OUTDOORS:

I feel like I grew up in the outdoors. Hiking, backpacking, canoeing, climbing, camping, snowshoeing: I love getting out and experiencing “only the essential facts of life.”

One of my favorite places to visit is Grand Teton National Park (pictured at left, on the summit of the South Teton). It’s a great place to go because you can hike for an afternoon or a week, climb, swim, canoe or camp. When I was a teenager, I was a backcountry guide in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. I would take small groups of scouts from as far away as Saudi Arabia on week long trips into the wilderness. I’ve sat in geysers, hiked past glaciers, swum in mountain lakes, seen black and grizzly bears from a distance and up close, climbed mountains, stood under waterfalls 250+ feet tall and weathered fierce mountain storms.

These days, Erin and I try and get out to nearby national parks or forests such as Yellowstone, the Uintas (in Utah), Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, Capitol Reef, and Breckenridge.  We will take off after work on Friday, drive to a trailhead, and hike for an hour or two. Or, we will take a couple of days off and do some backpacking.

TRAVEL:

* 31 states and Washington, DC
* 3 countries (U.S., Germany, France)
* Favorite places: Camp Loll, Oregon Coast, Rocky Mountains, Mosel River Valley (Germany), Yellowstone
* Favorite cities: Boston, Washington, DC, Dallas, Marburg (Germany), San Diego, Miami
* Longest road trip: 20 hours, from Salt Lake City to Dallas
* 2nd longest road trip: 18 hours, from Dallas to Raleigh, NC

FOOD:

I enjoy eating (probably too much) at small, local restaurants. In particular, I look for good German, Indian and Thai restaurants.

Pictured above is a traditional German meal of Rouladen, Rotkohl, Semmel Knoedel and Kartoffel Knoedel from the Prost German Restaurant in Aberdeen, MD. Delicious. Rouladen is beef, mustard, bacon and onions rolled together. Rotkohl is sweet red cabbage. Knoedel is a type of dumpling. Rouladen is probably my favorite meal.

Erin talking about Thomas:

Our life together has been full of great surprises. The first surprise for me was that I married Thomas. We met while attending college and although we were good friends, I wrote in my journal that I was never going to date him. Well, it’s a good thing I can admit I’m wrong because in this case I was really wrong! As we dated, he won me over with his kindness, good looks, sense of humor, and persistence. I love being married to Thomas and we both laugh now that I was so convinced we were not meant for each other.

Thomas grew up in Utah and has 4 sisters and 2 brothers. His entire family lives in Utah and we get together often to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.

Thomas is full of life and has a fun personality. I love his silliness and his positive outlook on life. I also appreciate his ability to listen and have great conversation. Thomas is also one of the most reliable and capable people I know. He can accomplish anything he wants to even if he’s never done it before. I am sometimes amazed how he sticks with projects until the end (see, this is an example of his persistence – one of the reasons we’re now married!). Even though I probably would give up, Thomas keeps working until he finds the solution. Thomas is also a hard worker around our home.

One of Thomas’ passions is sports. He loves to watch and play football, soccer, baseball and basketball. He’s athletic and really enjoys playing on a men’s softball team with a group of friends. I love it too because it’s fun to cheer him on and chat with all the wives who come to the games. We are the loudest fans in the whole league and we love to cheer for our team.  Even Jacob gets in on the action and claps with the rest of us.

Family is very important to Thomas and he is a loyal and dedicated husband and an amazing father.  He loves being a dad and there is no question that Jacob’s favorite person is his dad. I could choose to be offended but it’s just too cute to see Jacob follow Thomas around.  It’s been so fun to see Thomas be a father and to see how naturally he plays with and cares for Jacob.  Thomas is also very thoughtful. He is always concerned about our happiness and works really hard to make our marriage a partnership. One example of this is the nice little notes Thomas has written me since we first started dating.  I have kept them from the very beginning and I love to go back and reread them. They are my favorite gifts from my favorite man.  Thomas also works hard to have a great relationship with Jacob.  I love how he respects Jacob as an individual and really enjoys watching Jacob’s personality grow and develop.  Thomas enjoys each new stage in Jacob’s life and I think that is incredibly cute.