Impulsive Camping

So as most of you know, Mom and Dad (more Dad) are looking at getting a new trailer to serve as the new Cox family home base in Yosemite and other various trips. We all love the old orange camper but its getting older and becoming more and more stressful every year. Dad of course has narrowed his RV of choice down to one, which he always has an open lookout for. Well they came across a place in Utah that rents the exact kind that he wants, so they jumped at the chance to rent one last week just before the price goes way up for the summer "high season." I managed to snag a few nights of camping in Zion National Park (again, I know) for those few days. Mom, Dad, Jane and I made a quick and impulsive trip down there to test out the new digs of this fancy machine. Well, we were not disappointed. The trailer had everything from a flat screen TV, ATV storage, power slide outs, and Mom, Jane and I's favorite, great air conditioning! Since we could plug in at our campsite, we ran that air conditioner non stop on the government's dime! We loved that since it was about 90 degrees all day long. Dad however, felt he was in a motel six and was frequently annoyed with cold air blowing non stop in his face all day. He was outnumbered though so there was not much he could do. Dad's truck pulled it just fine and he enjoyed the almost stress-free trek. We especially enjoyed the super easy set up as this trailer had power everything, no lighting of pilot lights, no cranking out an awning, no nothing! We are all sold on these new digs, now Dad just has to convince Mom there is sufficient funds, and judging by Mom's "Aahhhh I don't have money for this look," good luck Dad!

Jane the Graduate and California!

So Jane did it! She graduated! It only took five years . . .but thats okay, I'm still in school so what can I really tease about? Jane has worked very hard and put in many hours to be one of the best students in her major and all of her teachers love her. Hopefully it pays off as she is getting lots of job interviews and different opportunities so we will just have to find the best one. It was fun to have all of Jane's family in town and celebrate all of her achievements. Now I can look forward to no more watching her be stressing over the first days of school, oh wait, now there will be new stress as the first days of school as a TEACHER!

After Jane's graduation we took off on a much anticipated California adventure tour of sorts. It started with a trip to Magic Mountain on our 2 year anniversary! (We went to Magic Mountain for part of our honeymoon too) However the results were very similar. . . Jane doesn't do roller coasters. After about three rides Jane was turning green again. She took about a 45 minute nap on the grass at the park and we decided she could handle the water rides safely. We got drenched thoroughly and went on one more roller coaster, the new Terminator ride, a wooden coaster, which was actually a blast! We also stayed in this really sketchy motel where we were nervous we were going to get robbed or worse. It only had one tiny little lamp and the door didn't quite close all the way! We survived though.

Our next stop was a trip to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. Jane hadn't been since she was little so she was super excited. We lucked out and there was hardly anyone there and never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a ride. Jane's favorite was the Indiana Jones ride, (funny since she hasn't even watched the movies, although I made her start the trilogy as soon as we got back). After riding that 2 times and almost every other ride by 4 o'clock, we met up with Tami and Brent and did everything again. We managed to take a totally awesome picture on Splash Mountain, however, we realized putting the two fatties Brent and myself up front, it made for an extra wet ride. Jane and I had so much fun at the park and wished we could go back. Jane keeps telling me how "magical" Disneyland is.

The last leg of our trip was spent visiting Jo and Mark in San Diego, visiting the beach, and most importantly going to watch the Padres play. Of course the one night we go is the night they lose. The days before and after they played great baseball and shut out the other team on each occasion. Oh well, we got some totally awesome free jerseys!

After a week long fun adventure we made it back to Utah, with a stop to visit Susi and Adam (thanks for the burgers!) and are now incredibly bored, waiting to go on another fun vacation to pop up for us.

Zion National Park 2.0

Jane and I needed a getaway from school and work and everything so we made a quick trip down to Zion's just before conference weekend. I know what you are all thinking, how the last time the family made a trip to Zion's the general consensus was poor. Too hot, too windy, not as pretty, too crowded etc, well we thought we would give it another shot. We are happy to report that this trip was much more of a success. We camped in a different campground that was very different from the previous one. This time we had grass and plenty of trees for shade and we liked that a lot more. It was much cooler, obviously since it was early April, and it got pretty cold at night. But the low temperatures made hiking much more enjoyable. We went on a few more hikes than the last time, including Angels Landing. It goes up really high and kind of has a Half-Dome-ish ending. Instead of cables climbing up a wall, there is a single chain to hang on to as you scale the side of the mountain and up the rocks. If you are afraid of heights, this one isn't for you. Jane was able to make until what is called Scout's Landing, about a half mile from the top. That's where the chains start. She ventured out a few yards on the chain and then started to notice how high she was, not to mention an area of about 10 feet where there is no chain for some reason. Of course she started hyperventilating and having a freak out, but we documented how far she came as noted in the photo with her hair kind of blowing in the wind up so high. So I took her back to the spot before the chains where other non-heights people waited for their significant others, and I went on to the top. I can't fault Jane for turning back there because it only got worse from there! But I survived and took some pictures from up on top. It was a pretty neat sight. Anyways the trip was a much needed break and was great for us. Who knew Jane would have turned into such a camper?

New Calling . . .

So In case you hadn't heard, I got a new calling. Yes, that's right, me and my sparkling personality is now the second counselor in a singles ward bishopric. Don't worry, that is going to sound weird to me too. Anyways, we went from one week being the ward greeter in our married ward to this so you never know what is in store for you. We are excited though, our main objective is to be good examples of being married so we will see how that goes! In other news, I am still getting rejected left and right from internships, it is really getting fun I tell ya. Jane is enjoying her student teaching much more now with a new school and a new teacher. She is looking for jobs left and right so we hope that she can find something good, although she probably won't know anything until the end of the summer. Anyways, a great tidbit of information is with some of our tax refund, (thanks mom for all the help with it) we invested in an Ipod touch. It hasn't caused to many marital problems yet, we have managed to share well enough. But it is pretty neat.
I'd like to say that we have all been healthy, but unfortunately I have really been screwing that up. I have had a series of nose issues...apparently I have small nasal passages according to the ear-nose-throat specialist. So if I get the teensiest infection up there it is game over and I can't breathe. I would also like to thank Jane's sister Kate and her kids for dropping off a little hand-foot-mouth disease on my immune system. Sounds disgusting, well it was mostly just painful. A wicked sore throat mostly, although I did get a few sores on my hands. Luckily most of it is gone. Well this has been a most boring blog post but Jane has been bugging me to do something. Over the next few weeks we should have much more exciting things to share, including some much needed photos to dress this blog up with our camping trip to Zion's next week, Jane's graduation, and our California road trip after that. Until then...welp see ya later!

Mrs. Cox and other things

Well as you can see there has been a lack of posting. In a nutshell there was Christmas, more BYU football (domination of Oregon State) and the start of a new semester. This semester Jane is out of class, well sort of. She is student teaching now, so you can refer to her as Mrs. Cox, and it has been a bit of an adventure. She is teaching junior high in Lindon, and her teacher she is partnered up with is, well I guess you could say not Jane's type. She is an older lady that isn't quite as organized and on the ball as Jane is so you can imagine that is bit frustrating for her. One day the teacher just decided she wasn't feeling to good and had Jane take over...with no lesson plans or instructions. So she had to wing it for the day. She is surviving but it has been a bit of a roller coaster. Hopefully things are starting to adjust and Jane is learning a lot about the kind of teacher that she wants to be.
I am in another semester of school, this one is shaping up to be a bit busier than the last one. Last semester was a lot more theory and learning how to do things and this semester is a lot more actual application of those things. I am sad to see my reporting job at the newspaper for the football team come to an end but it was a great experience and a lot of fun for me. Jane made me a sort of scrapbook with all of my stories in it, although my very last story was published the first week of this semester so we will have to add it in.
Jane and I and the folks went to the car show and we saw lots of cool stuff. It's one of my favorite events of the year so of course I was excited. My favorites were the Subaru STI, the Hyundai Genesis and Genesis coupe and the big shocker, the Hyundai Equus. Basically its a Bentley for half the price. Jane wishes we could have the cash for a Audi A5 convertible, or a Lexus IS350 convertible (all we need is about 50,000) for either one. She also liked the Jeep Wranglers, of course it has to be the hardtop and the four door for practicality. And Jane realized that minivans provide the most room and comfort, and the most practicality, if your willing to sacrifice a bit of cool factor.
All in all, we are busier than ever and look forward to some vacation time. Camping, cruises, beach, anything will do.

26-23 Cougars in OT!!!

Wow what a game!!! Well for those that watched they know, and those that missed it, you missed out! The Cougars held a 20-6 lead for much of the game, but nearly collapsed then they gave up 14 in the fourth quarter letting the Utes tie it up. But in dramatic fashion as usual, the Cougars ended up getting the last laugh with Max Hall splitting two defenders and firing a laser to Andrew George for the winning touchdown in overtime, Now known as the "George is still running" play. The game had the high of a blowout, the low of almost blowing it, and the thrill of overtime, it was great fun. We were so glad that we could even make it since less than 24 hours before Jane and I were pretty much on our deathbeds. We have never thrown up so much in so little time. But we got healthy enough to go to the game and it was worth it. Aaaand as I predicted all season long, BYU even broke out the 1984 throwback uniforms in honor of the 25h anniversary of the National Champs. They looked pretty awesome, wish they wore them all the time. Yes, we rushed the field. In 2007 when the Cougars won on the infamous "Magic Happens, 4th and 18" play, Jane stayed back and didn't rush the field with me, but this time she was all over it. She even got smushed when some of the players came by. It was a party and a half and we had a great time. And now I have to shave my mustache...too bad. Go Cougars!!!

Oh and PS I tried to take the most disgusting and creepy picture of myself as possible just so everyone knows.

Rivalry Week and...Moustaches.

So finally the big game that we have all been waiting for is here. For those of you that don't know, I currently write for BYU's newspaper, covering the football team. A perfect job for the Cougarfanatic that I am. This week is the Utah game. With both teams having identical records, and nothing to play for other than bragging rights, this game always brings the most hype of the year. Needless to say we are excited. Even Jane, the up and coming Cougar fan is gearing up for the big weekend. She even made Cougar cupcakes this week (although my original suggestion was simply cake, which I prefer...) My stories are always on BYU's newspaper website, byunewsnet.com and occasionally they get posted on Cougarfan.com We all know my lack of love for Utah, so I am hoping for a good showing this year. A lot of leaders on the team are seniors so we hope they come out fired up and dominate. In other news, November has apparently become Movember...the month where you grow a moustache. I was recently informed of this so I had a delayed start, about a week ago, but it is coming along nicely. Jane is greatly opposed to this idea, but with other friends in on this, I can't back out sheesh. The professor I work for referred to it as a "molestache." Clever. Anywho, it is disgusting, but funny, and I have a goal to keep letting it go until December 1st. Happy Thanksgiving, and Go Cougars.