At Full Capacity: The Last Decade

I have a friend that shared her experiences from the last decade on her blog a while back, I loved it!

I love to reminisce and look at old photo albums...it's so much fun. So, since seeing her post I've been wanting to do the same thing. But let me tell ya...it's a lot of work! I had to go through a lot of albums and scan photos into the computer. But once I started I couldn't go back...I was on a mission to finish!! So this has been a while in the making...hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

In 2000 Ryan and I had already been married a year, living in Indianapolis going to school. We graduated together in the Spring from Marian College (now Marian University)...my degree in Elementary Education and Ryan's in English.

Post graduation road trip to Jackson, Mississippi for a bike race Ryan was in.

And then it was off to Long Beach to live. We literally crammed everything we owned in our little VW Jetta to make the drive from Indiana to CA. I guess it helps to have an old hand-me-down bed, thrift store chairs, a couch we found on the side of the road and cardboard boxes for side tables...it makes getting rid of things so much easier. We took our time driving hitting up a few stops such as the Grand Canyon.

We found a little apartment in Long Beach to live, I started teaching 5th grade and Ryan raced his bike full time along with working for Injury Free Coalition part time.

2001 was the year of weddings. Ryan's sister got married.

And my brother got married.

Ryan and I did a lot of traveling around before we had kids. Jackson, Mississippi, Bend, Oregon, San Francisco (several times), Downers Grove, Illinois (any cyclist will know that all those places host major bike races) So yes, most of our traveling centered around a bike race. But we also got to go back East to Richmond, Williamsburg, DC and Boston. Not all in the same year of course.

In 2002 Ryan and I went on a camping trip through the Eastern Sierras. We stopped in June Lake, Bodie, and Big Pine. During this trip is when I started having a fear of bears...I layed awake every night listening to other campers banging on pots and pans scaring the bears away. I thought for sure a bear would rip through our tent and kill us. That or we would wake up and find our Jeep top ripped to shreds because a bear had gone through it. Luckily, neither happened.

We also visited our old stomping grounds...Indianapolis.

In 2003 we camped in Yosemite for a week. My brother Andrew joined us. I know...more bear country.

Hiking half dome...absolutely amazing!

Also in 2003 we decided to make the move to Utah. We had been married four years and we were ready to buy a home and start a family. This time we still packed up our little Jetta...along with a U-Haul, my parents pick-up, and our Jeep. Yes, we had four vehicles making the drive. Ryan led the way in the U-Haul, me in the Jeep, my parents in their pick-up and my brother Andrew in our Jetta. It was a two day trip.

But so worth it! Our first home! We didn't have jobs or much of a plan, but we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best!

We moved in November (I was teaching year round and that was one of my off months). I went back to Long Beach in December to finish out the semester while Ryan stayed in Utah looking for work. Luckily, he found a job doing the exact same thing he did in Long Beach...working for Injury Free Coalition. Yay! When I met back up with him in Utah, I started subbing.

Late 2003 I found out I was pregnant. My sister-in-law and I were expecting our first baby at the same time. I'm sure she'll be glad I posted this picture!

In 2004 our little Haley girl was born!

And although that year we were still able to travel a bit...a lot of trips to CA, Sedona and some camping...I was basically learning the whole mom thing.

In 2005 I got pregnant again.

In 2006 our little Morgan Muffin was born!

Wow...what a year that was! The transition to two kids was very difficult for me! I was basically a frazzled mother the entire year!

Also that year Ryan started a new job working for Reynolds.

We did some camping that year and next. We started a tradition to go Spring camping at Snow Canyon in St. George. And in 2007 we camped in Zion. However, that trip was a bit of mess...Ryan and both got sick the second day so we went home early. We'll have to try again.

Here we are before we got sick on the Narrows hike in Zion.

In 2008 we had to say goodbye to our beloved Coonhound, Cassidy. She was 14 years old...I got her for my 16th birthday.

That year we welcomed Etta, our very spastic Brittany, to our family.

And I was enjoying life not being pregnant and not nursing for the first time since 2003!! What a liberating year that was for me to have my body back! I was able to do more bike riding, and I even did a cyclocross race...my first ever!