It's been a while...

Well it has been a while since my last post...well almost a year. I am in my second year of my Ph.D program and I am busier than ever. Over the summer I worked hard to pass my preliminary exams. YAY! I did have a little fun now and then. We celebrated my birthday with some great friends on Bear Lake (see a few pictures below). My family (Mom and Brad) also came out to visit me and we went to Yellowstone. It was my first time and I cannot wait to go back! We saw a lot of wildlife, including a bald eagle, a black bear, a crap ton of bison, and deer. My mom really wanted to see a moose but unfortunately we did not see one, unless you count the fake log moose that I convinced my mom to pull over to see ;). 

This fall I have been wearing several hats. I am a graduate student, a researcher, a teacher, and a clinician. It has been rough training to fit in free time and keep up to date with family and friends. I do apologize. As a teacher this semester I have been teaching 70 undergraduate students, who plan to be future teachers, about students with disabilities. Lecturing in front of the class with 70 pairs of beading eyes on you is pretty intimidating let me tell you. But I am happy to say the semester is wrapping up and know I get to kick back and have guest lectures for the rest of the semester. 

Last week was fun celebrating Halloween at the preschool. My colleagues and supervisor dressed up as Guru and minions from Despicable Me, except for the man in a gorilla suit (see picture below). Chase and I also went to a Halloween/Chili Contest Party. We actually won the best chili!

Well that is all I have time for now. I promise to try to do better on posting more updates. But I am excited to say that Mom and Brad are coming to Logan for a White Christmas!

Birthday Celebration 

Yellowstone

One of many Bison we saw

Family :) 

Happy Halloween

Thanksgiving

This year I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner with the help from Chase and my friend Jessica. For dinner we made a 17 lbs turkey, garlic red-skinned mashed potatoes, stuffing, and rolls. For dessert I made a peanut-butter cheesecake that was filled with Reeses and Buttterfingers. Everything turned out delicious! All I could think about was just not to burn the turkey like Tim Allen on The Santa Clause.
Hopefully next year we can add some of our family to our Thanksgiving dinner. I miss everyone!

The Crew

Breakfast, Dinner, Dessert, Drinks

Cheesecake

Can't forget the drinks ;)

Going to the Movies

On Friday Chase, Jessica, and I decided that we were going to see the new James Bond movie Skyfall. Before we went, we watched Casino Royal. Once we arrived at the movie theater it was packed (our thought was probably because of the Breaking Dawn Part 2). As we are waiting in line to buy our tickets, Jessica whispers to me "That guy is requesting seats." We were both confused and thought it was strange. Then it was our turn to buy tickets. The cashier asked, "Where would you like to sit?" as she turned her computer screen that displayed chair numbers. We were baffled. It was the strangest thing I have ever encountered at the movie theaters before. We selected three seats together. We entered our theater and began going up the stairs looking for our assigned seats. To our surprise we selected seats really close to the front. It is a challenge searching for assigned seats in the dark. However, the movie was great and it was an interesting adventure. Logan, Utah is a very interesting town....

The Theater

Walden III....AKA My Office

One perk about doctoral school is having an office, which is called Walden III (is the coolest name for all the behavior analyst nerds :D). New doctoral students start with their office in Walden III (which is actually the basement of the building) and then eventually move up to the 3rd floor where the faculty members have their offices. The relationship between faculty and students is amazing!

In Walden III I share my office with 5 other roommates. My desk is in the back, left corner and Chase's desk is in the back, right corner (with the swords). Somehow we got the two prime locations - more room and more secluded.

I haven't spent too much time in my office just yet, but I am working on creating a schedule to be down there more often. My goal is to spend "x" amount of time working in my office and then spending time in the evening relaxing at home. However, I am struggling to balance the work and relaxation time. This probably doesn't come as a news flash to you, since I am a workaholic.

Walden III - 6 roommates 

My Desk

A few decorations

Demolition Derby

Last night a couple friends (my new Utah friends) and I went to a demolition derby. It was my first time attending one. For anyone who does know what a demolition derby is - it is an event that consists of five or so vehicles (trucks or cars) competing by deliberately ramming their vehicle into one another. The last vehicle still alive, somewhat running, is the winner. The derby was held on a dirt track that was soaked with water. During half-time a dance competition was held in the mild of the track - and some MUD WRESTLING occurred! The best part was being in an environment where you could swear and know one was judging you. So far the best money spent on some good clean fun. I can't wait for the next season, since this was the last one of the summer.

Demolition Derby - Logan, Utah

Deliberate smashing!!! Go #253 - that was who I was routing for

Half-Time Mud Dancing and Some Wrestling

New Friends

Some more new friends 

New Girlfriends :) - Jessica and Hannah

Hike to the Wind Caves

A couple of days ago Chase and I went on our first "real" hike to the Wind Caves, also known as the Witch's Castle (not sure why). We did a small hike before, Limber Pine Trail, but it was more like a walk then a hike. The Wind Caves is 6 miles into Logan Canyon, which is about 10 minutes away from our house. The starting elevation is 5025 feet and then you climb about 1000 feet. The elevation, which we are not use to, added some difficulty to the trail. Even old ladies were passing us! We made several stops on the way up. There were amazing viewpoints all the way to the top, so it was worth going up slowly. "The formation of the Wind Caves began far underground as water seeped through cracks deep within layers of the rock. Over long periods of time, the water slowly dissolved the stone creating large, below ground caverns. More recently, the downward cutting Logan River exposed the caves. The arches we see today were created as water continues to erode the stone formation from both ends of the cavern (trail sign)." Throughout the journey we had to keep our eyes peeled for rattlesnakes, but thankfully we did not encounter one. Chase was warned that they have been coming out to enjoy the sun and decided not to mention this until we started the hike of course. I was a bit nervous, but the only thing we saw was some type of bird that looked like a chicken (see picture below) and possibly a lizard or maybe a snake's tail but it was to hard to tell - and I didn't want to stay around long enough to find out! We are planning to tackle another hike later this week. 

Trail Sign 

The mystery bird

Another break

Resting picture - beautiful vista

Made it! On top of the cave

The Cave

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!" - Name that movie quote

Beautiful! 

The Start of a New Journey

So I decided I would start a blog (Wendy Comba actually inspired me) about my adventure obtaining my Ph.D and my new home in Logan, Utah (culture shock! They only serve 3.2% beer unless you go to the state liquor store, but then you can't get the usual beer that is solid in the grocery store like Coors). As most of you know I am not much of a phone talker, so I am hoping this blog will assist in communicate to everyone what is going on in my life. 

Chase and I are all moved in and preparing to start school next week...EEK! Are house is adorable and Cortez loves his backyard. We are still looking for a few furniture items to make our home complete - especially the guest room for future visitors! 

Kitchen/Bar

Kitchen 

Living Room - notice the cute fireplace!

Patio/Backyard