Bryan & Brittney Austin

A Poetic Moment

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

I feel like a child waiting for Christmas morning right now. Only I am no child and my Christmas morning that I am waiting for is getting to go home tomorrow from Logan for a few weeks. Tomorrow is going to last forever and it will seem like an eternity until I get to hold Bryan in my arms again. I cannot sleep at all being this is the last night in this dorm room for a little while. I know that the time home will just fly by. I love being home and spending my time with Bryan. He is so good to me and I love him so much. You know you are lonely when you feel like you are the moon. The moon in the middle of no where so far from anything but so close to everything you love but cannot be with what you love. As I lay here in my dorm room with only my Beatles poster to keep me company, I cannot help but think what it like to have the warmth of love in the bed next to me. Having Bryan even just sleeping next to me is something that I took for granted while I lived at home. Ever since living in Logan it has been harder and harder each week to leave and come back up here. Do not get me wrong. I have made some excellent friends and I love my classes and the school is a great school. I just miss what I used to have at my finger tips everyday. Getting to come home everyday after work and school to a house full of barks and wagging tails so excited just to see me. It was an honor to spend two minutes in the yard playing with the dogs and they loved every minute of it. Getting to cook a home cooked meal for two and taking Bryan his dinner every night. Getting to spend 10 minutes talking in the parking lot of Bryan's work, teasing and loving each others company. Getting to sit in the comfort of my front room with such a warm cozy feeling filling my soul with comfort. Taking the most relaxing baths and showers in our tiny shower and tub. Curling up next to the one I love so much and being able to throw my arm over him anytime I wanted. Getting to see my family and friends in just a short 15 minutes anytime wanted. I never knew what lonely was until I moved away from home and everything I love so much. People tell me all the time that it must be hard to be away from home and my husband. They have no idea how hard it is. If it were not for my loving supporting husband and family, I would not be where I am today. I owe them everything and I cannot wait to get to spend more time with them. And now to close and hopefully get some sleep. "To be with you tomorrow gives me the strength to go on with today."

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Wow. Too much going on.

Friday, December 9, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

Sorry that I have literally sucked at updating this blog lately. I have not been able to take any pictures and life has been a little crazy the past few weeks. We had our last show in Bozeman, MT for the equestrian team for the year. It was a blast. I only got to ride once on Sunday but it was still fun. Everyone on the team is so much fun to be around and I have been able to make some good friends. I took 5th in my class. I felt like my ride though, was awesome. That was seriously the best ride I have had yet. I feel like I have improved some since joining the team and learning a little more horse control, balance, and leg strength that it is becoming more natural for me to ride English saddle. I have loved it. I am excited for the next semester as well. It will be interesting and I have more classes that are animal based which will be more fascinating to me. I still have to take the second semester of organic chemistry and physics which sucks but I also get to take animal anatomy and physiology (which I have already passed with flying colors human anatomy and physiology, so I have a good system down for those subjects), sheep/ovine production, and hopefully if I can add it a horse health course which would be awesome and give a total of 17 credit hours next semester as well. Also I will get to ride more with the team too so it will be fun. I am definitely looking forward to the break though. Finals are next week and needless to say Bryan and I are starting to cram and stress out to prepare for the exams. Bryan has done great this semester in making sure that all of his assignments have gotten turned in and studying for his exams. I am so proud of my husband. He has stepped it up a lot in the school department and I am so happy to be with him. He is so great to me even when he keeps me up until 2 am helping him with a paper he needed help writing. He is trying so hard and I can see it. I hate so much being away from him and it will be so nice to have three weeks with him. Assuming I survive the next week okay. I have my organic chemistry final and physics final on the same day one right after the other. It is starting to stress me out a little at this point. Those are my two more intensive courses this semester and it is hard to make such a huge transition in just ten minutes. We will see how I do and all I can do is my best. I am excited for Christmas but not so much my birthday. I will be 26 on Christmas day and it is a little weird to think I am closer to 30 now than 20. Time flies when you are happy. That is right I am happy. I know that I am sad all the time while I am away from Bryan but I love being with him and how supportive him and my family are and I could not ask for more. I feel like my life has more meaning and everyday I love them all more and more. Darcy is expecting and her belly is starting to get bigger. I cannot wait to find out what she is having. Her and Danny are just stringing us along and waiting until he last minute to find out what they are having which is silly because I would so buy the baby Fisher a Christmas gift if I could. I guess I will just have to wait. I wish so badly that Bryan and I could start our own family but with finances tight and me living in Logan and Bryan in Salt Lake, it would not be wise to start now. I cannot wait to though. I think about it all the time and I want to be a mom so bad. Just to have such a blessing in our lives. We are so happy I know a little bundle of joy would complete the happiness. Well I will update on how we do on our finals when grades post.

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Montana and the holidays

Thursday, November 17, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

So Montana was good but a little disappointing for the equestrian team trip. I have made it a goal to try and improve at each show to place better in the show from the previous one, have better rides, and learn new things. I definitely learned new things with this trip to Mizzoula, Montana. Montana is beautiful. I got to drive and it was in the afternoon as we were making our way through beautiful Montana. I have never seen so many different places along the side of the road that were ideal for fly fishing. The mountains were breathtaking and they were surrounding. The cold was worth the trip for sure just to get to see and experience all that is Montana. The hotel we stayed at was better from previous years from what I understand but our room was a little questionable. We had no hot water, a broken lock on the door, and the fan in the bathroom would growl at you as you went to the bathroom. Also dust particles and some other kind of particle would fall down from the light every time you were in there. It was crazy. The shows were okay. We did have one jumper fall off but she was alright other than some crooked glasses and a sore body for the following week. I did okay in my shows. I felt like I could have ridden much better and I hate that feeling. I like succeeding and riding to the best of my ability. Something I learned in the following practice was horse control. I have been lacking on the horse control subject to this point because I have not ridden any horses that had any problems. But on my first horse I got for the show, since we were the first ones to ride, he did not want to slow down. I needed to learn how to hold a horse back and is something that I have now mastered thanks to Trixie, the teams paint horse that I got to ride. My second horse was part of a draft pair of horses and the other paired horse was in the same class being ridden so every time she got up right next to her partner she would slow down and fight me if I wanted her to move on. The last horse I had was great and I had a wonderful ride. Until some silly girl from another college would not stop riding right behind my horse. Etiquette at horse shows that if a horse has a red ribbon tied in the horses tail that means the horse kicks if you get behind it and my cute little pony had a red ribbon so when she kept riding right behind me and even though I tried to avoid her, my horse bucked. I almost ended up on the ground and then my horse was upset and kept backing up trying to kick more. She would not move forward and that hurt my chances I feel a little because I had a great ride before and even after the incident. Some judges will judge on the horses performance as well. It was a fun trip though and I really enjoy everyone that is on the team. We all have fun and they are all really great to be around. I have made some fun and excellent friends and I am so glad I decided to join the team.

The holidays are coming up and it will be so much fun. Since Thanksgiving is next week I do not have school on Wednesday through Friday. I get to spend time with my friend Brie and her kids on Wednesday and we are going to do crafts, get lunch, and just hang out which will be nice. I miss seeing her and her adorable family. She is so much fun to be around and I am happy she is going to be hanging out with me. Being in Logan is hard and I miss everyone so much. I get to spend Thanksgiving with my family and my grandma, aunt and uncle, and cousins will be coming down for Thanksgiving. It will so much fun to see and hang out with Grandma, Pat, Bryce, Nick, and Andrea. I am excited too because it will be the first time that Darcy will be cooking for us. Well we are all bringing something and I am not sure what Darcy has left to cook but it will be great. I am looking forward to the end of the semester and it should be a good one.

Well once I have photo shop back on the laptop I will post some cool pictures of the jumpers at the show.

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Idaho

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

A weekend ago Bryan and I got the opportunity to go up to Blackfoot, ID and shadow the ranch owner, Rance Butler. Rance is a beef cattle owner who makes his living off of the cattle he raises, breeds, and cares for. My aunt Pat is friends with Rance and organized the whole trip for us to go. I got to ride Weezie my aunt's horse. The trip we got to go on was a trip up to the reservation land that is just outside of Blackfoot. Rance was pushing the cattle from the reservation land that he pays to have his cattle on for the summer to his land in Blackfoot. We first got on the horses and rode through the land sweeping for any cattle that had gotten missed from the day before ride. We then pushed the cattle down to the road and to a corral just off the road. The cows were actually mixed with another ranch owners cattle and so while the cows were in the corral they went through and separated the cattle. They then drove the cattle further down the road to more land that Rance was leasing. After we drove the cattle from the hills I actually joined Bryan in the truck since the horse I was riding was a little hyped up and my aunt Pat needed to ride her down. We then went home and had dinner and slept. We really did not get a lot of sleep so it was nice to go to bed early and sleep in late the next day. We then had some excellent breakfast at Stan's and it was oh so good. It was two big scones, 5 pieces of bacon, hashbrowns, and two eggs. It was so good. We then came home after getting a call that the dogs had gotten out of the yard again. It was a great trip for sure.

Just some country side along the drive.

Bryan got to drive the beer truck. After we stopped for lunch and for the cows to get separated, everyone rode off and left us with a truck that was dead. It took 6 Native Americans, some jumper cables and some tools and we got it started again. It was really nice of the Native Americans to stop and they were so friendly.

Above is some of the cowboys and Native Americans riding up to the corral to separate the cows.

Some cows just chillin on the side of the road.

Well this last weekend was definitely not a fun one. The fence at our house in the back yard was done so poorly that it was no surprise that the fence finally had mostly fallen down. Well this week it got worse so it turned into a last minute project that needed to get done. Bryan and I had to tear down, re-dig the holes, and completely put up the fence again. I will post pictures of the end product soon but it was definitely not an easy task.

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A quick update

Friday, October 28, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

Well have not blogged as soon as I wanted to this week but it has been a crazy week. Monday had an assignment due so I got up at 7:00 am and spent the whole day at the school until 8:30 pm with classes, research, and getting the assignment done and turned in. Tuesday I got to sleep in a little because I took an exam last week so that I would not have to take it this week. But the day did not end early, instead it went straight from 12:30 pm to 10:30 pm. I had classes until 4:30 pm and then dashed like a mad woman to riding practice at where I got to be a part of the group that had to stay late and wait for the horses that we rode for practice to cool down. Since it is cold outside we cannot just ride them and then let them out into their outside stalls. But instead we have to keep them inside the area until they completely cool down before turning them out. Wednesday I had class all day, went straight to work, and then I came straight back to the school for a review session for the Organic Chemistry test I had today. This is some confusing stuff for sure. Which then I got home about 9:30 pm and started studying for the midterm exam that I had in Animal Science on Thursday. I got up at 6:30 am to study for the midterm, went to classes and took the midterm, stayed after my last class to attend another review session for the organic chemistry test and went home to study more and more for the organic chemistry test. It is crazy how much studying it took to get prepared for the exam. I even got up at 6:30 am again today to study before going in for the test. I still do not feel like I was completely prepared but I felt like I did alright on both exams. I will have to find out for sure before feeling too good about it.

Last weekend was a total blast for sure. I got some pictures and I will have to post them later because I do not have my camera with me at this time but I got to go to Idaho and ride with my Aunt Pat and her friend Rance Butler. I got to follow Rance around and asked him all sorts of questions. I got to ride Weezie, my Aunt's paint horse, and after a while I ended sitting in the truck with Bryan and my Aunt rode Weezie for a while. It was so much fun and so cool to get to ask and apply questions to everything that I have learned already. I have learned so much from my animal dairy and vet science classes that I have got to take this semester and it was interesting to see it applied in real life and see some of the hands on. I really want to go into bovine (cow) science. I have changed from horses just because I love horses but I have fallen in love with cattle too. I think they are so interesting and complicated. It is crazy to think of all the processes that take place in a cows place and I would love to get to work with these gentle beasts. Bryan got to come with me as well and it was great to have him there. I love getting to spend any time that I can with him. I am excited to see him again this weekend. I only have two more classes today before I get to drive home, see Bryan, see my doggies, and hopefully maybe get some work done in the back yard.

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First Equestrian Team Shows in Dillon, MT

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

This last weekend was a lot of fun and definitely a new experience for me. I have never gotten to compete in a riding show competition before but I got to this last weekend. I am on the Utah State University Equestrian Team as a walk/trot rider. That means that my class that I compete in one that we walk, sit trot, and post trot. It is a lot of fun. You first get to start by drawing a horse's name out of hat. These horses that we ride when we travel to other colleges or universities are the college or university's horses and the first time that anyone on the team gets to ride them. I drew a horse that called Chinook and she was a paint/draft horse mix. She was huge but so much fun to ride. She was smooth to trot with and very easy to get responses from. The only thing was that she was green meaning that she has not been ridden for a long time yet and she is still learning her balance while a rider is on her so she swayed back and forth just a little. But all in all she was a great horse and I really enjoyed getting to ride her. I actually drew her out of the hat for both of the shows that we got to show. This was definitely to my advantage. I got a good horse both shows. I placed third in the first and second show. I know I could have done better in the second show but I was so distracted with all the other riders and trying to avoid them colliding with me. Some of the riders in the walk/trot class are not the best at steering and control of their horse and will cut you off causing you to break gate. Breaking gate means that if you are trotting slowing down to a walk or if you are walking stop all together and you are constantly being judged while in the arena and breaking gate is a no no. The judges judge you on how you ride, respond to the horse, and how pretty you look doing it. I get to wear tight breeches which are the pants for English riding, a show shirt with a collar, and a jacket. Not to mention the oh so wonderful full half leg field boots that go up to your knees. I think I look pretty good in it all for sure. I cannot wait to see the pictures that the rest of the team took and hopefully put them up here soon. Below is a photo of both my ribbons.

Another thing that I forgot to mention is how you actually move up from one class to the next. The classes start from beginner to advanced. They are (beginning with beginner) walk/trot, walk/trot/canter beginner, walk/trot/canter advanced, intermediate, novis, and open. Then from there anyone from novis to open can actually compete in the jumping portion as well. To move up in your class you need to earn 36 points. Points are obtained by placings that are obtained in each show. Since I placed third in both of my classes I earned 8 points. On my way for sure. I would love to point up and get to compete with the canter.

A few weeks ago was Bryan and I's 4 year wedding anniversary. Bryan was sweet enough to send me some flowers at Logan even though we were apart. They were so beautiful and some of my favorites. My hubby is such a sweety. Below are some photos of the beautiful wonderful flowers that were waiting for me at my room when I got back from class on September 15th.

I found some photos that I had taken recently of Gretchen. I really miss her while I have been here in Logan. I miss her sweet personality and her feisty side as well. She is so cute and I love her to death.

Well I am very excited for our next show in November at Bozeman, MT and I really hope to improve massively by then to place even higher in my classes. I am also very excited to go home and see Bryan this weekend. It has been too long. Since I went to Montana this last weekend I did not get to go home and see him so it will be very nice to be able to go home. If only I can make it through the week. I still have tons of homework to do, work on Wednesday cleaning someones home (not my favorite job but it was all I could find in Logan), and two quizzes to take before the weekend. The only reason that I am even up as late as it is, is because I needed to finish my physics assignment that is due tonight before 1 am. Man, gotta love college.

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Movie Updates

Sunday, September 25, 2011 by Monkey and Britter Brit

Well I have not updated on the recent movies I have watched recently. I have finally been catching up more on the movies that every tells me I should watch and so some of these are a little older of movies but now I can see I have seen some of the classics that everyone seems to love. There are some newer ones too and one television series that I have just fallen in love with.

Cherry was defintiely a different show. It is kind of a weird one where this brilliant teenage goes to an ivy league school while he is only 17. He is following in his families footsteps by going into engineering while his heart is really in the passion of art. He falls in love with an older woman in one of his art classes who does not have her head or anything for that matter together. I liked the story line and acting quite well. It does not move very fast though and did have some dull moments. It was different but I did enjoy the characters and complexity of their emotions.

Brokeback Mountain was a little awkward to watch at parts and a little uneasy but I can see why it won so many awards. It has very complex characters and you feel the pain of the two love struck cowboys. To live a life of duplicity and lies is not easy for either one of these guys after they become romantic on a mountain while attending to herding sheep. They part their ways and live their lives with wifes and children while all the while sneaking away every now and then to be together. It is a good show and I loved the many different characters and the actors and actresses chosen were perfect.

Another movie that was a little awkward to watch at parts but again I just feel in love with the characters and felt like the actors did great. Jim Carrey is hilarious no matter what part he is playing. He plays the character of a con artist so well that while serving a sentence in prison he comes across and falls in love with Phillip, Ewan McGregor's character. They finally get out and live together but Jim Carrey continues con his way through their relationship. It is a fun show with a lot of humor. It is different to watch the characters and how they develop but all in all I enjoyed it.

Well, I must admit I am a fan of South Park. I always have been but I have never seen all the episodes all the way through. I am in the process of watching all of these hilarious episodes on Netflix. I love Cartman so much. He is so funny and just the most random things happen to him. I love his infamous saying of "Screw you guys, I'm going home." My cousin Rich inspired me to try and watch them all and it has been a success and I have just finished season 3. Season 4 here I come.

I know that many have not heard of this before and could easily be confused with couples retreat. This is actually a christian version of the show and I really enjoyed it. I love watching movies with good messages and that encourage strengthening your relationship with God and those around you. I loved the characters and how each of them was really their own. No two characters were alike and I enjoyed how they kept making sure to let both sides of a relationship see both sides. Even when you think you are right on a matter with your spouse, there is a chance you are probably wrong.

I loved this movie. It was great! I love the action, the acting, and the whole feel and approach that the creators took to it. I am a huge fan of the main actor anyways because I saw him in Legion and loved him in that. It is the same type of role and he plays them so well. I love the use of excellent actors and actresses and how in depth the story goes. I feel like it was a little short and it did set it up for a sequel which I actually hope that they do make another.

Definitely an older movie for sure but everyone has always told me that I need to see this film so I did. I loved it. It is so twisted and dark that you do not realize just how much everything and everyone is tied together. I loved the actors and actresses in this movie. They did really good and I recommend this show to anyone who has not seen it. Not for the children or light hearted for sure but a great movie and must see at least once in your life time.

This was not my favorite of the one that everyone told me I needed to see in that it was a classic. It was okay. Perhaps it is because I grew up in a different era and don't really think to admire these pot heads and their antics. This is one I would not probably recommend to anyone and it is a little choppy in the plot and jumps a lot.

Bryan and I watched Sucker Punch last night actually and it was really good. It keeps you guessing what is acutally going on and the action scenes in it were great. I really enjoyed each of the characters too. The girls are so complex and you really cannot figure out what is really going on with each process. It does get a little confusing at first but you start to figure it out. I loved how each of the battle scenes really had some different aspect to it. It was a mix of modern, old school, and medieval. It was great and I recommed to see it for sure.

Bryan is the one that has turned me onto the Modern Family. I have only been able to see Season 1 but it is hilarious. Gloria has to be my favorite character in the bunch. She is so much fun to watch and she is just so full of spunk and grit. I love her. All the characters though are really great. I love how each of them are tied together. It is great to see old Ted Bundy playing the terrible dad again. I love the actor and I think he is great for his role. The younger and older sister kind of remind me of me and my sister when we were younger. A must see and I will definitely be starting season 2 this next week.

Just an update on us past the whole movies, we are doing great. I am really not looking forward to going back to Logan this week because it will be two weeks until I get to come home again. I am on the equestrian team at Utah State and our first show is this coming Saturday and Sunday and we will not be back in time for me to come home. It will be hard for sure.

School is going well and the stress is really starting to build since the tests are now starting up. I had one in Physics last week and have two coming up this next week. We are a quarter of the way done with the semester though and that is good news. Hopefully I can take some photos of the show and get them posted on here.

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