Gavin Griffin, TCU Graduate

Goals are a funny thing.  Often they seem so easy to set, and the path is so clear to get to them, until you start down that path. But sometimes as you stagger out of the road less traveled, you realize it was exactly the path for you afterall....

Gavin's journey to his degree was longer and more varied than most.  In total: 14 years, 3 schools, and some pretty major life accomplishments outside of academia.  He met a girl and helped her become what she was meant to be, including a mother.  He walked a very difficult path to becoming a father and is the most involved and loving dad I've ever meet.  He set off on a career that some people dream off, and others can't fathom and not only survived, but excelled, averting the obvious and more subtle pitfalls.  He's set records, travelled the world, and never lost himself in the glitz.  

I couldn't be prouder of him.

Husband, Father, Pet-dad, Uncle, Triple Crown Winner, Professional Poker Player, Writer, trivia buff, golfer, OC Resident, DnD nerd... college graduate is hardly the most impressive on the list, but now it's there!  The first time Gavin and I discussed him finishing his degree, I think he thought it was a pipe dream.  It sounded great, but it also seemed like it would be a huge pain.  Every time we would look into a new avenue, it would seem daunting.  When it would come up, I would encourage Gavin to keep trying.  So he kept taking a few classes.  Eventually we contacted TCU to find out about completing his degree there. Surprisingly, it seemed doable and they worked with us to make it happen.

It certainly wasn't without challenges.  A summer without daddy wasn't easy for anyone.  We are so lucky to have loving and accommodating grandmas to help fill the gap.  For us, the summer flew by: I was really too busy staying afloat to worry much.  We'd set a course and we were all chugging along to the finish line.

Our adventures in dorm living were pretty exciting and funny.  It's unlikely Colin will ever want to livin in a dorm with his mommy again so I cherished the time. <3

Daddy After his last class!

  

Future Frog?

As a peripheral benefit, we now have a college football team to cheer for!  Expect to see a bit more purple here come football season!! (Hopefully, at least....)

Gavin, I am so proud of you.  You started out with a goal, and you achieved it.  I love you, always.  Congratulations!!

Go Frogs!

Our Third Wedding Anniversary

Despite some difficult years, we've had some awesome Anniversary Celebrations.  Our first anniversary, we spent at Big Sur at the very Romantic Post Ranch Inn.  Last year, we visited Disneyland and had a Romantic Dinner at Club 33.

This year, was a little different.

We were traveling in Texas for our Anniversary, and on that day had to move from our dorm to a hotel, Colin in tow!  Gavin also had classes all day and the next day.  As a result, we had to tone down on the romance a tad, but we still had a great night!

We ended up eating at the hotel.  The choice of restaurants with a squirming, food tossing, baby are fairly limited and while we've had mostly positive experiences with Colin eating out, he was being a little rambunctious and we decided not to push it.  

After dinner, we headed to downtown Fort Worth.  I'd read about the Water Gardens and we decided to check them out.  Despite the heat and humidity, we had a lovely walk and enjoyed the gardens. 

After the gardens, we went to Pizzaria Uno for dessert where we took our Annual Anniversary Picture.

It may not have been particularly romantic or exciting, but I had a wonderful time honoring the promises we made to each other three years ago.  I love you, Gavin!

Fort Worth Stockyards

Gavin proposed visiting the stockyards.  I declined.  The idea of looking at a bunch of cows.... no thanks.  He swears that he told me it wasn't just cows, but I'm not so sure.  The best way to describe it to a Californian is that it's Old Town San Diego for Texas.  And it was really cool.

The only problem?  The crazy heat!!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Traveling to Texas

A fully solo adventure in flying with baby!  After our last trip I made a few minor modifications to my system and I was prepared as I could be.

Still, it was a rough journey.  Much like every thing so far with parenting, it seemed impossible to survive another second during the trip, and in retrospect doesn't seem that bad.  I suppose that explains why after landing in DFW and swearing to Gavin there was NO way I was getting back on a plane with Colin, I flew home 10 days later!

To be fair, it wasn't horrible.  Colin didn't scream the entire trip or have ear pain, or any of the things that probably immediately come to your head when I talk about a difficult flight with a baby, but it was exhausting.  Keeping him entertained and happy in the 2 square feet assigned to each coach passanger was one of the most tiring things I've ever done.  I think my mistake was spending so much time and energy trying to get the child to sleep.  Colin loves action and he won't close his eyes and risk missing it.  I think it may have been easier for both of us if I'd given up on the sleep route and focused more on playing and entertaining him.

On our flight there, I was in a middle seat.  It.Was.Miserable.  I was sandwhiched between two other solo flying passengers.  Colin thought kicking, poking and prodding said passangers was a good pass time.  So I had to keep him primarily upright for the entire flight.  Nursing was nearly impossible and he gulped down all of the emergency forumla in about 15 minutes...I did pay to guarantee an aisle seat for my return flight which was still not ideal, but much better.  I was also seated with a father and his son (about 4) which was much easier.

Colin kicking back at the airport 'bar'

I thought the airport naviagation would be the difficult part, but that was simple.  I had a good system for getting all of the stuff loaded, unloaded, through security and onto the plane.

Once we arrived, Colin was a trooper about his lack of routine. We didn't have much a schedule to adhere to, so I just feed him when he was hungry and put him down when he seemed tired.  For the most part it worked out well.  Nights were a bit more difficult than at home, especially at my sister's house where Daddy had to walk him around in the stroller for a while each night, but overall, he did really well.

We spent the first part of our trip in the dorm.  We then spent a few days at a Homewood Suites (which was awesome!) before heading down to my sister's house.  The homewood suites was similar to the dorm in layout but without the walk in closet (aka baby bedroom).  It was also slightly less convienet because the bathroom was in the bedroom.  After baby went to sleep, we ended up using the lobby bathroom rather than risking waking him.

The trip to New Braunfels went fairly well.  The car was completely loaded down, but Colin slept most of the trip (a little over 3 and a half hours).  I did have to wedge myself into the backseat for the last half hour of our journey to keep the melting down to a minimum.

Auntie Cheryl's house

A very special thanks to Auntie Cheryl for opening her house for us.  I know from experience going from your normal routine to having kids around can be quite overwhelming.  Thank you so much for sharing your home and showing us your world!  It was so much fun getting to hang out with Auntie Cheryl and meet her doggie Ani.  We miss you already!

By the way, if you are wondering where the train from the title fits in, it was a short jaunt between terminals as bustling DFW airport. :)

Overall, we had a survivable travel expereince, but there is no place like home!