guess who's back? back again? piper's back! tell your friends!!

Over thanksgiving the guinndavivarga's pulled a fast one! we all sat down for our thanksgiving meal and were going around the table to say what we were thankful for. i should have known something was up when coco (trey's mom) had her camera out and was snapping shots of every single moment. Trey, conveniently, was last to share his thoughts. He mentioned a lot of things and then went on to talk about piper. he then pulled out a peice of paper and handed it to me to read. the paper explained that he had re-written the ut pet policy so that pcg could come home!! i lost it, obviously...as did the others. We are all so thankful for this little 4 lbs dog that has brought so much joy to us, the varga's, and bud and coco! Her study abroad at A&M has come to a completion and she is home at last....living large in the ATX!! thank you, trey!.. and thank you UT for bringing home our baby puppy!!!!

oops...i forgot we had a blog!

A lot has happened in the past two months! For starters, the Rowe's had a beautiful baby girl - Ava claire! She was born on October 9th and weighed 7 lbs 12 ounces. Initially, she looked just like greg. As time goes on, she looks more and more like her beautiful mommy!! Greg, Gina, Ava, and Baylor live in round rock (just 20 minutes north of us here in austin). We enjoy getting together with them for dinner and football games! While at Baylor, greg and trey were roommates and gina and i were roommates. We treasure our friendship with them and are so excited to journey with them down the road of parenting! one day, when we jump on the baby-bandwagon, ava and young guinn will be best friends :)

The day after Ava's birth, Trey and I flew to Atlanta to help our best man Banes set up his proposal to Mary Grace!! MG didn't know we were in town until a few hours after banes popped the question! We were waiting with the Kimsey family at their house. Gracie called me to tell me the exciting news on their way to the house and was actually on the phone with me when they pulled up. Guinn and I were inside hiding in her room upstairs. Once they entered the house, Beans called Guinn to "tell him the news" and guinn loudly responded from upstairs with a "NO WAY!" Gracie responded "yes we are!" and then quickly realized that guinn's voice was not only coming from the phone but also from upstairs! We were able to spend the next two days with the richters-to-be and are very much looking forward to their trip to austin at the end of this month. More importantly, we are looking forward to May 30th when they tie the knot!!!!

The week we came home from Atlanta was dedicated to smithtoberfest...a reunion of the Guinn's and lolly. Laura is one of our close high school/Baylor friends. She moved to North Carolina for pharmacy school and we just don't see her often enough. Her time in austin was short so we all stayed up until 4am catching up on life, school, friends, family, and so much more. we also hit up anthro and urban and planned our next reunion in december when the smiths and guinns will all 4 get to reunite!

The weekend after smithtoberfest we were able to celebrate the wedding of Hayley and Justin Schwartz!! Hayley is another Castle Hills/Baylor friend. While at Baylor, Hayley registered for every class I taught and was a perfect student :) We were fortunate to get to know justin during our time in waco and couldn't be happier for both of them! The wedding was beautiful and LOTS of fun! Justin and Hayley live in Dallas and we enjoy getting to see them whenever possible!

The next week, Ryan Willard surprised us with a visit! He stayed for a few days and then actually came back again 2 weeks later. Ryan coordinates admissions at the Vanderbilt Law School. He travels all over the US recruiting and we can count on seeing him once or twice a year during his travels. This summer, we drove to Nashville to visit and experience "nashvegas"...willard style! Ryan is always up for a dance party and when he's in town we spend our time listening to good music and having dance-offs.

Halloween weekend was spent down in Pleasanton/McCoy. We skipped Baylor homecoming to be with the family on opening weekend of deer hunting season. When my grandmother passed away she left the land to my dad, aunt zoe, and uncle ted. We have grown up on this ranch and hold it near to our hearts. My great-grandfather Joe-K (born in 1898) bought this land and it has been in the family ever since. When my Dad closed down the family hardware and furniture business last year he took to tending to the land as his full time job. He's gone back to his cowboy roots..."farmer joe-go" and is loving every minute of it!

After a weekend at the ranch, the Gossett's came to the ATX! This was the first time they had experienced the UT life. Being the hardcore aggie family that they are, i was a bit nervous. But, they fell in love with the campus, our apt, and our little ut life. we walked all over the place, got coffee on campus, went and bought UT apparel for all, and then went to our very first game in royal-memorial stadium - Baylor vs. UT!!! Trey and i were kind of torn on what colors to wear. We decided that since the game was @ ut we would go with that....with pieces of green flair, of course.

The family was fully supportive and even managed to wear burnt orange!! Whether at A&M, Baylor, or UT...they are always rooting for our team!!
The weekend following the Gossett's we celebrated Quinton's birthday at the Madonna concert! Q's always had a little obsession with "madge". While in Africa this past may, her new album had just come out and it was all we listened to. After coming home i would find myself constantly listening to the madge tunes reminiscing and being filled with memories of Kenya!! Trey had a major exam and could not attend the concert so Quinton, Aaron and I went! We were on the floor only a few rows from the front of the stage and right next to the catwalk that she frequented (as seen here)!! it was definitely an experience i won't forget!

pre-concert-- we got there in plenty of time to soak in the closeness of our seats. Here i'm standing somewhat in the outfield of minute-maid park. I was able to introduce myself to Drayton McClane (the owner of the astros) and also was able to thank him for the McClane Student Life Center at Baylor (SLiC).

PIPER GUINN VARGA!

as you may know, piper is living with josef and sarah in college station. We've tried to keep our distance so that she could get acquainted with them and not get confused by seeing us come and go too often. She moved to college station on july 4th and we've only seen her once since then (august 4th)

we will finally get to see the little "pcg" in less than two weeks and can hardly wait! Here are some pics that the Varga's sent us today after taking her to the vet and to get groomed...

Thank you, Varga's, for loving and caring for little piper!!

kenya videos

Our kenya trip was "pre-blog" days so, i've yet to share many of the details. For now, here are a few videos from our trip. The first three Quinton put together from the footage he had. The last 3 are raw footage that we took with our digital camera. enjoy.

This 1st video is the second half of our safari -- we went canoeing with HIPPOS!

"The hippo is extremely aggressive, unpredictable and unafraid of humans, upsetting boats sometimes without provocation and chomping the occupants with its huge canine teeth and sharp incisors"

(things we should have known before jumping aboard the small canoe)

This was the night that the masai's came and performed their tribal dance. You will see near the end that guinn and i got pulled onto the dance floor.

This is footage from the Masai Mara safari.

this is a short clip just after i returned back from a 20 kilometer run across the african countryside. One of the most mentally and physically challenging moments of my entire life. i was happy and thankful to be back at the shelter with the children ...and trey sure was too!

gammon and goose/guinn and gools.

20 years ago...

young jules on the far right with the sweet mini... and there's young trey with his eyes closed. we were off to the rodeo that day...if only tiffany montgomery had not been between us...the flames just may have begun burning right then and there :)

Here's the whole class, 1988! i'm on the front row with the mary lou retton bob and the sailor garb. Trey is in the red shirt (middle row, far right)!! Ashley Pedroza is the sailor in the middle and Kathryn is the little prep on the front row, second from the right. *This was the year that i threw trey's crayons on the floor and got sent to mr. pevey's office to be paddled. For some reason i was the class rebel....and of course, we all know that trey was teacher's pet.

I left castle hills after kindergarden and after returning junior year, was reintroduced to Trey Guinn...my little friend from kinder that i sat next to every day(our desks were in alphabetical order and being gossett and guinn--it worked out). On September 19th, 1998 trey and I went on our first date! Neither of us had ever been on a date before and we were so excited! We decided to make it a double with our two best friends (Kathryn and Brandon).
Brandon and Trey wanted the date to last as long as possible so they picked us up at 4pm and we kicked off the eve at Tandilyn Morrel’s birthday dinner. We left there soon after arrival and headed to J.Alexanders. After dinner we went to see “Rush Hour” and then after the movies went to Starbucks.

Here's a picture of us --

10 years ago

and today.... we celebrate!

10 year guinniversary!

Happy 10, Guinn!!!

oh, and i forgot to add-- as seen above, trey surprised me and cut all of his little athletes.  No more nightly training sessions....  

10 years ago, my life was changed forever....

And for that, I am thankful.
So the story goes: (a novel for those who have time to kill)
It was April 20th, 1998 (my 16th birthday) when Kathryn and I competed in the biggest gymnastics competition of our lives. What we didn’t know then was that it would be our last. I had competed three of 4 events and had gone into my last rotation (uneven bars) in a position of placing and qualifying to nationals. This was huge and pretty much what I had been working towards my whole career. My coach was very adamant about me throwing an extremely difficult dismount (a full twisting double back flip) that I had recently learned in the gym. I’m convinced that part of it was pride in what he had taught me and wanting to show it off at this big meet. Regardless, in doing this dismount I would receive bonus added to my score and he felt that it was what I needed to place. In warm ups I was coming closer and closer to hitting the bar each time that I released (I could even hear the audience gasping ) yet my coach was still very persistent that I do this dismount and not an easier one. I saluted the judge, and began my routine. Everything was going perfect until the release (as I had presumed). I did my giants and my tap swing , and then as my feet rose in preparation for the release of the bar I held on slightly too long and pulled in launching my body over the top of the high bar as opposed to out in front of it. I followed through with my skill (as you are supposed to) while my head barely missed the bar and my feet caught and threw me to my back on the floor. With the breath knocked out of me and a few broken toes I laid there in disbelief. I knew that my chances at nationals were over. Not only did I not get my bonus, I also didn't get credit for dismounting because I had not landed the skill.
Kathryn’s final event was vault where she found herself in a similar situation. Our coach wanted her to throw a vault that she had a problem landing. Sure enough, Kathryn ran down the runway, blocked off the horse, and landed (knees locked). She fell to the floor screaming. I, at the time, was in the audience and ran onto the floor. EMS arrived and carried her off to an emergency surgery to salvage her knees, while I phoned her family and gave the paramedics all of her information.
Over the next few days, Kathryn had several surgeries and 5 screws and a bone graph later, flew home only to remain in a hospital bed in her living room for the next month. With two full leg casts and a whole lot of inner strength Kathryn and I sat there and reminisced on our lives that had been completely taken over by this sport.
Our lives were gymnastics and that was it. On a typical day I woke up at 5:45 am to attend a required church class of my church at the time. I would then go to school. After school I would run anywhere from 3-6 miles for cross-country practice. After practice I went directly to gymnastics and practiced at the gym from 4-9 pm. At 9:30 I would get home in order to microwave whatever my family had eaten for dinner, to shower, and to start my homework. This was the week life. The weekends were filled with gymnastics practice or competitions.
So, as we sat in Kathryn’s living room we decided to quit on what we had dedicated our lives to since age 6. It was a hard decision and we cried about the thought of giving up on the only life we knew but, at the same time, we knew it was what we had to do. We feared letting our parents down since we had access to college scholarships. But, 6 more years dedicated to the sport seemed torturous.
We thought that I should try to transfer schools since I didn't have any sort of social life at my previous school. Kathryn had me convinced that I should come to Castle Hills and start fresh. And the plus side, I could still spend every day with my best friend regardless of whether or not we were doing 5 hours of gymnastics. The process of actually making this a reality was not easy. 1.) I had to convince my Mormon parents that being at a Baptist school wouldn’t change me, 2.) Convince my dad to pay for half and that it was necessary for me to attend private school, and 3.) Convince the school that I, the little Mormon girl, wouldn’t come in and shake up the peace in the Christian environment. All were hard sells but fact of the matter is that they sold! 
And for that decision….that one little hard fought and hard sought decision of quitting gymnastics and transferring to c hills I have my husband, my best friends, and most importantly my faith.
I will forever be thankful for Castle Hills and all the blessings it brought to my life!
10 years later: a reunion with my besties--

living and loving the atx.

Amongst many other pleasant surprises since our arrival to Austin, Trey and I have noticed how frequent it is for us to share a night together at home! While in Waco, it wasn't often that we were both home at the same time. Much less, it was rarely ever just the two of us. This change of pace, and the increased time together, has been a major bonus of life at UT!

So, to clue you in, here is a random (though, rather frequently lived) sampling of an evening in the Guinn House....

Meal of choice: Pasta (not sometimes, but almost always), red sauce (always red and never white), red red wine, and pillsbury crescent rolls... We normally commit to eating four of the eight rolls, but without fail, find ourselves creeping back into the kitchen to finish off the remaining four.

Dessert: Dessert is normally nestle chocolate chips…just out of the bag. We ocassionaly (or quite frequently) make cookies...but not tonight.

Throughout the night, Guinn always has papers in his hand. Usually, they are articles, and frequently they are suffering from underline marks and side commentaries... In the background, we watch whatever's on the tube. CNN is our first hit, always. Whether it's Anderson Cooper who is "keepin' them honest", or some political candidate being revealed... We enjoy keeping up with the election and any and all hurricanes in the gulf :)

For a break, we might throw in a few episodes of sex in the city. Or, for a polar opposite viewing experience, we like to watch the latest darfur documentary (on-loan from Quinton)... likewise, it's not uncommon for Guinn to employ a new round of his ever-so-popular "question game."

Since the unveiling of the new iphone, we have fought hard to not become addicts of these little gems of joy... But, do not be surprised to find Guinn frequently checking his emails or myself texting or watching music videos.
as for tonight, guinn is on a different mission. he has decided to "train his hair.” I’m not 100% sure what he and his "hairs" are training for, but apparently he’s the coach and the training regimen involves my brush and constant brushing the “right direction.” He says he's going for a new style that isn't so natural for him and his teammates. With his hair growing out, event the slightest bit, he isn't willing to risk the possibility of his teammates waking unprepared....and in his mind a lot of brushing in the right direction will produce desired results. We'll see. I already warned him that training or not, we might have to chalk this one up as a loss.

For the day life-- our hours are becoming more established and consistent. The morning always starts with a cup of coffee (or a few)... and then we hop on our "forty acres" bus and ride off to our appropriate buildings. Some days Guinn just walks across the street to the communications building for PhD things or heads to his office (which is an entire 20 second walk from our front door!). As for me, I walk or ride a few blocks to "my side of campus" .... my morning is packed with teaching circuit aerobics and walking classes and I spend the afternoon running, laying out, or "working" in my office. 2-3 days a week, I will take an afternoon shift at Anthropologie.

guinn house rule #1: keep exposed skin to a minimum to reduce pain associated with extreme temperatures.

rule #2: have coffee brewing at all times.

captured this shot of guinn training his teammates. I sure hope they run the race of their lives.

This is my favorite spot on campus! This happy little pool happens to be at the rec center (gregory gym) which is where i office. it's a highly enjoyable atmosphere with great music and great views. and best of all, i can break to run the track or work in my office!<>

piper gettin' low on the house boat!!

The NEW holiday guinn

sorry for the delay...here are pictures from the new "hotel, motel, holiday guinn". any and all guests are welcome. as you'll notice, we no longer have a guest room but we sure can whip the living room into a nice little suite in no time!

in case you're confused-- The guinn's live on UT's campus in Whitis Court. Trey took this job which provides free housing on campus while he tackles his PhD...

this is the view from the front door...kind of. i'm actually a little right of the door.

that little wall hanging on the right fell. ya, it's a cinder block wall.

and here, i am in the "office/dining room"

this is from the front door looking right

this is taken from the living area

front door looking left

that hallway leads to our bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room...

much bigger closets than our last "place of residence"

and guinn definitely Roy G Biv-ed his side.

While it may seem surprising, we love living in the dorms!! Of course, some modern comforts get thrown out the window. However, more often than not, we find ourselves incredibly grateful for the opportunity to live in community. We encounter so many people, from various backgrounds and cultures and enjoy learning from and sharing with others!!

until next time,

trey and jules