Happy 50th Aunt Sherri!!

The same weekend we were in Houston for Shannie's Shower, we also were able to celebrate my Aunt Sherri's 50th birthday with my family.

We went to her house and brought food, snacks, and flowers for the festivities. We all wanted to watch the Belmont to see if Big Brown would pull out the Triple Crown but since he came in last place it was good we had other reasons for our PAR-TAY!!!

My parents gave Sherri an Ipod and Kevin, Kari, Chris and I got a car adapter for it. We don't want her going over the hill without the hippest electronic accessories. Kevin and Chris swam in their pool and we all took a shot at riding the clown bike. It was funniest to see Kevin and Chris try because they have such long legs on a little bike. But my mom and I had just as much fun trying to get it going. Chris even figured out how to pop a wheelie...it was AWESOME!

Grandma made strawberry shortcake which just happens to be one of my favorite summertime treats!

Christmas in July...

I am behind on lots of things...not just our blog. But, slowly I am catching up! The attached YouTube video is from our Christmas in New Hampshire with Chris's family. We were having so much fun with our new camera and then subsequently, I had fun making a little movie! Enjoy...

Shannie Shower...

Right after Lake Catherine Chris and I made the drive to Houston. We mainly were headed to Houston for Shannon Boyer's (my matron of honor) baby shower that I was co-hostessing. However, we loved the time with my family too! Friday we even picked 16 pounds of blueberries...my favorite summer activity. Mom and I realized that this is our 22nd year to pick berries but she didn't want to admit that....should that mean I'm not publishing it? Hmmm?

Anyway, Saturday was the shower for Shannie! She is having a little boy and is due in August. This was one of several showers and she got SO much stuff. She will be more than prepared when Brayden arrives. The nursery is done and painted in two shades of blue. I love the paint colors with the contrasted dark wood furniture they choose. They are going with a sports theme and just got the bumper and such a the shower. We also asked if people would bring books to start a little bookshelf for Brayden. It was super fun to remember some old favorites. Chris suggested A Very Hungry Caterpillar which we got and then I also found The Adventures of Frog and Toad which brought up some other fun memories for Chris. We love books! It was a fun shower and good to catch up with old friends. Mostly it was fun to see the glowing mommy-to-be!!

I also loved designing the invite and decorating cookies for her shower! My mom and I made all the cookies which was super fun in her gourmet kitchen. Then Kari, Mom, and I decorated the cookies. I couldn't have done it without them!

Lake Catherine...fun!

Seriously, I am trying to get caught up! For those who subscribe and get the emails, I apologize that you are getting several in your inbox today. I hope to get back on track and not have so many at once.

The first week of June we headed to Arkansas, right outside of Hot Springs, to Lake Catherine State Park for a vaca with Chris's Mom, Sister Robyn, and her husband Brad. We stayed in cabins in the woods and enjoyed a fabulous few days away from commercialism!

We took turns cooking meals for dinner, played cards (darn that Craxton rummy!), went fishing, hiking, and really enjoyed time together and time resting. I could write tons here but am desperately trying to catch up so here are my top 10 points of interest...in no particular order.

1. Fishing - or as Brad called it "feeding the fish." We rented a Pontoon boat and spent the bulk of the day baiting our hooks, feeling a tug, and later pulling in our reel to see the fish had eaten the worm without getting hooked. Chris was the only one to catch a fish and it was a smaller fish...so we ate our back up dinner - frozen pizza. I'm thankful for yummy pizza and not having to clean smelly fish!

2. Nature classes- one of the finer moments of the trip was Chris, Sally, and I deciding to go to one of the nature courses on tracking animals. We went early to explore the nature center which had several snakes which I am still having nightmares about. They also had adorable turtles and lots of information about animals in the area. We headed outside for the course and were early to get front row seats. A few minutes later Naturalist Julie pops out with a big smile and child-like energy. We looked around to notice the other "students" were children. Apparently they have a Jr. Naturalist program that these girls were working towards and this course was one of their credits. Ha! We sat through the class anyway and not surprisingly learned stuff!

3. Baby deer - I loved that we could look right outside of our cabin and see Bambi. Seriously - these babies were still wobbly on their legs they were so young. ADORABLE!

4. Vistas - I love new words! Robyn educated me on "Vista" which is a view.

5. Bum Vista- Later Robyn clarified that a true Vista is a spectacular view that you can see for miles...like 50 (can you see 50 miles?) into the distance. So, some views are bum vistas because they just aren't that spectacular.

6. Hike #1 - Chris, Robyn, Sally, and I did a 2.5 mile hike. It went over the "Indiana Jones bridge" and by a sweet little waterfall. It wasn't too hot and fun to work our way through the woods. We saw a few bum vistas.

7. Hike #2 - Chris and I did the unthinkable. We woke up at 5:00am. On the last day we wanted to attempt the more treacherous 4 mile hike to the top of the dam. It was BEAUTIFUL and so worth getting up for. We saw an adorable box turtle early on our trail. We enjoyed the vista at the top...it was not a bum vista!

8. Sally's Smorgashborg - The last night we were there we had lots of random food left overs so Sally organized it all into a meal. We had scrambled eggs, grilled veggies, biscuits, salad, lemon squares, cupcakes, and possibly some other stuff I am forgetting! It was such a smorgashborg but soooo fun and yummy! I love that Sally can make a fun event out of anything!

9. Birthday presents - Ok...so I know I'm really spreading this birthday thing out but this couldn't go without mentioning. Robyn and Brad brought us birthday presents to the trip! They seem to know me all to well as I got a burlap lined fabric bag that has old fashioned cars printed on it. Can I say LOVE?!!! It is so adorable and I've been so into using these bags for groceries, etc. that I was just over the moon. Loved it!

10. Poison Ivy - We both brought up proof of our treacherous hike! For Chris it was a slight rash that itched and healed in a matter of days. For me...it was oozing boils that got disgusting looks from all who happened to catch a glimpse of my ankles gone cankles in the last 2...READ IT...2 weeks. Seriously, why am I only able to out-do Chris when it comes to ailments?

It was a super fun week and I would recommend Lake Catherine. I hope we'll go back some day...

Birthday Surprise 3!!

I know, I know...you're wondering how long it's going to be all about me and my birthday! A girl only turns 28 once so I might as well stretch it out, right?

Monday night rolls around and really the birthday was behind us. I had a great weekend and was ready to get back to reality where I can't do whatever I want and chalk it up to "my birthday weekend." So, I'm trying to get Chris to commit to which chore we'll tackle and every time I ask he diverts the question with "How was your day?" and then he tells me stories that are clearly longer than the normal stories he tells. I was getting annoyed that he wasn't answering my questions! And, while I'd love to believe that overnight he grew into a Drama King and that his story telling about his days would now match mine but let's get real. This is Chris...the practical one. Sooooo, I'm about to blow when the door bell rings and the smile of relief crosses Chris's face. Was he seriously just saved by the bell?



(Random side story - Chris and I very rarely "feel" different in age. However, when we talk about anything relating to our childhood the 5.5 year difference is much heavier. One recent discovery is that Chris never watched Saved by the Bell!!! I guess he was too old for silly high school drama by the time it got popular. I however religiously watched and always wanted to be Kelly. So weird that he has no idea about the first tv show I was ever addicted to.)

Ok...so open the front door and SURPRISE!!! Sarah and Angie are there. Again...confused I start to slowly put pieces together. Really people...what is wrong with me? Clearly, I am so not good at surprises. Instead of the perfect hands to the cheek and gasping response of a surprised drama queen I am usually dumbfounded and slow to catch on. It's a miracle I don't drool on myself with the "Huh?!" look that surprise stirs in me. I should work on that....

Anyway, the girls coordinated with Chris for a girls night for my birthday!!!! He quickly disappeared and left us to girly movies, manicures, and snacks. They brought me a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers, yummy marshmallow topped chocolate cupcakes, wine, popcorn, and my favorite flavor ice cream. It was so so so so so so so SWEET of them! Can I just mention that Sarah had a 2 week old at this point? And...Angie had already made me a strawberry birthday cake on Friday night? They absolutely went above and beyond. But, I LOVED IT! We never watched a movie or did manicures. We only got through the cupcakes and wine....but not for lack of time. We literally got talking and could barely stop for a picture when Chris came home 4.5 hours later. It was so super fun and such a great extension of my birthday weekend!!

I love you girls!

Birthday Surprise 2!

With Brudder and Sister on their way to Houston, Chris decided it was time to give me my present and then tell me about his birthday surprise.

He had planned to take me to a drive-in!!! I was so excited because I've never been to a drive in and always wanted to go. I love movies, I love cuddling, and I love being with Chris so I always imagined the drive in to be a perfect date! So we packed up blankets, pillows, some speakers to make the radio louder, snacks, and drinks. We drove about 40 minutes North of us to Killeen. We were racing the sun because as soon as it goes down, the movie starts. The great thing about the drive-in is that you actually get two movies for the one entry price. We got there with sun to spare, got the car all set up with our cushy blankets, and settled in for Baby Mama and Iron Man.

It was totally campy fun and romantic all at the same time! I was a perfect evening where it was cool and breezy. We were cuddling under the stars feeding each other yummy snacks when it hit me.....this blissful moment included something else dear to my heart for a different set of reasons. We were in the RS.

For those who are long time readers of our letters and blog know all about our Rust Spot - the '91 white Acura RS that my husband never gives up on. Without re-hashing all the fine memories of our beloved RS, just know that to put it lovingly this beater has been know to be the bane of my existence and part of some of our not-so-fine newly wed memories.

So, can you imagine my horror in the realization that my perfect birthday moment, at the birthday drive-in, with the birthday snacks, and birthday cuddling included the RS in all it's glory? I feel like the RS is much like Dwight on The Office. 99.9% of the time he's annoying and worth making fun of. But every once in awhile there's a redeeming moment where you are almost relieved that it's not one more painful moment in the life of Dwight...or in our case RS. I guess in the birthday goodness, this was one of those redeeming moments for RS.



I love you RS. I love that the drive-in was all I'd hoped for and more. I love Baby Mama. I love Chris.



I LOVE 28!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday Surprise!

Soooo, it's was that time again...another Crack Team birthday. As you can see from previous posts, we don't mess around when it's birthday times. And, as a random side note can I stand on my "Even-year" soap box for a moment? This was my 28th birthday. I LOVE the even numbered years and years with 5. All other years don't sound pretty and historically have not been my better years. So, lets just say I was super stoked to go from drab and hideous 27 to glamorous 28! I'm weird, I own it.

Saturday night before my birthday we went to dinner with our friends Paul and Jana. Chris and I have a Pluckers membership. For those who don't Keep it Weird (Austin slogan for supporting local businesses), Pluckers is a fabulous hot wing place that is an Austin original. As one of their members we get a free meal on each of our birthdays and we certainly don't let that go by without cashing in. So we all enjoyed some hot wings and then played Settlers of Catan at their house. Burning lips and competition ring in the birthday like none other...

We got home and for some reason Chris wanted us to stay up. I did the best I could until right after midnight and then was so tired I had to go to bed. Around 2am his phone rang. The next thing I remember was Chris saying "Put on some clothes." Let me paint this picture...I am so groggy I can barely move, I have the anti-grinding over sized mouth guard in my mouth, I throw on my glasses, and managed to find my I-love-shoes robe. I walk downstairs and see Chris at the front door telling someone that I was awake. He swings open the door and there stand my Brudder and Sister-in-law in a suit and cocktail dress. First of all - my brother and sister are those crazy-types that go to sleep by 9:30 or 10 at night in order to get up at 4:30 or 5 in the morning. If I call Brudder at 10:30 at night he answers groggily or angry. By 11:30pm he answers because it's the middle of his night and he's sure if I am calling it's an emergency (it never is, it just gets him to answer).

Anyway, I was so confused and still a picture of a not-so-sleeping beauty. But with lots of questions and some passing moments, I finally understood that they were at a wedding in Dallas and had coordinated with Chris to come in for my birthday. They never intended for it to get so late. We all finally went to bed....but I was THRILLED!

Sunday morning we went to church and then did another one of my favorite Austin lunches...CHUY'S!!!! We sat on the patio, ate awesome Mexican, and had a super fun time together. Afterwards we played some Wii and hung out some more before they had to head back to Houston.

I loved my birthday surprise!