Fun with family

  This is just catch-up from the first 3 or 4 months of the year. Why? Because 2013 has been awesome to us in so many ways.  And these are just a few of the fun highlights.  Gotta keep the memories alive.

   Dustin's family enjoys an annual tradition of pulling out the snow bibs and heading to the slopes each winter.  It was during one of these outings eight years ago or so that Dustin (with help from his Dad and against my natural tendencies) taught me to ski. Except one awesome trip with my roommate Bonnie and our friend Mason where I snowballed down the hill and almost died against a brick wall (great story, since I have obviously survived) every trip up the mountains trailing skiing gear has been with my in-laws. And though you'll never see me on a black diamond run, I do get an adrenaline thrill every time!

(older brother Jared and younger sister Kristiann)

    Fun snaps taken after Dustin took Rosie on a run in our new jogging stroller we got for Christmas (winter running with a kid is DEFINITELY not the funnest way to spend your time, but the snow suit is just so much fun to use). Very glad for the stroller now that Dustin and I are planning on running my first (his what, 3rd?) marathon this fall...now if I would only get out and use it...

   Sigh...the night I learned why I should never gamble. Dustin's work through a party, part of which was an intro to Vegas games with each guest provided with a $500 chip. I was a daring and luck-enthused natural and quickly doubled my earnings...and kept on getting more! Took a break for a delicious dinner, went back to the tables, and promptly won all of my winnings--Dustin luckily ruled out continuing once I reached my original $500 chip. So I broke even on the night, but am grateful that I do not live any closer to Vegas and that Dustin is so wise and level-headed (except during one-on-one games with each other).

   Rosie's first time swimming!  Where: motel pool in Moab with the cousins. She thought it was the best thing ever, and my shaking, just-finished-a-half-marathon muscles were glad to be in the pool as well :) 

   Whew!  That gets us through March. April was mostly me stressing out and losing sleep doing research for final papers and grading my students' projects (yay! first semester teaching college English ACCOMPLISHED!). Enough with the check-off-catch-up posts--on to bigger and better things! (and a few more of Rosie...if nobody minds?)