50 and Fabulous

As some of you may know, my mom turned the big 50 in July. We decided that a girls trip was the perfect way to celebrate the occasion so we planned a trip to Chicago. My mom, her best friend Patti, and my Aunt Sherry all turned 50 this year so we decided that it was the perfect 4-some for the trip. We left on the Saturday before Labor Day and came back the following Tuesday. We all LOVED Chicago. There was so much to do, and the city was beautiful. During our short time in Chicago, we shopped the magnificent mile, took a walking food tour (one of our favorite things), went to see Jersey Boys, went up in the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), took an architectural boat tour, ate at several great restaurants, visited Millennium Park, walked around Navy Pier, and strolled through the Lincoln Park Zoo. A great time was had by all and many memories were made. Happy Birthday to some of my favorite girls!

Shopping Michigan Avenue

Dinner before Jersey Boys. We had appetizers and drinks at a cute outdoor restaurant across the street from the theater.

At the spice house we visited on the food tour.

On the boat tour down the Chicago River

Beautiful skyline

Willis Tower

The famous bean at Millennium Park

Mom and I outside the zoo

Hot Dog Social

Lani, Casey, Robin, Derek, Hannah, Neal, Jenn, Jason, Katie, Pam, Clayton


Jason and I just finished a co-ed softball league that played on Sunday nights at Memorial Park. A few months ago Jason came home and informed me that he signed us up for co-ed softball....obviously he was not aware of the fact that I had never played softball and that my skills are seriously lacking. Despite my abilities, our team had a good season, and we all had a ton of fun. I even got a couple of outs during the season...my batting skills left alot to be desired though. :) I ended up being really glad that we played in the league. It was such a fun thing for us to do together and something we both looked forward to each week.

Weekend Project

I will just start this post by saying that when it comes to decorating our house, Jason and I often have different ideas of what we think will look good/general styles. I bought our duvet below over Christmas in anticipation of buying a King-sized bed once we were married. I love it. Jason on the other hand has never partuarly cared for it. As he was willing to overlook the style of the duvet if I was happy with it, he was not so willing to put up with the fact that the duvet insert always got bunched in the wrong places, and it was generally pretty hot to sleep with. We tried to make it work for a couple months until he finally convinced me to at least consider getting a new comforter. Since we still had Bed, Bath, and Beyond gift cards from our wedding we set out in search for a new bedspread. We finally agreed on the green and khaki one below. We got it home, got it on the bed, and then realized that it blended in with our light khaki-colored walls. So we got the bright idea that we would paint our bedroom. Little did I know at the time that I would be making 5 trips to Lowes and testing out about 10-15 different samples before we found a color that we were both happy with. It took ALL day to move furniture, tape walls, paint edges, roll walls, do touch ups, etc, etc, but we ended up being really happy with the results. The room feels so different and much more cozy with the slightly darker walls. See the pictures below of our new master bedroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

Our paint supplies and multiple sample colors.

Me covering all of our samples patches with primer.

New bedspread with our newly painted walls.

Since Jason bought a new TV for our living room, we moved the one from our living room into our bedroom.

She Said YES!!

As some of you may have heard, Cody proposed to Brittany on Friday, July 24th! They have been together for so long we already consider Britt a part of our family, but we were all thrilled to make it official. I will let them fill you in on the proposal story. :) After the proposal, the newly engaged couple came over to Jason's and my house for appetizers and drinks to celebrate with our families. It was great to get everyone together to celebrate such a happy occasion. We are so grateful to be adding another fantastic girl to our family. We love you two.


Our growing family


Brittany's family came in for the celebration.


My mom brought Britt a ring holder for her new ring and TONS of Brides magazines. Let the wedding planning begin!!

Good job Cody. Her ring is gorgeous. This pic doesn't even do it justice.

Britt showing off her new bling.

Posing with my future sister-in-law. We have become such good friends over the past few years, and I am so looking forward to be family. I could not ask for a better sister-in-law.

Happy 4th of July

As some of you may know, 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I think it because I have so many great memories growing up spending the 4th at the beach with my family just playin on the beach, eating, and watching fireworks. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for providing so many great years of celebrating our country at ya'lls condo! Unfortunately, since I have starting working I have not been able to make it down to the beach for the 4th. Since I have it in my head that the 4th should be spent on the water, Jason took my to Donna and David's (Jason's aunt and uncle) river house last year for the 4th. We had such a great time we went back this year! Watch out Donna and David, we may just turn this into tradition. :) We had a blast again this year just relaxing, jet skiing, playing horseshoes, playing games, and of course eating lots of yummy food.



Tucker (Jason's dog that lives with his parents) came up for the day and decided to take a swim in the river....sporting his new neon life jacket.


Jessica (Jason's cousin), Donna (Jason's aunt), and Beverly (Jason's grandma)



I spent alot of time reading and relaxing in Donna's comfy tree chair.

Jason and I after getting off the jet ski. We flipped 3 times...much to my dismay.

The group enjoying barbequed crab, brisket, and lots of yummy sides.

Jessica, Justin, Skyler, and Donna taking a break in the shade after lunch.

Thanks Donna and David for a great weekend!

Just Maui'd

I am still waiting on our wedding pictures, but I decided to go ahead and post some pictures from our honeymoon even though they will be out of order. Jason and I left Monday morning after the wedding and headed to Maui for our honeymoon. We had a fantastic time and would recommend it for vacation to anyone. It is absolutely beautiful and and exceeded all of our expectations. After being there a week, we were still not ready to come home. It was a week full of fun and relaxation and the perfect way to start our marriage.



We rented a convertible for the week. We loved it and enjoyed driving with the top down and enjoying the sun and sites.


View from our balcony. Since Maui is 5 hours earlier than Houston, I woke up really early every morning and would sit on the balcony and read for a while before we headed out for the day.



Walking down the beach in front of our resort.

In the lobby of our resort. It was all open air and there were huge coy fish in the water. Everything was so lush and beautiful. The first day we just relaxed by the pool for most of day since we were tired from the wedding weekend and long day of travel the day before.

Sunset from Leilani's (our favorite restaurant in Maui). We loved eating here and watching the sunset.

Jason golfed on Wednesday, and I rode with him in the cart. The course was amazing and the weather was perfect. This is Jason's favorite picture from the entire trip (I think b/c his swing looks good) :)

Us on the golf course. The course ran along the coast, and every hole had fantastic views of the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other.

Jason after too much time at the pool. He went through an entire can of Solarcaine in a couple of days.

On Thursday, Jason and I did the Road to Hana. It is a long winding road through the mountains. There are tons of places to pull over and take in the sites. It was incredibly green, and we had breath-taking views. They average 365 inches of rain per year in these mountains.

Jason and I in front of a waterfall on the way to Hana. Hana is just a city at the top of the mountain. We didn't drive all the way to Hana but made it all the way to the black sand beach pictured below.

Jason and I on the black sand beach.

Jason and I kissing in a sea cave. The water had washed out this cave, and we decided to explore.

On Friday, Jason and I took a helicopter tour. I highly recommend this. We saw incredible waterfalls and parts of the island that are uninhabited and can only be seen by air. Maui is where parts of Jurasic Park were filmed, and we flew in the same area that they flew at the beginning of the movie when they were landing on the island.

View from the helicopter. The water was electric blue and so clear.

We saw huge waterfalls on the helicopter tour.

Jason and I on the helicopter.

In the car, packed up, and headed back to the airport. Jason and I left on Sunday night and took an overnight flight back to Houston that landed Monday morning. So sad to leave, but we had the best time. We were so blessed to have such a fantastic honeymoon!