I know it has been 2 months!!

Yes I realize it has almost been two months since my last post. So I have probably lost the few people who used to check out my blog due to my inconsistency. Hopefully, I will bring everyone back with all my updates.
Since so much time has past I am going to start with the most recent happenings and work my way back! This past weekend I ran in the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. It was cold, rainy and I forgot to wear long pants!! It actually ended up fine during the run, but standing in the start line for 40 minutes(so I could be near the front) was miserable. This was my second half marathon but the first one where I actually had a cheerleading section. Matt, my mom, Carrie, Claire and Caroline all battled the weather to cheer me on. It made running so much easier knowing I had the love and support on the sidelines waiting for me. I also was cheered on by a few surprises, Kasey, Molly and Sarah. All who were there to support there husbands. It was a great run and I did super. Here are some pics of the race and after.

The last couple of weeks in photos!!

The Stars game. Clearly Matt was more interested in the game than taking the picture. They lost again. Every time we go they lose. Could that mean something?!

Christian Services Auction. It was so much fun to be with friends and spend a night dressed up and attending a dinner and auction. We did not win anything, but had a super time!!

The crew from Richardson East Church of Christ

A couple of weeks ago, our best friends from Lubbock came to town. It was so good to see them. We miss them terribly!!!! We love you Wootens. Sadly I only have pics of the kiddos, Davis and Kennedy. I always forget to take pictures of the adults when kids are involved!


Hanging out with Lisa at our place, Desperados. I don't know what Matt and I would do without our Desperados' nights with the Goolsbys!

Some of my kids at school. We are waiting for dismissal. This is the craziest time of the day. I pulled the camera out and they went crazy. They did stay still for this one photo.

Me at the Nasher Sculpture Museum. This was by far one of the weirdest parts of the Museum. Just wanted to share. And yes, I am standing amongst headless statues. Creepy!!

That's all for now!

New Jersey, New York, New Experiences

A couple of weekends ago Matt and I went to New Jersey to celebrate a wedding of his friend, Kiran, from high school. Another one his his best friends, Kyle, joined us for the weekend. And since we were in Jersey for the wedding we decided to make an extended vacation and go to NYC for more fun!!
The wedding was such an experience for me. It was a blend of northern and southern India cultures. IT was filled with so many cool things that I don't hardly know how to write about it all. One cool thing was that at the beginning of the wedding the groom rode in on a horse. It was also good luck to have one of his nephews ride with him. While he was riding the rest of the people who were there to support him walked and danced around him to a man beating and singing with a drum. So yes, I danced and chanted through the parking lot to take help Kiran enter to ceremony! The second picture is after the ceremony. Kiran and his new bride Mala, sat up front and you could offer them blessings and then snap a photo for the scrapbook!



The wedding ceremony was full of different traditions. It was all done in sanscript so I really didn't know what was going on. But one of Kiran's aunties sat next to me and told me the signigicance of everything. It was so neat to learn a different culture and how much they believe in commitment and family. After the ceremony there was a break for cocktails, and snacks! The Indian culture definitely believes in food and a lot of it. Then it was time for the reception. More food and tons of dancing! I put a picture of my dinner plate. For those of you that know me well, you know how picky I am with my food. I actually ate most everything you see!! And it was good!



One really cool thing was how all the women painted their hands. They do this at celebrations because it simply looks pretty. Kiran's oldest auntie painted my had before we left. It is done with a henna paste. It comes out a dark brown and then has to dry for 2-3 hours. You can't move or bend the parts that are painted. After it has dried you rub it off, it just flakes off. Then it is an orange color. It will eventually rub or fad away. Mine lasted for about 3 weeks. It was so neat to go back to my school class and show and talk to the kids about my very educational weekend.


Hopefully, I have done the wedding justice. I will follow with another post showing some pictures from the rest of our weekend in NYC!

Birthday Weekend at the Farm

This past weekend we celebrated Mike's 60th birthday at the farm. It was a super fun filled relaxing weekend. It was filled with family, friends, fishing, golfing, shooting, swimming, eating, sleeping, and anything else one might want to do while resting at the farm.

Here are the dogs all packed up ready to go. They were so excited to be going to the Farm. When there, they get to just run free all day. There is so much to explore and get into. It is a dog's heaven!!
The family is full of fishermen, so needless to say we spent most of Saturday fishing! Here is Mike, Colin, Blake and John Wirt catching fish. They said they had the best luck with the pink worm. Who would have thought bass would love the color pink!

And here was the view I got most of the time on my boat. NICE!! I spent the day with Matt and Josh and I just thought this picture was priceless. I hope they don't get mad for me posting this!
I also got to shoot skeet for the first time. Needless to say I am not a natural, but I had a lot of fun!
Matt and Josh did some team shooting and did quite well. What a team those two make. Best buds since they were babies!The best shot of them all was the birthday boy! He showed everybody up.


Here are some pics of the some of the bugs we say while we were there. This one Matt took. It was our greeting to the house when we walked up.
And this was the coolest. I saw this spider web and when I went to take its picture a bug landed on the web and I got to watch it wrap it up for an afternoon snack. It was so fast and precise in the way it worked. Isn't nature cool!


It was a much needed relaxing weekend. Thanks to Mike for having a birthday!!!

I love weekends in Abilene

Yes, this post is way overdue. I forgot how tired the first of a school year can be. But here are some photos of a super fun time several weeks ago. Matt and I went to Abilene with our friends Jeff and Lisa Goolsby to see some more friends Wendy and Scott Kilmer and their son Casen. We had a blast! We all wish we could hang out together more. But we treasure the times we are together.
Here we are swimming at the Barnard's pool. What a relaxing afternoon, soaking in the sun!
Matt and Scott the grillmasters! Cooking up some steaks, corn, and zuchinni. Delicious.


And then the okra masters, Jeff and Lisa. I have to say I have never been a fan of fried okra but this was incredible! Way to go top chefs!
And of course, our usual after church lunch at Fugi's. You can't beat it. We had a super time and cannot wait for the next time we all get to be together. Maybe it will be in Dallas next!

Jam packed weekend

Wow! What a weekend I have had. It actually started on Thursday in Arlington. Matt's company was having a three day meeting there and so we had a hotel room by the ballpark. So Thursday after work I drove over there. That evening while the men were in a dinner meeting, myself and one of the other wives went to dinner. Michelle and I went to TGIFridays and had a great time. She is 9 months pregnant and so ready to have her baby girl. It was fun to get to visit and catch up with her. Then off to the hotel. Matt and I somehow got a suite. It was super nice. The next day I went to work and Matt went to meetings. Friday evening his company had a suite at the Ranger game. We were treated to some excellent free food and drinks.I am usually not a huge fan of these events where I have to mingle with people I don't know. But I really enjoyed this one. I visited with lots of other wives and several of his coworkers. I also met someone who is a true Dave Matthews lover like me!!! Not everyone will understand this obsession. Our group ended up shutting down the ballpark. Someone actually had to come to tell us we had to leave! Saturday was busy as well. I slept in and then went home to mow the lawn and get the house clean. It had been awhile for both and it was beginning to gross me out. That evening a few couples from our small group went to Chili's and to the Mesquite Rodeo. A special event at the rodeo that night was Whiplash. It was a cow dog and a monkey. The monkey was all dressed up like and cowboy and rode the dog while the dog corralled sheep into pens. It was hysterical! We had a great time. I love my church and the friends I have made there. Then on Sunday I worked a tournament at Northwood with my friend Martha Ann. It was a ladies team tennis tournament. It was one busy day at the club. By the time I got home I was exhausted and was ready for some much needed sofa time. I only got a few hours of that because then we were off to McKinney to hang out with Leah and Bryan Beck. We went to their house for burgers and then we went bowling. I had one of my best games ever. I bowled a 168! Go me! But the next game was not near as high Oh well, I was proud of the first. So it was a super busy weekend but a super fun one! I definitely need a rest. However, I won't be getting one because this week at tennis camp we have 56 kids!! YIKES! So be thinking about me and my sanity. I will leave you with some pics from the weekend.


At the ranger game. They lost but I didn't! I had a great time.
Whiplash the famous cowboy monkey!!
The girls (Brooke, Lisa, Me, Sara, and Katie) The boys didn't seem to interested in posing for a picture.

Bryan, Leah and Matt. Leah just bowled her first strike of the game!!!

Loving Lubbock

A couple of weeks ago I got to go to Lubbock to visit family and friends. My mom flew me down to spend time with her, Kristin , Jason, and of course Sydney. It was so much fun to be there. We didn't do a whole lot but totally enjoyed just hanging around the house talking and giggling. Sydney has changes so much. She loves to tell all sorts of stories. She is going to be quite the talkative girls. And her smiles are just too precious! She also finally got some bows. Here a picture of the bow head in her Tech jumper.
While I was there I got to visit my bestie Amanda! Her son Davis was turning three that weekend, so bonus for me. I went to his Buzz Lightyear birthday party at 50th street caboose. He loved playing games, especially skee ball. The greatest game ever! I love the Wootens and miss them terribly.


Then I spent all afternoon and evening with my friend Julie. We had an awesome time. We went for ice cream, played gas station lottery scratch off games. It is where you buy a few scratch off tickets. Then if you win any money you cash it in and go to another gas station to buy more and then keep going until you run out of money. We made it to two gas stations, which I think is pretty good. No we did not strike the jackpot. Then we went to Sonic to get drinks and back to her house to visit with her mom and sister. Finally, we got hungry and went out to Louhans for a yummy Mexican dinner. We had so much fun just being together. Hopefully I will see her in August at her next Supers tournament.

I had a most amazing time in Lubbock. I am so blessed by my friends and family. I love you guys and I love Lubbock!!!

Look at those sweet faces!

Just some sweet pictures of my puppies. This first one I took while I was laying in bed. Deuce had jumped up and put her head on me. It was so sweet. I think she was dying for some attention. And then little Dublin, begging to get up on the bed. She still hasn't quite mastered the jump. So when I don't want to pull her up she doesn't get to come.
This is the hardest thing to capture. Both of them together and still!
Deuce loves her toys. Please play with me, anyone?

Happy 4th of July

Matt and I had a great 4th of July celebration. It actually started the night before. We had a sleepover with Claire and Caroline. We got to their house just in time to watch Parent Trap with them. When I say watch, I just mean that the tv was on. We had a great time visiting and giggling! The next morning it was up early to go get ready for the parade. Claire and Caroline rode their bikes in the first part. Carrie and I walked beside them to refill the candy baskets!

After a short ride, we found Matt and Russ and watched the rest of the parade together. It was a lot of fun waving my flag and cheering. We also collected a good amount of candy and goodies from the different floats. Claire's favorite float was the bubble float. Mine were all the floats with the puppies! Imagine that!

After the parade Matt and I went home to rest for awhile. We met back up with everyone that evening for dinner and fireworks at the country club. I have to say that this has been one of my best 4th's in a long time. Thanks to Carrie, Russ, Caroline and Claire for sharing the fun with us!