When I sat down to write this, I saw that my husband is a more consistent blogger than I am. What? Adrian blogs? Who knew?

Actually he doesn't, except for one time a year: our anniversary. Last year he hijacked my blog with a sweet video to me. This year, he tried to do the same, except that the video was huge and couldn't be uploaded. Thus, he is a more consistent blogger than I am - even if it didn't actually end up on the blog. He recorded the video and tried to upload it to share w/ everyone - that's what matters :)

Seeing his blog post in the queue reminded me that another anniversary tradition that is not consistent at the moment - OUR anniversary video. All growing up, my parents and grandparents used to get together and do a video at Christmas about what the previous year held. I wanted us to do that same tradition so our kids could watch us someday and be inspired by the wisdom we possess at such young ages....or laugh at our style, whichever. But, as I sat down to write this post and saw Adrian's video post in the queue, I was reminded that WE DID NOT DO OUR UPDATE VIDEO!! I reminded him of this the day before our anniversary, on our anniversary, the day after our anniversary, both days of the weekend after the anniversary...you see how it goes. Today is Monday. This ordeal started LAST week at this time. I just mentioned doing our video to Adrian (as we have friends over to watch sports), he's working tomorrow night, so perhaps Wednesday. An entire week after I wanted to do it.

Have I ever mentioned we procrastinate sometimes?

On the subject of our anniversary, we had a lovely time celebrating last weekend, thankyouverymuch. We had a little weekend getaway to Monument/Colorado Springs. This year, it was MUCH more difficult to find a good deal on a hotel. We knew we wanted to head West or South - Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains or Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. Due to the fact that the places within our budget in Estes Park were ALL decorated like a pioneer museum, we opted to go for the nicer hotel in Monument. We stayed at the Sundance Mountain Lodge and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quiet, they gave me free margaritas :) and our little patio looked over the pretty waterfall and creek in the courtyard.

During the days, we went hiking at Garden of the Gods and worked through some ministry assessments with the hope of figuring out what the rest of our lives hold....Um. That didn't happen. Monday, as we were leaving the hotel and starting out for breakfast and home, reality hit like a bucket of ice water. Literally. It went from beautiful and sunny to about 38 and sleeting. Kind of reminded me of the week before our wedding when the weather was nasty and depressing and not encouraging for an impending outdoor ceremony.

Our actual anniversary dawned lovely and sunny and...early. I had to go to work (boo) but Adrian and I had a lunch AND dinner date together - pizza, a cinnamon roll and then Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Also in honor of our 2nd anniversary, Adrian wore his wedding suit, during lunch we heard the song I walked down the aisle to, and we got a flat tire - just like the first day of our marriage. It was a nostalgic day :)

So, now that we're into year 2, all I can say is - I. LOVE. THAT. MAN. The Lord has blessed me SO much with an amazing husband, an amazing marriage and a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful example of the Perfect Husband and Perfect Marriage to aspire to.

Now, if we could just aspire to making these traditional anniversary videos actually HAPPEN, then we'd be set...

Late-night entry into our new home state.

Blogging? What's that? Something I used to do when I had free time, you say?

Things are Cr-AZY around the Vanderhouse right now. Granted, we knew that once I got back from a work trip to Arizona, life was going to pick up, but I don't think I realized how much. With exactly two weeks from the time my flight arrived to the day my car would pull out of Raleigh, there wasn't a toooon of time to do what needed to be done, but there was enough. Right?

Wrong. Panic is beginning to set in just a wee bit. Our truck arrives Tuesday (a week from today), and I still need to pack up the guest closet, the bathrooms and the kitchen. And we need to go through the bazillion piles of stuff sitting around looking for a home.

All that would be fine and dandy, except that I seem to have created a harmful environment around me. Case in points:

1) About two weeks ago, I made the mistake of wearing heels to work for the first time in a while. This was a mistake because A) I did it on a day I had to get blood drawn so I was weak and B) because regardless of my blood levels, I tend to be on the clumsy side. Put two and two together (or is it three and three here?) and the picture you'll see is me falling out of my car after leaving the doctor's office. The initial scratch wasn't so bad - it was the bruise that covered my entire calf a few days later that freaked me out. Coupled with the post-travel massage I got, and the bruise had turned black a week later. That REALLY freaked me out. Thankfully, I seem to be rebounding, slowly but surely.

2) Speaking of rebounding from car "accidents", I wish my bumper rebounded as easily after it uhh, bumped, a telephone pole on Saturday. After the aforementioned travel last week, I rode w/ A up to the auto mechanics shop to pick up his truck. He turned my car over to me, and literally, within three seconds of sitting in the driver's seat for the first time in a week, I back up and into a telephone pole. In the parking lot of the mechanic's shop. Irony, you are a cruel mistress.

There was a lot of new bird poop on the back window that I was, unfortunately, focused on. When I stopped staring at the dung and got out to look at my bumper, I immediately burst into tears. Thankfully, my husband is a wonderful encourager and reminded me that it's just a car and hey - the back door still works.

3) Fast-forward to a few days later (aannnddd....now I have Alanis Morrisette in my head), and I'm in bed, trying to fall asleep and soothing my aching muscles. My legs were super-sore from yoga and zumba over the weekend, so I was laying in the middle of the bed on my stomach, with my legs stretched out like a frog behind me. Basically, I was hogging the bed - a role my husband normally plays. As he maneuvered into his spot, which was really close to my spot, somehow his elbow connected with my lip. I yelled. Blood appeared. Tears began. Did I mention I had been to the dentist that morning for some fillings and still had residual jaw pain on the SAME SIDE of my mouth?

After panicking, and rinsing my lip in a bunch of water, and getting a lot of hugs from A, I began to bawl. Big, fat tears for all the pain and frustrations and stress of the last few days and the next few weeks. I began to cry, not because my lip was that bad (although it was), but because once again, I am a mess in transition.

Although I have a history of being a bit of a clumsy, crazy mess, I thought I was growing past that phase of life. Ha. That phase is my life, I'm learning. The Lord is teaching me that this mess is me.

I can't grow so old, or move so far away, or become so mature as to not be a mess. It's what I am. It's what we all are. And while sometimes it's physically painful to be reminded of that fact, I'm learning that the most pain comes from learning that it's my spirit that is messed up. Those are the hurts that last. The bruises fade, the lips heal, hopefully the bumpers get fixed, but the mess of our hearts continues to flare up throughout our lifetime.

Thankfully, there is a cure for those of us who are a mess. It's called God's grace. His grace covers the fact that on my own, I am a mess. His grace enables the Father to look at me and see - not my screw-ups and my crazy emotions and my blunderings - but the perfect, graceful, flawless, beautiful life of Christ. So while I'm a mess in transition on this Earth, there is assurance that one day I will grow out of this phase, when I am given new life and a new body in heaven. Until then, I think I'm going to try to see these mishaps, not as wounds to my body and my stuff, but as reminders of the wound to my soul that Jesus has blessedly healed.

High-speed travel it was not, but a long slow day on the train was just what the doctor ordered.

Unless the tick that bit me and maybe gave me Lyme Disease was on the train - in that case, the doctor probably would have advised me to stay off the train. But I don't think it happened that way.

Last Thursday was Train Day. Although I didn't have a jaunty little hat, and although the train wasn't decked out in mahogany, it had a charm all its own. I felt like I saw a slice of Americana that I don't often see: tiny towns that are straight from 1950, historic theater buildings, family graveyards randomly set in the middle of a field, little bakeries with $.85 cupcakes (yum!) and people who ride the train - not on a whim - but as a way of life.

There was a dark-haired, dark-eyed little girl with her mother on the first train. As they settled in to eat the sandwiches they had brought, she whispered, "This feels like a dream. A lovely dream."

I agree. It was a little bit magical, with the sunshine racing between the trees along the tracks, the conductors who wore their blue hats proudly and the anticipation of an adventure, stretching out before us. Here's my attempt to share the lovely little dream with you. Enjoy.

Downtown Raleigh

All aboard!

On my way to Wilson.

This man had a jaunty little hat on :)

Graveyard on the homestead.

Wilson train station

Lovely mural inside the otherwise fairly ghetto station.

My Canon's battery died somewhere in the station and naturally, I didn't have my charger. I'm thankful for my phone, though, which allowed me to keep capturing the memories, albeit at a lower quality.

Historic theater in Dillon.

Off the back of the train.

Last but not least, a little video I made of the journey. Hopefully it loads :)

I like to travel. This should not come as a shock to most of you, but for me, I'm learning the joy of the experience is not solely in the destination but in the adventure of getting there. This has become even more apparent to me in the last couple of years as A and I have become MUCH more well-versed in traveling together. While I was all "Speedy Gonazalez" to get places, he was more of a slow-moving creature, readily stopping multiple times for coffee, snacks and bathroom breaks (I know the abundance of stops for the first two causes the abundance of stops for #3. That's why I liked to stay starched and parched and plow on through).

However, since getting married I've mellowed. I no longer feel this insatiable drive to "beat" my last trip time. I'm all for breaks where we languish in Barnes and Noble, stretching our legs and getting some coffee. After a lifetime of long baseball trips in the car with no say as to the schedule, A has the art of taking trips at our pace down. And I like it. After months of impatience at how slow our progress was when we were driving somewhere, I've started to recognize the beauty of traveling together, making memories as we go and setting a decent pace. I don't feel the rush to get places like I did, so I'm A-Ok to stop for bathroom breaks when other people (or I) need them. There's no need to get stomach cramps just for a ten-minute-earlier arrival. That's just crazy. Furthermore, I don't like to be separated from him for too long - even if the destination is amazing. I think it's part of that whole "become one flesh" thing. When one of us has to be gone for a few days or more, it is about as fun for me as someone trying to pull my arm from my torso. Again - one flesh. Neither feels good.

So, all that to say, next week A will be working in Charleston. Originally, we were both going to drive down together (since we're such good travel partners now and since it would be six days apart) but then his work-shift got extended an extra two days - time I can't take off from my job right now. So...that left us brainstorming. Frequent flyer miles? Drive both cars down separately? Greyhound? A train?!

Like most world-travelers (do you like how I made myself sound like such a travel snob right there?), I am not unaccustomed to train-travel. In fact, one of my most memorable moments in Scotland involved a train, a toilet seat and some sheep...but I digress. I like trains. I like the ability to use the bathroom while still progressing and the option to read, watch movies or nap without worrying about my safety. I've met interesting people on them and have enjoyed being able to see the scenery. Until trying to figure out how to get down to Charleston cheaply, though, it's never really occurred to me to test out the waters of domestic train-travel with Amtrak.

Something about train travel has always seemed kind of romantic and nostalgic. I attribute it to the fact that I was that kid that read lots of historical fiction about the beginnings of the railroad, and I'm still fascinated by it. Go ahead and call me a nerd - I'll own it. So, in my head, thinking about taking the train to Charleston, I have visions of me with my camera, a steamer trunk and a jaunty little hat climbing aboard the Palmetto for a pioneer adventure.

Buuuuut, I know that's not reality. Trains don't look like they used to. I don't think this one has a dining car, or a coal engine or even the ability to make that "chug, chug, chug" noise of my dreams. These days, I know trains are a lot less mahogany wood and a lot more bright steel. The sepia-tones and steam-stacks of my imagination have been replaced by speedy silver bullets. Plus, I own neither a steamer trunk NOR a jaunty little hat. And yet....I'm really, really tempted to hop on a train next week by myself and take a trip to Charleston. In my head, it looks like a grand adventure, but A always tells me I romanticize ideas that shouldn't be.

So what are your thoughts? Yay or nay to a day trip on the Amtrak Palmetto to Charleston? Do you have experience with Amtrak? Recommendations or warnings? I'd love to know if I'm the only one who thinks that for $65 this could be a fantastic journey, or if I'm the only one who thinks traveling Amtrak by myself would be a train-wreck of an idea!

My how the time flies when you're.....really, really busy.

What? Is that not how the saying goes?

It's been over three weeks since I've posted, and that is a really long time for me. Generally, I find it pretty easy to write about myself and my life - I'm sure you've all noticed this - but isn't that what a blog is for? Lately though, I've been crazy busy, both physically and mentally. Not only have I not gotten a ton of sleep lately for being on-the-go, but I haven't had much of a mental break lately either. Life has been... interesting, and it's keeping my brain all twisted up and working hard.

So, there's my bucketful of excuses. Do you accept? Pretty please? A just read me a prayer about not seeking others' approval, so I'm not really trying to get back in your good blogging graces, buuuuut it would be nice to know we are OK :)

All that to say: I'm back in the blogosphere. We're in Florida currently for the my second time this month. This trip is INFINITELY more enjoyable for two reasons 1) I am with my husband. That makes everything better 2) On this drive, I am allowed to go to the bathroom whenever I need to - a luxury not really afforded me when traveling with a group of 18. We're here this weekend as A officiates the wedding of a friend and former teammate. It's been beautiful weather - sun, 70s and a breeze. Although we're sitting in Starbucks currently polishing his sermon, I have every intention of hitting the beach VERY soon for a wee bit of sun-worship. Ok - not sun-worship. I worship Jesus, but some serious sun enjoyment :) You know what I mean.

So with that said, here's a link (for you, Mom and Dad!) to some of my photos from the first Florida trip. I loved having my new camera and being able to get more familiar with my settings, lighting situations and movie mode. I am getting better with the technical aspects of it, so now I need to work on recovering my "eye." I've been shooting here this weekend already, so hopefully we'll be able to see some improvement soon!

Thanks for hanging with me, and hope you all have had an excellent March!

It's been a crazy week of looking ahead. I'm sorry to say I've done a bad job of being all here and focusing only on what today holds. Instead, I've been looking a lot to the future and panicking because I don't have all the answers and because I don't always like what it looks like.

Here's a brief glimpse into what lies ahead and what consumes my thoughts this week:

Florida. I'm leaving in the morning for nine days for a trip to "the homeland" for work. I say "the homeland" because Florida is where I was born and spent the first nine and a half years of my life. Although I'm heading to Tampa (close to where I'm from), we'll also spend half the time in Miami - a city I've never been to. I'm really sad (REALLY) to be leaving my amazing husband and sweet pooch for so long, but I am excited to get to visit Miami before we leave the East Coast. Also on the Florida horizon is a trip two weeks later so A can officiate the wedding of a good friend from college. We'll be hitting up a different area of the state for that, so at least I won't be in the same place too long...I may see more of Florida than my own state this month! Ok, not really, 12 days versus 19 days, but it's close.

Also on the horizon - the move to Denver. I'm pretty bummed about not getting to spend the week with the rest of the team this week as 13 of them visit Colorado and look for jobs, housing, etc. and learn all about our new city. So, with that said, A and I have been looking together for housing options, and we've begun considering buying a house. Incidentally, it started with this awesome condo we both really like, but may have stopped with the awesome condo as the implications of not being able to sell it/having to be landlords has weighed on us. What are your thoughts on condo ownership? A good thing? A bad thing? Something worth looking into?? Thinking about buying has led us to take look after look at our finances and recognize that I NEED A JOB out there. Regardless of whether we buy or rent, I'm going to need a solid income in order for us to pay down debts and live on mission in the city. Please join us in praying for the Lord's direction on all things Denver.

To give you another glimpse into our life, April could be way busy too with trips to SC, my mom-in-law in town and a trip West to look for a home and a job (I suppose the order should be flipped). June I'll be in Arizona for the SBC and maybe moving our stuff.....So May, here's looking at you kid. Right now, you look like a welcome month of rest. So there you go. Here WE go. Hang on - it's going to be a crazy ride.

With moving to Denver looming daily in my mind, I have to ask the Lord constantly to teach me to live here, right now. As one who often struggles with discontentment, I find myself longing for what's to come, rather than being content where God has me right now. So, in addition to trying to be more missional in Raleigh before we leave, I also want to experience some things before we pack up and head west.

Although it seems like a long time away still, it's really not, when I think about that fact that February is 1/3 over, I'll be traveling for a big portion of March (hello Florida....twice) and June (Brasil - excellent), that really only leaves April and May to cram stuff into. So, with that thought in mind, I started compiling a "Raleigh-Durham Bucket List," if you will. As far as I know, I'm not about to kick the bucket, so maybe this list would would be more aptly named the "Catch Ya Later, Carolina List."

Here's what's on it so far - don't judge me for the number of food-related goals ;)

Visit Duke - Campus, chapel, gardensEat at a fro-yo place (Yo-Po, done, but I want to try something in WF/Raleigh)
Go to the Biltmore houseEat at the Angus Barn or that 5-star Magnolia Something restaurant
Go to the Outer Banks (Where the wild horses and sand dunes are)
Go to a Hurricanes game (Anyone know how to get cheap tickets?)
Sample some good Durham food carts
Visit the Durham farmer’s market
Eat at Char-Grill for a burger/Try Snoopy's for a hotdog

I sampled my first Cookout milkshake this week. Oh my goodness - cheesecake chocolate chip deliciousness! So, even though it wasn't on the list, it should have been probably and now I can cross it off.

So, any suggestions? What things have you done in the area that are must-dos, must-sees, or must-eats? If you were creating a "Catch Ya Later, Carolina List" for yourself, what would you have on it? For friends that have already moved away, what do you wish you had done while you were here?

Help me figure out some great adventures for the next few months :)

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Yeah, yeah....I realize I'm a wee bit late. My excuse box is full like my belly after two weeks of lots of food and very little movement. Seriously. FULL.

All I can say is that I'm sorry I have neglected this blog for 2+ weeks but now I'm back. In the office. Naturally, I post when I have time at work :)

So anywhoo - it's been a busy couple of weeks, full of food, family, laughs and snow. For all you East-Coasters who got to enjoy what was apparently a LOT of snow for the area, I'd like you to pause to recognize that there was already about a foot of snow on the ground in Wyoming when we arrived before Christmas and the good Lord decided to bless the area with another 8+ inches as we were trying to leave the Frozen Tundra, as I affectionately call my husband's homeland.

We enjoyed our break by spending time with my parents in TN, celebrating Christmas early, doing some last-minute shopping and birthday-celebrating, and of course - eating. Dad and I even got to ski for a day. It was a fun excursion, but a painful reminder that I'm getting older and that it's been a few years since I skied. My black and blue knee speaks to that!

We then flew west and spent a day with my father-in-law in Denver exploring our soon-to-be new neighborhood before we ventured north to the Arctic. Wyoming was nice, with sunshine and above freezing temperatures for most of the trip, although the snow and ice remained solid. We didn't get to go for walks in the mountains except for one time, but we did make sure to make eating at Su Casa (best Mexican food EVER) a priority - three times. We also enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with the family and Christmas day with Christian family at the Olsons' - the family that led my husband to Christ. I will forever be thankful to them for their spiritual legacy which has now affected MY family! They opened their home to us so we got to share in Bible study time, tons of tasty morsels and several rousing hands of Bingo, which won a new flashlight for my dear mother-in-law and a new 4GB memory card for me! It's good to be a Vanderburg. We win things.


Once we made it out of the blizzard (literally) in Wyoming and Colorado, we decided to spend an extra night with my parents in TN so we could celebrate New Year's Eve with them before heading home to OUR home.

It is good to be back. We love and miss our family, but there's nothing like a lazy Sunday in your own bed, football on the big screen and dominos and cuddling with OUR dog. We shared a bottle of sparkling white grape juice, a pot of chili and lots of snacks supplied by my mother.


So.....all travel news aside, I'm thankful to be home. Even though today marks the beginning of the last semester in NC for us, it's lovely to settle in for one more season of the familiar before the unfamiliar strikes hard and fast. 2010 was a great year but I am so looking forward to all the Lord has in store for us in 2011!

Well, as many of you know, this weekend/week was supposed to go something like this:

Drop A off at the airport
Pick a good friend up from airport
Go to the International Festival w/ her
Go to Ocean Isle, NC for a high school friend's wedding
Have lunch with my parents
Fly to Haiti for the week

Instead, plans changed. The only thing that stayed the same was my friend coming in and my parents taking me to lunch. I started feeling bad Friday morning and by Saturday afternoon, was at the Urgent Care getting a diagnosis of strep. Thankfully, my parents were about an hour away, so while my friend had taken my car to go to the wedding, they came over to take care of me and hang out with me while I was sick and weepy.

Yesterday I had to make another tough decision and decided that since I was still feeling so yucky, I wouldn't be going to Haiti. I was supposed to go to cover a mission trip for work, but with a 5am departure set for this morning, and an elevated temperature and sore throat remaining, decided to "bag it," as my boss said.

So, with that, I find myself with some time to sit and read, pray and study. A and I really wanted to make this week one of searching and praying and asking the Lord for guidance and direction on our future. We have been thinking about and praying about an opportunity for our ministry and our life, and really want to seek the Lord's face this week about that.

So with that, some thoughts from my crazy, weird and unexpected weekend:
-My husband is an unbelievable blessing, and I hate when we're apart
-I'm thankful for my parents, who urged me to go to the doctor and who came and fixed dinner for me, hung out with me, and took care of me when I was feeling so crappy
-A heartfelt "thank you" goes a long way
-I'm grateful for a job that provides opportunities like Haiti, but even more grateful for a boss who shows grace and understanding when I have strep
-Mostly, I'm thankful for my Lord who pursues me, loves me, showers me with grace, and has adopted me into his family. Jesus is my example of grace and through the Holy Spirit, I learn how to love others even when it's hard.

Day 9: A photo you took

Talk about whirlwinds. In addition to the (literal) strong winds that whipped my hair into all kinds of crazy knots while we were away, the past week and a half has been a crazy whirlwind too.

Since I already told you about the unsuccessful prairie dog hunting, let me recap the rest of the critters I encountered during the Wild West Trip.

On Monday, after finishing the final trash- pick-up of the rodeo, we joined one of the pastors and a few other guys to head into the mountains to fly fish. They fished. I read my book. As we drove back toward town, one of them spotted a black bear and we were all on the alert. We saw it in the brush to the left of the road, then it disappeared. As we looked for it, I happened to look back down the road and see it scurry across to the right side. I quietly motioned to everyone else the bear was on the road - thus provoking one of the men (the same who held my gun for me, incidentally) to yell, "He's on the road!" in a not-so-subtle attempt to help us find the bear again. Thanks, buddy. I got it.

The next day, A drove up from Wyoming and picked me up and we drove from Livingston, MT down through Yellowstone and into Idaho and then Utah. On the way, we saw more little "critters-" lots of buffalo, an elk, antelope, a cat riding on the side-view mirror of an RV (REALLY wish I had been quicker with my camera for that!), chipmunks/rodents of some kind, and lots of microorganisms that changed the springs in Yellowstone to all shades of pretty colors.

Yellowstone Day was probably one of my favorite days of the whole trip - it was gorgeous weather, gorgeous scenery, and absolutely wonderful to enjoy the Lord's magnificent creation with my magnificent husband, who I had been missing while we were apart!

The final creatures we experienced on the trip were those that attacked my stomach early Friday morning in Salt Lake City. I woke up feeling really restless and nauseous, and quickly started losing everything I had ever eaten. It was not a pleasant experience, let me assure you. Makes me re-think my "I want to be pregnant" thoughts! If that's what morning sickness is like, no thank you.

We're not sure if it was a mono relapse, the flu (I had a fever Friday), a stomach virus, food poisoning....Does it matter? It's not fun.

So while the trip, overall, was good, it was beyond tiring and brain-straining once we got into SLC. Needless to say, we are thankful to be home, in our own (still-defective Sam's Club) bed. I'd rather be sick and tired here than anywhere else right now. We're still seeking the Lord's direction on where he would take us and have us plant our lives. If we are called to move to SLC, I'll also be praying that whatever creatures I experienced this last time will be held at bay for the duration of our time there!

Thanks for those of you who have been praying for our trip - we know it would have been much worse, spiritually and physically, if not for the mighty hand of God protecting us. Thank you for interceding on our behalf :)

P.S. - Check the last post for the album link for pictures of the trip. More pictures have been posted!

Well, it's a dusty day here in Montana. I wanted to say Oklahoma just now, for some reason, but no, I'm definitely in Montana. It may be because the dust is picking up and kicking up my allergies a lot at the moment, but it is otherwise gorgeous and very Montana-like here.

We got here around noon on Thursday after an early morning leaving RDU. As soon as we stepped out of the airport, it was a breath of fresh air. Literally. The air was cool and crisp and so clean. Big Sky country made an immediate good impression.

Since getting here, we've been in a pattern of early mornings, slooooow afternoons (complete with a nap for me today), and long nights of wandering around the rodeo. Although really interesting - especially the people watching - the days are long and generally slow and a bit boring. It's kind of weird - it feels like we have a lot of time to do nothing productive.

Today was the best day here, thus far. We went prairie dog hunting. It was great fun! Although I didn't actually shoot anything (not for lack of trying) I still had a good time. It was a bit frustrating, as I didn't have any time to really do my thing ;) First, one of the guys held the barrel of the gun for me and pointed it for me, even though he was not exactly helping. The second time I got the gun, they made me stop shooting because of fear that I'd hit one of the guys that was walking. The third time I got the gun, I fired off some shots and almost hit it. A rock, that is. I kept shooting and shooting, but unfortunately, wasn't actually aiming for a prairie dog. If it had been one, and he had run toward my bullets, he so would have been dead.

So anyways, we're at the rodeo now, waiting for some more opportune moments to capture and conversations to have!

Here's a link to the photos I've taken. Not great, I'm having a lot of camera trouble, plus, we have a professional photog with us, so my motivation is "notsomuch."

Hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July weekend!

Crazy day here in Vanderlife. A had to work this morning (hello 4 a.m. for the fourth time this week), I have two graduation services to cover for work, we're trying to get packed up for a trip a mi casa this weekend, A's getting the oil changed in my car and we're trying to figure out our dog, Ben's lodging options for summer trips.

Like I said, busy. I'll be happy to be in Maryville tomorrow and go floating down a Smoky Mountain river with my hubs and dear friends!

So, if you live around us in Raleigh or on the way to Florida, we could sure use your help dog-sitting Ben, one of two times over the summer!! We'd be happy to throw in a home-cooked meal and some Durham Bulls tickets :) He's a pretty easy keeper - comes with his crate which he's fine to stay in, or will happily lounge in a yard or on a porch all day. One meal a day, no meds...He likes to play and go for walks. Basically, this is a personal ad for a dog-sitter. You'll like him and he will LOVE you! He's looking for companionship one week in June and a week and a half or so in July.

Also, if you will be in Maryville this weekend, then I am planning on seeing you and hanging out. This means YOU, Mrs. Iles and Mrs. Bledsoe ;)

Everyone have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!