Engagement, Lake, Food, Sleep and Longhorns!!!

Well, I have a quick minute before I run and catch the next plane out of town, But I wanted to tell you about the lake!

Brad and I left Sunday night to meet up with my family in Austin. My Big Brother Alex lives there and decided to pop the question with his lovely little dame Lane. She said Yes! I am so excited for the two of them, they are absolutely perfect for each other... And I get to be a bridesmaid! Love it! and Love them! Anywhoo, seeing the family was great and celebrating the engagement was just wonderful!

On to the Lake, The Arita's were so kind to let us stay in their gorgeous lake house for the week! SOOOO great! Brad and I really relaxed, no time schedule no work and lots of fun and laughter. We grilled out, we layed out and we paddle boated all over the lake... Sunscreen was applied! We had snacks galore, which was great for Brad and not so good for me! We slept in late and took naps, oh man it was great!

The last day we went golfing on this beautiful course that over looks the lake... Brad played and I drove the cart! I am still learning how to golf and so I didn't try the course because it was the fifth toughest in Texas. But it was still fun! We went out to dinner that night at Wildcatter Ranch, A delicious steak house. We had an appetizer, a salad, awesome hot bread and butter (Emily you will appreciate that) and then the steak and potatoes came out... We were stuffed! On our way out we stopped off the side of the road by some longhorns. They were so funny... It took us a while to get them to come over to us but when they did it was hilarious. In case you were wondering how to call a cow over to you, this is what we did: Claping, banging on the fence, yelling "come here", an occassional "SUEY", and the next thing you know they are in your face. Longhorns really have a hard time walking, see their horns are so heavy that their heads sway back and forth as they walk just to keep their balance. They will let you touch them (if you want) but again they are oblivious to the size of their horns, Watch your eyes! We fed them some nilla wafers and grass but they didn't want either... they wanted dinner. I guess there is some kind of feed that farmers/ranchers give to their cattle and what we had didn't even compare. Side note I should never feel like a cow for eating nillas because cows don't even like them.... But all the laughing and and hanging on the fence sure helped the food settle!

Well I am off again to my Best Friends Wedding! (great movie) Not to worry though, I am happily married and have no intention of stealing the groom!

Cheers! For your listening pleasure...

It's Friday, and man am I so excited! My spirits are oh so high and I am loving that it is the weekend! I put some new music on my playlist... The first one is by Natalie Cole, "This will be Everlasting Love!" Brad and I walked down the aisle to this song at the closing of our wedding ceremony, two of my favorite singers and friends Ali and Kristen did an amazing job singing it live for all to hear!!! Next, "Walking on Sunshine," by Katrina and the Waves. Such a good and up beat song! Jsut makes me want to dance! How about My Girl, I used to listen to this song as a kid and really want a boy to come along and sing it to me! Well Brad didn't exactly sing but I am definitely his girl! Going right along with the sunshine theme its "Ain't no Sunshine (when she's gone)," now I know that this is not the happiest go lucky song, but I love it, such a good one... and since I am going to be gone on Vacay, it seems fitting! Don't worry, I think there will be plenty of sunshine while I am gone! I don't know how I could get in an even better mood, but I think Aretha knows how to do it! I am pretty sure that I used to sing her songs and dance in the mirror at the same time... I know a little crazy and freakish, but I love to perform! And then after that its a new artist, Freddy, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning has really been promo-ing this guy and he is great! The two songs that I was able to find are "Defying Gravity" and "Something about that Girl!" You can go to http://www.kiddlive.com to find out more about Freddy and hear some of his other music too!

So thats it! Turn up the volume, put some socks on and start sliding/dancing across your floor!

It finally dawned on him...

Monday night as Brad and I were sitting down to eat a quick dinner, we had a slight mishap. Brad was in mid sentence when he said "Oh!" and started laughing and pointing at our dishwasher, as I turn around to see what has happened Brad is already up and ready to take action! There were massive amount of bubbles flowing out of our dishwasher onto our kitchen floor. I told Brad, who is still laughing, to run and get a towel. When he comes back he told me what happened. As he was picking up around the house before our life group came over, he decided to run the dishwasher. He said he looked every where for the dishwasher soap (which was under the sink) but he couldn't find it. His logic was of course to use the dish soap we had by the sink. Thinking to himself, "If I just use a little bit, it will be ok." WRONG! He was laughing so hard at himself and the bubbles flowing out of our dishwasher that I really couldn't get mad and just laughed myself. Needless to say, i reached under the sink pulled out the real dishwasher detergent and restarted the washer... Oh! The joys of the first year of marriage! Love you Babe!

Ok I know you have all seen these little guys on children at the mall or six flags or where ever, but I have to laugh every time I see one. I want to hold out my hand full of treats and beg for the child to come to me so I can pet them, like I would a Dog! First of all this one is a slightly more appropriate version of the child leash, at least your child thinks of it as a backpack instead of that thing you put on little Froto before taking him for a walk, but still a little degrading. I am happy to say that my mother never put me on a leash and I was spanked as a child... and guess what, I turned out great! (no comments please). Get rid of the leashes or pretty soon we are going to see signs in front of stores and parks that say all pets and CHILDREN must be on a leash at all times. Were you on a leash as a child? Please let me know!

Houston!

This weekend Brad and I finally made the trip down to Houston. My family lives there and so it was great to see everyone! My mom and dad (Gary) built a new house on a golf course and were all moved in, so the whole family came in to see it. My brother and his girlfriend Lane came in from Austin and Brad and I came from Dallas, obviously! We all got in late thursday night, stayed up for a little while and caught up with everyone and then got ready for friday!

Friday Lane, Mom and I went shopping out at the Woodland's (Love It) and had so much fun! Lane and I ended up with an outfit from the gap, new shoes from buckle and urban and some yummy olive oil and vinegar from a little shop they have there in the mall! Brad and my dad went to play golf and the brothers slept, because they stayed up way to late playing video games! We cooked out that night... ribs, brisket and sausage! Delicious! The Klugs came over too. They are my parents BFF's. They go out together every friday night! They like to copy each other too. If Joan (Mrs. Klug) gets or finds something new, my mom has to have it too! Its really funny and slightly rediculous... a few examples, they have the same car (color and all), they both just moved into their new houses across the street from each other, Joan's son Micheal and I both work at the same company and are roughly a month a part, and so on and so on! Anyways we all had a great time! Here are some pics of everyone! The boys, nice color coordination!Chris and his friend Brittney!Brad and me, he thought the place mat would look like a green screen...? No green screen just us!Lane, Me and my sick double side chin...

Mom, Lane and Me!Mom and Dad!The Klug's : Skip and Joan Alex and Lane! So cute! All of Us! Me, Brad, Chris, Alex, Lane

We headed out with my dad (Scott) on Saturday and went sailing out in the bay! It was a beautiful day! No clouds, lots of wind and only about 80 degrees! We quickly realized that once we were on the water it was much cooler. Although the sun was shining brightly the breeze kept us all very cool. Cool enough to not realize that we were all turning beat red from the blazing sun. By the time we thought to put sun screen on it was too late! Now today, I painfully regret forgetting to put on some sunscreen! Don't go without it! After the boat and the sun we decided to eat at Joe's, good food and lots of fun!

All of us Again! Brad, Me and Dad!

Long time no post!

Ok sorry, so it has been about a week since the last time I posted! My Bad! A lot has gone on in that week and so I will try to recap everything... this could be rough!

Brad was in New York for "Q" conference. The conference is a huge mixture of people who are constantly pursuing a better world and society. You have to be invited to the conference and so it was a big deal when Two-Five got asked to join! http://www.25cloth.com. There was an artist there that drew pictures of the speakers speeches. Brad and Matt met a lot of really cool people! The Fray gave a private concert and they hung out with them afterwards. Because of this guy, I think Brad and I are moving to the City! Toys "R" us

I stayed with Brittney for the first two nights that they were gone! I got to help her with Quinn and we had lots of fun girl time and talks! Some of you remember the night of the storm/ tornado! Brittney and I were sound asleep when the power went off and the wind blew strong against the house. Brittney- very worried, Me- slight concern, but really too tired to care. Needless to say I wasn't much help during the heart of the storm. We woke up safe and sound the next morning. Come to find out there was a tornado spotted not too far from us ( a mile or two) Sorry Brittney! Next time I will be more help! Hopefully :) Love you!

Caylin stayed at my house the next night and we watched some funny reality TV show (can't really remember what it was called) and ate cookie dough! It was perfect! O yeh I also soaked her in tea bags to get the sting out of her sunburn. Love you!

Brad finally came home the next night and I was so happy to see him! I love him so much and I hate it when we are apart!

What a weekend!

Read entire post, Sunday gets crazy!

FRIDAY:

Friday night Brad and I got to babysit our favorite little Q. Matt and Brittney went on a date and so we got to watch Quinn for the evening. He is growing up so fast and has the cutest little personality. He loves to play and laugh and crawl. We fed him his dinner which is so entertaining and then we played and played. We put him in his jammies and got him ready for night time. He was so sweet and just loved to read his books with Uncle Spyda! (Yes, Brad is going have Quinn call him spyda! He currently has his little cousin Addi calling him Ninja Brad!) Here are some pictures of Brad rocking and reading to Quinn! He is going to make such a great daddy one day!

SATURDAY:

Saturday morning Brad and I met our college life group (Agape) at some McKinney apartments that have kids galore! These Kids are all apart of an after school program led by one very special lady with a huge heart. Her name is Ana and she is a resident and a mom at the apartments. She started this after school program and continues to do it everyday from 5-7 during the school year and 4-7 during the summer. Ana does not get paid for this (although she could probably use the money), but she does this because she cares about these kids futures. She helps them with their homework and reading in English and she teaches them the Bible and how to pray. The kids range in ages from 3 to 16 and they show the utmost respect for Ana. When she speaks they listen and watch her as she teaches them. Ana is truly overflowing with the spirit of Jesus and it is completely evident in her day to day routine. She has two daughters that are also fearfully seeking the Lord in everything that they do! Maria Helena and Isabella help their mom everyday after school. They both speak English better than their mom so they are often the ones helping the younger kids with their translations, on top of doing their own school work. The hearts of these three women of faith are just incredible and we are so thankful for them and the work that they do each day! So Agape, as a group decided that we wanted to help minister to these kids and Ana as much as we could. One saturday a month we go to the apartments with snacks, games, crafts, music and of course a Bible Story. We are out there for about 2 1/2 hours just playing and fellowshiping with these kids. We also try to make it out during the week and help them with their homework and just hang out with them. Brad and I count this as a huge blessing! Although we are ministering to them in as many ways as possible, they continually teach us the simplicity of life and the true meaning of love. Here is a slideshow I put together of this past Saturday. Press pause on my music player and then turn up the volume to hear the kids Praise Jesus!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If you want to help out at the apartments or are inspired by Ana's story let me know and I will tell you some ways they need support! Also, please pray for these kids and their families, for their parents to keep/have jobs and for some of the abusive home life's of these children.




SUNDAY:



Wow! Is all I have to say.... But first I must tell you this story! Last night Brad and I went out with Joy and Seth from our church. Brad is obviously the associate youth minister and Seth is the worship leader, so we were quite the spiritual group. We decided to go to Shogun's, a hibachi grill, here in McKinney. The food is always so good and the chefs that cook in front of you show you all kinds of tricks! It is a very fun experience and we were fully enjoying the evening. As we finished our meal we noticed some comotion in the banquet room. As the wait staff and others were gathering to see what was going on, Joy and I decided to peek our heads in too. There was a small group of people throwing a birthday party, not really paying attention to all the details, Joy notices that the guy in the middle is dressed up as a cop? Then everything starts coming together, as he walked over to his brief case. Joy and I walked back to our table and told the guys that we think there is a stripper in the other room. Laughing in disbelief, the clothes start coming off. Unfortunately we could see this from our table... We thought for sure this was not allowed in a restuarant, I mean I always thought of this as a wholesome little family place. The next thing we know, the stripper is giving lap dances in a small little speedo and the waiters are encouraging Joy and I to join in. We payed our bill as fast as we could and got out of there. I am officially scarred for life! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be sitting next to a worship leader, a youth minister and have a stripper come into view. Somebody pinch me because I am having a horrible nightmare!
Tell me about your worst dinner experience ever... I will post the winner... and then take you out for a real treat!!! Contest begins now and ends when I say it does!