January 2009

In case nobody noticed, Christmas came and went, as did the New Year. We spent both of those holidays enjoying the company of family. This past month we went on our first major road trip with Zaida the road warrior. I have been conversing with several different schools, and by several I mean two, about pursuing a PhD. One of these schools happens to be Washington State University, which invited us to come up over the 3 day weekend and tour their campus.

For our navigational assistance we borrowed my dad's gps. This device allowed for ease of travel when trying to find houses or hotels, but gets really confused when you deviate off course, which I did constantly because I am a guy and as such have an acute sense of direction.

We went to Boise the first day of our travels and went to the outlet mall and visited one of Eden's friends from high school, Carlee ( who is married to Kurt, who isn't one of Eden's high school friends, but due to matrimonial vows has been accepted into the group, as was I). We had a good time catching up and visiting with them.

Sunday was our longest day in the car, we went from Boise to Pullman, this trek took about 6 hours and was very unpleasant for those with weak stomachs. It was mile after mile of twisty turny roads. At first I was a little disappointed with the city of Pullman. Although it is small, it is based on four hills and any time I thought I was discovering something new I was really just driving around the hill. This disappointment was alleviated a little when upon turning around one bend in the road we were greeted by two brown bears sitting in a large pen staring at a group of Rocky Mountain Big Horn sheep that were in a large pen across the road from them. Apparently the University does studies on these animals.

Our tour of the University was very good. The professor who showed us the sites and I would be working under was a very nice guy and would be great to work for. At the end of the visit I was informed that I was accepted to the school, which was another bonus.

We took a different route home, traveling up to I-90 and through Montana, and then down I-15. This was a preferred route and would be the route I recommend to anyone that wants to go to Pullman and visit the bears.

Other news includes Zaida turning four months old. She has an appointment with the doctor this week so that will be fun for her. Eden hasn't had to go back to school this semester so she fills her free time, which isn't much, with reading all sorts of random books and magazines. As for myself, I have one class on-line to finish my course work and then have been spending the bulk of my time writing my thesis, which is a real treat.

Here are some pictures of Zaida for her fan club: