Ten Truths

The Rules:

• Tell your readers 10 things that are true that they might not know.


• Tag 10 other bloggers to do the same (not going to happen in my case cause most everyone has already been tagged but I'll try!)

Ok - Here it goes...

1. I have the craziest dreams - pretty much every night. My nightmares almost ALWAYS include BUGS - ask any roommate I've ever had and my husband - I scream, kick, and even swat at bugs WHILE sleeping. It's nuts. I sleep like a rock though oddly enough?


2. We rescued our pitbull/boxer mix, Oscar, off the side of the street in Abilene. It was about 110 degrees outside and he was just this tiny puppy in the middle of the street. He had obviously been abused and was definitely on his last leg. I waited about 8 months before telling my parents we had him. ha. Now I can't imagine our lives without him. Shea (our Lab) feels the same way I'm sure. They are inseparable.


3. I didn't start my period until freshman year of college and I only started because they put me on the pill so I would actually start. Been on the pill ever since. I'm constantly afraid its going to affect my ability to have babies. Call me crazy. I say a prayer EVERY night hoping that will not be the case.


4. I HATE WebMD - every time I get on there I'm left with thinking I have some sort of Cancer. Stay away from it!


5. **Corny Alert**I never really felt "special" until I married Brian. He reminds me every day that I am and although I wasn't sure it was possible, I love him a little bit more everyday for it.


6. I slept in my parents bed until I was 8. They finally kicked me out and then I slept on my brother's floor. I HATE sleeping alone and if I'm NOT sleeping alone then I hate being awake if the other person is asleep. If Brian falls asleep before me, and this is terrible, but I always try to find some way to wake him up by nudging him or moving around too much.


7. I am a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan... which most of you already know but I'm honestly obsessed. I check my phone several times a day checking for updates while working. It's KILLING me living here and not being able to watch every single game. I think it all started when I was a little kid... I remember laying on the end of my grandma's bed drinking milk and watching Cardinal games.


8. I would give anything if Brian could have met my Grandmas...both are deceased. Especially my Dad's mom. I realize more and more as I get older that I am the spitting image of her. The craziest thing is that she is in my dreams regularly... even if its just in the background somewhere....she is ALWAYS there. Call me crazy but it seriously feels like that's her way of showing that she is watching over me/us. Or maybe I just miss her so much that she in constantly on my mind - regardless... I'm glad she's there.


9. Make fun of me all you want, but I am obsessed with Twilight. I've read all the books and made Brian wait in line with me at the premiere of the first movie. We went and saw Transformers 2 the other day and they showed the preview for "New Moon" (the second Twilight movie) and I almost peed my pants. I don't know what it is? I read books all the time but those 4 books were seriously SO GOOD and I can't get enough!


10. I prefer a beer over a martini any day.

If you've already been tagged, my apologies but I am going to tag...

• Gretch


• Chelsea


• Val Goode


• Vicki Goode :) YEP! Val's mommy!

Tidbits from the last couple of months...

I still get on here regularly and check other people's blogs, but just haven't find the time to update my own for some reason? So here goes...

Since its been so long, I figured I would just give yall some "tidbits" of the "happenings" in our life lately... :)

• We've been living in the great state of Texas for the past 5 months now and absolutely love it here. We know without a doubt that we made the best decision possible by moving here. So GLAD.
• One of my very best friends from back in St. Louis got married in June - I had the pleasure of being her maid of honor - Congrats Gretch Ho - LOVE YOU and I'm SO HAPPY for you!
• Speaking of St. Louis - I miss my family and friends from home - but my parents have made a couple of trips and I'm hoping my girlfriends will get to make a trip down here in the very near future!
• I REALLY want to go back and get my MBA starting Spring of 2010 with Chelsea - we shall see!
• My husband has baby fever - big time. I feel like it alternates between us - but this month - definitely him. However, referencing my most previous "tidbit" - I want to go back to school so now is just not the best time. But someday! I get super excited thinking about it!
• I am addicted to the Bachelorette - after the Jason fiasco last season I swore that stupid show off but now I'm sucked right back in... I have a problem. (I'm rooting for Ed by the way!)
• I LOVE my job - its the best feeling in the world waking up in the morning and not DREADING going to work. SUCH a blessing.
• Speaking of jobs - Brian started one today :) He's going to be doing sales for a little while until his firefighter stuff pans out. He only has a couple of more interviews to go to and he will know whether or not he got into the Dallas Fire Academy - should know by September. I'm just thankful that he found this side job for some extra cash!
• As most of you who read this know, Val Goode left for Bulgaria in May. I'm SO HAPPY she is over there doing exactly what God meant her to do but I miss her TONS! Val - You are always in our thoughts and prayers - LOVE YOU.
• Pujols = The best baseball player in the MLB.
• Have to give a little shout out to the Hubster - he has a job now, but for the past 3 months he has literally done EVERYTHING around the house - ALL the cleaning, laundry, helps cook, grocery shopping - he has been so amazing! It was so nice coming home to a clean house with dinner started every night after work. Thank you babe - you are the BEST.
• We are going to Hilton Head in September for 10 days... I'm so ready!
• My Brother is coming to visit next weekend, and my Mom is coming the weekend after that :) With that said - Brian and I have NOTHING planned this coming weekend - I swear we haven't had a weekend with nothing planned since April. Excited for some QT with Brian.
• I have been reading Emily Griffin books lately...

• I just started "Something Blue", but the other two were really good. She has another one called "Baby Proof" that I want to read after this one. Just if you are looking for something good to read :)

Alright well I think that's all for now. Of course no pics to post because I never have pics. Someday. Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Feels good to be back in the world of blogging. Bye for now!

Howard Update

First of all... I was just cruising around the net and came across this super nifty cake recipe... doesn't this look FUN?! Maybe I'll make it for Brian's Birthday or something... it's just so pretty!!

Here is the link for the recipe if any of y'all should want it... http://www.omnomicon.com/rainbowcake

In other news... we have settled in nicely to our new life here. We absolutely love it. It's so nice to be able to see our friends whenever we want instead of being several hundred miles away!

The new job is going great... I've been here a month already and that seems unbelievable. I'm past the whole "I have no idea what I'm doing" part and now I'm starting to get the hang of it. The people are awesome and I thank God every day that I not only have a JOB period, but a job that I really like. I actually work from 10am - 7pm... which sounds weird but its actually really nice because I miss ALL of the traffic. Plus I actually have mornings at home now... before it was wake up, get ready, go to work. But now I can wake up, work out (if I'm feeling motivated), eat breakfast and hang out with the hubby. Its super nice.

Brian is currently job-less, but we knew that would be the case when he got down here for a little while. He spends most of his time testing at different fire houses. We should really start to get some answers towards the middle of this month so keep us in your prayers!

My parents are coming into town this weekend! It feels like FOREVER since I've seen them. I'm so excited to show off our new place to them and take them around town. They get in on Friday night and Saturday we are actually driving to Houston to hang out with the in-laws and some of their friend's at one of their lake houses. Should be a blast!!

Alright well that's all for now... I promise to be a better poster... our life is officially back to "normal" now... if that's what you want to call it. :) Hope everyone has a great week!

The BIG move...

Holy cow how time flies...

I'm not sure I've ever been so busy in my life. The past 3 or 4 weeks have been an absolute blur filled with tape and boxes and moving trucks and goodbyes and hellos and unpacking and the list goes on and on... It really has been quite a physical and emotional roller coaster. BUT... with all of that said... the moving part is over and we are here! Well sort of...

Brian is back in St. Louis... its a super long story and a difficult situation to explain but basically Brian has so many different things going on for him as far as his fire fighting career goes, but they don't really start until the middle of March for him... so, while he actually has a job in St. Louis, we thought it best that he stay there and continue to make money until he can move down here and officially start his career. I thought, no biggie... what's a few weeks? We can do that... easy... He will be back down here before I know it...

Ok so not as easy as I thought... its been 3 days... and I'm not a happy camper. I'm SO BEYOND happy to be here, in our new home, in this new city, but it's just not the same without him here with me. It's torture saying goodbye to him every night over the phone and then rolling over to an empty pillow.

LUCKILY... he has to come back down this weekend for a Plano Fire Dept. test that he has to take on Saturday... just in time for Valentine's Day :) Granted he has to fly back on Sunday, but at least I'll get to see him. We've talked about it a lot the past few days and we decided he just needs to get here. So he put his two weeks in at his job back home and he will be here for good on the 27th... so like 2 weeks. I can handle that I think.

OK... sorry... so enough about how much I miss my amazing husband...

The new job is going great so far... my first day was Monday. I am in what they call training "Boot Camp" and it's nothing short of that. But I've got to say it's all very interesting... I'm excited to really get a handle on all of this. The company is called Homecare Homebase and basically they created a software (in a handheld PDA) that helps in home nurses keep better records of their patients... instead of writing everything down, it's all electronic now. I'm learning a lot and I really feel like what I do will help nurses help people... and that's a good feeling.

I love our new house... it's absolutely everything I could possibly want or need in a house for us right now. As I'm sure you can imagine we are still very much in the unpacking/decorating stage so I will post pics once I feel more comfortable with the finished product. Val Goode is throwing us a house warming/dinner party on the 28th... SUPER excited about that.

I love it here - I know we have without a doubt made the right decision moving back down here and once Brian gets down here for good it will feel totally complete.

Thank you for all of your prayers during this time of transition for us... I know God has truly had a hand in ALL of this.

Our new address is:
9912 Derwent Drive
Plano, Texas 75025

Work email: choward@hchb.com
Home phone: 214-785-7028

Welp - that's all for now... more to come soon! Happy Valentine's Day!

God is Good

Well... our prayers have been answered! I got the job in Dallas!! You know when you pray and pray for something and God answers your prayers but not in the way you expected? Well this time he literally answered our EXACT prayers. Maybe it was his way of telling us that we are moving in the right direction!

We have a lease application in on a house in Plano - we have not heard FOR SURE if we've got the house yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I don't see any problems arising so everything should be a go, but we'll see! Once we find out, I will post pictures of the house :)

I can't believe how fast this is all happening. We started packing things last night. My last day here at work is the 30th and we would like to be on the road on the 4th headed down there. I start the new job on the 9th! I don't think I've ever been so excited about something... this is going to be a fresh start for Brian and I - we are really looking forward to getting down there.

We are doing a little "going-away" get together at my parents house this weekend just for friends and family - want to make sure we see everyone again before we leave.

Hope everyone has a GREAT week! :)

The WORST part...

I'm officially going through the worst part of the whole "interviewing process"... the WAITING. Interviewed on Friday - I think it went well... said they would call early next week... so here I sit. Just waiting... and waiting... and waiting... Throw a couple of more prayers up there for us if you haven't already - thank you, thank you, thank you!

We found a house that we absolutely LOVE - put our lease application in on Saturday. The only thing they are missing is an "offer letter" from the potential company I'll be working for in Dallas as proof of income. So... again I wait...

And wait... and wait...

What's been goin' on...

I haven't posted since WAY before Christmas. Oops.


Well... Christmas recap how about? Brian got me a new pair of UGGs... my old pair were looking sick. I got him an ipod... when we go work out he always complains non-stop about not having one... solved that problem!! :) We had a WONDERFUL time off just relaxing with my family. So nice to have that time off work. I must say that coming back to work after all of that is beyond depressing.


We are headed to Texas this weekend for the Farmer wedding! We are staying with Alec and Chelsea (they ROCK and are being SUPER hospitable) and I couldn't be more excited to see my best friend again! I haven't seen her since her wedding back in MAY. Good gosh! I also cannot wait to see all of my other best friends as well at the wedding festivities. Man I love weddings! Jacci, Chelsea, Val - since I know you guys are the only ones that I'll see this weekend that actually read this... cannot WAIT to see you guys!!


We have one busy weekend planned that's for sure. Lots to do. We get in Thursday night - from the airport we are headed to Chelsea and Alec's and then to dinner with them to catch up. Friday afternoon at 2pm I have an interview - I am really praying that I get this job. It would be SUCH a blessing. So come Friday at 2pm, PLEASE say a little prayer for me! Friday night we have the rehearsal dinner. Saturday morning we are meeting a realtor that's going to show us a few houses that we've picked off the internet. So we'll see! Hopefully out of the four we'll find one that we love :) Saturday night of course is the wedding!! Sunday we plan to just hang out with Chelsea and Alec before we have to catch our flight at 5:30.


So, a busy weekend, but also VERY exciting!! We are are just so ready to move down there.


Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Happy 2009!

16 Days till Christmas!!

The last time I posted was before Thanksgiving! Geesh! I LOVE having time off work, but it sure does put me behind for WEEKS whenever I come back.

We spent Thanksgiving in Houston with Brian's family - it was nice to see everyone and catch up. They were all really excited to hear we are moving back to Texas. It sure was a quick trip though... I came back to work Monday a bit pooped. We are spending Christmas here in St. Louis with my parents, so I'm glad we won't be fighting anymore airports over the holidays.

The last couple weeks have really just been a blur... time is FLYING by and now Christmas is only a little over two weeks away! Insane! I have absolutely NO Christmas shopping done either... oops. I'm still not really sure what I'm getting Brian this year... I need to do some serious brain storming. He says he already knows what he's getting me... hmmm... I guess we'll see!

This time two years ago I'd be preparing for finals (probably pulling all-nighters with Chelsea at Starbucks!) and an entire MONTH off school... THOSE were the days, people.

Since I'm getting all geared up for Christmas, I shall do my top TEN favorite things about this AMAZING holiday:

• Christmas decorations! I swear I put my tree up two weeks before Thanksgiving. It's ridiculous how much I love decorating.
• Christmas COOKIES! The BEST!
• Snow, fireplaces, sweaters - just being COZY
• Seeing all of my family together celebrating Christ
• Christmas Parties!
• Christmas music... although by the time New Years hits - I'm WAY over it.
• GIVING presents - I guess that has to do with the fact that I'm not 10 anymore, but I enjoy giving gifts just as much or more than receiving. (ok so maybe not MORE...)
• TIME. OFF. WORK.
• The SMELLS... pine, cinnamon, fireplaces, apple... MMMMM!
• Having Brian to spend these holidays with - this is our second Christmas together - with many more to come :)

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!

The BIG Reveal...

I've been reluctant to post what our big news is because you just never know who's reading, you know? But - I've come to the conclusion that I don't care.

Drum roll please...

BRIAN AND I ARE MOVING TO TEXAS!

Quite a change from my last post since I was talking about the house we are building here in Missouri and all that...but Brian and I just really sat down and talked about the commitment we are making by building a house here in Missouri. We've always known that we would move back to Texas eventually, and if we were to build this house we'd be here for at least another 5-10 years. So we decided that now is the perfect time to get up and go! The lease on our house is up the 1st of March, so we are looking to move in February... or sooner if I get a job before then.

We are definitely thinking the Dallas area. I've started my job search - so if any of you have any suggestions or know of any businesses hiring in the Dallas area, I am VERY open to ideas!! Brian will finish up his 1st paramedics semester here in December, and then he will be transferring all of his hours down there. He's looking to get on a fire house somewhere in Dallas while he finishes up medic school.

Are we sad to leave St. Louis? For sure... I've got some amazing friends here that have been my friends for what seems like FOREVER, and I don't even want to think about how hard it's going to be being that far away from my parents, but with all of that said I really believe this is the right move for us. Plus my parents are definitely not opposed to moving down to Texas once we start a family... no way they could stay away after that!

SO... please keep us in your prayers - job hunting could be difficult with this economy, but I'm hoping we will be able to find jobs between now and February.

We are SO EXCITED about this... cannot wait to be back with all of the people we love so much!!

We are headed to Houston Wednesday night for Thanksgiving with Brian's family... a MUCH needed break from work. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and thank you so much for your prayers and support!

Prayers, prayers and more prayers!

Well folks... the time has come that Brian and I could use some prayers...

Nothing bad has happened or anything like that, but Brian and I have made some major decisions in our lives as of late and some big things are going to change, but we truly feel that we have God behind us on this one. So just pray that we keep that faith and stay steady.

I promise to reveal things soon, but I can't JUST yet. :)

I'll say this... it's been a long time coming!

PS... I'm not pregnant. Just wanted to throw that out there!

Not sure what to think...

This is our lot... with a VERY pretty "SOLD" sign :)

These are our house plans :) Probably hard to see, but this is basically what it will look like. Some minor changes - but nothing huge. We love it!!

This is the entrance to our new subdivision!!

Well... I said right before the election that all we can do now is pray. But that's pretty much all we can do now as well. Obama has won. Fair and square... and by a lot. I just cannot understand why the American people would vote a socialist with such radical ties into office. Sorry if that offends anyone, but its the truth and I'm scared for America. I know God has a plan... just not so sure what it is yet.

Enough about politics... I guess the only good thing about this election is that FINALLY all of those stupid campaign commercials can STOP! ha!

Here are a couple of pics from our Halloween...

This weekend we are going camping on my brothers land with lots of family and friends... it's supposed to be a bit chilly, but it's been in the high 70's low 80's lately so I'm ready for the cooler weather! Hope you all have a great rest of the week and a wonderful weekend!

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn!!!

Happy Halloween! As you can see, we decided to carve pumpkins on Sunday. I had forgotten how time consuming that is! I swear Me, Brian and Gretchen were out there for 4 hours. ha! But it was fun nonetheless and they turned out cute. As I'm sure you guessed... Brian's pumpkin is the Longhorn. Pretty clever of him I thought. Side note: Not sure if you can tell in the pics, but my hair is quite a bit darker these days. I decided it was time for a change... I've been bleach blonde my ENTIRE life. I'm loving having darker hair. Much more season appropriate.

Saturday I went with Gretchen and the rest of her bridesmaids to get her dress and to pick out our dresses. Her wedding will be here before we know it! I LOVE weddings and I'm so glad I get to be a part of hers. Brian and I are dressing up for Halloween... I'm a 1920's Flapper and he's a Gangster. We'll take tons of pics. :) Cannot BELIEVE the election is NEXT WEEK. Pray, Pray, PRAY people. That's all we can do now besides cast our vote. Alright well I hope everyone has a fabulous Halloween and rest of the week! (PS - This is one big run-on paragraph beacause blogger is being retarded and keeps messing up my formatting... so whatever!)

8th of 8

Well... I'm at work, but lucky for all of you I just so happen to have my pictures saved on a flash drive that I have with me. So... here it is... my eighth picture in my eighth file... you asked for it Jacci!

This was from Delta Theta Grub from 2006 I think? Who knows... feels like forever ago. Our theme was something gay like "Barbie" so Brian and I went as Trailer Trash Barbie. It's scary how natural it looks on us huh? So... if any of you need an idea for a cheap Halloween costume... there ya go!

I'm tagging Chelsea!!

Everyone have a great weekend and I promise to post a long one next week!

Time for Fall!

I know it's been awhile, but I'm FINALLY getting over a sinus infection that I have been fighting since vacation. I went to the doctor last Friday and got some meds so I'm feeling MUCH better. I gave it to my dad though... oops. Sorry dad :) I actually got a cold from Brian and of course his goes away just fine and mine turns into a full blown sinus infection. YUCK. PLUS... we don't have the Internet at our house anymore... Long story but I cancelled it because it was ridiculously expensive, so the only time I can post is at work, and it's hard to find time for that! However... my boss is out today so here I am! ha.

I am SO pumped because it's REALLY feeling and looking like fall around here. We haven't used our air conditioning for over a month and it feels SO wonderful. I LOVE sleeping with the windows open. The leaves are starting to change and it's really getting chilly in the morning and in the evenings. Have I said I love Fall? Cause I do!

Vacation was amazing as I'm sure you could guess. I REALLY needed a break from work. Our time was spent golfing, reading, laying around, watching movies, walks on the beach, miniature golf, swimming, EATING, and getting massages! It was hard coming back to the real world, but there's nothing like sleeping in your own bed!

Well... believe it or not... Brian and I will have been married a YEAR on Monday. Insane! This has been the most amazing year... I absolutely LOVE coming home to Brian everyday. He's my best friend and I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life loving anyone else. For our anniversary I bought him/us tickets to opening night of Blues hockey. Hockey is HUGE around here and I cannot wait for it to start up again. I hate watching it on TV but actually being at the games is a totally different story. We are going to stay downtown at the Sheraton afterwards. Our seats are club seats that provide free beer/food all night long so I don't think it would be the BEST idea to drive home plus I love staying in nice hotels!

As far as our house goes... some exciting things happening... we got our plans finalized! I LOVE them! It's so neat to see it all on paper. They turned out amazing and I cannot WAIT to start building! However... we all know how CRAPPY the financial markets are right now, so it's kind of putting a damper on moving forward with our house. Here's what's probably going to happen... our lease for the house we are in now is up in March... come march we will most likely break ground and start building. While are house is being built, we will have to live with my parents. It's probably not going to be the most exciting 3 or 4 months of our life, but we really have no choice. Plus it gives us some more time to save money that we aren't spending on rent somewhere. So... it seems like a long way off... but we just have to be patient and wait.

Ok well I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Long time coming...

I've been a terrible blogger lately... my apologies. Here is an update on the Howard fam...

We've made a pretty monumental decision on the house front! Ready? Sure? ha ok ok... we are going to build!!! Which MEANS I get to pick everything from the brick color to the front door! We are building in a neighborhood called Stone Crest. Once things really start to move along I'll take a picture of our lot. I'm excited about seeing the progress and blogging about it. That just MIGHT make me a dork. We wouldn't be moving in until the Spring, but I know that time is going to fly by. So... I may not have ADORABLE babies to blog about like some of you... but I will have a HOUSE :)

In other news... we are going on VACATION next week! Ahhhhhhhhh... a much needed vacation I might add. Work has just been CRAZY these past couple of months... having nothing to worry about for an entire week is beyond exciting. We are headed to Hilton Head Island, SC. Our flight leaves really early on Saturday. It might be a little rainy due to all of the hurricanes, but I don't even care. I will lay on the beach in the rain... just as long as I'm NOT HERE AT WORK. It's just the family going... Brian and I, my parents, and my brother. I plan on bringing a swimsuit, pajamas, and a few good books. Any recommendations?? I'll take lots of pictures... But I'm not going to promise posting them because we all know I'm terrible at that... but I promise to TRY.

I'm sad to say that a friend from high school passed away this week. I'm headed to the wake tonight with some friends. Unfortunately David died at the hand of drugs... Please keep his family in your prayers as this will not be an easy time for them.

Well... I'm off to lunch. Only TWO MORE work days and I'm headed to the BEACH!! :) I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and week!

HoUsE hUnTiNg

So... Big News on the Howard front... we have officially started looking for a HOUSE!! We just started really looking this past weekend. Our lease for the house we are in now is up the first of March, and we would like to go ahead and buy a house instead of renting - a.k.a. - paying someone else's mortgage. It is so exciting, nerve-wracking, heart wrenching and FUN looking for a house. We've already found one that we have completely fallen in love with. It's SO HARD not to want to move in RIGHT NOW. I feel like the biggest brat because I just want to keep saying "I want it, I want it, I want it!!" However... a house is such a huge commitment and I really need to SLOW DOWN and THINK about what we are getting ourselves into. I just cannot wait for Brian and I to actually OWN our first house... painting, decorating, and knowing that this will most likely be the house that we will raise our kids in! SO EXCITING!

I ask you all to pray that God gives me patience! ha... for instance... I've been at work for TWO hours now and I haven't gotten A THING done yet. I would post pictures of the houses that we love but I don't want to jinx anything... If we get serious about a house then I will post pics I promise!

On another note... Brian's mom comes into town tomorrow night for a visit! We are really excited to have her. No real big plans actually... just relaxing and hanging out. We are going to the Cards game on Sunday... that's all I know.

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!

On days like today...

Sorry no pics, but I had to blog. I do have pictures from when Chad and Cory were here and I promise to post them.

On days like today I really wonder why I chose to work in the "Corporate World" instead of following some of my other passions like preschool work or even music. I love everything about the business atmosphere... how driven everyone is and how I truly feel I'm learning something and making a difference everyday. However... there are days like today when I really question why God has me here and what his plan is for me. I feel like I have a pretty tough skin and most things I don't let bother me but something just got in today that really hurt you know? I'm probably not making any sense, but I didn't want to go into the entire story about it all. I like my job... but sometimes the people just aren't very... well... nice. In almost all of my ACU business classes they talked about how the business world is tough and not a very nice place at times... boy they weren't kidding.

Suck it up and move on. I'm just going to stick to what I believe is right... people can like it or not.

Anyway... thanks for listening to the babble. Shout out to my buddy Gretchen... Happy Birthday!

I promise to post pictures soon... hope everyone is having a great week!

The Twins are coming!

The twins are coming tomorrow! Chad and Cory have been two of our very best friends all through college. SO excited to see them... We saw them back in May at Jerica and Chandler's wedding but that feels like ages ago for some reason. They get in tomorrow night... I have to work on Friday unfortunately. They've got an early morning tee time... I hope to be off work early, but we'll see how that goes. It's end of the month and things always get crazy here around that time. Friday night we've got some great seats at the Cards/Phillies game. Saturday we might get an early nine holes in since I won't get to play with them Friday then I think
we are going to head to the wineries. There are 20 or wineries
within 20 minutes of our house... breath-taking views and great
wine... what more can you ask for?? Saturday night is kind of up
for grabs but I'm sure we'll grab dinner and head out on the town
of Washington, MO Exciting stuff.

Keep them in your thoughts for safe travel. I will try and take a
bunch of pictures. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Fun with the Fam...

So we had SUCH a great weekend with Brian's family, but I gotta say, I'm exhausted. Friday I had to work of course, but Brian and the fam went golfing and then grilled out at the house for lunch. After I got off work we all headed to the Cardinals game to watch them beat the Padres (we took the series 4-0). Saturday we had breakfast at the house and then headed to Grants Farm. Ulysses S. Grant lived there at some point in his life and now it is owned by the Anheuser Busch family. It's sort of like a mini zoo. The goat pictures below are from Grants farm... those little guys were SO cute. They give you bottles to feed to them. They kept nibbling on Brian and Brad's pants... But anyway... it was a lot of fun. Saturday night we went to my parents house for a BBQ, and Sunday we just hung out until it was time to take his Dad and brother Garrett to the airport. Brad and Janelle (Brad's girlfriend) didn't leave until yesterday night. So all in all it was a great weekend... it was good to see everyone and really get a chance to catch up.

Last night Brian and I went and saw Batman with my mom. We all thought it was really good. It definitely lived up to all of the rave reviews I've heard so far.

Ok well short post but lots of pictures for once! Enjoy!! Hope everyone has a great week... and hey at least it's not Monday!

St. Louis is grieving the loss...

The inevitable has happened... around here it's huge news, but some of you probably haven't heard or just don't care. ha. Anheuser Busch is no longer "The great AMERICAN lager". A couple of days ago a company from Belgium called InBev bought Anheuser Busch for $72 a share. For weeks there have been talks of this happening. There were plenty of petitions and protesting, but in the end it just came down to greed and money. St. Louis has been known as the home of Budweiser ever since they began. Apparently the headquarters are going to remain here in St. Louis, but it won't ever be the same. Many people will lose their jobs. I wouldn't be surprised if some people who swear by the Busch family brand put down their Bud Light and go for other tastes. It's all this town is talking about... everyone is seriously crushed. I had no idea it would have this sort of effect on people. It's obviously not about the beer... its about the legacy the Busch family has created here, the Clydesdales, the flying eagle (it's a billboard) as you drive down hwy 40 from downtown after the Cardinals have won yet another game at BUSCH stadium... It just goes to show that no amount of tradition and legacy can stand up to the big bucks and people's love for money. Sad.

On a much happier note... Brian's family gets in tonight!! His Dad, his brother Brad, Brad's girlfriend Janelle, and his 9 year-old (I think) half brother Garrett. We are SO excited to have them. Brian NEVER gets to see his family and I feel SO terrible about that. His dad lives in LA so we really only see him once or twice a year. I cannot imagine only seeing my dad once or twice a year... it would kill me. Tonight we are all just having a home cooked meal at the house once everyone gets in. Tomorrow I have to work unfortunately, but that will give Brian a chance to hang out with them. I think he plans on taking them golfing and grilling out at the house. Tomorrow night we are headed to the Cards game... always a good time. Saturday we aren't too sure yet... there are so many fun things to see and do in St. Louis... we wanted to let them decide. We could go the FREE Zoo (which by the way is the second best zoo in the nation...), take a tour of the Budweiser Brewery (while it's still American-owned!), head to the Science Center, Grants Farm... the possibilities are endless. Whatever we do I promise to take lots of pictures. I've been slacking on that for quite sometime now.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!