Last rent check!

Today, we wrote our last rent check ever! It feels awesome! We also had our final walk through of the new house. Although the roof is still being replaced, everything looks great! The sellers still have quite a bit of packing to do before they move to Ohio on Saturday! Tomorrow we close on the house and we can finally move starting on Sunday. Good thing these people are moving so far away… they are leaving all the curtains up in the house, as well as a stand up freezer in the garage. Free stuff = awesome!
 
I wonder what is appropriate nowadays for new neighbors coming into the neighborhood. Basket of muffins at the front door with a note? Personal knock on the door and tour of the house? Block party? All we know is… one of our driveway neighbors has a ski boat parked in his driveway… so we’re going to try to become really good friends with them! How soon do you start giving away spare keys? Or introduce them to the dog? Or give them our cell phone numbers? I mean what if Ranger got out of the backyard or the house was on fire or something? How soon should I elect Patrick for a position on the home owners association?
 
You should see our list of things to buy at Lowe’s this weekend. We are going to keep them in business, for sure.

Q Family Reunion

This past weekend we went to a family reunion, here are a few shots of the weekend! We went tubing, got a tan, played dominoes and ate a ton of food! Good times!

1week!

I think the Lord is trying to prepare us for home ownership. In the past year we have dealt with leaking air conditioner, broken fence gate, leaking dishwasher and now broken water heater in our rental house.
 
I went home for lunch today, which is normally a very relaxing time with my husband and dog where we can eat lunch and watch some TV. Today it was hectic. The plumber guy was there replacing the water heater, finally! The hole in the water heater occurred on Sunday afternoon and it’s just now getting replaced Wednesday afternoon. Not only that but even though we turned off the water to the water heater, water has continued to soak the carpets, gross.
 
I couldn’t open the garage door, so I went in the backyard. I noticed the backyard was wet and had spilled onto the driveway. Only to learn that he was draining more water out of the water heater, which is why the backyard was wet. And that the plumber man had experienced a shock… which killed the power to the house, which is why I couldn’t open the garage door. Stressful!! They also turned the water to the house off. Ugh.
 
We’re headed to a family reunion this weekend, so maybe all of the carpet will be dry by the time we return!?!
 
I think that it was meant to be for us to rent for a year before buying a house. Last year we bought W/D, refridgerator, king size master bed and master bedroom furniture set. Which is making this year’s move much easier! The only large thing on our list is a new couch. Of course we have about a million “little things”, but a couch is the only large purchase on the horizon. Plus we’ve been able to experience what we do and don’t like about a house, before we pick one for good.
 
We close on our new house in exactly one week! The more we grow to dislike the house we’re in, the more we look forward to getting into our new house! Can’t wait to change our address on a zillion accounts, send out “we’ve moved” cards and introduce Ranger to his new home!

T-Shirts

Were you like us? You graduated from college and had about 834 tshirts? There's no telling how much $$ I spent on shirts for every event I ever attended in school.

Well my mom made us a blanket that incorporated a lot of our "college years" t-shirts. We love it and use it frequently! The other day I subjected Ranger to a dog photo shoot to show off the blanket and show off his cuteness...

Ranger is still recovering from Boss' week long staycation. Boss was sweet enough to leave some treats behind, so Ranger is coping with his departure.

Insert sleepy dog here.

This weekend, we...

...updated all of our frames, so they could be packed and ready for display in the new house!

...watched the water heater INSIDE our house bust a hole.

...used every towel we own to soak up the water from the carpet and tried to use the texas heat to dry them.

...ate ravioli and broccoli.

...watched Ranger be super cute.

2009

2009 was a big year for us. We graduated college, planned a wedding and got married, moved to Dallas and got jobs. My mom gave us a wall hanging with little cubbies for trinkets and at the top it says, “2009”. She had already halfway filled it with things that would remind of us the year that was 2009. There is a little baseball bat and glove, logos from our first jobs at RTG & AAA, stamps, quotes, keychains, dog tags, keys, verses, scrabble letters, photos, etc.

Well ever since we’ve had it hanging on our wall, we just continue to add to it, even though it’s not 2009 anymore. I think it will be something that always reminds us of the first few years we were married. It’s not full yet, but we’ll get there!

We have added:

Card from Carnival cruise we went on with Chris

Ranger’s old tag from previous owner

PK’s old AAA nametag

The key they first gave us to our rental house

Placecard from cousin's wedding

A little rock with "LOVE" that Connor made at sunday school

Mickey & Minnie wedding pin from Disney World

A little chick from Easter

Cheers to making memories!

Work.

It’s hard to believe that in about three weeks, I will have been at my current job for 2 years. I remember being pretty nervous that I wasn’t going to find a job and getting to the point that I’d work anywhere, just to get out of the house and start making money! (For the record, we were only married for 1 month before I found a job… and it almost killed me.) But the Lord had bigger plans for me. He provided me a great job that brought stability to our family and our bank account. When I interviewed for the job, I was told that this job was probably only going to last for 2 years, since it’s based on work for individual construction projects, that would eventually be built and be finished. At the time… 2 years seemed like an eternity away.
 
I remember after we had been working for a few months, PK and I just kind of looked at each other and said, “Oh my gosh, we have to work for the rest of our lives.” It was like it had just clicked. That people work until they retire. The thought of retirement, turning 65 years old and not taking money out of our 401K until then, was such a weird thing to think about. The thought of working for almost 45 years made me want to gag. Still does in fact.
 
When you’re in school, you base your mental calendar off semesters, summers, Christmas break and spring break. 2 years seemed so far away. And the first time June hit and we weren’t off at the lake lounging for summer was a big bummer.
 
Well 2 years has almost arrived. Luckily for me, construction hasn’t even started yet on this project. But the thought of sitting in this cubicle all the way through 2014, when construction is supposed to end, yet again seems so far away. Don’t get me wrong, I do not have this job secured through 2014… I mean, do we ever really have job security nowadays? But I’m here at least through the end of the year and we’ll see what happens next. When you work for a small engineering firm, as an administrative assistant, with no engineering degree, it doesn’t seem there is much room to move upward or even sideways. But I’m confident the Lord has big plans for me! Just today I was given a confidence boost from my boss, now that will put a pep in your step!
 
Happy Trails!

No outfit is complete without dog hair

I saw a sign that had this saying somewhere and it made me chuckle. I’ve got dog hair in every crevice of my house and on every inch of my nice black work pants. I’ve got lint rollers coming out my ears. Next to my bed, in the laundry room, in the car and at my desk at work. Ranger’s hair is a golden color, which sticks out on black pants really well. We’ve got carpet all throughout our rental house, which means we can never vacuum enough to keep up with the hair flow.
 
Our new house has laminate floors throughout all the main living areas, so we’re interested to see how he does as compared to carpet. I can imagine a lot of nail trimming and sliding past doorways. I can also imagine a lot more swiffering. But I would take swiffer over vacuum any day.
 
The backyard in our new house is pretty bare. Meaning no trees or shrubs, etc. I’m not trying to hate on the backyard, because it does have good grass, a covered patio, an awesome brand new fence and sprinkler system. Anyways, we wanted to add a personal touch to the backyard somehow (besides the dog pool), so I think we’re going to plant a tree. PK’s grandma always talks about the tree that they planted when they moved into their house and how tall it is now, so we like the idea of doing the same. Ranger will only have to wait a few years for shade, hehe.
 
Got an exciting summer ahead of us! The packing has commenced. Looking forward to moving, but not in 95 degree heat. Ugh!
 
Here are a few cute pictures of Ranger & Boss. Either staring at PK cause he has food in his hand or staring outside, but still laying inside where the AC is.

Happy trails!

I Don't Wanna Go Work Out Today

One thing that I need to get into my head: you will never regret a work out. The hardest part is starting, after that it’s all downhill! And it usually feels great afterwards!
 
Check out this I don’t want to work out today flowchart. Excuses! Excuses!
 

Texas Weekend

Our Foundation Group, which consists of "newlywed" couples from our church originally started with 6 couples. Well this summer, 2 of our couples are moving. So on Friday night, we had one last dinner with the Dunns, who are moving to Denver. We're going to miss them so much! But they are going to join us for a weekend on the lake in July, so we'll see them again soon.

Here is all 6 couples and 2 babies:

This is probably the only picture we have of all 14 of us! We've had such great times with these friends and made so many memories. Our first few years of marriage would have been much different without their friendship and influence. Looking forward to many more years of community!

Ya know how I mentioned the table and the adirondack chair that PK made? Well his next project was a cutting board. Check it out:

Look at those rounded edges! Looks professional!

On Saturday morning we ran a few errands and then ventured out to the dollar movie theater. And can I say it was totally worth it!?!? The theater was pretty small and the screen was pretty small and there were more kids in the theater and there was kind of a constant buzzing sound in the background of the movie, but was it worth it for $1/ticket? Absolutely. It's pretty much going to be hard to convince me to pay full price for a movie ticket again.

Then Saturday night we got to go 2-steppin! The Brannens are the other couple that will be moving this summer, so we jumped at the chance to hang with them for the night and go dancing!

Cowboys Red River is where we danced.

Here are the Brannens dancing up a storm!

Here we all here! We will miss them when they move too.

Look how cute my husband is.

Finally, our Sunday began with a great church service at Watermark. We just started a new series called, "Led". One of my favorite parts from this morning's message was:

Seven Questions to Ask Ourselves When We Are Facing Decisions

1. Will it benefit me spiritually? (1 Cor. 10:23)

2. Will it bring bondage? (1 Cor. 6:12)

3. Will it defile God’s temple? (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

4. Will it cause anyone to stumble? (1 Cor. 8:9)

5. Will it further the cause of evangelism? (1 Cor. 10:32-33)

6. Will it violate my conscience? (Rom. 14:23)

7. Will it bring glory to God? (1 Cor. 10:31)

You can listen to the message on WatermarkRadio.com, the message was titled, "Navigating Decisions".

After lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and a quick nap on the couch, we decided we would try out the pool at our gym. Turned out to be a great decision.

PK called in a mini-schliterbahn.

 It was very family and kid friendly, with tons of people!

We rode on one of the outdoor slides and waded around in the water. Then we ventured to the indoor pool and rode two different water slides, swam in the wave pool and went off the diving board. We felt like kids again! It was awesome to just have fun and not worry about what you looked like in a swimsuit. We definitely plan on going again. They've even got a concession stand and covered area with tables, just waiting for a picnic! The only negative is that Ranger misses out on great pool time, poor guy.

But Ranger has enjoyed having Boss, his dog friend, stay with us. They love the doggie pool, especially when they're outside on these 95 degree afternoons in Texas.

Finally our weekend ends! We grilled up some chicken for dinner, here's Ranger hoping to get some:

Now we'll end the evening by watching the Mavs play! Happy Trails!

Boss & Ranger

Best buds!!

iPhone Miracle

PK got an iPhone 4 this past Christmas and recently had an iPhone accident… meaning broken case + pavement = shattered screen. We had a few options. Get a brand new iPhone from AT&T, approximately $400ish. Or get the guy in the mall to try and fix the screen, approximately $130ish. PK decided to buy a kit online to fix the screen and was going to fix it himself; he also got a new case, totaling approximately $90. Although the screen looked great after he took it all apart and put it all back together, there were some areas of the touch screen that weren’t working properly. Which got to be really annoying… for instance, he couldn’t use the letter “n” on the keyboard and multiple other letters as well. And what is cool about an iPhone if the touch screen doesn’t work??? Nothing.
 
So today.. an iPhone miracle occurred. PK went to the Apple store, they couldn’t tell that he had replaced the screen on his own, deemed it a manufactoruing problem and replaced his iPhone 4 for FREE!! They never would have replaced it if the screen was shattered… so turns out spending the $90 on a new screen resulted in a brand new iPhone 4. Can you say “awesome”? Or can you say “cheating”? Kinda feels like it.
 
Anyways – I’m not complaining. PK doesn’t have an excuse anymore as to why he’s not responding to text messages and emails anymore! Hehe.
 
Happy Weekend!

Steal of a deal

My hubby and I got engaged 3 years ago today. On the front lawn of my parent’s lake house, with the sun setting, it was gorgeous. We hope to take some folks from our foundation group there this summer – can’t wait for them to see where we practically grew up.
 
We are soooo ready to move out of our rental house. The AC leak problem reoccurred. Started on Friday morning, AC man didn’t come until Monday afternoon, which means wet carpet, soaked towels, wet dog paws, mold smell and water stains. Ugh!
 
Ya know how this new summer season just makes you want to shop?!? Well it sure does for me. The urge for a new summer outfit, new swimsuit or new pair of strappy sandals has taken over my body. LUCKILY, my friend Brittany knows whats up. She invited me to a designer sale for accessories and I got 3 pairs of flips flops, 3 purses, 3 belts and 10 pairs of earrings for $53… can you say steal of a deal? I felt like I was robbing them. My shopping urges have temporarily subsided.
 
The other thing about this new summer season is the transition of TV shows… seriously the only thing we’re recording right now is So You Think You Can Dance. And the auditions aren’t that interesting yet.
 
Happy start to the summer!

Before & After!

PK built us this awesome table for our kitchen nook and then this awesome adirondack chair for our patio! We finally stained them this past weekend and they look fabulous. They're going to fit perfectly in the new house!

Cheers!

Summer has arrived!

Here's PK and Ranger in our backyard, soaking up the sun and enjoying our new doggie pool!

Ranger's Life According to my iPhone

Welcome June

I love the start to a new month… it means I can flip the page on my many calendars, our budget and expenses start over brand new and all the things you’ve been looking forward to in June you know are now less than 30 days away! By the end of a month I am so sick of it, so I was quite happy to say goodbye to May and welcome June. For some reason, it makes me like a fresh start. Since I stare at a computer, a calendar and a to-do list most of my working days, I operate very much by the calendar. That’s why I look forward to vacations and weekends. I don’t have to wear a watch and know what time it is.
 
This past weekend we came home from the pool to find our gate latch was tied up with string, which we didn’t do. After further inspection, we discovered that the spring on the gate had broken and apparently Ranger went for a little dog adventure. He was awaiting our return inside the backyard, bouncing around like normal. Later, one of the neighbors said they found him roaming around the alley and put him back for us.  How awesome to have nice neighbors!! And so thankful he didn’t get hit by a car or get lost. This reminds me of the time that the entire gate broke off the hinges and fell down. Luckily, the gate was still obstructing the pathway to freedom, so Ranger was too scared to jump over. Are you getting a picture of how crappy our backyard and fence/gate is at the house we’re currently renting? The fence/gate in our new backyard at our new house is awesome – no chance of doggie escapes!
 
Enjoy the first day of the month!