The Family Dog

Also in June, my brother got his family a dog. I was so excited for him. Then his family discovered they were getting something even better than a dog: A baby brother. And rambunctious puppy + pregnant mommy = difficult situation. So I got a phone call: "Libby, do you want my dog?" I said I would have to talk to Mic about it hoping that he would be the logical one because I am a total push over. Alas, Mic, like I, believes that we are the saviors of animals in need. And so "Sniffer"- Ella came to stay with us.

She has a beautiful black coat and gorgeous brown eyes. She is a Weimaramer and black German Shepard mix.

She looks glamorous at first,

But look at her laughing at me! She knows she's a powerful ball of destruction. "Sniffer"-Ella came into our lives to show us that even though we thought we were patient people, we are wrong. And so it is the job of "Sniffer"-Ella to teach us patience.

As she settles into our lives and our hearts.

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

As part of my goals for the new year I decided that, whatever Mic decided, I would begin to make choices for where I wanted to be and not necessarily what the best thing would be long term or even short term. This summer marks 3 years since I received my Bachelors degree in Anthropology and not utilizing it was beginning to bother me. June 2010 marks my 33rd birthday. I do not believe that it is old, but it is definitely too old to be waiting for life and career opportunities to begin. Since field school would be expensive and probably not possible in the near future, and since I didn't really want to do archaeology if it meant being away from Michael, I decided to explore what other jobs were out there for someone with an anthropology degree. I was pleased to find the the federal government had many options and one really close to home:

The Fish and Wildlife Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

I worked as the the summer leader for the Youth Conservation Corps on the refuge. I was an amazing experience. I was able to plan work activities for the corps. Much of the time was spent doing maintenance like weeding are structures, painting an old duck blind, and organizing storage facilities. BUT, I was also able to get my group opportunities to catch and tag geese off air boats, catch and tag seagulls chicks, wade through the reeds to catch and tag white-faced ibis chicks, monitor snowy plover nests, and do service at local animal care places. Although by the end of it the kids were glad to see me go and I wasn't all that sad to see them go, the summer itself, the work, and the learning was AMAZING!!

RenFest

In mid-May Kat returned to Mic and me for the summer. HUZZAH!! The first thing we planned to do was go to the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire. http://www.utahrenfest.com/

Together we designed and sewed our costumes. I always get in too deep when I am planning to sew something. I don't give myself enough time to get it done. So it was with the Faire. We wanted to be at the Faire when the gates were opened, but we were at Mom and Dad Shelton's until about 2 hours later because we were finishing costumes. The results were great.

Mic carried a pouch and Kat and I carried woven baskets with our lunch in them.

On the way to the Faire we exchanged our budgeted paper money for gold coins. We decided that if we were going to pretend we would go all out.

At the Faire we watched a magic show, a puppet show, jousting, plays, and minstrels.

Each of us had $5 for a souvenir.

Kat got her parasol. I bought a snood. And Mic got a Clasp for his cape.

By the end of the day we were hot and tired, but satisfied that we had gotten our moneys worth of entertainment.

It was a fun day.

Civic Duty

So at the Republican 2010 Mic was chosen as our County Representative and I was chosen as our State representative for our district. It was a fun and interesting process. It was also a huge responsibility. I tried to go to as many of the speaking engagements as I could to be educated about who would be the best representative for our area.

I went into the process thinking that there was no way I would be voting for Bob Bennett to have another term. I didn't consider that there wouldn't be anyone else that could do the job as well as Bob Bennett. I voted for him because I didn't believe my second choice would be able to make it.

At the state caucus he was voted out and so I voted for my second choice Tim Bridgewater who was still in the running. It came down to a primary between Bridgewater and Lee. So I knew where to send my support. I sent Bob Bennett a letter expressing how sorry I was that he was ousted. He returned the letter thanking me for my kind word.

While I was at the convention I was able to introduce myself in person to Ethan Millard one of the radio personalities to whom I frequently listen and who is the brother of an MTC roommate. On my way out of the convention I was able to speak with Doug Wright, another of my favorite radio personalities for five minutes as we walked. Both were gracious and the conversations were fun.

It has taught me a lot. And next time around I will be ready.

Life The Universe and Everything

ltue.org

For a couple days in February Mic and I attended a science fiction writing conference at BYU.

I have long desired to put the stories that spill out of my head on paper. I have no lack of subject matter, but I lack the skill to make them interesting.

Mic and I enjoyed this conference. We were able to hear Brandon Mull and Brandon Sanderson.

Mic was able to go see workshops on illustration and I was able to hear workshops on publishing.

We were only able to go one day, but wished that we had more days there.

I was also able to see an old friend from Riverside there: Elizabeth Bock who is now Elizabeth Turner.

And get some encouragement and resources for writing.

Afterwards we had our Valentine's Dinner at The Olive Garden.

We are definitely going next year.