Hiking with the Lamys

Things have been crazy around here, hence, lack of blogging about our exciting life. Bryce PASSED his preliminary exam! Woohoo! This was what I call a "rough draft" of his dissertation presented to his committee and given the "okay" to follow through to the end with his ideas. Even though it was a pass, it wasn't the most encouraging. His work needs additional studies and he didn't get the clear feedback that he was hoping for. This means that we aren't exactly sure how much longer he will be working on his Ph.D. I say that's fine because we love this area, our church, and our friends here. I have been in the thick of school work this month. I am now finished with classes and finishing up the semester in the kindergarten classroom. Bryce just got back from a conference in Beijing for 9 days. Phew. Anyways, about a month ago, the day after Bryce's stressful prelim, we went hiking with Kyle and Cayce. We had so.much.fun.

[Beautiful drive and beautiful weather up there]

Hiked: Mount Pleasant and Cold Mountain
[My favorite barn that you pass heading up the mountain]

[College bffs]

Camped: at the top of cold mountain

Favorite hiking snack: Crackers, cheddar cheese, and pepperoni or summer sausage with a glass of wine (and preferably accompanied by an awesome sunset)





Listened to: Virginia Tech beat Boston College on Bryce's wind-up radio

Scary moment: Once we found our campsite at the top, we began unpacking our stuff and setting up the tents. This includes getting out the sleeping bag, blowing up our sleeping pads, setting up our tent and putting our thermarest chairs together. As I pulled out my sleeping bag out of my backpack, it got away from me and started rolling...and rolling faster...down the mountain...and I couldn't catch up to it. I started picturing myself freezing that night. Bryce sprinted down the mountain after the sleeping bag and thankfully it slowed to a stop about 150 yards down the mountain. Husband to the rescue!

Funny moment: Bryce and I waking up early and got to watch the sunset by the fire, turning on his wind-up radio, and dancing around the fire to a mixture of gospel and country music (my favorite: Louisiana Saturday Night).



On the road home: We were dying to get a huge Cracker Barrel breakfast with biscuits and all, but it was nowhere near Buena Vista. So we headed into Lexington and got our fill of breakfast food at Sweet Treats Bakery.


Kyle took some beautiful pictures.