Our Wonderful Wednesday!

Yesterday was my favorite day here in Montana so far! The weather was absolutely beautiful and the skiing was GREAT! Gregg got up early yesterday morning to fix breakfast and then went out to ski at 9am when the slopes opened up. I woke around 8:30am ate breakfast and kissed Gregg goodbye as he headed out. I met back up with him and Cheryl at 9:30am to begin the Charity Scavenger Hunt/ Poker Run. We had so much fun doing this!!! We were given a card with all the clues for the scavenger hunt and a map of the mountain. We had to figure out where we had to go in order to draw our card for the poker game. I made it through half the game but then let Gregg and Cheryl finish because my knee was a little sore. I loved the runs that we skied- they were perfect and a lot of fun! I even made it down the most difficult run that I have tried so far!!! When Gregg and Cheryl finished we all went to the 5th spot together and turned in our playing cards- nobody from our club won any of the prizes :( Then we ate lunch at "Whiskey Jack's" (a bar and grill at the bottom of the mountain that we frequent at least once every day)

me skiing!

Cheryl skiing

Gregg and I decided not to ski yesterday afternoon and instead to go into town and find the Fire Department. We brought Irving FD t-shirts with us that we were hoping to swap out for some Big Sky FD t-shirts. The drive into town ("the Meadow") took us about 15 minutes and it was so neat to see the mountain and all the slopes from that far away! We visited the Fire Department and then went to the grocery store before heading back up the mountain.

Big Sky, Montana

Big Sky Fire Department

The mountain

Last night we all went to Cheryl and Mush's cabin for our yearly team party! They ordered pizza and we brought salad and wine. We had a good time chatting with everyone and laughing at different things that have happened so far this week!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from beautiful Big Sky, Montana!!! We have had another fun and amazing day playing in the snow and skiing! We slept in this morning and then got up and made breakfast before getting ready and hitting the slopes. Our first run of the day was on the same side of the mountain that we skied yesterday. I actually liked this run better than the one yesterday but it really long and a little hard on my knee. We took a break after that (took us about 45 min or so to get down because of me!!!) and came back to the condo. After resting and eating a PB&J sandwich we headed back out. This time we went to a different lift that only went half way up the mountain. Gregg and I both got to ride up with a couple of kids in ski school who were adorable!!! Gregg fell trying to help his little boy off the lift causing the kid to fall also. It was quite a site and I wish I had caught it on camera! The trail we took down this afternoon was perfect! It was a great length and really a lot of fun! We skied that twice and then I called it a day and headed to Whiskey Jack's for a "Hot Apple Pie" (Apple Cider and Tuaca) while Gregg made one more run!

Riding the lift up

We made spaghetti for dinner tonight and are watching the Dancing With The Stars result show right now! We have had showers and are also getting ready to go out and meet the group to celebrate St. Patty's tonight!

Tomorrow morning there is a Charity Scavenger Hunt/ Poker Run sponsored by Texas Ski Council starting at 9:30am. We are thinking about giving it a try- I know that Gregg can do it and hopefully the runs they pick won't be too difficult so that I can join in! We are also hoping to go down the mountain into the town of Big Sky to visit the Fire Department!

Montana Baby!

Gregg and I left Sunday afternoon for Big Sky, Montana! I am very excited and quite apprehensive about this trip. I have been going to Physical Therapy and to see a Chiropractor all week to try and work through my stiffness and soreness caused by the wreck. I really feel pretty good most of the time but still am not back up to 100% yet. My doctor has warned me to take things easy and not push myself because my body isn't completely healed yet. We have been looking forward to this trip since our trip to Telluride last year so I am quite pissed that I had to have this wreck right before we left town.

We are members of Texas Union of Firefighters (TUFF) Ski Club which is part of the Texas Ski Council. This trip to Big Sky is the last of the 4 annual ski trips the council hosts every year. TUFF is a Dallas ski club composed primarily of Irving Firemen and their spouses. This is our second trip to take with TUFF and we hope to make it a yearly occurrence!

TUFF Logo

Our flight left DFW Sunday around 4pm and we headed for Denver. There were 5 of us (Mush, Cheryl, JD, Gregg and I) who all flew together. We were supposed to have a 1 hour layover in Denver and then fly into Bozeman BUT of course it couldn't go that smoothly. Our flight into Montana got cancelled and there wasn't another flight out till 6 am this morning. We did get put up for the night by the airline at the "Crystal Inn" Hotel! (We were all a little scared of the place based on the name but the room was actually quite nice!) The airport shuttle picked us up this morning at 4:30am and took us back to the Denver airport. We had a plane this time and made it into Montana about 7:30am Mountain time. From there we got our rent car, ran by the grocery store and headed to Big Sky.



Gregg and I are sharing a condo with another Irving FF, Jorge and his girlfriend Susie. Jorge and Susie made it to Montana last night and got us all checked into our condo. We have a cute 2 bedroom 2 bath condo with a great kitchen! Our room is super tiny and has 2 sets of bunk beds in it. (Yes, the married couple will be sleeping in separate beds while the couple that is dating has a queen bed to sleep in together- not our choice!)

Our room (excuse the mess!)

We changed clothes, rented our skis and finally made it to the mountain about 1pm. The weather was nice but a little windy for me. I made it down the mountain once and called it a day. We all ate lunch together and then I went back to the condo to rest while Gregg went back out with the group. I felt pretty good most of the way down but was really tired by the time we made it to the bottom and my right knee was starting to hurt so I decided not to push it.

My Snow Angel!

We are taking it easy tonight- just laying on the couch watching Dancing With The Stars and plan on going back out tomorrow morning early. Big Sky is predicted to get 16 in of snow tonight so I am excited about the powder that will be on the mountains in the morning!!! We hope to ski tomorrow and then rest on Wednesday so that I can ski again Thursday.

Starting to snow!!!

Love to all from Montana!

Sadness

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog. Please keep our family in your prayers. My sister-in-law, Brandi has asked my brother, Seth for a divorce. It has come as a huge surprise to Seth and our entire family! She says that she has been unhappy for a while now and does not want to try to work anything out and so Seth has moved into my parents travel trailer for now. My parents have spent a lot of time with him recently and while he is really upset he is staying strong and going to be alright. I’m a firm believer that is takes two to make a marriage work and two to break it! I will be the first to admit that Seth can be difficult, but he was crazy about Brandi and her daughter Bailey. He just finished adopting Bailey last August so at least she will continue to be in our lives! Bailey spent the weekend with Seth and my parents and they had a great time. She is a little shaky right now since she has been through this before, but we are all working to reassure her we will always love her and want her and that she will always be a part of our family!

I have been completely shocked by all of this and am having a rather hard time dealing with it. Part of me feels very sorry for Brandi. She did not grow up in a loving and supportive family and doesn't have great role models. I truly feel that she doesn't know how to love or be loved. But the other part of me is very bitter about the situation right now since Brandi is so unwilling to even try and work things out. I just don't understand not putting the effort into your marriage to fight for it and try to save it. I don't understand how Brandi can be so fine with the situation since she has a 10 year old who she is dragging thru a divorce for the 2nd time. (And personally, I am bitter because she is in every single one of my family wedding pictures and that honestly pisses me off!) I am just so sad, mad, disappointed, angry, and confused about it all.

Please keep Seth, Bailey and my parents in your prayers.

Wreck

I was involved in my first (where I was driving) car accident yesterday and my poor little car is totaled. I went to a Birthday Party in Keller yesterday afternoon for my friend Rhyann's little boy, and then was headed to my friend Susan's house to get ready for Callie's Bachelorette Party last night. I was headed East and stopped behind a car that was waiting on traffic to pass so they could turn left into their housing addition. A car came up behind me and never slowed down or stopped before hitting me, causing me to hit the car in front of me and then shoving me sideways into the lane of oncoming traffic.

I hit my face and right arm on my steering wheel and my left knee on the dash board. I have a black eye and several other bruises and am terribly sore today but am very thankful overall that it wasn't any worse (especially since I ended up in the other lane of traffic)!

My eye Sunday morning after putting Neosporin on it

My eye Monday night

Gregg was at work yesterday when this all happened (of course) and so Susan came to pick me up and Gregg's best friend and fellow Firefighter/ Paramedic, Gary came to check on me also. Gregg did get "Family Sick Leave" from work and came to get me later and has been taking care of me ever since! (Sweet boy!!!)

Gregg and I have been out today looking at a new vehicle for me. We looked at used Tahoe's this afternoon and I think we found one we could both agree on! While we knew that I would have to have a new and bigger car before having children we weren't really planning on getting one so soon! We also went back by the scene of the accident today so that I could show him everything and we could take more pictures to give to the insurance company. Then we went to the lot where my car was towed to and looked at it.

My poor Texas Tech license plates are both smashed!

Me, Me, Me

So, I finally took the time to write my "25 Random Things About Me" to be posted on Facebook last night and because it took me so long to come up with these I decided I would go ahead and post them on here too!!! I have tweaked and updated a few- it was late when I finished last night and some of these were a little goofy!


1. I am crazy in love with Gregg! He is the most amazing and wonderful man and a fantastic husband. I am so grateful that God picked Gregg for me and me for him!

2. I have the most incredible family ever! My parents are amazing and have shown me what true love is thru their own marriage and have taught me that the best things in life are worth fighting for. My little brother is an inspiration to me- he is the hardest working person that I know and I feel truly lucky to be his sister. I love my sister-in-law and absolutely love and adore my niece- my family has been blessed by them.

3. I dream about being a Mommy and hope that Gregg and I can be the kind of parents to our children that our parents were to us!

4. I honestly believe that my wedding was one of the most beautiful and special weddings I have ever seen/ been a part of. (I know I am a little biased!) I loved the way that the day was so personal and totally about Gregg and I and our families!

5. We had the most beautiful flowers at our wedding! (Last thing about the wedding I promise!) Our florist used cotton boles and wheat in all our arrangements that came out of my Grandfather’s and Gregg’s father’s field. My bouquet was beautiful and it was all way better than what I pictured!

6. I have the best friends in the world! I love that have several different and diverse groups of girlfriends and each one of them plays such a special role in my life!

7. I love going to work each day and I love my job! I enjoy being able to meet so many students and help them to grow in their studies. I feel so blessed to be a nurse and to be a part of a wonderful profession (and to know that I have guaranteed job security!)

8. I bleed RED AND BLACK!!! I am a die hard Red Raider and am slightly obsessed with Texas Tech football!

9. I love living in the DFW area but do admit that I miss Lubbock and frequently get sad that Gregg and I live so far away from our families! (Especially when they are all together for a family function and we are here instead.)

10. Gregg and I love food to a fault!!! We are trying so hard to be healthy but it just isn’t near as enjoyable or fun!

11. I have a very crazy gag reflex and I really can’t describe what it is that sets me off. EX: I had to turn the Kidd Kradick morning show down yesterday on my way to work when JC was eating the Beef Stroganoff “Out Of The Box” and was crunching the noodles and describing how terrible the powder smelt. I was gagging and retching and nearly threw up!

12. I wish that we hadn’t moved around so much while I was growing up (I attended schools in 5 different school districts and never went to any one school for longer than 4 years). I pray that Gregg and I can settle somewhere and barring a major family crisis raise our children in the same community they were born into.

13. I am addicted to TV and watch way too many shows! Even shows that really aren’t all that great I still watch just because I am addicted to them! I wish I could break this terrible habit and take up something more physically challenging and demanding!

14. I watch “The Young And The Restless” every single day! Gregg has even learned to watch it with me because I am that obsessed (and he is that great of a guy)!

15. I am also addicted to my laptop and spend too much time on the Internet!

16. I was asked in my marital counseling what I would do in life if money wasn’t and issue and I knew that I would be successful. My dream job in that case would be to open up a wrapping paper and stationary store (yes, just like Papperie but only better!) I am obsessed with wrapping paper and tissue paper and keep everything that gifts I get are wrapped in. I have it all stored upstairs in my office. (Poor Gregg!)

17. I am a tad bit neurotic- especially when it comes to my work!!!

18. Because of #17, my partner at work drives me absolutely CRAZY and I plan on unpacking her boxes tomorrow (while she is out of the office) that have been sitting on the floor of our new office since we moved in over a month ago!

19. I love to sleep and pretty much have to have my 8 hours of sleep each night! I take a Melatonin each night so that I can sleep through the night and wake up rested!

20. I LOVE to read and could probably open up a used book store with all the books that are boxed up and stored in our garage!

21. I want to have a garage sell! We have so much stuff out there that we need to go through and get rid of. I just don’t have it in me to do it right now. Anyone wanna help?!?!?

22. I have always slept with the fan on high but that bothers Gregg’s allergies and he has always slept with the fan off. I have learned to compromise on even the small things recently and we sleep with the fan on low now!

23. I want to take country dance lessons with my husband and to be able to twirl and spin all over the dance floor.

24. I LOVE my Fireman and am so very proud of him for what he does and who he is!

25. I think that I have gotten way more detailed doing this than what was probably intended! (No wonder I have been putting off doing this for so long now!)

Our Not So Happy Valentine's Day

Gregg has the flu (we think that is what it is at least) and is not feeling well at all! Poor thing has been coughing, achy all over, and running a fever for a couple of days now. So, needless to say we have spent our Valentine's Day weekend in different parts of the house and slept in different beds last night :( I have been doing my best to be the good little nurse that I am but still trying to stay away from him so that I don't get sick too. We both got flu shots this year so I am really hoping that mine holds up a little better! Hopefully he will be feeling better tomorrow because he is supposed to go to Collin County College so that he can register for a Fire Officer class that starts on Tuesday.

On a better note, I have posted a link to a slide show with some of our wedding pictures . The post is actually a few posts lower so that it is in chronological order. (I am crazy I know for caring about that!!!) These pictures are ones that friends and family members have taken so not all of them are the best quality! My grandmother saw our photographer at Church today and she said that she is almost done with our real pictures so hopefully I will get those this week and then I can post some of them as well!