Our Beautiful Journey

Christmas 2010

2010-11-30T19:27:00.001-06:00

Sage Snowflakes Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

2010-11-23T21:27:00.004-06:00

FREE CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!!!!
Does anybody else LOVE Christmas cards? And, while the e-mail versions are good, appropriate, and cost effective, I still love getting actual cards, in my hand, to read and to hang up. I have a ton of Christmas stamps left over from last year since we decided to hold off until Miss A was born and just send out announcements instead(which we should have gotten from Shutterfly too!)...so I can send mine out this year without a budget crunch!

And so, in the realm of cost...I found this GREAT deal!

50 Free Christmas Cards to Bloggers from Shutterfly.

Anybody else love Shutterfly? I do! :) I haven't perused the options yet, but I will soon and then, come Christmas, you'll be seeing great Christmas cards from yours truly!

I haven't actually used Shutterfly before for my Christmas Cards. Usually I get them printed at JC Penney when we do our yearly family photo shoot...but believe you me, I've always wanted to. So cute. So simple. So many choices and variations that mine is bound to be unique--(not to mention it's MY own pictures)!

You can check out their options HERE!

In the past, and currently, I use Shutterfly for books and photo collages. We made a book of Miss A's first few months earlier this year. It's totally cute! Ask me about it sometime - I would love to show it to you! I think I'll have to make one of their desk calendars in the future - ADORABLE!

Yes, I know that I sound like an infomercial...but check out how you can get this same deal by clicking HERE.

2010-09-24T11:37:00.003-05:00

Go BYU!
Miss A loves supporting Daddy's team!

2010-09-18T21:32:00.024-05:00

Summer Synopsis:

A summer in pictures - since we have been so busy... :-)

Miss A has been up to so much this summer - it started out with learning how to sit up in May/June. So much fun!

We also re-built the bay window in May - this is the before picture - from a couple of years ago(it looked a lot better then) - then Hurricane Ike came...and showed us all the rotten wood that had been painted over. You could literally stick a screwdriver through most of the bay window trim.

Here is the bay window after the re-build with hardi-board and treated lumber...and the first coat of paint.

This is the completed bay window...so much better!

We spent the 4th of July with Laura's family - watching the fireworks over the bay from her parents' front yard.

Miss A loves riding on Daddy's shoulders(and licking his hair!).

Miss A also loved her swimming lessons! We did a parent and tot class for two weeks in July and it was confirmed...Miss A is definitely a water baby! Brian even got to do a couple of the lessons with her on his days off...AWESOME Daddy/daughter bonding time.

Miss A is not only sitting up by July, but she scoots forward too.

She also enjoys rolling around the house...she started out at her boppy in the background of the photo.

We got the opportunity to visit some dear friends in Oregon at the end of July. Their daughter was getting baptized. Brian's mom was able to meet us there as well - we had a blast! Due to a whole bunch of crazy events, we ended up spending the night in a hotel in Denver...so Miss A got to have her very first bath in a big bathtub...she was in Heaven!

This is the view from our room - our friends live on the side of a mountain...so beautiful!

We visited historic Taylorsville and took a trolley ride.

Miss A got to try a bunch of new foods while we were there...can you tell she likes spinach?

We visited Lithia Park too - and got the chance to go wading in the stream.

Miss A. loved swinging for the very first time!

Let's just say that the cold water was not a deterrent - Miss A. LOVED wading!

...as you can tell!

August was marked with several milestones - pulling up...cruising around the sofas and her toys...

Trips to the splash park with new friends...

And...learning how to crawl at the end of August!

In between all this, we managed to work, play and do some more projects around the house. No wonder we're exhausted! What a great summer!

2010-06-13T21:01:00.000-05:00

Rice Cereal, Applesauce and Watermelon...Oh My!

Trying food for the first time!

2010-06-08T15:55:00.004-05:00

FIVE MONTHS!!!

Miss A turned 5 months old last week...we can't believe how big she is getting!

Here are Miss A's 4 month checkup stats from her appointment last month: 12 lbs, 10 ounces...24 inches long...25th percentile for height, 25th percentile for weight and over 90th percentile for head size.

At Miss A's four month check-up, she was diagnosed with anterior polar cataracts - she was born with them. They look like tiny little white dots in the center of her pupils. We took her to a specialist and she is going to be fine. The specialist said that if you are going to have cataracts, these are the kind you want. As long as they don't grow, they won't hurt her vision at all. We will be keeping an eye on them with checkups every 6 months for the next few years.

Miss A still loves her bath time, so here are some photos from this week.

Miss A is so much fun right now. She is curious about everything. She loves to roll over, eat her toes and grab anything she can - to put it in her mouth of course! Here's a photo last week - we were folding laundry - she has her Daddy's work socks on her feet. Miss A thought they made great handles for pulling her feet up. She kept giggling and laughing...laundry-time has never been so much fun!

We've also been busy with work and the house, but I've been having a lot of fun cooking again - and Brian is super happy about this too! :-) I've been baking bread again - we used to only use our bread maker, but my friend introduced me to the most amazing whole wheat bread recipe...it uses hard white wheat, and it is as light and fluffy as white bread...and super delicious! The recipe uses instant yeast and so it makes it easy to bake a couple of loaves once a week...Brian has really been enjoying having fresh baked bread for his sandwiches at work. :-)

On Sunday, I just tried my sister-in-law's roasted chicken recipe from her blog - AMAZING!

2010-04-05T14:08:00.003-05:00

Wow! Time sure does fly by when you're having fun! Miss A is three months old now and she is such a joy! She is still sleeping through the night (since 4 weeks) and we have recently moved her bedtime to 8 PM. She gets up around 6-7 AM now, but it's worth it - we now have our evenings! Miss A loves her play gym - she reaches out and grabs the toys. In fact, this morning she managed to do a 360 degree scoot while playing - she wanted to have better access to the toys on the other side! :-) Miss A is learning to roll over - she can roll from her back to her tummy, but then she gets upset because she can't roll back. :-)

Brian loves to make Miss A laugh - she learned to chuckle about two weeks ago. We keep trying to catch it on film, but so far, no good.

We had a wonderful, spirit-filled Easter weekend - it is so great to be able to watch conference in our own home! The Easter Bunny came on Sunday morning - Miss A really isn't interested in candy yet, so he brought her some Dr. Seuss books - and the stuffed whale from the If I Ran The Circus book! We were able to catch one of her big grins too!

Easter can be exhausting! This is what Miss A looked like during most of conference - and somehow the whale swam over to hang with her(thanks Brian!). :-)

We went for our first family photo shoot over Easter weekend. It was a lot of fun, and Miss A did really well despite the fact that she was rather grumpy about being awake during her nap time. Here are some pics!

We've also been really busy with the house. The master bathroom is well on its way to being done...the shower rebuild and new tile is completed...the walls have been painted...the new vanity and plumbing have been installed. Brian's Mom was kind enough to spend her time preparing the shower for sealing the grout while she was here, and as soon as Laura's Dad retrofits the new shower fixtures - we'll finally be up and running!

All the baseboards have finally been painted - a big thanks to all of our ward friends who came over for the painting party! We also had the exterior of the bay window re-built and re-painted last week - Hurricane Ike was kind enough to show us all the rotten wood that the previous owners had painted over, and it's been getting worse over the last year. The new gutters will be installed over that area this week - we'll make sure we get some before and after pics posted soon!

Brian was assigned a new area at work - and he likes it much better. He loves being able to work Monday through Friday! We knew he was under a lot of stress before, so it is wonderful seeing him be able to relax when he is home in the evenings.

I am still working part-time, we just hired on two additional employees, so I will be able to concentrate on my real job, which is doing the marketing for our company. When we lost our admin and staging coordinator last year, I took over both jobs - and with the baby I don't want to work full-time any more, so I am relieved that we are getting the additional help!

We loved spending time with the family during Miss A's blessing a few weeks ago, and we get to see some of our awesome nieces and nephews this coming week, so we'll keep you posted!

Well, that's all for now...we promise to post more soon - now it's your turn!!!

2010-02-11T09:32:00.006-06:00

Six Week Update
So...we figure it's time for an update on Miss A! What a wonderful intro to parenthood! Miss A will be officially six weeks old on Saturday - where has the time gone?! She has a wonderful temperament - very easy-going and calm. She loves to look around at everything! Brian taught me the "family hold" which allows me to carry her around the house in a way that lets her look at everything - she loves it! She has been sleeping from 12:30 - 7:30 AM for a week now - and last night she went down at 11:30! Yea for sleep! During the day, her favorite place to sleep is on her boppy pillow - check her out in all her sleepy cuteness!

Miss A already has a friend! Her name is Kate and they are a week a part. We went on a play date to Kate's house and when we put them down on the play gym mat, they just stared and stared at each other...I can't wait until they really begin playing together.
On Sunday, we went to church for the very first time as a family - here's a pic of Brian and Miss A - who is definitely pretty in pink! Doesn't Brian look handsome?

Miss A is finally able to take real baths - instead of sponge baths...and boy does she love the water! She gurgles and coos her way through bath time - and she loves to try to suck on the washcloth whenever it gets near her...check her out in the cute bath towel Grandma made for her!We'll keep the updates coming - she is growing and changing everyday!

2010-01-10T09:16:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year! There has been a lot of excitement in our household for the New year as our sweet baby girl made finally made her debut at the beginning of 2010. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 & 1/8 inches long (we think it's really funny that the hospital counts the 1/8th).

We have been home for about 5 days now and are loving being new parents! She is a total angel and we are completely wrapped around her little finger already. Her proud daddy practically beams every time he mentions her! Miss A., as we are calling her on our blog, (to all our friends out there - send us a text or email for more details) - is a joyous addition to our little family and we are eternally grateful to our loving Heavenly Father for entrusting her to us.

Laura is loving being a mommy, and it's obvious that Miss A. already recognizes both of our voices. She is a good eater, great sleeper and loves to peek out at us from half-opened eyes...it's a big world out there! She has the cutest expressions - and her current nick-name is "Squeaker" because she squeaks when she's hungry! :-) Jack-Jack is fascinated with her, in fact, every time she cries he hurries over to make sure she's ok...LOL! Here are a few pics from the past week - more to come!

It's tough being born!

Mommy and baby bonding...love at first sight!

Holding Daddy's hand!

Who turned on the lights?

Dressed and ready to go home!

Mom is so happy to finally be going home - hospitals are exhausting!

Proud Papa!

Finally home...snug as a bug in a rug!

2009-12-21T15:13:00.007-06:00

The tree is all decorated...and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...in hopes that our baby soon will be here! Baby girl Evans will be arriving soon after Christmas - what a wonderful blessing and gift!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
May Heavenly Father bless and keep you throughout the holiday season and into the New Year!

2009-12-08T13:40:00.005-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!
Who says it doesn't snow in Texas?!

Jack-Jack couldn't figure out what the cold white stuff was!

Our Magnolia tree.

Does anyone find it ironic that our sago palm is covered in snow?

We got about 2.5" of snow that day - and set a record for earliest snowfall in Houston.
Take that global warming! :-)

2009-10-12T11:17:00.005-05:00

Homemade Granola! YUMMY!

My mom and I were talking over the weekend about the yummy healthy granola she used to make all the time when we were kids. I have always had a love for granola, but I have never found a store-bought one that I really liked that wasn't full of sugar and other fillers(not to mention expensive!). I found this recipe last night and decided to try it out - it is really similar to what my mom used to make - and it turned out AMAZING! I used what we already had, so ours contains almonds, flax seed, unsweetened coconut, dried tart cherries and golden raisins. I also used Texas wildflower honey instead of agave. We have some vacuum seal canisters that came with our Tilia food saver that I finally got to use - so our granola should stay nice and fresh for at least two months! Brian tried it and it got his seal of approval, so we probably won't be buying store-bought granola anymore - which is fine with me! :-)

Healthy Homemade Granola

Dry Ingredients:
6 cups rolled oats (you can also use a combination of rolled grains)
2 cups of raw almonds and/or walnuts (or other nuts)
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds or pecans)
½ cup whole flax seed
½ cup wheat germ or ground flax seed.
Optional: ½ cup unsweetened coconut,
½ cup dried fruit (add after cooked and cooled) –date pieces, cranberries, cherries, apricots, mango

Wet Ingredients & seasonings:
2 individual cup unsweetened applesauce (about 1 cup total)
1/3 cup agave nectar (or brown rice syrup, honey or maple syrup)-I usually use honey or agave
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
½ tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together, and then stir into dry ingredients. Stir well to mix thoroughly.

Spread the mixture into two baking dishes. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Stir every 10 – 15 minutes to ensure even browning. If you use fruit, stir once it is cooled. Store in the refrigerator.

2009-09-01T08:59:00.003-05:00

We're having a G-I-R-L!!!! We found out a couple of weeks ago - visions of pink are now dancing in my head! The doctor's appointment went really well...but the technician was really upset because this is only the second time she's been wrong (she thought it was looking like a boy at 12 weeks). She is very happy and healthy and loves to kick me all the time already!

A really neat thing happened Wednesday night. I picked Brian up from the airport - he was returning from a quick trip to Utah to visit the fam. When we were getting ready for bed, she decided to start kicking up a storm - and Brian got to feel her kick for the very first time! It was so special - she gave him 10-12 really strong kicks that were actually shaking my abdomen a bit. Brian was so excited - he kept trying to see if she would kick some more. Those were the strongest kicks I had felt to date - we decided she was doing her happy dance since her daddy had just come home.

Pregnancy has been really cool so far. Especially now that the first trimester fatigue has lifted. I was able to completely avoid morning sickness, haven't had any heartburn (knock on wood for the last half of the pregnancy), I'm feeling great and I've been able to workout regularly at the gym. I'm still anti-chicken (a hold over from the first trimester) and we still joke that she's a vegetarian, although I can do some meat in small quantities. It has been so amazing feeling her kick and move during the day (and especially at night). I'm sure when she gets bigger it will get uncomfortable, but for now, it's a real joy. I really love how in love with her Brian is...he is always touching my tummy and saying hello to the baby - he is going to be a wonderful father. Now, if only we could narrow down that list of names - it's still a page long! :-)

2009-07-22T08:27:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know it's been a while since we've posted...I can only plead life...it keeps interfering! ;-) The last few months have been super busy, but also super exciting! As you can see, we are expecting a little bundle of joy right around the new year...he (or she) will be our first and both of us are over the moon! I always knew I married a wonderful man, but his wonderful traits have only been magnified since I've been pregnant. It has been a really easy pregnancy so far...no morning sickness (I am so grateful!), just a strong dislike of anything meat related...especially chicken. We joke that the baby is a vegetarian. The tiredness of the first trimester is beginning to lift, I am fine as long as I sneak in a 30-45 minute nap, but I have a tendency to forget and by 9:30 in the evening I am so ready for bed! I have been able to workout regularly without any problems as well - as long as I get in a morning session I feel pretty great all day. My sweet mom gifted us with a comfy rocker and ottoman for the future nursery, and we have begun looking at items on Craigslist. It has been a strange but exciting experience so far, and we look forward to seeing our adorable little one around the new year. We will keep you posted!

2009-05-07T17:31:00.004-05:00

HAPPY SPRING - OUR GARDENIAS ARE BLOOMING!!!

2009-04-01T12:54:00.006-05:00

THE STRAWBERRIES ARE HERE!

Brian and I played hooky (with my boss' permission) to go pick strawberries this morning at Froberg Farm. Strawberry season just started. We had so much fun picking them! The farm also hosts a local farmer's market - we were able to get some beautiful fresh veggies to take home as well. All in all, a wonderful mid-week date. Take a peek at our haul!

YUMMY! We're planning on sharing, freezing and eating these beauties...

2009-03-24T18:28:00.009-05:00

Ok, ok...so I know I post a lot of house pictures...but remodeling is a big part of our life right now...and we're finally in the home stretch! Brian and I just finished one of the biggest projects we've done to date...we laid down almost 1200 square feet of floating laminate flooring about a week ago. Let's just say it was a learning experience. The best part was learning to work together even better. We've done many projects together, but never one that took 10 hours a day for almost 7 days.

I will admit...when we started on Monday I was GRUMPY! It took us six hours to lay 1 small bedroom closet, one linen closet, and the final row of flooring that the back hallway needed to get completed. By the end of the first day, we had only made it through what I mentioned above and three rows in the living room. Boy was I discouraged! Brian kept encouraging me and things really started to come together on Tuesday afternoon.

The entire week was pretty crazy though...our refrigerator, stove, couch, TV cabinet and desk were all crammed into the office area while we were laying part of the living room...Brian called it his man cave - couch, refrigerator, TV and computer all within stretching distance. LOL! We survived on cereal and PB&J...and some yummy Thai, Vietnamese and the obligatory pizza.

Our friend Kenny came a couple of times to help out (his wife, Texas, made us a great dinner - we really appreciated their help!). The biggest blessing that resulted from our "vacation" was the chance we got to build something together - it was really cool to see things progress - and know that we were able to do such a massive project together...it was so great! I am so grateful for a husband who works side-by-side with me to get things accomplished...thanks honey! My dad came by on Saturday and did about 3/4 of the new baseboards in the house(thanks Dad!) - it looks amazing - check out the pics!

Jack-Jack loves it too!

2009-02-23T20:44:00.004-06:00

!!!Spring Is Here!!!

We started spring planting this evening...it felt good to get our hands in the soil and plant some beautiful flowers. We still have a lot to do, including all the mulching, and fertilizing,
but the flowers are here!

2009-01-28T09:27:00.005-06:00

What a fabulous weekend! We spent Saturday morning at our favorite place...the temple. It is always so inspiring. The peace and joy we feel is so wonderful...and it colors the whole day. We spent the afternoon at Reliant Arena with thousands of other people watching:

With Dave Ramsey. Totally COOL! This was our Christmas present from my family. We've read his books and listened to him on the radio, but nothing compares to seeing him live. He has an energy that fills the room and is totally inspiring. A lot of people have a love-hate relationship with him, but Brian and I love his program. Truth is truth, and his program supports what the Church has been teaching for years. Brian and I were already following his program to a certain extent, but Saturday's conference inspired us to speed things up and we have set a D-Day Date (Debt-Free Date) in October this year. That's right, no more school loans and no credit card debt by October...all we will have is a mortgage payment...how cool is that? We highly recommend his program, and if you can, see him live and in person...it's eye-opening!

2009-01-12T21:28:00.004-06:00

Happy 2009! It's been a while, but we had a wonderful holiday. We spent it with family up in beautiful snow-covered Utah. We've spent the first part of the new year getting back into the swing of things with work and home projects. Our garage is no longer a pit of despair...we started off the new year right by de-cluttering and donating about a third of its contents to Habitat for Humanity. With all the remodeling we've been doing, there were several large items we had pulled out of the house that we know will be put to good use by that wonderful organization. We are finally going to put in our floor next month! No more cold cement underfoot! In preparation for the big install, I wanted to get a little last minute painting done (no flooring = no drop-cloths - cement makes for easy painting!) Many of you know that we put in a backsplash last month...well, we were already not very happy with the paint color in the kitchen/breakfast room, and the new backsplash thoroughly convinced us that a re-paint was in the works. So, I re-painted the kitchen area - Gobi Desert is the new color (it is throughout most of the house - and I have plenty of extra paint in that color already laying about). Let us know what you think - I still need to finish the breakfast room, and now I'm not sure about the curtains over the windows in the bay window area (that's an easy change - they are just napkins!) Take a look and let us know!

2008-12-11T07:59:00.006-06:00

Let it SNOW!!! Let it SNOW!!! Let it SNOW!!!

About 5:45 yesterday evening I opened the door to start hauling out all the supplies I was going to bring to our December Enrichment Service Auction - I am on the committee...and lo and behold...SNOW!!! In TEXAS!!! Crazy!!! No, I don't need to clean my camera lens...that is actual bona fide frozen white stuff. And it stuck (for a few hours at least - it was gone this morning). It snowed for about four hours and left everything coated in about an inch of the powdery white stuff. Does anyone else find it ironic that our palm tree has a nice coating of snow on it?

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-10T08:33:00.006-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...our Christmas cards are mailed...presents are wrapped...stockings are hung...and our wreath is on the door...now if we could only trade in this rain for some SNOW!

MERRY CHRISTMAS
to one and all!

2008-12-10T08:17:00.009-06:00

HOUSTON...we have a back splash!!!

It may sound silly, but many times it's the little things that bring me the most joy. As many of you know, we have been remodeling our home. The biggest project we took on this year was the kitchen. We gutted it completely, put in new cabinets, counter tops, appliances, etc. It has truly been a year long project. We even washed dishes in our bathtub for a few months! The majority of the kitchen has been completed for a while now, but we were lacking a back splash. We have been staring at sheet rock and old glue residue for almost a year. We finally had our wonderful handyman (tile is one of the few things we bring someone in to do for us) install our back splash and it looks so great! The funny thing is, now that we have it installed...we both agree that we need to change the paint color...it's definitely a work in progress. Here are some pics...if you check out our blog entries from earlier in the summer, you will see some great before pictures...we have come such a long way!

An additional bonus came from my sweet husband's efforts yesterday afternoon. He surprised me by installing the overhead lighting for the kitchen and hall areas. THANK YOU SO MUCH SWEETHEART!!!

2008-11-03T16:37:00.002-06:00

Captain Jack is dressed up for his first Halloween! We dressed up like doctors and went as a "Paradox". We thought it was funny... :-)

2008-10-21T00:07:00.004-05:00

It was a very, very, very happy 30th birthday! My wonderful husband made me breakfast before work, gave me a beautiful new journal and took me out for an amazing dinner at the Thai Cottage, one of our favorite restaurants...we ended the evening sharing a yummy slice of lemon meringue sponge cake...what a wonderful day...thanks Brian - I love you so much!

2008-10-17T14:07:00.004-05:00

Different things create a sense of anticipation and excitement in different people. Sometimes it's big events like getting married or being pregnant. Sometimes it's a big purchase such as a car or home. Sometimes it's the excitement of a new job...for me, right at this moment, it's a 5 foot tall used black legal sized filing cabinet. I know, I know, kind of a let down for y'all isn't it? For me it is the solution to the Mt. Timpanogas of paperwork that surrounds me. I am literally drowning in paperwork, both work and personal, right now. Our office area reminds me of a war zone, I get to dodge teetering boxes on the way to my desk, hoping and praying that they don't explode as I pass by. :-)

After we got married, I inherited the task of sorting through and filing our paperwork (Brian doesn't like doing it, but I lucked out since he does dishes) :-) It took a while, but I got the majority of it under control...and then came my new job...and file box after file box of paperwork to bring home and organize. Then we decided to clean out more of the garage in August...and lo and behold...more boxes of our old personal paperwork appeared! Unfortunately, this time we had no more room, as our 2 drawer filing cabinet was already full. It is also in the forefront of my thoughts since our office area is directly off the living room, and we currently don't have any doors on it to hide the clutter.

So, on to my current excitement...and a salvation of sorts for our office area...our new (used) filing cabinet...I feel like Mt. Timpanogas is starting to fall off my shoulders....if only the delivery guys would show up! ;-)

2008-10-15T08:48:00.005-05:00

We just returned from Destin, FL...we were celebrating our one year wedding anniversary. What a wonderful year it has been - one filled with love, adventures and all the magic that marriage brings. We look forward to many new and exciting adventures together!

We are so glad we were able to work in this quick anniversary trip - it was so worth it. Believe it or not, Destin is only a 9 hour drive from Texas...emerald green water and white sandy beaches...and it was still warm enough to swim in, even though it is October! Laura grew up going to Destin almost every summer with her family - her grandfather had a home there until recently. We spent Friday making the drive over to Florida - it is a pretty straight shot down I-10. Saturday was spent enjoying the beautiful beaches...a bit of window shopping at some pretty cool art glass stores, P.F. Changs for a late lunch and then we finished the evening off at The Track, a really cool go kart and putt-putt golf amusement park. We got to test out our mad Mario Kart skills on their really cool tracks - they have 5 of them! We kept Sunday pretty quiet with church, the required time share presentation (that is how Brian got us such a sweet deal at the Marriott - $170 for 4 nights!), followed up by a siesta.

Monday was our anniversary, we started the day at 5 AM - we were going deep sea fishing! We had such a great time! The seas were pretty rough (thank goodness for Dramamine!)...but the fish were biting like crazy! We probably reeled in over 30 fish between the two of us...unfortunately, we only got to keep six (Red Snapper have to be over 16 inches to keep them). The group we went with was so great - and the captain really kept us moving...if the fish stopped biting he moved us to the next spot. We got home around two, got cleaned up and took another siesta (it is vacation after all!). Brian surprised me for our anniversary dinner by taking us to The Melting Pot, a really romantic fondue restaurant. We had a wonderful time. We had to leave Tuesday morning, so we packed up Monday evening so that we could get up super early to watch the sunrise on the beach before we drove home...what a beautiful end to a wonderful vacation.

2008-09-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

Best Chili Around...

We can now officially say that our Bold and Spicy Buffalo Chili is the BEST...at least at the ward chili cook off. We thought it was good, but we were totally surprised when we took the Best All Around Chili Award! There were about 25 awesome entries (we especially liked a great white chili with turkey - yum!). There were 4 award categories...heartiest, spiciest, most unique and best all around. We won a yummy pumpkin loaf with caramel to drizzle over it (see pic above) Here is our award-winning recipe...I still can't believe we won!

Bold and Spicy Buffalo Chili

Ingredients
• 12 oz tomato paste
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 4 15oz cans chopped tomatoes (drained)
• 4 15oz cans dark red kidney beans (drained)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 3 Tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 3 Tablespoons parsley
• 2 Tablespoons oregano
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt (or to taste)
• 2 Teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Chipotle chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon Ancho chili powder
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 whole red habenero (de-veined, seeded and diced)
• 5 jalapeños (de-veined, seeded and diced)
• 1 pound bottom round steak ½” cubed (easier to cube if slightly frozen)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground buffalo
• 8 oz beef stock

Directions
Sauté the onion, garlic, jalapenos and habanero in a small amount of olive oil until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile place the tomato paste, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, garlic powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, salt, black pepper, Chipotle chili powder, Ancho chili powder, and beef stock in a large crock pot. Add the onion, garlic and pepper mixture to the crock pot. Brown the cubed steak, ground buffalo and ground beef in a large skillet. Drain the meat. Add the browned beef and buffalo mixture to the crock pot. Mix thoroughly. Slow cook in the crock pot all day. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream and chopped green onions.

2008-09-26T13:40:00.003-05:00

Wish us luck!

We are entering our Bold and Spicy Buffalo Chili into our ward's Chili Cook-off tonight...we'll let you know if it's award-winning. ;-) The best part was inventing it...Brian's idea was to use buffalo meat while I cooked up the spice combination. We have so much fun inventing recipes together. Brian is so great at making suggestions and thinking out of the box. Here's a pic of our entry!

2008-09-26T13:00:00.011-05:00

It's been almost exactly one week since we have returned from evacuating. Things are almost back to normal. Believe it or not, our return from evacuating took longer than evacuating. The majority of last Friday was spent driving around the Dallas area looking for gas cans (six stores later, we finally came up with 4 two-gallon cans)...we then secured a large Coleman cooler to bring back staple items such as milk and eggs. The reports from our neighbors told us that gas was still scarce and that most of the grocery stores still weren't open (the ones that were open were swamped). We found places to fill up along the way home so that we had a full tank when we arrived in Houston around 9:30 PM.

We didn't know what to expect. We were shocked at the amount of damage had been done even on the north side of town. As we drove through our neighborhood (realize that we live an hour from the coast) we saw 8 foot piles of debris, roofs with tarps over them, 30 year old trees cut down to the stumps and piles of ruined carpet on almost every corner. When we arrived home, we carefully went over the interior and exterior (with a flashlight)...and...nothing. Our house was in perfect condition. We didn't even lose a shingle. We have been so blessed. All the houses behind us have major shingle damage and their roofs leaked down into their homes, ruining sheet rock and carpet. Our fence didn't budge either. I know without a shadow of doubt that Heavenly Father was looking out for us that day. I cannot put to words how much gratitude I feel.

The next day, Brian went back to work at 6 AM. I was able to go to our local Petsmart to donate some dog food to the Humane Society - that is where we adopted Jack-Jack. They have so many animals in need (our Humane Society rescued over 600 animals that had been abandoned during Ike in our county alone.) As I was driving home, I took the opportunity to take some pictures around our neighborhood.

Fences Down...and major shingle damage which let the rain inside.

Fences down at a neighbor's home.

Roof and carpet damage right down the street.

Ward members on our street...they lost their beautiful Chinese Elm, but it didn't fall on their home...what a blessing.

Our street - minimal damage compared to the rest.

Our home...ten large yard bags of sticks, pine needles and leaves...minor cleanup.

The extent of our damage...one $20 package of black shingles to replace those that were chewed up by our large elm branch that banged on them repeatedly during the storm. We are so grateful!

We spent Monday and Tuesday returning our yard to its pre-Ike state. I planted some cheerful yellow mums to help encourage autumn to make its way down to Texas. I am so impressed with the blessings that Heavenly Father poured out upon us in the midst of this natural disaster. Out ward really pulled together and was able to account for and take care of every member who had a need within the first 48 hours. We have spent the last week providing meals, laundry facilities and company to those members still without power. Everyone is safe. We have been able to reach out in fellowship to neighbors and in return have gained new friends. I have seen so many people pull together in the spirit of service during this time. Heavenly Father has blessed Brian and me with the opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters as well. I see the extent of his love in the many helping hands that have been extended...this is an amazing blessing.

2008-09-13T10:23:00.002-05:00

Take a hike...Ike!

So far so good...I am sitting in the club room at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Dallas as I type. Hurricane Ike hit Houston with a vengeance. We were able to evacuate with very little problems. Brian had to stay at work until 3 PM on Thursday. I spent the morning packing all our important documents, clothing and necessities. When Brian arrived home, we quickly pulled in everything off our patio and packed the car - we were on our way by 4:30.

Thanks to the GPS (a big thanks to Bri's mom!) we were able to take the back roads out of Houston and then up through Brenham (the home of Bluebell ice cream!) and Waco...we didn't really see a lot of traffic and we got to go 70 most of the time. It took us about 8 hours (normally a 4 hour drive). It would have taken much longer if we would have stayed on I-45 - it was jam packed. Brian was fielding calls the entire time - it was one crisis after another at work.

Jack did really well on the 8 hour drive. He either slept in his crate in the back seat or he sat on Brian's lap with his head hanging out the window doing his best bat-dog impression. He started whining the last 30 minutes on the road and Brian pacified him by slathering the front bars of his crate with peanut butter...the continuous licking noises from the back seat kept us smiling during this stressful time. The Crowne Plaza usually doesn't take dogs, but they made an exception since we were evacuating - thank goodness they did, as we were in the midst of evacuating when I called to confirm (Brian's company had originally booked us in the dog-friendly Candlewood Suites, but they changed the reservations at the last minute). By the time we checked in to the hotel, we were both cranky and exhausted - we crashed by 2:30 AM, only to be awakened at 6:30 AM. Brian had to go back into work after only 4 hours of sleep...yuck!!! We did a lot of praying that morning - asking Heavenly Father to help Brian get through the day. I drove Brian to work and then came back to the hotel and crashed for a couple of hours.

Funny side-note: I found out later that I had dropped Brian off at the wrong site (we had the wrong address). Brian spent 20 minutes walking around (lugging 3 laptops and a work bag), before someone picked him up and drove him down to the other company building a half mile away. Brian said that it was a blessing in disguise - he was pretty awake after the vigorous exercise. He said that it really helped him get through the day.

I spent most of the day with my family who are staying about 15 minutes away. My grandfather is doing much better - he collapsed in the hotel lobby on Thursday when they arrived. The EMTs thought he was suffering from a heart attack or stroke, but it turned out that it was just exhaustion and stress fatique. Once they got him some food and his medication, he was fine. I am so relieved! That was scary. Brian and I said some fervent prayers when we first found out (we were still evacuating at the time). When we found out that Papa was ok, Brian said..."well, you did ask Heavenly Father for a speedy recovery...he definitely delivers!" I am so grateful everything worked out.

I have spoken with a couple of friends this morning and they are all doing well...they said that they weathered the storm...our friends who live near by watched their fence blow away this morning and some of our other friends that live in our neighborhood got some shingles blown off their roof and leakage. Our friends drove by our home a few minutes ago and they said it looks fine from the front, just some small tree branches down...and no shingles blown off that they could see. We don't know about the back of our home yet...the important things are safe - our family and friends...so I am content. We will update you as we know more...love y'all!

2008-09-02T21:52:00.007-05:00

I know it's been a while, but things have been so busy this summer! First our Oregon trip and then various projects around the house (including the garage, which was a total mess, but now we can almost park our cars in it!).

Brian convinced me to take the one class I was missing in order to have an Associates degree. Even though I am well into my junior year, he thought it would be a good idea (and I agree) to take that one class, that way, the associates degree transfers with me no matter what, and none of my classes would ever be wasted. So I spent the last 5 weeks of summer in an evening class...weight training of all things - I needed a second PE course and I had already taken running two years ago...an easy A, but a lot of fun - the college has a great workout area and I was able to do cardio and weight training 3 days a week. Now I can apply for my Associates...wahoo!

Brian got to go to Utah to celebrate his mom's birthday...we were so excited that he got to go! All accounts agree that they had an awesome time - I would have wrapped him up for her, but I'm sure airport security would have alerted Homeland Security...paper cuts can be lethal ya' know. :-)

The week of my final came and we got to celebrate by hosting some of our awesome nieces and nephew! It was wonderful, we got to spend time in the Houston Museum of Natural Science and an entire day at Schlitterbahn, the best water park ever! We had a blast - and no one got burned...even the two red heads, which is quite an accomplishment!

Now that Gustav has passed us by, we are gearing up for Hannah, Ike and Josephine...it seems to be a very busy time for storms down here in the tropics. We were on standby until 2 pm on Sunday with Brian's work. They told us Saturday that they would make the final decision to ship us up to Dallas by then. Brian's boss told them to go home after work Saturday and pack (of course they didn't let them out early, so Brian didn't get home until after 8:30 PM). If they made the decision to ship us out Sunday afternoon, Brian would have 30 minutes to drive home, pick me up, and drive to Dallas by 7 PM...crazy, huh?! We were on pins and needles, praying that the storm wouldn't come here, and that it would hit somewhere where as few people as possible would be affected. Needless to say, we were quite relieved not to have to go...I celebrated by taking a nap Sunday afternoon... :-)

We are now counting down until our Florida vacation in October - Sandestin, here we come! Sandestin is a resort in the city of Destin, located on a peninsula in the Florida panhandle. I can't do justice to their beautiful beaches - sugar white sand and emerald green water (on the Gulf side!) - and it is only a 9 hour drive from Houston! I still can't believe we're on the same Gulf. Brian got us a sweet deal - we're staying at the Courtyard by Marriott for 5 days for only $170...can you believe it?

Edouard is HERE...

2008-08-05T05:51:00.002-05:00

A lot has happened since yesterday morning...Edouard is making landfall in about an hour. The storm has moved north a bit and no longer will be hitting Galveston, but unfortunately it will be hitting La Porte directly (the small town on the coast where Laura's parents live). We are now on the dirty edge of the storm here in Pearland. Laura's 90 year old grandfather and sister are here with us now, and Laura's parents are hunkering down at their house hoping to ride it out. The winds are gusting up to 75 mph. Brian just left for work as he is considered "essential personnel" and they make him come in. We're doing a lot of praying right now.

Edouard is coming...

2008-08-04T09:09:00.004-05:00

To our surprise last night, we found out that a tropical storm (Edouard) has formed right off the coast of Louisiana. It is projected to hit the Houston area directly. According to the projections, it will be right below a Category 1 hurricane when it hits the coast...hopefully it will move through our area pretty quickly. Brian and I are going to batten down the hatches so to speak - we have our 72 hour kits, food storage and water storage, as well as flashlights, lanterns, our propane stove, etc., so we should be ok. We will keep y'all updated.

Car Comedy

2008-08-02T08:24:00.005-05:00

So, a certain awesome person asked that we post more often, so here's a story for her...It was Thursday evening and I was driving home from class. I stopped at our mailbox at the end of our block to get the mail, but when I went to re-start the car, nothing happened. My immediate thought was thank goodness this didn't happen on Beltway 8 at 70 miles an hour! I called my wonderful husband who jogged down to where I was stranded. Luckily we have great neighbors who got their car out and tried to jump it, and when that didn't work, they helped Brian push my car back to our driveway while I steered...that was some hot work!

After popping the hood, Brian tested the battery and it was registering voltage (he is so resourceful! I wouldn't have known what to do!) There was a lot of corrosion on the battery terminals and connectors, so we looked up how to clean them on the internet. SO, for the next hour we (in the dark with only a flashlight of course!) we scrubbed and dipped and squirted a baking soda solution (with my turkey baster - which will no longer be used in the kitchen!) on the battery. Finally, hot, sweaty and mosquito bitten we were done! We put the battery back in...not before dropping both the screws that tie it down into the engine...that was fun trying to find them in the dark, Brian dropped the first one, and after we finally found it we were cracking ourselves up when I dropped the second one...oh the irony! We got the battery all connected up again and I was the lucky person who got to start the car...and then...nothing! Just the click...click...clicking noise of the starter...after all that hard work!

We then trooped back into the house to cool off and call Brian's dad...he is really good at diagnosing car troubles...he made some suggestions, but nothing seemed to work...we came to the conclusion that it must be the starter. Great! Brian had to go back to work the next morning, and this was one of the days that I had to go out to do work stuff instead of telecommuting in...what a dilemma!

So, Friday morning found me calling the car repair shop, getting Avis to pick me up from our house so that I could rent a car for the day (they upgraded me to a PT Cruiser for free - it was really fun to drive!), and making arrangements with USAA to tow my car to the repair shop down the road.

Here I am thinking we have to get the starter repaired, when the tow truck shows up. The guy takes one look under my hood and says it is just the battery...it is totally shot...which makes sense when I take a good look at it and realize it is the original factory battery and is 9 years old...the tow truck guy said he was amazed at how long it had lasted - go Toyota! Yea! All it needs is a new battery - we can handle that! We were now experts as installing batteries after last night.

After working all day and then going over to my parent's home for a BBQ to celebrate my Grandfather's 90th birthday...it is so neat that he is 90 - that is quite a milestone! I stopped by AutoZone and picked up a new battery on the way home. Brian and I quickly installed the new battery last night about 9:30 (we were experts now after all!) :-) ...we connected it up and once again, I was the lucky one who got to start it up...and then...vroom, vroom! Yippee! She started up with no problems whatsoever!!! Yeah!

Lessons learned from this experience:
1. Batteries are easy to install once you find the screws you dropped in the engine.
2. Battery corrosion makes a cool fizzing noise when you pour baking soda and water over it.
3. You can get the battery terminals really clean and shiny by scraping them with a pen knife (Brian's dad taught us that).
4. Tow truck guys know everything!
5. Batteries are much easier to install with daylight!
6. It is probably not a good idea to re-use your turkey baster for cooking once it has battery acid inside.

Jack-Jack Update

2008-07-21T12:54:00.008-05:00

So, we can't believe that Jack (a.k.a. Jackaroni-N-Cheese -Brian's newest name for him) :-) is now 4 months old (and still so darn cute!). He has gone from a 3.5 pound bundle of fluff to a 11.5 pound ball of energy! :-) We have been actively training him with a company called Bark Busters. They are awesome! After his first puppy training session he understood the sit and down commands. He can now sit, lay down, roll-over and "sit pretty" (sitting up on his hind legs). We are working on the stay command and he is getting really good at heeling while on his leash. He is a joy to have around. You should see how excited he gets when Brian walks through the front door after work! He has been a great addition to our family. Here are some updated pictures of him playing with one of his favorite toys.

BEFORE & AFTER

2008-07-12T13:27:00.011-05:00

A while back, Brian's mom suggested that we show everyone some before and after shots (or in our case, before and during shots) of our home remodeling project. We think this is a great idea, but it took me forever to get around to actually finding the original before shots that Brian and I took right before he bought our home.

As many of you know, we are in the middle of a complete home remodel. We bought a foreclosure, and it needed everything. The people who lived here before didn't take care of it at all. This project has been a real blessing and learning experience for us both. I grew up in a house built in 1892 (my family lovingly refers to it as our dear monstrosity, a.k.a. the money pit), so I am used to living in a construction zone (not that I enjoyed washing dishes in the bathtub for the first three months of our marriage, but you do what you have to do). :-)

The best thing about buying a foreclosure is that you get to put your personal stamp on it while learning how to use all sorts of neat power tools (insert Tim Allen grunting laugh here). Brian and I have had so much fun wandering around Lowes and Home Depot. So, granted, we are still walking around on a cement slab throughout most of the house, the kitchen backsplash is still to be installed, I am still painting trim (I think I will be painting it forever!) and our master bath is missing the vanity (well, not exactly missing, but hardly usable since it currently resides in a box in our garage), but it is really starting to come together.

We decided to post these pictures to show everyone how far we have come, and we promise to keep posting new ones as we complete more projects. Thanks go to all our family and friends for all their love, help and support...enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

BEFORE - The Living Area - There was ugly gray tile with a 1" grout line through almost half of the room. There were also 8' tall, 4" wide mirror strips on the left-hand wall that were removed by the bank (along with huge chunks of the sheetrock).

AFTER - The Living Area - We have re-painted, removed the tile, and are readying this area for wood flooring.

AFTER - The Living Area -

BEFORE - The Fireplace - There was a huge brick fireplace right as you entered the house.

AFTER - The Fireplace - We had the brick removed and a wooden mantle built. The tile surround matches the new tile we installed in the laundry room and bathrooms.

BEFORE - Study - We use the third bedroom as our office area (it's directly off the living room) - let's just say that the smell in the house vastly improved after Brian removed the forest green carpet - we don't even want to think about it... :-)

AFTER - Study - This room is almost completely finished except for the wood flooring.

BEFORE - Breakfast Area - Once again, the ugly gray tile, but we kept the chandelier.

BEFORE - The Kitchen Area -

AFTER - The Kitchen/Breakfast Room Area - we completely gutted the kitchen. The original cabinets were made of particle board and had completely disintegrated underneath. We put in all new cabinets, new countertops (we removed the bar and put in a California countertop - it really opens it up) and a new sink (I didn't know that stainless steel could rust through, but the old sink had). We also put in all new appliances (thank you Craigslist!). We are still working on getting the backsplash put in and finishing out the new half-wall we built - and wood flooring too, of course.

AFTER - The Kitchen/Breakfast Room Area -

BEFORE - Laundry Room -

AFTER - Laundry Room - New paint, new tile, new connections, it just needs me to finish up the trim work.

BEFORE - Master Bedroom -

AFTER - Master Bedroom - we have repainted and this will be the next room to get wood flooring. We still need to hang some pictures and the curtains, but it is definitely a much cozier spot now!

AFTER - Back Hallway - We have started putting in the wood flooring in the back bedroom and hallway. It looks great!

BEFORE - Guest Bathroom -

AFTER - Guest Bathroom - this is the most complete room in the house. We removed the old vanity, which was so large that you practically sat on it as you sat down on the toilet. We put in new tile, paint, a new vanity, etc.

BEFORE - Guest Bedroom - a.k.a. the 'Angry Room' or the 'Redrum' room. The paint was literally blood red and dripping down the walls. The paint also covered about 6 inches of the ceiling all the way around...can we say KILZ and plenty of it?

AFTER - Guest Bedroom - we repainted it a soothing blue (it's called Cloudburst), and replaced the door (the old one had been kicked in). This is also the first room with flooring (yippee!)

AFTER - Guest Bedroom -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!!

2008-06-23T22:31:00.003-05:00

Happy birthday sweetheart! Thirty-one is going to be a great year - I just know it! I know we had a pretty quiet birthday for you this year, but it was still a lot of fun! Here are some pics of the cake (Annette's are so much cooler!) and Brian quickly blowing out all 31 candles in one breath!!!! Luckily the fire department didn't have to be called...lol.

This one's for Mariah...

2008-06-21T23:07:00.004-05:00

We found him on our front door tonight...and we know how much you love FROGS!!! All our love, Aunt Laura and Uncle Brian...

New Pictures of Jack-Jack

2008-05-24T19:47:00.002-05:00

I was playing around with our camera and caught these pics of Jack-Jack...puppies and children are pretty hard to catch since they are always in motion. :-) Jack was playing with a Magnolia leaf - leaves seem to be his favorite play-toy...I think this falls under the 'you buy them toys and they play with the box theory'...I also updated our garden post, there are a couple more pictures which show our tomato plants...we had requests. :-)

Big Red...With Additional Pictures :-)

2008-05-21T09:49:00.005-05:00

Our first tomatoes are here!!! We're calling this one big red...it's about the size of a softball! Miracle Grow soil really is a miracle...we are growing our entire garden in pots this year...our tomatoes are going crazy...we've got about 30 in different stages of ripening. It's been really fun watching them grow from 6 inch seedlings to the huge plants they are now. Isn't our world amazing? Heavenly Father really knew what he was doing. Brian and I have been having so much fun going out and checking on our 'babies' everyday...watching them grow...what a beautiful blessing!

Here are some pictures of our "garden", as requested... :-)

Our Newest Family Member

2008-05-19T09:52:00.003-05:00

It was a typical Saturday...we had just made some major inroads into our garage organization project...organizing and cataloguing/photographing all the items we are donating or selling on Craigslist. After we finished we decided to reward ourselves with some lunch and a quick stop by our local Petsmart. We like going and looking at all the animals (Brian especially likes the aquatic frogs). We didn't realize it, but our local SPCA brings out about 25 shelter animals (cats/kittens, dogs and puppies) every Saturday. Let's just say that one of them stole our hearts. He is a 6 week old Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix (I looked them up on the web and they are called Jackhuahua's or Jack-Chi's...lol! They are considered a hybrid by the American Kennel Club - I wonder if they get good gas mileage?). ;-) He looks just like Wishbone and he is very smart. Brian named him Jack-Jack (after the baby in the Incredibles). He has been a wonderful addition to our home. He is doing really well with potty training, is learning commands such as sit, off, and let go. Jack-Jack is already very good at not chewing or biting and we started crate training the first night. He loves his crate and likes to drag his toys into it and play with them while I am working. Jack-Jack loves walking on the leash too. We take him for walks twice a day. He is very well-behaved. We are going to start socialization training with other dogs and kids in the next couple of weeks. He has had a very busy few days...last night he looked so adorable fast asleep having puppy dreams while cradled in Brian's lap. Check out the first pics!

Spring Fever

2008-04-03T09:56:00.006-05:00

So, this weekend we were officially diagnosed with spring fever...the antidote involved 3 yards of cedar mulch, a pallet of flag stone and a lot of sweat. The weather cooperated though...it was supposed to rain all weekend, but it was sunny and 78 degrees with little breezes that cooled us as we worked to transform our front yard.

We had so much fun! Brian became quite competent with a hammer and chisel. He made about 50 bricks out of the flagstone to edge some of our flower beds...and all those years of putting puzzles together really helped as we pieced the flagstone together around the rest of the flower beds (Brian really has a good eye for where things go!). We planted some beautiful little gardenia bushes, pink indian hawthorne, begonias and some decorative grasses in the large flower bed. Between the clay soil, tree roots and fire ants, we had quite the planting adventure!

The funniest part was when we decided to test out the sprinkler system after we had finished with everything. Now, you need to realize, that we have never turned it on since we got the house...we thought that it only would water the flower beds...imagine our surprise when little sprinkler heads started popping up all over the front and back lawns! They had all been buried, so most of them brought up pieces of the lawn with them...and one even lifted a three foot piece of flagstone all by itself! Luckily, that piece of flagstone was the only one that had covered any of the sprinkler heads. We also had a geyser on the front walkway when the front flower bed sprinkler heads started up - one of them was missing the top piece and it looked like old faithful was erupting beside our front door (luckily, it only involved an $0.89 Home Depot run). The rest of the sprinkler system seems to work perfectly...what a blessing - no more hauling gallon jugs all over the yard to water the potted plants! We'll include some before and after shots so you can see the fruits of our labor...pun intended!

We are going to wait until the fall (or early next year) to do the back yard since we want to use the old brick we took out of the front yard to make raised vegetable garden beds. Our little tomato and bean plants are thriving in pots in the sunny back yard, so we are hoping for a bumper crop to share with family and friends. :-)

Also, the countdown until our nieces and nephew come has begun - we are planning some fun stuff to do together when they visit over their Spring Break - we can't wait!

Here are some of the before pictures:

These are the after pictures: