Happy New Year!

As the new year approaches, Darrin and I wanted to take the time to reflect on this past year. It seems this past year things really have fallen into place for us. We have been truly blessed and we wanted to take the time to thank all of you that have made this year so great.


We started out the year in Denver with our first move as a married couple. We were so excited to get out of Nebraska and closer to home that Colorado was perfect. In March, Darrin graduated from Airman Leadership School. ALS was a big undertaking and I am so proud of him. In May, I graduated from law school. The summer was rough because Darrin and I both wanted to play and enjoy the outdoor life in Colorado but I had to remain focused on studying for the bar exam. Studying day in and day out was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and I know I couldn't have done it with out my wonderful husband, my great friends, and family. Thank you! In June, Darrin literally ran into a tree while on a camp-out with the scouts. It took all summer for his cheek to heal and he still has a little scar but it looks much better now. In August we got a chance to spend 2 weeks with Taytum. She is such a great girl and we love every minute we have with her. She brings so much joy to our little family. We are looking forward to this upcoming summer when we will hopefully have her all summer long. Since the end of the summer, I found out that I actually passed the bar exam and I landed my first real job. It is still crazy to me that I am actually doing what I have wanted to for years. All of the school and hard work has finally paid off and I have achieved my goal. Its just crazy! On Dec. 29th we closed on our first house. Darrin and I are so excited to be homeowners. Darrin has wanted to own a house for years and we just were never in a position where we could. We have finally settled somewhere and aren't waiting for this or that to happen so we can move forward. Its great. The house is in Colorado Springs. We are excited about the move and I think we are going to like the Springs, but it is definitely bitter sweet for us. We have made great friends in Denver and are sad to be leaving them behind. This is the first time we have made good friends with the people in our ward as well as the people Darrin and I work with. We hope we are able to stay in touch. Plus we aren't moving very far so we better stay in touch.


Thank you to all of you who have made this year so great! We love you all! Happy New Year!

So Darrin has been bugging me to update our blog. I keep telling him that if he wants it updated so bad that he should just do it, but for some reason he says its my job. (really he's just being lazy).
The reason I haven't been posting lately is that my job is crazy busy and with the commute I typically have between 12-14 hours days. When I get home, I eat dinner and then have to start preparing for the next day (making my lunch, iron my clothes, and getting my workout clothes together). As much as I want to blame Darrin for our blog, he's probably right that I started the blog and should keep it up-to-date.
Well, here what's been going on with us. A couple of months ago, Darrin was so excited for me to finally have a real job that he took my first pay check and bought a Wii. We have had a lot of fun playing it and it definately was worth our investment. After we developed our skills, we invited some friends over to have a Wii tournament. We played golf, boxing, bowling, and tennis. Darrin and I totally got worked by our friends but we still had a blast. Here are some pictures of the party.





Beyond our Wii party, Darrin and I recently hired a realtor and started looking at houses to buy. The first day was somewhat disappointing but our second day was much better. I will definately post when we actually buy. Other than home shopping, Darrin and I are still just doing the same-old thing; working, eating, and trying to spend some time together in between. That's the latest with us. We hope things are going well for everyone else. Talk to ya soon. (maybe)

Shantelle PASSED!

Congratulations to Shantelle she found out this morning that she has PASSED the Colorado BAR.

These past couple of weekends Darrin has been out elk hunting outside of Crested Butte. Both weekends he went up with friends from work. They found a great spot but weren't able to get close enough to shoot anything. Although he was unsuccessful Darrin enjoyed just being up in the mountains. Hopefully he'll get something next year. It will give Darrin something to look forward to.

Trial, Trial, Trial!

I somehow got thrown into a trial today. I was asked to cover another attorney's docket and was told the trial wasn't going to go. However, things change quickly in the courtroom and I suddenly found myself calling my first witness. I was nervous but luckily things worked out and I actually won. It was a simple assault and harassment case. But I was pretty excited and thought I would share my excitement with all of you.

My First Real Job!

This past week I got my first real job ... salary, benefits, accrued time off, the whole nine yards. The office where I have been interning extended an employment offer, contingent on passing the bar, of course. This is the type of work I have wanted to do since I was in high school and I am really excited to be given a chance to do it.

I'm so grateful to all the individuals that have helped me get here. I have truely been blessed with a wonderful family and friends that have helped make my dreams come true. I have been working to go to law school and then make it through law school for as long as I can remember, and I know I would not have been able to do it without the support of my friends and family. Thank you!

Cochran Family Reunion

A couple of weeks ago Darrin, Taytum and I spent the week in Vail with my family for a family reunion. We had a blast! My family doesn't get all together very often because we live in five different states and all have very busy schedules, so it was so nice to see everyone. Each sibling planned an activity for one day of the week, so everyday was something different and fun. The reunion also gave us girls a chance to throw a baby showers for my two sisters that are pregnant. It was fun to have one afternoon to just hangout as girls. My parents were in charge of the first day and my Dad's activity was a huge surprise. He had been at a party earlier in the summer where they sang karaoke, so he decided to buy a karaoke machine and have everyone sing.

I have never seen my Dad like that before. But it was really fun and something I will never forget. I could tell how much fun it was for my parents to have all of their kids and grandkids in the same room. And how proud my parents are of each one of us.

The next day my brother and his wife planned the Cochran family Olympics. We had a relay race where we had to balance a ball (which ended up being kind of flat) on a toilet plunger, a potato sack race, we made marshmallow guns, played kick ball (where the bases were kiddy pools), and finished the day up with a tug-a-war. We really had a great time just cutting back and having fun. Thanks, Brad and Kev!

This is me running in our relay race with the plunger.

Here's Darrin running against me.

Darrin helping Taytum in the potato sack race. All the kids with their marshmallow guns. The kids lined up and got to shoot at Grandpa and Grandma. They had so much fun. We even had to buy more marshmallows when we got home so Taytum could play with her marshmallow gun again.

The next few days we went rafting down the Colorado River, we spent lots of time at the park playgrounds, in the Colorado ski museum, and geo cashing. Darrin, Taytum, and I really had a ton of fun with my family and can't wait for reunion 2010.

Love ya guys!

Hope You're Not Eating

Want to see the effect the tree had on Darrin's face? Here is a picture from right after it happened.


Most of you have seen it first hand but if you haven't here's another picture from about a month ago. It definately looks much better now.

This is an example of the wood chips that Darrin has been pulling out of his face all summer.

Go to the Gym? Watch Out!

All you gym-goers out there be cautious leaving things in your car. I found out the hard way that theifs target gyms because they know that women often leave their purses in the car while working out. My car was broken into yesterday while at the gym. The thief smashed the passenger side window to access my car. Luckily he/she/they didn't steal my wedding ring that was in the car, but they did take my purse which had all of my things for work and of course my cell phone and wallet.
To put salt in the wound, I had to drive from Colorado Springs to Denver in a pouring-rain storm. I was freezing and by the time I got home the entire inside of my car was wet. It really sucked. I hope all of you had a better day yesterday, then I did.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Virgin Blogger

I thought I would start this blog for my family because I enjoy looking at our friends blogs, so I thought maybe our friends would like to look at ours. My summer, for the most part has been uneventful. I spent the summer studying 8-12 hours a day for the bar exam. I am so excited to go back to work and not have to study all day everyday, anymore.
Darrin's summer, on the other hand, had one major event that he will never forget. While out camping with the scouts, Darrin ran into a tree. The tree limb went almost entirely though his right cheek. He was pulling wood chips out of it for about four weeks. However finally it is starting to heal. As awful as the injury was, we are lucky it didn't do more damage than it did.
Well, I'm excited to start blogging and keep everyone updated on our family. Talk to you soon.