There is no Z in Boise

My second AAMVA regional conference was Region IV in Boise, ID.  Now, I have to say that going to Boise had its down sides on the travel there.  Oscar and I had a 3 hour delay in Salt Lake City.  It was not fun but finally we made it to Boise.

On the first day they showed us a clip of Jewel singing a song and how there is no Z in Boise.  It was quite humorous.  Besides the great networking opportunities and information learned, we had plenty of time for fun as well.  Boise was a beautiful place with tons of greenery.  They had a day trip planned...well actually 3...you could go white water rafting, on a wine tour or golfing.  Oscar and I chose to go white water rafting.  It was a BLAST, but FREEZING.  3 of us in my group jumped in the water willingly and it definitely woke you up.  It was around 55 degrees but so much fun.

One of the nights they had a Basque Block Party where we dined on paella and spanish beers/wines and also enjoyed Basque entertainment!

I also got to see the infamous Boise State blue field and visited the State Capitol.  I will post pictures later that Oscar was so kind to take.  As soon as we got back, Tracy was there to pick me up so we could immediately head up to Hot Springs for the 4th.  However guess what....the airlines lost my bags again so now I have pretty much nothing to go with me on my trip...stay tuned to find out about the 4th.

Oklahoma City or Bust

Part of my new job as Government Relations Coordinator at iiX involves attending the AAMVA regional conferences.  My first conference was Region II hosted in Oklahoma City.  I do have to say that I have never imagined myself going to Oklahoma City for vacation, but it is a really nice time.  I went with one of my co workers, Oscar. 

When we first got there we walked around downtown and explored.  The trip involved several days of conferences, meals and networking.  I met some really nice people and think I will enjoy my travel opportunities.

Oscar and I had a free afternoon which we spent exploring downtown OKC.  We went to the art museum and to the Oklahoma City bombing site.  The coolest thing was the art museum.

blown glass exhibit

The most evently part of the trip was the return home.  My flight left OKC late and I got to IAH late and rushed to my next terminal thinking they might leave me only to find out that the flight was cancelled and the next one wasn't for 4 hours.  Ugh so I waited and left and then got to College Station only to have my bags not be there.  Luckily they came on the next flight but still...2nd trip in a row (NYC prior) that my bags weren't there when I landed.

Rock N Roll Baby!

So I have decided that I need to stay motivated in my exercise.  What I have decided to do is sign up for the Rock N Roll San Antonio Marathon.  It is on November 14 and although I said I would never do one because it is just crazy to run that long I went ahead and did it.  Both Tracy and Dennis are going to run too and our friend Damien is going to run the 1/2 marathon.

To help me with this endeavor, I have signed up for a local running group.  We meet on Saturday mornings and knock it out early in the morning.  I am thinking I can do this.  I think I can, I think I can.

Rock N Roll Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do the Du

This year as always, the James family packed up and went to Arkansas for Memorial Day weekend.  This year only Tracy signed up for the Du as I chickened out.  I felt I didn't train enough for it so I thought I would spectate.  We had fun with Joyce, Dennis and the Oklahoma James family.

Abs and Tracy hanging out at the boat entrance to Lake Hamilton

The Rob giving Luke some baseball tips

Let me out, let me out!!

Abby and Blue Baby watching the Du

Go Tracy Go!

Dennis is going strong

Rob, the fastest James, finishing up

Noah kicking some booty

This year we were so proud of Noah who by passed the kids du and signed up for the adult du.  It was tough, but he finished and we were happy for him!

Bye Bye Rey Rey

This week I said goodbye to Reynolds and Reynolds and started my new job with Insurance Information Exchange (iiX).  It was really hard to leave a place I had been working at for 11 years, but I knew this was the right decision for me and my family.  Tracy supported me with the move.

I will be iiX's new Government Relations Coordinator.  Basically I am a liason between the states and our company working closely with legal to determine if we and our customers are following state and federal laws.  One of the perks is I get to travel.  This year it looks like I will be traveling to: Oklahoma City, Boise, Atlantic City, Saint John (New Brunswick, Canada) and St. Louis. 

I will keep everyone posted to my adventures!  Wish me luck.

Do You Have What it Takes to be a WARRIOR?!!!!!!!!

This weekend several of us participated in the first ever Texas Warrior Dash.  It is a 3-3.5 mile obstacle.  It involved running through lots of mud, walking a plank, going down into a ravine, running through a creek bed, climbing up the ravine, swimming in a lake and having to jump over logs in the lake, more mud, climbing walls, cargo nets and hay bales, jumping fire, and then crawling under barbwire in more mud.  It was a fantabulous time!

Cass wanted to do this for her birthday so myself, John Cobb and Rob Shane signed up for the Sunday leg.  We got to Dallas early on Saturday and visited with Ashley, Brent and Sienna.  Ashley was very very very pregnant and is going to pop at any time.  Sienna and Abby got to play together and have fun.  We then met up with Cass who had done her warrior dash earlier that day.  We went to eat for her birthday in downtown Dallas.  The funniest thing at dinner is Abby apprently pooed and felt the need to put her hand down the back of her pants and come up with a handful of POOOOOOOO!  Cass and I couldn't stop laughing but that just ticked Tracy off more :).  I finally changed her and went on with the evening.

The next morning we went to the Forney place where we were doing this and met up with Rob and John. People were dressed in all sorts of costumes and I totally wish I had gotten pictures of them but alas I didnt.  This race had cool gear...we got a shirt and a warrior helmet! After the race we just relaxed in the big field and drank (free beer) and ate and let Abby run all over.  We finally drove back because I had to get ready.  I start a new job tomorrow!

Abby & Sienna up in her chair!

We'll be coming round the mountain...

Abs waiting for mom to finish

Us jumping the fire pits

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After we had hosed off

NO.....SLEEP.....TIL BROOKLYN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Wednesday, Tracy and I packed up and left for Brooklyn, NY to see Becca and Parham. This was our longest trip away from Abby and I thought I would be a mess, but even though I really missed her, I enjoyed my time with Tracy and our friends.

So here in a nutshell was our trip:

Wednesday
1:30 - Arrive in NYC

Afternoon - Parham showed us his own personal tour of NYC

• Grand Central Station (had some wonderful cheesecake at Juniors)
• Upper West Side
• Central Park (part of the west side and had a hot dog from a vendor)
• 
  The Village (ate pizza at Stromboli's)

Evening - went back to Brooklyn and met Becca. Went to eat at a local brewery-esque place and then went to a bar that had a Bocci Ball Lane in it.

Thursday
Morning - Went to Ellis Island with Becca and Tracy. It was super interesting and I recommend it. We didn't bother getting off at the Statue of Liberty but waved as we passed by. We also saw Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. We ate lunch in the Fashion District at a little Greek place as we dropped Becca off at her job.

Afternoon -

• American Museum of Natural History (super wonderful...reminds me of Night at the Museum)
• Belvedere Castle
• Walked all up and down the East side of Central Park
• Had cheesecake at Carnegie Deli
• Went to M&M World
• Walked around Times Square

Evening -

• Went and picked up Becca from work
• Met Parham at the most famous pizza place in NY, Grimaldi's Pizzaria in Brooklyn. This was like a mob owned place. You waited outside (glad it wasn't raining) and then the little old owner/manager would walk outside and pick who came in. The pizza was wonderful and it was truly an experience.
• Went to a little bar right down from Grimaldi's to watch NBA playoffs and drink. We had great random conversation with random people.

Friday
Morning - lounged around a little in the morning

• Top of the Rock at Rockerfeller Center
• St. Patrick's Cathedral
• light shopping on 5th avenue
• Beer tasting at Heartland Brewery
• Lunch at The Stand....some of the best burgers I have ever had...totally recommend it.

Afternoon -

• Walked from Fashion District to NOHO
• SOHO
• Chinatown for some shopping
• Little Italy...had a great chocolate canoli!
• More Times Square (Hershey's World, Hard Rock, etc.)

Evening -
Picked Becca up from work
Met Parham and went to the Mets vs Braves game where I watched my Braves lose.

Saturday
Morning - Lounged around with Becca. Went and got Broadway tickets for the next day. Becca showed us around some of Brooklyn. We ate at this random little Greek place which had the worst service I have ever seen in my life, but the food was actually pretty good.

Afternoon - We went and saw Prospect Park in Brooklyn and then some shoe shopping right down from Becca and Parham's place.

Evening - Becca took us to the Meatpacking District where we got to see all the really cool/trendy places. We finally ate dinner around 11 or so at this little Italian place.

Sunday
Morning - More lounging around Brooklyn

Afternoon - Saw In The Heights on Broadway. It was amazing. Corbin Bleu is the star right now and we totally loved it.

Evening - Tracy and I ate at this little place in Brooklyn called Chip Shot. It was a English Pub type place with tons of fried foods but it was really good. We had the fish and chips and it was WONDERFUL. They also had fried snickers, fried reeses, fried twinkies, fried mac n cheese (we had thsi and it was amazing), fried pizza, fried burgers, etc. It was featured on the Food Network. We then walked across to a little bakery and got an assortment of treats to take back to Becca and Parham. We then packed up and watched some comedians and ate dessert.

Monday
We left NYC :(....but I was sooooooooooooo super excited to see my Abs. She looked like she had grown a foot and Grandma said she was wonderful. Tracy and I took her to the park immediately and then came home to relax a little.