The post you have been waiting on....

Ok get ready...we have been keeping the roads warm!

In August, we made the drive over to Oklahoma, to jump Hershey in the Claremore 2010 Dog Expo. My parents came up to cheer on their grand-dog and watch her win! Hershey placed 1^st and 2^nd in the Dock Dogs Big Air Junior Division with an ultimate best jump of 14,5”. She moved up this competition from the Novice to the Junior Division based on her distance. We are proud parents! We also met Melisse and her dog Yaska (both are amazing) a Malamute, the breed that won overall at the CynoSport World Championship last year. Team Yaska went all the way to win 1st place at the Dock Dogs Nationals. I know we will be seeing more of them at dock diving events in the future. We had a great weekend, are so glad we were able to see my parents, and get another win!! A summer of dock practice at the lake paid off!

The next week we dropped off our babies with R and R and headed to the airport to begin our vacation in Cabo! Jill and Jason were there to greet us at the resort when we arrived. We had an amazing week with a lot of relaxing on the beach, by the pool, making new friends, and catching up . The guys went deep sea fishing and caught 2 huge Marlins. They had a great time and still talk about it.

The resort, friends, and the fishing trip

Jill and Jay

The resort had an amazing view however, up close the landscape was outstanding. We all rented jet skis and went over to Lovers Beach, the Arch to see the sea lions, Lands End, and to view the Pacific Ocean side.

Jet ski's, Sea Lion up close, Lands End

Daniel and I also went zip lining at Wild Canyon and had a blast! It was quite intense with a lot of hiking and was totally different than any other zip lining I had done. I would totally do it again, but this place was the real deal!
We had an amazing trip and already want to go back. Jill and Jason thank you so much for asking us to take a trip with you...we loved every second of it!!! We are so lucky to have friends like you!

After a relaxing week we headed back on Saturday to pick up our babies from R and R’s. We stayed the rest of the weekend to hang out because we had not seen them in a while.

The babies "look" so sweet...

Before we left we decided to make our vacation a combo Anniversary and Daniel's birthday trip..but I couldn't let his birthday go by without a little celebration. A few days after we got home it was time to celebrate. Dinner was low key with chicken and dumpling followed by a fabulous cheesecake. It was the perfect end to an amazing trip! Happy Birthday D I love you!

We made another trip out the lake for one last fun weekend however,it was so cold and rainy we didn't even get in the water! So, we enjoyed it by visiting with the neighbors, catching up on some reading, and watching movies.

The next weekend packed up for Dallas to dog sit for R and R. We were also able to see my parents, Ben, Ann, and Connor as well as my grandparents. It was a busy visit but we had a blast!

Daniel and I were finally able to make it to the Texas Sate Fair! We have been talking about going for 5 years and have been out of state the last few. I do have to say its much bigger than any other state fair I have attended. We had a great time, but were exhausted within a few short hours. We went on a Baylor game weekend and it was packed! I still don't know how all the parents with little kids do it and last all day. I think that might be too much for me! HA! I am so glad we went and we want to try and make it back next year..just not on a game weekend!

Big Tex, Ferris Wheel, and the strip

Early October we headed to Austin for Aaron and Gretchen’s baby shower. Both of us were excited to be close enough that we were able to drive down for the weekend. We were pleasantly surprised as we got to see many friends that went to school with Daniel and most we had not seen since we started traveling. We used to see them all time when we lived in Austin. We are so happy for Gretchen and Aaron. They had little Leo a few weeks ago and from what Aaron tells Daniel having a newborn in the house is easy! While in town, were also able to see Daniel's family as well as Ben, Ann, and Connor. Daniel's mom had everyone over for a barbecue and we got in some good family time. Michelle also had little Jacob a few weeks ago and from the pictures he is a cutie! We stopped by Ben and Ann's house to hug on Connor and make a video for my parents. We enjoyed our trip and are happy we decided to head to Austin for the weekend.

The next weekend we headed back to Dallas for a memorial service for my grandfather. He had been sick for a while and as sad as loosing a family member is, we all know he had a good full life. The memorial service was very nice, my mother did a great job giving the eulogy, as well as my brother saying words. The house was packed for a reception at my grandmothers and that is exactly what she needed. We all know she has a great group of friends to surround her with love and support.

My dad and KoKo got some fun play time outside with Connor. Daniel also has a new buddy, Connor was helping him write a paper for school.

November 3 was our 3rd Anniversary (you know when I was supposed to blog HA!) Well this year was leather and apparently..two great minds think alike! ;) I again ordered the cake topper and as every year something happens. This year they made our chocolate chocolate cake, vanilla. The lady came out and said "How does this look, dear?" My response laughing" Um..well I think its supposed to be chocolate." She nearly died and ran into the back and 15 minutes later came out with the perfect topper! I thought it was funny and came home to get ready for dinner. So long story short blah, blah, blah, we come home from dinner and the precious babies had eaten the entire thing!!!!!!!!!! They were so excited to see us! I bet all jacked up on sugar..silly dogs! We could not believe they did not make a mess and we almost did not notice the cake box on the floor. Needless to say we were not happy! We still love them but geesh! Happy Anniversary Daniel here is to 57 more.. we'll be a young 88 and 94 ;)Lets see what else...I flew to AR to visit with the family before Thanksgiving. While in town I was able to attend little Jaxton's first birthday party and visit with several dear friends. Andrea did amazing job on the decorations, food, everything! Thank you guys for inviting me! Jaxton and Ashlynn are so cute and enjoyed visiting with everyone at the party!

Trips to AR are always packed and there are so many people we want to see. I was able to get together with Andrea, Shannon, Jennifer as well as, many family friends. Love you ladies and hope we can make it back soon so we can do it again!

Ben and Ann came in early in the week while the rest of the family arrived on Wednesday. Poor Daniel worked, drove in, and then had school work to do that night. We had a great Thanksgiving with both my dad and mom's family. This was the first year to have both sides together and we enjoyed getting to see everyone at once.

While in town, we helped my parents put up a few Christmas decorations as ours are in storage.(Daniel was just certain we would be back to Austin before the holidays..silly D) My dad and Daniel also made a trip to the preserve to quail hunt. They had a great time and I am glad they were able to go before we left town. This year Christmas shopping has been a task as I started out on behind the 8 ball. I have been frantically trying to get all the shopping done and at this moment I am 99.9% finished. That makes me happy! The Christmas cards are coming as well...I am waiting for them to arrive so I can send them out. Wowza someone needs to get on the ball! HA!

We also recently nailed down our next rotation. We are traveling to Oregon! From what I can tell the town is in a valley so it doesn't get super cold or super hot! We shall see! One big plus..lots of snowboarding resorts within an hour drive! ;) Daniel starts his rotation on January 19 so we will be heading out early on the 15th. Its a 3 day drive and obviously we have no room for issues...Please keep your fingers crossed!

Finally I guess I need to add the reason I have been neglecting the blog, shopping, etc. I have been a little "under the weather." Right around Thanksgiving my migraines came back full force and have been present almost every other day. Guess what?!? We are having little nugget in July! Yesterday (12-21-10) we had our first doctors appointment, everything is going great, and baby is growing on track. I will say I was not prepared for the migraine increase nor the actual unknown by doctors as far as migraines go with expectant mothers. I am actually further along than we previously thought and currently almost 11 weeks! So as my mom said today "Wow you are almost a third of the way done!" I responded "Wow, um... well yea I guess I am!" I don't know what I expected yesterday, but I really wasn't expecting to see a little baby on the screen or hear a heartbeat. So yes we are adding a little nugget to our full-time lifestyle of traveling on the road craziness! I think we are going to have many many stories of raising a baby on the road but its an adventure we are ready to tackle. We could not be more excited to share this news! I also have to add, I was overwhelmed with joy by all the comments and nice words we have heard from everyone! Thank you so much!!
I hope this post finds all of our friends and family in good health, good spirits, and living life to the fullest. Please leave a comment to let us know how you are doing. We miss talking to everyone!!!

We hope each of you has a safe and Merry Christmas!
Many Many Hugs!!!

Daniel and Melissa

Enough already....

Get ready for my most spastic post ever! I am eventually going to turn our blog into a scrap book of our travels and my transition between events this time is very sporadic...so hang on for the ride of the past few months! So much to tell you about...Halloween, our anniversary, another win for Hershey, Thanksgiving, and snow!

Daniel asks me every day if I have made a new post for the blog. My response is always why don't you do a post..and obviously that is not going to happen! ;)

We have been so incredibly busy since the last update about our not so short stay in a hotel. In all we called it home for a month! We made the best of it and spent Halloween day at a Corn Maze in La Union, NM. It was quite different from the corn maze of Omaha but still a lot of fun to see the NM take on a pumpkin patch.
We spent Halloween night along with our neighbors with pizza and stories around the fire pit. Halloween is on another level in El Paso and to be honest and we didn't want to venture out amongst the locals. On Sunday we all headed to Cloudcroft, NM, to see the snow as well as have some fun in the mountains. The area was gorgeous, the hiking and views were amazing, and all the animals were out to greet us. We had dinner in the cutest little restaurant in the village before heading back over the mountains. What a relaxing way to spend a Sunday!
We celebrated our 2nd anniversary by having dinner at a great Italian restaurant. We stayed with the traditional anniversary gift of the second year of marriage of Cotton. We both came up with thoughtful gifts and I am very excited to use the hand knitted scarf and hat by one of Daniel's patients! ;) I love you Daniel and can't wait to see what this year holds!
As I said earlier we finally got the 5th wheel back (from the hail repairs) after a long awaited reunion! ha It was so nice to be back "home" after being in a hotel for a month! Ahh the joys of the little things in life. The same weekend we left for Scottsdale, AZ, so Hershey could compete in the 2009 Splash Dogs Cynosport World Championships. Hershey did great and won 1st place in her division with a jump in excess of 13 ft! Don't worry Chance got just as much attention as Hershey! We had so much fun watching all the dogs jump as well as all the other sporting events.
Cynosport is the Olympics of dog events and dogs from all over the world competed! It was an amazing experience and hopefully we will go back next year! Thank you Stephanie for all of the ideas on things to do in the area! We really appreciated the time you took to send us the information. Daniel and I can't wait to go back and explore more Scottsdale!
On Sunday we decided to stop by Tombstone,AZ, on the way back to El Paso. Daniel has always wanted to go and I was excited to see an old western town. The town was preserved well and we had so much fun going in and out of shops. We visited the Birdcage Theater, Graveyard, OK Corral, and Courthouse and learned some new information while touring each. We ended the day with dinner at Big Nose Kate's Saloon and it was a hoot and worth the memories! Its well worth the trip if ever in the area!

I headed to AR a few weeks ago to accompany my mother to a doctors appointment. Everything is fine its just always nice to have another set of ears at an appointment to ask questions. While in AR I got to make a quick impromptu trip to NWA to see Andrea and her new little one Jaxton. I was so excited to see her family and visit with them for a few hours. Jaxton is just as adorable as I expected. Andrea I am so glad I got to see your family and am ecstatic to see you so happy! I also promise next time to get some great family shots for you..oops! I also got an opportunity to meet Kerryanne and Shannon for dinner. We missed everyone who had plans but I completely understand! I had a great time catching up you ladies..it had been quite some time since I was in the area. I also had the time to meet with Alta while in Ozark. It was great to see you Alta and I hope someday Daniel and Ryan can meet!!! Its always so hard to fit in a visit with everyone while home so hopefully next time we can meet up if I missed you! FYI I have no idea when that will be! My dad went hunting while I was visiting so mama and I we were able to spend a little time Christmas shopping. I can't believe Christmas is coming up and I still have so much left to do! I don't feel too bad as it seems like everyone is behind this year!
I drove down to Austin with my parents to meet everyone for Thanksgiving. Daniel drove over with the puppies on the same day and surprised his mama by arriving a day early! Mary-he is getting good at that isn't he. Mama and I cooked for my parents, Daniel, Ben, and Ann, Ann's mom, and Ann's sister Tori. We had a great Thanksgiving and the food was amazing (if I do say so myself!) Mama said I cooked and she assisted!
That night Daniel and I headed over to the Shellenberg's house to watch the Texas game with the whole clan. It was great to see everyone and I am so glad we were able to meet up with you guys twice while in town! Friday we celebrated Thanksgiving with Daniel's side. We had a great time catching up with everyone as well have a surprise party for Daniels mom and Aunt Martha. Happy Birthday Mary and Martha. We hope you guys had fun on your special day. We can't wait see you all again at Christmas!
We had a great extended holiday and like always were not ready to leave. I finally got to meet my nephew Connor. He is absolutely adorable and of course makes my parents smitten! We all loved playing with him and making laugh out loud. Their really is nothing like a baby to make you smile!
We returned back to a snowy and cold El Paso! This weather has definitely made it feel like the holidays. We put up the mini Christmas tree and made a few changes this year to make it feel more like home. Last week we had 3 days of snow totaling 8 inches..who knew snow in El Paso! Last week was a busy one with Daniel's work Christmas party as well as a trip on Sunday to Ruidoso, NM to hit up the ski slopes.
We had an absolute blast snowboarding at Ski Apache! Daniel had been to this resort several times and enjoyed going on several of the harder runs. I stuck to the easy to moderate ones as I like to be in control! This time the snow was perfect and I was able to maneuver the board with confidence. I already know we are going to go several times this year!
So as you can see its been quite busy the past several weeks! During this time we also replaced my car from the hail storm loss with an early Christmas present (as I am thinking of it)! We decided we were playing with fire since we are at the mercy of job availability and can have to move at a moments notice. I love the Sequoia and all the room as we are on the go so much! Also, several of you have asked and my migraines have been ever present. I am going to start working on another plan of action to get better control of them. I am feeling good today! ;)
We are both really looking forward to Christmas and spending time with family and friends. We can't wait to see everyone! As far as an update on our next location, as of now, we are staying in El Paso until mid January. That changes almost on a daily basis and (to be quite honest) we are really hoping that works out so we are not in the same limbo as we were last January! As far as another location, Daniel is in contact with his recruiter and we have hopes of having a new contract signed before the holidays..so please keep your fingers crossed for us!

I love reading all of your blogs and just by the amount of time it has taken me to catch up over such a long period of time..I think I am going to try more frequent posts! ;) Christmas cards (ok more like holiday cards now that I look at the calendar) should be going out soon!
We miss you all! Please let us know how you are doing! PS can you believe we have almost hit Daniel's two year mark of traveling?
Love, Daniel and Melissa