Last week, I completed a golf clinic.  Golf is the ultimate lifetime hobby, and is a biggie for Matt - from toddlerhood forward, it feels like most pictures I've seen of him include either a plastic set of kiddie golf clubs or take place on a golf course!  I decided to enroll in a beginner's golf clinic that ran Monday through Friday evenings for one week so that, hopefully one day, I won't have to perpetually struggle through four holes before I have to give in for everyone's sake.

Continuing the pattern that started when I was visiting home for graduation, Sawyer and I have been beating the streets like crazy this summer, averaging six or seven miles of walking or running every day.  We know the limited walking routes here like the back of our hand, or paw, in his case.

On Saturday, Matt dove back into another passion of his, and signed up for an MMA tournament in a town about an hour away - an actual town, unlike the sad sprawl of developments and strip malls that we currently live in, outside the main gate onto post.  Frequent get-aways are a must while we serve our time here before moving on to bigger and better things. 

 We and a group of friends decided to make a weekend of it, which meant that Matt had his own little entourage of fans cheering him on from the stands, making the event extra exciting!  On that particular 100-degree day, the event venue keenly lacked air conditioning, but the old auditorium with coral and mint arched ceilings was beautiful nonetheless.  Our trip little trip was made complete with a couple hotel rooms, libations at a local brewery, a swanky steak dinner, visiting some hip little bars, and reservations for a crepe brunch.  After the group dispersed on Sunday morning, Matt and I were joined by a friend for a round of golf to test my new knowledge, before heading home.


Monday was Matt's first day of classes as a full-time graduate student, and in a civilian atmosphere, complete with a sack lunch and real civilian clothes!

His schedule is a busy one - he will finish the degree in December - but he has Tuesdays off from class entirely.  Enjoying our joint freedom before the semester gets intense, we joined a couple friends on the range and practice green at the golf course on post on Tuesday morning because, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.  That evening, we also chose two new recipes to experiment with, gathered our ingredients, and made a delicious paleo lasagna and a not-so-paleo, espresso-fudge ice cream sundae.  We almost never, ever do desserts or sweets in this house, so it was a real treat!