I will admit that Jackson was hot and humid, and maybe I didn't spend enough time outside there to appreciate it, but College Station Texas is HOT! We are now proud owners of a new home in Bryan, TX, Cloud Dancing is the proud owner of a back yard to play in. I am preparing to start graduate school at Texas A&M at the end of this month and Lesley is settling into her work as well. I last updated you a couple of month ago and now that we are settling into life in Texas I can fill in the gaps. I am listening to a little Willy Nelson/Calexico rendition of Bob Dylan's "Senior" thinking of tequila and trying hard to avoid the 106 degree oven out my front door; I think I'm ready to begin.
We had a most trying adventure attempting to purchase our first home. Between the task of actually finding a suitable structure and signing the papers we had a slew of mishaps that started with our inability to sign a contract. At first, entry level homes were going fast in this part of the country and it was difficult to get an option on one, and then appraisals, inspections, and upgrades needing to be complete; we applied for a loan that we weren't qualified for because the sellers had not held title for 90 days so we had to go back to the drawing board with a different type of loan, and then did I mention that our underwriter decided to quit. I could go into a lot more detail about the tortures we endured, and there were many, but all in all we closed about 15 days late.
During this time it was also important that we began to pack up our small little one bedroom apartment. Cloud was not exactly thrilled with the changes that she witnessed. When we closed we had about one week left before the move so needless to say we were busy packing, saying good bye to our friends and family in Jackson. I think we had something to do every night for three weeks before we moved.
When Friday the 31st came around we had to say good bye to all of our coworkers whom we had worked with for the last two years and then grab our Penske and prepare for the packing party. We have made a great group of friends from our small group in Jackson and they all graciously came over Friday afternoon to help us pack up the truck; I don't know what we would have done with out their help.
Tucker was the director of the operation down in the truck and the 15 of us moved the goods three flights of stairs at warp speed. I don't know how Tucker and I got all that stuff up there the first time. We had a pizza party afterwords and said good bye. The next morning we hit the road to Bryan/College Station, TX. The first part of the trip went well. We needed to make a pit stop at the farm to collect our dinning room table but as we approached Shreveport an ominous look storm approached, and wouldn't you know it but it started pouring.
For two hours on the farm we got nothing but torrential down poor, now I didn't know it but that would be the last time I would see rain... so far, and had to pack in the rain. Lesley's dad Bruce followed us along with Mary Beth to help us unload. We were lucky and stayed out of most of the rain as we drove through Texas. We got to 720 Mary Lake a little after dark and after eating some fried avocados decided to camp out in sleeping bags on the floor and unload in the morning.
We got our stuff unloaded thanks to Tucker, Bruce, and Mary Beth and that evening Jane flew in to Houston and drove down to help us settle in.
Aug 3rd was Lesley's 32nd birthday and with all of the moving we unfortunately had very little chance to celebrate it. We spent most of it settling in buying lawn mowers and packing.
We didn't have much time to settle as we had plans to fly to Santa Cruz for a much needed vacation. Little Cloud Dancing headed off to camp at Aggi Pet Zone and Me, Lesley, Jane, and Tucker drove to Houston to catch our flights. California was great!
The temperature was in the low 70's and we had a fabulous condo on West Cliff Dr. overlooking Cowell's bay, arguably one of the best long board waves for honing your surf skills, when it's not a zoo. Ross, Newt and Kristy flew in and we began our vacation.
One of the highlights of our trip was the Redwood Canopy tour at Mt Hermon.
Once connected to a harness you zip along through the canopy of the red woods in the Santa Cruz mountains at 150 feet you are only half way up the tree but you get a good view of the unique ecosystem and the massiveness of the red woods. Our friend Laura joined the rest of us for the excursion. We started out at ground school learning how to control our zipping, breaking and other emergency procedures.
After ground school we jumped right in and fro two hours swung through the trees.
The longest distance zipped was over 400 feet and there was also a great bridge crossing.
We recharged with fish tacos and then went back to the condo to prepare for our party. We have met a lot of people in the Santa Cruz area, manly because Lesley lived and worked there for four years, and it's always fun to catch up. It can be hard with so many acquaintances so we decided to have a big get together and say hi to all of them at once. We had about 30 people over and enjoyed a little southern cooking aka red beans and rice. It was great catching up. I think we determined that I have made the trip to Santa Cruz at least every year for the last five years; I love it every time.
Lesley and Kristy decided to take surfing lessons on Friday morning so I went with them at 5:30 a.m to join their class, and I'm glad I did.
Their instructor was Sean Penn straight out of Fast Times at Ridgmont High.
I will not try to describe the lesson as all you have to do is picture Specoli giving a harrowing demonstration of wave formation and the dangers of rocks, reefs, sting rays, sharks and other surfers. He was, as Kristy stated, "A fish out of water" as crazy and awkward as Specoli was on land he was the opposite in the water and quite adapt at helping his little "duckies" learn the finer points of long boarding.
With his instructions to "follow papa duck" the yellow clad class all caught waves and improved greatly.
A long morning of surfing under our belts and as a way to relax we rented some time at the Tea House Spa. A little tea, hot tubs, and saunas to help sooth the sore surfers. We had big plans to kayak moss landing the next day and Justin and Missy were coming up from L.A., but first I wanted to surf at Cowell's.
At about 6:00 I went out to enjoyed the early morning waves, but Cowell's being what it is I was crowded out after about an hour and a half.
Justin and Missy rolled in at about 10:00 and we headed to Moss Landing.
The estuary is a wildlife refuge and home to seals, sea lions, otters, birds and more jelly fish then I have ever seen in my life, and I'm talking huge jelly fish. We had a great time in our sea kayaks viewing all of the wildlife, it was very peaceful.
We got back to Santa Cruz and drove to Aunt Pam's house for a BBQ in the Santa Cruz Mountain, another great end to the evening. Unfortunately all vacations come to an end so after saying good bye to Justin and Missy we drove to the airport in San Jose.
Now we're back in Texas and ready to settle down. Tucker gave us a smoker/grill/BBQ as a house warming gift and I have been using it extensively in the last week. We are slowly getting our home together. I have about one more week until I have to start training and orientation as a teaching assistant and then on the 31st I start school. It's been a long time since I've been in school and this will be a new experience. We'll keep you guys updated on our journey. If you're ever close by come over will grill burgers and enjoy the heat.
We decided that afternoon to decorate her house with some Christmas touches.
We began realizing that it would be our last evening together until after the holidays. So, we decided to make it our Christmas dinner with Grandmother, and it was a wonderful evening indeed!
We spent Thanksgiving on the farm this year. My Grandfather went back into the hospital 2 days before Thanksgiving, so sadly, He was not able to be with us on the farm to celebrate. It made for a different, more laid back type of day. Everyone broke up into shifts of spending time with Granddaddy in the hospital, so throughout the day, we were all with him at some point. Jeremy and I drove in from Texas, Newt and Kristy drove up from New Orleans, Ross flew in from Montana, and Aunt Pam and Uncle Pete and my cousin Chris flew in from California. My Dad noted that it was the first time to have all of his children together since mine and Jeremy's wedding, which was 2 1/2 years ago. So, it was a pretty significant and special time to all be together. We missed getting a group picture before my cousin Chris flew back West, but this is the rest of us on Saturday night following Thanksgiving when Dad treated us all to Indian food - Yummy! Please continue praying for the Lynn Family and my Grandfather as He continues to remain in the hospital.
Jeremy's brother Chris and his wife Elizabeth came to visit us! Chris started working for Schlumberger the Monday after Thanksgiving. His training started down in Houston, so they took a week visiting friends and family in Texas and Louisiana. We had a FUN few days with them!
We grilled one night at home, and Jeremy shared his home brews with them - I think they were a hit!
We enjoyed going to one of the local wineries here in Bryan, Messina Hof Winery! And, we introduced them to the Spirit of Aggieland by taking them to Yell Practice on Wednesday night, the night before the Aggies put up a good fight against the tu longhorns! It was great having them here! We look forward to the next visit!
My Mom and Tucker, my Dad and Mary Beth, and I all flew in for the festivities! We celebrated at Ross's home in Bozeman, Montana, and for us, it was all about meeting and celebrating with Ross's community up there! I loved it because there were young and old, and everyone in between. There were 6 month olds and parents of Ross's friends, professors, bosses, lots of dogs, and friend after friend after friend.
One of our site seeing stops along the way was to see this climbing boulder that Ross and his two business partners (Strong Hold) built for the City of Bozeman! They are under contract to build two more for the City at other parks. If you'd like to see what he's up to and some of the different projects he's been involved in, you can check out their work at www.strongholdfab.com 
We are all really proud of him! Cheers to our 30s! I love you my brother and wonderful friend!
Wyatt Earp
"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." - Wyatt Earp
A flashback to Labor Day weekend... Mom and Dad Johnson and Grandma LC came to visit us over the long holiday weekend. The thought never crossed our mind that Jeremy would actually have to teach on Labor Day, but sure enough, Texas A&M does not take a day of rest on that holiday. It was school as usual. He still managed to find plenty of free time, and we had a wonderful weekend with our guests!
I know quite a few of you who read our blog have known me long enough in life that you have had the opportunity to meet my grandfather, "discuss" politics with him, listen to stories of days gone by, and back in our teenage years possibly even feared him :) He has always been a strong-willed man who will never let you know when life gets tough, but life isn't always willing to let you win that battle. Jeremy and I are headed back over to the farm this evening to stay with my grandmother while my granddaddy continues to be in the hospital. My grandfather went in for emergency surgery about 3 weeks ago now and is continuing to fight the battle in hopes of getting to go home. Please remember him in your prayers in the days that lie ahead and pray for my grandmother as it gets pretty lonely not having your life partner there with you at the end of the day.
Dancing with him at Plantation Ball 1993
Dancing with him on my Wedding Day 2007
During this time it was also important that we began to pack up our small little one bedroom apartment. Cloud was not exactly thrilled with the changes that she witnessed. When we closed we had about one week left before the move so needless to say we were busy packing, saying good bye to our friends and family in Jackson. I think we had something to do every night for three weeks before we moved.
Tucker was the director of the operation down in the truck and the 15 of us moved the goods three flights of stairs at warp speed. I don't know how Tucker and I got all that stuff up there the first time. We had a pizza party afterwords and said good bye. The next morning we hit the road to Bryan/College Station, TX. The first part of the trip went well. We needed to make a pit stop at the farm to collect our dinning room table but as we approached Shreveport an ominous look storm approached, and wouldn't you know it but it started pouring. 
For two hours on the farm we got nothing but torrential down poor, now I didn't know it but that would be the last time I would see rain... so far, and had to pack in the rain. Lesley's dad Bruce followed us along with Mary Beth to help us unload. We were lucky and stayed out of most of the rain as we drove through Texas. We got to 720 Mary Lake a little after dark and after eating some fried avocados decided to camp out in sleeping bags on the floor and unload in the morning. 
Aug 3rd was Lesley's 32nd birthday and with all of the moving we unfortunately had very little chance to celebrate it. We spent most of it settling in buying lawn mowers and packing.
The temperature was in the low 70's and we had a fabulous condo on West Cliff Dr. overlooking Cowell's bay, arguably one of the best long board waves for honing your surf skills, when it's not a zoo. Ross, Newt and Kristy flew in and we began our vacation.
One of the highlights of our trip was the Redwood Canopy tour at Mt Hermon.
Once connected to a harness you zip along through the canopy of the red woods in the Santa Cruz mountains at 150 feet you are only half way up the tree but you get a good view of the unique ecosystem and the massiveness of the red woods. Our friend Laura joined the rest of us for the excursion. We started out at ground school learning how to control our zipping, breaking and other emergency procedures.
After ground school we jumped right in and fro two hours swung through the trees. The longest distance zipped was over 400 feet and there was also a great bridge crossing.
We recharged with fish tacos and then went back to the condo to prepare for our party. We have met a lot of people in the Santa Cruz area, manly because Lesley lived and worked there for four years, and it's always fun to catch up. It can be hard with so many acquaintances so we decided to have a big get together and say hi to all of them at once. We had about 30 people over and enjoyed a little southern cooking aka red beans and rice. It was great catching up. I think we determined that I have made the trip to Santa Cruz at least every year for the last five years; I love it every time.
Their instructor was Sean Penn straight out of Fast Times at Ridgmont High. 
I will not try to describe the lesson as all you have to do is picture Specoli giving a harrowing demonstration of wave formation and the dangers of rocks, reefs, sting rays, sharks and other surfers. He was, as Kristy stated, "A fish out of water" as crazy and awkward as Specoli was on land he was the opposite in the water and quite adapt at helping his little "duckies" learn the finer points of long boarding. With his instructions to "follow papa duck" the yellow clad class all caught waves and improved greatly.
At about 6:00 I went out to enjoyed the early morning waves, but Cowell's being what it is I was crowded out after about an hour and a half.
Justin and Missy rolled in at about 10:00 and we headed to Moss Landing.
The estuary is a wildlife refuge and home to seals, sea lions, otters, birds and more jelly fish then I have ever seen in my life, and I'm talking huge jelly fish. We had a great time in our sea kayaks viewing all of the wildlife, it was very peaceful. 
We got back to Santa Cruz and drove to Aunt Pam's house for a BBQ in the Santa Cruz Mountain, another great end to the evening. Unfortunately all vacations come to an end so after saying good bye to Justin and Missy we drove to the airport in San Jose.
