Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Farming, Family, and Fun

Last weekend I flew down to Harlingen to visit my parents and had the best time.  My parents, Cale, and I all got up super early Friday morning and headed out to Port Mansfield for a morning of fishing.  It was a gorgeous morning, and there is just nothing like watching the sun rise on the bay.  The morning got even better when we all caught our limit of trout within the first hour of fishing.  It was the best trip out I had had in a while.  We continued to fish in hopes of catching some reds but just caught more trout and had to release them.  Since Dad was starting the grain harvest Friday afternoon we headed in and cleaned up.  We dropped the boat off at the farm so I got to see Grandma and Grandpa as well.  That night, my mom and I headed over to Uncle Richard and Aunt Cheryl's house to visit with Kelsey, Kristi, and the kids.  They were all baby-sitting Tyler, Cooper, and Claire as well so needless to say it was WILD.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures while we were there.  It was great to get to catch up with everyone.  Saturday, my mom and I decided to head down to SPI for an afternoon at the beach.  Aunt Ann and Aunt Sherry were staying down there for the weekend so we layed out with them for the afternoon.  That night, Cale picked up Chinese food and brought it and a movie to my parents house.  It was exactly what I was in the mood for after a busy Friday and Saturday.  My mom, Cale, and I went to church on Sunday since Dad is in the middle of harvest.  I wanted to get to say bye to him before I left so Mom drove me out to the farm and I rode on the buggy with my dad for a few hours before my flight.  I have so many memories of going to the farm during harvest as a kid.  I just love it.  I find the process so interesting, and I am always so proud of my dad and uncles for all of the hard work they put in during the year.  I have the hardest working dad, and I so appreciate everything he does for our family.  Please pray with my family that Hurricane Alex does not hit the Valley and affect our crops.  My family has one of the best crops they have ever had in the field, and this threatening weather could be devastating.  All is all it was a fantastic weekend.  It always makes it so hard to get on that plane and leave.







 Ridin' the tractor with my daddy!

Johnson Brothers

Farmin' Family

30 Years

Jason's parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on June 21st.  Jason and his sister, Jenn, threw a party in their honor to celebrate the milestone the weekend before.  The party was held at Jenn and Neal's home and everything turned out really well.  Several of Howard and Deanna's friends and family came, and everyone had a really great time.  We had fajitas from El Tiempo, margaritas and of course tons of dessert.  Jason is blessed to have parents that are willing to work at their relationship and believe that marriage is a lifetime commitment.  Congratulations Howard and Deanna on 30 years of marriage.  Jason and I hope you have many more years of happiness and great memories!

 Jason and I with his cousins Justin and Jessica

 Jason being cooperative for the picture, me, Jessica, Grandma Bev, Jenn, Justin

 Justin, Grandma Bev, Jason, David, Jess, Donna

 Family Shot

 I made a flan cake for the party.  It was my first time making it, and I thought it turned out really good.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

New Furniture and Summer Decor

Over the past few months, Jason and I have made some updates to our house.  We finally feel like we are settled and our house is completely furnished....at least for a while.  This post is mostly pictures.  Enjoy!

I knew exactly what I wanted our dining room table to look like.  I searched and searched, and I swear went to almost every furniture store in Houston looking for something that resembled what I had envisioned that was a price I wanted to pay.  I never did find the perfect table; however, in my search I found a guy in the heights who custom builds wood furniture.  Jason and I sat down with him and designed the table I had in my mind and ended up getting a much better deal than if I had bought it in a store.  It was delivered in April, and we love it just as much today as the day we got it.  It is solid wood, and I hope we will have it for many, many years.

Much like the table, I knew exactly what kind of chairs I was looking for.  After tons of searching, I finally settled on these chairs from Restoration Hardware.  I love the linen upholstery and the curved backs of the chairs.  I just think they complete the look of the dining room.

Since we moved in, we have wanted to buy new couches for our living room so we could move the ones we had down to Jason's "man cave".  Jason and I chose these brown leather couches and are really happy with them.  I think they are the perfect mix of our style while being super cozy.  I should have fluffed the pillow before taking this picture, but I guess you see how you just sink in in the back.   :)  Because the couches have a slightly masculine shape, I got some pretty pillows and feminine throws to soften the look.  I am pleased with the final product.

The love seat.

We have not hung anything on the back wall of the man cave, but other than that it is set up.  We painted the walls a slate gray color.  These are the couches we had in our living room before we bought the ones above.  We bought the coffee table off of Craigslist, sanded it down, and restained it ourselves.  We added the rug to complete the look.

Jason hung this ATM neon sign...very "mancave like".

We moved a TV we had upstairs down to this room and bought the TV stand it is sitting on.  We also added the mini-fridge in the corner to keep drinks so Jason doesn't have to leave the couch during his football games.  haha

Sanding the coffee table was a labor of love and ended up being a much messier task than I was anticipating.  I was happy with the results though and the price was much better than just buying one from a store.


I changed out the decorations on our entry table for the summer.  I added red, white, and blue flowers to my vase to replace the bright springy ones.  I also added the red lantern.  I think it looks very summery.  I plan to leave it like this from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

I also changed out the centerpiece on our kitchen table.  I added the starfish to make it feel like summer.

Centerpiece of the dining table.  I like the burlap in the center.  I think it ties in with the color of the dining chairs.

Coffee table decor.  I bought some sand at Lowe's and added it to the bottom on this tray that my mom gave me for Christmas.  I just added some candles and randomly placed shells around to complete the room.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Cody and Britt's Wedding Weekend

Jason and I headed to New Braunfel's last weekend (June 11th-13th) to watch Cody marry Miss Brittany Brown.  My parents hosted rehearsal dinner at Cactus Ranch on Friday night.  We had a great time seeing family and friends.  We had steak, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls for dinner, and the food was excellent!  My mom had everything decorated super cute, and the atmosphere of the place was fantastic.  We all enjoyed our family traditional rehearsal dinner poem, a slide show of pics of the bride and groom-to-be, and lots of fun dancing after dinner.  All in all, it was a great night and a perfect kick-off for the weekend.  On Saturday morning, the boys all headed out for a pre-wedding golf tournament, and my mom and I headed to brunch at Brittany's parents house.  The wedding was held that evening at the Gardens of Cranesbury View.  The ceremony was held out on the lawn; then we moved indoors for the reception.  Brittany and her mom did an awesome job with everything for the wedding, and we all had a great time.  Cale and Kirby delivered some of the best wedding toasts that I have heard to date and had everyone at the reception laughing!  Brittany was a gorgeous bride, and Jason and I feel so blessed to have gained such an amazing sister-in-law.  My baby brother made a great decision when he chose Britt.  Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.  I wish you both a long, happy marriage filled with lots and lots of memories.  Love you both.

Rehearsal Dinner
Cody and Britt rehearsing with Brother Ron
Table decorations

Uncle Wayne, Leanne, and Kim

Rachel (with Baby Luke on the way), Aunt Susan, and Britt

Brittany's parents and her sister Kirby

Steve and Cody

Brooks, Cale, and Jason

Ross, Aunt Sherry, and Grandpa

Mom and I

Uncle Mark taking Presley for a walk

Kristi, Grandma, Maddie, and Josh

Bailey giving Shelby some love

Brooks, Jason, Dad, and Cody

Me trying to get a picture with some of the kids....obviously disaster..haha


Grandpa and Grandma


Kris and I with Maddie Grace

Josh holding his niece Claire (Travis and Sarah's baby girl) and Kristi with her daughter Maddie

Jason with his parents

The Dorsetts

Morgan, Aunt Paula, Suzann, Bill, and Will




Wedding Day








 We ate at IHOP on Sunday before everyone went their separate ways, and the waitress brought the newlyweds some lovebirds inside a heart.....haha!