Las Vegas!

Steve and I just got back from a little summer getaway to Las Vegas! I had a parent of a child in my class this year offer us 2 free plane tickets on Southwest as a thank you, so we decided we would take him up on the offer! Very generous, I must say! We had both never been to Vegas before and we had a blast! We stayed at the Venetian, which was absolutely beautiful. We had fun exploring all the different hotels on the strip. They all seemed so close together but we learned very quickly on our first day there in the 109 degree heat, that they are a lot farther apart than you think! The monorail became our friend after that! :) I will let some of our pictures give a snapshot of some things we did!

Heading out to explore the Vegas strip!


Our hotel, The Venetian


In front of The Venetain at night...doesn't it look like we're really in Italy?!


Our private gondala ride...one of my favorite parts of the trip!


Steve loves to watch "The Deadliest Catch" on TLC. At the Bellagio dinner buffet, they had Alaskan king crab & opilio crab, which is what they are always in search for on that show. He was pretty excited he was getting to indulge in some!


This guy played us "The Yellow Rose of Texas" when he found out we were from Texas!



We had dinner at a restaurant in "Paris". We sat right under the eiffel tower on the "streets of Paris" & got a view of the Bellagio fountains during our dinner! It was wonderful!


Our dinner view of the eiffel tower


Our dinner view of the Bellagio fountains...so pretty!


You can't go to Vegas without a little casino time!


Steve played at a poker round table one day at The Exalibur...he was really excited about it!


The pool where we spent a good part of our afternoons to beat the scorching Vegas heat!


We saw the MGM lion exhibit. This lion played fetch with a man & this big blue spool. It was really amazing!

2521 Ashford Reunion!

I just got back from spending time with my precious college roomies! This year was our 2nd annual roommate reunion & we decided to stay local (for most). Sarah hosted us at her beautiful new home in Keller, Tx. We spent 3 days together eating, talking, shopping, getting manicures/pedicures, swimming, playing the Wii & reliving memories from our days in Aggieland! These girls are some of my very best friends & I am so thankful we make time to spend together each year even though we all live in different cities/states. Here are a few snapshots from our fun week together!

Dinner at Cristina's...we ate mexican food all 3 days! YUM!


Laura & her baby John


Wii Tennis!!


Clayton trying to be a longhorn fan in the midst of all us Aggies! Crazy boy! :)


Katie, Me, Laura


Manicures & Pedicures!
Me, Laura, Cindy, Traci, Katie, Sarah/baby boy #2, Clayton


Cindy being Cindy :)

Summer Fun!

Let the summer fun begin!! School was officially out June 6, but I had trainings for the district the first two days we were supposed to be off for the summer, so it took a few days into the summer to get into the swing of things. Since then, my team has started "Tanning Thursdays" & we all get together at someone's neighborhood pool to hangout & work on our tan! FUN!
This past weekend, Steve and I headed out to lake Conroe to visit his parents. It's boating season so we had a blast with family out on the lake & in their neighborhood pool. Our nephew, Clayton, made the visit too, so it was fun getting to play with him! I only managed to get one picture that whole weekend, though!
My college roommates & I are getting together this coming week for our annual summer reunion & I can't wait!! More to come on that...

Silly Clayton ready for the lake!

Dog Park

We have a new found discovery! Its the Plano dog park! Steve did a service project with his high school guys there about a month ago and he brought Lucy along to see how she would do. She LOVED it! Lucy is a super friendly dog with people and other dogs. She also has a lot of energy and thats where the dog park comes in handy! We have been a handful of times now in the evening over the past couple of weeks and she runs and plays with the other small dogs until she is wiped out. Then, we come home and she is so calm...it is so nice!! Its also fun when you run into some of the same dogs again & they remember each other...so cute! If you have a dog & you haven't checked out the dog park, we would highly recommend it!

Sweet Babies

On Friday night, Steve & I went over to our good friends, Rita & Kevin's house, to spend some time with them & their sweet babies! Rita delivered twins, Laney & Bryce, at the end of February & due to their 2 month early arrival, they needed to spend some time in the NICU. We had been watching Laney & Bryce grow through their pictures and we were anxiously awaiting the day when they both got to come home! Bryce came home first about 3 weeks ago and Laney joined them at home this past Thursday! YAY! They are absolutely precious and so tiny!!

Laney waving to the camera


Bryce is a cuddle bug!

Graduations!!

Congrats to my over-achieving sisters, Summer & Kendall! :) They both just graduated with their masters! We headed down to College Station this past Saturday for Kendall's graduation. She got her masters in education. Then, on Thursday, we went out to DBU for Summer's graduation. She got her masters in christian counseling. Congrats, sisters! We're so proud of you!!

On a side note, I know my parents are glad we are all completely finished with school now. (and sitting through graduations!) We were all counting on Thursday at dinner how many years my parents have had kids in college & it has been a total of 12 years...not counting those years when a couple of us were there at the same time! WHEW! I guess thats the way it goes when you have 3 kiddos & they go on for their masters! We are so thankful that you allowed us to get a wonderful education, Mom & Dad!

Kendall's Big Day!

Summer's Big Day!

Polo!

Today we enjoyed our first polo match! Steve's cousin, Charlotte, helps put on the North Texas polo club/games. We went out there with Steve's grandmother & Aunt Sandy. We didn't really know what to expect, but it was very laid back atmosphere & the game was pretty easy to follow! We brought some lawn chairs & had a picnic on the lawn while enjoying some good polo. At half time, all the spectators get to go out on the polo field for champagne & the divot stomp, where you basically get free champagne & walk around & step on patches of grass that need to be flattened back into the ground. Pretty fun! It was a great atmosphere and we will definitely be going back & bringing some friends with us! If you're looking for something different, fun, & family friendly you should check it out! It is every Sunday at 5:00pm. Check it out at: www.northtexaspoloclub.com

Lucy's new friend!

This weekend we watched Kristi's dog, Rori. Lucy & Rori had never met but they were instant friends on Friday morning when Kristi brought her over. They are about the same size which made playing together lots of fun! We loved how they occupied themselves without us! :)

Adorable!

This is a little video of my brother-in-law & nephew (Clay & Clayton) practicing Clayton's ABC's. So CUTE!

CCIE

I have the smartest husband in the world!! :) As many of you know, Steve has been studying VERY diligently for the past 6 months for the highest certification in his field of work: the CCIE. It probably doesn't mean a lot to any of us non-network engineers, but in that field it is a highly coveted certification. When I mean studying diligently, he came home from work & literally studied every night of the week from 6-10pm (some nights longer) and then every Sunday after church until 10pm. Once the test got closer, he added Saturdays, as well. The week before the test, he took off of work & studied 12-16 hours a day! Whew! This past Sunday, he flew out to San Jose, California & took the 8 hour lab. He had already passed the written exam, but the lab is the kicker. Only 6% of people pass on the first attempt. Well...he took his lab yesterday & we got word this morning that he PASSED!! GOD is GOOD & my husband is a genius! :) We are giving the glory to the Lord that he was one of those 6% & I am so glad to have my husband back! We are ready to get back to some normalcy in our lives. Way to go, hubby!

Four Incredible Years!

I can’t believe it has already been 4 years since we got married! Last Thursday, March 13 was our anniversary! Steve planned a wonderful evening that included dinner at The Capitol Grille (which is at the bottom of the Crescent Hotel) and it was delicious! They had a table set up for us decorated with confetti and an anniversary card from them. The food, service, and atmosphere there was just perfect! Then, he booked a night at Hotel Palomar in uptown & it was amazing! We had both never heard of it before. It is newly remodeled & it was decorated with a contemporary décor & had a cozy, romantic atmosphere. The customer service there was nothing like we had ever experienced before…it was so nice! We enjoyed our much needed evening together celebrating the best four years of our life! We are so blessed!

The Aquarium

Our first graders went on a field trip to the Dallas Aquarium on Thursday! We do a big oceans research unit at school & so this is always a fun field trip for us to end our oceans unit on. We had a blast until it was about time for us to head out and my principal called me on my cell & said to get everyone loaded and on the bus quickly because it was sleeting & snowing in the Plano/Frisco areas and the roads were getting bad. Quickly was tricky seeing as we have 6 classes of 1st graders & they were all scattered about in the aquarium with different chaperones. We managed to get everyone loaded within about 20 minutes in the rain & headed back. I think it was one of the most stressful times since I've been a teacher, knowing that you are accountable for all these sweet lives & are driving through ice on 75! The bus drivers were great & drove about 30-40 mph the whole way home. It took a long time to get home, but we all made it safe! What an adventure!

Here are a few pictures from our eventful day!
Aanika, Jack, Mitchell, & Kyra


Zoe & Jill


Aanika, Mrs. H, & Kyra

Lucy's First Snow!

It snowed twice in one week here in Frisco! Lucy wasn't so sure about the snow...she would stand on the edge of the patio & lick it, but wanted to have nothing to do with pottying in it. (makes potty training tough!) Steve went out with her in it & she would race through it in the backyard, I guess since it was so cold! So cute!

Racing through the snow!


YUM!

Champions!!

Yesterday we went & cheered on my youngest sister, Kendall, who coaches the 7th grade girls basketball team at Blalack Middle School in Carrollton. This is her first year to coach and her team was playing for the district championship! They beat 2 teams today in the tournament that they had previously lost to during the regular season. Kendall had planned out some great defensive strategies on a key player on the other team & it worked out perfectly! It was a close game, but Blalack led the whole game & pulled it off by 2 points! It is also a sweet victory as this was the middle school my sisters & I went to growing up and where Kendall played basketball, as well. We had so much fun cheering them on. We are so proud of you, Kendall...you are a great coach!!

Coach Vinson's pep talk at half time


7th grade champs!

The 100th Day!

Today was the 100th day of school! YIPPEE! 1st grade celebrated by wearing 100 of something to school. Kindergarten celebrated by dressing up as 100 year olds. The kids rotated classes for the first part of the day & did a different 100's day activity in each of the classes. Below are a couple pics of some of the cute ideas the kids came up with...100 google eyes, 100 dollar bills, $100 worth of monopoly money, 100 braids in hair, etc. We are 100 days smarter in 1st grade & over half way through the year!! Hooray!

5 1/2 Months Old

We haven't posted about Lucy in a while, so I thought I'd upload a recent pic. She's now 5 1/2 months old. She has played with her step-sister Emma and friend Bailey (also Bostons) a couple of times now. At first she was real sheepish around Emma, but now she stands her ground. She is a sweet dog but has a lot of energy if she's been cooped up all day. Lucy is going in next Tuesday to get spayed. So she will probably be out of commission for a while.

New Year's Eve!

This year for New Year's Eve we got dressed up & headed uptown to a restaurant in the West Villiage called Ferre's with the Cooper's & the Schulte's. The restaurant had italian/tuscan food & it was very tasty! It had a great atmosphere that was decorated in a festive way for New Year's Eve, which made it even more fun. We then came back to our place for games & to ring in the New Year! A fun night was had by all! Happy New Year!

Lifegroup Christmas Party!

Our Lifegroup had its annual Christmas party a couple of weekends ago. This year we had dinner at a fun restaurant in Frisco called Zea Woodfire Grill. It had a great atmosphere with a live band playing in the background and different but tasty food! I would highly recommend the hummus & pita bread for an appetizer! We then headed over to Courtney & Dustin's for the 2nd part of the evening. We had an ornament exchange for the girls & the guys did a white elephant gift exchange...hilarious! We enjoyed celebrating the birth of Christ together with great food, fun, & fellowship!

Decorating for Christmas

This year it has been a little more tricky trying to get the house decorated for Christmas with a puppy. I was getting out some of our boxes of decorations the other day and turned my head for a second and Lucy had decided she wanted to help. :) (see below) Once we got the tree up and decorated, Lucy found her new favorite place to go! She sneaks under the tree so she can swat & chew on the limbs. I have even found her jumping up for the ornaments, leaving the tree shaking. I'm just glad it hasn't fallen over yet! Lucy sure keeps up on our toes, but we love our sweet puppy!