Off to a new adventure!

Living in Southern Texas for the past 6 months has provided me with some FANtasticly good times. Ok, so the bugs were a huge draw back to that (I'm looking at you flying roaches, crickets, and fire ants)but I'm not going to think about that. Instead I'm just going to think of all the cool stuff I got to do!

So here is my ode to you Texas. I have been trying to get out for so long that I didn't realize what a good time I was having. Just this week my family took a small vacation together (read Miracle was performed). Did you know that the perfect month to go to the beach is October?

Not only was the beach clean and the sun was shining but I spotted the legendary beached whale  HALF WOMAN HALF MANATEE!!I hear they are very sensitive about the size of their fin...approach with caution. Don't learn the hard way!

"These aren't hips they are saddle bags! What have you done to me?!"

Haha, sometimes I think we have more fun than Ariel. We found a man-of-war washed up on the beach and when she wasn't looking we found a stick to poke it with. The little guy deflated into a raisin. So icky! Did I mention I caught some fish?

I couldn't leave Texas without one good tall tale to my name!

That's just the way I was raised!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another memorable moment from Texas, Steph and I took my mom on vacation to see her parents. My mom hasn't visited her sister in...over 10 years? It was a pretty monumental occasion. It was also pretty impressive that we survived that car trip. For those of you familiar with my family you will understand why. My eye is still twitching.

I forgot how we convinced Ariel to pose for this.

My move back to Texas started off with a bang. I was able to run a half marathon in Beaumont Texas to fight obesity. And by run I mean danced and skipped and jogged and ran. Endurance running is great but you really have to be able to entertain yourself. One of the runners behind me asked how I was able to keep skipping towards mile 12 and I told him it was more fun that way. It was a first time event so they ran out of water on mile 6. A lot of runners took it out on the volunteers and I thought that was sad. My expression however turned into this:

But why is the water gone?

 Luckily a police officer came running off a side road with a gallon of water that he shared with those who saw him. I sprinted the only hill in the whole course and it felt so good to use different muscles. My pride told me I couldn't live in Utah for 5 years and not run that small hill. I think that makes up for not making my goal time by 7 minutes. I also ran slightly off course to use a town fountain to cool off. Smelled awful but was totally worth it! I had a running buddy who kept me on pace: Bettie Sue. She was so cute. "I'm an old woman and you're young! I'm not allowed to beat you!" She beat me by a minute. My dad, who ran the 5k, waited by the finish line and ran in with me. People came up to me after the race and thanked me for being so upbeat. It encouraged them to keep going. I still think of this race as a metaphor for life. It's not the running that I love so much as the whole experience itself. Next step marathon next year!

What else have I done in Texas that makes me smile when I think about it? Youth Conference and Girls Camp. So much better when you're a YSA leader going back. I actually promised to fly back for camp next year since I am moving. I absolutely adore those girls! Only one small story from this though since I could write pages on it. While at crafts trying to teach the girls how to make friendship bracelets I had gotten so frustrated. I said "I'm not as good as Sister Craftlady. I suck at this!" The 12 year old girl I was teaching turned and looked at me with her big eyes and freckled face and said something along the lines of "No you don't. You just need to practice more. Everyone has their own talents." Her sincerity and earnestness took me off guard and I had nothing else to say.

Have you ever been to DC? I have now! What a happening place to be. Thanks to my 6 month Texas vacation I had time to go to one of my best friend's weddings! Melissa and Fabrizio ForEVER Yo! I still remember when she came into the lab and told Breanne and I about him. We nick-named him Fabreeze. What a good sport :-) Oh the stories that are under friend secrecy!

My Dad and I visited every museum known to MAN! At least that's how it felt to my feet. Always bring proper walking shoes to DC. I took him to the Washington DC temple (mormon temple) and we enjoyed their visitors center. It was really hard to squeeze in all the sight seeing we wanted to do. Mike went with us to Jazz in the park and cooked dinner with us on Sunday. He even took us on a special insiders DC trip where the SWAT team was involved. Talk about a hook up from a native.

Tourists with a capital T. "Jenny that's a senator go get your picture with him!"

Did you know my brother got married last month? September 17 2010. Right before that he graduated AIT and a few days later he was shipped out to Germany. We celebrated the way my family celebrates anything: with food. Nobody knows when things are going to happen in the military. We didn't find out about this until the day of. Good thing I was in Texas and got to spend a week with him before he left.

Ariel made him hold her puppy and the other soldiers had a field day with it so of course I needed a picture with them both

The after wedding party aka harass the bride and groom with the  camera. Well Nick and Angela are now happily married and have started their life together.

Forget the last year, these last 6 months have been CRAZY! I've become increasingly aware of how much Heavenly Father is watching over my family and myself. I hate slowing down. Sometimes it is needed but I hate admitting that. Texas has given me something going straight into grad school never could have. I've made great friends and had my perspective restored. I leave next week to attempt to start up work in Utah but I am grateful for the time I spent at home. Despite the misunderstandings we have I sure do love my family. We just need to invest in foam bats. That would really help our relationships. Oh yeah.

I end with something that happened tonight. After getting back from Institute I went to the back of the house and Ariel called out to me from bed. I went into her room and she said she wanted a hug and when I went in to hug her she said "Jenny everyone loves you." Good to know everything will be ok.