Jake's First Christmas

I realize I talk about my dogs...a lot. Several have brought it to my attention, but I usually just disregard their comments. If you have ever checked out my Twitter feed, about 20% of my tweets are about animals and I would say 50% of my "Twit Pics" are my dogs. Sure it might be a little excessive and all I can say is, sorry I'm not sorry.

With this year being Jake's first Christmas, and him still having a baby face, I decided to send out a Christmas card (with his photo on it) to all of his furry friends (and family). I think the final list (after eliminating a few) came out to be somewhere along 42 recipients. Yes, Cliff's dog has quite a few friends!

I had several ideas for pictures, using props such as Christmas lights, a Rudolph nose, big bows, tinsel, and candy canes...but I settled with a simple holly wreath with bells and reindeer antlers.

Here is the finished product. What do you think?!

If you wish to recieve a card next Christmas, shoot me a message! :)

Man's Best Friend(s)

Those of you who are dog owners/lovers, will appreciate this...and those of you who are not, well...you might have a hard time understanding this post.

My family has always had a dog around. I got my first Golden Retriever, Casey, in first grade. She created so many memories for our family. I thought she was unstoppable. When she passed away during my sophomore year of college I just knew mom would NOT allow us to get another dog (you have to understand that Casey was not exactly mom's favorite), but after almost a year, my parents agreed upon the fact that the house was just too lonely without a furry friend running around.

Insert Kaymen. Kaymen is nothing like Casey. He has a mind of his own and it is safe to say that he has doggy ADHD. My dad, brother, and I immediately started seeing a change in mom's feelings towards K9 friends. It was almost ridiculous to see how much she babied Kaymen. Well, about a year went by and mom came up with an unheard of idea in our house..."let's get a friend for Kaymen to play with, he's probably so lonely when we're at work"...at this time, I could have sworn pigs could fly.

Insert Solomon. Solomon came to us right before Christmas last year. He was raised in a shed and was needing a better environment. After talking to his old owners, we found out that Solomon was actually Kaymen's litter mate/brother!

These two boys have been inseparable since day one. They sleep together, they run together, they dig to China in the backyard together. I have never seen two dogs get along the way Kaymen and "Solly" do.

Three years ago, if you would have told me we'd have two "fur people" in the Williams house, I probably would have called you crazy...but now, I could not imagine our house without these two gentlemen! :)

This post is in memory of Casey "Gorman" Williams

11/10/93 - 10/10/07

T-Giving in T-Town

For as long as I can remember, we have always spent Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family. Each year, we rotate locations. The Williams/Mitchell clan spreads from Texas to Kansas (yes, and that one state in between). We have family in Topeka and Hutchinson, Kansas and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This year, we had Thanksgiving in Tulsa at my dad's brother's home. I think I can vouch for the rest of the family when I say that Tulsa is always the best place to go. You see, my uncle is an AMAZING chef! Any time Uncle Kent is in charge of a meal it A) is on time, and B) will cause your taste buds to say "give me more!"

It all starts with the day before Thanksgiving. We have a tradition of eating chili and finger foods. Uncle Kent, however, never fails to go above and beyond by making Williams White Chili. Mmm mmm good!

Of course, Thanksgiving Day is something to look forward to no matter where you spend it...because let's be honest, there is no other day of the year that you can legally stuff yourself until you fall into a food coma. (And if you're one of the crazies that DOES NOT do this, then how dare you.) It would take a lot of effort to describe to you the spread that Uncle Kent laid out for us this year, but I will say this...we actually, as a family, told Kent that we would pay him to "cater" Thanksgiving every year. :) The verdict is still out on whether or not he will take us up on the offer, but I know we are all keeping our fingers crossed!

PIE Partner Pumpkins!

Okay, so these little guys are bit random and totally out of place. But what would a blog be without a bit of spontaneity?!

Every year, right before Halloween, my students paint pumpkins for one of the banks in town. The bank is one of our school's "PIE Partners", or "Partners in Education". This year, we had some great products ranging from goons and goblins, to the Texas Rangers, to animals. As we were getting them counted and sorted for delivery, we realized we had 25 pumpkins with no faces! I volunteered to stick around in the art room and paint...which I LOVE to do! (The seven above are my masterpieces.)

Oh what I would give to be an art teacher!

Maroon Out

It's always nice to have connections. Whether it be the long lost family friend who gives you a place to stay when you are out of town and low on cash, the totally random stranger who knows your cousin and volunteers to road trip with you for a weekend (thanks Cliff), or that old classmate who landed an amazing job and invites you to the Super Bowl.

Okay, so the Super Bowl thing hasn't exactly played out yet, but we can all dream big, right?

Mom and I decided (on a whim) to take a trip down to College Station to see Dylan and meet some of his buddies. We had originally planned on just hanging around his apartment, doing laundry, and stocking the refrigerator. At the last minute, one of my good friends from high school asked if I would interested in two tickets to the A&M vs OU game that Saturday. Of course, mom and I could not decline! You see, this particular friend (Nolen) has provided tickets for me multiple times and since he works for the athletic department, the seats are always in a prime location. Our seats for this game were on the fourth row of the Aggie parents section on the 50 yard line! (check out the view)

The weekend was fun-filled and exactly what I needed...a resort from Wichita Falls, plus quality time with my bub. Oh, and might I add, the Aggies chalked up one more victory and the Sooners went home...well, losers.

We also checked out a great dog park, since we had Kaymen and Solomon with us!

My First 14er

If you want to get technical, mountaineering terminology in the United States defines a fourteener as a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above sea level. A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least 300 feet of prominence to qualify. There are 546 fourteeners in the world. Most of the North American fourteeners reside in Colorado, where there are 53 (give or take 1).

Cliff and I, along with Greg and Sarah, decided a long hike up a fourteener would be a great way to wrap up the trip. Greg and Sarah had experienced several fourteeners in the past, but Cliff and I were new at this. We all agreed on climbing Quandary Peak, about 5 miles outside of Breckenridge. Quandary's elevation measures out to 14,265 feet. The main trail was a class 1 hike, and fairly easy...as long as you can handle the gusty winds, big rocks, and cold temperatures once you get out of the tree line!

We took plenty of photos along the trail, so that anyone thinking we went on a "nature hike" could easily be proven wrong. The complete hike (up and down) took us approximately 4.5 hours.

Interested in finding a fourteener for yourself? Check out http://14ers.com/.

Just the beginning...

One of many water/snack breaks...

I think this is what hell looks like...

It's official! We're on the list!

We made it!

WARNING: swollen hands might occur.

Colorado Birthday Trip - Part 3

This post wraps up everything else we did in Breck...minus the 14er at Mount Quandary, which will be in its own post.

• Hardy & Mary Grace's humble abode - check out those great flowers!

• Arts Festival - MG and Hardy are very active in the community of Brekenridge, so they suggested we make our way into town and see the all of the different artists and booths set up. And the best part? It was a dog friendly environment! :)

Greg and Sarah joined us with Django!

• Breckenridge Brewery - You can't go to Breck and miss out on a home-brewed pint glass from the brewery. Established in 1990, the BB is constantly changing its beers to give you the best consumer experience. I highly suggest the Agave Wheat for a light, refreshing, yet interesting taste! To see current brews and upcoming events, check out http://www.breckbrew.com/.

• Downtown Breckenridge - Due to the holiday weekend, the downtown area was packed with families and visitors. We shopped the boutiques, ate at a few hole-in-the-wall places, and let Jake meet some friends at the creek.

My little athlete...

Thinking back on this trip, I would not change a thing! It was just the right amount of rest and relaxation...as well as activities. Can't wait to go back!