25 Random Facts

Explanation: This is supposed to make you laugh. Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. Most people choose 25 people to be tagged. It would be great if you would tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you... but don't feel like you have to do it.

1. My all time favorite job was driving a 1967 GMC 40 foot bus in Alaska giving tours with Travis. It was awesome!

2. I want to be a Saddle Bronc rider in a rodeo, but none of my family members will let me.

3. I secretly want to be a punk rocker. Yep thats right ever since High School.

4. I really don't like chocolate. I will only eat it in certain things and not very much.

5. I am insanely picky about how my meat is cooked. I took a meats class for my major and I know what is in there.

6. Being poked with needles freaks me out. Oh I can stick whatever you want but don't stick me.

7. Vomit is the only thing that makes me queasy. I can watch a full surgery and not be nervous at all but vomit tips the scale.

8. I am a major worrier. It doesn't really matter what it is I will more than likely worry about it.

9. One of my major pet peeves is people mispronouncing my name.

10. I can not stand desk jobs, they make me feel lazy.

11. I made a goal when I was in High School that I would do anything for a job except work in fast food and I have lived up to that goal.

12. I wanted to have a Masters degree and to have made a name for myself in the Animal field before getting married.

13. I can read and understand most spoken spanish but my pronunciation sucks.

14. I am one of the few people that truly disliked my BYU Idaho experience.

15. I wrote a letter to the President of BYU-I, VP of BYU-I, my Dean and my Dept Chair. This was not a good letter.

16. I actually enjoyed my campus job as a custodian from 4 to 7 am for the most part.

17. It drives me crazy that when people hear that I am an Animal Science major they automatically think its something to go with a Vet. There is so much more I do.

18. I don't purposely try to be rude. I am just not very social.

19. I enjoy moving to new places with my best friend, aka Travis, its a little easier that way.

20. In High School I was bound and determined to never get married and to become a hermit with just my horses as company.

21. Yes I am a Tomboy that is why I don't dress up very often.

22. My first time out of the country was going through Canada when we moved from Alaska, I was a little over excited.

23. I honestly don't see us ever moving back to California.

24. I did not have a veil, garter, or throw my bouquet at our wedding. I don't believe in those traditions. 

25. I am very much an night owl while Travis is very much an early bird. 

I tag whoever wants to do this and share interesting facts. Its fun to try to think up stuff, enjoy.

2nd Half of December

Ok so some of you might have found out that I was sick for the first three weeks of January. Yes I had the flu and that lovely bug turned into pneumonia. I am still alive, but that is why I have not finished up our christmas adventures on the blog. 

So here goes. Well the weekend after my family left from visiting us for two weeks we headed to Montana to visit Travis' family for a week. We drove and it was a long drive. The weather was tough for the first half of our journey but we survived. We were able to stay with Travis' oldest brother an his family as our half way spot. We loved being able to see our nieces and nephews. They have grown so much since the last time we saw them and there was even a niece and a nephew that we had not met yet. Our stay was filled with games eating yummy treats and just sitting around and visiting. We had so much fun and loved seeing real mountains again and of course the lake. Every time we visit the more we want to move there as soon as we can. There was a ton of snow this year. I have never seen that much snow in Montana, it was up to our knees. The funny part was that when we eventually got home there was no snow on the ground here in Des Moines. I laughed about that for a while. We loved our Christmas break and with it seeing all the family that we did. Hopefully we will be able to go back for a visit sooner than we did this time. 

Our sledding trip to Riverside Park. We had some awesome runs down the hill!

The family together as we had our Nativity scene. It was so cute.

These are kinda out of order since this was Christmas morning  and the Nativity was Christmas night.

Mason, one of our nephews, showing us how to play the Wii.

Travis and his mom having a Dance Dance Revolution dance off.

The trip was tons of fun and we can't wait to get back especially for a summer trip on the lake.

Half of the Month of December

Since I am insanely behind in my posts I will sum up and half at a time. Our month of December was split between both families this year and we loved it. My mom and my youngest two siblings drove all the way from California to be with us since we were not going to be there for Christmas. It was a busy two weeks and we tried to play as much as we could. I had to work a bunch and Travis was finishing up the semester so we did the best we could. Lucky for us and them we live in a very fascinating town so they had lots to see. They were able to visit the State capitol, the Botanical Gardens, the Art Center, the Historical Center and a few more museums I am probably forgetting. Since the kids are home schooled they were able to make the trip a field trip as well as just visiting us. Of course we had our ups and downs, the kids had the stomach flu for a couple of days, but we always had time to play. Travis is such a good sport and even though we didn't have much snow here he got out the inner tubes and went sledding. We were even able to have a mini-Christmas here so we could see the kids expressions when the opened their presents. It was tons of fun and we can't wait until we get to go home for a WARM visit to Northern California.

 My youngest sibs, Josh and Amelia enjoying a fresh snow.

A worn out Travis sledding with the kids

Two handsome young men taking a rest

The hill next to our building is perfect for this type of fun.

*Mom took pictures of the museums that they visited but I do not know the commentary to go along so these pics will have to do*

Ye Old Christmas Letter 2008

Dear Family and friends,

Here I start another Christmas letter for another year. We have been plenty busy this year with the many happenings we have had in 2008. The beginning of the year was tough since I was still on crutches. The winter in Iowa was long and icy, and even worse since I was still unsteady. We were able to head to my family’s home in California for a belated Christmas. We flew home hoping for warmer weather. We had a chance to finally take Travis to San Francisco. Even though it rained the entire time we were in the City. It was tons of fun. We headed down Fisherman’s Wharf, China town, Golden Gate, to name a few of our stops. We even got to stop by the Science Center. The place is awesome. We played with all the many contraptions. It was fun to learn new things and to play. The trip to San Francisco was fun and then it was time to go home. The funny part was that it snowed the night before we headed home and it was snowier than Omaha was when we stepped off the plane. 

About a month after we got home from our Christmas celebration I was released from the doctor with the broken leg. No I hadn’t been wearing the boot for the full last month but after being on crutches and then the boot since November I was glad to just be done. I was ready to get back to my life. The end of march was a fun month as well. My youngest sister had her eighth birthday and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. I was able to fly home so that I could support her in this important decision. Travis had mandatory classes he had to attend so he was not able to come with. It was a wonderful program and I was even blessed to be asked to speak. I was nervous as all get out but I could see it meant a lot to her. 

Once home again we finished off the school year and got our plans ready for the summer. Travis finished his first year of med school with flying colors and packed up and left the day after Memorial Day for a 6 week mandatory training with the Air Force. Yep I was left here in Des Moines the whole time. Due to work limitations I was not able to fly home while Travis was gone. Travis enjoyed his training and learned a lot. Exactly a week after he left I was hit while in my car by another driver totaling our only vehicle. Yes it was horrible.  However, I was blessed by wonderful friends who came immediately and supported me through the whole ordeal. This trial made training a little more stressful for Travis since he was not at home but he checked on me whenever he could and was supportive as ever. I was able to borrow a friend’s car through the rest of training so that Travis could help me find a new car. The other driver was at fault so his insurance paid for everything including buying the totaled car, my medical bills, missed day of work and just pain and suffering.  The accident was not the tip of the ice berg though. I know you all heard on the news of all the flooding here in Iowa and you guessed it that was while Travis was gone too. Not to worry though it never got close to where we live. It was scary though and I had to reassure lots of people including Travis that I was fine. Once my handsome Airman returned from  training the hunt for a new car began. We were able to find another Honda Civic for almost the exact amount they gave us for the totaled car. This car had just a couple of differences, 3 years older, and an automatic. It was truly a blessing that Travis was able to find a replacement so fast. To answer everyone’s questions I was never hurt badly in the accident, just a little whiplash that was easily treated by a chiropractor here. 

The rest of our summer was spent celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary and playing in Connecticut and New York. Travis’ best friends lived in Danbury, Connecticut and planed on moving farther west so we wanted to make sure we were able to see them there before they moved. It was an awesome trip filled with beach trips, body surfing in Rhode Island, trip to the city, and tons of fun. Travis and I were even able to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The whole trip was so fun and filled with excitement. 

We had to return to reality though so back to Des Moines we went where Travis started his second year of Med School. The summer wasn’t over yet; we still had tons of stuff to do. We gave the Iowa State fair one more try and had fun. We made a schedule and stuck to it so we could see the fun exhibits. The fair is still not close to the California fair but not as bad as I thought. While the weather was warm we spent our days playing tennis, biking and exploring trying to see as much as we could. I continued to work at the vet clinic and tried to figure out what fun things I could do for my Achievement day girls. 

As summer turned towards fall we were blessed by a visit from Travis’ parents. They came to visit us and see church history sites during Labor Day weekend. We visited all the sites that are near our home. These included, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Far West, Liberty Jail, Independence, Nauvoo and Carthage. It was tons of fun because we had church history manuals that we would look over as our journey progressed. These sites have such special spirits. I am so glad that they are close enough to visit. 

The fall progressed into my favorite time of year. I love October, the temperature is perfect, the colors are beautiful and the holiday is tons of fun. For Travis’ birthday this year I was determined to surprise him. He had been talking about getting a piano for years and I decided that this year he would get it. So both sides of our families and I put our saved pennies together and bought Travis his new toy. He was so cute when I gave it to him, smiling like crazy. I am even slowly learning to play again. Along with Travis’ birthday this year I was bound and determined to have a Halloween party. I planned and decorated like mad and then had a bunch of our friends over for fun. Bobbing for apples, bobbing for donuts, pumpkin carving and food.  We even used some of the decorations for the ward Trunk or Treat. I was immensely pleased and can’t wait to do it all again next year. We also have been playing volleyball again this year, no worries I am being very careful. Our team is awesome and is actually in the play offs this year. Along with all our fun and games we had an addition to our family. No not what you think, it is a cute little kitty named “Cancun”. He was found and brought to the clinic where I worked and Travis and I decided to adopt him since no one else wanted him. He is adorable and very mischievous. He keeps “Rocco” company and they both are fun to be with. We also had some sad news as November started so did a new job for me. I was laid off due to the economic strife the owner was going through. I found a new job pretty fast working retail. Travis says that it is nice that I am happy. I did not realize just how unhappy I really was at the clinic but I am happy now and that’s all that matters.

Our winter is already insanely busy with Travis getting ready to finish is second year of school and starting rotations. He has had some interesting and challenging labs, including one of simulated emergencies, a simulated birth, and visiting the neonates ward at a local hospital.  And as for me, I am just trying to get things ready for christmas as some of my family visits before we head off to Montana for a long needed trip for Christmas. We are so excited that our new adventures are taking off and I am so proud of Travis with how well he is doing in school. We are almost half way done and then off to a new adventure. We are so grateful for all the support and love from you all. We hope that the Christmas season finds you and yours healthy and happy. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you all.

Until next year.  

Love,

 Travis, Kamala, “Rocco” & “Cancun”  

(Updates and photos from Christmas break will come soon)