Anniversary Date!

Today we finally had a chance to celebrate our anniversary! We had to get up early to get to our first destination when it opened so we started the day with a Starbucks run.

Our first stop was the Houston Zoo. We love going to zoos and haven't had the opportunity to go in the two years we've lived in Houston. Since the weather has been very hot, we got to the zoo early hoping the animals would be somewhat active before it got miserable. I was a little disappointed at first because I realized the camera was not in my purse but I don't think I missed too many picture opportunities since most of the animals are made less photogenic by the methods the zoo uses to keep the animals where they are suppose to be. We saw all our favorite animals and were finished with our visit just as the two of us and the animals were starting to get grumpy. We really like the Houston zoo and are looking forward to going back for future visits.

For lunch we stopped by Hungry's in Rice Village. It is a little expensive for a normal lunch but we decided to splurge since we were celebrating our anniversary. The atmosphere is so calm and the food is quite tasty. If you haven't been there your should try it!

After lunch we went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit we have been wanting to see. We are slight history and art nerds and it was so cool to see these in person. The exhibit was really impressive compared to others we have gone to. Time Magazine listed it as a "must see". I would also like to add that they had a very nice gift shop.

I highly recommend it but do have a warning to pass along. When I'm in teacher mode I'm very aware of what is going on around me so very few things startle me or catch me off-guard. As common sense would dictate, I'm not in teacher mode when I'm not at school. As I was examining a statue and wondering why it didn't look to be made out of the same material as the others it started to come towards me. I let out a short loud scream (in a totally silent museum room) because I thought this statue was about to fall on me without me even touching it and I had no idea how heavy it was going to be. Turns out it was a person dressed as a statue! I hate to sound like a bad sport but I really didn't like that. I don't like being scared by movies let alone in real life. The entire situation was made worse by the crowd of people standing on the other side of the room who had been waiting to see him scare someone. They were all laughing hysterically at me. Mike sweetly walked me to the next room while I tried really hard not to look like a bigger loser by crying about it. I settled down after a while and enjoyed the rest of the exhibit (from a safe distance or hiding behind Mike). All in all it is definitely worth seeing...just watch out for the one in the dark corner that everyone is looking at but won't go near...unless you like that kind of stuff.

Two Years!!!

Has it really been two years? I love you!!!

Packing, Moving, & Settling In...

We've been so busy the past week or so packing everything up and getting everything moved. We have spent the past few days getting settled in and unpacking. I decided to take a break and give a quick overview of what we have been up to.

We are both pretty good at packing and enjoyed rediscovering some of the items that have been hiding in our apartment for two years. It was like getting a bunch of new stuff without having to pay for it. What do you think of Sadie as a 20 pound purse dog?

It is very difficult to go through doorways with Sadie in tow. She stayed still for a few minutes but got restless very quickly. I would need a different purse for all my stuff since Sadie takes up an entire medium to large tote bag by herself. I probably won't be taking my purse dog out with me anytime soon.

We dropped by Greyhound to pick up a reinforcement for the move.

Mike's brother Steven came to visit and help with the move. He was glad to be leaving the awful weather that seemed to hang over north Texas most of last week.

Sadie is very fond of the windows in the living room. As if they aren't enough, she also enjoys sunning herself in the backyard.

Speaking of wild things in the backyard, we have a couple of frogs that we see almost every night when Sadie goes out right before bedtime. I really like frogs and I hope they stay. I am hoping to eventually have a bird feeder because there are some interesting birds in the area too.

Check out my new washer and dryer! I'm having a great time playing with them and I'm still shocked by how quiet they are. (Thank you to mom and grandpa who were major contributors!) What do you think of the green walls? This room was a copper color when we bought the house and we wanted it to be a fun color. It took a little getting use to but I really like it.

We slept in the house for a couple of nights now and really love having a house. Moving was really no big deal thanks to all our friendly helpers who had our stuff out of the apartment and into the house in record time. (Thanks guys!) Now we are unpacking as fast as we can because living out of boxes gets old really quick. Anyone need a whole bunch of boxes? They actually fold down pretty nicely.

Birthday Fun!

In addition to Mike's sweet birthday post there were many things that made my birthday celebration special!

I had never had to go to school on my birthday until this year.  The running joke was that for my birthday I was going to get the rest of the summer off.  Not a bad gift!  Since it was the last day of school everyone was a little crazy but overall things were not too bad.  It was my day to ride one of the bus routes but once I got on the bus half of the students decided they would rather walk home.  My friends at school made it a special day for me!  I got some sweet cards, a few gifts, flowers, a tasty chocolate cake, and plenty of smiles and well wishes.  When Mike came at the end of the day to help me with the last of my end of the year tasks, he brought me the most beautiful fragrant roses.  We took it easy on Friday since we were both exhausted from wrapping up the school year.

Before our dinner date on Saturday Mike gave me my birthday present.  Since our finances are a little tight because of our recent pricey purchases he picked out a few small items that were just what I wanted.  Mike is great at picking out cards and making secret plans.  I didn't know where we were going for dinner but the card mentioned fondue.

Check out my handsome date!  The lighting at The Melting Pot is pretty low so the pictures are a little dark.  Dinner was the big part of my birthday gift.

The birthday girl!  (My students decided that females under thirty years old are still considered girls.  Guess I won't be a woman for a few more years.)

Cheese Fondue with garlic, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes! 

Salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar!

Plate of raw meat with accompanying raw veggies and sauces! 

So much fun!  I love how we never run out of things to talk about!  We laugh all the time!

I think I like fondue because I can take my time.  I'm known to be a slow eater (possibly because I talk a lot) and fondue is definitely my speed.  When we were first dating Mike purposefully slowed down his eating speed so that I wouldn't feel rushed.

They knew it was my birthday so they put a candle in the cheesecake on our desert plate.

White Chocolate Fondue!  It is simple but my favorite.  (I'm also a vanilla ice cream fan.)  This the first time I have had rice crispy treats to dip in fondue and they were amazing.  I think my favorite is still the marshmallows and Mike is always a big fan of brownies.

Even Sadie was tired after all the birthday fun.

I do need to admit something that I have already laughed about with my twin sister.  The past two years as my birthday has been coming up I have somehow forgotten that it is Christine's birthday too until the last minute.  I don't know why!  She is quite forgiving and her theory is that since our birthday comes right at the end of the school year I'm probably plenty busy with school stuff.  I haven't ever totally forgotten.  The card and gift are quickly purchased and end up arriving just in time.  She is much better about planning ahead when it comes to getting a card and gift for me.

Alex took Christine on a dinner and dancing cruise run by the Gateway Clipper Fleet in Pittsburgh for her birthday.  Sounds like they had a great time!

We usually spend more talking about how we are different than how we are the same.  In many ways we are polar opposites.  Looking at this picture made me think of two similarities.  We both like hanging out in our pajamas and love our dogs.  Happy Birthday Twinkiekins!

Happy Birthday Suzi!

Happy Birthday Suzi!

You are so wonderful and I am the luckiest man in the world to be married to you and get to love you everyday.  I think about you throughout my whole day and am always excited to hurry home to see you.  I hope you enjoy your gift of no more school for the summer - it was hard to arrange with Spring ISD but I made it happen for you - just kidding!  I hope this has been a great day for you and I am excited that I have gotten spend it you.  You are so special to me.

Love,

Mike

Furniture Shopping & Assembly...

A few weekends ago we decided to go shopping for a dinning room table and chairs.  We saw a lot of furniture!  (I snapped a picture of the Rogers St sign from the moving vehicle in road trip style.)

This is the first set we saw that we were interested in.  I tend to be a quick shopper.  I either really like it or really don't.  Mike said we would keep it in mind and keep looking at what other stores had to offer.

This is the next table we were interested in.  You are suppose to select the top, legs, color, finish, chairs, and all that stuff.  I'm not much of a "designer" so picking various options for things slightly terrifies me.  I'll pick out bits I like but probably won't be happy with the finished product once it is put together.  I would rather see something all together and say "That's the one I want I'll take it".  It was very tempting though.

This table honestly isn't our style at all but it was pretty cool to look at.  It was one of those times when I had to think to myself "it looks great and I kind of want it buy could I really live with it".  Typically the answer is "no" and I move on after taking it in just long enough to start listing reasons I don't like it.

This was yet another interesting option.  I sat on a lovely chair nearby that I couldn't afford and thought about our options.  With all the new house stuff going on I have gotten into the habit of taking pictures of rooms in the house and possible items for those rooms because it helps me picture everything together a little better.

One of the furniture stores had friendly ponies outside to welcome us.  This one kept trying to taste my purse.  I wonder if the store trained him to take wallets from people.  I guess he has to earn his keep.

This pony was sort of lazy.  He better be careful or he could become an upholstery option.

Her is an example of what I was talking about a few pictures ago.  I took picture of the space where we wanted to put the table (and of course measured the space) so that I could remember  what it looks like.

We did have to wait for the table and chairs we ordered to come in because apparently it is a very popular set.  In the meantime we had a busy few weeks since it is the end of the school year.  We went to the high school's band banquet and had a great time with the other directors.

Isn't there a saying that says "things will get worse before they get better"?  I hadn't considered how many big boxes there would be.  We saved some money by picking it up from the warehouse and putting it together ourselves.  Mike put together the table and I put together the chairs.  It all went very smoothly with just a few slight challenges.

What do you think?  It was the first dining room set we saw.  Does anyone want to come give it a try?  We did sit in all the chairs and gave them the wiggle test.  As you can see they all passed the test!

Bridal Shower!

Last weekend I helped host a bridal shower for my college roommate Amanda in Dallas.  My proudest contribution (other than the previously posted bridal shower invites that are a close second) were the cupcakes.  Since I don't live in Dallas my mom was a huge help finding a bakery and handling the details.  We got vanilla and Mexican chocolate cupcakes with icing similar to the color of the bridesmaids dresses.  Most had a daisy accent to represent one of the bride's favorite flowers and the bride's cupcake had an edible "A".  Can you tell by that long description of the cupcakes that I was really excited about how they turned out?  They tasted fabulous!

The shower was held at the home of the parents of one of the bridesmaids.  The moms and bridesmaids present pulled together a spectacular shower spread.  (We definitely missed the friends who were not able to make it.)  We even got to use fine china!

Amanda put on her best bridal smile.  Gift cards were my favorite wedding gift because they were portable and provided numerous options.

Amanda was very excited to receive her prized Kitchen Aid mixer from all her favorite ladies!  Big thanks to her sister Laura for making it happen!  (She didn't look nearly as excited when we dropped off the stackable washer and dryer.  For those of you who are wondering...it traveled well and is already happily swishing away at its new home.)  

Congratulations Amanda!  Only about one month to go!