After a long week and a crazy day, I was very much looking forward to coming home and taking a nice nap. Boy... was I wrong. I was on the phone with my mom, when I walked into my house to find Lucy and Rowdy greeting me at the door. Immediately my stomach sunk....I walked around the corner and saw our Christmas tree in the middle of our living room (formally in the corner).
Next, I saw tiny little pieces of what were ornaments.
Then I found what was a golf ball-
The most shocking moment was when a bird... yes a BIRD flew past my head in my own house... I couldn't get a picture of it, but this is what it looks like:
It's official... we have the worse dogs ever..
So here is what we think happened:
The dogs were mad that they were outside. I accidentally left the back door unlocked (ooooppppss) and they seized their opportunity and pushed the door open. The door remained open and a bird flew inside and decided our tree would the perfect place to hang out. Obviously, the dogs could not allow a bird to sit in the tree so they pulled it out of the corner, jumped on it, shook it, and did anything they could to get the bird...
I cannot explain why the golf ball was chewed up, other than Rowdy was just really excited and might have gone a little overboard. I will say that there were two loaves of bread still on the counter that were untouched (very unlike Lucy)... This leads me to believe the dogs were chasing this bird all day.
Jerry says that this is a reflection of our "parenting." Well, I hope that someday we will better at raising children...
This year my mom and sister delegated me as the host for Thanksgiving dinner. When was first told of my assignment, I went into complete panic mode. Me...do the turkey... I've never even cooked a whole chicken! Fortunately, I was able to do a practice run several weeks before Thanksgiving.
After effectively cooking my first 8 pound turkey, I was feeling more confident. The week before thanksgiving I bought a 18.25 pound turkey. I was still feeling nervous about making the turkey... in fact one of my students described my feelings perfectly. He said, "You practiced on a 8 pound turkey and you plan on making a 18 pound turkey? Don't you think that's kind of going from the Little Leagues to the Majors?"
The day before Thanksgiving we prepared the house and made 2 pumpkin pies. We were ready for the "Big Show."
On Thanksgiving Day everyone arrived around 1 and the festivities began. Granny brought a ham, Jane brought green beans, deviled eggs,a strawberry dessert, and cheesecake bites, my mom brought corn and 2 pecan pies, Lauren brought mash potatoes and rolls, and I provided the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pies. We had a feast! Everything was so delicious! Including the turkey! I feel so accomplished in making the turkey! It was so great being with family and seeing Claire experience her first Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. I am most thankful for Jerry, my family and friends.
(This is the turkey after we took all the stuffing out)
Over the next few days, Jerry and I ate lots of left overs, decorated for Christmas, went shopping, and hung out with family and friends. It is a tradition that we buy an ornament every year for Christmas.
This was last years:
This is this years.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is looking forward to Christmas!
Jerry and I were extremely lucky and were able to purchase World Series tickets! Some how, we were able to get through the electronic waiting room and purchase tickets to Game 5-(3rd deck behind home plate- 3 rows up) for only $75 a piece.
We looked on stub hub to see how much they would sell for and the most we saw was $420 a piece. Many people told us we should sell them, but we could never do that! How often will you be able to say you have gone to a World Series game? For me, it was totally worth it!
Jerry and I left the house around 3:15. We stopped and bought some Original Sunflower seeds and Dill Pickle Sunflower seeds. We bought the Dill pickle sunflower seeds in honor of Ron Washington because that's what he eats during all the games.
We were all set! Binoculars---check! Sunflower seeds-- check! Tickets--check! We got there early enough to watch the Ranger's batting practice. This was really fun. It was funny seeing all the players catch the balls and toss them to the fans. It reminded me alot of Spring Training. The atmosphere was amazing and the weather was perfect! I still had a great time, even though we lost. GO RANGERS!
As many already know, Jerry is a HUGE Texas Ranger's fan. He has also converted me into a baseball fan as well. This year has been a very big year for the Ranger's! They finally made playoffs for the first time in 11 years! This might sound silly, but I feel so a part of the Rangers. We went to Spring Training in March and saw all the minor/ major league players play. From March to now, we watched the Ranger's become this great team. It's exciting to see an underdog rise to the top.
Jerry got amazing tickets to game 4 of the playoff series against Tampa Bay. Since we only live about 2 miles from the stadium, we decided to walk. I've always wanted to do this, but we always went to night games or it was too hot. Today was the perfect day to walk- the game started at 12 and the weather was perfect! It only took us about 30 minutes to get to the stadium.
Our seats were 30 rows behind home plate. These are the best seats I have ever sat in EVER. Good job on the tickets, Jerr Bear.
We had a great time, but it was bittersweet. While we were at the game, the family was having Thanksgiving. I wish we could have done both.
The Rangers ended up losing-- wahhh! I'm still proud of the Rangers. We will have one more opportunity to beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed. GO RANGERS!
This was a very big weekend! Over the summer, Jerry's mom side of the family decided we should do Thanksgiving this year in October. I can't believe that it is already October. Time really flies!
The fun began Friday night when John and Susan drove 10 hours from Santa Fe. We had a lovely dinner prepared by Granny and Jane. Jane and Granny made Tortilla Soup that was AMAZING! For those of you that do not know.... I'm a tortilla soup expert. This soup was in the Top 5 Best! After dinner we sat outside and talked about what was going on in each others lives.
Saturday we all went to the legendary State Fair. We met at Big Tex and had our first Fletcher's Corn Dog! It was amazing- no surprise there! You can't go to the State Fair and not have a Fletcher's Corn Dog. Next, we were on a mission to consume FRIED FOOD.
Stop #1- Fried Beer---DISGUSTING! That was the most disgustingly sick thing I have ever had! The man told us to bite a corner off, drink the liquid, and dip the rest in the cheese sauce. Let me just say, the only thing that was good was the cheese sauce and that probably came from a can. The liquid that was supposedly beer- was like a thick jelly like sauce that vaguely resembled the taste of beer. It was SICK!
Stop #2- Fried Peaches and Cream- A++++ This was my favorite last year. I was kind of like eating peach cobbler with cream sauce. You can see from the picture, that we really liked the Fried Peaches and Cream. We also went through an area and saw a statue of a OU and Texas player made out of butter!
Stop #3-Enough with the Fried Food- lets go see some precious baby animals. This is my favorite part of the Fair. I love petting all the babies and mommy animals---except the emu and ostriches--they just freak me out. I feel like at any moment they going to stretch their long necks out and peck me. Anyways, back to the animals. There were baby zebras, piglets, steers, goats, camels, and even a giraffe. I think my favorite an animals were the piglets. They were so cute! If Jerry would let me have a pig, I would get one. Seriously, I really would.
Stop #4- Pick up Holly, Drew, Haley, and Bretton. Bretton, Haley, and Holly had games on Friday night and were not able to come to Dallas until Saturday morning. As soon as they arrived we got another corn dog and headed toward the game. While were at the game, Jane, George, and Granny went and explored the Fair. From what I heard, the chocolate strawberry dipped in waffle batter was pretty tasty.
Stop #5- THE GAME!!! Tech vs. Baylor. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about this game. Tech has not been playing their best and Baylor totally crushed Kansas last week. Fortunately, WE WON!!! It was so nice seeing all the red and black and hearing the fight song. I've gotten over the stage of wanting to be in college... well... for the most part. Now I just think about all the amazing memories! There is no other school like TEXAS TECH!
In the 4th quarter, Jerry and I decided to go say hello to some of our college friends. Turns out they were sitting right by the Masked Rider and Raider Red. This was obviously an excellent photo opportunity.... Jerry pretends like he hates, but he secretly loves it.
After the game, we hung out with our college buddies and tried the Fried Frito Pie, Fried Cookie Dough, and Fried Butter. The Frito Pie was not that bad. I wouldn't wait in line for it, but it was worth trying once. The Fried Cookie Dough was great! I've never had it before and it was very tasty. I didn't try the Fried Butter... but from what I heard and remember from last year, it taste like a biscuit. Jerry and I decided to head back to Glenn and Jane's house. It was VERY crowded and day games really take it out of you!
On our way out, we saw that Wade Bowen was signing autographs. Wade Bowen is, in my opinion, one of the best Texas Country singers. There really isn't a song that I don't like by him.
At Jane and Glenn's we hung out with the family and celebrated George's 80th Birthday! Happy Birthday George! For his birthday he got a Wii. It was so nice spending time with family and catching up. I'm very excited about the Christmas Party!
So I'm feeling very bored...Jerry is at school and I am avoiding doing my homework. I started thinking...on October 25, Jerry and I will have been an official couple for 8 years! That's such a long time. In some ways I feel like we have changed so much, in other ways I feel like we are the same. It's crazy to think about how much we have grown up. I look at high school students and think I was their age when I met Jerry? That is weird... I was just a baby! I was just 16 when I met- not to sound cheesy- the love of my life.
8 years ago around this time, Jerry and I were going to haunted houses and Jerry was too nervous to hold my hand. It's funny to think about those times!
7 years ago, Jerry was at Tech and I was in Arlington. We were making a long distant relationship work... I don't know how we did it... but I'm sure glad we made it!
6 years ago I was a freshman at Texas Tech and Jerry was a sophomore. Jerry showed me the ropes and was a perfect tour guide!
5 years ago Jerry and I were enjoying each other and enjoying college life.
4 years ago Jerry and I decided to buy a doggie and named her Lucy. At this point, Jerry and I were in it for keeps.
3 years ago, I was a senior and Jerry was graduated. We once again, did the long distance relationship. Jerry asked me to marry him this year.
2 years ago, Jerry and I were officially in the real world as grown ups (at least we pretended to be grown up.) We bought our first house and a baby puppy named Rowdy this year.
1 year ago, Jerry and I were newlyweds and enjoyed every second of it.
Presently, Jerry and I are hanging low and enjoying the slow/ do nothing/ stay in your pj's weekends. I love Jerry because he makes me a better me. He makes me laugh, smile, and feel important. I can't and dont want imagine my life without him. He's my best bud, teammate, and partner in crime.
This morning, Jerry and I decided to go to River Legacy with the doggies for a walk and picnic. We loaded up a lunch box with sandwiches, pretzels, carrots, and water and headed to River Legacy. It was PERFECT weather and the dogs had a blast! Here are some pictures-
Lucy and Rowdy competing over who is in the front:
Lucy and I beating the boys-
Rowdy did not feel like taking a picture-
Picnic Time!
If you look closely you can see a HUGE spider.
After seeing the massive spider, we decided to eat on top of the picnic table. Just in case....
Even the dogs got to eat at the picnic!
Post Picnic Walk
GREATEST DOGGIES EVER!
My boys:
Updates:
My new job is going well. The first two weeks were pretty draining, but I truly love and believe in what I do. The students, job coaches, and teachers are AMAZING!
Garden- My pumpkins and watermelon have really taken off! I know that my watermelon probably won't grow, but that's okay. Hopefully, my pumpkins will be ready by October 31.
Pumpkin-
Watermelon! It has grown through the fence!
Football Season has begun! Texas Tech is off to a great start!!! WRECK 'EM!
Jerr Bear's 26th Birthday is just around the corner! Friday we are going to the Yankee's game with friends, Saturday we having people over to watch football and eat cake, and Sunday we are going over the Jane and Glenn's for a family birthday party!
