Our 2011

Well it's not untypical of me to try and start a blog, then go a whole year without giving it any attention. In honesty, I really thought Cameron would take control of it so I wouldn't have to, but he didn't, and now I need to follow through with my idea to start a blog. So in light of the new 2012, I am going to try to post at least once a month. I think I can commit to that. So sorry that my fellow readers missed out of a year of our life. Let me see if I can recap quickly:

December 2010:

-Cam and I went on our first back-packing trip together. It was a 3-day 30 mile hike on the Ouachita Trail. We started in Oklahoma and hiked into Arkansas. It was a perfect first back-packing experience for me. We didn't see a single person on trail those 3 days so it was very remote and secluded. I loved it and hated it at the same time lol. It's hard carrying a heavy backpack so far. But I did it and will most definately do that again!

-We spent Christmas in Texas! Okay so this was my first Christmas ever to not be in California. It as a bit wierd for me, but I enjoyed it a lot. We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Reynolds, ate a scrumptious prime rib dinner, and stayed up late watching classic Christmas cartoons. On Christmas Day we celebrated with the Alvarado's. My sister Jessica flew in from California, so my immediate family still got to be together. This was a great month!

January 2011:

-We rang in the New Year in Waco! Cam had to work new year's eve at Ninfa's until 11:00 and then we went to one of his co-workers apartment to celebrate. Me and Cam shared our first New Years kiss since this was the first time we had actually been together on New Years since dating.

-I started my new job at Hillcrest Hospital. I got hired into the float pool department and started to get oriented to several different units of the hospital.

-Cam quit his job at Ninfa's to be a full-time student this semester.

-We started running with the Waco Striders, which is the running club here in Waco.

-We also participated in the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class offered at our church! (I definately recommend this class for everyone, it really helped us make better financial desicions!)

Febuary 2011:

-We drove to Colorado for a ski trip with Cam's friend John Duke. Unlucky for us, the night we left was the night of the snow storm that hit oklahoma and kansas and we drove right through it. It was scary stuff. But we made it and enjoyed a great time skiing Copper mountain for 3 days.

-I got floated to work in the ER at Hillcrest instead of working in the float pool. They actually are allowing me to stay in the ER as they are in need of extra nurses right now. This made me very happy! I didn't really enjoy working on all the different floors, I like having a consistent group of co-workers.

-We attended a marriage conference at our church which was great! Always good to work on our marriage.

March 2011:

-Cameron and I did a car camping trip at Lake Whitney and went fishing. I caught my first big Bass. And just my luck Cameron wasn't near me, so I am screaming his name for him to come help me. We pulled the fish in, I got my picture, and then we threw him back! It was a big one!

-We ran the Bearathon, the half-marathon, that Baylor puts on. This was my second half-marathon. My Mom and sisters', Jennifer and Monica, came down to support us! This was their first time visiting Waco since I moved here so we got to show them around.

-We hosted our church connection group at our apartment. This was the first time Cam and I hosted people over since we got married, very enjoyable!

-Truett Youth Conference! Cameron was the organizer of this conference as his independent study this semester. It was a great conference and I was very proud of my husband for all the hard work he put into it.

April 2011:

-Cam's birthday month! He turned 27. I made him a birthday dinner, it was my first time to make chicken fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. Unfortunately Cameron did have to help me out a bit, so much for pampering him lol.

-Cameron ran his second marathon ever and got 6th place overall. It was the Bearchase marathon in Davy Crockett National Forest. He did so good!

-I ran the Crawford half-marathon put on by the Waco Striders, now my third half-marathon. Cam rode his bike during it since we think he now has a stress fracture since he didn't train appropriately for his marathon.

May 2011:

-Cameron graduated from Truett Theological Seminary!!! We threw him a big party :-) I am so proud of him. Now the job hunt begins!

-We celebrated two of our friends weddings. The Wigfall-Murdock and Simcho-Aguiar weddings! They were both amazing!

June 2011:

-Our first nephew Truett Jackson Reynolds was born. We are so excited to be Aunt Shell and Uncle Cam!

-I had 9 days off of work, so we went back to the DFW area and saw family. Took a road trip to Norman, Oklahoma and visited our friends, Josh and Autumn Lockett, and of course their adorable little girl Ava, or as Cam calls her, Bava (for baby Ava).

-We went with some friends and floated the Comal River!

-Cam spent 2 days at the Grand Canyon getting his Wildnerness First Responder (WFR) recertification.

-Cam left for the Sawtooth Wildnerness to guide a backpacking trip with Cornerstone Recovery. Some people might enjoy 26 days without their husband around, but not this girl. I missed him miserably.

July 2011:

-I used this month to make special trips to see some family and friends.

-I went down to Corpus Christi to visit my friend Amber. 2 days spent relaxing on the beach was nice!

-Spent 2 days floating the Comal river again, and stayed at a really nice condo off of Canyon Lake.

-Took up swimming. While some of my friends are training for the Waco sprint Triathalon I decided to try and start swimming as well. I got pretty decent at it.

-Cam came home at the end of the month! So nice to have him home!

-Then 2 days later we went with our friend John Lassitter to Glacier National Park for a week. We did a 5 day backpacking trip on an amazing trail (this trip really deserves it's own designated blog posting which I will do!)

August 2011:

-We returned from Glacier, then turned around and went to California one day later. My grandmother turned 80 and the whole Rodriguez Family went on a cruise for her birthday to Ensenada, Mexico! We spent a couple days in Santa Monica as well.

-We traveled to Copper Mountain, Colorado for the Ferguson-Duke Wedding. Cameron was the best man. This was my first time on a mountain during the summer time, it was beautiful! We watched the Star Wars saga on the car ride to and from Colorado. Cam now has a wife that really likes Star Wars.

-This was a big month for us, as Cameron had been on the hunt for a full-time job. We ultimately decided that we wanted to stay in Waco for a little longer. We didn't feel peace about leaving just yet and committed to staying in Waco for another year! This made our Waco friends very happy!

September 2011:

-We partook in the Cornerstone Recovery Annual Labor Day softball tournament down in Houston, TX. It was great finally getting to meet many of the kids Cameron has talked about on his backbacking trips. Plus my team got first place, I like it when I win!

-I celebrated my 27th birthday in Galveston on the beach, just me and my hubs.

-I started training for a marathon. My friend Erin Neely moved to Waco in July and we had began running and training together. After running a few half-marathons in the spring, I am finally ready to start the training for a marathon, one of my goals in life.

-I went to my first Baylor football game. Both our parents came for it and we made a big tailgate of it!

October 2011:

-My aunt Yolie, my grandma, and all my sisters came into town for my mom's birthday. We celebrated by going to the state fair and watching Monica's TCU soccer games.

-Me and Cam celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary! We went out to the secluded cabin in East Texas and relaxed, explored, and went fishing! It was the perfect way to celebrate.

-We celebrated Halloween by dressing up as Obiwan Cam Nobi and Queen A-mich-dalla. Like I said earlier, we like Star Wars!

November 2011:

-For Thanksgiving, we went back to the cabin in East Texas with Cameron's dad, Ted, and sister Caitlin. This year I saw a lot of deer. We saw one buck, and Cameron had his gun on him, but realized that it's spread wasn't big enough to shoot. So no deer for another year. But we still ate like champs and had a good relaxing time.

December 2011:

-Cameron went to Nebraska for a weekend pheasant hunting trip. He brought back a lot of pheasant to fill my freezer. Good job honey!

-Had the annual Thanksmas dinner with my college soccer girls! Always a blast!

-We celebrated Christmas in California this year! We spent 9 days visiting family, going on hikes and trail runs, and even spent 2 days in San Diego. Cam got to meet more of the Alvarado Family as several were unable to come for our wedding. It was a wonderful holiday filled with quality family time.

January 2011:

-We celebreated New Years Day(which was also our Christmas) with the Reynolds, and enjoyed the annual prime rib dinner.

-We camped out in Waco all month. We did a lot of traveling in 2011 and are ready to stay put in Waco for awhile!

Well that wraps up 2011 in a nutshell. Props to anyone who actually read through this long posting! We really had a great year! Looking foward to 2012...and more blog postings to come :-)

-michelle-