Random updates

We are back from Colorado and we had the best time. Mitch's roommate from college has a cabin in Del Norte, which is in the middle of no where!! But it is about 1 hour from Pagosa Springs, so that was neat! The cabin was tucked back in the mountains right on the Rio Grande and it was absolutely gorgeous! When you went out on the deck, it felt like you were looking at something from a magazine. It was all by itself and you had zero cell service and was so nice for a week getaway! We hiked a lot, played some golf and rented four-wheelers for a day to climb a 13er. That was one of the coolest things I have ever done!

Now we are back to reality... all of our vacations are over and I start back to school next week! I have had the best summer ever and even though at some points it was tiring and stressful, I wouldn't of had it any other way. We got to do some things we will probably never get to do again and I loved that we had this opportunity!

We have been home since Monday and it has been so nice not to have to pack for something. I think this is the first time I can say I don't want to go anywhere.. I was so glad to get home and just know we are here for a while. I am ready for my routine and to get back in the swing of things. I just love Tulsa and I am glad we will be here for awhile. I have always enjoyed Tulsa, but living here as an adult, it has captured my heart. I can honestly say I don't want to leave. Mitch and I both love it here.. I think we finally feel home and it is the best feeling!

A lot of y'all have been asking about his school and we don't really have that much of an update, except we have decided to look into programs where we can stay in Tulsa. This was a big shock, and still is, to both of us. Ever since college, I thought it would be fun to go off and live somewhere "different" for a while. And while I still think we would like it, I honestly think we would be happier here in Tulsa. When we were talking about it and it just surprised me how both of our attitudes have changed. I mean, we have family here, a house we really don't want to leave, I have my dream job, a church family we have grown to love and when it comes down to it- we really love Tulsa. So, we are still waiting to hear back from Union University in Jackson, TN and if thats where we end up, I am sure we will both enjoy our time there. But Mitch has also decided to apply to a school in Wichita where we would spend the 1st semester (aug-dec) in Wichita and then his clinical/fellowship/residency would be here in Tulsa. So we are trying to figure out how all this would work out, but right now we are leaning towards that idea.   When we think about our future, this option makes most sense but, ultimately, God has a plan for us, which is so reassuring to know we are in His hands.

Also, a little bit of exciting news.. okay VERY exciting news for us! There is a chance Mitch will start day shift in 3 weeks!!!!!! I know y'all who have never experienced it, probably don't think it's that big of deal- but let me tell you this year has been one of the hardest, just because of night shift. It hasn't been bad, just really hard! We didn't think it was even an option, we figured he would be on nights until school, but his supervisor called yesterday and said there is a spot opening up and Mitch was next in line! We find out for sure in about a week or so, but we are praying it works out! It's nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel! Thank y'all who have been praying for us during this time and helping me though it! I really appreciate it!

On a different note, I mentioned earlier I start back to school next week!!! I am on the countdown and seriously cannot wait! I will admit, I am a little afraid I will not have a class like I did last year. I think of them all the time and cannot wait to see them. I ran into one of my kids at the grocery store the other day and it just made my heart melt. It made me so excited to get back to school! To this day, it still blows my mind how much I love this job. I thank God everyday He is giving me this opportunity. As much as I love it, these first few weeks suck the life out of you ha! I remember last year coming home at 3:30 and going to bed for the night. I cannot describe to you the amount of exhaustion I am getting ready to experience. Next week I will be working in the classroom and having to stay up at the school late for back to school nights and meet the teacher, and then on the 19th the kiddos come! Please pray for a great school year!

Oh.. I about forgot! The weekend before we left for CO, we were able to celebrate our good friends wedding! Congrats Shannon and Drew! The wedding was a blast and it is always so wonderful to celebrate marriage!

my handsome date

old roomies

Thats about all going on here! I am taking these next few days to do nothing before the craziness starts! Have a great week!

Summer Travels + Video!

Since we have been traveling so much this summer- I wanted to document all of our trips. We started our travels in New Orleans, then went to camp at Alasso Ranch with our church back in AR. From there we went to Vail and then last but not least- San Francisco! Click on this link to see our Summer Travels Video!

And as crazy as it seems- we have decided to go on one more trip!! We are going back to Colorado! We are going with some friends from college and can't wait. At the beginning of the summer we thought we were just too busy, and we probably still are, so we originally said no. But as the summer went on, it was actually Mitch that kept saying how much he wanted to go. Once he goes to school he will not get these kinds of opportunities for 3 years. He doesn't get any breaks, including summer. And honestly we have done so much this summer- whats one more trip. I was hesitant at first, but he kept telling me, we will probably never get another summer like this so we need to take advantage of it. And he is right. It wasn't too hard convincing me though... Colorado is one of my favorite places ever!  And we are going to an area we have never been before. We are going south of Denver... closer to the Pagosa Springs area! We leave in the morning and we couldn't be more excited!

San Francisco 2013

We had an absolute blast in San Fran! I have been excited about it all summer, but I did not realize how much I was going to enjoy it. And Will and Michelle were with us.. we always have a good time together!
We left Friday and got to San Francisco that night. We were there through Wednesday and fell in love with the city. There was so much to see and I cannot even begin to tell y'all about the food. Delish! Our trip was so long and we did so many things-- I am just go to highlight some of my favorite parts!

We spent a lot of time at Fisherman's Wharf. There was a lot to see and so many restaurants!

On sunday morning we went to a local farmers market and it was hands down one of our favorite parts.

There were so many local vendors with tons of fruit and veggies. We had some of the BEST peaches ever!
We biked to the Golden Gate Bridge- it was so neat to see! It was pretty foggy over the bridge, but you will hardly see it clear... they said its almost always foggy over the bridge area. Weird.

We spent a day in Napa Valley and that was a blast! It was a fun town to see and we also toured a vineyard while were there.

We drove over to Oakland and ate at the San Francisco Creamery. If you are in San Fran this is a must do!! We also had a nice steak dinner that night at a place called Vic Stewarts and it was hands down the best steak I have ever had in my life. I would HIGHLY recommend this place!

My favorite part of the trip-- we got to go see the "Full House" house. It has been my favorite show since I can remember. It defiantly was surreal to see the house! We also saw some area where they filmed like the hill in front of the painted ladies.

We walked to Lombard St., which is the "curvy" road. And we did not miss Ghirardelli Square!

We made a trip to the  Muir Wood Forest and it was incredible to see. The trees were huge!

We went to a Giants game which was a blast. Mitch and I love going to baseball games. If you have never been- this was the most gorgeous stadium ever. It looked over the bay and it was just so pretty!

Mitch and I had the opportunity to play Presidio Golf Club and it was the most gorgeous course we both had ever played. We had planned on taking our own clubs, but last minute figured out it was going to be cheaper to just rent them there. Mitch doesn't like to do this, because of his height. But it was going to save us a lot of money. We both chose Taylor Made clubs and they were so nice. I fell in love with the driver and the putter. I may be making a new purchase soon ha. But the only clubs they had to rent were blades and we didn't know that until we got there. This made it difficult for me. I played well for my first time with blades, but I play better with my own. Mitch told me how hard it is to play with blades, especially when you have only been playing a few years. But overall it was so fun. We had a blast and love being able to golf some nice courses this summer. It has always been Mitch's dream to play golf in California and he loved it. Ever since I met him- he has always talked about taking a trip down the coast of California before we have kids and golfing along the way. I think this made him want that even more ha. He says that will be his "reward" for getting though CRNA school.

I also have to tell you about these carts at Presidio. They had a mind of their own! They had these big screens in them and they told you everything about the course. It was a gps too- so since the course was so hilly, you could track where the carts in front of you were. Crazy. There were also a lot of cart rules for this course. Right before we started the starter was telling us all the rules- which holes were cart path only, 90 degree rules, etc. He talked so fast and I looked so confused when he was done- he just said, don't worry about it, the cart will let you know. I had no idea what he meant until we got to one of the holes and it literally would lock up if you weren't suppose to be on the hole and tell you to get off. One hole we went into the rough and weren't suppose to and it locked up and they only way it would let us out was to reverse the whole way. These carts were crazy! 

We always love going to Chinatown! Michelle and I had our first "scary" experience on buying purses. We ate in Chinatown at a place called House of Nanking and it was real Chinese food. The chef/owner came over to us and asked if we had ever been there before. We said no and he grabbed all our menus and said don't worry, I'll take care of. He brought out more food than we could imagine. Some of it was interesting, but the majority was so good!

We also ate at some amazing restaurants! I am really looking forward to going back in the future. It is such a fun place to visit.  If you are going in the future let us know- we can give you more ideas on what to do and recommend some amazing restaurants!