Well, we are starting to feel somewhat settled here in the new digs–Olive is learning how to pee on gravel instead of grass, and almost all of the dishes and cooking utensils have found a home. I’ve had a couple nights now to get past the relief that we do, indeed, have a place with walls to live in and started to notice some of the little details around here. The complex advertises itself as “luxury condominiums” and I am beginning to think that archeologists will be able to date stamp these buildings based on the amenities that are considered “luxurious.”

For example, in the master bathroom the toilet is in its own separate little room. There is a toilet, a light switch, and a phone jack. This is luxury. There is a cable jack on the kitchen counter, also luxury. There is a fireplace (remember, we’re in Las Vegas. It’s over 100 most days), luxury. I am remembering when these kinds of things were a big deal, and am date stamping this building between 1988 and 1993.

As Wylie was hooking up the TV yesterday and trying to figure out how best not to overload the electricity outlet, I decided that current “luxury” details probably include lots more cable hookups (for computers and modems and TV”s and whatnot), lots more outlets, and multiple showerheads. This last one is based on yesterday’s trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to see if we could find one that might give us a little more pressure than the one we have now and all of them had at least 2-3 heads. Pretty crazy.

In other news, we needed some cereal this morning to help us use up the milk we got before we head out to graduation, and tried out the local Von’s. Very nice store, friendly people, and–of course–Video Poker! I LOVE THIS TOWN. It’s hilarious! Also, tried this place last night and am SOOOOO happy it is less than a mile down the road! Whoop!

Well, it’s July 2 and that means that in about 29 days Wylie and I will be leaving Texas…there are some mixed reactions in the house about that. Olive is just excited to go for a ride in the car…

The great news is that we have a destination! It was pretty stressful with both of us looking for work and a slight sense of panic was creeping up through the floorboards, but I accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Nevada Las Vegas counseling center and we are off! Should be  a pretty great place to spend a year, so get ready for more updates and adventures…at least for the first few months!

This week we started the goodbye festivities at the SCS in order to have  enough time to say goodbye to everyone…you can imagine with 30 therapist-types what happens. It really was sad though…and then thinking about being actually graduated on top of it! Whew! I literally won’t know what to do with myself…

Well, have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Oh Man! Wylie and had the best trip! Nov. 20 was my dad’s 60th birthday, and naturally, as we Blevi do, we had a big throwdown in the PHX. Wylie and I went out for the whole week, since we didn’t want to miss Thanksgiving! So, we hopped in the car right after work on Friday the 20th (around 4pm) and started driving West. We drove and drove. And drove. Wylie was very good at spotting nighttime wildlife–I think he saw a coyote and a fox and several deer by the time we were back in Bryan. I was not so skilled, but champed Wylie at car-napping fo’ sho! We ended up stopping for a (chilly) few hours’ sleep just outside Kent, TX.

It was exciting to get to show Wylie where I am from and give him a chance to see the desert and saguaro’s and, most importantly, The Thing!!! (He was less impressed than I had hoped, but if you are ever on I-10 just East of Tucson, you should definitely stop. It is well worth the $1 and you can get some DQ while you are there.)

We made it to my house about 26 hours after we left here, and that was pretty good time, I think! The week was jam-packed from the start–we tackled “The Mountain” at Mary Coyle’s (which included 7 lbs of ice cream), saw the Hoover Dam (and the new bridge that will be done soon), had a great time in Las Vegas (we saw Big Elvis, had frozen hot chocolate, and absolutely fell in love with Love–the Cirque de Soleil that features the Beatles). It really was an amazing trip–complete with Steak & Lobster for Thanksgiving dinner! (For $12.99, of course. It WAS Vegas!) It was really wonderful to spend some time with my family and for them and Wylie to get to know each other.We were also able to meet up with two of my super BFF”s along the way…and that was awesome.

Things are starting to slow down a bit at the SCS this week and next as the students have finals and leave for the holiday break. I am happy to be filled with a good dose of Blevins Family fun and frolic, and Wylie seems to have survived and reports that he is willing to return for more!! Hooray!

[nggallery id=6]

[nggallery id=1]

Well, Vegas and some other things. Over the week of Thanksgiving we drove out to Phoenix where Teresa’s parents live. From there we drove up to Las Vegas for a couple days. Then it was back to Phoenix, and then back home to Bryan. It felt like a whirlwind trip and like a lot of it was spent in the car (it was), but we enjoyed it.

The drive out was fun, and it was the furthest I West I have driven. We decided to drive all night as opposed to spend the night in a hotel. This was partly to save money, and because we thought we could do it. We ended up driving until something like 3am before stopping to sleep for 3 hours at a truck stop/gas station. We saw lots of deer along the side of the road, both alive and dead, and I think I saw a coyote. On Saturday we arrived at Teresa’s parents house early evening and had a lovely dinner before sleepily hanging around until we had to go to bed. The next few days were filled with driving around Phoenix, a big-bash-birthday party for Teresa’s dad, and a hike that showed me some neat cactuses.

After those few days in Phoenix, we drove up to las Vegas for three nights. We stayed at Paris Paris for two nights, which was fantastic. Being right on the strip was amazing. At night we could hear the fountains from the Bellagio. For our third night we moved to The Rio, which was very nice, but is a little off the strip.

Let’s see, what were some of the things we did while in Vegas… Well, we watched the Bellagio fountain, we ate at Serendipity3, we walked through Caesars Palace, we ate at the Hofbrauhaus, and went to Freemont Street. We gambled at the Hard Rock Cafe, Paris Paris, Binions (I think), Caesars Palace, The Bellagio, and Bill’s Saloon (where we saw Big Elvis). We also had a steak and lobster Thanksgiving dinner, well I did not, but everybody else did. And to finish our trip we saw the Beatles Love Cirque de Soleil production at The Mirage. That was fantastic, we all loved it. There was a chance we were not going to see the show due to some lighting problems, but Maria, Teresa’s sister, did some phone magic and ended up getting us better seats to the later show. Wooh!

On the drive home from Las Vegas we drove to the Grand Canyon, which I had not seen before, and Flagstaff Arizona.

Next it was a day again in Phoenix before driving back to Bryan. It was a great trip, and I was glad to be a part of it. Many thanks to Teresa’s parents for for being very generous and including me on their yearly Christmas trip, which was moved up to Thanksgiving time this year.

The lobby at Caesers Palace, fancy.