Things are looking up

Oh I hate getting behind on blogging! But the past couple weeks have been busy. And it finally got really pretty here after some long rainy weeks of depression. I never knew that weather had that much of an impact on me. After all the rain, I couldn't get over how gorgeous the sunsets were here last week. No other state can beat this big Texas sky. Then this weekend we got to get out of the city and see the big sky full of stars.

Camping

We went camping at Lake Tawakoni with our church group. We had a wonderful weekend just relaxing, fishing, and being outside. The weather was perfect- just barely chilly enough at night to want to sit close to the fire, but not too cold to wear shorts during the day. Bailey had a great time playing with all the other pups on the camping trip. And Brandon had a great time going out with Chris on the boat. They got up at 5:30 AM on Saturday and Sunday to make sure and have as much prime fishing time as possible. Lacey and I joined them out on the boat on Saturday afternoon (thus the pictures), and I even caught some fish. I got pretty lucky and brought in 4 sandbass on my first 4 casts. Brandon and Chris weren't too thrilled at my good luck streak. But I must admit, I'm learning to like fishing and camping much more these days, as long as it's in small doses, I catch lots of fish, and I get smores every night.


Brandon made sure to document this as the first fish caught


Loving boat life


Lacey and me with our pups, Katie and Bailey


(I really don't like touching the fish)


Like Katie-girl, we were all pretty pooped after roughing it all weekend.

We had a really fun weekend. It has been pretty cool in the evenings, but it feels about right for being football season. Speaking of, Brandon has been pretty obsessed with any and all things football. Last night we watched the game with friends and Bailey got to play again with one of her buddies. Finally Cowboys won a game in their new stadium! And thank goodness- I'm not sure if Brandon could handle the emotional stress of another Cowboys loss. I am still getting used to how very seriously he takes these games. Luckily, Brandon can have some therapy time by spending some good quality time with the boat. He's been excited to get to work on it, making a few little improvements as he goes.

Sad day
Last week was my friend Amanda's last week at work. I never really anticipated becoming such good friends with a co-worker, but Amanda and I just hit it off ever since I started working there in June. She's a contract PTA, so her contract was up and now she's headed to Florida. We became really close, so I've been pretty bummed that she left, and now I'm just stuck with a bunch of boys to work with. How sad!

Grey's Anatomy
So I've been eagerly anticipating the return of Grey's. I've missed them- Meredith, Derek, Cristina, George, Alex, Izzie, Miranda, and even Callie. But this first episode was very emotional. I'm not going to even get into it, but I was bawling my eyes out in the first 10 minutes. It was so sad, but I'm just so glad it's back in my life again.


And last but NOT least,
Happy Birthday Memommy!!!!!

Yesterday was my Memommy's 80th birthday, and I was sad not to be there with her. But she's such an amazing woman, and I get a lot of my personality from her. And I just hope that someday I'll look as good as she does at her age. She's such a beautiful Christian woman, and I just love her so much!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Well, football season is upon us. Today the Cowboys won their first game of the season. We've actually really been looking forward to football season this year. Since living in Dallas, we've both become big fans. Brandon grew up here, so he has enjoyed rekindling his love for the beloved Cowboys. And I am excited just to finally be able to know a little about what's going on. (Well, sorta.) I have actually learned to enjoy a good football game with my hubby. But then there's the world of Fantasy Football. Brandon started that last year and now become somewhat obsessed. I really don't mind watching Cowboys games, but must we watch nearly every NFL game on television?!?!?! I mean, this is not the man I married!!!
Here's to you, football season!
Our weekend was good, very rainy. But hope everyone had a good one!

Picture Update

Finally, here are the photos of our game room. It's crazy to look at what it looked like before we moved in. We painted it a couple weeks ago and Brandon just whipped up a new shelving unit for the weird big open space that's too big for a closet. I love it :)

BEFORE:


AFTER:


BEFORE:



AFTER:



More AFTER photos...





Didn't Brandon do an amazing job figuring out how to install cabinets?!?!
Who knew he was such a good little handyman?!?
Or maybe it's just that he's hoping for his new TV :)

We made it!

Well, we made it back to Dallas with the boat safely behind us the whole way. We took the long Labor Day weekend to drive to see our grandparents. We went to my Memommy and PopPop's in Mississippi, where my wonderful family came down to spend the weekend with me. Brandon stayed for a night and then headed another couple hours down the road to Alabama, where his Mema lives. I hate having to split up family time, but this weekend just worked out where we both got to spend some time with our families. His mom and aunt were there for the weekend, so they had a good visit. Mostly though, Brandon got some good quality time with his uncle while they got the boat ready to come back to Dallas just in time for some good Fall fishing. I had such a good time seeing my sisters and my parents- just seeing them is refreshing in a way to me. And I just love going to my grandparents house- such a familiar place in that tiny little town. It wasn't a long enough visit for either of us, but we were glad we took the opportunity to go see our families. And even though the long drive was indeed miserable, it was worth it to see the look on Brandon's face as we pulled that boat back with us. He is so excited to have his Papa's boat and put it to good use. Of course, I probably won't see my husband on the weekends much anymore. Brandon did a lot of research and stressing to make sure this boat would be ready to pull back to Texas, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I had some horrible visions of us stranded on the side of the road in Arkansas. But we made it without a hitch (dorky boat humor), and Brandon is already planning his first fishing trip.

Three Older Sisters

Here's a joke one of my patients told me this morning and I think it's just too cute, I have to share...

Three elderly sisters lived in a house together, discovering together some of the problems of getting older. One yelled downstairs to her sister, "Help! I'm stuck with one foot in the shower and one foot out, and I can't remember whether I was getting in our out."

The second sister hollered up, "Coming!" She headed upstairs to help her sister, but stopped then yelled to the third sister, "Help! I'm standing on the stairs and can't remember whether I was on my way up or on my way down."

The third one thought to herself, " Well, I'm glad I don't have that problem; knock on wood," as she rapped her knuckles on the table. She got up to go help her sisters as she said, "Hold on- I'll be right up...That must be the door, I'll get it!"



Speaking of sisters, I'm getting to see both of mine this weekend and can't WAIT!!! Yay for Labor Day and long weekends!! Hope everyone has a good one!

Breaking-in

Ok so here's the story...

This past Thursday, I was running late getting out of the house. I had asked Brandon to run and go grab my phone from the bedroom as I grabbed my stuff. He quickly ran out to hand it to me in the driveway, but Bailey also sneaked out. Brandon, in his boxers, tried unsuccessfully to grab her. He went through the gate into the back yard to try to lure her in so I could drive away and he could get out of the alley in his boxers. I proceed to drive away and close the garage door as I always do, with no thought that the other doors were still locked. Quickly, Brandon realized that he was stuck and I was about to pass by the house in the front (since our alley is entered down the street a little ways). Funniest part...Brandon decides he has to catch me, but I was already passing by the time he comes flailing out through the front yard. I don't see him in our front yard as I'm getting buckled, in the zone driving to work. Nor do I see him as he runs down our entire street to try and get my attention. Poor Brandon. Defeated, he returns to the back yard where he ponders what to do. No open windows. No hidden key, no phone, nothing. Really, only two choices. Go back out there and knock on a neighbors door at 7:30 in the morning. Not a great option considering that the only neighbors we know are the sweet elderly couple whose house backs up to ours in the alley. We have rarely even seen our other neighbors. The only other option was to break a window. So there you have it. Brandon decided on the best possible window to smash, and proceeded to break into our house.


Here's a view of the smashed door from the inside (as it was boarded up from the outside)



Thankfully, I have such a wonderful husband that he pretty quickly found the humor in the situation. For the most part, we were able to laugh it off as a stupid unlucky mistake. But how very unfortunate!!! I just wish I could have seen him running down the street after me in his boxers!

A Question

Here's a question we have for you...Brandon and I are taking a poll.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO...
if you were locked out of your house without any clothes on???


Would you-
a. Knock on your neighbor's door even though you haven't yet met them and ask to use their phone
b. Break-in to your own house (i.e. smash a window out)

Difficult decision!

A Boy's Dream

Brandon found this * video (click here) from the Rangers game we went to last week because he thinks this is pretty much the luckiest kid ever...it really was so crazy to see.

I heart weekends

We had a great weekend. Friday night, Chris and Lacey brought their puppy Katie over to play with Bailey. We had a relaxed evening, and the dogs had a blast.


Bailey with her new friend Katie


Takin' a break- waiting to see who will make the next move


Puppy love

Saturday we got a ton of work done painting and cleaning another room. We have a little more to do on it, but it looks so much better. We were actually very productive!

Jared, Kristi, and Jake came over Saturday night. It was so good to finally see them again- we don't live that far away from each other, but just never get to hang out as much as we want. Kristi brought a delicious lasagna that she made, and I finally made the homemade ice cream that I've been wanting to make all summer. Another wedding gift I'm finally able to use:) I was also really glad to see Colt and have some time with him after he had another surgery early this week.

Today, one of our friends gave us free tickets to the Rangers game. Brandon has been obsessed recently, so he was super excited to be able to go to this game. And it was really fun going with Chad & Melany and Chris & Lacey. The boys sat together most of the time while we girls had a good time talking. The Rangers won, which is apparently some big deal for making it closer to the playoffs. It was sooooooo hot for the first few innings, but life got happier after the shade finally covered our seats. It ended up being a really fun game. Go Rangers!!!


Sweaty but excited


Me & Brandon, Chad & Melany, Chris & Lacey

So we had a really fun weekend. But now we just need a couple days to relax...oh well!
Hope everyone had a good one!

End of Summer

I just can't BELIEVE it's already August! This summer has FLOWN by, and it feels like life is spiraling out of control! Thankfully, this is the first August that I won't be starting another semester of school. That's such a wonderful feeling- no tests, no homework, no scrounging for food. Haha dramatic. And I am really loving my job. It's been an adjustment to get used to getting up so early and working on my feet for 8 hours every day, but I love the work I'm doing. And it really is nice to be able to come home and not have to study or write a paper. I love having the evenings to spend with Brandon. Even though it's kinda been exhausting because he constantly has a new project for us to work on, we're having fun. We're finally feeling like this is home, and we are loving life in a house. Bailey does too. We really don't miss the days of taking Bailey out on her leash all the time. And she really enjoys chasing the bunnies who frequent our back yard. More than the yard work and all that, we are really loving the little things. Like how nice it is to be able to do an actual load of laundry, not just the couple of towels we could fit in our stackable unit in the apartment. And how we can both be in the kitchen at the same time without hitting each other. But most of all, we love being able to have friends over and family come to stay with us. That's been the best part of it all, and we're excited to have a place to be able to have people over.

We feel so blessed with some of the best friends we could ever imagine. God just places people in life who He knows we need. This week I've especially been reminded of that. It was Beth's birthday, my best friend in Nashville. We talked and caught up and I just feel so blessed to still have her as such a good friend despite all the miles we are apart. And Brooke just moved like 15 minutes away from here, which is so exciting for me. We've been apart for these last two years of Grad School, but now we get to finally see each other again. And I also got to hang out with Meagan and Ashley the other night for Meagan's birthday, and I'm constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have friends that can just get together every once in a while, catch up, and have so much fun. God has really continued to keep such close friends in my life at the times when I need it, while He's also really been blessing us with new friendships that I hope will also be lifelong. Our friends from church are exactly what we've been praying for- guys that Brandon can relate to and be dumb with, and girls that I can talk and have a good time with. Not to mention puppies that Bailey can play with:) I guess this week I've kinda been thinking about that a lot. God is so good.