HALLELUJAH!!!

The Tues after Memorial day, Trav noticed that two of the jobs he had interviewed for had been reposted (one was the place that left the mean message). Needless to stay our frustration hit a boiling point. I suggested emailing the people who had interviewed him for feedback. One place said he was still being considered and the management just wanted to interview some candidates which made us feel a little better. The other place (the one who left the message) ended up contacting him the next day and scheduled another interview for the following day (Thurs.) The interview went really well. They explained to him that they overlooked him before because they though that he would get bored with the job (who doesn't get bored with their jobs sometimes was my reaction to that). They offered him the job the next day. After about three and a half months, the search was over and it felt fabulous. He is an abstracter for the Utah Autism Registry at the University of Utah. They are compiling data to determine the prevalence rates of autism in Utah. Right now they are just figuring out how many kids are autistic and hope to get funding to research possible causes. He's been with them now for a little over a month and really loves his job. His favorite part is the possibility to really make a difference (my favorite part is seeing him dressed up everyday. He looks so handsome. He didn't have to dress nice at any of the other jobs he's had). The job is completely different than what he's done in the past (no animals involved) but fits perfectly with his Master of Public Health degree he's pursuing. In fact, his job counts as his practicum which is required for graduation (bonus!). This week he even got a little promotion. He is now an Associate Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator is starting grad school in the fall and will need help coordinating. They have no idea what will be involved in the job but it is definitely a step up the ladder. I'm so grateful were able to make it through those tough few months. We are now happier than ever!

Our No Good Very Bad Day (or Weekend)

I was Memorial weekend and Trav had been out of work for a couple of months (way longer than either of us thought he would be) and he was getting very frustrated. He had applied to hundreds of jobs and gotten very little response. One of the jobs he was interviewed had gone with another applicant and we were waiting to hear from two more interviews. We were both looking forward to a relaxing weekend of four wheeling with my family at the Knoll's. That morning Trav had a missed call on his phone. We were both excited to hear the voicemail hoping for good news. It was the girl who had interviewed him for a job a the University of Utah. She said "Hi this is so and so from blah blah blah. We really appreciate you coming in for an interview but at this time we are going to ask you to NOT join our team?" I was a bit stunned. I had never heard someone put it like that and it made me mad. I know she was trying to soften the blow and sometimes you can get flustered when you leave message but it really ticked me off. Trav was pretty bummed and really discouraged. That night we packed up the truck and headed off for our fun weekend hoping to leave our stress behind. After driving for about an hour we pulled into the campsite. It was way cold and windy so I took Annabelle to the trailer so we could unload without her in the way. The second Trigger was let out of the truck he started racing up and down the desert trying to let out his cooped up energy. When I got out of the trailer and headed toward the truck to help unload I saw Trav dragging Trig by the collar toward me. He said we needed to take him to the vet. I was a little confused and then I saw this gaping hole in his chest. He had been attacked and bitten by my uncle's two pit bulls. I panicked a little and then started calling everyone I knew at home to help me find the nearest vet. We ended up having to all the way back to Tooele. After a couple of stitches he was as good as new.

Trav was pretty mad about the whole thing (this was his baby we're talking about) and really just wanted to go home, but we had left the fourwheelers at the camp so we could get to the vet faster. Since we had to go back anyway we decided to stay and try to made the best out of it. Saturday night Trigger started coughing. I thought he had something stuck in his throat and was trying to get it out. As the weekend went on the hacking got worse and he started spitting stuff up and even threw up a couple of times. Trav started to think that maybe he had kennel cough or something (he got vaccinated the day we left so we thought it could be a reaction to the shot). The cough went away after a few days but I was pretty worried for a while. So what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend escape from our stress at home ended up being pretty stressul. We did have a blast fourwheeling around the desert though so I'm glad we stayed.

Here he is showing off his war wound. Now that the hair has grown back you can't even see the scar. I love how his lip is caught on his tooth.

He also sliced his knee jumping into the trailer. That thing took weeks to heal since he wouldn't quit licking it. That dog is quite the licker.

I just love his handsome face.

No photo shoot would be complete without a shot of the little girl.

Basketball Mania

A little over a year ago Travis got really into playing rec. basketball and football. Because he was so busy after work (school twice a week, basketball once sometimes twice a week, and football) I decided I would be his little cheerleader and go to every game. I began to look forward to the games each week. Since I was primarily working from home, it was a nice to get out the house and be around people. The first couple of basketball seasons Trav played with a couple of guys from work, his cousin cole, and friend Rob. They were ok. They won some. They lost some. Two of the guys were brothers who had played with each other their whole lives so sometimes the other guys didn't get to be as involved in the games. Here are some pictures of the first team he was on. Their name was the Angry Gamers (translation: nerd bombers) and Trav made the jerseys. I had no idea how crafty he is.

After the second season, the brothers ended up switching to another team in another county so Trav and his friend had to find a team fast so they could play in winter league. Let's just say they didn't find the most gifted athletes. Trav began scoring 30 of his teams 35 points on average each game and I was usually giggling in the stands at this funny mix of random guys trying to play as a team (and usually got beat but twenty points or more). Trav is a pretty good shooter and since there weren't many scorers on the team he shot a lot of three point shots. Salt Lake County gives out trophies each season for the guy with the most points scored and the guy with the most 3 pointers. He was able to outshoot all the guys in the league from the 3 point line and won the 3 point trophie by a landslide. The last game of the season came a day after he was unexpectedly laid off from his job and needless to say Trav wasn't in a very great mood. His team was getting the crap kicked out of them by the other team and the refs weren't calling a thing. In the second half Trav was sitting on the bench (tying to cool off from a run in with one of the players) when his friend Rob got leveled. Trav had had enough and let the ref know exactly how he felt. So of cource the ref slapped him with a "T". Did a technical foul get my husband to shut his mouth? Of course not. The ref asked him "do you want another one?" To which Trav replied "give it to me". So he got his second technical and was kicked out of the game and had to leave the building. So he started grabbing all of his stuff all the while running his mouth off to the ref. Meanwhile, I'm sitting in the stands with his parents (who came to see him get his trophy) pretty embarassed. I was embarassed until he started walking out of the gym. As he passed the scorers table, the score keeper handed him his trophy and we all laughed and cheered. Not the best trophy ceremony but pretty funny. We stayed inside and watched the rest of the game and Trav waited outside for the refs. I'm sure they wre pretty nervous when they saw him outside waiting for them. He only wanted to apoligize though. He explained that he was just taking off his frustation at being laid off on them. That's one of the things I love the most about my husband. He has a bit of a temper but he's always the first person to apologize and admit when he's wrong.

The spring season brought yet another team, but this one wasn't quite as bad. They won a couple of games in the regular season and came back in the tournament and made it the championship game. The final night of the season they ended up playing 3 games because it was a double elimination tournament. They guys were pretty exhausted after but were happy with their 2nd place finish. Trav won the high scorer and the 3 point trophies that season (except he didn't get an actual trophy for some odd reason)

Below are some pics of his football team. They only won one game and lost by a lot in most of the others but it was still a lot of fun.

I talked him into taking the summer off from sports but he's eagerly awaiting the start of the fall leagues.

Green River 2010

It was time once again for our annual Easter trip to Green River, UT. Since Easter was so early again this year we ended up going the last weekend of April/the first weekend of May in hopes it wouldn't be so cold. That was wishful thinking though. It was cold the entire time we were there, but thankfully it never rained even though was snowing up in Salt Lake the entire time we were gone. It was just us, my parent's, and Matt and Amanda this year. Of course we can't forget all the dogs. They are members of our family too. We arrived on Thursday afternoon. After getting everything set up, we let the dogs play in the new dog park the campground added this year. After dinner we all (including 4 dogs) hung out in my parent's trailer and watched Avatar. On Friday we headed out to some sand dunes about 45 minutes away from where we were camped. Travis and I had never been four wheeling in sand before. Travis loved it and I warmed up to it after a little while. I only scared myself a couple times (I only screamed once or maybe twice). Annabelle was freezing and shivering uncontrollably, so I put inside my coat. She was pretty content in there so I took off for ride with her instead of leaving her with my mom, sister, and the other dogs. We rode like that for at least an hour until she got too cold and tucked her head inside the sleave of my coat. She definitely is a Moma's girl.

Matt got the four wheeler stuck pretty bad in the sand and Travis had to help lift it out. Shortly after, Matt rolled the fourwheeler. I tried to document the memory but Matt jumped up pretty fast and had the wheeler upright before I could dig my camera out.

I'm more of a mountain girl than a desert girl, but the view was quite pretty.

This was Travis's favorite thing to do at the dune's. (This is what Matt was doing when he rolled)

My mom and dad trying to keep warm.

Amanda and Dexter.

Travis and Trigger.

He's sure changed since the last time we were in Green River.

Travis and "Little Girl"

Our handsome "Big Boy". A few weeks ago he had to go to the vet for an ear infection. The vet said he is in perfect body condition and was the best looking lab she's seen in a while. I have to say I completely agree. Not that I am biased or anything.

Trig was thirsty so Trav shared his water with him. (I mean shared literally. After Trigger slobbered all over it Travis finished it off. Yuck)

We thought it was going to pour on us the entire time, but the clouds seemed to just circle us.

My mom and dad.
After a fun day at the dunes we spent the night in the trailer cheering for the Jazz as they knocked the Denver Nuggets (or Thuggets as Travis calls them) out of the playoffs. We probably irritated our neighbors with our cheering but it was a lot of fun to watch the game together.

Trigger demonstrating some of the obstacles in the dog park.

Annabelle was the first dog to go up the ramp and she did it without any coaxing (all the other dogs had to be shown how to do it). It was so funny to turn around and see my little dog with her stubby little legs climbing up the ramp. I'm sure she was just trying to get out of the rocks though. She hates being outside.

My mom and Dexter.

After a couple of days the dogs were pretty pooped. We took them to the dog park to play and Dexter just hid under his mommy's legs.

On Saturday morning Trav, Matt, and Amanda went golfing. (I just drove the cart) Here's Travis retrieving one of the many balls he lost. He probably lost 10 balls and it was only a 9 hole course. He was pretty rusty since this was the first round of the year.

Matt and Amanda in their cart.

It sure was pretty golfing along the Green River.
After golfing, we headed to the desert and went four wheeling for another couple of hours. I must have had a little too much fun because one of the tires on my bike went flat. (the picture is above. I can't seem to move it where I want it to be). That night we hung out in the trailer again and tried to have a Dexter marathon (the TV show about a serial killer, not the dog) but were pretty exhausted to we only made it through two episodes.

Here's the little cabin we stayed in. It was a little overpriced at $50 a night but I felt more secure locking my dogs in a cabin than a tent if we needed to leave them for a few hours.

It had one not so comfortable double bed and a bunk bed.

Our first trip of the year was a success and I can't wait for the next one.

Baby It's Cold Outside...

And apparently I need to turn the heat up. This is how I found Zoey this afternoon. She was all cuddled down in a blanket with only her cute little head poking out. Tonight I was finishing up some laundry. I went to get a second armful of clothes out the dryer and when I got back Trav asked me where my dog was. I looked around and couldn't see her, which is odd because she is usually right on my heels. I started to worry she was getting herself into trouble somewhere. I called her name and this appeared in my laundry:

She had burrowed down into the middle of the warm clothes and poked her head out when she heard her name. I guess we need to quit being so cheap and turn the heat up.

My Poor Husband

They're doing surgeries at work this week which means super long hours for Travis. The animals have to be on 24 hour care which means he gets to be at work through the night and then throughout the surgery the next day. He worked Tues from about 6:00am-4:30pm. Then he had a class and went straight to his basketball game. He only had about an hour and a half to eat and had to be back at work at 11:00pm and didn't get home until 5:30 the next day. He got a little nap and had to be back at work at midnight and got home around 8:30 on Thurs. the morning. They only did two surgeries in a row this week but in Feb. they're going to be doing 6 in row. I don't know how he'll get through that. This is how I found him sleeping during his nap. He's on the sofa bed because he really wanted to cuddle with the dogs and we don't allow Trigger on our bed. (I don't get the difference between letting him get on our bed or the sofa bed though.)

The close up is hilarious! Good thing Annabelle likes to cuddle.

Happy Birthday Big Boy!!

I can't believe my puppy is already a year old. This year has been so fun and has gone by so fast. It's a little sad when your puppy isn't a puppy anymore though. I can't imagine what it will be like with a baby. Trigger is now a huge lab. His comes up to my hips and he weighs about 85-95 lbs. He's still pretty skinny though so he should fill out a bit more. He also does a ton of tricks. He can sit, lay down, shake hands, give high fives, "bang" play dead, stay, leave a bone on his nose forever, and play fetch. We still want to teach him to hunt but don't know where to start. He's really smart though and has been a breeze to train. He has such a funny personality and is a complete Daddy's boy. I can ask him "where's your Daddy?" and he'll run around the house until he finds him. Travis also likes to play hide and seek with him. Trav makes him sit and stay downstairs then he runs upstairs to hide. When Travis says "ok" the search begins. The first place Trigger looks is behind shower curtains and doors. The place that confuses him the most is when Trav gets in his cage. The only naughty thing he does is stealing whatever he can get his mouth on (from the garbage, counter, or sink) and chewing it. We've tried putting up mouse traps to keep him from doing it but he doesn't seem to care. But if that's the worse thing he does I consider myself lucky. He is a lab puppy afterall. Here's some pics of the giant bone Daddy brought him home from work.

It was hilarious watching him chew it. He couldn't quite maneuver it the way he wanted to.