Giddyup!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Our nephew Brice gets all geared up for trick-or-treating!Too bad his uncle doesn't dress like this....

Today's activities brought to you by the letter "R"

Richmond, Raise your right hand, Return.
Charlie, Jo, Grandma Bee, Brett and I drove down to Richmond to attend B's swearing-in ceremony. The main ceremony consisted of all candidates (about 1000) sitting with their respective schools. One by one, a representative called out the names of all the candidates from each particular school. Once all names had been called, candidates raised their right hands, said "I do", and left! We stopped for lunch along the way before we went to the Richmond airport, where we caught our flight home.

We had an incredibe weekend! And here concludes all alphabetic activities!

Today's activities brought to you by the letter "F"

Foliage: This afternoon we took a walk in the neighborhood and snapped a few shots. We miss the changing leaves.
Friends: Richie and Liz are one of our favorite couples! The four of us seem to have a hard time arranging schedules to actually hang out, but we were pleased to spend a few hours at Richie's place this evening. Both of us love Richie and Liz and are thrilled to have such great friends.
Family: After visiting with Richie and Liz, we met B's folks at a superb restaurant: Chez Francois. The dinner was exceptional, and we had a wonderful time relaxing with the folks. Thank you for the incredible celebration dinner! Here's a shot Grandma Bee took of the four of us with a special 3-D picture B received as a gift for his future office.

Today's activities brought to you by the letter "M"

Our afternoon was spent visiting with friends in Arlington.

We ate lunch with two friends, Mike and Marla. Mike works where B will next year, so he gave us a glimpse into our future. Then we blew over (seriously--it was THAT windy today!) to Melissa's, where she let us talk and pry into her life for a few hours. We decided she will be my house-hunting partner when the time comes.

Friends like these three make us excited about moving up next year!

And the winner is...

KATIE!!!! (Though Kelley gets an honorable mention because of her creative guesses...and because no one else tried!)

Brett brought me flowers just because I'm special! I LOVE flowers!

To J, K, and L: yes, I earned it! =)

What is it?

Venture your guess in the comments section. The winner(s) get(s) bragging rights. I'll post the answer tomorrow.

I heart BS

Just call me Betty Crocker from now on. I made a cookie pizza in honor of the one provided at our engagement party. Yummy....

Engagement Day!

Celebrating on the mall

We got engaged 3 years ago today! I reminisced about the engagement this weekend as I thought about the homecoming festivities going on at FU. What a fun weekend that was for us! With help from my conniving (but perfect) friend Kelley, Brett pulled off a very memorable engagement surprise! I think "Are you serious?" came out of my mouth before "YES!!" did because I was so shocked, followed immediately by "Did you already talk with my dad?!"!

Happy Birthday, Lia!

Lia is my favorite CBDS employee. For 2 years, we lamented the large classes and numerous lesson plans that we had to endure! Now I am not there to bring her Starbucks on the nights before grades are due or drag her to sports games to watch our darlings play. It really was a fun two years, but now we resort to email instead of popping into one another's classroom.

Lia, I hope that this, your first year to celebrate your birthday on a weekday at CBDS, is so special. And, if the students aren't good to you, remember Herod. On his birthday, he had John the Baptist beheaded. Maybe you could do that if your students don't pamper and please you today!

Have a wonderful day! Love you!

Lazy Days

Our relaxing weekend is coming to a close! =(

We went running together, took a walk, went to the petstore right behind our place to see the poor kitties who need a home, walked to the grocery store, watched a movie, and inundated ourselves with football and baseball. It was nice to have a weekend in which we did absolutely nothing! The only exciting thing was when our dishwasher started smoking last night as we were getting in bed. I thought I smelled matches; it was burning plastic instead.

Our nephew Kadin eating pizza! Mmm...

(He's not ALWAYS this goofy!)

Lions, Tigers, and Bears

At 830, I arrived at Yellowstone Academy, where I helped chaperone a trip to the Houston Zoo for 3-5 year olds!! Luckily, I was not in charge of all 50, but had just two young girls to take around. When kids are that young, though, they spend about 2 mins at the monkeys and are ready to move on, so we covered a lot of ground. I think their favorite part was the petting zoo, where each was given a brush and spent a long time brushing the goats who were soaking up the sun.

The bus ride home was very quiet, as most had fallen asleep. They got to their classrooms and had naptime, so I did the same when I got home!

I volunteered at Yellowstone because our church is very supportive of the school. It's a private, Christian school that serves very low-income families exclusively. They also provide both breakfast and lunch to every student during the week. Currently, the school is a PK-3 through third grade school, with intentions to add up through eighth grade. There are over 300 students on the waiting list. It's a great place for kids!

St. Martin and St. Olaf

We are such a cultured couple, as this evening we spent several hours listening to the St. Martin's Choir and the St. Olaf Orchestra! Brett's boss sings in the choir, giving us and his coworkers good reason to attend! The organ inside the church is the largest between NYC and Salt Lake City--gigantic and powerful. Now we are finishing off the evening drinking hot chai (did you hear about the cool front--only in the 60s today!) and watching the Mets/Cardinals game.

Heat and humidity

You know it's too hot and humid for October when...
...your hair frizzes despite all hair products that claim to do otherwise
...you dress for a "balmy" 91 degrees and the RealFeel is actually 101 (it's mid-October, did I mention that?)
...your glasses fog up immediately upon leaving the airconditioned apartment/office/car
...you break into a sweat immediately after showering from the mere exertion of putting on your clothes

These are some of the things I experienced today.

Feliz cumpleanos, Melissa!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful friend, Melissa! She is my confidante and ally, especially during all our crazy adventures throughout Spain, England, Italy, and Switzerland and then back in America (whoa--everyone is speaking ENGLISH!)! During college, she always let me go home with her for holidays (talent shows, Matt's games, Vanilla!); then when Brett and I married, I ended up teaching at the same middle school she attended (and even worked with some of her former teachers!). I enjoyed our lazy afternoons at the pool while B and I lived in Crystal City in 2005. This past summer I got to visit her classroom and see her students who I always hear about. Now we are waiting for us to move back to NoVA so we can hang out all the time again! Mel, have a great day! I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Raining cats and dogs

If you have watched any portion of the news today, there is a good chance that you saw a short clip of Houston under water! I've never seen rain pour down for so long! There were short periods of the day in which it did not rain, but most of the day it poured, giving us about 9 inches in our neighborhood. Luckily, we didn't run into any problems other than slow commutes and detours.

Weekend fun

What a great weekend! We are just returning from spending time with my parents. As you have probably seen, we enjoyed a great morning and early afternoon at the Texas State Fair.

Here's everyone digging in to the funnel cake!

Soon after we got back home, Mike and Jeni came with their daughter Madi. She entertained us most the afternoon and evening, talking constantly, especially when we were eating dinner and not paying attention to her!

Madi liked splashing in the jacuzzi with Grandpa!

This morning we had the chance to go to Mom and Dad's church. Their pastor is a great teacher. Because of the constant rain, we didn't get to go on the bike ride we had planned, but hope to do so at Thanksgiving when we get back over there. It rained almost the entire way home and has continued! I can't wait to fall asleep while listening to it! Here comes another week!

Thanks for a fun weekend, Mom and Dad!

Texas State Fair

The Texas State Fair is the largest in all of North America, and Brett, my parents, and I spent part of our day enjoying all the sites! The auto show, dog show, musical performers, cattle barn, and goat barn were some of the places where we spent our time. We could have spent all day there. The weather was cool, and since we went early, we avoided many of the crowds. One main attraction is Big Tex, who is in the picture with us. We also liked Boris, who is pictured below!

Boris II

Whoa! This is Boris II, the cousin of Boris. His owner has taught him several tricks such as how to lie down, how to close his eyes for 30 mins or more at a time, and how to eat 20 pounds of feed per day! At over 1100 pounds, he's quite the sight!

A dinner to celebrate

Tonight we went out for a celebratory dinner in honor of Brett! His choice for dinner was Nino's, an Italian place we first visited while his parents were in town. It's a place with great food and very personal service. As we ate, it started to pour rain, and we enjoyed jumping through some puddles on the way back to the car! Starbucks was our last stop of the evening. Congratulations, Brett!

He passed!

Brett passed the bar!

We weren't expecting to find out for about another week, so the news is a welcome relief to months of waiting! Thanks to the Lord for giving Brett a great mind and the ability to do well!

Napping for my health

And everyone thinks I am being a bum when I take my afternoon cat-nap:

"Scientists are finding that just a little nap in the afternoons is beneficial to a person's health and well being. Sleep studies have shown that people who nap even a half hour each day generally have lower blood pressure, have a decreased risk for heart disease, and are more productive and less stressed in their waking hours."
Read the full article.

Citizen test

In honor of Columbus Day, I took a short quiz to see if I am worthy to call myself an American citizen, based solely on my knowledge of US history. Go here to see a list of 100 commonly asked questions for the citizen test or take the quiz yourself! The quiz below doesn't give the correct answers, so this quiz is much better! It tells you which ones were correct or incorrect, providing the correct responses. I got a 100 on that one (guess I'm a good guesser on some!)!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

San Antonio

Roadtrip! Our alarms went off early this morning, and we were almost tempted to get back into bed. But instead we got ready and drove a bit under 3 hours to San Antonio! Though there is tons to do in SA, we had two goals.

The Alamo was our first stop. The grounds of the Alamo itself are beautiful, with pathways lined by trees, flowers, and cacti! We even had the chance to hear Stephen F. Austin talk about his role in the colonization of Texas!

After the Alamo, the River Walk , or Paseo del Rio, was next. The River Walk has become the centerpiece of San Antonio, lined with beautiful hotels and restaurants galore. There are also shops and musicians along the way. We had lunch at Rio Rio Cantina and enjoyed walking. There is a path that winds along most of the river, along with fountains and lots of shade to keep us cool.

We enjoyed the downtown area since we found parking to be easy and everything within easy walking distance. Any type of restaurant imaginable is nearby and the culture is unique. Walking along the river makes you feel like you are in a different time. It's a cool place!

Walk-in Movie

Buttercup: Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.'s?
Westley: Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't believe they exist.
As human-sized rat attacks Westley: RARRRRR!!!

Tonight we went to a walk-in movie in the backyard of a family from our church. We ate hamburgers and hotdogs, lemon bars and apple pie; we socialized; we put down our blankets and then lay on the grass to watch "The Princess Bride". Several friends from Growth Group were there, so we enjoyed hanging out with them. It was a perfect evening, especially because the moon is 12% bigger tonight, and we were outdoors to see it!

Greek Festival

Tonight we attended the Houston Greek Festival! Brett's boss gave us tickets to attend, which included admission, a dinner plate, and a box of pastries! We've been excited about this all week, as we loved the Winston Greek Festival, for the food and dancing, but also because I had so many Greek students who participated in the activities. Even though we didn't see anyone familiar tonight, we had a great time. Mmmm... baklava! OPA!

In Christ Alone

Our Bible study this week has been focusing on the concept of Salvation and the love God has for us. As I went running, this was the first song on my iPod. We used to sing this at Redeemer, and I had forgotten what a beautiful song it is musically and also lyrically.

In Christ Alone Performed by Adrienne Liesching & Geoff Moore Words and Music by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty In Christ alone my heart is found He is my light my strength my song This cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My Comforter, my All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone! - who took on flesh, Fulness of God in helpless babe! This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save: Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied For every sin on Him was laid; Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground his body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain: Then bursting forth in glorious Day Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory Sins curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His, and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me; From life's first cry to final death Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand, Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. © 2002 Kingsway's Thankyou Music (ASCAP/PRS)

Weekend update

Another Saturday without rain! It's been really hot and will continue to be both hot and humid all week; summer temps! But, no rain meant that Brett and I got to go to the Terry Hershey Bike and Hike Trail. It's a paved trail here in town with a bit of shade and a number of little hills. We had a great time getting a little sun and exercise!

Today we went out to eat with a couple from work. We went to a real Chinese restaurant that has dim sum food--like tapas. Brett and I enjoyed the company but decided we didn't really love the restaurant. We aren't sure how this should affect our idea to tour China in August!

This evening we are just returning from having dinner at our pastor's house, along with about 30 other newcomers from the church. We had a great time and are excited about the opportunities we'll have with the church over the next year.

So, that was it! Hope everyone had a great one as well. Happy October!