Arizona for Thanksgiving

Just got back from a fun and relaxing vacation to Arizona for Thanksgiving. Here's a quick recap of events.

Erlynne, Chris, Ethan, Tristan and I all drove in Chris' mother's van, taking the drive easy - in installments - staying over night in Midland TX on the way out. When we got there on Saturday evening, Lana, Erlynne and I all went directly out to see "Twilight." It was pretty good. Entertaining enough for someone who hadn't read the books [me] - and from what I gathered - enthralling for those who HAD read the books.

I can't currently think of all the details of all the things I did the rest of the week, except for rappelling. That was certainly a highlight. Chris and I went with his nephew Jared to a park where there was a huge rock formation pretty perfect for rappelling. It was my first time and I was really nervous at first, but I was already feeling like a pro by my 2nd and 3rd trips down the rope. A couple showed up to set up for their family reunion and I went down at the same time as the girl to reassure her that it wasn't that scary. I forgot to bring my camera that day, so I don't have any pictures, but Chris did get some, and some video, so we'll see if I can get some of those and post them.

Thanksgiving day itself was lots of fun. Lana and her kids and I all got up early and went to see Porter, Eric, and Dixie compete in a triathlon. I DID bring my camera with me that day - so you can see my pictures on Facebook where I uploaded the best of them. When I heard what the triathlon entailed I thought 'I could do that, easy' so... next year I will. Lana said Staci had also said she wanted to do it next year... so next Thanksgiving I challenge all my siblings and in-laws to "bring it" because I'm totally there! The rest of the day was fun, too - Thanksgiving dinner at the Shumway's was plentiful and varied, and after eating Dana played the piano and the singers took turns performing. I even dusted off my old, unused, vocal chords and mumbled through a song.

Overall a very fun and relaxing trip for me. I got to take a nap most of the days, so hopefully that will catch me up on my rest. Now it's off to bed so I can get up early for work again tomorrow [frowny face.]

long time no post

I was recently chided for not posting any updates here in a long time. I knew it had been a while, but when I got on and looked - Holy Fudge! It's been almost 2 months. The reason for that as some may already know - is that I'm constantly busy. Ever since I discovered MeetUp.com there's almost never a reason to stay home just killing time. I can always be out and about - meeting and associating with people from different cultures, countries, and all kinds of different backgrounds. I have radically diversified my social circle faster than I ever imagined possible. A good thing, methinks.

So the most recent adventure: Last weekend I went with my Travel MeetUp to Hot Springs Arkansas. We went to experience the fall colors and see Hot Springs. Here are a few pictures I took:



...and here's a picture someone else took that has me in it [to prove I was actually there]

and here's a picture taken by someone who's a much better photographer than I