PhD Celebration Trip

This past weekend, Matt took me on a trip to celebrate my graduation. He had asked me several months prior if I would rather have a physical gift or an experience as my gift and I'm so glad I chose the latter! He planned this getaway for us and it was absolutely perfect. At first, all I knew going into it was this:

Then a few weeks ago, he let me know the first night was at the Fort Worth Omni, a hotel we had been to a couple of years ago. It was awesome to have one concrete thing to look forward to, given the rest of the trip was a complete surprise. My husband clearly knows me well as he planned the perfect trip for me. It pretty much consisted of amazing food, physical activities (to work off all the food), relaxation, and fun adventures. It is hard to believe it is already over and I'm so grateful to him for the time and effort he spent planning it for us.

The trip began Friday after lunch when we drove to downtown Fort Worth and checked into the Omni.

View from our room

Fort Worth Water Gardens

After checking out our amazing view, we went up to the rooftop pool area to enjoy the view and some tasty snacks. We hung out there for a few hours (got to see 4 F-16's take off), and then left to continue the rest of the evening. Dinner was at a local burger restaurant called Rodeo Goat, known for its deliciously unique burgers. 

At the roof top grill

Such good burgers!

My burger- the Chaca Oaxaca: beef & chorizo, avocado, pico de gallo,
fried egg, queso fresco, & tabasco mayo

Matt's choice, the Cowboy Murrin: applewood smoked bacon, tomato, jalapenos,
fried onion, cheddar, pickle chutney, housemade BBQ sauce

After dinner, we wandered around the downtown area some more, before coming across some fun arcade games. Along with playing the largest version of Jenga I've ever seen, we also played a few rounds of skee ball and air hockey! Made for a fun end to our evening.

It eventually came crashing down...

The next day we worked out at the Omni's fitness center (yes, Matt knows I need some form of physical activity every day), had a quick breakfast, and then went to spend the rest of the morning poolside. The water was a bit too cold to get in, but we were very happy to lay out and read our books. It was so relaxing and peaceful out there so I'm glad we took the time to just be quiet and enjoy the sunshine. 

We eventually had to check out, so after leaving the hotel and grabbing lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (all of the salad!), we hit the road for destination #2! I was driving and Matt was navigating, since he knew where we were going and I still didn't. However, after a little bit on the road my suspicions were confirmed-- we were going to College Station! We had a great drive back to the area we met and then did a driving tour of the area. We checked into our hotel and then got ready for our fine dining experience of the trip. 

That evening, Matt took me to Christopher's, an amazing restaurant that is perfect for celebrating special occasions! We had been a few times before but it was so nice to be back, especially to celebrate me earning my PhD. Texas A&M is where I first learned about criminology so being back in the area carried with it a nice symbolism. Plus, the food is absolutely delicious!! 

Our appetizer: almond baked brie.

Why don't food pictures ever look as good as it does in real life? This
was my dish, the Italian Braised Beef Ribs. The boneless ribs were
melt-in-your-mouth tender and the polenta hiding underneath was
SO good. Easily one of my favorite dishes ever.

Matt's equally awesome dish: South American Marinated Beef.

Our dessert- chocolate & peanut butter cake

The next morning we took a 2-hour walk around campus. Even though it has only been 4 years since we graduated, a decent amount has changed both on and around campus. Yet it was still nice to be back and very much made us feel at home. Until we saw the new Kyle Field! My goodness is that place huge! 

Matt in front of Bright, his AERO building

The Administration Building in the early morning

Only we would take a picture of the library :)

Inside the Flag Room-- figure it's rare to see it with NO ONE ELSE

Kyle Field!

About 6.5 miles later, we eventually wandered our way back to the hotel, got cleaned up, and headed out for lunch. We went to Fuego's, enjoyed some delicious tacos, then headed home. It was very bittersweet leaving, knowing we were headed back to real life after such an amazing trip. Throughout the weekend, Matt made a point to make sure I felt celebrated and that was certainly fulfilled! Guess it makes it really official now, right?

Hello 2015

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! Matt and I were able to travel to see both of our families over the holidays and we had a great time. It was good to relax and enjoy everyone's company with comps officially being over. Plus the food was amazing, so there's that!

We did our traditional Texas Triangle: DFW -> El Paso -> Houston -> DFW, though we had a few detours this time. For Matt's birthday, we spent the night at Indian Lodge in Fort Davis. We really enjoyed getting to hike in the mountains and the stars were absolutely breathtaking! As we were pretty much out in the middle of the desert, we were able to see the largest number of stars I have ever seen. It was very cool and I highly recommend it!

The lodge was built by the CCC in the 1930s-- so cool to stay in a place with its history

The white building you see in the distance was the lodge.

I <3 Texas

Mule deer!

We also went to College Station to see some of our college friends get married. It was fun being back at A&M, albeit briefly, and getting to catch up with our former classmates was great. Overall we had a lot of fun and very appreciative we got to see both sides of the family again.

Matt got his birthday apple pie!

One of Matt's brothers took 'family portraits' of us with Matt's new drone.

Matt thought it was a great idea to have the drone hover in
front of us. The wind had other ideas. Glad I have fast reflexes!

My niece posing by one of Matt's presents that turned out
to be a very tall bluetooth speaker. Awesome gift :)

One of the things we gave our niece was a Goldie Blox building set

We had a lot of fun showing her how to make gears and
 other moving components (hey, I'm not the engineer here) work

Now we're back at home, getting back in the swing of normal life. I'm working on my dissertation right now and will also start teaching my first class on Monday. I'm a little nervous to have my own group of undergrads, but I'm excited about the subject material (Crime & Justice Policy) so I hope it will go well! 

Matt is keeping busy at work and we are also in the house-hunting process! Since I will be starting a 'real' job at a local university in the fall, we decided now is the right time to move and buy a house. We are currently deciding between building new vs. buying a pre-owned home, but I am excited for whatever the result. We will for sure be getting a garage which will be a HUGE upgrade from life right now, especially with this cold weather. Plus, we will be able to get a dog once we move in, so I'm very excited for that! 

So that's a brief life update right now. I hope everyone's 2015 is off to a good start! Any house-hunting advice you would have to offer? We're all ears!

Texas Triangle Number 3

We did it! Not only did Matt & I survive our third year of Texas Triangle (DFW--> Houston --> El Paso --> DFW) but we also survived 2013! Both were honestly great though a little exhausting. Regarding our trip, it was great celebrating Christmas with both of our families and we loved all the family time we got. We have a lot of unpacking and getting life settled to do, so instead of going into a lot of detail, here is a quick picture recap of our 8-day trip!

Making sugar cookies with my niece

Celebrating Matt's birthday at a
local pizzeria. So good!

Stockings on Christmas morning!

Christmas morning cinnamon rolls

Christmas afternoon at the park. Guys
tossing the Frisbee. 

Love this picture of my brother and his daughter :)

While in El Paso, we visited Hueco Tanks state park. 

Starting to climb up

One of the huecos, or water tanks.

All the climbing cousins!

We definitely had a great time but we're glad to be home for New Years! Our 2013 was a great year and I hope 2014 is just as full of blessings and time with family. 

Hope you have a great & safe New Years!