Buried Alive!!

The last couple of posts I've written have been a bit on the silly side. This one will be more informative, but with my usual strange brand of humor. Things haven't really changed much as of late, with a few notable exceptions.

First, Marina graduated!! Quite tragically, both of our point and shoot cameras died right as the festivities started. Luckily, my dad had his camera, and took lots of pictures--now if we can just get him to send them to us! We are really happy the way graduation went; my sister, her husband James, my mom and dad all drove to visit us. It was a long drive for them, but we sure appreciated having family to celebrate with. Since moving out to North Carolina, we've not seen much of our family, so it was a nice treat.

Second, we flew out to Arizona for a few days to visit Marina's family, and to go to the temple with her parents. It was a really great experience. We also got to spend time with Kristine (Marina's sister), Les, Marc, and Loren (her brothers), Marc's girlfriend Tiffany, and the rest of the family as well. Here's a photo of Marina in Arizona with one her new dresses she got for graduation.

While we were in Arizona, we had the great fortune to have my sister Liz house sit and watch our insecurely attached dog. Fletcher grew quite fond of Liz, too!

Another event we're happy about is Marina's first 'grown up' job. She is working with a research grant that she had previously worked on during her Master's, except now it is full time and official.

Then, this last weekend, we went to the beach for the first time this year. We went with almost the whole Thayn clan, which was lots of fun. I did something I've never done before, and got buried in the sand (except for my noggin). It was actually kind of fun! Sand is pretty heavy, so breathing is kind of difficult, but other than that, it was fun.

And now, story time. I'm kind of a gorilla--in that I'm kind of a hairy guy. Well, when I was buried, I had to lay down in this pit, and then get covered in sand. When discussing it later on, one of the Thayn kids became quiet, and when asked about his thoughts, he decided that, "I don't want a beard on my chest!". Yep, I'm a gorilla. Beard on my chest, and all.

Well, that's all for now. Have a great week!

Dear Internets,

It is with great gusto that I announce that Marina and I are having a...we're still alive. We're approaching Marina's graduation in 10 days. We're approaching mine in approximately 10 years.

Our dog is alive still. We still like the usual things. Also, here's a picture.

Hopefully we shall have more posts to come in the next weeks as the graduation festivities commence. See y'all later.

Recent realization

Sorry in advance that this is a bit long!

I had a realization the other day. If you clicked on either of the links in my last post, you might realize what I am talking about. Just in case you were wondering—Rebecca is my middle name.

I was invited to present with Dr. Hodgson on “Parenting a child with ADHD.” Yes, I realize that I don’t actually have children, much less ones with ADHD. However, she asked me to speak so I could lend “personal experience” to the lecture. You see, I was diagnosed with ADHD just over a year ago. It isn’t something I have told many people, and I struggled about whether I should tell that audience. I realized however, that the reason I didn’t want to tell people is because I was afraid people would perceive me differently because I have a so-called “mental health diagnosis.”

Stereotypically, I don’t fit into the ADHD category. I’m not “hyper” and never have been. I just tend to lose focus easily, struggle with organization and time management, and other less “obvious” symptoms. I sometimes get distracted in conversations, not because I don’t want to pay attention, but because my mind gets excited about thinking about other things!!! Since being diagnosed, I have realized the full impact this has had on relationships, and have been working on being more “present” and more organized. I want to focus my career on research on ADHD, and how this can affect relationships and families (because it absolutely can!!!).

I didn’t want people to look at me differently because I have ADHD, but I realized that by telling my story, I can give people hope. It was wonderful to have people come up to me after the presentation and ask me questions about ADHD, and seek my advice (!?!). Although I didn’t get into the PhD program this year, it gave me the opportunity and motivation to spend a lot of time researching ADHD. I know I was supposed to apply to the PhD program this year—but maybe that was the reason! I know that I have been, and will continue to be lead and guided to what I am supposed to do, and where I am needed. Sometimes it’s a bit frustrating, because I am not on the “mommy track” right now, and it’s hard to see all of my friends have babies and know that I have been prompted to get a PhD! Feel free to check out my blog—where I will be sharing my story in much more depth (which is why I have chosen to use a pseudonym, it is after all, still the internet).

Thanks for being my friend!

Guess What!?!?!

*Photograph courtesy of Annelise White

I'm NOT pregnant.

I didn't get into the MedFT program.

Regardless, it was a good month!

Steve and I are now a quarter of a century old!

I chopped my hair off and color it dark!

I got published in a magazine

I created a new blog

I got called to be a Sunday School teacher for the 12-13 year olds (my first teaching calling!)

We went to a Valentine's Dance, that I helped plan as part of my calling on the Activities Committee and learned to Samba, Tango, and Waltz

Steve and I had a great Valentine's weekend, celebrating our friends the Wetherington's birthdays, and Steve made me a wonderful Valentines dinner, including plate-sized-steaks!

I was asked to present in Mark White's DSM class

On Tuesday, I will be presenting with Jennifer Hodgson for a parenting class

We went to a fun Superbowl party with many of the Young-Married couples in our ward

It SNOWED! Twice!

We got our tax refund! Yey for being students!

I hope you had a great month! I am counting down the days until May 7th, when I can rejoin the land of the living!

Here bloggy bloggy bloggy...

We almost forgot about our blog. The other night we realized it has been almost 4 months since our last update. Let's see what we've done in the time between:

- We traveled almost nowhere. I think this is the longest stretch for us between trips. I blame it on having a dog that doesn't do well when he isn't 4 inches from my face at all times.

- Marina applied for the PhD program at ECU for Medical Family Therapy. I think she's insane for wanting going to school continuously since the age 5.

- It got really cold in Greenville. Colder than last year, if my swiss cheese memory is accurate.

- We had our first 'alone' Christmas, which was a strange, yet wonderful experience. We spent some of the time with our friends the Thayns, which was also fun.

- My biggest sole achievement is making it to World 8 in the New Super Mario Bros. I set my expectations low, so that when I do something like this, I feel like I have something to be proud of.

The end. See you in 4 months.

...Here's a nice picture from Myrtle Beach from last week when we finally left town...

We're WAY Over Due...For An Update

Howdy folks! It’s been quite some time since the last update. In several months, lots has happened! At the beginning of August, we went on a long road trip from North Carolina to Utah, Arizona, and all the way back. In 12 days and 6200 miles, it was a long and fun adventure. Especially with our dog along for the ride. Since then, it has been back to school all the way (which is why we’ve been strangers to the ‘blogosphere’). Marina is working 40 hours a week with her assistantship and internship, plus clients and class. Most days from 8am to 8pm she’s out the door doing all kinds of things. I’m slightly less busy, but not by much. I’m going to school almost full time and working the same hours as always. I’ve even started biking to class, which gets me almost 5 miles riding time each day.

Well…what blog post is any good without pictures? As such, here are tons of pictures from our drive across the country!

When we left for Utah, we only had two days to get there, which made things really rushed. We did, however, stop at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. Here’s a happy Marina in the black cave. When you go on a tour, they turn off all the lights—it is amazing how dark it gets!!

If you can’t tell by the picture, we couldn’t get a very good night shot while driving past the St. Louis arch on the freeway —at this point we had been driving for 18 hours or so, and were trying not to fall asleep. We ended up staying in scary truck stop on the west side of St. Louis for about 4 hours to get some rest. We didn’t stop to sleep the rest of the 44 hour drive.

You may have to squint to see, but there in fields of Kansas, we saw what I like to call “Jesus of the Wheat”. Not sure what purpose it served, other than a reminder—no notice about what church sponsored it—just a sight you don’t see too often. Kansas wasn’t as boring to drive across as I originally thought—parts of it reminded me of what I picture farmlands in Scotland to look like - except slightly less hilly.

We advanced through Denver—and I took Fletcher for a walk in the foothills of the Rockies west of Denver. It was the perfect temperature – it wasn’t too dry or humid, about 75, and a slight breeze. I could’ve pulled up a hammock and pulled Rip Van Winkle and slept for ages there. Of course, I might’ve had a hard time when winter came!

Here’s the other view of when we took the dog for a walk—a really beautiful sight. You can’t tell super well from the picture, but it had been very stormy from the plains east of Denver, all the way through to the mountains; but there was a break in the clouds which opened up on Denver and made a great view.

I haven’t a clue where this is, other than it is in the middle of the Rockies somewhere. This picture was taking while going 70 on a freeway, and it still looks as still and serene as anything with a tripod (except for the blurry road signs). Sign me up for a cabin there!

Part of the reason for our trip was so we could be at a good friend’s wedding. Marina got a shot of me looking all….funny. I think my mustache needs some work.

Mike and Jewel! They got married on August 8^th at the Mount Timpanogos Temple. It was great to be there and enjoy the festivities.

The Stephens. Need I say more? Stephen Godfrey, and his wife, Sarah, are really good friends that were really nice and let us stay with them for the weekend in Utah.

Stephen (closed eyes), Marina, Sarah, and Stephen. It was a fun time—and Fletcher loved them to!

During the trip, we got to see lots of family. Here’s Marina with her older sister, Elisa, and her daughter, Becca. Fletcher’s giving a funny face, but he enjoyed the park anyway.

Fletcher! Apparently he gets timid around cats…but then he warms up to them and starts playing, puppy style!

No wonder he was timid – Emily’s cats have red glowing eyes, atop their Sauron like perch :P

Our 4 year old (almost 5!) nephew, William. I think I caught him mid “I’m going to karate chop you” wave. He’s pretty much the coolest kid. EVAR.

We drove to Scottsdale and got to spend the next 4 days with Marina’s family. It was a really good time. Marina took this picture of her mom and brother atop a horse somewhere in the desert outside of Queen Creek. I don’t know how they handled it, since it was August—in Arizona. Looks like a good time though!

The whole family got together after going to the temple and we had ice cream. And then more ice cream. Becca sure enjoyed this as well!

Marina and Fletcher were just hanging out; Miri (Marina’s mom) also joined for a quick photo.

All the ladies together! Elisa, Kristine, Miri, and Marina.

We had to go home, sadly. The rest of the photos are from our trip back. We were driving outside of Tucson (not pronounced Tuck-son :P) and saw this dinosaur. We have no idea why it is perched outside of McDonalds, but pictures were necessary.

When we drove through Texas, it felt kind of like going home—sort of. I was born in El Paso, but moved away when I was four—I don’t have many memories, but its still my birthplace.

Speaking of ‘going home’, we decided to stop and check out my parent’s house when we lived in Texas. I know they lived in a few other places, but I think this was their first house they bought. It seems like a cool old place to me. I think I remember seeing a picture of the house when it snowed there once. After going there in August, I just can’t imagine it ever snowing in El Paso!

Yet another reason to move to Texas! This is another one of those ‘driving down the road at 70’ (or more) pictures.

We stayed the night at Marina’s brother’s home. Here is Marina and Leslie overlooking an inlet near Lewisville Lake in Little Elm, Texas. It was really beautiful and its up near the top of my list of really great places to live.

On the other hand….we could live here! This is taken to catch the distant rainbow—on one of the many bridges outside of the New Orleans area. I don’t think I’ve ever driven on bridges for so long. It started to feel a bit like waterworld.

We stayed our last night of the trip in New Orleans. We wanted to see a few sights, so we went to the French Quarter on a Saturday night. I highly recommend not doing that. It was a crazy zoo and the only places that you could actually go and see were a bit sketchy. Here are some little donkey horse things that had money stuffed in their collars. Not sure why, they’re too small to go for a ride on.

We really wanted to see one of those hauntingly cool cemetaries with the mausoleums. Here is a night shot of Lafayette Square Cemetary. It is hard to see very well, but just imagine the spookiness!

Here’s that spookiness I was talking about.

Beignets are my new favorite treat. If you ever go to New Orleans, you MUST stop by Cafe du Monde on Decatur Street. It is the most fantastic, powdered sugar concoction of all time.

Beware the “It has been so long since I haven’t been in a car” lion face. I’m pretty sure I’ll be in time out for a month for putting this picture up.

We made one last visit on our way home in Auburn, Alabama. Marina and a fellow MFT student friend, Kristy got to spend some time catching up while I tried to keep our dog from attacking her roommate’s cat. Good times.

Well folks, that’s about all for now. I’m sure we’ll post again in a few more months (or sooner, hopefully) once we’re no longer submerged in the rigors of academia/life.

The Dog Days of Summer

Well, summer is about over. That's sad. To avoid feeling sad, I'm going to put up some pictures of our funny little dog. Since we can't inundate our blog with pictures of a child, our dog will have to do. We just went on a gargantuan trip (which I'm sure Marina will blog about soon), and got some funny pictures of Fletcher. He had a bit of a hard time on the trip, but overall was a great companion for the many hours of driving. Let the funny dog pictures commence!