~ November 3, 2013 ~

It's fall everywhere ~ and that just happens to be my most favorite time of year!  I love the cooler weather, wearing sweaters and boots, drinking hot cider or chocolate, sitting around a fire pit with my sweetie, curling up under the blankets.  Living in Houston, we don't have a very long cool season so I try to love every single minute of it!

In September we spent a wonderful week in Utah with our families and friends.  We need two or three weeks just to fit everyone in!!  I loved spending time with my Mom & Dad... listening to their stories and learning from their wisdom.  Time is short and I don't get nearly enough time with them.I want to be in Utah so we can spend this precious time with them.  We celebrated Mom's 80th Birthday while we were home.  It was a wonderful event, with lots of friends and family who came to share the day.  We took some family pictures since we had everyone there (except Nikki!).

We had a great time with Julie's family.  We are always welcomed with love into their home and spending some extra time with her kids is such a huge bonus =)  they make me smile and I love them so much... and I never get enough time with my sisters!!  I think it's time to plan a girls trip somewhere =)

We also got to spend some time with some old friends ~ Danny & Amy Lowe, Wayne & Stacey Zakotnik, Kevin Moore and LoriLyn Moore, a bunch of old friends from school... Teresa, Elaine, Becky, Wendy, Susan, Lori, Steve.... we hope to continue the tradition whenever we are home and it will just get bigger and better every year.

I then got to spend 4 great days in Las Vegas with Chad and Magan ~ how wonderful to have them all to myself!!!  We talked wedding plans, shopped for dresses (she found the one!) and just caught up on life.  Those days are so precious to me and I wish we could do it all the time.  It's getting harder and harder to be away from them and everyone else in the family.  I really hope we will be out west in the next year or two.

Work is going well... I continue to be given more responsibility and yet the dynamics of the office continue to be pleasant.  I love working with the people I work with, and for the first time in many different jobs, I look forward to my day.  We are in the midst of renovating an old building, and it has been fun to be involved with the design and architecture of the building, not to mention the decor.  We will have a brand new building and office suite by next August.

Now we are preparing for the holidays... Have I mentioned that I love this time of year!!

 

~ May 2013 ~

Craig is home again, after working in San Antonio for the past three months. It wasn't too bad, it gave me a reason to head there on weekends, where we had a lot of fun. We visited the Riverwalk, the historic Market Square, the quaint little town of Fredericksburg, Marble Falls, numerous yummy restaurants ~ my favorite being La Fogata, Premium Outlet Mall... I love, love, love San Antonio! I keep telling Craig, if we have to live in Texas for a while, why not San Antonio??? =)

Marble Falls TX

La Fogata ~ San Antonio TX

Work is going great ~ I love my job, the people I work with, the constant, crazy pace of working in the President's Office, and the ever-changing, increased responsibilities that come my way. We have a lot of fun through out the day, and have some nice perks. If I have to work for a while, this is a nice place to be. We are in the process of redecorating the President's Suite, so soon I will have all new furniture... then I will put some personal touches on the office!

My Office

Summer is in full swing.  90+ degree days are ahead, 100% humidity, not to mention my favorite part of Houston summers ~ bugs.... lol. My season of staying indoors is here.  I spend 30 minutes outdoors only to come in with 10 mosquito bites. It's a good thing fall, winter and spring are so nice here. When we finally move west, the humidity and bugs will not be missed!! Craig took me to my first Supercross event this year. It was a lot more fun seeing it live than on TV... and Craig enjoys it so much ~ we will go again.

Supercross 2013

Family is doing well... kids, grandkids, parents, siblings (most) are doing well. It gets harder and harder to be away from family and I really hope to move that direction in the next two years. I am very excited to say we have finally picked some dates for our trip home to Utah ~ which will happen in late September!!!! We will provide more details later this summer. We hope everyone has a fantastic summer ~we love and miss you all so much!

~ A New Year ~

I love the beginning of a new year.  It brings promise of good things to come, dedication to goals, and a time to reflect on your blessings.  I start 2013 with a new job ~ When I was hired on last May, it was to fill a temporary spot as an Administrative Assistant with the President's Office of our local Community College.  I have now officially been hired on as the Executive Assistant to the President.  I'm excited to take on additional responsibility and look forward to moving into my new office next week.

Christmas is always fun and we were both spoiled a little bit this year =)  It was fun shopping for the grandkids this year and only wish we'd have been home to celebrate with all our loved ones.  It's been over a year since we were home and I am definitely having withdrawal issues!  We hope we can work in a trip home soon!!!!!

Chad & Magan are busy planning their August wedding!  We are all so excited to celebrate with them and look forward to our trip to Philadelphia later this year.