Winding Up 2015

As the year draws to a close, I realize there are many adventures from these past few months we have not yet shared with you all.  The photo above is of Ryan and me at our very first OU (Oklahoma University) football game. This was the beginning of November. Some friends of ours gave us their tickets one weekend since they couldn't go themselves and we made a night of it, driving down to OKC. We won! Go Sooners! Anthropologically speaking, football games are way more fun in person than on tv.

Pregnancy-wise, things really couldn't be going better; I haven't been sick since the first few weeks and I am now about half-way through! Also....big news....it's a boy! We found out at the end of October, and Ryan seriously could not be more excited, haha. :) Everything is going very well overall, and I feel good, just tired. I'm still subbing, and every day I work, I come home and take a nap. Last week for the first time, several students asked if I were pregnant. These were 7th graders, and it was really funny to see their reactions since most were super nervous about asking me such a question. My favorite was when students would immediately start suggesting their favorite names. They were just so excited to shout "Oh, oh, pick Gregory!" I'm more than 5 months along now, and the only "extreme" symptoms I have are mental ones. I think this comic perfectly illustrates me as a pregnant person and Ryan being his usual, enthusiastic self.

Ryan has been running races again! He has found a good group of friends from work and church who run as well. Several of them ran a 15k together on Halloween morning. They all did well, despite the cold rain that kept up all that weekend. Ryan didn't set any new PRs, but he's getting closer to his best pace from a few years ago. The plan is to qualify for the Boston marathon by next fall! They didn't dress up, but tons of other runners were in full costumes.

I really love Halloween. Like..... a lot. I'm sure most of you are well aware of this already, but this comic just perfectly sums up my enthusiasm about the entire, wonderful month of October. The best part is that Ryan is perfectly happy to celebrate with me! Oh, I love him! Although he was a little skeptical when I began planning our costumes back in August...hehe, this is funny because I'm not exaggerating. This baby boy may not have a name yet, but he definitely has his first three Halloweens already planned out.  I may not be as skilled a seamstress as my mother, but I think it safe to say that my painting, hot-gluing, and Goodwill-shopping skills are sufficient. Behold! The mighty Thor and mischievous Loki! Even Ry's epic pumpkin was Avengers-themed! Haha, I carved the little pumpkin all by myself...so it's a cat face, because that's all I can do.

Burdened with glorious props!

Basking in the glory of our winnings!
Best Couple's costume!

For my birthday we went to the State Fair again this year. We sampled Funnel-cake-on-a-stick, Pizza-on-a-stick, deep-fried Red Velvet Oreos, and a bacon-wrapped hot dog. We hope walking several miles counter-acted the "healthiness" of the food. It was all pretty tasty. Gotta get that true Oklahoma experience while we're here, after all. 

 For Labor Day weekend, we drove to Tennessee, and so did my parents! We met them in Nashville and checked off a bucket-list item. We visited the Parthenon. :) There's a life-size replica in the middle of Nashville, and both my inner classical nerd and Percy Jackson fan were thrilled to see it. Inside was the "lost" statue of Athena Parthenos. We also drove by the Nashville Temple, which is similar to the OKC one.

Ryan played on an Ultimate Frisbee league this summer. He and his team did an amazing job throughout the season and actually became the final tournament champions! Even though there were  players of all levels and most had never met before, they meshed well early on. It was so fun to watch their games. The league slogan on their jerseys said "Hot nights under the lights" and this was never more true than on the day of the tournament. The final game finished at 11 PM, when it was still 95 degrees outside. 

In August I flew out for a weekend to attend Elise and Adam's wedding! It was a perfectly sunny day and a wonderful wedding. It's crazy to think Elise and I met on our very first day at BYU; time sure does fly when you're having fun. All our love, from the OK Binghams.