A Very Happy Thanksgiving in Wyoming!

This Thanksgiving we had an AWESOME time visiting Bryant's aunt and uncle in Buffalo, Wyoming! We were really needing a break from school, work, and I guess just life in general, so this fun holiday with family was much needed!

The vacation actually started with Bryant flying to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon for 2 medical school interviews. I dropped him off at the airport and then went to Shelby's fun dance recital... all by myself :( But it was good to have something to do to keep me occupied! I tend to get pretty sad and lonely when Bryant leaves. I am proud to say that I did much better this time! Before he left I made myself a "to-do" list to keep me busy while he was gone so that the time would pass by more quickly, and it worked! I did not cry myself to sleep :) Also, I think little Baby Giles kept me company. I still had a little loving piece of my hubby with me all weekend :)

Bryant stayed at his other aunt and uncle's house in Atlanta for the weekend (Sadly, they had already driven to Texas for Thanksgiving, so he didn't get to see them!) He interviewed at Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine (Georgia Campus) on Monday morning and LOVED it! He couldn't imagine liking any other school... until he interviewed at Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Medicine in Harrogate, Tennessee the next morning haha. He loved that school too! We are both very optimistic, excited people. So basically, it didn't surprise me that he found the good in every school he visited with! and apparently they loved him too... because this past week we received acceptances from BOTH schools! YIPPEE!!! He is still interviewing at other schools, but I cannot describe the amount of relief and gratitude we feel to have our future secured and to know that he will be attending medical school next year, after all his VERY hard work!

Ok so back to Thanksgiving... I just hung out and went to school Monday and Tuesday. Bryant was supposed to fly home Wednesday morning and get into SLC at 11am, where I would pick him  up and we would continue on our 8 hour drive to Wyoming. Unfortunately, his flight had to be rerouted because of bad weather in Chicago, so he didn't get in until 2! Bummer! So around 12:30 I picked up a guy named Andrew from the dorms. His was tagging along to Casper Wyoming (BYU has a ride board where you can set up carpools and save gas money, which is super great!) So, Andrew and I chatted and we went to pick Bryant up. But OF COURSE they had put his bags on the wrong flight!!! So we had to hang out in the SLC area until 4!! K guys, this seriously delayed our plans. No cool. Thankfully, Southwest compensated him for his 5 hour delay with $100 towards his next flight (so combined with the $200 Southwest Giftcard he won on BYU Hitlist the week before, he had $300 towards his next interview flight!) Finally, we set off for Wyoming. Bryant had woken up at 3am Atlanta time (so 1am Mountain time) that morning, so I was planning to do most of the driving for him. But with the delays, by the time we headed out it was getting dark. I take after my momma and fall asleep at the wheel when it is dark outside! So poor Bryant had to drive the whole way!!! I felt so bad!

6 hours later we got to Casper and dropped Andrew off. My dad knew Bryant needed to sleep and wouldn't be able to make the last 2 hour leg of the trip, so he bought us a hotel for the night (thanks daddy!) We got a great night's sleep and then left around 7am for Buffalo. We got to his aunt and uncle's ranch around 9, just in time for their annual family "Turkey Trot" where we jogged/walked 6 miles across a portion of their HUGE ranch! I think they said they had 5,000 acres of land. Crazy. They showed us some ancient Indian rings that were super neat and told us stories about the Indians that used to live on their lands. We then showered and had a delicious brunch together.

The rest of the day, Bryant helped his uncle build a really awesome looking chicken coop for their funny chickens :) I helped cook Thanksgiving dinner in their industrial kitchen (it's a guest ranch in the summer months, so they do a lot of cooking for the visitors!). We ate a yummy dinner of turkey, sweet potatoes with orange peel and maple syrup.... so good!, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and gluten-free stuffing. I skipped the stuffing because it had onions in it, but Bryant said it was the best stuffing he had ever tasted!

Bryant and I had one of the 5 guest houses all to ourselves... it was huge! We just picked a cozy, country room in the back with a queen bed. But there were like 10 rooms to choose from and a zillion beds! It was cool :) They had little shampoos and lotions and stuff with their ranch's name on it like at hotels haha it was great.

The next day Bryant and I ate some homemade granola for breakfast while watching the 20 deer grazing outside our window. That was cool because they were so close and innocent and beautiful! There was a huge buck with really tall antlers. All Bryant could think of was shooting it and how cool his grandad would think he was for getting a buck with such a huge rack... how rude :( the poor thing.

Bryant went out with the boys to shoot prairie dogs, then we ate yummy leftovers :)

Turkey, Pepperjack cheese, homemade cranberry sauce, LOTS of avocado, lettuce, mayo, salt and pepper :) YUM!

And at some point that day (I think in the morning actually) we went up into the mountains and chopped down 3 Christmas trees! That was so fun! Everyone was arguing about which tree was "the perfect tree". It was funny. There was a lot of snow in the mountains, so I am glad we brought our snow gear!

Around 1:30 we all headed into Laramie (I think) about 45 minutes away to go to the movies and out for dinner. We all ended up seeing different movies, and Bryant and I opted to go see Breaking Dawn pt 2.... SO GOOD!!!! We totally freaked out. I loved that movie! I highly suggest seeing it! Afterwards, we went to this really nice steak restaurant. Bryant and I split delicious BBQ ribs and his aunt and uncle were so sweet and paid for our dinner :) They are great!

The next day we just hung out on the ranch and rode horses! That was so much fun! I felt bad for everyone else, because since I am pregnant and not technically supposed to be riding horses (just due to the potential of being bucked off) no one was allowed to trot so that my horse wouldn't be tempted to speed up and trot along side of them. It was all good though because we had a great walk around the land! We saw lots of funny prairie dogs and the pretty mountains. My horse was named Flash and we got along really well. I quickly remembered what I learned back when I spent a couple months riding horses in middle school. We also brushed and cleaned the horses and helped with some training.

Bryant and his Aunt Kirsten

My horse, Flash!

That night, we headed into town for some groceries and to rent a movie, and then we all sat down as a family and made some awesome mexican food, assembly line style! We had jalapeno poppers, guacamole and chips, refried beans, and TAMALES! We ate it all while watching Moonlight Kingdom, which was a very weird movie. I don't suggest that one.

Made with the healthiest ingredient.... LARD! Just don't let yourself think about it, and it tastes delish ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

YUM!

The next morning we packed everything up and went to Sacrament meeting with his family. We said our goodbyes afterwards and hit the road! There was lots of snow, but we had checked the weather and it would be clear the whole way after about an hour and blizzard. Bryant was really nervous driving, seeing as last Christmas was got hit by a semi in a horrible blizzard. This one looked like what last year's looked as we headed into it. But, like promised, once we got to Casper 1.5 hours away, everything was clear! Apparently all the roads closed right after us and they got a foot of snow that day! We were so lucky we got out in time!

The rest of the drive we just chatted and enjoyed each other's company :) now we are home, finishing up school, and preparing for finals! We get to fly home to Alabama in a week and a half for the Christmas holidays, and we can't wait!


Sorry this is long and probably boring, but I didn't want to forget our fun trip :)

Aly