So Thankful

Well, it was our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife, and I must say, I'm not sure we're going to be able to top it. :) This one will definitely go down in the books as a favorite.

We started out our break with a lunch date at one of our favorite sushi spots, Redfish. I'm not sure why, but lunch dates are just fun. We never get to have them because we work about an hour away from each other, so it is always a treat.

That night we ran a few errands to prepare for fixing our first Thanksgiving meal together. I know, such a big feat, but we were determined. I've never done anything for the Thanksgiving meal besides dessert and roles, so we had no clue how it would end up.

The next morning, Rob got up at 3:45 a.m. to start the turkey process. He was such a trooper, and it actually turned out really delicious. Huge props to him for that :) The rest of our meal included Martha Stewart's green bean casserole, butternut squash, homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, maple glazed carrots, turkey gravy, and pecan pie. While we prepared to eat, we watched the Macy's day parade and just enjoyed being together. I will always have such fond memories of that morning. Two newlyweds, pretending they knew what they were doing, but doing it together. :) For two novices, I can say that we would definitely do it again. We really enjoyed it.

Here are a few pics of our meal prep and meal.

Our feast :)

Rob carving the turkey. Such concentration...

The setup...

It was delicious!

Right after we finished our meal, we packed the car and headed to the Texas and Texas A&M game. Price is a junior at Texas, so we had a really great time there. It was pretty chilly, but totally worth it. And a win for the Ags...can't get better than that!!

The fam at the game.

Two of my favorite boys :)

My main man...

That night after the game, rock star Rob drove until 3:00 in the morning straight to his family's ranch in Leakey. I was, of course, no help at all, but he did great. The rest of the weekend, we spent there at the ranch, enjoying our family, eating great food, having great conversation, hiking around the property, and hunting. Here are a few pics from the ranch.

Some of the Williams women on a hike

Jonah in hog heaven...

My two roommates :)

He's so handsome :)

We finished our weekend with shopping in San Antonio and then driving home to Houston. What a fun way to start out all of our Thanksgivings. We had so many blessings to be thankful for, and we were blessed to be able to share them with each other. I understood the statement that weekend that when you marry, your joys are doubled. So true. We're looking forward to spending many more together. :)

More to come!

The Williamses Do Vegas

Hello all! I hope this blog finds you all well. Well, my Christmas break started yesterday, which was much needed. I love my kiddos, but this break came at a clutch time. I even slept until 10:00 a.m. this morning, which never happens. :) Hopefully I'll have some time to update our blog a few times over the break.

At the beginning of November, Rob and I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting some dear friends, the Clements, in Vegas. It was a quick trip, but we packed in as much as we could! We both took off a Friday and flew out early that morning to go meet Chase to see the strip during the day time. Lauren had to do some things at work that day, so Chase gave us a great tour of all the hot spots. We hadn't seen either of them since they moved from Houston in July, so it was so great to see them. I must say, I was not great at taking pics on this trip. But here are a few that I did get.

The boys catching up in front of the Bellagio.

Us. :)

In our favorite hotel, the Wynn. Rob already promised that we could stay here next time. :)

After walking around all day on the strip, we headed to the Clement house to meet Lauren. That night, we made dinner at their beautiful home and then went to the country club in their neighborhood for some fireside drinks and good convo.

That next morning, we ran a few errands, (pedicures for the girls and gambling for the boys) and then all met up for lunch. We headed back to the house to get ready for dinner and a show. We headed into town and grabbed dinner at an incredible restaurant, Olives. Olives is one of Todd English's restaurants, and the food and wine was definitely scrumptious. The restaurant is also located right next to the water show in front of the Bellagio. You couldn't find a better spot in the whole city to watch the show. Here are a few pics from dinner that night.

The four of us.

Love this man!

After our incredible dinner, we saw the Viva Elvis show by Cirque Du Soleil. We were definitely impressed by the stunts and choreography. We loved it!

Unfortunately, my pictures stop there. Not a win for Mallory and her picture taking that weekend. We finished the night with some good dessert and dancing the night away at one of the night clubs there. The boys even won some good dinero at the craps tables. :)

We grabbed brunch the next morning, the boys played a few more rounds at the tables, and then we hopped back on the plane. It was a quick trip, but we had a blast. For two people who didn't think they would enjoy Vegas, we are definitely sold. We'll be back soon!!

More to come!

A Low Grade Fever

Ok, quick, please someone have a baby that we (I) can keep for a night a week or so. Lately in our excursions Rob and I have come across some of the CUTEST kiddos. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a little bit of a fever. Our friends make some cute babies :)

Our precious niece...

Peek-aboo with Bishop at the Snyders' house...

Welcoming Elizabeth into the world with the Amos crew...

Big smiles with Emma at the Howell household...

Eli Parrish cuddling with Jonah...

And, of course, I have to brag on my precious cousin, Abe...

How could I not???? :)

As of late...

Hello!

Ok, so it looks like once a month now is pushing it...if the trend continues, I'll be lucky to get one in ever! Quick highlight of some of our favorite memories from the past few months...

We've had a busy, but fun-filled few months. The last time I updated, I had just started school and we were getting in the groove of being married. That has definitely been the best part of the past few months...married life is so fun! I still LOVE the fact that I get to go home to Rob every evening after work. I love that he is just "on tap" whenever I want to hang out with him...love it! Because our weeks are filled, weekends are worth gold at the Williams' household. We're having such a blast. :)

Below is a pic of our dinner date the first night we had in our new apartment together. Such fun memories!

School has been a little bit of a difficult transition for me. I have always struggled with getting comfortable somewhere and then resisting change in any area of my life. My job is a great example of that. My school in Katy is wonderful and I have some really great students, I just miss a ton of things about my school in Austin, especially some of the people that I worked with. I know I will get to that level of comfort in my new school, it is just taking a lot longer than I had imagined it would. Below is a picture of some of my team. I'm blessed with my 4th grade peeps :)

This was Courtney's last day at school before she was induced! (The lighting was a little weird.)

These are a few of my sweet students. Rob and I have gone to a few of their games on Saturdays to watch them play. Aren't they cute?!?

In September, we also got to attend an Aggie game, which was a blast. Just being back there at Kyle field brought back so many wonderful memories. A&M played Louisiana Tech, and our friends David and Kristin invited us to go with them. It was a fun game, and we had a blast. Thanks Howells!

Another of our favorite weekends in the past few months has been when Rob and Cindy dunked their Aggie rings. Cindy had just gotten hers and Rob had never dunked his. So we all got together in Aggieland for some good 'ole tradition and good times. Here is a pic that was taken right before they started their endeavor. They did so well!

That same weekend, we woke up the next morning and headed to Dallas for a wedding (yes, we're still getting our usual fix in and loving it!). Ted and Kimberly Jakus had a beautiful wedding and we were glad to get to be there. Congrats you two!

With the anniversary of Dad's passing next week, I have been a little bit weepy lately. It is tough to remember back to where we were last year at this time and the emotions that we were feeling. This morning, Rob and I got the chance to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K that raises funds for breast cancer research. I thought it might be difficult to see a lot of people that are enduring what we went through last year, but it was just the opposite this morning. It was wonderful to be around people that were survivors and living their lives to the fullest. I loved all of the bright smiles and laughter that were coming from a group of 33,000 people that gathered for a potentially tough and sensitive occasion. I got to meet up with a few of my Stanley co-workers, which was fun. Below are a few pics from this morning.

More to come! :)

Love,

St. Lucia Honeymoon

Hello!

Well, once a month seems to by my limit on the blog. I'll get it together at some point!

I'm only about 2 months behind... :)

So, here's a quick run down of our honeymoon.

We had an incredible time in St. Lucia. We were of course the gross couple, but we ate it up. We couldn't believe we were actually married (sometimes it is still hard to believe!) and we loved every minute of it.

We stayed in Austin for the first full day and rested up before being at the airport the next morning around 4:30 a.m...yikes!

We had a full week in St. Lucia with lots of rest and lots of fun. Here are a few of my faves from the week. SO ready to go back.

Poolside in Utopia :)

Dinner at our favorite restaurant, La Toc.

Zip lining in the rain forest.

Another yummy dinner! We didn't stop eating!!

Mud bath in volcano ash.

Sight seeing day

Beachside at the Grand.

:)

Love!

We can't wait to go back :)

More soon!