It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Ok so I am trying to be better about blogging more often which mean shorter posts from me. Not much is going on here, Tim is studying for his first round of boards, scheduled after Christmas. Which means there is plenty of time for me to keep myself busy. I jumped at the chance to decorate for Christmas the same day as we ate our turkey since I will be leaving Oklahoma on December 9th this year to start holiday travels. I am sadly leaving Tim behind so I wanted to leave the house feeling like Christmas even though he won't be celebrating too much on his own.

Here's a pic of our mantel, I just had to get Murphy a stocking to match. Hopefully Santa brings chewy toys this year.

Thankful!

It has been a wonderful year for Tim and I and there are so many things to be thankful for. Another year has passed, Tim is a 2nd year dental student, I an MBA graduate. Our family has grown by one, and we have the sweetest dog we could have imagined. We made it through some hairy weather and the only battle wounds are in the form of stories. I earned a promotion at work and have had the chance to see the heart of America. Tim turned 30!! The list goes on. But the core of our thankfulness is for our family and friends who are so wonderful, supportive and fun! We wish you all a wonderful holiday and and thankful you are in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Done!

On July 29, 2011 I officially completed my courses to finish my Masters in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst! I finally got my degree in the mail, and thanks to my parents, have it nicely framed in my office. It hangs over my computer screens as a daily reminder of the hard work and long hours that it took to get there. I started my first class three days after Tim and I got married by logging in from the lobby of our hotel in Mexico - three and a half years earlier. It is amazing to have the opportunity to complete a Master's degree from great school which I have never stepped foot in. I plan to one day visit UMass Amherst to see the campus and buy a sweatshirt, but until then, the framed degree and the feeling that comes along with being done is enough!

I want to thank everyone for all the support and encouragement over the last couple of years. There were many weekends that were spent juggling school work and quality time with you all. Especially Tim, who gave me the extra push to pursue what was always a goal in the back of my mind and kept me motivated through the whole process!

And then there were three....

Well, it has been about 5 months but I never officially introduced Murphy Jackson McNamara!!

As most of you know Tim and I have had puppy fever for a while now and couldn't wait to add a dog to our family. Well, on May 30th that finally happened! On our way back from Arkansas over Memorial Day weekend we "stopped by" a breeders house on the way back just going to "look" (well knowing that the odds were good that we would come home with a pup). When we got to the breeders house she had two puppies left and we fell in love. Little Murphy was 6 pounds of fuzzy love and we couldn't pass him up. And as the luck of the Irish would have it he was born on St. Patrick's Day - we knew it was meant to be. So we made the trip home with our newest addition and are so happy we made the "stop". Murphy has been a sweet dog who is learning more day by day. We enrolled in puppy school which is really more like owner school so we can help our super smart working dog learn all sorts of stuff.

Here are some inital pictures of Murphy when we brought him home and as he has been growing.



Murphy - Day One at Home



It was a BIG day exploring his new digs

Murphy in June

Murphy in July the first time he played in the sprinkler

Sweet Murph

My boys taking a nap

Murphy's pool in August, it was TOO hot to be outside without water

Recent picture of Murph with his blankie

Murphy is a miniature Australian Shepard.

"there's no place like home...there's no place like home..."

Well we knew it was coming sooner or later - our first tornado experience.

While there have been devasting storms in the area - most recently Joplin, MO, Tim and I have been very lucky to have been spared any kind of real tornado scares. Well that all ended on 5/24 when the state of OK was in a high alert for tornados all day long. I cancelled my trip to Tulsa, which I was very thankful for later! Luckily Tim was home all day so we got to experiance all the uncertainty and stress together. It is funny, we have both been through earthquakes, wildfires, foreign riots - but tornados were new and unknown. At the advice of some friends who have lived in OK all their lives we put together a plan and some supplies. Below are some pictures of our first two storm strategies. On Ed's very good advice we made sure to stick the nice bottle of scotch he got us in the closet - just in case.



Shelter #1 - Tim wearing the helmet we were told to keep handy



Shelter #2 - With the addition of the Scotch

Once the storm was about 30 minutes out and headed straight for Edmond the local schools opened up as shelters. We took that cue and got in the car. Our final shelter - which was much more sustantial then our tub or coat closet was the best place to be. We watch the TV as the storm moved north about 10 miles out from Edmond and breathed a huge sigh of relief. When we got home we took some quick videos of the amount of rain that poured down - relieved it wasn't baseball sized hail! I guess this is one more crazy, extreme adventure of the weather in OK - I feel like it is a common theme for my blog posts! Let's hope the season ends without another scare!

Spring has Sprung!

I started this post almost two months ago and never did get it completed. So, I apologize for being silent but I will do my best to bring the blog to speed! I can't believe how fast time has gone by, we have been here now for one full year and Tim can officially call himself a second year in school. Wow...time flies!

Since my last post a lot has happened...some highlights here.

New beginnings - In March I started a new role at Adobe as a field rep - I was promoted in Feb. but had to wait 4 weeks to transition. I am still on the education team managing K-12 and Higher Ed accounts, except now I am the one traveling each week throughout my new territory - OK, KS, MO, IA, MN and the Dakotas. I am looking forward to this new challenge and am excited at the opportunity. Tim has been great supporting me and I know this is a great move for the both of us. Stay tuned for some updates as I am on the road!

Spring Break - We were so lucky to be visited by Tim's parents in March for Tim's spring break - it was so much fun and a nice treat to get to show them around. It was Ed's first time and both of their first times seeing our new house. We had fun touring Bricktown, Tim's school and a cute litte town north of us called, Guthrie. We ate a lot of fried chicken and BBQ (even I had a bite of the chicken!) which was fun to get to show them some of the places local to OK. We also were given some great tickets to the Thunder game by a fellow Coug who moved here with the team. He and Tim met at the OSU vs. WSU game so it was a treat to be able to see the new team as his guests. I have to say they put on a great show and it was fun to see them win! Here are some pictures from their visit.

Our view of the game

The crazy storm chaser car we saw in the parking lot - they do exist!

Tim and his parents on campus

Snow Days and Blizzards

Well a current theme of our new life in Oklahoma includes crazy weather! Once again the season has taken control of the town and caused some sort of mini disaster. It wasn't basball sized hail, tornados, or floods..this time it was snow. We were lucky enough to be apart of the crazy winter storm that hit the midwest and the east coast recently and thought we would share. To be honest the amount of snow was pretty laughable to cause OKC to shut down for 4 days...yes we were housebound! But the 45 mph winds were nothing to mess around with and caused whiteouts and snow drifts the first two days that made me thankful for heat and job that I don't have to commute to. Tim's school shutdown for the week, which was cool for the first day then maddening by Friday but we managed to have some fun and added another crazy weather adventure to our list. Thanks Oklahoma.

 Here are some pictures we took of our neighborhood a couple days after the storm:

Our house



Tim helping out our friend

Christmas - Seattle and Spokane travels

Lucky for us, Tim and I both got the chance to make it back to WA for the holidays. While Tim finished up his first semester's finals I flew from my annual conference in Vegas to Seattle (a little early) and then met him in Seattle after he was done. It was such a fun week being on the Westside, seeing some friends and especially getting to see Tim's parent's new home on Bainbridge Island. They are so fortunate to live in one of the prettiest little towns outside of Seattle I have ever seen. We had a great time exploring the downtown, taking walks on the water and enjoying some of the better weather December could offer. Below are some pictures I took on the long, relaxing trip.




Gift Exchange with Girlfriends



Seattle by night on the ferry to Bainbridge



On a morning walk just steps from the McNamara's new home





Another beautiful view on a walk

 



View from downtown Winslow (Bainbridge Island)



After our stay on the Westside, Tim and I headed to Spokane to celebrate the holidays and play in a little snow!



View from the Kennedy's backyard



View of Peone Prairie on Christmas morning (Yep, I was up for sunrise!)

















Thanksgiving Day Surprise!!

You have probably all heard by now that Thanksgiving was a wonderful time in OKC. If not, I will tell you what happened here. Apparently Tim had put a plan in motion in August to surprise me over the holiday as we would be in OKC all on our own. I was unsuspecting as we went to the airport to pick up a friend of his that he say was flying in for work in OK. I thought nothing of it, thankfully got the house cleaned up and a guest room in order and went to the airport with him to be nice :) As I waited in the chair (dozing off a little bit since it was 11:30 pm) I had no idea what was in store.

When my Parents rounded the corner I was stuck with a sense of confusion and disbelief! I couldn't comprehend how they got there, why, and if I knew they were coming and forgot. It took me a few seconds and some explaining that they were here for the weekend and Tim arranged the surprise of a lifetime!

It was really fun to have them here, show them around our new home and town and celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact it was the most thankful I have ever been on the holiday to have my parents and my husband in OK. Thank you Tim and my Mom and Dad for making it happen and making the trip to see us. It really meant a lot.


Table - finally using some wedding gifts!!



The aftermath...

** I tried to upload the video Tim took on his phone as I saw my parents for the first time but I failed. Dang technology...you will just have to ask to see it if you are interested.