Thanksgiving!

We do have so much to be grateful for. We are really blessed to be here in Houston. We are happy and healthy and we have all that we need and more. This year for Thanksgiving we were not able to make it home but we had a bit of home come to us. Craig and Becca (my brother and sister-in-law) came to visit us. We had a great time. The day they got here was really warm, I think they were a bit surprised even though we had warned them. We had some real Texas BBQ that evening since that was the one thing that Craig said he wanted to do every time I asked him. The next day was also warm and we went to the beach. It was a perfect day. The water was cooler than it usually is, but that was still much warmer than Bear Lake is even in August. We had a great time playing in the waves, even if we were the only people in the water!

On Thanksgiving morning we had a football game with some of the people in our ward. It was still pretty warm, not your usual bundle-up-to-play-in-the-Turkey-bowl kind of weather. It was nice though.

After football we came home and got dinner going. It was pretty fun to do all of the dishes ourselves. I learned a couple new things that I had never done before. For example, we tried a brine for the turkey which turned out to be really good. As usual the work to get everything ready took a lot longer than actually eating it all. And as usual we got way too full way too fast.

When dinner was over and we had relaxed for a bit we made some pies. Becca and I made an apple pie. Neither of us had much experience with making pie crusts so we learned together. I think it turned out great. It was fun learning how to do the weaving on the top too.

The guys made up a recipe for peanut butter chocolate pie that turned out to be really yummy. Okay, I guess I was not really surprised. Tyler also did a great job decorating it.

We had a competition to see who was the winner but I think it came out a draw in both the taste and appearance categories.

The next day we slept in. Yup, we skipped the door buster sales. And it was great, we had a nice big breakfast then went to Target to see what we could find. We also went to Bass Pro Shop. I guess we would not be fit to call ourselves Wyatts if we hadn't. It was a great day. That night we went to a concert of an artist that Craig and Becca had been wanting to see but had not been able to get to a concert in Utah. It was a lot of fun. All in all we had a great time and really enjoyed having Craig and Becca come to share the holiday with us. Thanks guys!

Fall in Houston

Okay, so it was a bit late coming (for me at least) but it is finally starting to feel like fall. At least most days of the week. We even have leaves changing color. I don't know if it will ever feel like winter to me or even Christmas. Although I did have someone warn me that it will sometimes freeze here. As in, it get's below 32 degrees sometimes, so be prepared. It was kind of hard for me to keep a straight face but I tried to be polite because I have been told that by this time next year I will be thinking that below thirty is winter weather. Ha Ha Ha! Most days we can go out without a jacket and sometimes we wear shorts. Even though I miss the coziness of snow I like being able to run outside.

We've been having fun the last couple months. Our neighbors had a Halloween party with some of the other couples that live in the area. We took a Halloween dessert.

I think we had more fun making it than anything else. It is a graveyard, if you couldn't tell, complete with marshmallow ghosts and candy pumpkins.

We dressed as a Cowboy and Cowgirl. I forgot to get a picture of us together but Tyler had the more complete outfit because he had the belt buckle and spurs from his mission.

We also carved a pumpkin. Tyler did one side and I did the other. It was fun as always, and we roasted the seeds. I think our faces turned out pretty well. It was funny though because we couldn't put the pumpkin outside because it was too hot, it would have spoiled too fast. Kind of the opposite of Utah where we had to put them outside so they would not go bad so fast. It is stuff like that that makes living here interesting. It is just funny how much you take for granted when you spend your life in the same place.

Tyler caught these little guys romping in our back yard in Utah. It was lucky that he had his camera so close.

We went to feed the ducks at a park here in Houston and we saw these ducks. It was so funny to watch.

Pictures

Okay, I finally got the pictures to load on our computer. So here they are for your viewing pleasure.

We got this cute video of the happy deer just before we moved. I wanted to make sure you all got to see it. This is our stuff piled in the living room.

On the way to Texas. I took a couple pictures like this because I couldn't get over the fact that there are NO mountains, or hills, or anything really. But I won't post all the pictures, I think you get the idea.

This is the Houston skyline. Pretty crazy to be in a big city.

This little guy was our guard toad. He lived outside our front door and ate all the bugs. But one day he disapeared. We suspect that he was kidnapped by some of the kids that live in the complex. Needless to say we miss him. Sorry, I never got a really good picture.

Texas!

Do you every get so behind on something that you try to forget about it? Well that is how I feel about this blog. I meant to write about our move to Texas, our new place and all of that. It just got put on the back burner. The one attempt I made got lost before I could post it. So anyway, enough excuses.

We are here in Texas!

August was incredibly hot just like everyone said it would be. But the nice thing about heat is that it keeps bugs away for the most part. That combined with the fact that our apartment is actually pretty well covered in pesticides results in only a handful of bugs and most of them are small. I was bracing myself for lots of big bugs, so it has not been too bad. The weather now in October is pretty similar to Utah weather in June or July. It gets up to the mid 90s most days and cools off to about 50 or 60 at night. It is pretty nice, though it doesn't feel like fall. I mean what is trick-or-treating if you don't have to tromp through snow? Some of the trees are losing their leaves but I doubt we will get the fall colors until late November, if at all.

Tyler is working hard in his first semester in optometry school. It is challenging enough to keep him studying and working hard to get good grades. This week he is doing the second round of tests for the semester, so he is studying a lot. He is enjoying it though because he is finally learning things that will pertain to his profession.

We have made some great friends since we've been here. The ward is like a little piece of Provo. We live in an area with several apartment complexes and condos so it attracts a lot of couples going to grad schools or med school from Utah and BYU specifically. Almost every couple we talk to in our ward was at BYU before they came here. It is a lot of fun though to have so many people that are in similar circumstances.

A few weeks after we got here I started working for an optometrist that another girl in our ward was working for (her husband also just started optometry school). In the past this optometrist had used students from Tyler's school as assistants for their externships. However, there had been enough complaints about the way the students were treated that the University decided to not send their students to him any more. So he wanted to hire wives of optometry students because he figured we would be dedicated to learning the profession so we could help our husbands. I thought the students were probably just hyper-sensitive or something but it turns out he really was a jerk. Long story short, it was a miserable job and the only reason either of us stayed was because we felt bad quiting. Eventually he asked her to leave, when she asked if there was a reason he told her that legally he did not have to have any reason to terminate an employee. The next day I was expecting to be asked to leave also, but it did not happen until the day after that. I was planning on finding another job anyway by that point but I would have at least given him two weeks notice. So in a way it was a huge relief to be asked to leave so I did not have to keep working there. As with my friend, he did not give any reason for asking me to leave. It was one of those, "you can't fire me, I quit!" kind of experiences, though I did not actually get around to saying that.

Last week we noticed an add in the help wanted section for his office, he is still trying to fill two positions. It has been several weeks already. We don't know if he hired someone who quit or if he just can't find anyone willing to take the job. Oh well, too bad for him. Maybe he will learn to appreciate his employees, but I doubt it. I learned a lot through the whole experience. But I am mostly just glad not to be working there any more.

I had another part time job that I was only doing once a week while working at the optometrist office so I am still working for them. It is a health screening company called Health Solutions. Since I have more time now I have been taking more jobs and they are even sending me out of Houston for some of them. They pay well enough that even working one or two days a week I make just under what I was making with the other job. It is not very regular though. We'll see but for now I am enjoying the experience and the traveling. Last week I went to a city near the Mexican border and yesterday I was in Dallas. Next week I will be in Oklahoma for a few days so that should be interesting.

Well, I think that is all the main things. Most of you probably already knew all that anyway though! I will get some pictures posted here soon, I just want to post the writing before it all gets erased.

Summer is Here!

I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by. It seems like summer is just starting and yet we will only be in Utah another month and a half. We have been pretty busy which makes the time go by even faster. It is fun though! I thought I would give an update on where we are so far.

Tyler has been working for the Ashtons on their ranch in Walsburg rather than the grounds crew here. He is enjoying the work there, though it is a lot of work. He comes home tired most days, but he seems to like it for the most part. The other day when Tyler had to go change the water I went with him and took some pictures. It is really beautiful out there. It is amazing that such a beautiful little valley is just hiding in the mountians and hardly anyone knows it is there.

He took on a side job for the Ashtons making a "chicken run". (See pictures below) It is basically a cage they can keep chickens in and move them to different locations in the yard. The part I thought was cool is that he made the wheels so they could be retracted. When you lift up the end of the run the wheels come down and lock into place, then all you have to do is pull a cord to get the wheels to release. It's pretty sweet!

I am working at Corporate Wellness by Gold's Gym and still really enjoying it. I wish I could take my job to Texas. I have been looking for jobs there, it is still kind of early but I have one interview next week so that is encouraging. We are still looking for an apartment, we can only hold it 30 days before we are ready to move in so we have some time still but I think we know where we want to go. Things seem to be working out for us though so we'll just keep doing the best we can.

Graduation!

Last week we had our graduation ceremony. I decided to go throug the ceremony even though I was finished in December. It was cool, the ceremony made it feel more complete, it gave some more closure to the fact that I am now finished.

Plus I figured I would only graduate with my masters degree once and I got to wear the crazy masters hood.

We went fishing the next day (when it stopped raining) Tyler taught me the basics of fly fishing. It was a lot of fun, we'll be going again for sure. Hopefully I'll catch something next time.

Houston

Well you may have heard that I got a job. It was really lucky because I am doing exactly what I wanted to do. I am a health coach for the corporate wellness division of Gold's Gym. So basically, I go to different businesses and talk to the employees about making healthy choices. I think it is very rewarding and I am loving it so far. It is still a pretty new program so there are a lot of areas that I can help them to develop their methods. I guess this is the first places that Gold's has done the corporate wellness thing, so it's kind of cool.

This last weekend Tyler and I went out to Houston for his interview. It went well and they let us know right after the interview that they want him to come there, so we just might. We felt really good about the program there, the other students we met, and the faculty. There were some pretty nice apartments near the area too but they won't know their availability until about two months before we can move in so we'll just have to see. But I think it will be a good place for us. I was really grateful that I got to go out with Tyler because it was nice to see the city for myself. It almost felt like home already. But we didn't take any pictures, sorry.

Takin' it Easy

Tyler has started school, but it isn't to busy this semester. We have both had more time to relax. We are both looking for jobs too. I have had several interviews and I'm waiting to hear back from one that would be really great, so hopefully it works out. I will let you know.

I also got a new calling in the ward. I am now working with the 12 and 13 year olds (Beehives) in the young women. It has been a lot of fun. The girls are great and so are the other leaders.

If you haven't heard yet, Tyler was accepted to the Southern California College of Optometry and it looks like that is where we will be going. His orientation will start around the 15 of August so we will be here until then most likely. That is all the news we have right now but I'll let you know if anything new comes up.

Back to Life

Well the holidays are over and now we are trying to get back into a normal routine. I am finally finished with my masters degree, which is a huge relief. The only problem is that all my jobs were through the school and I'm not a student any more so I am currently unemployed. I have had a few interviews so we will see what happens.

Tyler just has a few classes left to get his pre-requisites done. He is finished with all his major classes but just has to get some of the other requirements taken care of. Last week was very nice because we didn't have much to do so we got to spend some extra time together. Don't worry, we won't get too comfortable.