Im officially not a Blogger.....

Apparently, you need to have INTERNET to blog. Also, a computer is necessary.... But Ashley didnt really have either of those things for the last 6 months while living with the brother. (except on the smart phone of course). My one and only laptop crashing and burning didnt help things, and so here I am. 6 months after moving from Bryan, 6 months after Matt began his new career, 1 month into living in our new house!, and a few days after CHRISTMAS!
How should I describe the last 6 months?? A few words come to mind:
Camping - we were living out of boxes and tubs at Aarons house for wayyyy longer than planned. We shared a tiny bathroom between the 2 of us, and the rest of the house with Aaron. It was a lot of fun, and sometimes I really miss it. We got to hang out a lot with Aaron and there was always something going on. Our pantry was a couple boxes on the floor in the dart room. Our closet had summer clothes ONLY in it, so when October/November rolled around, and those random cold days showed up, it was fun finding a wardrobe. Even though it was challenging, it made me realize how little I really need.
Dejected - I still have not found employment. This is not because I am not trying - I have sent my resume so many places I've lost count, applied online more than I ever thought I would, networked, and had a couple phone interviews. *sigh* Maybe soon.....
Blessing - We are so blessed. We are blessed to have a brother who let us live with him for longer than planned. We are blessed to have finally found a house of our own, after several contracts that didnt work out. We are blessed to be closer to family (mine in town, Matt's up I-10) and friends. We are blessed that Wiley is a VERY adaptable and flexible, easy-going dog, because bless his little canine heart, we have dragged him all over this great state of Texas these past 6 months. He's had about 3 or 4 different homes. He's been a trooper and nothing short of the best dog ever.
Weddings - Yes, this past 6 months has been full of WEDDINGS. Matt was in 2, I was in 3, we were both in 1 in Colorado. And we had about 4 that neither of us were in. This is the marriage season of life! We've got a few more friends to marry off, then we'll be done with that. And then on to baby showers! haha.

We had our first house guests (Travis, Amanda, and baby Kyle, YAY!) and it was so great! We walked to Twin Sisters for breakfast, met Matt for lunch, played with Kyle (7 months old at the time) and went to the Riverwalk to eat Mexican food and see the pretty lights. Although, I have to interject that the city changed them to LED this year to be "green" (pshhhhhhh! Insert eye-roll) and I HATE them. Are you listening San Antonio?? Bring back the good old electricity wasting PRETTY lights that have real bulbs and twinkle! Rant over.

Christmas has been really fun this year, and I have enjoyed decorating our new house! It has a pretty front porch, so I had a lot of ideas. I also braved the eave lights, and put them up BY MYSELF while Matt was at work. Let me tell you, a lot harder than it looks. And, I learned some things - apparently, instead of dragging a ladder around the house every 4 feet and doing it from the ground up, smart people get on the roof and do it from there! Makes so much more sense! I will be doing that next year. That was my aha! moment.

So far we have gotten a fire pit for our back patio from Matt's parents, I got Coach perfume and a kitchen island from the hubs, and I got some cute clothes in Ft Worth.

Here is to a New Year - 2012 - and hopefully more blogging so I can look back on these when Im 80 and say, "Remember when we were that young? Remember when we were that BUSY??" And hopefully I'll be saying that as I am zip-lining or skydiving or something outrageous.

Goodbye, Aggieland

Well, it's official. We are leaving the great city of Aggieland and heading southwest to San Antonio! Matt graduates and he got a job there, and we are moving. We've been working on fixing up and cleaning the house, putting the house on the market, and going through the process of showing it. It's exhausting, but Im happy that we have a contract on it, and have SOLD the house! It really is incredible, considering the housing market right now. I guess all the blood, sweat, and tears that were shed while doing the updates actually paid off, and God sent the right buyers our way. I will miss our home. It's really great.

We will be moving in a couple weeks, and my last day of work is in one week. This has been a busy time. The past two weeks are a BLUR. Ive been packing slowly every evening I have the chance, while also trying to see friends that I wont see for a while and enjoying our last weekends in BCS. I will miss A&M and the campus, the community, the way everyone is friendly, the traditions. But I'll also miss Bryan. The history, its uniqueness, the quiet cute neighborhood we're in, downtown, our neighbors.  Our best friends here in town had their first baby 2 weeks ago, and we've been holding him as much as possible and getting in as much time with them as we can before we leave. Our neighbors also had their third baby, so we've had fun with all the newborns.

Aaron has so graciously and generously agreed to let us live with him in SA til we get our feet on the ground. We have to get through a few weddings that we're in, Matt has to start work, I have to FIND work, and then we can look for a house there. This is indeed a very busy season in life. Im wondering when the relaxing season of life will begin. Maybe when Im 60? 65? These past 2 years have been great. We can't wait to see where our lives go during this new adventure.

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

I am so excited to be leaving TODAY to go to San Antonio and see my very best good friends!

We will be at the Riverwalk tonight at my favorite mexican food restaurant. Saturday, I am helping my BFF since KINDERGARTEN move into her very first apartment! Yay Katie!

Saturday evening, we will be going to the stock show and rodeo for the first and only time this year! I dont think I've missed a year of rodeo except maybe once, but Im pretty sure not. I LOVE the rodeo. Ive been every year since I wore my first pair of tiny wranglers and red boots. I can smell the wonderful food smells mixed with sawdust and cow patties as I type this. (So gross, right?) I will be having a turkey leg, roasted corn on the cob, and a funnel cake, thank you very much. I will watch the piglet races. I will go to the horse barn and dream of the horse I will own in the future. (Yes, I am a horse-lover at heart.) I will NOT ride the scary carney rides, but I may play a game or two. I will go to the petting zoo, even though I probably exceed the height limit. Then, Josh Turner is performing and he's so dreamy.

Freezing February = Fail

Wow, since when did I not live in Texas anymore? It has been SO cold here the last couple of weeks. Wiley has spent the majority of his days inside, and while Im sure he would be fine outside in his house in the 19 degree weather and freezing rain, I refuse to believe he would enjoy it. So Im being a good puppy-momma and keeping him in.

All last week, the first week of February, the groundhog clearly mustve seen his shadow because WOW. It has been below freezing, with ice on the streets, and on the 4th, it snowed! We woke up to a beautiful 3 inch blanket of snow!

We went out and played in it and let Wiley make yellow snow, before school and work all got cancelled for the day. I worked from home, but all-in-all, it was a great snow day. I worked in my PJs next to a hot fire all day! It was wonderful. The snow/ice didnt completely melt until Saturday, so we didnt drive until that evening. We tried to go out and see True Grit, but it was sold out. Boo. We rented the American instead at redbox, and I DO NOT RECOMMEND. We hated it and turned it off about halfway through. The only reason it was not turned off sooner is because the boys kept wanting to "see where it was going". And when it went nowhere good, the girls made an executive decision to turn it off.

Sunday was the superbowl! I could care less about the teams playing, and the commercials weren't all that great, and the halftime show was AWFUL, so it was just disappointing for me. But I ate some delicious food! haha. Isn't that what it's all about?? no?? Oh, its about football? No way. Stop pulling my leg.

This weekend will be spent doing more painting/house repairs/cleaning. Guess what holiday is coming up?? The day of LOOOOOOOOVE. Of course, if youre like me, you believe that every day should be a day of love and that candy/cards/flowers should be given any ol' day of the year. Call me crazy. We will be staying in and making chocolate dipped fruit like we've done for the past 5 years.
Oh yeah, our "togetherness" anniversary was in January - 5 years of love for Ashley and Matt!

Where did January go?

Well, that's ok. We'll just skip riiiiiiight over it! Nothing important happened anyways... NOT!
Ok, so a LOT of big things happened in January!
We went to the shack for New Year's celebrations with my family. The weekend included duck hunting, fishing, eating, more eating, and relaxing. Really fun! The highlight was probably the awesome fireworks that the boys set off for us each night.

Matt had his knee surgery, which all went as "planned" and he is recovering very well. My wonderful mother came to help me play nurse and she was a HUGE help around here! I dont know how I would have done it those first few days on my own. She cooked, cleaned, ran errands, and helped me around the house. Love you mom!

I've been working hard around the house, mostly painting, but also learning new skills since Matt's been in recovery... I now know how to caulk, use a power drill, use a chop saw, replace quarter-round, do some minor electrical things with light fixtures, and replace air registers. I think after I learn grouting, I'll be set for life.

We traveled around to celebrate my birthday and my brother's birthday! Aaron turned 28 and I, 25. I dont want to talk about it :-) But really, it was a lot of fun to celebrate and see everyone.

The weekend before my birthday, we celebrated Travis' birthday and mine together (like we usually do, since theyre only 4 days apart.) This year, it was on a much bigger scale! Thursday for his birthday, we went to Boston's. Friday, Amanda planned a BIG surprise party for the birthday boy at our house! We had about 30 people here, and it was definitely the most people we have had in the house at one time. It was a lot of fun and a big success.... he was surprised! Amanda did a great job party planning.

Saturday, we woke up and drove to Houston. The original plan was just to go to eat dinner there. After Matt and Amanda started planning the weekend, it turned into many fun things and spending the night there in a nice hotel! We ate at the Grove in downtown, which was FABULOUS, and went to a comedy club afterwords. It was an improv type club and they helped us celebrate our birthdays by singing to us and making signs. We did not know that the Houston marathon was that weekend, so we had a lot of traffic and people to deal with...
Sunday morning we got up early and went to brunch before heading to IKEA, the craziest store on earth. I had never been there, and boy was I overwhelmed. I had no idea it was a warehouse....
On Monday, my actual birthday, when I got to work, my coworkers had decorated my office, and gotten donuts and kolaches to celebrate! They also bought me an orchid plant? I hope I can keep it alive.... My family had a beautiful flower arrangement delivered to the office for me. It was the first time I had anything delivered to the office and I felt so special :-) It was in a Hershey's kiss vase and had a big birthday balloon, so no one could miss it! Surprisingly though, certain people still found a way to make my day miserable. Ahhh, work.
Monday night, we went to eat hibachi at Atami, and saw The King's Speech. Highly recommend it. No wonder its nominated for 3 or something Oscars. We came back home and I was greeted by an incredibly neon-iced cookie cake, with the brightest most beautiful colors!

Well, January is over! It was busy, and very fun. This spring is going to bring a lot of changes for us and we are very excited!

February plans: finish work on the house. Celebrate with my Valentine. Go to the RODEO! Declutter.

bye for now!

Random Holiday Updates

Well, as usual, the holidays are FLYING by! We got our tree all decorated and pretty with our ornaments and lights. And now with presents underneath it, it looks complete! Ive spent a lot of time wrapping and playing elf!
Last weekend we were in Fredericksburg to celebrate Christmas with Matt's family. It was lots of fun! We went to Main Street Friday night to see the lights and eat dinner. Saturday morning, Matt and I got up at 5am to go deer hunting! We drove up to the ranch and parked the truck right at daylight. We then spent the next few hours walking around quietly looking for deer. I am not very good at being quiet for this long, so it was a struggle. I mean, I can sit in a blind and whisper-talk for a few hours, but the walking thing and creeping around? Not so much. BUT! Im very proud to say that I spotted a HUGE buck and showed it to Matt! We did not shoot it, but he did get a doe for meat. So all in all, a success! We went back to Fredericksburg to open presents and eat lots of great holiday food. Sunday was spent going to church... and processing FOUR deer! We had a great system going, an assembly line of all 12 of us, so we got them knocked out really fast. Free lean meat! yay!

Matt's pre-op appointment for his knee surgery was yesterday, so we got more information. It will be January 11th, and it will be outpatient, so no nights in the hospital! I really like the doctor, and he does these all the time, so that put me at ease. My mom is coming up to help out and be with me, so that will be nice :-) thanks mom! Love you!

Matt and I had our little Christmas last night - in the middle of me baking pies and cookies. He got me some REALLY cute TOMS shoes! They are green (favorite color). He did good! He also got me a movie I wanted....
We leave tonight to go to Ft. Worth for the rest of Christmas with my extended family. Im excited for all the food and fun! Wiley can't wait to see all his cousins and grandparents and great-grandparents! (their terms of endearment, not mine....) ;-)
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, it means two things: a lot more travelling in the near future for Christmas, and Matt studying day and night for finals. He's had two big project/paper/presentations to work on and he is doing great! Today is the last day of school for him for this semester and I am so. excited.

We went and cut down our tree last week from a local tree farm. It is so cute! It's a little 5 foot tree that smells sooo good. I happened to put it up by myself last week, and let me tell you, bad idea. Matt was out of town, and I just really wanted the tree up. Long story short:  a 2 by 4, a chop saw, and a power drill later, I had a wooden block to put under the tree trunk to make it stand straight in the tree stand. VOILA!

This weekend was catch-up for me.... I just did a lot of chores around the house like raking/bagging leaves, doing dishes, and cleaning the house. Also did some fun Christmas activities like decorating the tree and wrapping all our presents! We had a Christmas/going-away party for our small group last night at our house. Three couples are moving this week, and will no longer be around. :( It's sad as people move, but they are pursuing higher education and/or moving closer to family, or getting great jobs. So it's also very happy :)

Until next time...
(I promise to add pictures sometime!)

aaaaaand, we're back!

wow! Hi! My name is Ashley, and we're back!
Its been a crazy couple of months! A quick recap:
-Matt DOES have to have knee surgery, BOO. Turns out, after a couple MRIs and a few X-rays, he has a torn meniscus and a possibly torn ACL... POSSIBLY? After a few MRIs and Xrays, I do not know how they aren't certain.... but he could wake up from surgery with a new ACL! So I guess we'll see. That is coming up in January.
-Matt got a new job, doing civil still, but at a new company. This is an exciting new opportunity!
-He also went to career fair, and has been interviewing with a few companies for post-grad positions.
-I am still here, at my same job, working and working, and running in the evenings when I can. My typical day is: hit snooze (lots!), hurry and get ready, work work work, come home, run/workout, cook dinner, clean, TV, laundry, bed.
-My favorite show right now is Glee, and Dancing with the Stars was a close second, but now the season is over... just in time for American Idol in January!
-I will be 25 soon... this is scary :-(
-We had lots of visitors in November! My parents and brother came for the A&M vs. OU game, and Matt's parents and brother came for the A&M vs. Nebraska game.... we won BOTH by the way... WHOOP!
-We drove all over the great state of Texas for Thanksgiving! From Bryan, we went up to Ft. Worth for a couple days, then down to the hill country, then back to Bryan. It's the Great Triangle, as I like to call it...
-Christmas is so soon! We decorated our lovely yard on Monday night, and a big thanks to Matt for putting up lights with me! Three of our big trees are wrapped in colorful lights!
-And last but not least.... DRUMROLL.....
I AM GOING TO NEW YORK CITY with my mom in TWO days!!! We are both so excited. We went to NYC at Christmas a few years ago, and just couldn't get enough. So we're going back : ) I cannot wait for the hustle and bustle and shopping and snow (possibly) and people and lights and decor and ice skating and scarves and shows! Oh and Macy's!

Bummer

Matt hurt his knee. Again.
It's the same knee that he tore the ACL in, back in 2007, and had surgery on to fix it. He hurt it the same way he hurt it last time - flag football. A couple of weeks ago, he and I were playing on our city league team (when I say that Im playing, it means Im running around the field with a bunch of boys taking up space and making the opponents think Im awesome). He really IS awesome, and was playing quarterback, tried to cut, and collapsed. He had an MRI done that week and it turns out he has a torn meniscus. So, not as bad as a torn ACL, right? Maybe. We're still not positive about what's going to have to happen... surgery? rest? He meets with an orthopedic doc soon, so we will know more then.  Im just slightly confused, because he was wearing his big metal brace that he got after his ACL surgery during this game, and still tore his meniscus! (I call it the robot brace sometimes, because it looks like he has a bionic knee) So, please pray for his healing knee. We're crossing fingers for no surgery :)

It's Fall!

It is one day away from OCTOBER and I am so excited to put up my fall decor! (where did the time go??) The weather here has been beautiful this week, and its been more depresssing than ever to be in an office all day. Ive been spending as much time outside as I can these past 4 days... mowing, yard work, running, eating outside, etc... I wish it would stay like this! But the harsh reality is, it will be hot again next week. Texas weather, make up your mind :)

Last weekend we went to the beach! It was perfect weather (despite the rain in the early morning hours) and Matt got to go fishing with my brother and the guys. I got to relax on the beach with Wiley and get a tan. It was perfect! Wiley has gotten more used to the waves and actually goes into the surf on his own now and spashes around. He also has a grudge against sea gulls (who can blame him?) and chases them whenever he thinks they're close enough. For a dog who's scared of water, Im pretty proud of him. Now if we can juuuuuust teach him to stand on a surfboard.....  kidding. He also got lots of attention from the beach walkers, and everyone wanted to pet him. I warned them that they might get licked to death. It was a nice break from reality, as Matt was not allowed to do school work ;) It was also a lot less eventful than our June trip, and I left my rings in the condo (see previous post).
Happy Fall Y'all!

Goodbye, old friend

My playmate and one of my best friends, Star, passed away on Tuesday evening. She was our dog, but more than a family dog to all of us. She was like my little sister. My parents often referred to me as her "litter mate", which sounds weird, but as much as I played with her, it was pretty accurate. She was often Aaron's running buddy. She was my mom's companion during the day and after we went off to college. She helped my dad hunt rodents in the yard.

She was the most thoughtful, active, people-oriented, attentive dog I have ever known. She is the whole reason Matt and I got a heeler last year. I truly believe that they are the absolute smartest and most loving dogs. I am somewhat biased though, and I'm sure there are many great breeds of dogs to suit everyone.

Star would herd whatever she could find in our yard. We had homing pigeons the whole time I was growing up, and she would "herd" them as they flew circles around the sky above our yard. She would look so proud, as though it was really her making them stay in a group, fly around, and eventually come back to their coop. (They would have done this anyway, out of instinct, but we didn't tell her that.) She would herd me, Aaron, and my friends, as we ran around the yard, nipping lightly at our heels to get us to move. We lived by the airport, and planes often flew over our yard. She would chase them from the time they entered the sky over our yard until they flew out of sight, prancing around as though she had done her job and gotten that pesky thing to go where she wanted it to. When we swam, she would run laps around the pool barking at us and herding us from one end to the other (although she never got IN the water).  I wont even get into all the cars, squirrels, possums, and mice she herded...

When you cried, she would come check on you. When you were sick, she knew something was wrong. I got her when I was 9. We had some great times; she would even jump on the trampoline with me! I wish we had video of this. One time, I tied her in my wagon, hooked it to the back of my play tractor, and pulled her down the street. I took her rollerblading with me around the neighborhood. She was so patient with me. One time, I had her on a walk, and she pulled out of her collar and took off running. I was so worried, I ran home as fast as I could to get my mom and the car to go find her. When I ran up to our yard, there she was. Laying there, in the front yard. I guess she got tired of walking, and found her own way home. Stinker. :-)

As she got older, she started developing tumors. They weren't cancerous, but just "fatty". No one knew why she had them, and we even had one removed at the vet once. After that, she kept getting more and they kept getting bigger. She really went downhill this year, and I'm so thankful God allowed us to have her as long as He did. She was almost 16.

Star, thanks for being more than we could ever expect in a dog. Wiley has some big paws to fill. We miss you, but we know you're in doggie Heaven, healthy, with all the bacon you could ever eat, and all the cows you could ever herd for the rest of eternity.

Star at her last Christmas

scratch that....

I just got the most AMAZING news!
I will be SITTING next weekend at the game! Thank you to my friend for having a birthday, getting tickets as a present on the alumni side (read: shaded side), and inviting us to use some of those tickets!
double Whoop :)

WHOOP!

its time for A&M football! We didnt go to the first game. And we're not going to the game tomorrow on 9/11. But we're going next weekend if I can find me a free ticket. Im so excited!! (about the game, not the standing the whole time.)
It's amazing how much older I feel in my seventh year of standing than I did in my first year of standing. (that's right, SEVENTH. I think I get major Aggie points for that. In fact, it should be more like ninth, bc I went to a ton of games in High School and stood for all of them.) I am ready to sit in the shade on the alumni side. Someone want to donate 2 tickets for the sake of my feet/legs? :)
GIG EM AGGIES! WHOOP!

babies!

Just a short post to say that all my friends are pregnant.
It's so weird transitioning into this phase of life! I know things will change drastically, and let's face it, I dont like change very much. But these are happy, miracle-type changes :)

I cant help but wonder how my life will be different as a non-mother among mothers. It happened when we all started getting married, but not to the same extent... if 2 couples are friends and do everything together before marriage, they continue to be friends and do everything together after marriage.
BUT. Add a baby in there, a new fragile life with lots of needs, we're talking BIG changes.

However, I am sooo excited for all of them and their new little families! Im excited about being designated babysitter, nursery decorator, shower goer/coordinator, and probably scrapbook maker. And let's not forget avid baby-clothes-shopper (see previous post on this subject...)

Congrats to all my girls who are assisting God in a miracle.

Colorado...

was perfect!!
we left Friday after work, and drove all through the night to get to Colorado by Saturday morning. I started out the first shift, driving from Bryan all the way to Amarillo. It was 3:30-4am when we switched, and I immediately fell asleep! Matt had gotten some good rest while I was driving though, so he could be ready. I woke up about 7 and we were in Colorado, making our way west and about to buy groceries! We stopped in Alamosa to get groceries, stopped in South Fork to get fishing licenses, and stopped in Creede to eat lunch and kill time. We went to the Mining Museum in Creede and ate at the Old Firehouse restaurant. The weather was kind of rainy, but a nice mix of sun and clouds. About 2 oclock we headed up the mountain, stopping at Clear Creek Falls on our way. It is the most photographed waterfall in Colorado (so I hear) and it is absolutely gorgeous. We drove around and stopped at some scenic overlooks, before heading up to the Rio Grande Reservoir and Lost Trail Ranch where we were staying. We got to our cabin, unpacked, and settled in for the night.

Sunday, we decided to take it easy since we had so little sleep and not much time to adjust to the change in altitude: from 600 feet to 10,000+ feet in 16 hours! Not just wonderful on the body. We slept in, and decided to not hike but drive to where we were going to fish. It was rainy all day on and off, but we went to Ute Creek and Brewster Park to practice our fly fishing. We ate steaks and veggies grilled over the campfire, and made s'mores!

Monday, we thought we were acclimated enough to head up Lost Trail and pack our waders, fly rods, snacks, etc and fish Lost Trail Creek. I was dizzy most of the way up, because its 3 miles to good fishing and verrrry vertical! But we made it, and I caught 2 fish! Matt had some bites, too. I had worn my hiking boots that were about 8 years old, and they gave me a horrible blister on my left heel! We cooked our two fishies for dinner, and supplemented with some good ol' spaghetti.

Tuesday, we had planned on leaving to do our overnight backpacking trip. However, with my blister screaming at me every time I walked, we decided to go driving around instead. We headed to Lake City, a quaint little town tucked in a valley. From there, we headed up a four wheel drive road to Cinnamon Pass, which is 13,000+ feet! The road was one way, rocky, gravel/dirt, and a steep drop-off on our left side... whew! I was a bit nervous, but Matt did great driving and we lived. We made our way over the pass and into Silverton, an old mining town. We ate lunch here and got some awesome fudge! We kept on our way to Durango, and I think this is my new favorite town. It's so beautiful! It's small, but big enough. It's quaint, but modern enough. It's like a mixture of Fredericksburg Main Street with a larger-town feel and more conveniences. LOVE it. We went to Main St. and walked up and down going into shops and talking. It was getting late, and we still had a long way to go to be back by dark, so we hit the road and headed over to Wolf Creek Pass, and back through South Fork, and 'home'.

Wednesday, we woke up earlier than usual, and drove to the Squaw Creek trail head where we could hike up the trail and go fly fishing. This was a fun day! I got 3 fish and Matt got a few smaller ones. We were gone for quite a while! We also went to the Rio Grande, but nothing was biting. Bummer. We also picked some wild mountain raspberries and I made a cobbler that night with dinner. We taught a couple of the guys at the ranch how to play washers, and they liked it. We also taught them 42 and we ended up playing every night. They stayed to eat dinner with us; homemade enchiladas! A taste of Texas.

Thursday was interesting. It had rained all night and all morning. We slept in because you cant do anything in the middle of nowhere in Colorado in the rain. When it finally broke, we went to a nearby creek to fish. The water, which is usually crystal clear and beautiful, was brownish green from all the rain and runoff. We tried fishing, but the fish couldnt see anything! A big thunderstorm snuck up on us, so we had to sit under a rock/cave and wait it out so we didnt get soaked or struck by lightning! The rest of the day was lazy, spent reading and hanging out at the cabin. We played washers and Uno til midnight.

Friday was bittersweet; we knew we wanted to make the most of our last day there, but we also had to be responsible and pack up and clean everything. It was a bummer having to pack up and say goodbye on such a gorgeous day! It was about 65 degrees, and a cloudless, sunny sky. We woke up early to hike up Lost Trail again to fish. This fishing was a LOT more productive! Matt caught a 12 inch trout! We had lots of fun. The hike was about 6 miles roundtrip. When we got back to the cabin, I took the truck to look for and pick more raspberries so I could make one more cobbler! We packed up and played washers and horseshoes til it was time for dinner. This time, we had the guys over for dinner again and played 42 and Uno and Scattagories until about 2am! Needless to say, we were exhausted the next day which was....

Saturday! We woke up at 6am to try and clean and pack the truck and get dressed for our day. We headed out about 8am and were on our way to Santa Fe! We got there about 1pm and spent the afternoon in downtown Santa Fe shopping and eating. We had a nice la quinta hotel room, and took a nap before we went out again for dinner at my favorite restaurant, Maria's. It was a wonderful dinner and evening.

Sunday, we woke up to make the looooong drive back to Bryan, Tx! It was hotter and hotter the more we drove and we were getting terribly depressed thinking of how we went from 50 degrees to 105 degrees in a little over a day. But, we made it home safely and soundly, with great memories and pictures, and there's nothing to compain about because we had a perfect trip!

Colorado, we will be back as soon as possible!! Thanks for a fun time!

Gearing Up

Matt and I are off to Colorado for our first anniversary trip on Friday. We have been so excited about this trip, probably since last summer when we knew we wanted to go together. We both love nature, hiking, marveling at creation, fishing, camping, and sight-seeing. It seems like we're going to be able to do all of the above on our upcoming trip.
We've decided to mostly hang out around our cabin, doing some light hiking and fly fishing. However, for 2 days, we are taking a long overnight backpacking trip up to the continental divide and back down! (roundtrip: 20 miles.) This will be an adventure. Matt has never done this before, and I've been backpacking but never that far.
It should be a good test of the new marriage ;-)
We're also taking a day to drive around to some of the cute resort towns around the area. The goal is to have a good time, chat some locals, eat some good food, (have a chance to look cute and not like a crazy, hairy mountain woman), and scope out some potential places to live when we get the itch to move there.

We're also appeasing Matt by taking a four-wheel drive road up through a treacherous pass. Perrrrrfect.

We'll update while we're there and when we get back down off the mountain. I may never come back, now that I think about it. Wait, I have to. Im going to miss my Wiley dog so much while we're gone. Next year, the dog comes too!

Baby Gifts

Does anyone else find themselves buying way too much when buying baby gifts for other people? I mean, I go ALL OUT. Everything is so cute! You have to get the cute onesies... then there's the bows that match... then there's receiving blankets that match... and dont forget the socks.... and the matching mittens!! But wait, they also need sleep-n-play jammies... that match.

And these aren't even my kids! Im going to be in trouble.

I spend more money on baby gifts than I do wedding gifts, which is crazy because it's all going to be pooped on, slobbered on, snotted on, spit up on, and out-grown. But then again, I guess you could say it is being well-used and loved!

Summer Lovin'

Im telling you, I cant keep up this summer! Where is the time going?
We are gone EVERY weekend. I am thankful that we have family and friends to go see. I am thankful that we have cars that will get us where we want and need to go. I am thankful for a nice cozy house to come home to and a job that allows me to travel on the weekends.

BUT... Im exhausted! After the lake on the Fourth (which was a blast by the way!), I went to New York City with my best friend, Lindsay. It was the most time Ive gotten to spend with her one-on-one for probably 2 years. She and I have been best friends since our moms introduced us in the 2nd grade. We have had countless sleepovers, makeovers, dress-up parties, tea parties, play dates, dates with boys, school dances, dance teams, and FUN together! She was my Maid of Honor, and while we got to see each other a lot with all the wedding events, there was always an agenda, and always other people around. We went to NYC to visit her sister who is doing a summer internship in PR up there in Manhattan... what a cool opportunity! (and she has NO problem getting people to come visit her either...)

We had a wonderful time. So many laughs, a few heart-to-hearts, lots of adventures, and just girl time. I miss that, and my other 3 best friends back in San Antone.
ONE DAY hopefully I'll be back there...

Last weekend, we had my "baby" cousin's high school graduation party! What!! Stop growing up everyone! We had the party in Ft Worth at my grandparent's house and Meredith came up from Waco with her boyfriend, Tucker, and her brother, Travis, who happened to be home on leave from the Air Force. We were so happy he could make it.

Meredith came with me to my new student conference at A&M when she was 12... and it seems like last year we did that. Now it is her turn for her new student orientation! She is attending UTA for Nursing and I couldnt be more proud of her. She is so mature for her age and really has her sights set high for her career.
WAY TO GO MEREDITH!

This coming weekend = the crazy, jam-packed wedding marathon weekend!

We have 2 friends getting married (well... 4 friends, 2 couples), one Friday night, and one Saturday night. Matt happens to be a groomsman in the Saturday wedding, so our agenda is: Drive to Dallas, check into hotel, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception on Friday; wedding day festivities, pictures, wedding, reception, and seeing our friends Saturday! Pray that I get some beauty sleep in there sometime!

My summer might be busy, but it's anything but boring!

Hope your summer is FUN and maybe a little RELAXING, too...

Stampin' Up!!

I went to my friend's card-making party last night, and it was a blast. As people may know, Im into scrapbooking. I have a die cutting machine and lots of paper, stickers, glue, ribbon, buttons, brads, etc hanging around in my "craft" room. Basically the only supply Im short on is TIME. I wish I could scrapbook more, about vacations and events.... *daydreaming*

Matt encourages me in this hobby, as well as sewing, and I am thankful for that. I've made some stationery for people before (people = my mom) and they turned out really cute. I just used cardstock and patterned paper die cuts and letters. However, I have never really gotten into stamping. There are soooooo many cute stamps out there, that it can get really expensive! After going to this party last night, I feel like getting more into card-making and stationery gifts. Im pretty excited. Now I just need to look through this awesome catalog at all of their adorable stamp sets and get started!

In other news, the Fourth of July is coming up! I bought our FIRST American flag to hang in our front yard (we had a flag holder on one of our trees already, just no flag). I found some USA window clings and Im making a wreath for our porch. I love decorating for holidays! Something I know I learned from my mom. Thanks a lot, Denisa, for giving me this obsession.... There may or may not also be stars-and-stripes-themed table linens on my dining room table right now....
We're going to the lake for the holiday with family for some wakeboarding and waterskiing, but thanks to hurricane Alex, we may be playing dominoes and eating in the house the whole time! But thank God for rain. Our yard looks thirsty!

Here Comes the Sun...

Completely contradicting the title of this post, it is actually pouring rain in Bryan right now... absolutely flooding. The auditors that are here this week took our office out to lunch (BBQ, Mmmm!) and on the way back I had my windshield wipers in panic-mode-high-speed, and I still had trouble seeing! The funny thing is.... Matt watered the lawn last night. Doesn't that always happen? I should have washed my car, too, and seen what happened. Tornado? Hurricane?
Anyways, SUMMER is officially here, apparently. I counted it as summer long before the solstice, and I believe that the solstice must be what yankees use to tell if summer is upon them. In Texas, all you need is a thermometer. It's been summer since May, easily. The day I had to stop running outside at 4:30pm because I was going to have a heat stroke was the day it became summer.
And along with summer, comes summer trips! We're going to our sister/brother-in-laws house to swim this weekend in NRH with the fam, and have a big joint birthday celebration for summer birthdays. The weekend of the Fourth, we're going to Matt's brother Jake's girlfriend's parent's lake house. Did you get that? My brother-in-law Jake has a girlfriend named Cortney, and her parents have a lake house and wakeboarding/waterskiing boat. Needless to say, Im pretty tan already from the beach and I only foresee my tan getting darker. Exciting for the girl that turns yellow underneath her flourescent lights in the office all day, all year. We have every weekend booked up til August, and every single one will be spent with family or at weddings, and mostly outside. I LOVE SUMMER. Let me leave you with a few words from my boys, the Beatles:
Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's all right....
Little darling, its been a long cold lonely winter.
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces.
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's all right.