this new chapter.

Each end is a new beginning...

2009-07-02T00:02:00.016-06:00

Well, hello blogging-world! I am finally actually posting to this thing after having first created it a few weeks ago. I have spent the vast majority of my evening just trying to figure out how to make this page look somewhat presentable as well as checking out other people's blogs to see all of the wonderful little do-dads and extras that you can add all over the place. I have to admit, the options are a little overwhelming, but the main purpose of this blog, is to keep our wonderful family and friends updated about the new happenings in our lives.

As many of you know, Michael is getting out of the active duty Army on September 1. His last, actual day of duty is July 9 and from that point forward we will be moving on to our next chapter. This past week, we (really, Michael) began packing our precious home into boxes. It has been quite bittersweet for both of us to cull through all of our memories from the past three years at Fort Hood.

When we first moved here, I remember driving down (the infamous) Rancier Blvd (a local hangout for drug dealers and 'ladies of the night') and wondering aloud "What have we gotten ourselves into!?". However, as we get ready to drive away for the last time, I now realize how amazingly blessed we have been to have lived here for the past three years. For one thing, Michael was able to join the 3d ACR and remain at home for well over two years prior to his deployment (an absolute miracle in today's Army). Additionally, we have had the opportunity to visit family easily; gotten to attend/be in numerous of our close friends' weddings; spent multiple weekends at the lake; and most importantly established some of the dearest friendships we may ever have. Our experience here has truly taught me not to "judge a book by its cover". Because let me tell you, I would have never chosen to read this here book, but it's turned out to be one incredible page turner!

It's beautiful to step back and see how our Father's divine plan has unfolded. The fulfillment of His previous promises confirms that we have not seen, we have not heard, and we cannot conceive what God has prepared for us down the road.

And I cannot wait!