~ celebrating our 1 year anniversary
~ buying our first home
~ traveling together: Playa Del Carmen, Wilmington, Destin, Santa Barbara
~ running my 1st and 2nd half marathons
~ learning to scuba dive- and diving in Cozumel and Destin
~ becoming obssessive fans of The Office
~ hosting our annual Friends Thanksgiving
~ painting and personalizing our home
~ building our deck together
~ growing closer to the Lord as a couple as I faced trials and uncertainity with work
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Santa Barbara
One benefit of a husband who travels is free upgrades to 1st class! So as we boarded the 3 hour flight, we found ourselves sitting in large luxurious seats~~ Yes- the trip got off on the right foot!! Yay!
We flew in, met my step-mom at baggage claim, found my dad and step-sister at the rental car spot, drove to my brother's house- picked up Joey and my step-brother and DROVE FOREVER!! (because of traffic- 1 1/2 hours for 12 miles!)
The first morning Ty and I got up early and went to get some coffee, then we went for a drive, here's some of what we saw.
I love the beach and mountains in the same view! awesome!
I think the rest of these pics are from the days after Christmas- I'm going to do Christmas day in a separate post. We spent many hours walking up and down State Street- it is the main drag in Santa Barbara- filled with shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, and anything else you can imagine.
Here's a view of State Street (in the rain).
We of course find ourselves looking at these all the time.
Ty collects rare and antique books (mostly history and military). So we find an old book store and go straight there on every trip. "The Book Den" was a great spot. Ty found a couple of books- but ended up only purchasing the autobiography of Richard Nixon, signed by "Dick Nixon" himself.
Dayna chose to find other things to look at and dream for!
State Street dead ends into a humongous pier. You can actually drive out on it and park. There were a bunch of restaurants and shops too. We found this sign to be very silly.
But then, Eric found this problem and suddenly the sign made sense.
Here are the best looking boys around! They love having their picture taken.
here's a self portrait of Ty and myself that did not turn out just right- but he sure does have a great smile!! And get a look at my right ear!
Aww- that's better.
We drove around one day in the mini van looking at huge houses- here Ty and Eric took their spying to another level.
The beaches and sunsets were incredible!! This beach was actually full of dogs- you didn't even have to keep the dog on the leash- and those dumb dogs were just running right into the freezing water!! I did not venture into the water or the sand- not with all those crazy dogs running around!
Joey could not wait to get back for dinner- and got this wonderful hot dog and fries that he shared with the group- thanks bro!
Friday Dec 26th was boy's night to cook. Here's dad and Ty at the grill- bonding over chicken and hot dogs.
Eric made himself a protein shake. That was his contribution to the cooking that night.
Chef Joey made a balsamic mushrooms and onions side dish - with a bit of mozzarella cheese! delish! His own personal invention.
Here's the spread from the boy's hard work! great job men!
to be continued on another blog....
We flew in, met my step-mom at baggage claim, found my dad and step-sister at the rental car spot, drove to my brother's house- picked up Joey and my step-brother and DROVE FOREVER!! (because of traffic- 1 1/2 hours for 12 miles!) The first morning Ty and I got up early and went to get some coffee, then we went for a drive, here's some of what we saw.
I love the beach and mountains in the same view! awesome!
I think the rest of these pics are from the days after Christmas- I'm going to do Christmas day in a separate post. We spent many hours walking up and down State Street- it is the main drag in Santa Barbara- filled with shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, and anything else you can imagine.
Here's a view of State Street (in the rain).
We of course find ourselves looking at these all the time.
Ty collects rare and antique books (mostly history and military). So we find an old book store and go straight there on every trip. "The Book Den" was a great spot. Ty found a couple of books- but ended up only purchasing the autobiography of Richard Nixon, signed by "Dick Nixon" himself.
Dayna chose to find other things to look at and dream for!
State Street dead ends into a humongous pier. You can actually drive out on it and park. There were a bunch of restaurants and shops too. We found this sign to be very silly.
But then, Eric found this problem and suddenly the sign made sense.
Here are the best looking boys around! They love having their picture taken.
here's a self portrait of Ty and myself that did not turn out just right- but he sure does have a great smile!! And get a look at my right ear!
Aww- that's better. 
We drove around one day in the mini van looking at huge houses- here Ty and Eric took their spying to another level. 
The beaches and sunsets were incredible!! This beach was actually full of dogs- you didn't even have to keep the dog on the leash- and those dumb dogs were just running right into the freezing water!! I did not venture into the water or the sand- not with all those crazy dogs running around!
Joey could not wait to get back for dinner- and got this wonderful hot dog and fries that he shared with the group- thanks bro!
Friday Dec 26th was boy's night to cook. Here's dad and Ty at the grill- bonding over chicken and hot dogs.
Eric made himself a protein shake. That was his contribution to the cooking that night.
Chef Joey made a balsamic mushrooms and onions side dish - with a bit of mozzarella cheese! delish! His own personal invention.
Here's the spread from the boy's hard work! great job men!
to be continued on another blog....Solvang and Heading Home
Saturday Dec 27th we took the scenic drive to Solvang... we stopped for pictures along the drive. By the way- our family is big into photography- most of the kids took photo class in high school and think we're good at it. (I actually took a couple of college photo courses as well, but that's beside the point). so needless to say- we were all very camera happy the entire trip- much to Ty's "enjoyment."
All the kids: left to right: Joey 24, Eric 23, Dayna 17, me 27, Ty 25. Bet you didn't guess I was the oldest in the pic huh?
Dayna and I took the opportunity to climb the tree- always on the lookout for great photo opportunities. Unfortunately, Dad took the picture and did not care about the shadow placement- come on dad, remember your high school photo course??
Dad and me :)
The girls: Dayna, Cindy, and me
Ty back from his travels into the wilderness.
And finally... SOLVANG! Apparently a group of Dutch settlers came here and wanted to have a Dutch school, so they built a school and the town grew up around it. Now, it is a full on tourist attraction- but we enjoyed it.
Ty and Joey waiting patiently for lunch.
Dad and Cindy in this delicious Belgium deli- yes Cindy had Belgium waffles for lunch. I was trying to be healthy and ordered a vegetarian sandwich, but added turkey. still good- but no waffles. So Ty and I hit up a bakery later for some chocolate chip cookies.
Me and brother- precious. Oh and my hand looks wierd because Joey was trying to do something to me, I'm sure.
My boys bonding
Cindy did not want to come over the barrier- something about the cliff on the other side, I don't know :)
All the kids: left to right: Joey 24, Eric 23, Dayna 17, me 27, Ty 25. Bet you didn't guess I was the oldest in the pic huh?
Dayna and I took the opportunity to climb the tree- always on the lookout for great photo opportunities. Unfortunately, Dad took the picture and did not care about the shadow placement- come on dad, remember your high school photo course??
Dad and me :)
The girls: Dayna, Cindy, and me
Ty back from his travels into the wilderness.
And finally... SOLVANG! Apparently a group of Dutch settlers came here and wanted to have a Dutch school, so they built a school and the town grew up around it. Now, it is a full on tourist attraction- but we enjoyed it.
Ty and Joey waiting patiently for lunch.
Dad and Cindy in this delicious Belgium deli- yes Cindy had Belgium waffles for lunch. I was trying to be healthy and ordered a vegetarian sandwich, but added turkey. still good- but no waffles. So Ty and I hit up a bakery later for some chocolate chip cookies.
Me and brother- precious. Oh and my hand looks wierd because Joey was trying to do something to me, I'm sure.
My boys bonding
Cindy did not want to come over the barrier- something about the cliff on the other side, I don't know :)
Ty and I again- his favorite thing
what a view.
what's up with that face?
Our last night we spent hours trying to figure out where to go eat. But everywhere we called was either $70 a plate or a 2 hour wait. Finally, we randomly called The Palace Grill. All we knew was that it had been voted Best Cajun. Ty and I like cajun, but no one else knew if they had even had it before. So we took a chance...
We were met on the street outside by this cute Zydeco band- straight from New Orleans and so fun!! I made Ty dance with me- he just spun me around until I was dizzy and quit. Dad tried to get Dayna to dance- that did not happen.
A short 45 minute wait and we were in! And boy was this a good find!! The atmosphere was incredible! Super fun- amazing service- wonderful food!!
what a view.
what's up with that face?
Our last night we spent hours trying to figure out where to go eat. But everywhere we called was either $70 a plate or a 2 hour wait. Finally, we randomly called The Palace Grill. All we knew was that it had been voted Best Cajun. Ty and I like cajun, but no one else knew if they had even had it before. So we took a chance...
We were met on the street outside by this cute Zydeco band- straight from New Orleans and so fun!! I made Ty dance with me- he just spun me around until I was dizzy and quit. Dad tried to get Dayna to dance- that did not happen. 
A short 45 minute wait and we were in! And boy was this a good find!! The atmosphere was incredible! Super fun- amazing service- wonderful food!!At the end of the meal, they passed out these pages "do not open til the music starts." Joey cheated- he has no time for patience.
Here's the crawfish etoufee- Ty's all time favorite meal, Joey's new top 10.
Dad and cindy being weird after dinner, waiting for the music to start.
And then it begins... and all the waiters come out and start singing "I see fields of green... red roses too.... .... ... What a wonderful world" And the whole dining room starts singing. Here's a look at our New Orleans style restaurant.
Each waiter also has a glass of wine and they come around during the song and say "cheers" and clink each person's glass as we all sing. What a great atmosphere! At the end of the song, everyone cheered. And it was at that moment during the previous dinner when we walked in to put our names down. We opened the doors and the cheering started- we thought it was for us. But after our meal, we realized we were wrong. Maybe next time.
Oh- and this picture- we spent the meal trying to figure out what famous jazz man this was- we all placed our bets. We asked the waiter. He said "no one, it's just a painting." we were all wrong.
Then we hit up the hot tub at the house. Packed our bags. and the next morning we made the short, traffic-less drive to the airport. We got there super early since there was no traffic. So, we got on an earlier flight. 2 hours earlier. Then that flight was late, so it was 1 hour earlier. Then we boarded. We sat down in the fanciest business class you've ever sat in. Chairs that actually lay all the way down. Personal tvs, the works.
Here's the crawfish etoufee- Ty's all time favorite meal, Joey's new top 10.
Dad and cindy being weird after dinner, waiting for the music to start.
And then it begins... and all the waiters come out and start singing "I see fields of green... red roses too.... .... ... What a wonderful world" And the whole dining room starts singing. Here's a look at our New Orleans style restaurant.
Each waiter also has a glass of wine and they come around during the song and say "cheers" and clink each person's glass as we all sing. What a great atmosphere! At the end of the song, everyone cheered. And it was at that moment during the previous dinner when we walked in to put our names down. We opened the doors and the cheering started- we thought it was for us. But after our meal, we realized we were wrong. Maybe next time.
Oh- and this picture- we spent the meal trying to figure out what famous jazz man this was- we all placed our bets. We asked the waiter. He said "no one, it's just a painting." we were all wrong.
Then we hit up the hot tub at the house. Packed our bags. and the next morning we made the short, traffic-less drive to the airport. We got there super early since there was no traffic. So, we got on an earlier flight. 2 hours earlier. Then that flight was late, so it was 1 hour earlier. Then we boarded. We sat down in the fanciest business class you've ever sat in. Chairs that actually lay all the way down. Personal tvs, the works.Then the flight attendant came on the loud speaker and said "this plane has gone out of service. You will have to get your bags and get off. We do not know when we will leave, it could take hours to get a new plane." So we got off, ran to the gate of our original flight, got our original boarding passes back, and had to wait 20 minutes and were on ... 1st class again.
It was so clear in LA that day, you could see the snow-capped mountains from the plane. Ty flies to LA all the time and says that never happens. It was beautiful.
The end of our trip. Right back where it all began, 1st class and a self-portrait picture.
I continued to play with my camera. Here's Long Beach, from the plane. Not sure which building is the hospital in this picture, but whichever one it is, that's where I was born :)
And to top it all off... 1st class comes complete with warm nuts, hot towels, a salad or cheeseburger meal, and of course... warm chocolate chip cookies with milk.
The end.
It was so clear in LA that day, you could see the snow-capped mountains from the plane. Ty flies to LA all the time and says that never happens. It was beautiful.
The end of our trip. Right back where it all began, 1st class and a self-portrait picture.
I continued to play with my camera. Here's Long Beach, from the plane. Not sure which building is the hospital in this picture, but whichever one it is, that's where I was born :)
And to top it all off... 1st class comes complete with warm nuts, hot towels, a salad or cheeseburger meal, and of course... warm chocolate chip cookies with milk.
The end.Thursday, December 25, 2008
A Christmas Song Revisited
Last night at Christmas Eve service in Santa Barbara, California, on the campus of Westmont College- we sang this song.
It is a song that for so long just made me think of "Home Alone." But this year, for whatever reason, maybe the state of our economy, the state of our world, the state of our corporate sin... I was struck.
Struck with the true awe of what happened on that night 2,000 years ago. And so today I share with you the lyrics, of a familiar and old song- but I pray you would read them as if for the 1st time, and recognize how meaningful they are today. Oh the weary world... then- long awaiting a Savior, and today- long awaiting His return...
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Fall on your knees, Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night divine, O night, O night divine!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace;
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name;
Christ is the Lord, Oh, praise His name forever!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Leaving on a Jet Plane
I have so many pictures and blog ideas... but somehow my time is not my own lately.
Last Saturday we went with Ty's family to the Stockyards in Fort Worth- don't worry if you don't know what those are, I didn't either- but I took lots of pictures and have great explanations... soon.
Anyways- yesterday I finalized the Christmas cards so they could FINALLY go out in the 5 am mail this morning. And today I am hitting up the mall for the finishing touches of our Christmas shopping.
Tonight, Ty and I will exchange ornaments (our gift to each other is a big flat screen tv, to be purchased together in the after Christmas sales). Then we plan on grabbing some hot chocolate and cruising the Dallas streets looking at Christmas lights- one of my favorite traditions ever!!
Tomorrow we will be leaving on a jet plane for Santa Barbara, California. A family vacation over Christmas with my dad and his family. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures- I've never been to Santa Barbara, have you?? If so, what should we do there???
Next week, we'll be home and I'll still be on break- so next week, get ready for post-galore!!
Until then...
Merry Christmas!!!
Last Saturday we went with Ty's family to the Stockyards in Fort Worth- don't worry if you don't know what those are, I didn't either- but I took lots of pictures and have great explanations... soon.
Anyways- yesterday I finalized the Christmas cards so they could FINALLY go out in the 5 am mail this morning. And today I am hitting up the mall for the finishing touches of our Christmas shopping.
Tonight, Ty and I will exchange ornaments (our gift to each other is a big flat screen tv, to be purchased together in the after Christmas sales). Then we plan on grabbing some hot chocolate and cruising the Dallas streets looking at Christmas lights- one of my favorite traditions ever!!
Tomorrow we will be leaving on a jet plane for Santa Barbara, California. A family vacation over Christmas with my dad and his family. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures- I've never been to Santa Barbara, have you?? If so, what should we do there???
Next week, we'll be home and I'll still be on break- so next week, get ready for post-galore!!
Until then...
Merry Christmas!!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Halloween for Adults
Last night I went to a cookie exchange party! You bake 3 dozen cookies and bring them to the party. Then you also bring a dish to collect your own assortment. Everyone lines up around the table, describes their cookies, then starts walking around and picking up cookies!! It's like Halloween, but minus the costume and with better treats!! If you brought 3 dozen, you get to take 3 dozen!! Look at all the goodies...
Here's bossy Julia explaining the rules. Just kidding- she's not bossy, but maybe she looks like it in this picture :) Lova ya Julia!
Here is my stash!! YUM YUM YUM!!
Every time I turned around, Julia's son (Trey) was eyeing my cookies. I was his 3rd grade teacher a couple of years ago- I guess that means I have to give him any cookies he wants. Here he is on cookie 3- notice the rice krispie crumbs on his shirt... he couldn't eat this fast enough!
Oh- then we had an East Campus Reunion!! All of the 4 of us worked together for the last 2 years- we've gone our separate ways (not by choice, but our campus closed). But we have great memories!! We liked to say our East Campus staff was a little sorority!
And a reunion at Julia's wouldn't be complete without our Charlie's Angels pose- Julie, you have improved greatly!!
Here's the original Charlie's Angels pose from Julia's Disco Party!! See how Julie has improved?? (Far left in both pics)
Off to eat some cookies :) I had a hard time picking out just one to take to lunch today.
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