Fall Back

Gina and I took advantage of the nice fall weather this weekend by going to Shenandoah National Park to hike around. This was our first time to go into the park and actually hike. The last time we were there we just drove through and looked at all the views from the car. This was definitely more fun, and we are already looking forward to going back for another hike with Sydney. Her only disappointment in the whole excursion is that she had to be on the leash. This was not nearly as much fun as being on Casper Mountain, where she can run around freely and jump over the stream as many times as she wants. But I think she would choose being on the leash to being stuck in the laundry room. In unrelated news, Sydney now associates shoes and hats with leaving. The other day she dragged my shoes over to the couch while I was taking a nap and sat right next to me until I woke up. She's too smart for her own good.

On Saturday the Virginia Cavaliers Men's soccer team played the Hokies from Virginia Tech. We decided not to attend the game because it was pretty cold (it doesn't take long for a Wyoming kid to turn soft), but I stayed up for the update on the news. Unfortunately, the Cavs lost a 2-1 decision in overtime, and lost a point in the Commonwealth Challenge, which is similar to the competitions between Kelly Walsh and Natrona high schools in Casper, just bigger. UVA is currently winning, but the match worth the most points is the football game coming up in a few weeks. Virginia Tech is the #3 team in the country, and I think they will be hard to beat. Of course, Florida State was #4 when UVA beat them. So, we'll see what happens.

This upcoming week looks to be pretty busy, as I have a lot of reading and writing to do and Gina has a test. My big test was last week, and I am thankful to have it behind me. Gina has been studying all weekend, and I know she will do great. I get to participate in a tele-conference on Tuesday with the doctoral students from Iowa State University. This should be a fun experience as I have never got to do this sort of thing before. Unless it is REALLY cool, I don't think it will be worthy of an update in next week's post. I guess you will just have to check back in and find out.

The leaves are really starting to fall now, and Gina and I have been busy cleaning them up for a couple of weeks now. I spent a couple of hours in the yard yesterday raking, mowing and spreading new grass seed. I don't know if it will sprout before winter, but several people have told me this is the best time to plant grass. I will keep you updated.

Well, this is turning into a long post. Write us when you get a chance. We would love to hear from you. Have a great week. I will leave you with another shot of Virginia's beautiful fall colors.