Catch up

So I have not posted anything in a very long time. Time to play some catch up...
Summer: Ryan left to go on his Southwest road trip that he had received a fellowship to go on.  He traveled through Texas, west Texas, into New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and then back to Arkansas.  He was studying both the culture and ancient architecture of the area and seeing how it influences today's architecture.  He could probably explain it a lot better.  I got to go with him on part of his trip for a week, which was fun. We went to Ft. Davis, El Paso to see lots of my family, and then Phoenix where I had to fly back to Texas. I got to spend some time with my family before I had to head back to Arkansas to start my new job as an RN in the ICU.

Ryan sketching the Alamo. He did a lot of sketching on this trip.

A cave at Hueco Tanks that we spent hours in so Ryan could sketch some of the pictographs.

Most of west Texas looks like this...

I started my new job in the ICU at the end of June and Ryan eventually came home from his trip.  Our summer was pretty uneventful because I was working.  We celebrated our 3rd anniversary August 2nd, 2011. We went to the Turpentine Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs which was super neat!  They have all these big cats that they've rescued from private owners. We also went swimming out at Beaver Lake and then had an amazing dinner at James at the Mill.

My yummy dinner

Ryan's dinner

3 years already!

We also got to go tubing in August with some of our friends down the Illinois River in Oklahoma which was super fun!  Minus the fact that we hit a deer on our way there, which resulted in having to replace the front end of the car.  But we had a great time tubing!

Fall: School unfortunately started not too long after and our brief summer came to a close.  And guess what?  Ryan left me yet again for another trip!  This time to Rwanda.  Yes, as in Africa.  I refused to be alone for another several weeks, so I convinced my little brother Travis to come up and stay with me and Blanca for the month of September.  We had a great time!  I even got to take him to his first college football game.

At the Razorback-Troy game with Travis

All too soon my brother had to go back to Texas, but in exchange, Ryan came home from Rwanda, bearing gifts too.

Travis wearing the mask Ryan brought home from Rwanda.

Ryan's parents got to come up for Bikes, Blues, and BBQ, which was fun because his dad had never been before.

Sometime this fall, I got called to teach the 4-5 year olds in Primary and Ryan was called to teach the 12-13 year old kids in Sunday School.  So far we are both enjoying our new callings.

Ryan and I also got to go to two Razorback games this season, Auburn and South Carolina.

At the Auburn game which we amazingly got tickets to!

We also went to Joplin and got to see my two step-sisters and my nieces to celebrate the two little girls turning 2! I can't believe how big they are getting!  And they just keep getting cuter!  Halie and Chloe just moved back to Fayetteville, so I'm excited to get to spend more time with them!

And speaking of two's, Blanca turned 2 yesterday, November 11! I can't believe how big she's gotten!  But she's still the same old puppy.

I don't know how, but she was totally asleep like this!

So I think I have caught up on the comings and goings of the Campbell family.  Ryan is trying to survive the rest of the semester and I'm trying to survive the ICU.  We've become pretty boring, so I apologize to all my friends here reading this.  I have to go to bed early before I work my 12.5-13 hour shift, and Ryan has been doing a lot of work for studio (although that's not really anything new).  For the first time ever, I won't be home for Thanksgiving (as I have the privilege of working Thanksgiving and that weekend), so I finally get to use my turkey roaster we got as a wedding present.  Hopefully, we get to go home for a little bit around Christmas.  My little brother is leaving on his mission to Mexico City in January, so I would really like to get to see him again before he leaves to serve the Lord for 2 years (and get in touch with our family's roots!).

Well thanks for reading my long, overdue post!  Until next time!