Cross that off the list.

We rode segways. It's been on my list of things to do before I die for quite a while now and I heard that you can rent them at the Thanksgiving Point gardens. The gardens are pretty cool just by themselves, but add a segway and you're going to have a good time... and look like a nerd.


Also, in case you were wondering if Henry and Willis are still alive you can rest easy. We have now managed to keep two mammals alive for a full six months. Here's the proof:

Alive and kicking!

For those of you not in Utah Eric and I are in fact still alive. This is a "last few months wrap up": As spring semester ended Eric finished the course work for his Masters and now "only" has a thesis to write. First week of May Eric presented at a conference in Death Valley and Johanna and Jonathon got married! We got to see Whitney and Danny in Vegas. We hiked up a slot canyon in Kanaraville and made friends with a rattlesnake. Then my summer semester started. Eric presented at a regional GSA (Geological Society of America) conference at UVU as well as TAed for geology field camp for BYU. After interviewing a schizophrenic I flew home to watch Jonathon graduate High School and turn 18 all on the same day. I got a call with a job offer while at his graduation ceremony working for Heritage School in Provo. I said: ...YES! At the end of the conversation the HR director asked if I wanted to know how much the position paid... (sigh) the desperation of an unemployed student is not hard to miss these days. Haha It's a residential treatment boarding school for teenagers with behavioral disorders. I get to drive kids to and from the airport, to dentist appointments, court dates and to go shopping. It's kind of this amazing feeling to like where I work and also be able to put on a professional resume, instead of bagel shop experience. The same day I started at Heritage Eric had an interview, extended by invitation, here in Provo for a local petroleum exploration company. After applying for over 45+ jobs in four months the following day they offered him the position. Eric Parks: Petroleum Explorer. No better feeling to go from two people unemployed to both getting paychecks within our fields of study in a matter of days. We can't help but feel kind of lucky.

We're back

We'll try to be better about posting stuff on here regularly. We were both pretty busy with classes for a while, but we there have been a few things that we've done that are post-worthy.

Oh sleep walking dogs...

This made my morning when Eric showed me this:

Cheese making and EATING!

On Sunday Eric says, "ooOOOo!  Shall I cut the cheese?!"  This was followed by a silly Eric laugh and off he went to the living room closet where our two pound wheel of cheddar has been aging for the last month.  To see the cheese press Eric made click here.  So a month had gone by.  He had dutifully flipped the block everyday.  It was quite delicious.  

In other news the old Casa Dea roommates were back together again in February.  This was the crew that was together when I started dating Eric.  So much fun to sit around and eat things with friends who have lived with Eric and know how silly he can be.  

Robbie:  "Have you rescued Eric from being paralyzed after a nap yet?!  You know when he is all (Robbie makes a crazed face and gurgling noises in his throat)?"

Me:  Ahh yesss, many a time.  

Eric:  (Looking at Robbie)  Rescued?  You never rescued me!  I woke up and I couldn't move!  You walked into the living room and I looked up at you from the couch, trying to get your attention.  I was looking right at you!, and cursing at you too.  Especially when you just walked away.

Robbie:  (Laughs)  I thought you were having a seizure. 

Eric:  (Laughing)  So you walked away?!

Good times. 

Note:  For those of you that don't know Eric does the opposite of sleep walking.  When you sleep there is a part of your brain that shuts off movements to your body so you don't act out your dreams.  People who have problems with this sleep walk.  For some reason, if he takes naps during the day, sometimes his brain will wake up and he can open his eyes but his brain hasn't turned off this mechanism yet so he can't move.  This is when I hear loud gurgling noises and have to rush in to the bedroom pounce and shake him.  Haha.  All in a days work.  

For your viewing pleasure...

There has been a lot of time spent in discussion lately of where our lives are going to take us in the next six months.  Recap:  Husband finishes classes in April, defends thesis in (insert month), I finish my degree at (insert university) and we live in (insert city) that we move to in (insert month).  You get the idea.   At present Eric has been looking at currently open positions for hydrogeologists across the country to get a taste for what is going to be available here in the very near future.  Today's job posting of interest was one for the state of Maryland.  My guilty pleasure as of late has been to hop on craigslist and see what apartments might be available that we could afford.  Also, craigslist is just a joy in general and so I had to share this with all of you.  When facing uncertainty it's posts like this that brighten my day.  Please, please check out the whole post here.   Prepare yourself for leopard print carpet, horse shoes, and short shorts wearing mustached barbecuers!  Here's a taste:  

(Caption reads:   "Jacuzzi tub!  Jets are ON!!!")

Ice Fishing

Our President's Day was spent on a couple inches of ice. Eric's list includes ice fishing and good friends of ours invited us to go. We went up to Deer Creek Resevoir and there were lots of people up there camped out on the ice in 20 degree weather, braving the elements for the unlikelihood of a nibble and maybe even a bite. Some of them were right up there with "Grumpy Old Men" in their little fishing shacks. Sadly we didn't catch any fish BUT we got to spend most of the day outside. It felt good to breathe fresh air and not be cooped up inside. We made hot chocolate and ate yummy sandwiches while watching for a bite on our line. The thing I forget about going fishing every time is you really just have to forget you are fishing. Take good friends and good food and you are set.

Eric auguring a fishing hole.


Me making the "it's so fun!," face and wearing five pairs of pants.