The Hunsakers

Emilee's first walk

2012-01-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

Emilee went on her first walk recently. I finally decided on a stroller last week and with nice weather abounding I couldn't wait to break it out and let Emilee enjoy it. Our HOA has a couple of "Lakes" with walking path around them. So Chris and I loaded up in the car and headed over to the biggest one. It was nice, warm and sunny. We all enjoyed the chance to get out of the house.

Here is Emilee hanging out in her stroller.

Emilee looking at Daddy taking her picture as she cruises around the lake.

Emilee and Mommy pausing to look at the baby ducklings.

The baby ducklings.

Daddy and Emilee stop to have a chat.

Great Great-grandmas

2012-01-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am so blessed to have some wonderful grandmothers, which means Emilee has some wonderful great-grandmas. My grandma Shore spent time making Emilee some really cute booties to wear. They are one of kind special booties made just for Emilee. We think they are adorable and are grateful to Grandma Shore for spending time making them for Em. She will treasure having something from Great-Grandma that is uniquely hers.Then my Grandma Woolstenhulme hand quilted Emilee's crib blanket. My mom pieced the quilt together and then Grandma quilted it. We absolutely love it and it finishes off Emilee's room perfectly. I know she will treasure this quilt for the rest of her life because it was made especially for her. One day she will be able to share her quilt with her daughter, just like I can the one my mom made for me.
Like I said, I have some great grandmas, and Emilee has some great Great-grandmas. Thanks for all of your hard work.

Here are some cute pictures I've taken of Emilee lately. Chris and I are enjoying watching her grow and learn about the world around her.
She is getting great at tummy time. She has always liked throwing her head back when we are holding her and looking up at us and the ceiling.
She is finally able to wear the cute onesies my friend Kelsy made for her. This is one of our favorites- the giraffe is adorable.
She is starting to really smile, and not just because it is gas. There are times when she will just give us the biggest smile. We absolutely adore this little girl and couldn't ask for a better baby.

Grandma H's Lip

2012-01-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

Emilee inherited her Grandma Hunsaker's bottom lip. She has recently learned how to use it to the biggest potential- when crying. It is hard to be upset at this cute little face when she uses her lip to cry. Enjoy the video of her using her lip. Side note- Before we pulled the camera out rubbing her chin was getting Emilee to smile, and I think she almost was trying to giggle. I promise we aren't trying to torture our child.

Last week in Utah

2012-01-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

The last few days of our trip to Utah were Jam packed. My sister, sister-in-law and mom helped throw me a baby shower. It was wonderful. My sister had the genius idea to make it a book shower where people would bring their favorite childhood book for Emilee. This was right up my alley and made for ease of getting them home, since we could do cheap media mail. It was a great shower and I got to see several people I otherwise may not have seen.

The next day was my extended family Christmas party. Emilee got to meet her Great-grandma and thank her for the beautiful quilt she helped make. She also got to spend time with her cousins. My parents have 5 grandkids, all of them girls. Here is the picture of all of the girls:

Jaelyn (3 months older than Em), Laryssa (2 1/2), Kylee and Kamri (3), and Emilee (1 mo.)

On Saturday, Dec. 31st we blessed Emilee at my parents house. All of our family was there, except J'see and Clark. Emilee wore my blessing dress. Her booties were her grandma's and mine. Chris did a wonderful job on the blessing, and Emilee was well behaved. I'm so grateful that Chris is a worthy priesthood holder and can give our children blessings. It was great being able to bless her with the family. Enjoy the myriad of pictures below.

This is the 3 generations picture: Great-Grandma Hunsaker, Grandpa Hunsaker, Dad, and Emilee

Chris, me and Emilee with his parents.

My parents

Emilee with the men who were in the circle. G'pa H, Dad, G'pa Shore, Uncle Zach Shore

That day we went bowling with my family and had a blast. Then that night we rang in the new year with Chris's family. We played games all night and then did fireworks at midnight. Emilee and I got a New Year's kiss from Chris. This is Emilee and I outside watching the fireworks for a couple of minutes at midnight. We didn't stay out long, it was freezing cold. We chose to watch from the front window.

On Sunday Emilee watched the Chief's football game with her daddy, wearing her bib. (The bib is how I told Chris he was going to be a Dad). We spent the day hanging out with Chris's family.

Chris had to return to the real world on Monday, Jan. 2nd, but Emilee and I got to stay for a few more days, leaving on Thursday. We had much more low keys days after Chris left, which was nice because I was getting tired of the go go go of the holidays. We really enjoyed spending time with the family, especially so soon after Emilee joined us. Hopefully we will be able to get back to see family again soon.

One month

2012-01-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

Emilee had an exciting first month of her life. As soon as she left the hospital she had visitors- her grandma and grandpa Hunsaker. Grandpa was only able to stay the weekend, but Grandma stayed a week. We appreciated all of the help they gave us, and I'm sure they enjoyed meeting and spending time with their newest granddaughter. It has been 8 years since they had a new grandbaby.

After grandma Hunsaker left, Grandma Shore came to help. We only had one night, a little over 24 hours, between grandmas, so we were quite spoiled. Grandma Shore enjoyed seeing her newest granddaughter, and was a huge help. Emilee even slept a few of her rougher nights with Grandma to give mom a much needed break. There were a few nights her second week of life where she didn't want to sleep in her own crib and/or mom was still figuring out nursing versus pacifying. I think I got maybe 2-3 hours of sleep on those nights before mom helped.

I took Emilee to church on her second sunday, but only for sacrament meeting. On her third Sunday we stayed a little longer and Emilee got to wear her new church dress. She looked adorable in it.
We obviously took a ton of pictures her first month, especially at the beginning. Chris really likes this one because he says she looks like she is playing the air guitar.

On December 19th, when Em was 3 weeks old, her grandma S., her and I packed up and went on her first plane ride. We flew to Utah to spend Christmas with her family. She was a perfect angel on the flight and I hope the return flight will go as smoothly because I will be flying it solo. Chris flew out to join us a couple days later, after he finished working. He will also fly home a couple days before us- we saved $300 by booking this way.

My mom and I took Emilee to have her newborn pictures taken at a place called Camera Shy a couple of days after getting to Utah. I was impressed with the quality for the price. Here is a small sampling of the pictures.

Emilee slept through most of Christmas, as expected. She got a few presents, but not many because we requested that she not get presents, since she really didn't need any this year. Here is Emilee with a few of her presents:

Emilee has spent the past two weeks meeting family, being held by family, and partying with family. She has had quite a busy first month.

Here is Great-grandma Hunsaker holding her on Christmas.

Here is her cousin Lisana (Chris's niece) holding Emilee. Emilee is the first Hunsaker cousin for them and the only other girl grandchild in the family so far. Lisana has been waiting for this day for the entire 6 1/2 years Chris and I have been married.

This is Emilee being held by her Hunsaker cousin Christian. He wasn't quite as excited about Emilee as his sister, but he still likes her just the same.

There were a few other events that have happened this week, but those will have to wait until the next post. Chris and I have thoroughly enjoyed having Emilee in our lives and can't wait for the many months to come growing and learning with her. She has wrapped us around her little fingers and we love her completely.

Our Impatient little Miss

2011-12-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

Emilee Hunsaker

November 29, 2011

4:51 p.m.

7 lbs. 4 oz

19 1/4 inches

Okay, for those that care, here's the story: On Monday Nov. 28 I had a routine doctor appointment at 4:15 p.m. I went and the doctor restated her prediction that I wouldn't make it to my due date and would have a baby by the end of the week. I was dilated to a 3, which was 2 cm more than the week before. I still wasn't sure I was buying into having the baby that early. Afterward I went about the rest of my evening getting things done and watching my shows. Throughout the evening I continued to have semi-painful contractions 10-20 minutes apart. I could function during them so they weren't too painful. I'd been having these contractions on and off for a couple of weeks, especially after doctors appointments so I didn't worry yet. At 1 a.m. the contractions took a definite turn. I could no longer function during them. They were varying from 7-9 minutes apart at this point, with occasional outliers that were closer together or farther apart. We timed them and put up with them until about 7 a.m. when I finally called the doctor. The doctor said that it sounded like it was time and that she was headed to the hospital then and to meet her there. Chris came upstairs and I said it was time.

We got to the hospital at about 7:45 and they didn't have a delivery room for me, so we got put in a triage room. I didn't care, it was somewhere to get this show on the road. When my doctor checked me I was at a 5, but the nurse checked me 20 minutes later and I was a 7. At 9:30 I got my epidural and I think women who don't get one are alternately admirable and crazy. It was heaven after the drugs kicked in. Shortly after that I got a real room and we moved. I didn't mind much for myself, a hospital bed is a hospital bed, but it gave Chris a more comfortable place to relax. He was great throughout the whole process, especially the 8 hours when I wasn't medicated. He put up with my mean responses to his encouragement. At 1:30 they had me start pushing, but our little girl is stubborn. After I would push she would get distressed and her heart rate would drop. She wasn't very low yet, so the doctor decided to let me labor her down for a while and try again later. So they put me on my right side and we just waited.

At about 3 I was feeling some pain and they had to give me a supplemental dose to aid the epidural. At 3:50the nurse came back in and we started pushing again. I could tell when a contraction was starting and would get ready for the instruction to push. An hour later Emilee entered the world. Chris watched them take care of her while they finished taking care of me. Emilee was having a little difficulty breathing, nothing major, but they wanted to take her to nursery to be monitored to make sure she fixed it on her own, like most babies do. Therefore we only had her for 10-20 minutes before they took her away. I wasn't worried, it just made it a little more surreal to not have her there with us.

We didn't get her back with us until midnight, which was 6 hours after she was born. They said we would have her 3-5 hours after birth, but 5 hours later we didn't have her. So Chris called and asked about her. They said they would talk to her nurse and bring her to us. 30 minutes later we still didn't have her, so I called and asked about her. Apparently they were giving her a bath and then would warm her up and would bring her to me in an hour. It was exactly an hour later that we got her. We kept her with us in the room after that.

The hospital gave us a first birthday cake for her. We think she is pretty adorable and are glad she is finally here. It was all worth it, but I'm still not sure how you forget what that is like and voluntarily do it again. I'm sure my memory will fade and I'll be doing all again before I know it, but not too soon. I think we'll enjoy this one for a while first.
Chris's parents met us at the hospital when I left and we headed home with our new little one. More about the first week of Emilee's life later.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T14:44:00.001-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Chris's Uncle Dale's house to celebrate with them. It was great spending the day with them. It is a shame that we don't see them more when they are only an hour or so away. It was all delicious and they went to a lot of work to get it done. Then on Friday we continued our tradition from last year on our own and made filet mignon and our own pies. I cheated and bought a pumpkin pie from Costco, but Chris did not and made his apple pie and key lime pie on his own, including meringue. He's the better cook in the family, too bad my work schedule lends itself better to the cooking. Here are some pictures of the masterpieces we made.

True Blue

2011-11-15T17:34:00.001-08:00

I bleed blue, and now I drive it too. One of my birthday presents from Chris got put on my car yesterday- My Texas BYU license plate. I love my new BYU Texas license plate. I know all of you non-Utahns are super jealous. Now with my Y sticker and plates, there is not doubt that I'm a cougar. I love that my plates will now stand out in a crowd.

5 weeks, but who's counting?

2011-11-06T16:00:00.001-08:00

Only a little longer left, and a list of numerous things to accomplish before then. Here is the picture of me at 35 weeks. Looking at it makes me feel better, because I feel a lot bigger than the picture says. We decided on a name and a spelling, even though Chris has moments of panic where he things we decided this too quickly. He's a bit of a commitment phobe when it comes to naming her for some reason. One Saturday afternoon while Chris went golfing I made her name out of white wooden block letters and modge podged scrapbook paper. I love how they turned out. Chris helped me hang them above the changing pad dresser a couple of days later.

On another day when Chris was studying for the GMAT, I made the lamp for the nursery. I had purchased a plain white lamp base and shade, then found cute ladybug ribbon and some flowers to spruce it up. It isn't as perfect as I'd like, but it is cute and much cheaper than what I was looking at.

I had found the most adorable saying to put above the crib in the room. I had a hard time locating a vinyl company that had it with the ladybugs instead of butterflies, but luckily my little sister Leslie found it for me. I tackled this on the same night my husband was studying for the GMAT, now memory serves me that he was taking his first practice test. Putting this up was a thorn in my side. It did not want to stick to the wall, no matter how many times I rubbed it. I don't know if it was the paint, or the texture on the wall. I'm so glad I finally got it up there. The nursery is pretty much done, it just needs a couple more finishing touches and a chair to nurse in.

I finally got the car seat this week, so I told my mom that the baby could come now since I have all of the necessities. Mom wasn't in favor of that and asks that we hold off a few more weeks. Since I'm an obedient daughter, I'll do my best to wait a few more weeks :). I like that the car seat is neutral enough to go with any gender in case the next one is a boy.

Last night, my friend Aimee and I got to go out for a girls' night to attend the Taylor Swift concert. We had purchased pre-sale tickets through the Astros since it was at Minute Maid Park, and were on the 9th row.

We were lucky enough to be a mere 6 feet from Taylor when she walked out to sing in the middle of the arena to get closer to other fans. She is tall, but a very skinny girl.

It was quite a production and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Taylor definitely has a down-to-earth air about her. I'm glad I was able to go and didn't have to drag Chris with me kicking and screaming. The only kicking I had to deal with was from Emilee as she listened to the music.
Well, not sure if I'll have anything exciting to blog about in the next few weeks, so the next post just may be pictures of our darling little Emilee.

Baby Shower 10-7

2011-10-25T17:57:00.001-07:00

My amazing friends Jen, Shandi and Kelsy threw me a shower the weekend my mom was here. We had the shower Friday evening due to several conflicts, but I actually think it turned out to the be the perfect time- Girl's night out. We ate a delicious light dinner and visited for the first little while.

The adorable onesies behind us were made by my friend Kelsy. She is so crafty and creative.

Then later we played a couple of games. The best game was when Jen asked Chris some quiz questions about impending fatherhood and we had to see how many we could match.

How many can you get right? (answers at the end of post):

1. The first thing he said when he was told the pregnancy test was positive:

a. Yea, I am so excited!

b. Are you serious

c. Let's celebrate

d. I'm going to be a Dad

e. How did that happen?

2. What sex was he hoping for?

a. boy

b. girl

c. doesn't matter

3. When Daddy saw the first ultrasound he said

a. It's so amazing

b. Technology has come a long way

c. I don't understand any of it

d. You realize there is a higher power seeing this.

e. Is that an alien?

4. How did Daddy tell his family the sex of the baby?

a. It's a Girl!

b. It's what I was hoping for.

c. The plumbing is on the outside

d. I better buy stock in makeup products

e. You won't find out unless you are there.

5. Daddy says he hopes the baby has Mommy's

a. eyes

b. smile

c. nose

d. hair

e. temperament

f. smarts

6. Daddy says he hopes the baby has his

a. eyes

b. smile

c. nose

d. hair

e. sense of humor

f. toes

7. How many pregnancy tests will Daddy say he bought before he accepted the final one?

a. 1

b. 3

c. 5

8. When Daddy put the baby furniture together he

a. lost the screws

b. Gave up, let Mommy do it.

c. Did it in record time

d. put the rail on backwards

e. hired someone

f. mommy put the furniture together

9. Daddy says now that the baby is near he worries most about

a. money

b. lack of sleep

c. its health

d. changing diapers

e. all of the above

10. Daddy will sing his favorite tunes to the baby from his favorite singer

a. Justin Timberlake

b. Nick Lachey

c. Kenny Chesney

d. Josh Groban

e. Barry Manilow

f. Classic Baby songs

g. Red Hot Chili Peppers

h. Western

i. Techno

j. Smooth Jazz

k. third Eye blind- Stephan Jenkins

The little one got plenty of precious clothes, bathing supplies, and other items to keep her quite content. Here is my mom and I with all of the presents I opened.

I'm so glad I have such great friends who are excited for our little girl to arrive. Thanks again Shandi, Kelsy, and Jen for such a wonderful shower. I love you all!

Here is the glowing picture of me from the shower.

Answers: 1- b; 2- a; 3- e (puppy); 4- a; 5- a; 6- f; 7- b; 8- c; 9- e; 10- k

Mom Visits

2011-10-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Back on Oct 7 my mom flew into Houston for the first time since we moved here 3 years ago. I picked her up at the airport Friday night at 6:20 and we headed straight to the baby shower that my friends in the ward were throwing for me. My friends were great and
were willing to give me a shower while my mom was here. The shower was amazing. We had some yummy food, some fun personalized games, and of course some wonderful conversations. The little one got some great things so she doesn't have to go naked, or dirty. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the excitement. After the shower I brought mom home and showed her our house. We didn't do too much more that night other than show Chris all of the presents we got.

On Saturday mom and I had to run some errands. I figured we'd go do a couple of the more girly errands and pick Chris up later. But he was up for coming the whole time. We started out at Babies R'Us where we picked up some needed items. I wanted mom's help with the diaper bag, so that was item # on the list. We then needed a changing table pad so that mom could sew a cover for it. Chris was great with this part. He looked at all of the options and evaluated the differences. We picked up a few other odds and ends while we were there. After that we headed to Joanns to buy some fabric, batting, and other sewing odds and ends.

We rounded out the errands by finding me a dress to wear at the mall and getting a Costco membership to buy diapers with. It was quite an exhausting day. We finished our adventure out by taking mom out for some real Texas BBQ. After a nap to recover from the day we also took mom to one of our Houston staples: Ritters frozen custard.

Sunday was a relaxing day that pretty much involved church.

On Monday, Chris and I had to go to work and we left mom home by herself. She entertained herself by sewing stuff for the nursery. That night mom helped me put up some of the nursery decorations. She helped me put up these frames with ladybugs in them. I got the pictures off etsy; they just emailed me the jpg images and I sent them to walmart to get printed and bought the 3 dollar frames. I loved the easy cheap way to spruce up the walls. I really like how they turned out on the wall.

She also helped me figure out how to place these vinyl ladybugs around the room. Mom was great at this because I'm not sure I would have come up with this idea. There are a total of 15 ladybugs "crawling" all over my walls.

Tuesday was my birthday so I took the day off. Mom and I spent the day doing some more shopping. We started by going up to the temple and distribution center to look around. After that we headed to the mall to get some professional maternity pants and nursing bras (exciting I know). But we ended the trip by going to the outlet mall to browse the baby stores. About $100 later, between the two of us, the little one had quite a few items of clothing to add to her collection. Grandma bought the little one her first dress for church. It is pretty adorable. We also got some other adorable outfits, including Christmas ones.

That night after Chris got home we took mom to our favorite Houston restaurant, Pappasitos, for some delicious fajitas. And then we went and got desert from the Cheesecake factory. When we got home I opened the presents from Chris. He bought me a gift certificate for a massage that I can use for a prenatal massage or a regular massage after the little one gets here. I can't decide which one to use it for. Then he bought me the new BYU Texas license plate. I'm so excited for it to get here so I can represent!

It was a good birthday and so nice to have my mom in town for it. It has been a couple of years since I've been able to celebrate my birthday with family other than Chris.

On Wednesday I had to leave my mom home by herself again to sew, while I worked. Then I had to run home and pick her up to take her to the airport. I was super sad to see her go, but I knew she'd be back in 8 weeks to welcome the little one.

During her sewing she was able to get several things done for the nursery. She made a cover for the changing pad, and even made a burp cloth to go over the cover for extra protection. I didn't know she was making the burp cloth cover and it was a wonderful surprise. I think it turned out adorable.

She also made and finished the bumper pads for the crib. The fabric is ladybugs crawling all over grass. This will match the quilt she is making for the little one. I love how everything is starting to come together. Just need a few more touches and it will be ready for the baby.

Thank you so much Mom for all of your hard work and visiting us. I can't wait for you to come back when your granddaughter arrives.

30 and feeling flirty

2011-10-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

I am now 30 weeks along. We are starting to get to the point where the final touches have to be completed. I started to compile a list of things to accomplish before this child enters the world. I am working on the finishing touches for the nursery, getting those last baby supplies, and doing all of those things that will be much more difficult with a child. My mom flies in this weekend to spend some time helping me get things ready in the nursery. I've borrowed a sewing machine from a friend and we'll create to our hearts' content.

I am feeling well, just tired after fighting with students all day. A few weeks ago I did some blood work and apparently I am really low on iron, so low it shocked the doctor. She has me taking an iron supplement now. Other than that, everything seems normal. The little one is very active and loves when I lay on my left side. Nothing gets her moving quite like lying on that side.

Not much else going on here. I'm sure I'll have some exciting things to say after my mom's visit.

The Naming Game

2011-09-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell just as sweet."

Shakespeare

If you had told me 3-4 months ago that picking a name for our coming daughter would be this hard I would have laughed. Now, I've always figured we would never agree on a boys name, but girls names, no problem. From day one we have both agreed that we liked the name Makaela. The spelling was a compromise, but the name we agreed on. I was all set to declare her name to be Makaela. However, Chris has other ideas. He felt we needed a list of names to contemplate and choose from.

So the compiling of a list began. Chris wanted to know what criteria we were going to use. I told him, 1- it has to sound good with our last name (duh), 2- we had to like any of the obvious nicknames choices (thanks Bob) that could be come up with. Other than that we had to both agree on it. So we started throwing names around. Chris's solution to the bulky baby name books and websites was to pull out the yearbooks and go through the names of girls in the classes older and younger than us (less likely to have any association with the name that way). After going through the yearbook and adding a few other names we ended up with a list of 16- I know ridiculously long.

Slowly, but surely, we have hacked away at that list. One name or two were eliminated at a time for different reasons: I didn't really care for it, Chris wasn't feeling it anymore, it didn't really click as well with our last name, etc. At one point when the list was still larger I had Chris order the list in ascending order, favorite to least favorite and I did the same. I wanted to see how the lists compared. Oh boy, I sure didn't know where that was headed. Our lists were the complete opposite of each other. His top 5 were my bottom 5, and vice versa. Chris leaned toward the more common names while I liked ones that we a little more unique (yet not crazy). We did have one common name: Makaela. So yet again, I was all set to go with the name we had all along. But shortly afterward, Chris decided that he wasn't sure he like Makaela anymore and how it paired with Hunsaker. Grrr....

So now we have a list of 8 names. I told Chris my two favorites and a couple days later when I asked what he was going to name his daughter he said, "I thought we had it narrowed down to two names." So, for now I guess it is narrowed down to my two favorites. And those are: Makaela and Emily.

Yes, the names are an exhibit of our polarity on names. Makaela is more unique, while Emily is the 6th most popular name in 2010. Chris mentioned that he thinks it would be cute to be able to call her Em. So my thought is that I might be more open to Emily if I can give it a more unique spelling. I have loved that my name isn't the most common spelling out there. This is where we are at odds again. I decided that I love the spelling Emmalee, but can't get Chris on board. I've come up with some others that I like too, but I'm not sure I've gotten Chris on board with any of them. My reason for liking Emmalee is that Chris's middle name is Lee, so she would have part of her dad's name in hers. So, the name isn't set yet, but I'd like to know what you guys think of different spellings of Emily. So, go ahead over to the side and vote. This doesn't mean we will name her Emily, or that we will go with the spelling everyone loves, but I am curious to know what people think.

The Grass is greener on the other side

2011-09-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

I spent some time this weekend completing the painting of the nursery. A month ago I had painted two of the walls white, so this weekend I painted the other two walls green. It is definitely a bright green. I'm still adjusting to it and hope that as the nursery continues to develop it will tone down the intense color on the wall. You can see the main color scheme in the accessories that I painted. I love the color choice, just wondering about the amount.

26 Weeks

2011-09-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

I am now 26 weeks along. I'm still not huge, but I am definitely pregnant. One of my students told me I don't even look pregnant from the front, which suits me just fine. I feel fine, but the new addition to my body takes a little getting used to. I'm not used to having anything hinder my movements.

Baby girl is progressing fine, or so the doctor says. We have yet to come up with a name, but we have a list of 12. The only problem is we are on opposite ends of the list as to which we like best. Chris likes the more traditional names while I prefer something a little lesson common. I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually, I just hope it isn't as we are checking out of the hospital with her. Time is flying and she'll be here before we know it. Baby girl is quite active, which is good, and loves to poke me. We have already started getting her used to Chris's loud guitar playing. I sat in the room while he played and the whole time she danced around kicking me. The minute I left the room for a while she stopped moving, but resumed as soon as I went back in the room. I guess she likes the music.

School has started which requires a one hour nap each day. After the nap I tend to get a second wind until bedtime. In what little spare time I have when I'm not exhausted from school, I have been working on little projects for the nursery. I painted both of these and they will go on top of the dressers. I painted the nursery, and as soon as Chris finishes the edges I will post pictures.

The nursery is going to be red and green with some white and black accents. So I made this flower pot.

This is a box that opens up. I figure I can store diaper rash medication, lotion and other odds and ends in it by the changing pad on the dresser. I think it turned out super cute.

San Clemente

2011-08-25T18:21:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of August we were able to spend a week in San Clemente, CA on the beach with Chris's family. We arrived on Saturday and the party started. There were 12 people in total, all in the same house. It was Chris's entire family, minus his brother, but including his grandma. The house ended up being more private and roomier than we were expecting, so it was great. It had enough rooms for everyone to have some modicum of privacy, a pool table, table tennis, and a hot tub (not that I was able to enjoy that). We were a short walk from the beach.

On Sunday we were able to go on a whale viewing excursion. We saw a ton of dolphins and even a blue whale. I will say that a pregnant woman on a boat is not necessarily a good idea, but it was still worth it. If anyone wants more details than that, my father-in-law accidentally got video of it. Here are a few of the dolphins we were able to see. On Tuesday we were able to go see the live recording of Conan. Chris and I are big fans and figured we should go see him. We made shirts for the whole crew in the hopes that maybe he would interact with us. We played off of my being pregnant and his nickname Coco. It was cool to see a live taping. We got front row seats but Katie and her boyfriend Turner ended up with the best seats. Unknown to us, Steve Carrell was on the show that night and he approached Katie and Turner to measure the distance from his seat on the stage and the audience. We were so jealous, but glad we were in the audience at all. You can see us in the background when he comes out to the audience, so we were on television. It was a fun day for the young adults of the group. Most days we spent the day on the beach riding the waves. The whole family, except me, geared up in wet suits, grabbed their boogie boards and hit the water as soon as we got there. I've boogie boarded before, and memory of the wipe outs convinced me that it wasn't a good idea 5 months pregnant. Chris was rarely out of the water. He was in the water for 3-5 hours every day.

Here are Chris and his dad at the end of a wave.

Chris posing for a picture for his mom.

One of the days I was bored of sitting on the beach and reading and decided that I could handle the baby waves or the aftermath of the waves on a boogie board where I couldn't wipe out. So I headed out to join in the fun. Maybe next year I'll get to ride some real ones. Here is one of the few pics of me riding the waves. This is Chris and his older sister, Jenny, catching a good wave.

Chris and I on the beach the last day.

The last night Chris was able to get free tickets to the Dodgers vs. Astros game for all of the boys. So the six guys went to the game, while the girls stayed home and did a little shopping. Here are some of the guys watching the game.

We left Saturday morning and took a group photo in front of the house. Quite a group huh?

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

2011-07-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

That's what girls are made of. Had the ultrasound today and it is officially a girl. Technically this was the second ultrasound, our doctor did one at week 17 in the office. She said the baby was a girl, but to wait for this ultrasound to confirm. Well, it was confirmed and she is a girl. This will be the 5th granddaughter on my side of the family, still no grandsons. We are excited! I'm not sure if I'm ready to compete with another girl for Chris's affection, but what can you do. Now the fun of planning the nursery will really begin. The doctor said everything looks good and to keep doing what I'm doing.

Nursery Project #1- Completed

2011-07-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

My parents gave me this dresser when I got married. Since getting a bedroom set for the master it has sat empty in the office. With a little one on the way it was time to make it functional again, but it needed some definite sprucing up. It is over 20 years old. I decided not to re-stain it because I was afraid of the work, plus I can't strip it while pregnant. So i bought some multi-function primer, paint and drawer pulls.

Here is the before (it had all of its drawers, I'd just removed them before I took the picture)

Now, primer and 2 coats of paint later:

It is a little more chocolate brown than I was thinking, but I like how it turned out. Hopefully it blends well with the other nursery furniture. I was filled with trepidation over painting a dresser brown. I knew painting one white or black looked great, but wasn't sure how brown would turn out. I really do like it and am pleased with the results. Next project- figuring out how to paint the nursery.

Over the hump with a little bump

2011-07-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

I am now 20 weeks along- halfway there. As you can see I'm not too big yet- thanks to my long torso. I still fit into all of my normal clothes and am glad I haven't had to buy any maternity clothes. I started feeling the baby kick a little over two weeks ago. Baby is most active in the morning and night. The baby likes to kick and then do somersaults. My sister J'see says it is practicing it's goal celebration. We will soon be starting to really gear up for the baby.

Priceless

2011-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Due date: December 9

Who says you can't go home?

2011-06-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in June Chris and I flew to Utah to attend my sister's wedding. Leslie married Alex Rodriguez in the Draper Temple on June 4th. She was a beautiful bride and it was a good day. Somehow I didn't get a picture of the bride and groom. But here is one with our handsome dad.Chris thought it would be cute to put a lantern on my head. I guess he was bored.

The reception was a a house across the street from my parent's home that puts on receptions in their orchard. It looked beautiful and the shade was great.Chris was only in town for the weekend, so we spent some time with his family on Sunday. This is a picture of Chris with his nephew, who was named after him. We played an exciting game of whiffle ball after dinner.After Chris left, the fun began. My sister, Whitney, along with her twins, stayed in town for my trip, as well as my sister, J'see. We hung out, did some crafts, shopped, and went to the zoo. Here are the barrettes I made for my craft. I love how they turned out.The zoo was a lot of fun with all of my nieces. My sister-in-law and niece, Laryssa, joined the rest of us at the zoo. The zoo is always more cool when seen through the eyes of little kids. The Hogle Zoo is doing a zoorasic park theme with all of these animatronic dinosaurs throughout the park. They were pretty cool, with motion, noise and spitting water included. The three little girls loved all of the animals.Laryssa loved the baby elephant, if you can't tell.

The girls all piled into the jeep for the last bit of the park.

I enjoyed my trip home and spending time with my family. I stayed for 14 days of relaxation and family time. It was hard to leave this time, but maybe I can get someone to come visit me soon. hint hint.

MAYhem

2011-06-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

On May 5, Chris and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary. Since it was midweek, we kept that day low key and went to Galveston the weekend following. We stayed in a resort that was down south from the seawall and more secluded from the craziness. We checked in Friday night and stayed through Sunday morning. We didn't really do a whole lot; we walked the beach, ate dinner on the seawall both nights, and swam in the heated pool. It was a nice, relaxing weekend.

This is the view from our hotel room.Our resort had this boardwalk that lead to the beach.
The beach was covered in seaweed. I'm too spoiled and used to pristine beaches in Mexico, so we didn't spend much time down here.

On Saturday night we ate at the Rainforest Cafe. We can say "been there done that" but not sure we care to repeat the experience. Atmosphere was cool, but the food was okay.

On May 15th David came into town with Neon Trees to play the House of Blues. Dave was able to meet us, along with the lead guitarist, at the Astros game that afternoon. We watched the game until we had to take them back for soundcheck at 3:00. Before soundcheck Dave showed us their bus for this tour. Not the worst way to travel. Dave and Chris

Dave got us the band's All Access Pass so that we could get in for soundcheck and the concert later without paying. We felt very cool flashing it.

Watching soundcheck was pretty cool. It was interesting to watch them while they weren't performing. They practiced a song from their EP that they have never played live before, "Attraction". They were adding it to the set a couple of days later. We wish they would have added it earlier, but not everyone felt ready. It was the first time they had ever practiced it together.

The show was great as always, and it was nice to be at a show where people were there to see Neon Trees.

We definitely enjoyed seeing Dave and spending time with him.

April Showers...

2011-05-05T20:36:00.001-07:00

The month of April was filled with more exciting adventures. Of course Astros season started, which means baseball starts to be the center of our lives. They have made some changes to the park, but I have yet to take the camera to a game to snag any pictures. The biggest change was a new video board which is huge. It is called El Grande and definitely is an improvement since now replays and scores are in HD.
The first week in April we went to the Final four and championship game at Reliant Stadium. Although it wasn't the teams we wanted to see, it was still a fun experience.

Here I am in front of the stadium. The view from our seats.The celebration after the championship game.Chris and his coworkers are in charge of the marketing campaign for the Astros All-star voting. They came up with a genius plan to see if Pres. George Bush, Sr. would be willing to be in a video encouraging people to vote, since he has experience campaigning. He's also a big Astros fan and comes to most games until he leaves for his summer home. The request went through all of the channels, and Bush agreed. Chris wrote the script for the videos they recorded and went along for the recording. Afterward he and his coworkers were able to take a picture with President Bush. At the end of April I threw a baby shower for my friend Aimee, with the help of my friend Jen. It sounded like more work than it actually turned out to be. We did a brunch and only played one game. It was a good turnout and everyone had a good time.Jen made this adorable stroller fruit presentation.

April was a good month, and went by quickly. Now I am counting down the days until I am out of school and can enjoy my summer.

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!

2011-04-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break in March Chris and I took a much needed vacation to Cancun. We flew out Friday night after my last day of school. We stayed at the Villa Del Palmar resort about 30 minutes outside of Cancun. It was away from the hotel zone and the crowds, which made it quite nice for spring break. The resort is still under construction, so it was small, only about 150 rooms right now. That did mean we had to deal with construction noise a little, but it wasn't too hard to tune out. We went all-inclusive, which I highly recommend. We stayed in a one bedroom suite, which took a little work to get it upgraded, but I am so glad we did. It was late getting into the hotel, so we wandered a little bit at the resort, got our first virgin pina colada and went to bed. The next morning we hit the ground running. Most days were very similar in schedule. We ate breakfast at around 8:30 in one of the two restaurants, or room service. My favorite was the french toast from room service. Immediately after breakfast we headed to the lounge chairs and set up camp. Sunscreen on, towels out, and then the books. We would read our books, Chris's a historical book, mine a romance novel, for 1-2 hours, until it got too hot. Then we would hit the pool for 1-2 hours. Then we would hit the lukewarm hot tubs, which were the temperature I would prefer a pool to be, for a little while. Then it was back to the lounge chairs to read and dry off. A couple of times we went to the restaurants for lunch, but we quickly learned we liked the poolside lunch service better. We also ordered several pina coladas or strawberry daiquiris, virgin of course, poolside throughout the day. After lunch we would read for some more, then hit the pool again. Then the hot tub. We'd finish out the afternoon reading some more. At around 4:30 we would head up to the room to get dressed and ready for dinner. Dinner was much like breakfast, eaten at one of the two restaurants, or room service. We'd spend the evening playing bananagrams, a word game, and watching movies run by HDMI cable to the flat screen. We did that pretty much every day. Our schedule was mixed up a little when BYU played their NCAA tournament games, because we couldn't miss that.

The only day we mixed things up was Friday when we spent half a day across the way at Isla Mujeres. We took the ferry over that morning. Rented a golfcart to tour the island, because only locals drive actual cars, and swam at a beach. There wasn't much to see, but there were some beautiful beaches. I enjoyed the ferry ride over because of the changes in the water color. It is amazing to see such beautiful colors, with all of the variations in depth of color.

The last night there we hit the hot tub one last time

It was a wonderful vacation that we both needed. It has been a couple of years since we took a real vacation together, that didn't involve visiting family. We left on Sunday, having spent 8 full days, 9 nights, in paradise. We are so blessed to be able to afford to take these trips together and rejuvenate ourselves and our relationship.

Mardi Gras Galveston with Neon Trees

2011-03-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

On February 24th, Chris's brother, David, flew in straight from London and his band's European tour. He had Friday off of band stuff so we were able to spend some time hanging out with him. Then on Saturday night Neon Trees were playing Mardi Gras Galveston. We took Dave down and got a sampling of the VIP treatment. We were given free passes to the events and then we were driven by golf cart to the band's courtesy suite at The Tremont House. We then met up with Chris's uncle Dale and cousin Connor and went to dinner. Uncle Dale covered the meal, claiming he doesn't get to play uncle very often. After dinner Dave had to go take care of some stuff and we were left to wander. I will definitely say I don't understand why people get so excited over cheap beaded necklaces. Luckily, Galveston aims toward a family friendly crowd, so they don't earn beads like they do in parts of New Orleans. Before we claimed our spots at the concert, we watched the Mardi Gras parade. They have some crazy vehicles in the parade. We saw this one on the way up: After a rough start where the bassist amps weren't working, the band put on a good show as always. But the crowd was the worst crowd I had ever experienced. Way too many of them were drunk and being stupid. I got squished by way too many body surfers, two guys tried to fight a row in front of me, and then they tried to mosh. It was annoying for those of us actually there to see Neon Trees.
After the regular show, they had a VIP acoustic show that Dave got us in to also. This was much better because people had to pay $50 to get in, so they actually cared. The problem was that they didn't get that show going until midnight, and by then I was exhausted. After their acoustic set we said goodbye to Dave and headed home. We reached home at about 2:30 a.m. and crashed. It was great spending time with Dave and love that we had some extra time to spend with him this trip. Hopefully we will have some extra time in May when they come back again.

What Would Jimmer Fredette Do?

2011-02-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Chris and I headed up to Dallas. Last Monday we were offerred tickets to a basketball game from Chris's intern. That same day we learned that our good friend Bob was going to be in Dallas all weekend for the J. Reuben Clark Law conference. That sealed the deal and we headed up to Dallas Friday after work. We arrived at around 9 p.m. and met Bob at the hotel, where we immediately proceeded to go out to dinner.
On Saturday at around 1 p.m., after Bob's conference ended, we headed to Fort Worth to see some of this:

BYU vs. TCU basketball

We couldn't pass up an opportunity to watch Jimmer play in person one more time as a Cougar. We watched him play in Provo as a young fellow a few years ago, but it isn't the same as Jimmer mania. We wanted to watch Jimmer do some of this:

He did a little more than we like of this, but if he kicks SDSU butts on Saturday he can rest up before all he wants.

Although this was a home game for TCU, I think it was really a BYU home team crowd. More than half of the crowd was BYU fans, and anytime the student section tried to chant we drowned them out with chants of BYU. This was the first sell-out crowd at TCU basketball since 2004, and they were quite proud of it. I loved reading all of the signs people had come up with, especially for Jimmer. Some of the highlights: the title of the post- WWJFD, what would jimmer fredette do?; Don't mess with Jimmer; For God so Loved BYU he gave us Jimmer; Be still my soul, the Jimmer is on our side; The Lone Jimmer State. People sure were original.

BYU won 79-56.

We finished out that day with dinner at Pappasitos, our new tradition according to Bob, and then a dip in the hot tub at the hotel.

On Sunday we checked out of the hotel and headed to the JFK memorial. Here is a picture of Bob in front of the School book depository.

Then here he is in front of the X that marks the spot. We went into the museum this time around and I was fairly impressed. I was surprised at how open to all ideas the exhibit was. They touched on the idea of a conspiracy and a second shooter numerous times. It was an extensive museum that covered a lot of information.

After we finished at the museum we went to a popular burger joint called Twisted Root Burger Co. It is on SMU campus and was pretty good. The line was out the door when we got there, as seen in the picture below. The restaurant definitely had character; they gave you a fake name instead of a number for your order. Ours was Mr. Belvedere.

After lunch we had a little more time to kill so we went and drove around the new Dallas Cowboy stadium. It is definitely a big building. If all works as planned we will be inside it on Oct 28 watching BYU football play TCU. After this we took Bob to the airport to catch his flight and we headed home. It was a fun weekend, but definitely exhausting.

Also, I learned a valuable lesson for my future on Saturday morning. Here it is: If you have wanted a new camera for over a year and can't get your husband to buy one, just forget to bring your old camera at home on a vacation to Dallas to see a good friend and watch some basketball. Then your husband will finally give in and buy you the camera that you want. On Saturday morning while Bob was in his conference we went to Best Buy and bought the beauty below. If not for that, we would not have any of the pictures from above. I love it. I still would like an SLR, but I'm willing to wait a couple more years for that. This one works wonderfully. I especially loved the sports mode at the game.

The simple life

2011-02-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

Update: I found my camera! Good because I have access to my pictures, bad because now I won't be able to convince Chris to buy me a new camera.

I haven't posted much lately, but that is because things are pretty simple. Here are a few of the highlights of the past month or so:

- While in Utah for Christmas I decided to see if my wedding dress fit 5 1/2 years later. After a little bit of work, and losing the padded bra, we got it zipped up. Success!! Who cares if I couldn't breathe, I got it zipped up. I had Chris take pictures, but I can't find our camera anywhere. I'm sure after a kid I won't get it zipped up ever again, so I will bask in this success for now.

- School is getting crazy with the State tests coming up. The English test is in 3 weeks, so it is crunch time for us. But on March 2nd, I get to start teaching real English.

-Conversations at school to note:

Student 1: Miss, do you have kids?
Teacher: No
Student 1: Why not, do you want kids?
Teacher: Yes
Student 2: When are you going to have kids?
Teacher: When I get pregnant.
Student 3: Well, are you trying to get pregnant?
Teacher: huh? what? Did he just ask that?
Student 4: Miss, is it appropriate for a student to ask his teacher if she is having sex.
Teacher: No
Student 3: That isn't what I was asking.
Teacher: I'm pretty sure that is how you try to get pregnant. Maybe I need to make sure he talks to a counselor so he doesn't get his girlfriend pregnant. (It was hilarious, and I was so glad another student called him out on it, so I didn't have to. The first several questions about kids are regular questions this year with my students.)

A couple of days ago:
Student: Thanks for your help, whispering- I'd give you a kiss but that is my girlfriend standing in the door.
Teacher: Not to mention that wouldn't be appropriate for you to do.
Sheesh, who does this kid think he is, Rico Suave?
Today:
Student (again): Miss, I still owe you that kiss, and my girlfriend isn't around.
Teacher: I shut the door to my classroom on his face. Apparently I need to have a serious chat with this kid. Ridiculous.

- I got hit on by a black guy at Walmart today. He asked me if I had a guy. I said yes, then he proceeded to ask me for my number. Huh? What part of I have a guy didn't you understand. I just walked away. To be honest though, he was trying to sell me a rap cd for $5, so I'm not sure it counts as truly being hit on. But it was entertaining. And Chris's response was even funnier: "U better get out of there fast and watch ur back going to the car." Really? I didn't feel concern at all over it. What a protective husband I have.

- School was cancelled last Friday due to a freeze and snow forecast. It dropped into the 20's and it misted all night Thursday night, so the city became ice. Chris also got to stay home from work. Nothing like a snow day in Houston, Texas. It was great!

Well, that is pretty much our life right now. I am busy teaching to the test, and Chris is getting ready for the start of the season. Hopefully we locate the camera soon and I can post some more pictures. Not to mention take some. If we don't locate it soon I am just going to buy a new one, which we need desperately. Hopefully that wasn't too boring for all of you.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

We went home again for Christmas this year, and even better we got to go home a day earlier since Chris got Christmas eve off this year. We spent 9 wonderful days with our family and friends in Utah. We split Christmas between our two families, spending Christmas eve with my family. Opening presents with them Christmas morning, and then heading over to Chris's house to open presents there and spend the day with them. We played a lot of games, and ate a lot of yummy food at both houses. Chris got a Chief's polo, basketball shorts, guitar stands, a guitar strap, a couple of games, and cds. I think his favorite presents were the fender squier bass guitar his brother got him, and the amp his parents bought to go with it. (He's playing the bass as I write this). I got an ipod speaker dock, wii DDR, KU t-shirt, Eclipse bluray, Taylor Swift- Speak Now, Hunger games books. My favorite gift was my Nook that my husband bought me. I never expected him to get it, because he doesn't want me spending money on books.

Other things we did that week: Spent time with childhood friends. We spent time with Robert (Bob) as always. I also had the chance to spend some time with my best friends from high school. It has been years since we were all together. (sorry the picture is a little grainy). I went to the Woolstenhulme family Christmas party and spent time with my grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. I can't believe how old all of us kids are getting. My oldest cousin, whom I used to babysit and change her diaper, is a senior in high school. Chris stayed home to watch a Chiefs game with his family and go help set apart his two nephews as a deacon and teacher.

I went shopping and to lunch with the girls in my family. It was fun getting together.

I met my little sister's fiance, Alex. Seems like a nice guy.

We went to Tron Legacy with my family at a theater where the seats are wired to the movie and move with the movie. It was pretty awesome. It was fun with an action packed movie. For instance, when the guy was riding his motorcycle around we would lean left and right with the him. Everyone should experience it at least once, just make sure it is an action movie. It is a little pricier- $14 for a matinee. The only D-box theater I can find in Houston is in Tomball, for those that might be wondering.

On Christmas eve we played The Michael Jackson experience wii game our nephew got for Christmas. (Christian was so excited when he got it. It was the only present he wanted.) It was pretty fun. I took some video, which is included below for your entertainment. I would have taken more from the front, but as you can see, Chris wasn't enchanted with the idea of me filming it.

We had a great time seeing family. It was sad to leave, but we were ready to be back in our own house. Just wish we could pick Houston up and move it to about an 8 hour drive away. Oh well, we'll see them again in 6 months.

Let us Give Thanks

2010-11-27T11:56:00.001-08:00

This year we kept things pretty low key for Thanksgiving. Chris and I aren't too big of fans of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner so we decided that any year we did Thanksgiving on our own we would make something that we like. This year is was Filet Mignon with peppercorn sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, and of course pie. It was all very delicious. This isn't the prettiest picture but here is the feast: On Wednesday Chris and I made the pies. We cheated a little, and didn't make the crusts ourselves, but everything else was made by us. Chris made an apple pie, and a key lime pie with meringue on top. I made my two pumpkin pies; it isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. We spent Thanksgiving playing games, watching football, and just being together. On Friday it was time to deck the halls. It has become a tradition to put up the tree and everything the day after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas and have been dying to decorate this year. I love how the railings turned out. For those new to us I must explain the little tree. The small tree is the one I bought for my apartment the one Christmas I lived away from home. When we got married we were unsure what to do with the smaller tree, but we soon came up with the perfect solution. Chris has received at least one ornament every year growing up, and many of those were Kansas City Chiefs' ornaments. So I decided that we would decorate the other tree as our Chiefs' tree. No matter how the team does the tradition lives on.

It will be a hot time in the old school tonight... fire! fire!

2010-11-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

At around 8:30 a.m. Monday morning the school fire alarm went off. I hustled the students out the door and onto the lawn across the driveway, striving to remember if I missed a warning about a fire drill scheduled. After about 5 minutes of standing around, several administrators came and told us to move the kids back farther from the building. Within minutes we could hear the sirens of fire trucks in the distance getting closer and closer. Apparently this was not a drill.
I later learned that administrators went into a mechanical room and saw flames shooting up. As they were in the room, part of the ceiling collapsed and they hustled out of there. When the fire trucks got there, I could count a total of 8 that I could see. We watched them pull out a hose and run it into the school, and later they pulled out the big ladder on top of the trucks and used it to help. They quickly got the fire under control, but it had cut the power to the building and we couldn't go in until the power was restored.

We stood outside with our students for an hour and a half in temperatures in the high 80's. At about 10 o'clock they let us back in, but my room, which was above the location of the fire, was filled with smoke. I couldn't walk within 10 feet of my room without coughing, gagging, and being unable to breathe. I definitely could not teach class in there that day, so they moved my class and the other English teachers around me to the North gym for class. This essentially meant that no teaching was going to happen. The kids from about 10 classes sat in the bleachers while we babysat them. They kept us locked down in 2nd period- the class we were in when the alarm went off- until after lunch.
We had been back in the school for an hour when the alarm went off again and we all filed outside again for another 30 minutes. This time there was no fire, just heat sensors in the kitchen going off. After lunch they had us go to 6th and 7th period for about 30 minutes each. At this point they thought that we could return to our rooms. The smoke had been blown out by fans, but it wasn't completely gone. After about 10 minutes in the room I had a killer headache, so after attendance we returned to the gym. As fun as not having class all day is, it is surprisingly exhausting. I think in the future I will stick to teaching as normal.

Busy bees

2010-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have had a very busy October. On October 11 I turned the ripe old age of 27. We celebrated by going to dinner, and then seeing Life as we Know It in the theaters. Chris bought me a papasan chair to put in my sitting area of the master suite. It is super comfortable. I also got a gift card from my parents and a BYU hoodie and long sleeve shirt from my in-laws. That next weekend was filled with our two favorite f words. Family and Football. Chris, our friend Alex, and I got up early Saturday morning to drive up to Dallas. When we got to Dallas we had about an hour to kill, so we went to Dealey Plaza and examined where JFK was assassinated. Before long, our history lesson was interrupted by a phone call from Chris's mom and dad. Their plane has just landed and we had to head to the airport to pick them up. After picking them up at the airport we headed to TCU's campus to watch our beloved cougars get stomped on by the horned Frogs. We sat in the BYU section, which was a lot of fun. Although BYU did not win (which is as expected), we were glad for our moral victories: we held TCU to a field goal for all but the last 3 minutes of the first half, and we beat the spread by 1/2 a point. We left early in the 4th quarter, knowing we had a long drive back to Houston ahead of us. We needed, or so we thought, to be back by 11 to pick Chris's brother, David, up from the Houston airport. David had a big delay in Atlanta and didn't arrive until 1 a.m. By the time the day was done we were all exhausted.The next morning David, Chris, and I went to the Hunsaker's hotel to pick up Dad and leave a car for Mom. The four of us, sadly not Mom, then headed downtown to take the Metro Rail to Reliant Stadium where we cheered on our Kansas City Chiefs. This was the first NFL game I have been to. I was blown away by the amount of noise the fans make. It was defeaning. It was not our weekend for football, our Chiefs blew the game in the last few minutes. The worst is the death march down the ramps leaving the stadium when the fans are ecstatic and you are depressed. Hopefully the next Chiefs' game I go to will be in home territory so the fans can feel the same thing as me.
After the game we met back up with Mom and went to Pappasitos for some delicious fajitas. Then we took them to their hotel where we played cards until it was time to say goodbye. Everyone flew back to their respective locations Monday morning. It was a short visit, but we enjoyed seeing family. We will have to use football to lure them here more often. Maybe one day I can lure my family here with similar excitement.

This weekend was filled with more fun and excitement. David came into town with his band, Neon Trees, on Friday. After Chris and I got off of work we headed down to a local radio station to meet up with David and the band. They were doing a small performance at the Mix 96.5 live listening lounge and we were going to see it. We met up with them in the parking garage and were escorted up to the station offices. The room they performed in was quite wild. It had a middle eastern feel to it. Chris said it felt like somewhere that Stephen Jenkins of Third Eye blind would play in his barefeet, a la Ursa Major pictures. We watched them set up and tune their instruments, then sat around and talked for about an hour until they let the fans in. There were probably about 30 people in this room to see them.
The performance was fun because it was more intimate. The DJ asked them some questions and they played 5 songs. Afterward they took pictures with the fans while we talked with Dave. I insisted on a picture with the band so I could put it on my wall in my classroom. I needed proof for my students.

After the performance we took Dave back to the bus and got his gear. He also gave us a tour of their home away from home part of the time. I couldn't sleep in such close quarters. We kidnapped Dave and took him to dinner and then back to our house where he spent the night.

The next morning we left at 10 a.m. to take Dave up to Buzz Fest where the band was performing that day. Dave was able to get us on the band list so we could get in for free. We stood around and talked to Dave until he had to get ready to perform. The show was great. Tyler (the lead singer) is always entertaining and you never know what to expect. It was a hot day and Tyler was unprepared for it. He said that nobody warned him that it was still summer in Houston in October. I guess I should have warned him. During the last song of their set, Sins of My Youth, Tyler took off walking through the crowd to the back of the fan area. No one thought he was coming back to finish the song, including his band members, but right before the end part of the song he walked back on stage. It was fun to see them in concert again, especially a big show. After the show we said goodbye to the band and Dave and headed home. It was another short visit, but as my mother-in-law said, without the tour we wouldn't even see him for that long.

So as you can see it has been a busy month. In order to recuperate we have decided to take tomorrow off of work. Ahh, time to relax.

School Daze

2010-09-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Things I've learned so far. . .

Don't have your students write an example of a metaphor that starts with this: My teacher is a/an _____________. You never know what you will get.
One of my male students has the biggest crush on me and calls me Ms. Beautiful. His response: My teacher is a Hot Tea. My teacher is a ten. Wow, can I say uncomfortable.

On the first day of school I had two pregnant students (10th graders) and several with kids. At the open house, not only did I get to meet parents, but I met one of my student's one year old son. I should be used to this, but it still surprises me every year. I mean, seriously I don't even have kids yet.

Peer pressure is fully in force. - I set up a deal, per se, with my students the first week of school. If I caught them with their cell phone out I would take it from them. If they give it to me quickly without saying a word, like "no miss", "please, miss, I'll put it away", etc. then I would give it back to them at the end of the class period. If they didn't give it to me without fuss, then they wouldn't get it back, and I would take it to their assistant principal (AP), that means they won't get it back until Thursday when their parents paid $15 to pick it up. Okay, so now that I've set up the background, here is the story. I caught a student with his cell phone out. He was being difficult about giving it to me, so I told him his AP would be receiving it from me. He refused to give it to me, which means he gets sent to his AP where they will take it from him. The other students in the class pipe up "Don't give it to her. The AP's won't take it. They'll just suspend you for two days." What? Are you kidding me? And surprise, the kid listens to them. He was suspended for the next two days. The best is that this all happened on a Tuesday, so he would have gotten it back in two days anyway. Is your phone really worth two days of suspension?

Counselors think they know better than you. To make it short, a brand new counselor did not believe me about a student being placed incorrectly in my remedial reading class. He had passed the reading state exam, but failed the writing portion, which means a reading class is no help to him. The new counselor takes it to the lead counselor, not believing me, who then tells the principal that I am kicking kids out of my class just because I didn't want them in there. I was livid for two days. I turned to my district specialists and my assistant principal and by the end of the second day I won. Don't treat me like I'm an idiot. I know more about my class than some new counselor. I was so shocked at the lack of professionalism the counselors showed.

Well, sorry they aren't the most entertaining stories yet. But never fear, with my students there are bound to be some exciting ones soon.

Bedroom Beauty

2010-09-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Over labor day weekend Chris and I went and bought a bedroom set. We have had a mish-mash of hand-me-downs for furniture up until now and I was ready for a grown up bedroom. Chris wanted a sleigh bed and I didn't have any arguments, so that is what we got. We then went out this weekend and got some decorations to help complete our desired look. We aren't completely done with our bedroom, but it is looking much better.

Here is the bed with the side tables. The dresser created a nice place to put some decorations. If you can't figure out from the picture, we are going for a tropical, beach feel.

See, we still need to fill in our sitting area.

We went to Target yesterday and found some great wall hangings for cheap. These pictures cost a mere $7. Then this beach sign was supposed to be $20, but it rang up for $5- What a deal!

Back to School

2010-09-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

School has been back in session for two weeks now. We started school on Monday, August 23 at 7:20 in the morning. I swear school starts way too early in these parts. The first day was exhausting, as was much of that whole week. Chris officially declared me lame because I didn't want to do anything at night and always wanted to be in bed early. I told him he should try getting up at 5:30 in the morning and keeping 30 kids a class period for six periods a day under control. He would be tired too.

I am enjoying this year better than all of the previous years. This is my first year at the same school I was at the year before. It is definitely nice already knowing what to expect when I walk in. I am teaching 3 different courses this year: Reading II, Reading III and English II-E. Short explanation- the reading classes are remediation classes for students who failed the state reading test. The English class is for ESL students who are decent English speakers, but are still just a step behind regular English classes. I teach it the same as the other 10th grade English classes, just a little slower, or with different techniques to help the ESL kids. I really enjoy my classes. Another reason I love being back at the same school is my former students. I love having visitors come back to see me. I feel like I made enough of a difference that they want to see me. I have a few students that have to put up with me for a second year as a teacher. They actually help me to be a little more fun because I already have students that I can joke around with.

Nothing too exciting happened in the first two weeks. The counselors did a terrible job of placing students in my sheltered ESL English class, so those classes have been changing daily. Some days I would have as many as 15 kids switched out of my classes. The best was 3 students that were misplaced in my classroom based on their English proficiency levels. They got moved into a lower level class, which made them very upset. So two of them went to the ESL department and asked to be put back in my class. I guess I made an impression those first few days. Hopefully the changes will stop soon and I can really get to know my students.

Finally, I really like the setup of my room this year. I think it is colorful and fun, while being functional. Here are some pictures that don't quite do it justice.

This is the all about me poster. I put things I like, or that are important to me on it. It allows the students to get to know me a little bit better. It is behind my desk:
The view of my desk area, the students aren't allowed in this area without an invitation:

The projector board that I created. This was in in earlier post.

The front of the classroom.

The board, I only use it for learning targets, agendas, and reminders. I'm not much for writing on the board. This is the left side of the room.

We have to have a word wall, school mandate, so I hid it at the back of the room:

And then this is the Superstars board, for student work, and the Rams News board, for school information (also back of room).

Oh yeah, one final thing, my students are working in teams this year. I stole this concept from another English teacher and she gives her teams names, based on Star Wars. Now that isn't my thing, so I used Twilight. It works best if the team names also appeal to the students. Here are my team names: Team Jacob, Team Edward, Team Bella, The Volturi, The Wolfpack and The Cullens. I'm sure people think it is cheesy, but I don't care, I love it. Sorry the signs aren't up in the pictures yet, but they are cool.

Chris's trip

2010-09-02T18:12:00.001-07:00

On August 20 Chris took a quick trip to Utah. He went to see his brother's band, Neon Trees, play at an acoustic festival at Thanksgiving point, on the same program and stage as his favorite band, Third Eye Blind (3eb). He got there Friday night, spent the night hanging out with his family. On Saturday 3eb performed at noon. Chris said the show was great, that they were very casual and joked around with the crowd a lot. I was kind of jealous that he got to see this different side of one of our favorite bands. Neon Trees didn't go on until later that night, so between shows he was a good son-in-law and went and spent some time with my family. Everyone was in town that weekend, except for me, so he saw pretty much the entire family. The show that night was good and everyone went, even Grandma Hunsaker went to the concert. Other highlights that weekend were: Chris was able to play Neon Trees songs on rock band, they were just released. Chris also picked up the curtains my mom and sister sewed for us. Chris left Sunday at 5 and I had to pick him up at the airport at 9 that night. Here are some pictures of his fun weekend.

3eb lead singer, Stephan Jenkins

Dave, brother, playing his guitar

Neon Trees

Chris, Grandma and Dave

Back to School

2010-08-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to an end and I had to finish up my one project. Luckily my husband is a sweetheart and helped me. While I was still in Utah he painted the green accent walls for me. Then last weekend we finally found the right tan and painted the rest of the walls. I love how it turned out. Now we just need some more accents and new window treatments. Oh yeah, and a bedroom set. That will be the easiest, but most expensive.
Yesterday I went and started setting up my classroom. I spent a good portion of the time creating the spot where I will project stuff onto. I love it. Sorry the picture is a little blurry I took it with my phone. I re-used calendar pictures for the tropical pictures. I cannot believe that school starts so soon. I have to be back to work fulltime on Tuesday. I am excited, but also dreading it. It is a hard feeling to describe. But no matter my feelings, here it comes ready or not.

Saucy Sprint

2010-07-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Chris participated in the Taco Bell Saucy Sprint during Friday Night's Astros game. He is the Hot Sauce, which is the orange packet. It was quite enjoyable to watch. It was an actual race between Chris, hot, and his boss, Clint, fire. Chris said it was hard to see in the costume, especially if you raised your hands or anything, because it moved the window. Enjoy-

Utah Trip Part II- The Shores

2010-07-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Every couple of years my parents decide to spend a week of vacation up at the Park City Mountainside Marriot resort with the kids still at home. My dad is able to keep working during the day, just commuting from Park City instead, and come up to play at night. This year all of us that don't live at home decided we were not going to miss out on all of the fun. I met the family there on Friday, after spending the day with the in-laws up there. Sadly Chris had to leave on Sunday, so he was not there. The entire family wasn't there for the first weekend, but slowly joined us over time. Everyone was there, except for Chris and my little sister, Whitney's, husband, who both had to work.
We had the family shoved into every little nook and cranny we could find in the hotel. Well, not quite, but definitely in the hotel rooms. My older brother, wife and baby girl were in the master of one suite. My little sister, J'see, and her husband, Clark, the newlyweds of the family, slept on the pull out couch in the living area of that suite. Then the single girls, well at least for that week, stayed in the other bedroom. Leslie and I shared the pullout couch when she was there. Miah and Whitney shared the bed. Then the twins were in their cribs next to their bed. We were coming out of the seams. Then the other suite had my parents in the master and Chanse on the pullout couch in the living room. This room was also where meals were prepared and eaten, games were played, and crafts were done.
We spent the week playing in the pool, or just laying out by it. Sitting, or playing, in the hot tub. Watching world cup soccer games. Playing games- a rousing game of Minute to Win It- Shore Edition was the highlight. Watching late night movies, at least in the single girls room. Eating plenty of yummy food. A craft for the girls. Even spending a day on the Alpine Slide riding the zipline, coaster and slide over and over again. We cannot forget the family trip to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for caramel apples, I think we overwhelmed everyone there. It was a great week of relaxation, family bonding, and fun. The only thing that would have made the week better is if my husband had been there to share it with me. I would love to be able to do a vacation like this every year with the whole family. Enjoy the pictures, in random order.

Whitney and her twin girls, Kamri and Kylee. They were trying to give each other raspberries.

Miah and Chanse on J'see and Clark's shoulders.
The nieces with Whitney. Laryssa wanted to be part of the fun with her cousins.

Older brother Zach with his daughter Laryssa

We painted our toes all sparkly.

Niece Kylee posing for the camera.

How can you say no to this adorable face?

The newlyweds sleeping

The girls spent one day making vinyl letter blocks to decorate our houses, or rooms.

Dad and Miah joining in on a game of keep away.

The pool always relaxed Ryssa. She was often sitting like this in her floatie. She also hoarded all of the toys and wouldn't share with any of us.

Lindsay celebrating her victory on Minute to Win It.

Playing Ping Pong before dinner

Dad cooking up dinner one night.

Utah Vacation

2010-07-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

In June we headed to Utah for a visit. We spent a week playing with the Hunsakers. As usual, we spent the time playing. We stayed up way too late, and got up too late. We had a blast spending time with family, and were reminded how much we hate living so far away. Here is a synopsis of what we did:

Chris went golfing with old friends.

We played wii bowling- well actually everyone else played while I slept on the couch - :)

We had a family bonfire with smores, and a few hotdogs.

We went to a gym and jumped on the trampolines. The boys enjoyed the basketball game. Siblings were able to take out their pent up aggression.

We were able to swing like monkeys into the big pit, as well as jump and fall.
On my last day with the family before I took off for vacation with my family we spent the day in Park City on the Alpine slide, coaster and zipline. The best by far is the coaster. You can go as fast as possible without the fear of falling off.
The zipline was okay, but not great.
Then there was the slide, not my best friend. The first time down I was trying too hard to keep up with Dad and I flipped off. I scraped up my hands, but mainly my face. After a little bandaging up by the EMT on site, the alcohol hurt like crazy on my face, I jumped right back on and went down several more times. You have to jump back on the horse.
We had a great time seeing the Hunsakers again, if only we could see them more often.

To come: Part 2 of my Utah Vacation- the Shores.

Decorating and Landscaping

2010-06-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past two months Chris and I have spent a lot of time painting and decorating our new house. The paint in the whole house is flat paint. It is terrible, so we have to repaint the whole house with better paint. We started with the living areas. As well as painting we have been working on our flower beds. We put flower beds in the front and back of the house. The painting isn't done, but luckily the landscaping is. Here are pictures of what we have done so far:

The front flower bed has hibiscus plants, and a yucca cane with flowers under it. We love hibiscus flowers. We did simple plants in the back flower bed along the house. I wanted plants that will live all year long and I won't have to plant something new every spring. This is half of the flower bed, the other half is on the other side of the air conditioner.

While I was in Utah, Chris finished off the landscaping along the back fence. He is awesome. We planted oleanders along the fence. It will look great when they get bigger and we can't see the fence behind them. Here is a close up of the oleanders. We love the blooms.
This is mainly for mom Shore, because she wasn't sure what an oleander was.
This is the accent wall in our living room, and the new wall color throughout the main level. We had a really hard time coming up with the wall color because we wanted a light tan/brown color, but no brown is just brown. They all have tints in them, red, pink, purple, green, grey, etc. We finally settled on the grey tint one. Not in love with it, but it works. It looks more grey in the kitchen than in the living room. We love the blue though.
Then this is the red accent wall in the kitchen. I've always wanted a red accent wall in the kitchen. Now we just need to find a painting to put in the cutout.

Chris also painted the accent walls in our bedroom while I was away, but I haven't included a picture because I want to paint the other walls first. I like how the house is turning out, and it is going pretty quickly.

5 years

2010-05-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

On May 5, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We both had to work that day, aw the joys of being a grown up, and so the celebrating didn't start until after work. Chris sent me flowers at work, he was so sweet he even requested that they be in our wedding colors of blue and yellow. Chris didn't like our original wedding cake, he wanted something more traditional and elegant, so I had a friend make him just the top layer of a wedding cake and I put our cake topper on top. Then we went to eat a delicious dinner at Perry's steak house. My filet mignon was fabulous, Chris even liked it more than his steak. Chris got me a Jose Valverde bobblehead, a little strange I know, and the New Moon dvd. I bought him Toy Story on dvd. Since we worked on our anniversary we took the weekend of May 12-16 off and headed to San Antonio. While there we went to the Texas Valero Open golf tournament, which was a unique experience, watched Iron Man 2 on the day we got rained out, went to Sea World, and finally to Schlitterbahn. My favorite day was Schlitterbahn's and Chris's was the PGA tour event, he was trying to convince me to go on Sunday too. I said no it was time for Schlitterbahn. It has been my dream to go to Schlitterbahn since I was young and it was worth it. The watercoasters were awesome and the slide where you went down on a mat face first racing the person next to you. We enjoyed getting away and staying on the riverwalk in San Antonio. It was a great anniversary. I cannot believe we have been married for 5 years already. It has been a wonderful 5 years spent with the most wonderful man in the world.

Here is Chris on the log ride at Sea World Here I am on the same ride.We love penguins. They are such interesting animals.And finally, here I am trudging through the rain on the riverwalk our second day there.

Visitors, at last

2010-04-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

On April 17th Chris's parents flew in to spend some time with us. We started out the trip with a bang by going to eat at one of our most favorite places, Papasitos. We can't get enough of their fajitas. On Sunday we took it easy after church and played some games and talked.
Monday was the day we played. Chris's boss, Clint, hooked us up with a behind the scenes VIP tour of NASA. NASA happens to be one of the sponsors of the Astros, so they have a good relationship. We met up with Laurie, or tour guide, at the security gate and hopped in the company car.
Our first stop was the Mission Control Center, where we met up with a flight director who took us on the tour of that facility. There was a shuttle currently on a mission so we got to watch the mission control crew for that shuttle at work, while he explained all of the details of that mission control. We then went onto the floor of the mission control center for the international space station. It was a little wierd being on the floor of that Mission Control with people working around us. I wonder if these guys feel like fish in a fishtank with everyone watching them work all of the time. The regular tours go through and sit in stadium seats behind a wall of glass. The last Mission Control center we visited was the original one where the Apollo Missions were controlled. We were on the floor of that one when a normal tour group came and sat behind the glass. It was a little unnerving knowing that people were watching you. The pictures below are of this Mission control center. We learned that when Apollo 13 was being filmed Ron Howard came and took measurements and notes in order to replicate the room as closely as he could. He even went so far as to hunt down the exact same drinking fountain as is in the room.
After Mission Control we went over to the training facility. Luckily the astronaut training schedule was light that day so we were able to climb into the international space station trainer, and the shuttle trainer. The international space station is suprisingly roomy. With so few people on it I think I could live there for a few months, if I didn't have to fly through space to get there. The shuttle was a little more tight fitting. The main trainer is able to be flipped so that it is nose down, or even nose up like it would be when ready for take-off. I do not think I could spend several days in those tight quarters. This was the end of the tour. Everyone enjoyed it immensely and are grateful to Clint for setting that up for us. After NASA we went to Kemah boardwalk to walk around, look at the gulf, and eat some dinner.
On Tuesday it was back to work for Chris and I, while Chris parents took off for a few days to see San Antonio and go to Harlingen, where they lived when Chris was born. They returned on Thursday night, a day early, and we kept playing.
Friday night we went to the Astros' game, where they played a great game for our guests.
On Saturday we met up with Chris's Uncle, Aunt and two cousins to eat lunch. That night we went and saw a movie with the in-laws and relaxed some more. We said our goodbyes that night, since they were leaving early the next morning. It was great having family in town and showing them where we live and our new house. We love having visitors and would gladly welcome some more. Enjoy the pictures.

The family in front of the old flight director's desk.

Chris and I in Mission Control

The International Space Station

This is the astronaut's bedroom in the American section. Could you imagine that being the only space you could call your own for 6 months? One of the shuttle trainers. This isn't the one we went in, nor the one that can point up or down.

Here we are inside the shuttle. Not much room to hang out in.
This is the toilet on the shuttle. Could you imagine using this? There is absolutely no privacy. I am amazed that girls are willing to be astronauts.

Here I am in the co-pilot's seat, at least we think mine was the co-pilot. And Chris sitting behind me.Dad was in the flight commander's seat. Hope he doesn't crash.

There is no graceful way to get out of the shuttle.

It was an amazing tour and I learned so much about NASA. I never really knew much about the program before the tour. Now I more fully appreciate NASA.

Sorry this was such a long post, but NASA was just plain cool!

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of the inside of our house finally. Sorry it took so long. I had other posts I needed to get done, and wanted to make sure they were done close to when the event occurred. Plus, this way the house is set up and the pictures are hung. So here goes:

This is the view as you enter the front door. As seen, it is the family room.

Another view of the family room. You can see that it becomes a sitting area (supposed to be a dining room) and then goes around the corner into the kitchen.

The opposite view of the living room.

From the sitting room looking into the kitchen. I absolutely love my kitchen.

The kitchen. I love the dark cabinets and counters. The kitchen is next to our half bath, garage door, and utility room.

Here is our exciting backyard. It is a good sized yard for Houston. One of the reasons we picked this house is because there is an empty field behind our house. It reminded Chris of where he grew up. The field is owned by an agricultural charter school, so it won't be developed anytime soon. This is Chris's project. He is all about landscaping. The stairs splits the house in half, with this view to the left. It has a bedroom in each corner with a gameroom in the middle. Sorry, no pictures of the rooms because they aren't anything special.

Then on the other side of the stairs is another bedroom, a bathroom and our master's suite.

Here is our master bedroom. It is huge with a sitting room, as you can see. It also contains two walk in closets, because Chris and I cannot share (okay, we can share but we don't have to).

While Chris is busy landscaping, my project is the bedroom. The bedspread is brand new, and now I need to start accessorizing and getting new furniture, then finally paint. Any ideas?

And then the master bathroom. We are adjusting to the walk-in shower. I like it, but Chris isn't so sure.

So, that is the house. We have plenty of room for anyone that wants to come visit. We would love to have you. :)

SXSW

2010-03-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

Over spring break Chris and I descended upon Austin with thousands of others young people, with some older ones mingled in. It was the South by Southwest music and film festival. Bands from all over at varying levels of success in their careers come to perform for music industry people, and us regular folks. They play on 6th street in bars that line every side of the street. It is really quite crazy. We likened it to Mardi Gras, but probably a tiny bit less crazy. Chris and I went to see his brother play with his band, Neon Trees. We left after work on Thursday night and got to Austin in only 2 hours, we were impressed. We quickly checked into our hotel and headed to 6th street to meet up with Dave. Neon Trees was performing at 9:45 at Maggie Mae's and we wanted to be there. After standing in line for 10 minutes we quickly discover that they are only letting people with the $400 passes in, so Dave came to the rescue. He snuck us past security in through the back door. (My hero!). They put on an incredible show. Afterwards we wandered around for a bit until Dave finished loading out (music industry term for putting the band gear in the van).

On Friday morning we went to Roundrock Donuts, a famous donut shop just 20 minutes north of Austin. We had seen it on the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food. They have a Texas sized donut that is like the size of a cake.

Dave had a show during the day that was for Express (the store) so Chris and I headed up to the state capital to have a look around. I guess seeing the capital makes us official Texans. It looks like a normal capital, but it is a pretty red color. We hung out at a sports bar to rest our feet until Dave finished up. And then it was off to meet Dave again. We hung out for the rest of the evening with him, until his next show. We also got to meet the band that we have heard so much about, more to come about them later.

Friday night they performed at 10:30 in another bar, the Creekside Lounge. It was a far better performance than the one the night before. They had so much energy, in spite of their crazy week of doing several shows a day.

There wasn't much to do on Saturday, so we just sort of hung out. Dave had a few things to do with the band during the day, mainly a video shoot with MTV, and so he met up with us that evening and we went to dinner and watched a movie.

Sunday was our last day there. Luckily the band wasn't flying out until that evening and so we got to spend some more time with Dave. We took him out to a BBQ place called The Salt Lick, another famous place. This place truly is famous. You drive 30 minutes outside of the city to this little town in the middle of the hill country and you know you are there when you see a parking lot as big as a walmarts in the middle of fields. It is filled with cars. There is even a Sherrif's deputy directing traffic through the parking lot. We discover it is an hour wait for a table or a twenty minute wait to get a to go order. We get the takeout and sit on the picnic tables in the yard. It was good BBQ, but not life changing. After BBQ we said so long for now to Dave and headed back home. It was a good weekend with one of our favorite people, and a great band.

A little bit about the band:

Every band member is LDS. With the exception of one, they are all return missionaries.

Tyler is the lead singer, and very eccentric on stage. He is a great performer.

Brandon is the bassist. He is married and has two daughters. He also seems to be the girl magnet. After every show the girls all wanted to talk to him. (Sorry I just don't see it personally).

Chris is the lead guitarist. I honestly do not know much about him. He does cut his own hair apparently.

My hero is Elaine, the drummer. First, she is a girl that plays the drums, quite rare. Second, she is a return missionary, awesome. Third, she just got married in the Salt Lake temple. And Fourth, she puts up with being in a van all day with at least 5 guys. She totally rocks. Who says you can't be an LDS girl drummer?

Then of course there is Dave. He is the best member obviously. He is the tour guitarist. He is good at what he does and we love him. What more can I say?

Stardom

2010-03-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Chris's younger brother, David, and his band were on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday night. We stayed up late to watch them. I guess it was a pretty cool experience, according to Dave. I imagine it must have been. Check out the two performances for the show above.

There is No Place Like Home

2010-03-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

We did it. We bought a house. I have discovered that owning a home is dangerous. All I want to do is buy stuff to go with it now. So far I have resisted buying stuff, but I'm not sure how long I will hold out. More pictures will be coming later.

Giddy Up!

2010-03-05T16:33:00.000-08:00

Howdy, Ya'll. Since we have been here in Houston we have heard about the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. But Wednesday is the first time I've actually experienced it. You know a rodeo has got to be big in Texas, and it did not disappoint.

I ditched Chris and made a girls night out of it by inviting my friend Shandi.

Shandi and I got there early enough to wander the huge carnival. We didn't make it over to the livestock show, maybe next time. We went into the arena after wandering for a few minutes and got some food. The rodeo was great. The calf roping, barrel racing, bronc riding, and bull riding were awesome. As with all good rodeos there were some close calls with bulls, and broncs, but strangely the only injury was a torn ACL in the calf roping. It was painful. After the rodeo we rocked out at the Dierks Bentley concert. We both had a lot of fun and definitely want to do it again. I'm hoping maybe I can take Chris next time.

We did not endulge in any of the fried foods, but it was tempting.

How the other half lives

2010-02-18T15:39:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is in honor of my uncle Russell who always says that Chris and I are the other half. We are not quite the other half, but we do have our moments. Tuesday night was one of those moments.
Chris's former intern gave us tickets to the Rockets vs. Jazz game. It was a great night out. We had awesome seats. There were only six rows in front of us and the Jazz bench was just to the right of us as seen in the picture below. Apparently Chris's family saw us on the tv from afar a few times. Hope I didn't do anything embarrassing. It was a good game that wasn't a lock until the last minute of the game. For those of you who do not know, Rocket's fans hate us with a passion. It was 104-95 in the end. At the end of the game we met Ronnie Price's aunt. He is apparently from Houston and had 16 family members there. We told his aunt how much we enjoyed watching Proce play at UVSC, my alma mater. It was fun and definitely a glimpse at how the other half lives.

New Job

2010-02-09T19:16:00.001-08:00

Chris found out about a new position in the marketing department with the Astros right before Christmas. He really enjoys marketing and wanted to experience marketing to the masses, instead of just minority marketing. When we got home from Utah he applied and interviewed for the position. A few weeks ago he was offered the position. It is not only in a new department, but a step up also. Here is the e-mail that was sent out to the rest of the company. He is excited to learn new things and experience a different part of the Astros. Guess this means we will be living here for a little while longer.

Things your child's teacher won't tell you

2010-01-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

I found this list in the Reader's digest. I thought I would put it out there for those that aren't subscribers. Also, I added my own thoughts.

1. We’re sick of standardized testing and having to “teach to the test.”
2. Kids used to go out and play after school and resolve problems on their own. Now, with computers and TV, they lack the skills to communicate. They don’t know how to get past hurt feelings without telling the teacher and having her fix it. (Even true in high school).
3. When I hear a loud belch, I remember that a student’s manners are a reflection of his parents’. (I can't tell you how often I wonder why a student is as disrespectful, sexist, rude, etc. as they are and then I meet the parents and I say, "Oh!". )
4. Your child may be the center of your universe, but I have to share mine with 25 others.
5. Please help us by turning off the texting feature on your child’s phone during school hours. (Is this possible? If so I definitely agree with this.)
6. Guys who dribble a ball for a couple of hours a game can make up to $20 million a year. We educate future leaders and make about $51,000 a year.
7. We take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser every day. Plus, we’re watching for learning disabilities, issues at home, peer pressure, drug abuse, and bullying.
8. Please, no more mugs, frames, or stuffed animals. A gift card to Starbucks or Staples would be more than enough. A thank-you note: even better.
9. We love snow days and three-day weekends as much as your kid does.
10. The students we remember are happy, respectful, and good-hearted, not necessarily the ones with the highest grades.

11. My first year of teaching, a fifth-grader actually threw a chair at me. I saw him recently, and he told me he just graduated from college. That’s what makes it all worthwhile. (Obviously not me.)

12. I have parents who are CEOs of their own companies come in and tell me how to run my classroom. I would never think to go to their office and tell them how to do their jobs. (So true.)

13. We don’t arrive at school 10 minutes before your child does. And we don’t leave the minute they get back on the bus. Many of us put in extra hours before and after school.

14. The truth is simple: Your kid will lie to get out of trouble.

15. Encourage your child to keep reading. That’s key to success in the classroom at any age. (!!!!!! Could not agree more.)

16. Just because your child says he did his homework doesn’t mean it’s true. You must check. Every night.

17. We wish parents would make their kids own up to their actions instead of pressuring us to bend the rules.

18. Please stop doing everything for your child and allow them to make mistakes. How else will they learn? Kids are not motivated to succeed because they feel their parents will bail them out every time.

19. There are days when I just want to quit, but then that one smile from that one kid, changes it all.

Christmas fun

2010-01-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

We were able to go home for Christmas again this year. We flew out on Christmas Eve and arrived just in time to eat with Chris's family. After dinner we headed over to my family's house to join in the fun there. We played games and talked. I was able to see my G'ma and G'pa Shore for the first time in probably 2 years. We woke up early the next morning to open presents with my family and then went over to the Hunsaker's to open presents there and play games there. I got to see my darling nieces open presents and play. They are darling. I was hardly ever without one in my arms. My nieces in their new Christmas pajamas.Chris with his siblings in their traditional picture with the animals. Sadly Chris's dog died this summer and isn't in the picture. He is holding one of the other random dogs. Chris and his best friend, Bob. We love getting to go home and spend time with him. Before long he will find a worthy girl and get married which will make seeing him harder.
The crazy brother- we love him.

We spent some time playing crazy games with the Hunsaker's and Bob. This was a challenge for the game, Would you Rather. Bob had to hold his tongue for two people's turns. hahaha.

Bob and I playing the games.

Mom Hunsaker's challenge. Jenny took the moment to get some revenge on her mother.

On New Year's Eve we were able to get together with my mom's family for the family Christmas party. I do not always get to see my extended family when I come into town, nor do I always talk with them, so it was great getting to talk with them.

Here is one of my youngest cousins, Ryker. He was very drooly. My baby sister Miah with her cousins. These three were all born 3 months apart. They are best buds. First Miah, then Kyle and last Alyssa. Miah is in the middle.My brother Chanse, right, and his best bud cousin, Tyler. Tyler lives a mile down the road and they are constantly at each other's houses. My dad all relaxed with my mom and Miah.On New Year's night we went up to see Chris's brother, David, play at a New Year's eve downtown party. He is a road guitarist for the band Neon Trees. I had never heard the band before and really enjoyed them. They are quite catchy. The whole band is mormon and everyone is a return missionary. It was a blast to spend time with family and friends. We did a lot that would take forever to talk about. We enjoyed the time with the family and hated to leave. But it was time to go back to the real world. Here are some more random pictures of my darling nieces. I love them so much. They are just so darling.

Oops, this is my mom and little sister, Leslie. Not a niece. My brother, Zach, with his niece, Kamri.

Kylee with her new toy. She loves to sweep.The three dolls eating. Yummy!

Laryssa, Kylee, and Kamri

The old man

2009-12-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

On Monday Chris celebrated his birthday. I call him old because I am actually 2 months older than him and so it has become something of an inside joke since if he is old than I am too. I completely realize that neither of us are old by any means. Anyway, Chris had the day off of work and sat around and played his playstation, guitar and who knows what else since I was working. That night we went to dinner and watched Angels and Demons. We also ate a delicious chocolate cake. mmm... mmm!

Chris had already received one of his presents the week before, so he opened the one from his mom. He got an Epiphone Les Paul Standard for his combined birthday and Christmas present from me, and my mom pitched in. He's been playing the same guitar since he was 12 and was ready for a new one. He spent a lot of time looking for the right one. I think it is a good looking guitar. Then his mom got him a case for his autographed baseballs that is shaped like home plate. I think he enjoyed his birthday. If nothing else he got to enjoy an extra day off of work. I couldn't get him to pose playing the guitar, this was the best I could do.

Let Christmas Begin!

2009-12-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

The Friday after Thanksgiving Chris and I continued our tradition of decking the halls. We put on the Christmas music and brought out the trees and decorations. We never had anything to put on top of the tree so we started putting a santa hat on top. I might keep it as a tradition or I might keep looking for that perfect angel or star. We put up the KC Chiefs tree up this year, even though they are playing terribly. We've put it up every year since we got married except last year when it wouldn't fit in our apartment.

To end the Christmas excitement, I got my first Christmas present:It is pretty much the only one I am getting from Chris, but that is okay because I love it. It is so comfortable and now I have places where my friends can sit when they come visit. Plus my bum won't get numb when sitting on it for too long. We are excited for the upcoming holiday.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2009-12-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

A rare sight in Houston today. It was the talk of the town for the past two days. I felt like I was home for a little while. The kids at school went crazy during lunch. Oh yeah, and the teachers were all jealous because I had this nifty scraper to wipe the snow off my car and they didn't. That is what happens when you grow up in Utah. Glad I didn't throw that out. Here are some pictures of the snow:

The backyard. The neighbor boy's snowman.

Chris took pictures at minute maid that were posted online and got quite a response from people. He first posted them to his Astros twitter account, and facebook. Then MLB's twitter picked them up and put them on their stuff, credited to him. He is famous now.

Rumor Mill

2009-11-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

Student: Mrs. Hunsaker isn't going to be back until December 18th.

This is the rumor apparently going around at my school right now. I have been out sick all of this week so far and the students sure do like to make stuff up. I've never been on the end of the rumors before though. I must say it is kind of fun.
For all of you that do not know, I officially have the swine flu. Gotta love those germy students. I came down with a fever Sunday night and when the fever was still around on Tuesday I went to the doctor. The results came back positive for influenza A, of which swine flu is the only one currently going around. I have orders to not return to work until I have been symptom free for 24 hours. And to take my Tamiflu for the next 5 days. So I guess I will just sleep in, lounge on the couch and drink my juice. All while my students continue to speculate as to what happened to poor Mrs. Hunsaker. Maybe by next Monday, when I figure I will return, they will have me dead and buried in the local cemetary. Hahaha.
Don't worry I am already starting to feel better. I haven't had a fever all day so now I just need to kick this cough. I'll just keep enjoying my little vacation from school.

Darn this kid!! Seriously though, what must the mom have been thinking at this moment? Gross!

All Hallow's Eve

2009-11-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

What better way to spend Halloween than a Renaissance Festival? Chris and I went with our friends Alex & Shandi, and David, Jenny & Ellie to the Texas Renaissance Festival. I love this time period and enjoyed seeing the costumes, acts and the food. I envied the gorgeous dresses and wish I had one of my own. I would wear it for Halloween every year. Maybe some day, sigh.

After we returned we bought pumpkins and carved them together, with a break in between to go to the ward Trunk-or-treat to eat some chili. The girls enjoyed carving the pumpkins and talking, while the boys watched sports and talked. It was great spending Halloween with friends.

Chris and I gnawing on our smoked turkey legs. mmmm... good! Our friends with an impressive horse. We watched some jousting, not quite like "A Knights Tale."The Pumpkins!!My masterpiece, simple but elegant.

The fuzzy bunny with the pumpkins

Me, Jenny, and Shandi

Birthday wishes

2009-10-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

I recently celebrated my birthday. We started out by going bowling with some friends, Shandi and Alex. Our other friends, Jenny and Dave, met up with us halfway through bowling. We decided that we needed to bowl more often together because most of us bowled some of our best games. Chris bowled 4 strikes in a row, he is ridiculous. After bowling we went to Pappasitos for the best fajitas ever (you are missing out Zach). Chris bought me a german chocolate cake to eat afterwards. On my birthday Chris made me a great dinner of steaks and then my friend Erica, her husband and three little girls made me cake and sang happy birthday. It was sweet of them to do that. Plus, there is nothing like cake and the birthday song. I even got to blow out candles. Chris bought me a wii fit, I am loving it, and a new bookshelf for my birthday. I love my bookshelf. It is much better than my dorm room bookshelf that I now have in my classroom. Now I just need more books to put in it. My parents bought me a BYU jersey to wear on college Wednesdays at school and my in-laws bought me Wii Mario Party. It was a good birthday and luckily I don't mind turning a year older yet. Thanks for all of the phone calls and texts.

2009-09-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Introducing: The Conference Bike! I saw this on Conan O'Brian and laughed my head off. Check it out: It's not just a bike it's a party on wheels!!
The CoBi-7 is a tricycle pedaled by 7 riders sitting in a circle. One person steers, while everyone is free to pedal or not as the bike moves effortlessly along.Here are some testimonials: (yes these are real)

"I love it! I rode it with the freshman the 1st day of school. Your unique creation was an immediate hit with our students and you've given us a wonderful symbol of building community at the university." Shirley Strum Kenney, President, State University of New York, Stony Brook.

"I'm convinced that this bike will help to rejuvenate bland and lifeless American downtowns at night and during the day." Paul Selk

How about it family? Should we rent one for a stroll next summer?

Goooaaaalllll!!!!!!!

2009-09-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night while everyone was screaming at the football game, we were here: Chris bought me tickets to the Real Salt Lake vs. Dynamo soccer game as a surprise. (He is just full of those lately.) It was a great game with 4 almost fights, too bad none of them actually developed, a red card given to each team, and a coach being thrown out. Houston scored in the second minute of the game and then again 3 minutes later. It slowed down after that. Real came back later in the game. But it was not enough when Houston scored another goal in the 83 minute. It was a good game, and I am grateful that my husband loves me enough to take me to a sport he doesn't like. Here is my proof that he was there:
And here I am! Yay soccer!!

On the Big Screen

2009-09-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

They caught Chris! Apparently the sponsorship crew was taking pictures of the Smile Cam sponsorship promotion in order to prove that they fulfilled their part of the contract. They just happened to get Chris and then e-mailed him the picture. An interesting note, they also had to prove that they were only using "good looking" people from the crowd. I guess Chris qualifies as good looking. You can barely seem my head behind the Smile Cam logo.

Rise and Shout the Cougars are Out!!

2009-09-05T20:09:00.001-07:00

What a game!!! I cannot believe we pulled that off. Chris and I were pacing, jumping around, and every other nervous and excited action. The defense definitely was the key to that game. They had some big holds on the OU offense. Just imagine what we could have done without the turnovers. All I can say is that was amazing! As torturous as the game was, I loved it!!

Utah- Last one

2009-08-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Chris was in Utah only for the first week of the trip. We spent that week with his family. He went home Sunday and I stayed another week so I could spend time with my family and go to my sister's wedding. I really enjoyed being able to spend that time with my family. Here are some of the highlights of that week with my family:

- I went to the Calderwood family reunion (my maternal grandma's side). The Calderwoods are notoriously loud, crazy people. It was a complete blast. Check out this awesome slide at the lodge. Young and old had a great time on this slide. It was a fun trip down, but the hike back up was brutal.

- I spent time with my nieces. This was the first time I was able to see my newest niece, Laryssa Jo, in person. At the family reunion she had about a two hour nap against my chest. All of my nieces are adorable.

- My sisters and I all went and got our nails done the day before J'see's wedding. It was fun bonding time.
- I bought new clothes for school. I needed some more color in my professional wardrobe.
- I ate at my favorite Utah restaurants- Cafe Rio, Taco Amigo and JCW's. Mmmmm it was good.
- I attended the Woolstenhulme family reunion, my maternal grandpa's side. It was freezing cold that day. I don't think it got out of the 60's that day.
- Last, but not least, I attended my sister's wedding. They got married on Friday in the Salt Lake temple. The luncheon was at the Lion House. And we had their reception in the backyard that night. It was a beautiful day. The best part was that my parents had Cold Stone Creamery cater the reception. Each guest got to choose from several different ice cream flavors and then toppings. I ate two servings, it was delicious.
I am glad I was able to participate in J'see and Clark's wedding. It was a great trip home and I think I will go home for two weeks every summer. It definitely makes juggling both families much easier. Here are the pictures from the wedding:

J'see and Clark at his open house

My little sister, Whitney and her twins

Mom and Dad at the reception

Kamri and Kylee

My little sister, Leslie with Kamri

Older brother, Zach, and his baby, Laryssa

Brother-in-law Jeremy with his daughter, Kamri

The Bride and Groom with the Cold Stone station behind them.

Clark and J'see fixing themselves up for the reception.

Utah: Park City

2009-08-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah in July we went up to Park City with Chris's family. We mainly went up to eat at Fuego, a pizza place that Chris and I fell in love with over our 3 year anniversary trip to Park City. But we also hit the alpine slide and alpine coaster. Here are some of the pictures of all of the excitement. I highly recommend the alpine coaster. If you have all day there I would definitely recommend the all day pass for the slide, coaster, and zip line. Here are the pictures:

This is me gearing up for the Alpine Coaster. It is an awesome ride. I personally like it better than the slide. More sharp turns and no fear of falling off of the track.

Dad is set to go also.

Here is the track up to the top of the mountain. You can see the down track crossing over it.

After we went on the coaster we hit the classic alpine slide. We rode the slide twice. Here is the slide from the ski lift up to the top.

Here is mom, dad, Jenny and Christian and Lisana (the niece and nephew) on the lift up.

Here is Katie, David and Dad nervously anticipating the ride down.

Here come Katie and I zooming to the end of the slide.

Utah- Timpanogos Cave

2009-08-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah Chris made us hike up to Timpanogos Cave. Chris and I haven't done that since we were dating in high school. It was quite the trip, but fun nonetheless. We hiked up with Chris's dad, mom, and younger sister Katie.

Here is Chris at the bottom before we headed up.

Here is the family taking a break on the way up.

This is Chris and I in the cave. It was quite pleasant.

Here is the family in the cave, don't mind Chris's funny face.

This is the view from the mountain with Chris and I. Sorry we have to marr it.

Chris striking a pose on the way down. Isn't he good looking?

It was a fun trip up and down the mountain. Our tour guide was a distant relative of our mom's that teaches at our local junior high. He knows my older brother and younger sister. It was great to see him. I highly suggest this activity to anyone visiting the Utah area it is quite beautiful.

Utah- take one

2009-08-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a two week trip to Utah. Thus I have a lot to share and many pictures. So this will be one of several posts about it.
Chris and I flew into Utah on July 25th. We stayed with his family that first week while Chris was in town. We enjoyed spending time with family. Here are some pics of the party:

Chris and his nephew played on the tramp one afternoon.

Chris's niece, Lisana, and nephew, ChristianChris's brother, David, gussied up for his stint as best man for a wedding- he's single ladies

A night up the canyon, I was with my family so this was some alone time for Chris and his family.

Grandma Hunsaker playing the Wii

Your obedient servant, O.G.

2009-07-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday after Chris went to the eye doctor to a note sitting on the counter. When I opened it up this is what I found:It truly was very unexpected. We went to dinner before the show. It was a great evening out. The show was amazing. I love the Phantom of the Opera. And of course I love my husband for being so sweet and buying the tickets. He is truly a wonderful husband.

Ponca City 2009

2009-07-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

Over the fourth of July weekend Chris and I went to Ponca City, Oklahoma to his family reunion. It is nice to travel a shorter distance to meet up with his family. We had a packed few days in OK so I won't go over all of the details. I took pictures mainly the last day there. I never seemed to have the camera any of the other days.

On Friday I went to the local waterpark, Fun n Sun, with the young ones (those 30 and under) while Chris golfed with Grandad. That night we had a family dinner and then the annual lazer tag competition. The family is quite competitive. On Saturday we went to the local swimming pool, Mom's farm, and then to the family picnic and fireworks at Uncle Gordon's farm. That is where most of the pictures come in. And then on Sunday we went to Grandad and Grandma's house to visit and walked to the nearby park. That is where the rest of the pics are from. It was a good weekend and nice to spend time with family. It was also nice knowing that we will be seeing them again soon. Enjoy the pictures!The Family at the picnic. The siblings fishing for the niece and nephew.

The Siblings on top of the castle at the park.

Swinging at the park. The parents even got involved. Christian and I riding our birdies. You laugh but it is actually entertaining for a while. The family checking out the fireworks.Chris and David lighting some fireworks.

Thoughts on Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Cheesy as it may be here are my (Chris) thoughts on Michael Jackson:

(1) The first CD I ever owned (Christmas present from my parents) was the Jackson 5's greatest hits (I think I own all his CD's now)

(2) As a kid I had the Thriller dance memorized and would dance it in my living room.

(3) For an elementary school talent show I recreated his Super Bowl halftime show dance (including the moon walk).

(4) For that same talent show I sang "Gone Too Soon" off the album Dangerous.

(5) He obviously had a lot of problems (at the end of his life he looked like a porcelain doll) but I always felt sorry for him and thought there were deep underlying mental problems that led to his erratic and strange behavior. He seemed to be a sad, lonely, shy figure always trying to relive a childhood he never had. He seemed to desperately and sincerely want to make things right but seemed to only make things worse.

(6) I'll always remember him for his great talent, ability, and music and I think the world will too. He's one of the biggest music stars of all time with the Beatles and Elvis.

Batting Practice

2009-06-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

While Chris's brother, David, was in town Chris got permission for us to go down on the field during batting practice before Wednesday's game. It was cool being down there and seeing the players up close. I think it would be a better experience with little kids because they are more in awe of the players than I am. I got some decent up close pics of the players and coaches, which can't be accomplished from the stands with our camera. I did feel like paparazzi for a while taking the pictures that close and that obviously. Here are some of the pics:

Dave and ChrisUsHunter Pence Watching and Waiting for his turnManager Cecil Cooper Lance Berkman- 1st baseman Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez - catcher Insane Carlos Zambrano Lou Piniella- I love the commercial he is in for Aquafina

Third Eye Blind Concert

2009-06-10T09:34:00.001-07:00

Last night, Chris, his brother, Dave, and I went to a third eye blind concert at the House of Blues. It has been about 4 years since we last saw them in concert. They were better than ever. They started out rocking and kept it going until the end. Third Eye Blind played songs from each of their previous albums and some new songs that will be on their new album. I had forgotton how much fun concerts are.
Dave will be in town to hang out with us until Sunday and Chris is having fun spending time with his brother. My dad is in town for business and I am meeting up with him for lunch.

New Moon

2009-06-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

I just watched the preview for New Moon. It was amazing. I think I might become a Jacob fan in the movies. Holy cow he is hot. Watch it for yourself and see.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD

Backyard pics

2009-05-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

So when I posted pics of the house a few months back my mom noticed I didn't have pictures of the back yard. There was a reason for that. It was the one thing about the house that Chris and I hated. So, we put some work into it and are finally content with it. It isn't perfect, the shed needs painted, but it will do. This is what you see when you step out our back door. We have enjoyed spending some warm spring days out on our patio.This is the whole patio. Chris loves to barbeque and so the first thing on the list of necessities for the back yard was a new BBQ. I can't complain because it means I don't have to cook as much. We also got this table and chairs for pretty cheap.How do you like our ugly shed? The yard isn't huge, but that is par for the course in Houston. We don't really need a lot of playing around room.
We really wanted to have some tropical plants in our back yard. But since it isn't a permanent home we decided putting them in planters would allow us to move them with us. We really enjoy the tropical oasis we have created.

What about Bob?

2009-05-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Chris's best friend, Bob Cooper, came to town to visit. He is currently a law student as Penn University and flew down from Philadelphia to visit. He came to visit before he left to Tajikistan for a summer job. Bob is the one who introduced Chris and I way back in 9th grade. He and I were friends all 8th grade and at the beginning of 9th grade he brought Chris along on a journalism assignment covering a football game.

Bob came into town Friday at around noon and Chris picked him up on his lunch break. And then brought him home with him from work. We spent the weekend eating until we couldn't eat anymore, playing games, watching movies and just talking. On Saturday night we took Bob to Papasitos for fajitas. Anyone that comes and visits we try to take there because they are the most amazing fajitas. We all left with full stomachs. On Sunday we took Bob to Kemah. He wanted to see the Gulf of Mexico. Chris and I hadn't gone to Kemah yet, so it was a new experience for us too. We wandered around the Kemah boardwalk and shared two funnel cakes. Bob left Monday night to go back to Philly and start getting ready for his summer abroad. We had a great time with Bob and will miss him until Christmas time when we will all be back in Utah for the holidays. We always enjoy having visitors. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

You're Hired!!

2009-05-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have a job for next year. I went to a job fair on Saturday and the first principal I sat down with was impressed. She told me to not accept any jobs that day and wanted me to come and see the school on Monday. I went in yesterday to meet with them and was hired. Well, provided the HR clears me. I will be teaching English in Alief ISD for Elsik High School, most likely 10th grade. It is such a relief to have a job this early in the year. My loving husband got me this balloon and flowers to congratulate me.

Air Conditioning - ahh

2009-05-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Our air conditioning is fixed. We survived through it all. The past two nights were the most difficult, but we lived. Now I am working on getting this place to feel like a fridge so that we can be cold for a change.

You might live in Houston if...

2009-05-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

having your air conditioner break down at the end of April/first of May is cause for calling in FEMA.
If you didn't figure it out our air conditioner broke two Sundays ago. That wouldn't be a problem in Utah, or any other number of places. But here in Houston we have been reaching 90. Today it was 87 but the "feels like" was 92. This is too warm without AC. To add to that over half of our windows don't have screens, including the bedroom window. This means we can't open them at night to let the cool air in. We have about 3 windows we can open at night. Let's just say we have had a few sweaty nights and days. Tonight we got home from an Astros game, walked in the house and immediately commented on how it was cooler outside than inside our house. I bought a fan yesterday and popsicles because I just couldn't handle it anymore. They saved me for the afternoon.
The good news is the landlords finally got the written request (it isn't an emergeny according to them and therefore we couldn't call them) and contacted the people to fix it. The bad news is they aren't coming until Monday, which means no AC all weekend. Luckily the Astros volunteered to keep us cool at games all weekend. Hopefully I won't have melted and can give you another update after Monday.
On a separate note, this next week will be a great week. On Wednesday my dad is coming to town for business again so I will get to spend more time with him. Yeah!!! And then Chris's best friend and my good friend, Bob, is coming to visit over the weekend. Bob introduced Chris and I in 9th grade so he holds a special place in my heart. We look forward to being cool again, and seeing loved ones.

I Believe Love is the Answer

2009-05-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today is our 4 year anniversary. I'm not sure if I feel like I've been married that long. It has been a wonderful 4 years with a lot of changes. When we married 4 years ago we were both still in school, living 10 minutes away from family, and in an apartment. Since then we have both graduated with a bachelor's degree. We moved 24 hours away from family, and we are now renting a house. Although, not all of the changes have been easy, they have been great for our family. We have grown closer through each year and each change. I couldn't have done all of this without a wonderful husband by my side.

Chris is such an amazing man. He is a hard worker that tackles anything that comes his way. He is not afraid to work hard to support us. I am proud that he is willing to live his dream of working in baseball and didn't give up on it. He is a righteous priesthood holder that is true to the church, his calling, and me. I know that at any given time I can rely on his priesthood to lead our way. He is such a righteous example to me. Chris never fails to let me know that he loves me, supports me, and believes in me. He has more faith in me than I have sometimes. He puts up with my lack of homemaking skills, my moods, and my tones, which isn't easy. He also puts up with my stubborn, argumentative nature. That definitely is not easy. I strive everyday to be worthy of this love. I'm glad he has been by my side for the past 4 years and look forward to spending the eternities with him. I love you Hunny!

Our first visitor

2009-04-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday my dad came into town for work. He has never been to Houston for work before, so it was kind or a surprise. He called two weeks ago to tell me the news. He knew the Astros were in town playing the Dodgers so he wanted to see if we could get him and his coworker tickets to come to the game with us. We gladly arranged our tickets around so that we could. His flight got in at 2 p.m. and as soon as I got off of work I went and picked him up at his hotel. I gave him the grand tour of where we live and then we went and picked Chris up at the ballpark. We took my dad to get some real Texas BBQ at Goode Co. BBQ. Afterwards we went to the game. The Astros played a good game and gave us another win. We parted ways after the game and my dad flew home the next day. It was only an evening, but it was still great to see family and finally have someone come visit us here, even if it was a business trip. Our next visitor is Chris's little brother, Dave, in June, unless we have another unexpected visit before then.

Easter Eggcitement

2009-04-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Easter came and went without too much trauma. This was Chris's and my first Easter not spent at home with family. It wasn't overly exciting, but it wasn't depressing either. I bought Chris some reeces peanut butter eggs, which he loves. We enjoyed an Easter meal with some families from our ward. It was an eclectic group- a couple with 5 kids ranging from 1 to 14, a couple with three girls under the age of 4, Chris and I, and a single woman. We figured that all we neede was a widowed man and we would have it all covered. It was nice spending time with friends. And then on Easter night we decorated easter eggs. They turned out cute. Not much else to say about our easter.

Let the Games Begin

2009-04-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was Opening Day 2009. We were of course at the ballpark for it. The Astros played the Cubs for the opening series Mon.-Wed. Sadly, the first game of the season didn't go so well for the Astros. The second pitch of the game was hit for a homerun by the Cubs. This really deflated the excitement for the Astros fans. The team had a really slow start on hitting, but they seem to be picking it up little by little. Here are some pics of the opening series.

Well, I guess this starts the crazy time of our life. Chris has started to get more busy at work, which he is glad for. He doesn't like to be bored at work. I get to take the bus in for the games because Chris has the employee parking sticker on his car. People think I am crazy for going to all of the games (except Wed. YW's and Sundays) but if I don't go to the games I don't see my husband. We are planning on taking some friends to weekend games this year, which will make it more fun. I guess that pretty much sums everything up, other than "Let the games begin".

New haircut and teaching license

2009-04-04T17:15:00.001-07:00

After spending a ridiculous amount of money I have my Texas teaching license for the next year. I have to pay for and pass three tests before I will get a more permanent license.

Spring Break Projects

2009-03-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago was spring break. This allowed me to get some projects done that I have been wanting to do. We have a set of three lamps that are brass in color. I am not a fan of anything brass or gold, so I bought some spray paint and painted them. Here are some pictures of before and after. I love them. Then we have been wanting to get our fish tank back up and running now that we are in a house. So when we got back from our trip we set up the tank and then started buying fish. We have 11 fish in the tank -it's a 30 gallon. We love having a fish tank and being able to watch the colorful fish swim around. Our new favorite fish are freshwater green spotted puffer fish. They are cool and cute. We have 2.

New Niece

2009-03-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Laryssa Jo
My older brother, Zach, and his wife, Lindsay, had their first little girl last Saturday. She is so cute and has such long dark hair. They named her Laryssa Jo, but I'm tempted to call her LJ. Linds might kill me though. Anyway we are excited for the newest addition, but I hope the next kid is a boy for my dad's sake. He loves his granddaughters, but he's itching for a chance to even out the genders in the family. For those that don't know I'm one of seven and five of us are girls. Even with marriages, the best my dad can do is even it up, but now with three granddaughters that is getting more and more unlikely. My dad always jokes about being surrounded by too much estrogen. He's also threatened that when I have a kid it better be a boy or I can't ever come home. Maybe once we are all married and done having kids the boys will win, but that is a long way off- sorry dad. Here is a picture of my twin nieces Kylee and Kamri with their pebbles knots. They are cute little things too.

Hawaii

2009-03-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

Last week Chris and I were able to get away for the week to beautiful Hawaii. I could go into a lot of details and probably bore everyone to death, but instead I will give short details and let the photos speak for themselves. (They are in no particular order)

We became one with nature in Waimea Valley.

Chris puzzled out our path.

We basked in the brilliance of the falls.We spent time playing and relaxing on the beach.

I slept.

Chris played in the water.

While I read.

We watched the surfers on the North Shore. We made new friends.
We watched beautiful sunsets. And we enjoyed the hot tub.

We cooled off with Hawaiin shaved iced. Yummy!

We remembered our country's past.

We ate at Bubba Gump's (and other yummy places).

The Shrimper's Heaven was delicious.

We visited the temple. FYI it is under renovation for the next year.
We visited the Dole Plantation, mainly to eat some yummy Dole Whip.

And we never wanted to leave paradise, but life goes on.

Thanks to all those who made this trip possible- you know who you are. We couldn't have done it without you.

Picture tag

2009-03-19T12:35:00.001-07:00

The Rules:
Go to your pictures
Go to your 6th file
Choose your 6th picture
Blog about it!
This was taken at the Aquarium in Houston during the 2007 summer. It was when Chris came and did his first internship with the Astros and we were really on top of going out and seeing the sights of Houston. We figured that we only had 3 months here and we needed to experience Houston as much as possible. Who knew that a year later we would move here permanently for a job with the Astros. It is crazy how life turns out.
Tag:
Whitney, J'see, Leslie, Mom, Lindsay, Erica

House Pics

2009-03-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of February we started renting a house. We are loving not having to worry about neighbors hearing our movies or Chris's guitar through the walls. My mom has been waiting patiently for me to post pictures of the house. So here they finally are:

House Pictures

2009-03-06T18:56:00.001-08:00

Bring on the Money

2009-02-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

This school year I have been substitute teaching, instead of having my own classroom. For a couple of months at the end of last year I was a long term sub for a history teacher at Mayde Creek Jr. High. When the teacher came back I became one of the regular subs for the whole school. There have only been a few days when I wasn't a sub at the school. The principal's secretary, Susan, is in charge of subs and she does her best to help me get jobs at the school.
Yesterday Susan came and told me that the principal wanted to talk to me when I had a moment. It turns out that the school has some money to hire a person to help run a TAKS (state testing for No child left behind) math tutoring/lab Monday through Thursday and she wants me to do it. It will double my pay and last for 7 weeks, until the end of April. I will still sub on Fridays at the school. This is good because it means more money, and the possibility of further solidifying a place for myself next year at the school. Now all I need is one of the English teachers to leave the school.

Cupcake Decorating at YW

2009-02-19T12:20:00.001-08:00

Last night at YWs the laurels learned how to decorate cakes from Jeanette Mortensen, our Laurel advisor. She has taken numerous classes at Hobby Lobby on cake decorating and the girls really wanted her to teach them. We learned how to make flowers, leaves, stars, and different borders. We each were able to decorate three cupcakes after having practiced our new techniques on wax paper. The girls really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed it and it made me want to decorate more cakes. Here are pictures of my young women decorating their cakes and some pictures of my final results. My cupcakes! Nicolette and Cynthia Marcela and Brooklynn

Chris's Mexico Trip

2009-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

At the end of January Chris had to go to Mexico and Southern Texas with the Astros Caravan for two days. He flew on the team owner's private leer jet with Miguel Tejada (player), Alex Trevino (Spanish broadcaster and former player), Cecil Cooper (manager aka coach and former player), and Rosi Hernandez (boss). Rosi Hernandez, Miguel Tejada, Cecil Cooper, Chris, and Alex Trevino

Miquel Tejada, Alex Trevino, and Chris

They went to Mexico first where they held a baseball clinic and went to a reception. They spent the night in Mexico City in a really ritzy hotel. Chris wasn't impressed- what do you think? This is the shower/bath. Unique design.

They flew out the next morning to McAllen and Laredo, Texas for some appearances and signings at a bank and a hospital. He talked with Cecil Cooper most out of everyone. Apparently Cecil doesn't drink alcohol at all. He didn't like the taste of it and so he decided he wasn't going to drink something he didn't like. He hasn't had a drink in 28 years. He was hoping Chris was going to spring training so he had someone else to hang out with that doesn't drink. Mostly the three stars talked about baseball with each other. Chris just sat and soaked it all in. Apparently Miguel is a leader on the team. They were talking about ways to motivate the team to perform at their best all year. I think Chris ended up enjoying the trip and he might be a little less afraid of small airplanes now. His mom and I kept telling him to enjoy it because he was getting to do something that hardly anyone else ever gets to do. First he got to fly on a private leer jet, and then he got to fly on it with a professional baseball player, coach, and famous broadcaster. I was willing to trade him places.

Look What I’ve Done

2009-02-06T19:29:00.001-08:00

I saw this on my friends blog and I thought it would be fun. So you should all do it too. Then we can learn some more things about each other. All you do is bold the things you have done!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain-well hiked anyway :)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a Solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables-not at my house, but at my parents!
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Money isn't everything!)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (in a building and a real rock)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been on television
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (I wish we still had these, so fun!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business-

58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78.
Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80.
Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92.
Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone (who doesn't these days?)
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone's blog to your own (Pretty sure I just did :)

New house, New Fridge

2009-01-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

Chris and I decided that at the price we are paying for a 2 bedroom apartment we could be renting a house with 3 bedrooms. So we looked around and found the cutest house (pictures coming soon). It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a separate dining room, and a two car garage. We aren't completely sure what to do with all of the space, but we are glad to have it. It will be nice not to have to worry about disturbing neighbors that we share walls with anymore. We also will have more room for people to come visit us. The house doesn't have a fridge so we had to go and buy one. Although we weren't looking forward to the expense we knew that it would just save us from having to buy one later on down the road.

We went to Sears today with a good idea of what we wanted. We didn't want anything too fancy because we didn't want to fork out that kind of money. Chris was nice though and let me have the style of fridge that I wanted, even though it was $300 more expensive than the other style. In case you didn't know the refridgerators with the freezer on the bottom are more expensive than the ones with the freezer on top. I hate the freezer on top. I am getting into the fridge much more than I am the freezer and want it at eye level. I hate having to bend down when I want something out of the fridge. Chris doesn't understand why it is such a big deal to me, but he let me have my way. He is such a sweetie.

Anyway, we walked in and went up the escalator to the appliance section and standing right in the middle of the aisle at the beginning of the appliances were about 6 salesman. Talk about intimidating. I felt like we were walking into an ambush. They were standing their like vultures ready to eat some road kill. I tensed up and was a little perturbed. We ended up walking around through the children's clothes to the back of the appliances to avoid the ambush. I wanted to tell them that it wasn't a very good service technique but Chris wouldn't let me. I figured that as a consumer I should let them know this sort of thing. If I wasn't serious about buying a fridge from them that day I might have walked out. We just wanted a minute or two to wander through the fridges before we had someone breathing down our neck. After that everything went smoothly. We told the salesman that finally helped us exactly what we wanted and he took us straight to it. We debated between a 19 cu. ft or 22 cu. ft fridge for a minute and then ultimately bought the bigger one. It was quite painless after we avoided the gauntlet.

So here are pictures of our new fridge. It is great and meets our needs. Check off that right of passage for us.

Baseball Dinner

2009-01-18T15:45:00.000-08:00

On Thursday Chris and I went to another dinner at the Hilton. Luckily this dinner was just business attire. The mean wasn't quite as fancy, but still good. Chris and I actually felt that the dessert was yummier at the less formal event. It had more flavor.
This dinner was to honor various baseball players in the Houston area. They honored a coach of the year from Bellaire high school and 12 high school players from around the Houston area. Then they honored several of the major league players. One of the players they honored was James Loney from the Dodgers. He is from Houston and therefore qualifies for these awards. They also gave Wesley Wright an award for rookie of the year. Other honorees were Hunter Pence, and Lance Berkman. The presentations started out slow and boring, but once the presenters - generally sports announcers and writers from the area- started presenting to the players it got funny. Two of the broadcasters started taking shots at each other during their presentations. One of them really doesn't like the other one, but most people don't know that. Then the players gave their speeches and those continued to make us laugh. Berkman gave some truly uplifting hope to the high school players. Oh, wait, no he didn't. He basically told them a career in baseball wasn't going to happen. We were all cracking up because he sounded so harsh.
It was fun seeing a different side of the players. Chris is going to Mexico with several players and a coach at the end of the month and I am going to expect a full report on what was said and done while he spends so much time with them. I am always more interested in what these guys are like as people than their stats on the field. For instance, I find it interesting that Jose Valverde, our closer, takes his wife and child with him on every road trip. He says he doesn't want to miss a moment of his child's life. The event was fun and I enjoyed a free meal and some laughs with my husband.

Big Kid Dress Up

2009-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night Chris's boss, Rosi, was honored as a 2009 ABC-Channel 13 Woman of Distinction. Since Chris is her underling we were invited to attend. It was Jewels: The Winter Ball and a black tie event. So Chris and I had an opportunity to play big kid dress up. The only problem was that we were notified about the event on Wednesday and I didn't have a dress that fit into the black tie category. So after two days of furious shopping I bought a new dress and shoes to go with it. Chris got all gussied up also.

The event was wonderful. It was strange seeing older women dressed up more like they were going to prom. I was surprised at the number of women that were wearing puffy prom-like dresses. The event started out with a reception where everyone walked around with their cocktails. Chris and I drank water. It is also a charity event so they had an auction going on during it. They auctioned off things like a first pitch at an Astros game, $1000 SAKS gift card, a Houston Rockets suite, a trip to the Oprah show, and many more things. The strangest thing that was auctioned was a two sicilian miniature donkeys. Who in this group would have a place to keep two donkeys. They went for $200.

After the reception we went into the ballroom to watch the honorees being honored. The ballroom was decorated as a winter wonderland in all silver and whites. It was gorgeous. After we honored the women we at dinner. Below is the dinner menu:

First course:

Lobster Bisque en Croute

Second course:

Shaved Fennel and Goat Cheese Tart

Mini Bouquet of Baby Greens

A Brochette of baby pear &

Parisienne Melon wrapped in proscuitto.

Herb Oil and Balsamic Glaze

Entree

A Trilogy of

Chilean Seabass in

Roasted Vegetable and Lavendar Broth,

Baked Breast of Capon and

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Dessert

Chocolate Decadence

and Chocolate Pearls with Gold Dust

Platinum Sabayon

Fancy, ain't it. It was all really yummy, too bad I don't know exactly what half of it is. After dinner there was dancing and I only made Chris dance a couple of songs. It was fun getting to dress up again for something other than prom. We had a good time and enjoyed watching the little 70 year old women getting down to the 70's rock songs.

Trip Home

2009-01-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

Chris and I went home for Christmas on Christmas Eve and returned to Houston on Jan. 4. We enjoyed a wonderful 11 days with family and friends. We partied hard and are now having a difficult time getting back into the real world. More details will be coming soon, but let it be known that we enjoyed it and didn't want to come back to work.

New Dress

2009-01-08T20:17:00.001-08:00

This is how I get opinions on clothes now that I'm away from my mom and sisters.

Happy Birthday, Hunny!

2008-12-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

Chris turned 25 today. Since it was Sunday we mostly celebrated yesterday. I took him to a miniature golf course, where we were thoroughly terrorized by a kids birthday party involving 20 kids that no parents controlled. It was a pretty nice course though with sandtraps, rough, and other obstacles. After that we went to dinner at Olive Garden. When we got home Chris opened his presents and got the Tiger Wood's Golf for the wii, and I threw in the Dark Knight because I wasn't feeling well that morning and thought that might be the only thing I felt up to doing that night. Luckily I started feeling much better. If you remember I had already given Chris his wii for his birthday a month early so that is all he got from me. We finished the celebration last night with molten lava cake.
Today we haven't done too much since it is Sunday. He started the day out with a bang by being called and set apart as the second counselor in the Elder's quorum presidency. This means that he was released as a ward missionary, but I wasn't so it is like he wasn't even released since he'll still be helping me with my calling. We'll have more lava cake today after the dinner I cooked for him. We will probably watch Horton Hears a Who to finish off the celebration. My parent's gift for Chris hasn't gotten here yet, so some day this next week he will have another mini birthday when he opens that gift.

I am going to be cheesy for a minute now. Chris is a wonderful husband, son, worker, and example. He makes me want to become a better person just being around him. He doesn't do things halfway. Everything he does he strives to be the best at. He is such a hard worker that the things that the employee before him didn't usually get to until March are already done. He wants to work hard and stay busy. He is a great husband. If I need anything he doesn't hesistate to provide it for me. He pushes me to be the best person I can be. When he received his new calling yesterday he told the high councilman that he didn't want me to be released as a ward missionary because it was good for me. It took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to do something I've never really had an opportunity to do until now. He recognizes these things and pushes me to stretch myself. (FYI I agree with him about this calling and was worried they would release me because I love it so much. It is so good for me.) He loves his family and tries to be there for me and them when he can. He missed being away from them so much and occasionally contemplates working for the Jazz so he can be around them again. Chris is an amazing man and I am so happy I have him in my life for eternity. Happy birthday, hunny! Here is to another 25 years.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2008-12-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

Wait, I live in Houston right? I got a little confused when white fluffy stuff started falling from the sky. I thought I had been transported back to Utah or something. Yes, it snowed off and on all day in Houston today. It didn't really stick much, so I can't say I was overly impressed. But the Houstonians were excited, especially the kids who don't ever experience snow. They were loving it. Apparently the last time it snowed was 4 years ago on Christmas Eve, and it actually stuck then.