Tis the Season...

...To be done with finals, decorate a christmas tree, buy christmas gifts, be domestic, watch christmas movies, listen to christmas music, wear beanies and snow boots, enjoy sleeping in, spend time with family, wear ugly sweaters, and GO SKIING (if UTAH would get snow)! Travis and I love this time of year! Travis mostly because my stress level drops significantly and me mostly because scientific terminology is replaced with jingle bells! It has been little rough being away from the families during the season and missing the parties but we have had such a blast up here in the Pacific NorthWest. The first of december was spent in the anatomy lab and travis watching TV. After finals were finished, it was full blown christmas town! We got our tree from a lot in downtown Pullman, decorated it with lights and decorations and Travis spent hours on our balcony making sure it looked just right! Me and my classmates were so excited about the end of the semester we got together for an ugly sweater party, white elephant gifts and WAY to much food. It was refreshing to hang out not at school. It has been great doing normal things that are not school related! Travis is obsessed with Christmas lights! Ours, the neighbors, Pullmans, and anywhere else. Some friends and us went down to Lewsiton, ID to see a light display in a park down by the river. It was charmingly awful! The trees were hung with mismatched lights and hung completely lopsided but it was so beautiful in its own way. Travis also surprised me with an over night trip to Couer d'Alene to see the light show around the lake. We ate amazing chinese food, then caught the ferry for a ride across the lake to "Santa's Workshop". It was a fabulous weekend to just relax, enjoy the christmas spirit, and spend some time together. We really have enjoyed Washington and can't wait to continue exploring it. We leave for Utah the 22nd and can't wait to spend Christmas with the families!

Our christmas decorations!

The boys warming by the fire!

My sugar cookies

Ugly Sweaters

On the Ferry

The North Pole

Nativity Scene on the Lake

The mis-colored lights in Lewiston!

Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving came as a much needed break. We were lucky enough to be able to go to Utah for the break. I went home for a week and Travis met me in Utah the night before Thanksgiving! The vacation was pretty mellow, I had two stipulations...eat at Dairy Keen and Ride my mule. Both were achieved beautifully! Seeing the family was the highlight for sure. We were able to go un to Logan for Thanksgiving dinner. The entire Godderidge family got together for dinner with great food and good fun! We were able to go trap shooting the day after thanksgiving and a Pheasant hunt the day after that. Needless to say our arms were sore! We had a great time being back in Utah and are excited to come home for Christmas.

On our way home from the airport for thanksgiving, we didn't want the vacation to end so we wandered around Spokane to see the Christmas decor!

Shooting...

WOOOO 2nd set of Mid-Terms are done!!! It is such a relief every time a set of tests are done. This weekend was a three day weekend since WSU gets Veterans day off. I didn't even know what to do with myself! A whole day off, with no tests needing to be studied for! I slept in, cleaned my house, did laundry, took a run OUTSIDE, (it's too dark in mornings before school, so to the gym I go), I had to study a little, but just the normal every day keep up! Then I watched tv shows, baked banana bread and made dinner, pretty much all of the household and wifely duties I neglect during the semester. Weekends have become nothing much to look forward to since I end up at the school at the same time as during the week. But as 7 am rolled around this Saturday I just turned over and went back to sleep! Travis was a little taken aback by the fact that I was still in the bed Saturday AM. Apparently he quite enjoys sprawling across the bed on saturdays after I go to school! We have found an awesome gun club in Colton WA which is about 12 miles south of Pullman. The town of Colton has about 200 people, a bank, and a gun club. You bring your own shells and guns and pay 3$ per 25 skeet. We headed out the last 2 weekends with some friends and it has been a blast. A great way to get outside and OUT of the vet school. We had a great time with great company. We will be making it a regular outing.

~MG~

P.S. 7 days until UTAH!

Fall 2011...

My favorite time of year is fall! The excitement for the ski season is upcoming, the leaves are changing, and the air is crisp! With the second set of mid-terms going on I haven't enjoyed fall as much as I would have liked but we did find time to squeeze in some pumpkin carving and as celebration for finishing our Anatomy test the Vet school throws a Halloween Party. I was a little burnt out Friday afternoon so I decided I didn't really want to go but as the evening wore on I decided it would be fun so we scrambled together some costumes and headed out! I forgot how much fun it is to dance! We had a so much fun dancing all night with some new friends and of course checking out all the costumes! Our pumpkin carving came last week as a study break for our "utah state" family (we have been dubbed that at school). We headed to the Heaton's and carved pumpkins. Kyle and Tess's were a little tough to cut into so the boys brought out the power tools. It took a while but they turned out pretty good. Last night we continued the post anatomy test party going and headed to this small town 15 miles from Pullman called Palouse. They close down the entire main street (2 blocks) and have a haunted carnival. There are 2 haunted houses and a haunted hay ride. It was so much fun! I have such a soft spot for small towns and this was the ultimate small town moment. Everyone in town participates, the "concessions" are two little old ladies selling hot chocolate and home baked goods in ziploc baggies. It was the perfect amount of terrifying but fun at the same time so everyone was happy! Enjoy some pictures of our Fall outings and the count down to Thanksgiving begins!!

My Brother...

Every time I post a blog I wait for the phone call. "THE RAD" shows up on my caller ID and I smile knowing exactly what the conversation will sound like. "Micall...I read your blog, you didn't mention me. Don't you know that everything you do has been influenced by me?" Regardless of what the blog is about or if there are pictures of my older brother or not it's not enough. So this is a blog ENTIRELY about my eldest brother Brian! I'm sure it will trigger a domino effect through the rest of the fan wanting a personalized blog but I've got to do something to end the phone calls. Brian and I have a very weird relationship, we always have. Growing up I always was one of the guys so I did everything with he and my dad and when Hunter came along he came too. He pushes me to do things that I don't want to or am too chicken to do. All he has to say is "why are you being such a girl?" and I immediately jump off the cliff, throw the 360, race him to the end of the pool, box w/ my sister, run farther, ski faster, pretty much compete at anything. He sometimes mistakes me for being a boy for example "Travis! You turned my little brother into a GIRL!!!" He was take off guard by a husband in the picture but they have bonded. I have accomplished more and been pushed further because of him and I will always be grateful for that. As our relationship evolved I began to challenge him back... I'll give you 1$ if you eat this butter and BBQ sauce mixed with gravy. In which he retaliates with " 2$ to drink a shot glass of beet juice" or my mom's favorite " Mic I'll give you 5 bucks to smurfer my armpit"... yup we have a twisted twisted relationship. I am easily bought and bribed by him. While growing up when we would stay in hotels, Hunter and Tehmi would share a bed because Hunter liked Tehmi better and Brian and I would share even as we grew older we continue to share tents while camping and hotel rooms. He is weird and I am weird we have a very unusual bond that I love. He is the ultimate older brother and I love him for that! Here is to you Brian... Your very own BLOG! Love you much!!

I am domestic...

The title of this blog may take most of you by surprise but it's true I have made huge improvements! I have made dinner almost every night we have lived here. Not just mac n cheese or pasta roni... like real meals. I have decided that Travis is going to just have to get over his anti-leftover idea. It is impossible to cook for just two people unless you cook pasta roni, which is why that is all I have made for the last two years...(ok maybe not the only reason...) Moving away has inspired me to start cooking real meals. This has come about because Travis and I both have the ability to have a hot lunch, the Vet school has microwaves EVERYWHERE so I can heat up leftovers and Travis comes home for lunch (he works across the street). Now there is no excuse for me to not cook large well balanced meals. As I keep writing I know my mother is tearing up with pride and my sister's mouth is dropping. (My brothers are laughing in disbelief). So yes I have made the following: Black bean chicken chili, stuffed shells with homemade breadsticks, baked cream cheese spaghetti,homemade biscuits, chicken roll ups, stir fry AND... every sunday: ROAST, POTATOES, HOMEMADE ROLLS, GRAVY, and CARROTS. I believe that the need for my brain to think about anything but school has pushed me to cooking meals PLUS my stomach wanting real food. We will see how long this new me sticks around but hopefully it lasts a little longer! Thanks mom and Tehmi for answering my phone calls mid-meal to help me out!

I would post some pictures but I'm not a talented photographer so the food would look less appetizing than it really was.

The Coffee Table...

Oh hello! We have had a crazy two weeks and are so grateful for the break! Travis started his new job and I had my first round of midterms. Basically we didn't see each other for 9 days! Travis is loving his new job and more importantly they are loving him! I survived my tests and might possibly have done well! The few days before Travis' job started he decided to get in his last little project. We were out on a Sunday drive a few weeks ago and we drove past an antique store with some things sitting out front. It was closed but had a slot in the door that said "slip your money through the door and take what you need"! It was so funny how trusting these little towns are. We looked around the antiques outside and found this really cool old barn door. Travis was convinced he needed to make something out of it. We left and he kept contimplating it... When I came home from school on monday it was sitting our back deck. He had already gone to work on it. With the start date of his job coming up he had to get started. There was a bit of a glitch during the process. Travis may have got a little overzealous with his brand new chisel he was using to smooth the edges. After a trip to the urgent care and a refusal to let me practice my surgery skills, sanding, hammering, more sanding, assembling and staining we have 9 stitches and a new coffee table! See pictures below

Before:

After:

CONGRATULATIONS...

I am so proud of my husband! I feel like he has been on the job search for over a year now. Including searching in Logan, finding a job in SLC then immediately beginning his search for here in Pullman. Since we decided on Washington State he has been on the look out for jobs. He has filled out hundreds of applications and mostly to no avail. The largest company in Pullman is an engineering firm that employs 3000. Travis knew that this was his best bet for finding a great long term job. We both wanted him to find a job that would build up his resume so that in four years when we move, he will have built up a background in something to further his career. Since this summer he has been in contact with Schweitzer Engineering by applying for an internship that had opened online, hoping to just get in the door. The guy heading up the purchasing department (which is where the internship was) called him and said I really like your resume and you are overqualified for the internship so I want you as a buyer but we can't hire someone straight out of college. When we moved here he went to a lunch with this same guy who said "I want you BUT you have to convince by senior executives that I can hire you with no experience." He told him to prepare a 20 minute presentation on the topic of purchasing while relating his personal qualities to the topic of purchasing commodities. So Travis spent a week preparing and researching this presentation. They set up an ALL day interview starting with a tour, his presentation, a technical interview, a benefits meeting, then a follow up meeting. I was a nervous wreck all day at school knowing Travis was doing all of this! At the follow up meeting they told him they had to meet with the Senior VP who was in a meeting so they would call him later Wednesday evening. At 5 o'clock Wednesday they called him to come back over ( we live across the street) and OFFERED HIM THE JOB!!! I know this was a very lengthy story for this news but I was so proud of the work Travis put in to secure this job. He is super excited about it and he starts on Monday! It is fully benefitted with tuition reimbursement for higher education and gives him the opportunity for a new skill and advancements. He can't wait to start, he is completely over cleaning the apartment and running errands! Good job Travis!!

GO COUGS!...

Cougar football is what people do in Pullman! Even though WSU is not good at ALL. The entire student body shows up dressed in Crimson and Gray! Not just some of the students, or most of the students, ALL the students, parents, alumni, faculty, kids, infants, and senior citizens! We got some great free tickets for being professional students so a group of us from the Vet school decided to take a break from studying and head to the game. Decked out in our WSU gear we drug out the BBQ and had our own tailgating party with our friends. We were unaware that there were such strict tailgating policies on campus, like you can't unless you pay 85 bucks a season for a pass, so we just had one in our parking lot where the boys could throw the football. After more food than necessary we started the trek to the stadium. Fall has not arrived here in Pullman, instead a heat wave has hit, rocketing the temps into the high 90's! The game was awesome and the people watching was even better! We sat in the student section for the first quarter but decided we are old married kids and moved so we could sit. The cougs dominated UNLV 59-7 and we had a blast cheering them on! Even though it was 95 degrees it was worth the Wazzou experience! Our family away from family is really getting some good bonding time, hopefully we will continue to like each other for the next four years! P.S. I know I have been on a blogging feign but don't get your hopes up...test start next week so I will be MIA for awhile but enjoy these!

Tailgating!

Our friends little girls...homemade skirts!

Pregame Party

Boys enjoying the 5th row view!

Crimson and Gray!

A night at the County Fair...

We absolutely love Washington! We heard about a fair going on in a little town just outside of Pullman so we headed up there after the evening study session. Travis LOVES fairs and all day we had been dreaming about carnival food. 4 words...hand dipped corn dogs! We drove out around 7 just as the sun was setting and it couldn't have been more beautiful. The rodeo grounds are out in the middle of a wheat field that you just come up to behind the hill. We headed straight for the food and WOW did we eat way to much! Corn dogs, mini doughnuts, funnel cakes, fresh lemonade, and deluxe nachos. This small town Colfax is the epitome of small towns (even smaller than Heber). The fair had everything, cows, pigs, chickens, and sheep. We roamed through all of the barns after the food, stepped in and watched the end of the rodeo and walked through the carnival games. The boys were feeling pretty homesick about missing our brothers high school football games so we headed over to Colfax High to cheer on the Bulldogs!! We watched the intense last 10 minutes where the came back from behind and WON! The 5 cheerleaders were very excited! It was the ultimate evening, seriously we are absolutely loving Pullman and the surrounding area.

Our friends Britt and Lyle

Can you say foot long hand dipped corn dogs!

I miss our chicken phyllis!

Go COLFAX!!