Labor Day...Not Too Laborious

Hello all!

Labor Day weekend came up so quickly this year.  Rob and I had been going 90 miles an hour the past few weekends, so we decided to rent a condo in Galveston and hang out for the weekend. We knew if we stayed in Houston, we would work on the house and not really enjoy the weekend and rest.  We invited my mom and took Jonah along. He loved being part of the action.

We got there on Saturday around 2:00 and waited for my mom to get there. Of course, Rob couldn’t resist catching a little football….no surprises there!  The condo also had a huge porch, so it was great to just sit out there and relax. 

My mom got there a little later and we caught up and then headed out to eat dinner. That night we just relaxed and headed to bed.

The next morning, we worked out and then hung out. I read, Rob watched more football, and my mom caught up on work emails. It was great to just relax and hang out. That night Mom made her famous ribs. My mouth waters just thinking about them. 

We enjoyed a great dinner together, and then turned on the A&M game. Unfortunately, my mom had brought the book, Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo and I had started it right before the game started. If you have read this, you know you can’t put this book down.  So, as much as like A&M football, I absolutely did not see the first game. This book was just too good. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has an afternoon to read. It is a really easy read and will encourage you in your faith tremendously.

That next morning, we hung out on the porch and then headed to the pool.

It was great to relax for a while. We headed back to Houston around 2:00. Mom came by and saw our house for the first time. I couldn’t help but think as she congratulated us on it, that my dad would have said the same thing. It was always so much fun to share good news with Dad. He made successes double the fun somehow. I know he is proud of us and all that we have accomplished since he has been gone. He also told me before he left, however, that even though he couldn’t be at our major life moments physically, that he would be there; it would just look and feel differently. I can honestly say that I know this is true. I have felt him on several occasions since his passing, and I know that he will continue to make life’s sweet moments even sweeter.

All in all, it was a great weekend. It was good to see Mom, good to get some good relaxing in, and good to see (or maybe just hear!) the Ags open their season with a win. You can’t beat that!

More to come!

Withdrawals...

It's official...I am going through summer withdrawals.  I know that it's October and I still have eight more months of working until sweet summer returns, but I just thought I would throw it out there. 

This school year is kicking my behind, so to raise my spirits, I thought I would touch on all of this summer that I didn't get to blog about. Put some sunscreen on and grab a lemonade... :)

This summer was the first of my teaching summers that I didn’t have anything major to work on. I had a lot of time to do lunch dates with girl friends, hang out by the pool, aaaaaand search for houses online. If you’ve ever done this, you know what a time suck this can be… It sure was nice though to have some free time to get stuff done around the house, stay on top of laundry, cook dinner regularly, and have energy when Rob got off work. It gave me a real taste of what being a housewife might be like. And I must say, it was pretty nice. 

Since I wasn't working during the day, there were a couple of times that I got to play with our nieces. They came over to swim a few times and they were so much fun. I am so happy that Rob and my children will get to grow up with these two cuties. They'll be such great cousins! For now, Jonah will have to do!

Jonah loves his cousin, Claire!

Beautiful girl at the pool. 

Price got to come in a few times while he was traveling to and from his internship. It was always fun to see him, even if It was only for a night. Below is a pic that I snapped at one of the Astros games.

We also had some great time with Rob’s cousins, Stephen and Teri, and their 3 beautiful children, Ava, Simon, and Lucy. They were visiting from Chicago for a few weeks, so it was great to see them several times. They got to come to Saturday breakfast one week, so I snapped a few pics there.

We got to see my sweet grandparents when we went to the ranch on the 4th of July.

Love this man!

 

Also, since several of Rob’s family members are in Houston, we get to see his side of the family pretty often. It was so good to see everyone every few weeks.

Isn’t he just too cute toting around a baby??

His nieces just love him. :)

Summertime also means celebrating Johnna Beth’s birthday J This year, we all came into town without her knowing and we surprised her at Lauren and Trevor’s with a house full of people that love her. 

The guys grilled burgers, the girls caught up, and we all fell in love with Cobalt, Sarah and Bill’s newest addition. 

How precious is he???

 

We love our Johnna Beth and are SO glad she was born!

On Saturday, the girls grabbed lunch and then Sarah and Bill had to split. Lauren, Johnna, and I then got pedicures at what must have been one of the sketchiest places that has ever touched my toes. BUT, we shared some good laughs and headed out. Lauren and I had both read The Help this summer and the movie came out that weekend, we headed out to watch it. It was fabulous, by the way, if you haven’t gotten a chance to see it. (The book is even better if you have even more time.)

That night we celebrated Johnna’s birthday with her parents and Robbie at the Black Sheep. Good times were had by all. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating to snap any pics of that evening. Boo.

The next morning, I headed out pretty early to get back into Houston. I was so glad that I got to be with such special people that weekend. I miss being in the same town as them. The year that we were in Austin together was such a fun time, and I think often about how wonderful it would be if someday we were all back together again. Maybe, just maybe, someday…

Well, there's just a little taste. Counting down!! Hurry up, summer!! 

More posts to come soon!