Lazy Weekend

This weekend we did a lot of this...

Harley got to spend last week with Momma Hance and her two dogs, Max and Calamity Jane, while I was in Florida for work and Joey was in Houston working.  She had a blast and has been a very subdued puppy this weekend since she's been back at home.  Yea! :)  I love a cuddly pup!

Joey and I enjoyed being back at home and relaxing together.  Traveling can really take it out of you!  This marks our half-way point for Joey's second clerkship of the summer that's been in Houston, and we are three-quarters of our way through this whole summer of long-distance!  I can get excited about that!!!   I would never wish to be apart this much, but Joey's time at the firm in Houston has been a really great experience for him so far.  He loves the work and the people.  I am so thankful for that and am looking forward to meeting some of his new friends in a couple of weeks when I go to visit.

Moving on to a completely different subject... Joey told me I had to post about this, so here it goes!  The last couple of days since being home I have noticed the soil in one of my potted plants on the front porch looked like someone had dug in it.  Today I went to water it and moved some of the soil around to even it back out and heard something croak at me!  I screamed and called Joey over and this is what we found. 

Ewww... right!?  Look closely.  A big fat frog!  Joey thought he was cool, but I decided he had to go because he was uprooting my plants and just plain grosses me out.  So, Joey nudged him with a stick until he leaped on out.

He was huge!  Joey was so impressed with this big boy, but I was happy to see him go.  Farewell froggy!  I hope you don't find your way back to my flower pots.

Toes in the Sand

This week I have been in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a national conference for work.  It has been fun, but super busy!  We have had almost every waking minute scheduled for us since we arrived.  We are staying at this beautiful beach resort and spa, but have been working too hard to spend any time enjoying this.

This is the view from our hotel balcony.  The beach is beautiful.  Tonight they had a big dinner celebration planned for us outside, and my toes hit the sand for the first time since we've been here.  It was wonderful!  The sand is white and the water is blue.  I wish my hubby was here and that I had more time to sit out there and enjoy it.  I fly home tomorrow though, and am very excited to see Joey and Harley.  I think we'll have a nice relaxing weekend at home all together again. 

"Pit Stop" in Waco

The Pitmans came to visit us in Waco last weekend!  I've been meaning to get this post up all week, but it was just one of those weeks...  So, last Friday after work Joey had a social event with the firm he is interning with in Houston, and then the Pitmans picked him up, and they all headed to Waco.  They got in pretty late, but it was so wonderful to have a house full of people I love.  I had been looking forward to it for days.  Emily is allergic to dogs, and even though she took allergy medicine before she came, Harley got brushed every day the week leading up to them coming, I bathed her by myself (although I'm not sure who won... we both ended up soaked!  I think if I had recorded it we could have been on America's Funniest Home Videos), and I vacuumed the house twice.  Em gets asthma with her allergies, so she had to puff her inhaler a few times, but she was such a trooper!  By the end of the weekend I think she and Harley were almost friends. :)

Har and Brit were definitely buddies!

We stayed up pretty late just sitting around talking on Friday night.  Joey had lots to fill us in on after his first week of work in Houston, and we haven't spent much time with the Pitmans in way too long.  Saturday, we slept in a little bit, had breakfast, and then the girls went shopping while the boys played frisbee golf.  We all met back at home to have lunch and freshen up.  

Then, after much deliberation and even a little heated debating (big surprise around the Hance's, right?) on where to go for dinner, we decided to go out to the Lake Waco Marina for drinks and then to Chuy's for dinner.  It was great! 

Our friendship with the Pitmans is a lot of fun.  Emily and I are definitely women who know what we want and and how we want it, and our men are pretty great to us.  We certainly had our share of lively discussion and laughter.  Em and Joey ended up siding together a few times on topics and when Emily decided to get strangers at the restaurant involved, Brit and I were not exactly surprised, but were too committed to pretend we didn't know her.  We didn't want her surveying any other strangers coming into the restaurant, so we decided to just agree to disagree... but of course we were right.  We cherish our friendship with Emily and Brittan and love the way they make any situation a fun one.  

After dinner we came home for some Wii competition playing Mario Cart and Just Dance.  You know that was fun and of course filled with a little friendly competition.  Sunday, we went to church and out to lunch before the Pitmans headed back to Houston.  It was a wonderful weekend with awesome friends.  We can't wait for our next "Pit Stop" with the Pitmans! :)

Vacay with the Roush's

After talking about going on a trip together for some time now, we decided to make use of the long holiday weekend, and planned a vacation with Rich & Megan.  We all took Friday off from work and headed to Austin, TX.  Since the drive from Dallas to Austin is not a short one, the Roush's headed to Waco after work on Thursday.  They spent the night with us, and we hit the road Friday morning.  Our first stop was the Outlet Mall in Round Rock.  So many stores and sales... enough to make a girl happy for hours!  We all enjoyed bargain finds and left with goodies like new sunglasses and clothes.  We then headed on to our hotel to get settled in and soak up some rays by the pool.  We showered and headed to dinner at Z Tejas.  To finish off our first night of vacation we enjoyed a cool treat at an Austin favorite, Amy's Ice Cream. 

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and headed to Zilker Park for some outdoor recreation.  We rented kayaks and enjoyed some time paddling around the lake.  It was a great workout!  You know with Joey along there had to be some competition.  So, the Roush's and the Hance's duked it out racing a part of the way back.  The stretch we chose to race was a bit long, and the Hance's took the win.  It was a good time.  After turning our kayaks in, we enjoyed a picnic lunch we had packed in the shade, and then headed to the Barton Springs Pool for some more fun in the sun.  The natural spring stays a refreshing 68 degrees, so to say the water was cold is quite the understatement.  We laid out on a big hill with a couple hundred other people and then cooled off in the spring.  I could only last for about 5 minutes at a time in that water, but it was a neat experience and definitely cooled us off fast in this ridiculous Texas heat.  We each got a snow cone on the way out of the park that totally hit the spot!

Then, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Rich's sister- Michelle, Meg's sister and brother-and-law- Kristen & Matt, and new baby- Georgia, who all live in Austin.  We ate downtown at The Iron Cactus and had a great time seeing how big Georgia has gotten.  After that, we went to Cheesecake Factory to get yummy dessert to-go and headed back to the hotel to watch a movie and eat our cheesecake. 

Sunday we slept in a bit, had breakfast at the hotel, and packed up.  Our hotel was right across the highway from a Marshall's, so you know we couldn't leave without shopping it.  After Marshall's we made a stop at one last Austin favorite, Thundercloud Subs, for lunch.  With full tummies it was time to hit the road.  The Roush's headed back to Dallas and we went on to Sugar Land for the rest of the weekend.  It was an awesome vacation with great friends!  It was fun to be reminded how much we are alike and how blessed we are to have close friends.  We enjoyed catching up on couple time together and look forward to many more memories with the Roush's!

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the 4th of July in Sugar Land with family and friends.  Momma Hance had her annual 4th of July Party featuring tons of good food and watching the fireworks show from the comfort of her backyard.  My family came over for the festivities as well as lots of friends and neighbors.  We laughed, swam, and ate way too much...  Can't think of anything lacking to make this patriotic holiday a great memory!  :)

And as an added bonus, Emily & Brittan got home from their family's lake house in time to join us for fireworks!  What an exciting surprise visit with them.  They are coming to Waco next weekend to visit, so more fun memories with the Pittman's to come.  Stay tuned...

A Golden Birthday

This year I turned 24 on the 24th, which by tradition, made this year my "Golden Birthday". It was a really great day! Joey got home Thursday night and had the whole day Friday planned for us to celebrate.  My mom and two youngest siblings were driving through Waco Thursday night, so they stayed the night and celebrated with us on Friday morning too. 

Joey woke up early and cooked a big breakfast.  As was a tradition of my family growing up, I was woken with breakfast and presents in bed.  Joey did a great job... it was yummy!  Then, mom and the kids left to head on to Dallas and Joey revealed his first surprise of the day.  We were going to make homemade ice cream!  He had gotten all of the ingredients and found a recipe for Butter Pecan Ice Cream- one of my favorites.  We put it all together so that it could finish freezing during the day. 

Then, Joey revealed our next activity when he came out of the room with a kite.  He said we were going to the park to fly a kite.  There was no one at the park, so Harley got to get off of her leash and run around.  She loved it!

Harley tired out fast in the afternoon heat and parked it in the shade by her water bowl.

With neither one of us as expert kite fliers and the wind not being very strong that afternoon, we experienced a little difficulty.

And, after switching jobs, the kite eventually broke when I was holding it and Joey took off a little faster than I had anticipated...  It was a fun afternoon though trying something that we don't normally do.  After our fun at the park we came home for lunch and a much needed shower.  Joey told me he was taking me to Marshalls to spend some of the gift cards I had gotten for my birthday.  Does my hubby know me or what?! :)  It was a big success, and I had no trouble filling my basket with more than enough to fully redeem the credit I had.  I ended up with two adorable pairs of shoes and a great dress!  Thanks Momma Hance, Grandma, and Kimmie!  

Then, we went out to dinner and came home to eat that yummy homemade ice cream we had waiting in the freezer for us. 

It was delicious!  With full tummies, we drove out to a park by the lake to watch the sunset, another one of my favorite things.  Watching the sky turn a golden orange was a perfect way to end my "Golden Birthday".  Only I didn't know we were not finished... 

We got home and Joey said he still had one surprise left, and he hoped I was still hungry.

He said you couldn't have a birthday without birthday cake... duh!  Take notice the candles are black and white to match the black and white Oreo Pie he picked out.  Also, the candles are backwards in the picture, but see he did a group of two candles and a group of four candles... Get it? 2-4 for turning 24!  I thought his thought process was pretty cute! :)

The best part of all was spending the whole day with my hubs and having him home!  He put a lot of thought and planning into my special day which made me feel cherished and loved.  I'm grateful to be married to and celebrate one more birthday with the man that makes me feel special everyday.



Dad's Day Weekend

Last weekend we were in Houston to celebrate Father's Day with our dads.  We left Waco Friday morning and stopped for lunch with Joe, Angie, Matthew, Macie, and their newest addition- puppy Reecie.  The boys grilled burgers and we celebrated Joe's birthday and an early Father's Day. 

Joey and his dad

Matthew and Reecie

Reecie, Macie, and Angie

pictured above: Daniel, Jennifer, Joey, me, and Carol

After our afternoon with Joey's dad we continued on to Sugar Land for dinner to celebrate Momma Hance's birthday. 

We stayed at my parent's house for the weekend.  Papaw and Denie came over to celebrate Dad's Day on Saturday and we enjoyed some great family time catching up.  Though it was a Father's Day celebration, my dad insisted on cooking his world famous steaks, beans, and baked potatoes.  We helped where he would let us.  It was delicious! 

Later that evening the family surprised me with my birthday present a little early.  They gave me two beautiful dresses that are going to be great for some events I have coming up.  The style of both of them is so me, and they fit... A-Mazing!  Go Mom!

pictured above: Harley, Joey, me, Hunter, Taylor, Mom, Dad, Claire, and Noel

Sunday, we went to church as a family and then out to lunch to celebrate dad.  I am very blessed with an amazing family and a wonderful dad.  My dad is an incredibly hard-working and loving man.  I have learned a lot from him over the years and we are lucky to have him in our lives.  We had a great weekend making memories and celebrating with family.

Trendy Digits

I usually have my nails painted.  I enjoy painting them myself and take pride in my large collection of polish.  I love browsing at the grocery store for new colors and have been know to leave with my nails painted a multitude of colors from trying several on (a habit learned from my mom). :)  I have seen some interesting colors on the shelves lately which made me curious as to what the new trends are.

According to a a Refinery 29 Fashion article nudes, pastels, purples, gun metal grays, and unique top coats are all part of what's hot this year.  Nail polish is a relatively cheap fashion accesory, so I enjoy changing it up and trying new colors.  A fun pastel is next on my list to try... maybe mint green.  What's on yours?

Photos from Refinery 29

Glorious Girl Time

God gave us girl friends for a reason, and I am thankful for mine.  Friendships fill a place in a woman's life like nothing else can.  This place in my life was filled this week!  Sunday I got to catch up with Emily on the phone.  Em and I have been friends since we met in preschool and haven't missed much since.  We stood next to one another in each other's weddings and feel a lot more like sisters than friends.  Em and Brittan just celebrated their 1year anniversary and enjoyed an awesome anniversary trip in L.A.!  Congrats, Pittmans!  We love you.

Monday, Megan came in town to relive our tradition of Bachelorette Monday nights.  It was really fun.  She got in town right after work and we went to get our nails done, caught up on life, made dinner and dished our opinions of all the guys during The Bachelorette.  She spent the night and then Tuesday we had breakfast together, went to work, and then met at Marshall's during our lunch break to shop.  Let me just say, Marshall's on Tuesdays right after they receive a new shipment is a dangerous but glorious place! :)  We both did a little damage, but found some great stuff.

I got to have lunch with Dana, one of my college friends, twice this week!  Dana and I cheered together at Baylor and lived together for two years.  She is in law school at Baylor now and in town for classes and an internship in Waco for the summer.  We hadn't seen each other in quite a while considering we live in the same city, but it didn't feel like we had missed a beat.  We had a great time catching up and decided we needed to do it more often!  I love friendships that are so comfortable that you can just pick right back up where you left off.

Shay and I both work for the same organization, so we often talk several times during a week.  This week was no exception.  Shay called me about a work thing and we ended up talking for an hour just catching up on life!  We get to go on a trip for work together to Florida in July and get to room together.  It will be a lot of fun!  This is a picture of me and Shay at my rehearsal dinner.  We need to take some new pictures together!

So thankful for the girls in my life!

Feels Like Home

Have you ever experienced the feeling of being at home when you are with a certain person?  I experience that comfortable feeling of being at home when I am with Joey.  I think I probably knew that spending time with him was something that I enjoyed and even made me happy.  But, this weekend, having him home and getting to just do life together felt like home.  We didn't do anything terribly significant- just hung out at home, washed cars, went to dinner and saw a movie, went to church together...  I didn't realize when we got married that I would be able to love my husband any more than I already did, but I do. Of course these sentiments and reflections are probably amplified because we are apart during the week and only together on the weekends right now. But I am thankful for these sentiments, the comfortable feeling of being at home with Joey no matter where we are or what we are doing. I am thankful that God allows us to live life with another as one. How rich the blessing of marriage is.



Below is a blog post by Lysa TerKeurst that I loved.

The Moment
So familiar can some of our relationships be, we forget. We rush. We assume. We feel like we have forever.

And feeling like we have forever cheapens the right now feelings.

Each morning I have a routine with my man. It’s simple. Nothing profound. Nothing for which we’d ever stop and snap a picture.

It’s just a moment.

He asks me to help him pick a tie. He then goes away to fuss with this fixture of his professional job. Soon, he returns with a flipped up collar and a pressed down, knotted tie. He needs gentle hands to fold the collar over. No, he doesn’t need. He wants gentle hands to fold the collar over.

And I do.

It’s just a moment.

But it’s something I would miss with the deepest ache imaginable if today was the last of the moments.

If today.

Tears slip as I think about this. Dear God, help me think about this. Let me snap a hundred of these moments with the lens of my heart to be stored and appreciated and thought of as the great treasure they are.

Let my mind park there.

Let my heart relish there.

Let my mouth dare to whisper what a joy this is. “I love you. I love us. I love this moment each day.”

No, our relationship isn’t perfect. No relationship is. We’re two very strong willed people with vastly different approaches to life. And oh how easy it would be to list out all the differences. He likes the towel hanging in the same spot. I am more creative. But I stop the list here.

I stop because great love isn’t two people finding the perfect match in one another.

Great love is two people making the choice to be a match.

A decision.

To fold his collar and snap the heart lens and find myself grateful to the point of tears.

Tears of relishing today are so much better than tears of what was missed.

It’s just a moment.

Or is it?