Cindy and Steve Cates

Dachau, Germany

2012-02-11T20:46:00.004-06:00

We thought that it was important that we remember the tragedies that happened in Germany during our time there. We were close to Dachau and found a good tour to take. Our guide was very good and very informative while at the same time showing respect to the memory of the many people who died there.
Dachau was the first concentration camp that was opened by the Third Reich. It was a concentration camp for 12 years. All children in Germany are required to visit a concentration camp during their school years. The pictures below are of two of the memorials. The last picture is of the gates at the entrance which translate to "work will liberate."

Germany Part III - Nuremberg

2012-01-31T13:14:00.006-06:00

Nuremberg has one of the largest and most famous Christmas Advent markets in the world. I heard about the markets from my parents and other friends who had been stationed in Europe. We planned our trip during Thanksgiving so we could experience the market (opens on the first Friday of Advent) and I'm so glad we did!! I didn't take enough pictures of the different stalls which I wish I had. We love going from stall to stall and buying ornaments. We also did some food sampling with yummy sausages and gluhwein. All the red stripes are the many stalls to visit, awesome!!

Enjoying some gluhwein in the cold!

I bought a nutcracker at this store. It had so many things I wanted to buy!!

The best part of our day!

The Christmas angel came out onto the church balcony along with trumpeters. She said some stuff in German, officially opening the Advent market and then everyone sang "Silent Night" in German~ AMAZING!

Germany Part II- A Fairy Tale Castle

2012-01-26T19:46:00.005-06:00

One reason our home base was Munich was it's proximity to Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We took a gray line tour that went to 2 of Mad King Ludwig Castle's as well as Oberammergau. Neuchwanstein was our last stop and it was perfect. There is a little town at the bottom of the hill. Hill, yes the castle sits on top of a hill- I would say mountain after climbing to the top :) There was a carriage you could ride but we decided to make the climb, it's all about the experience. It was a beautiful day and although it was cold it was a nice walk.
Poor King Ludwig lived in the castle less than a year and only 15 out of the 200+ rooms are complete. Over 1 million people visit each year and it was opened to tourist less than 2 months after his death.

Showing the way to get to the castle

This is my favorite picture...

Germany- Part 1

2012-01-22T15:20:00.007-06:00

I love traveling in Europe! I love riding trains, seeing beautiful buildings, trying new food (okay, so that's not completely true as I'm not a big fan of trying new things but I try to step out of my box a little bit when traveling), and seeing all the places I've only seen in pictures! So far, Germany is at the top of my list for all those things!

I was born in Grafenwoehr, Germany (yes, I had to look up had to spell the city :) while my dad was in the Army. We left before I was 2 so I don't remember anything but I've always wanted to go back. I visited Munich while when I was doing my student teaching in London. We were there for less than 24 hours so I knew I wanted to go back and really see more of the country.

We choose Munich as our home base due to it's close proximity to several areas I wanted to visit. Since we were going at Thanksgiving we knew it would be cold and it was! Our first stop was Salzburg.

I seriously wish we had the train system that Europe does, it's awesome!!

Marienplatz, Munich

Glockenspiel, Munich

Somewhere outside Salzburg

Hohensalzburg Castle, Salzburg

Hawaii

2012-01-17T19:09:00.005-06:00

Hawaii

July 2010

Wow! Hawaii is amazing and I was so excited to get to visit. I had always wanted to go and when my parents decide to take us on a cruise around the islands it was a dream come true. Since Steve and I have most of July off we decided to spend some extra time on two islands before the whole family arrived.

Our first island was Maui. Maui was awesome and we did lots while we were there including driving the Road to Hana, the Old Lahaina Luau, and snorkeling. We even fit in some beach time as well. Next we flew to Kauai which was fabulous. My favorite thing we did there was a photography tour. We were with a guide as well as another couple from NYC. Our tour guide took us to areas off the beaten path to get some awesome pics. I loved using my camera to bring back some outstanding pics. Kauai has so many places to photograph that it makes it easy. We also did a helicopter tour- awesome!!After our initial visit to 2 islands we were off to the capital city of Honolulu to meet my family for some more hang time! Honolulu was so different than the other cities we had visited- so different! It was loud and there were a ton of people everywhere. We had fun but I like the quiet beaches of Kauai and Maui more. We did enjoy a day at The Polynesian Cultural Center which was awesome, like Epcot for Hawaii. We went to the luau as a family which was so fun.

Then we headed out on our cruise. We visited 4 islands including Maui, the Big Island and Kauai plus Oahu. We did a hike in Maui that took us to beautiful waterfalls. In Hilo we visited Volcanoes National Park which was cool (or hot, hmmmm). Snorkeling was our next adventure in Kona. It was the best snorkeling we've ever done- a little cold though :) Our last stop was Kauai where the whole family went snorkeling. My parents had done something else the day before so it was exciting to get all geared up together. As we now say- A family that snorkels together, stays together!

We enjoyed cruising the islands, the best way to see the many different faces of Hawaii. The whole family had an amazing time and I'm already looking forward to going back!

We'll see how this goes...

2012-01-16T11:51:00.005-06:00

So it's been awhile. A long time actually. I had thoughts to do a blog a few months ago but I couldn't sign in for some reason so here I am today.

I met someone for the first time yesterday but I told her I felt like I've known her and her family for years. Why, well because I read her blog of course! I connected to this person via a college friend and in a small world coincidence her husband lead Drew's group for Chi Alpha. Anyway, this meeting has spurred me on to try blogging again. How often and how long who knows but I'm doing it today :) I love staying connected to people and facebook has been great for that but there's something about reading a story that a high school friend has posted to his blog... you just feel like you just chatted with them. So here some updates on us...

Daily Life:

We continue to work at our same jobs. For me working with 550 4-10 year olds makes each day different than the day before. As with most school districts in Texas mine is facing cutbacks. Currently my school is "safe" from closing but I'm not sure about what will happen with my current position. Counselors are not required so we'll see. Steve is enjoying a new semester with 200+ math students. We've really enjoyed watching Baylor sports this fall and winter. We went down to cheer on the Bears at the Alamo bowl and have seen several basketball games.

Travel:
Since last time I blogged we have visited Hawaii, Germany and some of the Northeast. I think Germany is my new favorite. Could it be that we were there during an amazing time (Advent) or that fact that I was born there, who knows but I LOVE it. Hawaii was incredible- breathtaking and 20+ days in Washington D.C., NYC, Philly, Atlantic City and Boston were fabulous too. We don't have any trips planned as of now but summer will be here soon and I know we'll be off again. We will also be cruising sometime soon.

Adoption:

Yes, we are still in the process of an adoption. We've been waiting 4 years now- yes FOUR years! The most recent referral group were from August 2006 so we have some time before they get to January 2008 referrals. Honestly I don't think about it. I've put the paperwork away. I get updates monthly from our agency and that's it.

Okay, for today that's all. I hope that everyone has a superb day!

Cin ;-)

What to do...

2010-05-20T19:00:00.004-05:00

To Blog or not to Blog that is the question! For some reason I just haven't been able to get myself in gear to blog lately even though friends and family have kindly reminded me that I haven't posted in a very long time. I guess I've over blogging for now. For now I'm gonna stick to facebook I guess although I will keep my page up since it has links to my fellow friends and family.

Spring Break!

2010-03-12T20:24:00.003-06:00

Spring Break is almost over and we've stayed busy yet stilled enjoyed some time to relax. Since we have a pretty big trip coming up in July we decided it would be best to stay around here and get some some things done.
We started the week of with the celebrating Steve's birthday. He decided no birthday cake this year and wanted chocolate bundt cake instead.

We headed up to Amarillo to spend the weekend with Steve's family. It was great to see so many family members during one trip.

One of our projects was putting curtains up in our bedroom. These are the first window treatments we have put up in our house. I was excited to find some that matched our bedding so well.

Steve worked on getting our porch all ready for spring. He added hanging baskets and I love them! The hard part is finding flowering plants that will grow in complete shade.

I call him "allergy alley cat" although his real name is Shadow. No, we did NOT get a cat! This is the cat who used to live in our house (and now lives next door) and caused me untold hours of allergy woes. He seems to be a sweet kitty but every time I see him I am reminded of sneezing :)

Snow!

2010-02-25T20:05:00.004-06:00

Finally, a nice snow in Waco. I've lived in Waco almost 20 years (wow, really 2o years, go figure) and I don't remember ever having a prettier snow than on Tuesday. It was beautiful!! I loved the big fat flakes that fell and covered everything within a few hours. We got out of school at noon and had a late start the next day, a perfect 2 days for someone who works at a school :) One of my favorite things was driving to school on Wednesday and seeing all the snow men around town!

Since Steve got home early Tuesday as well we took advantage of an afternoon off and went car shopping. We had done some test drives on Sunday and were trying to decide if we were ready to make the leap into an SUV. Well, I've been ready for years :) We found the right deal and since no other customers were at the dealership things went pretty fast. So we are now the proud owners of a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz. I've been checking this SUV out for a few years so I am so excited to finally have one! We traded in the Civic so Steve now gets to drive the Camry. We haven't had any issues with the Camry so that's great. I love the color and it has room for 7 so come over and I'll give you a ride!

USA, USA, USA

2010-02-14T20:54:00.005-06:00

The Winter Olympics are here! I love watching the Olympics and after visiting Salt Lake City this summer and seeing some of the past venues I am even more pumped up. My favorite sport is figure skating- pairs, dance, men's, and women's- I like them all. The next 2 weeks will be packed with enjoyment of celebrating USA wins and the overall artistry of so many events. I also like the Visa commercials, Go World!

Last Friday we awoke to a little bit of snow. Nothing like the Dallas area but it was more than we have gotten in awhile. I actually enjoyed driving to school that day seeing the snow on the trees and such, so pretty.

new favs

2010-01-31T16:03:00.008-06:00

I decided to share a few of my new favs as far as entertainment go.

Thanks to my friend, Freddy, I started watching "Glee" this fall. It's hilarious and the music is very, very good. It's not coming back on till April, thanks to American Idol, so you can catch up on the first 13 episodes before it returns.

I have both Glee soundtracks (yes, even though it's only through half of it's first season there are 2 soundtracks) but really like the 2nd one the best. It's got covers of Cyndi Lauper, Barbara Streisand, and Def Leopard-quite a mix, just to name a few!

I just finished the 3rd "Anne" book. I loved reading when I was growing up but I guess I just missed them along the way. I have enjoyed finally reading these! Karen has the movies which she keeps telling me are great so I'll be watching those soon.

Last week we headed to the movies and saw Leap Year. I loved it! It's just a fun romantic comedy with Amy Adams (who I think is great). We have seen some other movies this winter like Avatar, Up in the Air and When in Rome.

So behind!

2010-01-28T18:59:00.002-06:00

I know, I know! I haven't updated my blog in forever. It's not that we haven't been doing things or I don't have things to say it's just... no idea. I do know that I don't have pics to share because I had to trade my laptops again.
Steve and I have been enjoying winter so far. We took a quick trip to Branson, MO right after Christmas that was GREAT! One day I'll post pictures. We are looking onward to visiting Hawaii in late July.
Going to basketball games has kept us busy which is good since that's my favorite sport. January 29, 2010 will mark the 2 year post LID waiting period. I get asked all the time "how much longer" which I don't mind, I just wish I knew :) I am hopeful that things will speed up a little and we won't have to wait 2 more years. I'm looking forward to doing some shopping to celebrate our LID this year :)
Hope all is well, if you have suggestions for Hawaii I'm all ears!

It's beginning to look...

2009-12-20T20:49:00.002-06:00

... a lot like Christmas!
I haven't blogged in awhile but thought I would share our Christmas lights with you. We have really enjoyed getting to decorate our new house this year. Although pictures didn't really turn out as well as I wanted to you get the idea. I hope everyone is having a great, great Christmas season!!

It's the most wonderful time...

2009-11-29T18:19:00.003-06:00

...of the YEAR!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with Steve's family in Amarillo. We drove up Wednesday and had a great few days to catch up and enjoy some family time. Even though we were away from home we made our annual trek out to the stores for Black Friday. We got some great deals and getting up at 4am was worth it :) We left before the snow that fell today and Steve was disappointed, oh well here's hoping for some snow at some point this year.

We came back to Waco to put up the last few touches on our Christmas decorations. We have the front decked out and all 3 Christmas trees up. We listened to our favorite Christmas CDs on the way back which was wonderful. My favs this year are Chris Tomlin and Selah. There are many others that will get some play time in the next few weeks. 3 weeks of school before the Christmas break and I'm sure they will fly by!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2009-11-26T09:34:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

21 Months

2009-10-30T16:25:00.004-05:00

The picture is of Emily's room. As you can see it's pretty empty now. She has lots of stuffed animals and books already, that's the teacher in me~ she must have books! I have visions of our little girl in her nursery someday with pink stripes and ladybugs everywhere. It may not be as soon as we want but it will be here sometime. The current referrals had a 44 month waiting period. Some say it will get longer, some say shorter. Only the CCAA knows since they are the ones in control of all the adoptions. So we wait and find lots of things to keep up busy! Fall has been great so far and it seems we've had something besides work going on every day. I'm anxious for cooler weather since that heralds the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Great State Fair of Texas

2009-10-17T15:17:00.006-05:00

We took advantage of Steve having a Friday off for BU's Fall Break and headed up to the State Fair. This is an annual tradition for us and we enjoy getting to experience all that the state fair has to offer including yummy food (fried of course!), fun animal shows, shopping, and the show at Music Hall. This year Karen and Anna went with us and we enjoyed showing Anna, who is from Germany, around the fair.

One of our favorite shows the bird show. It's always fun to see.

This year we were there for the rabbit judging. This little one is appropriately called a "lion head" rabbit.

Although we didn't try it the big winner in food was Fried Butter ( I don't think so!). There was always a long line to try some out. We did enjoy a corny dog and funnel cake.

Bill Geist, CBS reporter, was there and enjoying some of the same events we did.

We LOVED the fair show this year, Mary Poppins. Steve and I saw the original production in London and thought the US tour was even better!

Big Tex

Karen and Anna

And at the end of the day this is how we felt... full, happy and tired!

THE Concert

2009-10-15T18:57:00.003-05:00

When Steve found out that U2 was going to be in Dallas he knew we had to go. We both thought this was THE BEST concert. I hadn't been to a really big concert like this besides NSYNC (I can't believe I'm admitting to that :). Cheryl and Rich came along and we had tons of fun. The concert was at the new Cowboys stadium which was very cool. Steve even found and wore his Joshua Tree Tour shirt from 1987. Here some pics...

some house pics

2009-10-01T20:07:00.003-05:00

Steve and I waited a little while to hang pictures in the new house. We wanted to make sure they were in the right place but of course I always second guess them once they're on the wall-ugh! We have a ton more to hang but we got a good start. So here a few pictures to show you what we've done so far...
We had to rearrange the dining room due to a vent being blocked by the china cabinet (the things you find out when you get your ducts cleaned). I really liked it the other way but I'm sure I will get used to this arrangement. I'm thinking we are going to paint this room some shade of red but one thing at a time :)

Here's our den. The picture didn't turn out great but you get the idea. The bookcase is filled with some of our favorite pictures. On each side are black and white pictures from our travels to Italy and Paris. We were so pleased at how they turned out! Steve's favorite part of this picture is the new HD tv :)

It only took me 7 years to get my cross wall up! I got my first cross as a wedding gift and have done some collecting since then. We now try to purchase a cross as one of our souvenirs as we travel.

We still have lots of blank walls but the good thing is that we still have lots of pictures to hang. I enjoyed putting our fall decorations out for the beginning of October but I really looking forward to decorating for Christmas.

land of the living

2009-09-27T21:37:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile so I thought I would update on what's going on with us. Steve and I both are fully recovered from having Swine Flu. It wasn't horrible but it lingered for awhile and we both missed most of a week of school. At least we've gotten it and we don't have to worry about it anymore. We both got the regular flu shots this week so hopefully we have done some preventative medicine. We continue to work on the house. It's been fun and this week we are finally hanging pictures so pics will be coming soon.

I feel like I'm back to the land of the living... why you may ask. Well, for the past 5 weeks my eyes have been swollen and still are. They haven't hurt and my vision hasn't been affected which are good things. Still, 5 weeks of swollen eyes is not fun. Now my actual eye balls are swollen and blistering (gross, I know). Some days are better than others. I've been avoiding some places/people since I look puffy but I decided I have to get over it and move on. I've been 6 doctor appts. and most seem to think it's allergies to something. We moved out of our house for a week and they didn't get completely better so although it may be something in our house it is others things as well. We now have clean air ducts at home which is a good thing I guess. I have started back on allergy shots which we're (me and my allergist) are hoping will work a little magic. I went back to church today after missing for several weeks, it was WONDERFUL!! I'm so blessed by our church and our friends at church.
So that's what's up with us. I hope everyone is having a great start to fall!!!

Just a few words Wednesday

2009-09-16T16:28:00.002-05:00

Well, they got their own and now Steve and I both have it, lovely! Let's hope the fever goes away soon!!

Cooking with Julia

2009-09-06T19:32:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday we saw Julie & Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. It's a fun movie and I think Meryl Streep did a great job! Well, we were inspired to try out Julia Child's French cooking. We choose Boeuf Bourguinon, a recipe featured in the movie and a dessert that didn't have to be cooked~ Chocolate Mousse (since we only have one oven). Although it took about 7 hours start to finish we had a BLAST trying something new. It evened turned out pretty good :) I did less cooking and more picture taking. So enjoy our night with Julia.

Here's Steve studying the cookbook. Gotta read the recipe very carefully!

Anna is an exchange student from Germany who is living with Karen this semester. We have had tons of fun introducing her to American traditions and fun. I'm sure she thinks we're crazy sometimes!

Essentia cooking for me, cookbook and Youtube with video instructions on preparation :)

Karen chopping, Steve browning the meat

Hard at work with little bitty onions

While we waited for it to cook Steve and Anna worked on some math homework

Tada, Boeuf Borganon~ Julia Child style.

Karen hard at work on the mouse, you had to mix it over hot then cold water. What a pain! But TOTALLY worth it, it was so yummy!

I was in charge of melting the chocolate.

And for dessert, Mousseline Au Chocolat

To continue on our great night we introduced Anna to The Sound of Music! She enjoyed it even with Karen and I singing along. It was a fun end to a day full of new experiences in the kitchen. Not sure how much we'll use Mastering the Art of French Cooking but who knows!

Better View

2009-09-02T19:21:00.003-05:00

I thought I would give you a better view of the rocking chairs I mentioned in my last post. As I said before my sister had these waiting for us on the day we moved in. It certainly made my day since our closing did not go as plan and there was a lot of anxious moments waiting for Fannie Mae to get their act together. At last we came home and even though we couldn't get in yet we could enjoy part of the house. Our previous house didn't really have a porch so this is a great addition.

New house, new room

2009-08-31T19:53:00.005-05:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to post pics of the new house. We LOVE it and are working our way through getting settled in. It's so nice to have moved into a larger house where there are more places to put things. We're trying to throw away as we unpack which is what we should have done before we packed, oh well I tend to do things backwards!!
There are other rooms finished but I thought I would post pics of the dining room since it is one of the main reasons we moved. The table is from my parents so I grew up with it and love the color. We were lucky enough to find a china cabinet that matches perfectly. We had so much fun putting things up and making it ours. We got to unpack all our nice china finally. It's like we were getting wedding gifts all over again :) We are still trying to decide what color to paint the dining room and are looking for seat fabrics now. You can see another of my favorite house features through the window, white rocking chairs. My sister surprised us on our first day with these perfect chairs and a table. I can't wait for it to cool down so we can enjoy sitting on the porch.

next up Reno

2009-08-25T17:13:00.003-05:00

After Salt Lake we headed west to Reno. We stayed downtown and enjoyed wandering through some casinos, a concert, and Lake Tahoe.

The famous Reno sign

Lake Tahoe, it is BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I cannot tell you how absolutely amazing the blue water is and how fun it was to enjoy a day on the lake.

Another shot of the Lake. We took a paddle wheel boat out on the lake, fabulous.

Not the best shot but... we got to enjoy a concert while in Reno. Heart and Journey, they were both rocking. It was fun to sing along and enjoy some great performances.

Reno was a fun stop on our Western US tour. I made time for a pedicure and Steve got to see some new casinos so it was great for both of us.

a little behind

2009-08-24T18:11:00.003-05:00

I'm so behind!! I've gotten sidetracked with a new laptop from school which meant I had to move all my pics which took a 16 gig flash drive. Then I got some kind of severe allergy attack to my eyes. Last week was not good so I'm hoping for a great on this week. I had a different order to all these pics but blogger is not letting me move things around, grrr. Oh well, enjoy a few pics from Salt Lake City.

From our visit to Park City Olympic Park, it was great!

We really enjoyed seeing all the Olympic run (even in the summer without the snow).

One of many torch areas around the city.

Temple Square, very interesting and pretty.

Yellowstone part II

2009-08-14T18:23:00.006-05:00

The other side of Yellowstone is all about the animals. Animals are free to roam where they wish in the park and sometimes that was interesting. One reason I wanted a new camera was to be able to get some good shots of animals that weren't too close (I wanted to see a bear but didn't want to get too close). We were very lucky and we got to see most animals that we wanted minus the big horn sheep. We woke up at 5am one morning to see the animals at dawn (when their supposed to be more active) and it was productive in that we saw a grizzly bear and an elk but no sheep. We drove to the north entrance to see the sheep, no sheep. Oh well, we also saw some wolves but they were too fast to get pictures of them. Anyway, enjoy the animals of Yellowstone (and Colorado)!

A moose from Family Camp

Bald Eagle, from our float trip on the Snake River

Some kind of deer, on the side of the road in Wyoming

Pronghorn Antelope, Yellowstone

Can't remember this little guy's name but he was too cute not to take a picture of him!

Mule Deer hanging out by the Snake River in Yellowstone

Chipmunk in Yellowstone

Canadian Geese in a geothermal area, guess they want it warm

An Elk at dawn

I took lots of pictures of bison since we saw them everywhere. Here they are at dusk roaming from one side of the highway to the other. There were lots of calves in this herd.

This is how close those big animals can get, it was a bit nerve racking!

I couldn't really tell what this little guy was but he stared at me a long time.

A young black bear, I was a little nervous wondering where his mama was and not wanting to get too close!

I loved seeing all the animals and getting to experience them in their natural habitat!

Continuing North

2009-08-14T06:44:00.004-05:00

Our next stay was Yellowstone National Park. In a word, wondrous! We saw things we had never seen before and things that can be found no place else on earth, too cool. Yellowstone is a huge park and there are so many areas to check out. Each one with something special to see. Besides the geothermal sights there are a lot of animals roaming about.

We stayed close to the middle of the park so we could have good access. I'm so glad we stayed in the park! It wasn't a 5 star hotel (although they do have one) but it was fun to feel like your kinda in the wilderness with some comforts of home. Here are some highlights of the geothermal areas we saw. I'll do the animals in another post. BTW the pictures don't really do justice!

At the south entrance

Old Faithful Geyser

Next Stop: Jackson, WY

2009-08-10T10:49:00.004-05:00

After a fun week with the family it was off to enjoy some new sights in Jackson, Wyoming. For us Jackson was the gateway to Yellowstone but I had some friends who went last summer and had a blast so we decided to spend some time in the town. It is such a cool little town with lots of art galleries, great shopping and beautiful sights. I'm sure during the winter with the snow and skiing it's lots of fun but we enjoyed summer with cooler temps and white water rafting!

This is one of the ski resorts that is very popular all year long. Even though I don't ski I'm sure it would be lots of fun in the snow.

There are 4 of these archways around town central.

A new adventure for us was whitewater rafting. We traveled 16 miles down the Snake River. We did a scenic float first which was great and we saw some beautiful sights. We then moved onto the exciting part, white water rafting. It was great fun but very, very COLD!

A fun treat was taking a covered wagon to a chuck wagon dinner. We met people from across the country and had great fun traveling through some more beautiful scenery.

The entertainment at the chuck wagon was lots of fun, cowboy serenade!

Grand Teton Mountains are outside Jackson on the way to Yellowstone. The mountains were beautiful and very majestic.

I'm so glad we were able to spend some time in Jackson! I encourage anyone who wants to get away for a few days to make the trip up that way. It was our favorite town to visit during our time away from home!

Snow Mountain Ranch

2009-08-09T20:13:00.004-05:00

The first part of our vacation was with my family in Colorado. My parents treated us to a week in the Colorado mountains at the YMCA Family Camp~ Snow Mountain Ranch. The cool weather and mountain beauty was amazing!!! We participated in lots of fun activities including:

Basket Weaving Class

It was much harder than I ever imagined. We had a great instructor which made the hard work more fun.

Steve enjoyed the zip line. He said the hardest part was climbing up the pole. I chickened out but enjoyed watching those who were brave enough.

One of my favorite activities, Square Dancing! We had so much fun!!

Horseback Riding, Steve had a hungry horse!

Tree Top cabin where we lived for the week.

We loved our time in Colorado. Our last day we took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park which was fabulous!! We saw lots of animals and enjoyed seeing snow in July. Although I was a little nervous about an outdoor vacation, it was so much fun!!

Back Home, FINALLY!

2009-08-03T20:38:00.003-05:00

5317.7 miles, 9 states (Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona), and 7 cities (Snow Mountain Ranch, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Salt Lake City, Reno, Las Vegas, and Amarillo) in 23 days = a wonderful vacation.

We had tons of fun traveling a part of the country that we hadn't seen before. Of course, leaving 2 days after moving into our house was a bit crazy but we managed. We now have hundreds of boxes to unpack so as much as I want to update on all our fun times it might take a few days. I will leave you will a pic of our family fun in Colorado.

So many posts, so little time

2009-07-11T09:13:00.002-05:00

We are in a new house! It's been a crazy few days but we are moved in and trying to get a little settled. Since we are so busy I am taking a blog hiatus for a few weeks. I'll be back the first week in August with pictures of the new home.
Have a great July!!!

Busy times

2009-07-02T20:58:00.008-05:00

First, thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers at the passing of my granddad. The services were very nice and many people have been touched by his life. He was my last grandparent living. I feel so lucky to have had 4 amazing grandparents.

We came home and got busy getting ready to move. Our house is officially sold, yea! We closed on Tuesday morning. It was a great feeling knowing that a new family will get to enjoy the house. They were very nice. I treated myself to a pedicure and lunch with Karen to celebrate. I gave a TAKS test at summer school on Wednesday morning, tons of fun.

In the midst of moving we also had adoption stuff due. The US side of the adoption has papers that expire every 18 months so some things needed to be updated like our birth certificates. You never know it might have changed in 18 months (ugh!). Karen came over and we finished packing the guest rooms.

Today was a big packing day. We got all the china packed up and some of the kitchen. I thought we would have plenty of boxes but now I think we might have to go buy some more. It's amazing how much there is to pack. Steve has tomorrow off and we have a full day planned including my nephew's 12th birthday. I can't believe that in less than a week we will be in our new house, wow!

The pictures show some of the boxes we have packed and then more left to pack (there are more in the garage, we're not that ready :). Since Steve has been working and Karen has been nice enough to come over. We have enjoyed watching some fun movies while packing. It makes the time a bit more fun.

A Sad Day

2009-06-26T09:57:00.007-05:00

My granddad, Pablo Segura, passed away early this morning. I was able to see him on Saturday along with all of his 4 kids and 7 grandkids. I am thankful he got to be at home when he died. He had been in the hospital for a few days before but we all knew he wanted to be home.

I am thankful for the legacy he left behind. Family was the most important thing in his life and he made sure that his grandkids knew that. He also always talked about the importance of education as well. He worked very hard to complete his education at a time when it wasn't usual for a Mexican American to go to college. He started college, left to fight in the war, and went back to finish. I know the next few days are going to be difficult but I look forward to remembering who he was.

Early birthday

2009-06-23T21:36:00.004-05:00

I got to celebrate my birthday a day early this year. Steve has class tomorrow night (bum!) so my parents had us over with Cheryl's family a day earlier. We have had a lot of celebrating this month (I will post more about that later). Anyway, it was a great night with mom making my favorite meal~Chicken Parisian along with fresh snap beans, yummy! I had a great night celebrating my 33rd birthday. I got the gift I was hoping for in a new camera. I'm anxious to learn how to take some great pictures before our trip. My sister asked me a great question tonight "what inspired your photography interest?" For me it was/is traveling. I love taking pictures on our trips and having them as our souvenirs. So, now I have a great new camera to help share those memories.

A "Wicked" Weekend

2009-06-16T11:20:00.002-05:00

Karen and I headed down to San Antonio to celebrate our birthdays and enjoy a girls weekend. We stayed on the Riverwalk which was great. It was so nice to be able to come and go from the hotel directly from the Riverwalk. We were also across from a bar which had some fun music which we enjoyed from our balcony. The highlight of the trip was seeing Wicked. This is the 3rd time we have seen it together. I think this company was the best yet! All the actors were so, so good. The theatre was right across the street from our hotel which made for a convenient night. We enjoyed the show and all the other activities including a river cruise and lots of shopping. It was a great summer weekend.

Fast and Furious times

2009-06-11T11:39:00.007-05:00

(Barring any unforeseen circumstances)

We sold our house and bought a new one! Yes, it's true and things have been crazy ever since. It's a long story but here it is...

We have wanted to sell our house since last summer. We held off since there were 3 houses for sell in our neighborhood already. I really do love our house and it has been perfect for us. My parents got a new dining room table and saved us theirs which is one reason to move, a formal dining room. We also know that sometime with in the next few years we will be getting Emily and I wanted to have her room already and not have to move with her. So, this summer was the time. We contacted our "people" and got things set in motion. We hooked up with a WONDERFUL real estate agent who has been awesome to work with. With the help of my mom and sister we got our house "show ready" and had Linda (our realtor) come over.

On Saturday- May 30th- the sign went in the yard. It was a great feeling knowing it was out there for people to see. I left for El Paso on the 31st for my quick trip. I got a call from Linda on Monday and we had an offer. WHAT!! already an offer? I nearly wreaked the rental car :) I told Linda to call Steve and hammer out the counter-offer. On Tuesday we got the news that the counter-offer was accepted, wow-again! Linda knew a great house had just gone on the market. It was a great deal since the house was back on the market for a 3rd time and under foreclosure. Linda took Steve to see it while I was in El Paso and he went ahead and put a bid on it. What! I hadn't even seen it. He assured me that we were out no money yet and I would get to see it as soon as I get back to Waco.

Our current house ~ Sold Mine!

I got back to town on Tuesday night and immediately headed over to the house with my Mom. We couldn't go in it that night but we did look around and peeked in some windows. I had seen the house back in the fall when it was on the market the first time and thought it was so cute! On Wednesday I had to work (it was the longest day!) and then got to see the house after school. I LOVED it (no pressure though knowing our bid was accepted). Steve was off to class and Linda showed me 6 more homes for sale so I could make a real choice. I called the family, of course! They approved it hands down and I signed the papers for Linda. So by Wednesday night our house was sold and we had our new one in the works. I'm already anxious to have people over to the new place and ready to get busy with decorating.

Our new home!!

Now for all the fun paperwork, yuck! The homes have been inspected and things look good from that stand point. If things continue as they should we will close on our current house June 30th. Then rent it from the new owners for a few days as the new house closing is on July 8th. To make matters a little more crazy we leave for Colorado on the 10th. So we will have about a day and a half to move in (don't worry friends we are hiring movers :)

I can't believe things worked out so perfectly and fast. I was prepared for it to be on the market for awhile but God knew our schedule! Now onto the fun of packing. It's going to be a fast and furious few weeks!

Love it!!

Going back in time - picture overload!

2009-06-03T13:54:00.009-05:00

The past few days have been filled with fun and excitement. A few months ago my mom got an email about my former elementary school's 50th anniversary. She told me about it and instantly I told her we needed to go. Mom taught at the school for 10 yrs. and so I knew not only my teachers but all the teachers on campus. Since my mom is a great hostess we always had teachers coming over. I knew that it would be fun to go back to elementary school. Mom wasn't too sure but after looking through pictures I finally talked her into going.

25 years ago when I was in 2nd grade Putnam Elementary School celebrated it's 25th anniversary hence the 50th now. I was in 2nd grade, Ms. Sledge's class. I can still remember the excitement of the day that a time capsule was buried. I couldn't remember what we had put in it but I did remember thinking, "I will be 32 and WILL be here when it is opened". Well, I was there!! The school planned a fun program, reception and picnic to celebrate. My mom and I flew in to El Paso on Sunday and looked forward to the fun...

Here's a view of the Sun City from the plane. It's a LOT different than Waco, not too many trees but lots of rocks and mountains.

This is the house I grew up in. It was a great house and when we lived there it had a huge tree in front along with rocks and a cactus.

Here they are putting the time capsule in 25 years ago, love the knee socks :)

Here is the time capsule now. The date on the end is May 4, 1984. Each May we celebrated Putnam Pride Day complete with a parade around the neighborhood. The school looked pretty much the same although everything seemed a little smaller through my adult eyes.

Here's what my class put in the time capsule.

Yep, even back in 2nd grade I knew I wanted to be a mom :) That's me on the end by the flag pole.

We were a technologically advanced school back then and had a VHS tape in the capsule. Best part is the it worked! It was so fun seeing former teachers and students!!

Here I am with my former PE and 6th grade math teacher.

This is my 1st grade teacher. I remember being across the hall from my mom and leaning back in my chair to see into her room.

Here I am with my AMAZING kindergarten teacher, not just because her name is Cindy too. I still remember learning with the "letter people" and just having so much fun in her class. She looks the same and has managed not to age a bit. She helped organize a luncheon after the opening of the time capsule which was fabulous! She has been at my elementary school for 32 years and is the only one still there from the 25th anniversary.

Here I am in Kindergarten with my principal, Mr. Y. Oh, how I loved Mr. Y! I didn't have to see him to often since I tried to stay out of trouble (for the most part)!

Here we are again 27 years later!

Mom and I had a great time visiting and reliving some of the past!

Summer is almost here

2009-05-28T21:48:00.003-05:00

Only 4 1/2 days left at school! Not that I'm counting down or anything. For me it's only 2 1/2 days since I will be out Monday and Tuesday... more on that later.

We made our annual trek down to Houston for Memorial Day. It was a wonderful weekend and we got to do and see a lot!

My granddad turns 92 this week, WOW! He is doing pretty good and it was wonderful to see him as well as my cousin, aunt and uncle. We always enjoy spending time catching up!

The guys (and me) enjoyed a Sunday afternoon of baseball. The Astros played the Rangers so it was a good Texas game, although the Astros lost. I don't like baseball but being at the field is always fun.

We checked out a new exhibit at the natural science museum, Terra Cotta Warriors. These have fascinated me since I learned about them a few years ago. It was great to get a little Chinese history under our belts before we go over there. We got some awesome books to share with Emily.

This is a small sampling of the boxes we have already filled from our house. The realtor came yesterday. She gave us some tips and lucky for me my mom and sister watch HGTV and had already gotten us ready. If you know anyone who is looking for a 3/2 home in Hewitt send them our way :) Thank goodness my parents have a big garage that they have let us start filling.

Thank You

2009-05-23T08:35:00.003-05:00

Thank You to all the men and women who have served our country and continue to serve our country today. THANK YOU for keeping us safe and for all you do for our country!

Saying good-bye

2009-05-23T08:28:00.002-05:00

As much as I look forward to Steve finishing his spring semester at Baylor (so he can do my honey-do list) it is always sad to say good-bye to some special students. This year, like many years past, my parents had international students who they "adopted" while at Baylor. This year we had two very special girls from China. It is always interesting to visit and learn more about each other and how our lives are different and the same. I love introducing them to our lives and sharing time with them. The best thing is that we keep in contact even after they go back to China. It's especially exciting to think that we will hopefully catch up with a few past students from China when we visit to get Emily.

Goings On

2009-05-11T06:36:00.002-05:00

I noticed I haven't been blogging lately. Not really sure why except things are going along fine. Nothing too exciting but yet things continue to move along.. Our homestudy was Saturday and it went great. Just a lot of saying "no change" to what we did the first time.

Mother's Day was a fun weekend that started at school. On Friday some kids decorated cakes for their moms. HEB helps us so much with this project. Over 400 cakes later I was very glad I had worn an apron b/c I had icing all over! It was fun though!!
We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday night since Cheryl was leaving on a business trip on Sunday. This year Cheryl and I made my mom a book that had my grandmother's sayings. It was fun to work on and find pictures. We had to be covert with the picture scanning but we pulled it off.

We ended Mother's Day at a late night movie which we never do together. We ended up at a terrible movie but it was fun to spend time together.

This week I have 3 field trips, love the end of the year. Today I was with a few 5th grade girls and Kim Mulkey spoke. I was so excited and she did a great job. She's a great speaker!

So that's what we've been up to. Steve got a shot in his back today to help relieve some pain. Hopefully it will work and he will be back to full speed soon.

Tea Time

2009-05-04T16:41:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a fun filled afternoon with the ladies of the family. My mom, sister, niece and I all attended the Mother-Daughter tea held at the Arboretum in Woodway. Last year was our first year and we knew it should be an annual event. It is fun to be dressed up and have time with just "the girls". There were lots of people there and it was fun to drink punch (no tea at the tea, hmmm) and eat "girly" food. There was a doll parade for the little girls in which Hannah enjoyed showing off her new American Girl doll. I look forward to making this event when Emily is here. I'm also going to be on the lookout for a cute hat to wear next year.

LID #15

2009-04-29T16:25:00.003-05:00

Well, we continue to wait for our chance to be parents. I know it will come sometime soon. I would just like soon to be tomorrow! What can I say, I'm getting a little impatient. It's probably because we are in the midst of paperwork, again. One of our documents for the US government is going to expire soon. Like it's my fault the China is the slowest country in the world :) We have to update our home study, goodie.
Besides waiting things are good. Steve is getting ready to wrap things up at BU and I'm in the midst of TAKS which is a joy (not)! We continue to plan our summer trip which gets longer each day. Our Italy book came in and I have enjoy looking through it and remembering our fun times. I am working on the France book now which has been a lot of fun.

Finally got it finished

2009-04-17T21:04:00.002-05:00

Well, I finally finished our Shutterfly book for Italy. Wow! I can't believe it has taken me so long to get it completed. Usually if I am doing a book from a trip we have taken I jump right into it when we get home. I guess I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the 1400+ pictures that we took. The first thing I had to do was reduce the pictures to 999 so I could work them into a book. That took awhile because I was being too picky. Once I got the pictures down to 999 I should have gotten started but for some reason I just didn't have the "drive". Well, almost 4 months later I finally ordered it tonight. I'm going to start working on the Paris book now and try not to get so behind. I think a fun job would be quality control at Shutterfly. That way I could check out everyone else's books and projects.

In other news I'm over strep throat. I think having the nurse move next door to me at school hasn't been the best. When the kids see me they like to give me hugs which is usually great until their visiting the nurse. I don't want tell the kids "no hugs" so I guess I'll keep my purell close by :) Oh the fun of working at an elementary school!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T11:19:00.002-05:00

Nothing much

2009-04-07T19:04:00.003-05:00

Nothing much happening around the Cates' lately. We have been enjoying the beautiful spring weather and are already looking toward summer. Today was my second day of TAKS testing. TAKS days are always long and a little tedious. My principal and asst. principal are addicted to coffee and on days like today they drink a lot. I helped their addiction today with some Starbucks. The traveler is a great little something for those who need a perk in their step in the morning. The nice part is that it comes with everything you need to make a good cup of coffee and for Starbucks it isn't too expensive.

Last of Paris

2009-03-30T19:05:00.004-05:00

I promise these are the last pics I will post from Paris. We did have a wonderful trip and I enjoy sharing!

Here is the Eiffel Tower. I only took about 50 pictures of it but it is so famous I couldn't help myself. We didn't go up it this time but did enjoy having a hotel that was very close to it.
At night it sparkles, on the hour for 5 minutes. That was my favorite time to see it.
Here's another famous icon, Arc de Triomphe. It sits at one end of the Champs-Elysees which is one of the most famous streets in the world. It was great to enjoy an evening of walking along and looking at all the shops.
Palace of Versailles was built originally by King Louise XIV in 1682. I remembered the grander from my first visit there back in 1998. It is still very grand and it was very neat to walk around and imagine what it must of been like back then.

A view of the grand canal that was built.

The famous Hall of Mirrors

To make our trip to Versailles even better we were able to have lunch with my friend Kerri. Kerri and I traveled to Paris back in '98 when we were student teaching in London. We had such fun meeting her 2 precious little girls but we missed her son and husband. It was so fun to meet friends in such neat location.

Here's a final picture of Paris, this one is Steve' favorite.

Paris Break

2009-03-24T16:30:00.004-05:00

I decided to take a break from Paris pictures. There are still a few more I plan on sharing but here's another view of France, from the "French Riviera". We took a couple of days to enjoy the sunny weather in Nice and Monte Carlo.

Here the view of the Mediterranean from Nice. The water was so beautiful. The beach was a little different and instead of sand it had mostly pebbles. There were quite a few people enjoying the sun and a few kids playing in the water.

Steve enjoyed a little casino that we found along the beach front.
We visited the 2nd smallest country in the world, Monaco with the main city of Monte Carlo. We have now visited the smallest countries in the world, go figure. Here's a shot from the castle area of Monaco, yes there is a castle and Prince Albert II was there while we were (we didn't see him though).

The palace has a changing of the guard everyday.

In the background is the city of Monte Carlo.

Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956. The people of Monaco loved her and she is buried in the church by the palace.

Here's the famous Monte Carlo casino. Lots of money is lost and won here but none of ours. There was a charge to play which we were not going to pay. We found a little casino that had only slots close by, that's more our speed. We did get a chance to see some cars that aren't driven too much around Waco including Bentley, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce.

The casino at night.

A view from the train on the way back to Paris. It was a great break from the rush of Paris and I look forward to visiting the Mediterranean again.

Churches in Paris

2009-03-22T11:54:00.006-05:00

In the past few months, between Italy and now Paris, we have entered a lot of cathedrals, basilica's, and churches. Each one seems to be unique in some way and they all are amazing works of art and architecture. In Paris we saw 5 masterpieces.

Dome Church at Les Invalides
This church contains the grave of Napoleon Bonaparte. It is accented with gold and was modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Here his the tomb of Napoleon.

Sainte-Chapelle is considered a Gothic masterpiece. It was hard to get a good picture from the outside but the inside was truly amazing.

The windows were breath taking! The detail in each window is simply amazing. Below is a closer picture of one of the circles. It doesn't do it justice.

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur

This is one of those things from Paris that you can see from anywhere. It is huge and sits on a hill above Paris.

Notre Dame is just wonderful. I love the back and all the detail in the stone work. It took 200 yrs. to build it.

The Pantheon was hard to get a good picture of. It is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris. There are many famous people buried within including Victor Hugo and Marie Curie. It was really cold inside.

Paris Museums

2009-03-19T17:06:00.006-05:00

One thing about Paris is that it has a lot of museums. Museums on almost any subject including wine and the sewer system (yuck!). Due to time constraints we stuck to the art museums and went to three of the largest ones.

The Louvre is probably the most recognized museum in the world. It is HUGE! There is no way to see everything in just a few hours. We went during a night opening which was very convenient for our busy schedule. The building the houses the Louvre is beautiful and is classic French, or what I consider classic.

Steve enjoyed getting the dimensions of the pyramids

The most famous painting in the world, The Mona Lisa

A look through the glass pyramid to another part of the museum

Our next museum was the Musee d'Orsay. I hadn't been to this art museum before. I really liked it especially for the setting. It is in an old train station. They converted it in a great way and made an interesting setting.Here is a look inside the old train station / art museum

One of the famous paintings inside, Self Portrait by Van Gogh

Our last art museum we went to was the Pablo Picasso museum. We visited this one based on recommendation from our travel book. Steve and I aren't really into his art but it was interesting to see some of his works. We didn't spend too much time here that's for sure. I couldn't take pictures inside so here is one from the outside with a mirror wall. If you look really, really closley on the left side you can see me taking the pic.

A side trip

2009-03-18T18:08:00.004-05:00

Our trip to Paris was a perfect break. We got to see and do so much more than our previous trips to Paris and it was such fun to experience the Parisian culture for a few days. We did have a few bumps along the road including me losing my wallet in Houston before we left. Lucky for me my passport was not in the wallet! It was turned in which I found out Saturday when we returned.

One of my favorite things about being in Europe is traveling by train. We enjoyed a train trip to Nice this trip and something interesting happened on our way there..

Our train broke down along the way and we stumbled into a perfect little village.

Here is another picture of one of the homes in the village.

Here's Steve in front of the miller's home.

This is a pretty duck that ended up being a yummy dinner :)

There were quite a few sheep grazing in a pasture. Several had bells on, I wonder if they were the trouble makers.

I've heard peacocks are mean. This one liked to show off for the camera.
Okay, did I fool you? Our train did not break down (thank goodness)! This is actually Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet at Versailles (thanks Kerri for the suggestion). This is where she could go to be away from court life. It is a perfect little village and has a working farm. Don't worry I will post pictures of 'real' Paris but I couldn't pass this fun opportunity up! Also, we didn't eat the duck!

New Artist

2009-03-15T17:58:00.005-05:00

I'm working on our pictures from Paris. Here's a new artist to check out while you wait. I kept hearing her songs on KLOVE and decided to check her out. Francesca Battistelli CD is great! Check her out!

Something new

2009-03-06T17:53:00.003-06:00

I had to share the good deal we got today! After Italy and all the traveling we have done the past few years our luggage has taken a hit. When I got a 30% of coupon in the mail I decided to take a took at some luggage. We got lucky. We found a 5 piece luggage set that was 50% off plus our 30% off means they practically gave it to us :) One of my favorite things is the color which is chocolate brown. No more looking for our black bags along with all the others. It also has embellishes which makes it look nice as well. As for the best part (besides the price) it has 4 wheels as opposed to 2 on most. As we were traveling in Italy I was envious of those bags with 4 wheels. They seem so much easier to use. We will see if I'm right!

TAKSed to the Max

2009-03-04T16:05:00.004-06:00

Well, I survived our first round of testing at school. I ended up in the Instructional Specialist office all day today. You have to pack things a certain way and all materials have controls forms to go with them. It's just a nightmare! Oh well, it's done till April. I included pictures of what my office looked like yesterday. Since I tested writing kids in there everything up. Also, since I have lots of "fun" stuff in my office I covered that up as well. It's actually kind of soothing and I haven't taken the sheets down yet :)

I am ready for the week to be finished and to be on a plane to Paris! Steve's birthday is tomorrow and I am excited to help him celebrate. I am cooking at home, his request! I hope everyone is having a great start to March! I love that the trees are starting to bloom. On my way to school I pass by several trees that bloom in purple. Seeing them just makes me happy and it's a great start to my day.

Last minute deal

2009-02-26T07:29:00.002-06:00

Spring break is right around the corner (8 days) and we just booked another trip. I know, I know... we were going to stay in town and catch up on things at the house. Well, sometimes when a deal comes up you HAVE to take it! So, we are headed back to Paris for the break. I say back because I have been twice, in '98 (a quick weekend) and '06 (for 8 hrs). I found a GREAT airline deal and just couldn't not take advantage of it!! Okay, I probably could not have but I didn't want to :) We are going to do a side trip to Nice/Monte Carlo as well. I am most excited about visiting my friend, Kerri, who lives in Paris while her husband is working there. We traveled together back in '98 while we student taught in London. I'm a bit stressed though. For our Italy trip I planned for months and sought out lots of information. With this trip it is so quick I don't have much planning time. That's okay though. We are going to go and have fun!!

Vday weekend

2009-02-15T18:16:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. It was a good one for us. We enjoyed the boys bball games on Friday night to start the weekend. Saturday was a relaxing day. Steve and I have enjoyed our tradition of cooking dinner ourselves instead of going out and fighting the crowds. It is the one night a year we use our "fine" china and crystal. We only have the 2 place settings at our house, the others are still at my parent's. This year's chocolate covered strawberries turned out much better than last year (and much cheaper than HEBs). Today I woke up with allergies that kept us home from church. My eyes now seem to be a bit swollen which just figures. We did make it to a movie though, Confessions of a Shopaholic which was funny but makes me glad I don't have a shopping fetish. One more nice thing is that I get to sleep late tomorrow due to a professional development meeting, oh fun!

Treat from School

2009-02-12T18:54:00.005-06:00

Last week was National School Counselor Appreciation Week, did you know that? Not many people did and I was surprised that my principal found out (I'm hospitality chair so I'm in charge of all that fun stuff- what was I gonna do, tell her to celebrate me :). My school surprised me with a yummy Cookie Bouquet. It was a great treat to end a busy week. The spring at a Texas elementary school or any school is very busy. We are 12 days away from TAKS which has gotten everyone a little on edge. These are the days I am glad I was in school back in the day before all the testing.
My sister, Steve, Karen and I went to see He's just not that into you on Saturday. It was a good romantic comedy (my favs) so that was a plus. The real fun though was sitting next to Cheryl and telling the characters what to do and how stupid they were being. I'm sure Karen and Steve thought we were a bit crazy but that's okay!

The next trip

2009-02-05T16:34:00.004-06:00

You know you travel a lot when people are always wondering where you are going next. Oh the pressure!! :) Although a trip to Hawaii, some more of Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), and of course China are in the future (maybe the distant future but still...) we are staying in the continental US for our summer trip. My parents are taking us to Family Camp in Colorado at Estes Park. I can't wait!

Since we have some time in the summer Steve and I have decided to continue our road trip north. We are looking at Jackson Hole, West Yellowstone, and Salt Lake City. I'm looking for tips... things to see, what to do, where to stay, any thing I should know that you would like to pass on. Thanks in advance!!

1 year LID

2009-01-29T18:18:00.005-06:00

Yes, that's right folks we have finished our first year of waiting for Emily. The year has gone by very quickly which surprised me. I think being on some kind of vacation (Natchez, New Orleans, Cruise, Las Vegas, Italy) for a total of a 5 weeks helps :)

Here's our status from our Adoption Agency: Review Room- Once your dossier has been translated it moves into the Review Room. The individuals that prepare your dossier for the Matching Room review your entire dossier and confirm that it meets all CCAA requirements.

If you haven't looked at the words to the Steven Curtis Chapman Song When Love Takes You In here they are. I listen to the song at least once a day on my iTunes. When Cheryl and Rich returned from China I dubbed it "Hannah's Song" not knowing we would one day be on the same journey. I can now listen to it without crying or getting teary eyed which is an accomplishment.

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true

You’ve heard about a place called home

But there doesn’t seem to be one for you

So one more night you cry yourself to sleep

And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes

A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

When love takes you home and says you belong here

The loneliness ends and a new life begins

When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping

Someone else is dreaming too

Counting down the days until

They hold you close and say I love you

And like the rain that falls into the sea

In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes

A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go

There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes

A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

When love takes you home and says you belong here

The loneliness ends and a new life begins

When love takes you in it takes you in for good

When love takes you in

Video

2009-01-23T21:32:00.003-06:00

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1475275870/bclid1493222307/bctid8632567001
Here's a link to a video from the Waco Trib about my school's Inauguration Ball on Tuesday. You can also read "Wendy does Waco" blog about being there, it's hilarious!
Our Kindergarten teachers AMAZE me daily. They do an incredible job teaching and making school a fun place to be every day. The ball idea came to one of the teachers last Thursday and by Tuesday at 1:00pm there was food, secret service, ex-presidents, reporters, kids dressed up and history being learned.
Enjoy!

Watching history today

2009-01-20T16:58:00.003-06:00

Today my kids at school got to watch history being made. My school has cable in all classrooms so they were able to watch and learn. It was great to see kids watching with awe and being excited to see and hear what was happening in Washington D.C. today. Our Kindergarten classes even hosted an Inauguration Ball in the cafeteria. It was great fun.

We spent the 3 day weekend in Lubbock visiting with Steve's family. Steve's dad and brother, Mike, live there and his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew & family were able to come down from Amarillo for a great family weekend. We usually spend part of our Christmas break with them and missed out on that this year. We were very glad to get to visit with everyone even if it was for a short time. We enjoyed hanging at the indoor pool, eating out, and glow-in-the-dark putt-putt.

The Other stuff

2009-01-09T22:20:00.004-06:00

Now you know about all the city's we visited but what about all the other stuff... food, hotels, and people. First things first, most the people we met we very kind. They helped us with our very limited Italian, we only had a phrase book (thanks Cari). One thing I noticed about Italians is that almost all of them were dressed very nicely wherever they were going. How those ladies walk on cobblestone in high heel shoes I don't know!

We got very lucky with our hotels. I was a little worried about booking them sight unseen but that's how it goes. I think we got pretty good deals although I was willing to pay a little more for having a private bathroom, not matter how small they were :)

Hotel Bellini, Venice

I'm not sure if I want to eat Italian food again soon although we did have some great meals. If you know me you know I stuck to things I knew like pizza. One dish I did try that was yummy was spaghetti cabanara which is made with butter, egg, and bacon - how could it not be good. I've had something like it here but not quite the same. Steve tried some different things and especially enjoyed the soup in Florence.

This made me laugh, m&m products in Italy

One thing we really enjoyed was our train travel. Europe has a great train system! It was nice to have a little time to enjoy the scenery. Our favorite trip was from Milan to Florence where we got to see some beautiful snow. We also saw lots of grape vines as well. As I mentioned before the getting to and from were horrible but we got there and back so that's the important part.

This is the luggage we lugged all around Italy.

Venice

2009-01-08T18:24:00.006-06:00

Venice is the one city in Italy I have visited before. Granted Kerri and I were probably there less than 24 hrs. but it stuck with me. When Steve and I walked out of the train station and saw the Grand Canal I felt so happy. Venice is a special city. You feel different here, like life goes at a slower place. Maybe it's the fact that you don't here engines reeving or honking horns, it's just different.

We spent 3 nights in Venice in our nicest hotel yet. We celebrated New Year's Eve in St. Marks square with snow coming down, what a great night. We saw plenty of masks and glass to purchase. We loved walking down the narrow streets and getting lost on our way to our hotel. I took tons of pictures from our many boat rides and one gondola ride. It was a great ending to an amazing trip!

St. Mark's Basilica - The Basilica was built around 1100 and is a an anchor to Piazza San Marco. It is said to have the remains of St. Mark within it.

Courtyard, Doge's Palace - Home of the elected official of Venice back in the day of Venetian rule. We took the "Secret Itineraries" tour and got to see the jail and rooms of the "terrible ten". Our tour guide was great and gave us lots of detail about the palace.

Bridge of Sighs - built in 1600 to connect Doge's Palace and Doge's prison. This was the last view the prisoner's got to see before their imprisonment.

St. Mark's Campanile - Bell tower in Piazza San Marco. It was built originally in 1514 but that one fell down in 1902 and was rebuilt. You can ride and elevator to the top for some great views of Venice.

View of Venice - From the bell tower.

Rialto Bridge - The most famous bridge to span the Grand Canal. It was completed in 1591 and has lots of shops to roam through.

View from the Grand Canal - This is one of many small canals that run from the canal. It is so interesting to look down and see more bridges.

Our Gondolier - This is a silly picture but it made me laugh because he is thinking we are crazy :)

Murano Glass Factory - We spent one morning in Murano watching some famous Murano glass being made. It was neat to see. We didn't bring too much home because I was scared of it breaking in transit.

New Year's Eve - We enjoyed spending our New Year's Eve in Piazza San Marco. The evening's theme was Love. There were lots of people celebrating the New Year with champagne and fireworks.

Milan

2009-01-07T17:04:00.011-06:00

Milan seems to us the NYC of Italy. There were lots of tall buildings which we didn't see too much of in Florence or Rome. The train station was crazy busy with people coming from and going to places all over Europe. Although there were probably lots of things to see we spent less than 24 hrs. in the city.

After our time in Milan Steve and I decided we could compete in Amazing Race. We had an hour and a half to find and get to our hotel, get to a metro station, figure out the metro system, get to our stop, and find the Last Supper church (which is a pretty small church). Not only did we accomplish this but we did it in an hour! We were proud of ourselves and very happy since I had already purchased the tickets and they were non-refundable. It was a fun night!

da Vinci's Last Supper - Obviously this is not an actual picture of the Last Supper taken from my camera. Once again, no pictures in the church. I decided to give you just a little taste.

Santa Maria delle Grazie - This is the church the houses the Last Supper where da Vinci painted his masterpiece. It was once a monastery. There were so many interesting things to learn about the actually painting including the fact that the monks who lived here once painted over it in hopes of preservation. The painting is just a shadow of what it once was but it was still fascinating to see in person. Just an FYI if you are planning on visiting there, reservations are required and only a certain number are available each day.

Inside Milan Cathedral - An amazing Gothic masterpiece. It is actually the largest Gothic cathedral and the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world.

Outside of Milan Cathedral - Wow! What an amazing thing to see. It seems to be the center of Milan and everything radiates from this piazza and church. It took over 500 yrs. to complete the entire church with many different people in charge including Napoleon.

Florence

2009-01-06T16:54:00.016-06:00

There is something about the skyline of Florence. Maybe it's that I have seen so many pictures of it, I'm not sure but I knew we HAD to go. Florence has a great small town feel even though the more I walked around the more I realized how large it actually it. We spent 2 nights in the city and in 2 different hotels (thanks to a heating problem at one).
One thing we saw that I don't have pictures of is Michelangelo's David. It is Awesome!!! I couldn't imagine how big it actually was. The whole gallery seems to be built around it. You can't take pictures so I don't have any from there. We also spent some time at the Uffizi Gallery which houses a lot of Renaissance Paintings, again no pictures allowed so I took lots of outside ones.

Florence Skyline - Love it! I read in our Frommer's guide about taking a bus up to a hill above the city to get this shot. Loved that tip!

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore - It's hard to get a picture of the whole church since it is so big. I loved the outside of this church. The pink and green marble was simply amazing.

Giotto’s bell tower - Attached to the Basilica this tower is so ornate and has so much detail.

Bronze Doors of St. John's Baptistry - The gates were called "Gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo, completed in 1336 and showing scenes from the life of John the Baptist. These are actually a copy and the real doors are in the museum of the Basilica.

Inside the dome, The Last Judgement - Something that always amazes me is how they were able to do so many amazing paintings in such difficult places.

Florence is part of Tuscany and it is such a beautiful city. The hills that surround the city and peppered with houses. We stumbled upon the street market and enjoyed a little snow flurry. Our time was spent enjoying a city of art and romance.

Rome

2009-01-05T17:22:00.009-06:00

Several people have asked, "what was your favorite place?" I think my answer is ROME. There is just so, so, so much to see and experience. I figured that more than half of our pictures are from Rome. We spent 2 1/2 days in the city (we were supposed to be there 1 more day but we got stuck in Chicago, that's a whole other post) and walked around as much as we could. Here's a tour via our pics...

The Spanish Steps

Longest and widest staircase in Europe, linking the church and a piazza.

Trevi Fountain

Huge fountain that you can hear before you can see it. We threw our coins in hopes to return to Rome.

The Pantheon

Built in 126 AD and it basically the same as it was back then. This is all we got to see of it since it was closed every time we went by, bummer.

Basilica of St. Peter in Chains

It is most famous for housing Michelangelo's Moses and also houses the chains from Peter's 1st imprisonment in Rome.

Roman Colosseum

Built between 70-82 and once covered in marble (taken by the Pope's to build St. Peter's Basilica). It was amazing to see it in person. I can only imagine how grand it once was.

Roman Forum

Once the center of Rome in the 7th century BC, wow! I ended up with over 100 pictures from here. We had a tour guide who did a great job of helping us imagine what it would have been like back when Julius Caesar ruled.

St. Peter's Basilica and Square

We spent a lot of time here. The Basilica is AMAZING. It is huge and has so many great works of art and is the center of the Catholic church. The Vatican museum was also amazing. We got to visit and admire the Sistine Chapel.

This is one of the statue's inside St. Peter's. One thing that was so beautiful was the marble inside the church. It is so cool the way it looks like real material.

Papal Swiss Guards

They are "in charge" of keeping the Pope safe since 1506.

TV in the hotel on Christmas Eve

This is as close as we got to midnight mass on Christmas Eve. We watched some of it on our little tv.

Christmas Day Papal Blessing, St. Peter's

We got to visit St. Peter's square on Christmas day. The Pope gives a Christmas blessing from the balcony at the basilica. We didn't understand much (he did do a bit in English) but it was fun to be there for all the pomp and circumstance.

1st Nativity Scene, Presepe

We did a Christmas Eve tour of the Presepe throughout Rome. This is thought to be the first one. We saw large and small, simple and ornate. Italians are serious about their Presepe and collect special pieces over many years.

Rome Baptist Church, Christmas Eve

Yes, we found a Baptist Church in Rome. It was interesting to be in another country celebrating at a English speaking church. They were very welcoming and we went outside into the Piazza to sing carols by candlelight.

Gelato

Something you have to eat while in Italy. Steve and I had plenty of sweet treats.

We're back

2009-01-04T08:55:00.002-06:00

Well, after traveling for 24 hrs. we made it back home. Our time in Italy was INCREDIBLE!!! We had so much fun and I have 1400+ pictures to show for it (I know 1400 is a lot, I got a little crazy breaking in our 4 GB card). I'm uploading my pictures now and will be sharing some with you very soon, don't worry I won't share ALL of them :)

Off we go...

2008-12-20T22:42:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

A few days early!

Christmas gift from Waco ISD

2008-12-16T06:38:00.003-06:00

Waco ISD gave us our Christmas gift this morning with a delayed start!!! Those teachers out there understand my JOY! Now I have 2 hrs. to get those little things done that haven't gotten done yet this month (you know laundry, wrapping, getting Christmas cards almost ready) so here's to an extra 2 hrs. in my day and a little more Christmas cheer!

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-15T20:07:00.007-06:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful... really even in Waco the temps have dropped and it was sleeting for a little while this afternoon. It definitely puts me in the Christmas mood. Of course, I picked today to run all my errands after school. It was crazy!

We got some great Christmas cheer news today from Baylor. Steve was appointed as a Senior Lecturer. He applied a few months ago and was unanimously approved by the math department. It then moved onto the provost and president's office for final approval. He is the first in his department to apply for this so that makes it extra exciting. What a wonderful way to end the fall semester!!

In other holiday cheer news... On Sunday we celebrated my parent's 15th Christmas Open House. It was tons of fun! It is always a fun afternoon to celebrate the Christmas season.

Some have asked so here's a quick update on my eyes... all is well. I can see great now and the haziness is gone. I have been back to the doctor once already and I go back on Thursday for another check-up. I'm so, so glad that I went through the process. It was a great Christmas gift to myself :)

I can see clearly now...

2008-12-07T17:42:00.003-06:00

I can see, almost, clearly now that I have had lasik. Things are still a bit hazy but I can see with no contacts or glasses, absolutely AMAZING! Considering I was at the office about 45 minutes I can't believe I waited so long to get it done. The doctor and nurses were so nice and did a great job at calming me down, the Valium didn't kick in as I wish it would have. I couldn't feel anything (thank goodness) although it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, it didn't really hurt. My eyes don't look so good right now thanks to a few broken blood vessels but they feel fine. Sunlight is the only thing that bugs me a bit but that should go away after awhile. Although I missed singing in our church Christmas program (thanks to the lights) we made it to the Baylor Combined Choir Concert last night which is always a favorite holiday treat. I go back in tomorrow to see how everything is going. For those who are thinking about it I say "go for it" or at least go in for a consultation.

Ladies Night Out

2008-12-05T07:10:00.004-06:00

Last night my mom, Andrea, and Judy (Andrea's mom) had a fun Ladies Night Out. We attended the Junior League of Waco's Deck the Halls ~ Holiday Market. There was so much to see and some yummy food to eat. I really enjoyed going from booth to booth looking at what all there was to buy. We did a trip around once and then went back to our favorite spots to purchase the things that caught our eye. One thing that was fun to see was all the really cute baby stuff. I held onto my wallet and didn't buy anything but I am already looking forward to coming in the future to get things for Emily. It was a wonderful way to spend a Thursday night!

Decorations

2008-12-03T20:59:00.009-06:00

One of our favorite things about Christmas is decorating. So here's a sampling of what we have been up to.

Here's all our stuff out of the attic.

I don't know where we would put it all if we didn't have an attic!

Here's the official tree with all our favorite ornaments. We had several new additions to the tree this year with ornaments from our travels.

One thing I love out our house is having a fireplance and mantel. It's so fun to hang our stockings by the fire.

The past few years we have started collecting Department 56 houses. Our most recent is a travel agency, perfect for us!

We have 2 other trees and every room has some decorations, I didn't want to bore you :) Now the goal is to watch all our Christmas movies and listen to our over 50 Christmas CDs. I'm not sure I will have time to go to work each day, haha. In other news... we only have 18 more days till we leave for Italy, yes!

Happy Thaksgiving

2008-11-27T11:14:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Fanpire

2008-11-24T07:04:00.005-06:00

Okay I'll admit it, I'm totally Twilight obsessed. I feel I'm much more mature than those screaming teen girls out there but there is a little bit of me that wanted to do a little screaming at the movie and leading up to it (okay I did some screaming but held most of it in). I tend to get wrapped up in books/movies more easily than I should. I mean I've watch Pride and Prejudice way, way too much and now can quote most of it with Cheryl. With Twilight I was able to bring others along for the journey which helped keep me a bit more grounded. Once I read all the books in the series I forced Karen to read them. I was so happy when her obsessive gene kicked in and she spread the word to others. On Friday night (yes, I waited till Friday although I really, really wanted to go to the midnight showing on Thursday) 8 other Twifans and Steve (he supports my obsession :) went to the movie with me. One of Karen's friends from her new school even bought us vampire teeth. We had tons of fun even though we were clearly part of the older crowd.

The verdict on the movie: so not as good as the book. Of course, I was expecting that. After reading and then watching Harry Potter I understand that the literary work is almost always so, so much better. Maybe it's the power of using your own imagination that makes it better. Oh well, I did like the movie and ended up seeing it again yesterday afternoon. I did my share to help it make over $70 million for the weekend!

Twice Tagged

2008-11-22T13:24:00.006-06:00

I was tagged in 2 different blogs, by Cari and Kerri, and it has taken me a while to get them done. Here's the 1st... 7 things that you might not know about me:
1) I have visited 13 different countries since I graduated from high school. I am looking forward to going back to Italy in 1 month!!
2) I consider myself an early bird but don't like to talk to anyone for at least an hour. Lucky for Steve he has late classes this semester so he doesn't have to endure my silence.
3) My sophomore year at Baylor I was interrogated by the BU police. It was scary but luckily I was not involved in the incident in question.
4) The summer after my senior year in high school I had the opportunity to speak to several groups including WMU and the National Acteens Convention which included 5000 teenage girls.
5) I have some OCD tendencies and I think that all educators have some. If I ever get my PhD I would like to research the idea.
6) I did some silly things while dating Steve. A) called him "sir" when he first called, B) at our first movie he asked if I would like popcorn, I said sure. He held the popcorn out for me the entire movie and I didn't eat any! C) I made dinner one night and he brought dessert. He asked what kind of pie I liked and I said any kind. He brought a coconut creme, while I don't like. Luckily I was sick and couldn't taste it so I fooled him :)
7) I love to watch basketball. I love that it is indoors and usually goes by quickly. My least favorite is baseball, way to long. Football is okay as long as the Bears are winning.

Onto my second tag... In this one you are supposed to tell 6 unknown, quirky or random things about yourself and then tag six friends.
1. I love to sing in the car
2. I used to write everything I wore down on a chart. I had it on a clipboard in my closet (did I mention my OCD?).
3. I am picky eater even though I don't like to admit it
4. My mom has passed onto me the enjoyment of hosting friends at my house
5. I am allergic to chocolate. Doesn't really stop me from eating it but then my nose gets runny
6. Easter is my favorite holiday
I tag... anyone who wants to share!!!

Question... Lasik

2008-11-17T20:44:00.004-06:00

For awhile now my eye doctor has been encouraging me to get Lasik performed. I have allergies and a continuous infection on my eye lids which makes wearing contacts hard. Up till now I have been very wary of having the procedure done but recently I decided now was the time. So here my questions... have you had Lasik done? What are the pros/cons about it? Who did the surgery?
I have an consultation appointment for the place in Waco that does it on Thursday and am anxious to here more about it. Till then I will be researching and trying to psych myself up for this!

20 year Flashback

2008-11-15T12:53:00.003-06:00

Last night I got to relive a concert I attended 20 years ago. My first concert was Amy Grant's Lead Me On Tour in Las Cruces, NM. I was in 7th grade and remember having so much fun. Steve also attend the original which is a fun coincidence. Since this is the 20 yr. anniversary of the tour she decided to bring back most of her band members and sang the same song set. It was GREAT! I love her old stuff which made the night so much fun.

Picture Tag

2008-11-12T06:39:00.008-06:00

I got this from a friend's blog and thought it would be fun to see what ya'll have in your folders. Go to your 6th folder and take your 6th picture.

I have 2 b/c I used my desktop and laptop folders. This is a cake my sister made for a baby shower I help with. She is very talented!

Obviously this is from the folder titled "birthday 08".

Let's see your pics!

Is it too early?

2008-11-07T07:04:00.002-06:00

I am a huge music fan. I think music is an amazing thing that can impact us all and I wish I had a great talent to play and sing, oh well. As I type I am listening to Nessun Dorma my favorite opera piece and getting chill bumps, oh I love it! After some initial issues I have come to love itunes. Even though I am a pc girl itunes is my fav application and I have lots of songs but only a little ipod, gotta change that :) Anyway, where am I going with this? Oh yeah, Christmas is still many days away (48, if you're counting) and we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving so is it too early to break out the Christmas CDs? Steve surprised me last night with 2 new Christmas CDs, Casting Crowns and David Phelps, and Wednesday I bought the new Harry Connick Jr. Can I start listening to them? They are now in my computer to sing with at school (my office mates love that). I guess I figure with Christmas all over the stores it puts me in the mood.

Steve also bought the new Michael W. Smith praise album. It is GREAT!

A happy homecoming and the countdown begins

2008-11-02T20:32:00.002-06:00

We had a great Halloween/Homecoming weekend. We started the weekend by hosting a Halloween party with some friends. We enjoyed yummy treats and a good movie. We watched a classic Strangers on a Train which was good. I don't like scary movies so Steve had to wait till I went to bed to watch the real scary one.

I started Saturday very early. My mom and I helped with the Tri Delta homecoming breakfast reservations. It was fun to see some old faces and catch up. We headed to the parade and enjoyed seeing all the floats. There were a lot of good ones this year. We gave our fball tickets to Rich and Drew since Steve had tons of papers to grade (hope his students appreciate that!). We listened to the game on the radio, it was a great game. I was busy making pumpkin bread for home group. It was a good Saturday!

On Sunday we enjoy a mini concert at church by David Phelps. He was great and I really enjoyed listening to him sing. I look forward to singing with him for a Christmas concert with the church choir.

In other news the official countdown to Italy has begun. We have 48 days till we leave and I can't wait!!! I still have some plans to finalized and some shopping to do but we are ready to go. I just can't wait!!

LID #9

2008-10-29T20:12:00.005-05:00

Well, I totally missed posting for #8, oops! Today is our 9th month of waiting for Emily. Several times a week people ask me how long we have waited and how much longer we have to wait. I enjoy answering because I get to chat about Emily which makes my heart happy. Usually after I tell people we will probably be waiting 30+ more months they get a look of horror upon their faces but I remind them of the incredible nursery Emily is going to have when she gets to us. Since I have already started collecting and have much longer than most moms I will be ready. My favorite is to buy things that are personalized. I have always been a big fan of anything with my name or initials on it so I am starting with Emily early. I remember when I was in elementary school there was a store in El Paso called "It's Personal". It was one of my favorite places to go. I remember having hair clips with my name on them, oh so fun!

For our 9th month of waiting though I skipped the gift for Emily or the nursery and gave myself one. I joined the Waco Y with a friend from school. I have been needing to get myself in gear for awhile and she was an encouragement to do so. For our first day we thought we would start with something light, Beginners Turbo Kickboxing. Ummmm, let's just say I hope I can walk tomorrow! I can't imagine how the regular class is, yikes! Cari, it might take me a few years to join you in that class :)

A trip to the State Fair of Texas

2008-10-23T18:25:00.005-05:00

Last Friday as part of our fall break we headed to the Great State Fair of Texas. This was our 5th trip to the fair and it was a great one. The day was perfect with temperatures that weren't too hot which was great. Here's some pics from our day.

We got to the fair at 10 when the gates opened.

No trip to the state fair is complete without a picture of Big Tex.

I love to see at the animals and these little piggies were too cute!

A new fried treat! Fried grilled cheese, it was okay, very fried.

We always enjoy the bird show.

Here is me in my new car, okay not really but it's the one I want.

This was the biggest rabbit I have ever seen. We got lucky and were at the fair the day they were judging the bunnies.

I couldn't help taking this little guy. He looks a lot like our little guy (except for the lopped ears).

We also happened upon a chocolate dessert tasting competition. They didn't ask us to judge, bummer. After the light show Jessica Simpson did a concert. We didn't stay long but did get a glimpse of Tony Romo. It seemed there were a lot of people there just to see him. It was a great trip and a fun weekend to get away.

The Color Purple

2008-10-20T18:58:00.003-05:00

As part of our Fall Break weekend we went to see The Color Purple at Fair Park on Thursday night. It was a fun show to watch with some great songs including "What About Love". There were several actors from the original Broadway show and they did a wonderful job.

I am excited about the new season of Dallas Summer Musicals. I think we might get season tickets which will include 7 shows including Fiddler on the Roof, Legally Blond, A Chorus Line, and Mary Poppins to name a few. Looks to be a fun season.

Negotiator

2008-10-18T20:35:00.003-05:00

We returned from a wonderful fall break trip to Dallas. Steve had Friday off for BU's fall break and I decided to take a personal day (they give those to us to use right!) and we went to Dallas. We had a great time and I have decided to spread out the weekend into a couple of entries.
I am all about staying in nice hotels but I don't like to spend a whole lot of money, I know a contradiction. Anyway, my sister has gotten some great deals through Priceline and has encouraged me to try it. I have always been wary of using it for some reason. I guess I like to pick the hotel from a list but that way is more expensive I have learned. So a few weeks back I decided to search around the downtown Dallas area to see what I could find. Well, I quickly decided that I should give Priceline a try. I am so glad I did!! We ended up at the Sheraton downtown for $55! Considering the price from their website was over $200 I was very happy. Steve and I decided on Wednesday to go ahead and stay 2 nights. I went back to Priceline and ended up with the Hyatt Regency for $50, yea! I know, it's a bit silly to be so happy about the hotels but I figured we saved a little more money that can go towards Italy. We were very pleased with the Hyatt (I love all the glass) and the Sheraton was okay, not great. We had never stayed in Downtown before so it was fun to enjoy the city lights!

Tickets

2008-10-10T17:06:00.003-05:00

I didn't know what a demand there was to see The Last Supper. We will be in Milan as part of our Italy trip. The main reason we are going to Milan is to see the famous painting. I guess I should have known what a hot ticket that would be, oops! Anyway, the church where the painting is does not have anymore tickets for the day we will be there. I was lucky to find another "vendor" that has tickets (at a higher price, figures). I emailed them awhile back about our date and I just found out they do have 2 available! I am still looking at a day tour in Rome. I have a lot of research to do before we go, that's for sure!

Finished!

2008-10-06T20:57:00.003-05:00

Well, I finished the Twilight series last night. Good thing I got to sleep a bit late this morning due to inservice for the district, it was a late night. Anyway, I really like books 1-3 a lot. Book 4 was okay but I guess I was just more distracted and couldn't ever really get into the grove of it. I still liked it but there was just something about it, I'm not sure. My nephew and others have suggested reading Lightning Thief so that may be up next. I think my library at school has it. I'm hoping for a quick week at school with fitting 28 guidance lessons into 4 days, should be fun!

Game Day x4

2008-10-05T12:54:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a big day for sports. We had 4 different games to watch. Since my nephews and niece live in Waco we stay busy going from game to game. So here's some pics from the day.

Here is Jacob and his flag football team. He made a great kick!

Hannah is enjoying playing soccer.

Andrew is on the Steelers team. Go Steelers!

The Baylor game wasn't too bad. We scored 17 pts. which I thought was pretty good.

I ended the day with a wonderful wedding. Congratulations Jay and Liza!

Wonderful Wedding Weekend

2008-09-28T20:14:00.004-05:00

We enjoyed a great family weekend and a fun family wedding. Steve's sister, brother-in-law, and brother came in Friday night from Lubbock/Amarillo. They got here in time for us to enjoy a night out for dinner and a movie. We wanted to see Fireproof but it was sold out. I think that is a good thing for Waco but a bummer for us. We ended up seeing Eagle Eye which was okay. On

Saturday morning we headed down to Austin and Pioneer Farms. Steven's nephew, Josh, got married there. The wedding was at a historical homestead. Josh and Caitlin met there while volunteering. The wedding was just precious! All the dresses were handmade and her wedding dress was beautiful! We enjoyed a reception by the creek in a beautiful, tree filled area. It was great to have Steve's brothers and sister together, even if for a short time. We enjoyed visiting with other family members and celebrating a wonderful day. The pictures are of Steve and his brothers and sister and the happy couple.

I am a little tired from staying up late reading Twilight. I have really enjoyed it and went and bought the other 3 books in the series today. Guess it's going to be a late night reading tonight :)

Birthdays

2008-09-21T11:10:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad and Rich!

Last night we celebrated their birthdays with a dinner at Cheryl's house. Dad's b-day was Friday and Rich's is Monday so we decided with the busy schedule we should combine the celebration. We have gotten to spend a lot of family time together this week which has been great. My granddad, aunt and cousin are here from Houston. Their house was okay but they still don't have electricity. My mom has done a lot of cooking and we have enjoyed it! It has been fun to spend some fun times together.

Gotcha Day, Gochis style

2008-09-14T19:10:00.003-05:00

Today is gotcha day for my sister's family. Gotcha day is the day they first met my precious niece Hannah in China. For any family who has adopted children Gotcha day, or Family Day as we call it, is an important celebration. We celebrated at Cheryl's house with Chinese food, what else :) It was a fun celebration and we are so lucky to have Hannah in our family!

new adventure?

2008-09-13T00:17:00.004-05:00

So what do you do while you are watching 24 hr. hurricane coverage? You get on Facebook of course. I have heard friends talk about it on blogs and other places but had never visited it myself. So I thought I would see what I could find. With just a little info about me (where I graduated from) there was an instant list of friends. Some people I haven't seen since graduation, more years that I want to remember. I managed to find my best friend from elementary school, go figure! Let's just say I am not addicted to all this social networking yet but it is fun to play.

As for the hurricane. I am praying for my granddad, aunt and cousin, along with other family who are in Houston. Looks like it is going to be a bad night, that's for sure. They say Waco will be windy and a bit of rain so we will see.

All booked!

2008-09-09T19:41:00.003-05:00

Today I finalized our hotel plans for Italy. I had put things off due to school getting started and had forgotten all about needing a place to stay :) I spent 4 hrs. at my parents house last night getting the rooms for Milan and Florence. Today I booked the ones for Rome. We are staying at 2 different hotels in Rome since we will start and finish there. My sister helped with our Venice rooms a few weeks ago. It is always hard to book a hotel you have never seen or heard of. We had great luck with our hotel in London and I am hoping for the same results. I rely a lot on tripadvisor.com when booking hotels. They have hotel reviews. That is always helpful although some travelers opinions are a bit different than mine they have been pretty reliable in the past. So we are one step closer to our Roman Holiday!! BTW the pic is of our hotel in Venice, too fun :)

ATM woes

2008-09-03T20:35:00.005-05:00

I don't go to the ATM a lot and I never seem to have cash, guess one goes with the other. Today I needed cash for some school stuff so off to the ATM I went. Everything was normal until the money came out. Not only did it come out it went FLYING OUT. I mean it flew away. There was a little wind but not too much, I mean not enough to take my money!! So what do I do?!? I had chosen to get a receipt, do I wait? Is my money still around somewhere? Where is it? Oh, good gravy!! So I wait for my receipt and then drive up a bit hoping the car behind me won't get upset that I am totally in the way. I found my first $20 bill and spy my second bill on the pavement ahead. Luckily I got close enough in the car to stop and get the second bill. Thank Goodness!! I am really, really glad I was only getting $40 out and not more than that. So, the moral of this story is... don't go to the ATM when the wind is blowing.

2008-08-29T13:35:00.003-05:00

Today is LID # 7. I've always thought 7 was a lucky number. In China the lucky number is 8, hence all the Olympic programing. As #7 rolls by I am continually reminded of the fun of having children. With almost 600 children at my school I get to see lots of personalities. Students are always asking if I have children of my own and my response has been "I don't have time for kids I have 600 of ya'll everyday". They usually laugh and then I tell them about adopting from China. It is fun to talk about and the students think it is pretty cool. I thought the number with Grover with it was cute. I think Grover is my favorite character from Sesame Street. I'm sure Emily and I will enjoy watching it together.

Day One Done (Finished)

2008-08-25T16:40:00.003-05:00

I survived my first day of school, thank goodness! It is the beginning of my 10th year at my school. 10 yrs. holy cow! I don't think I am old enough to have been here 10 yrs. Guess I am older than I feel :) The first day at any elementary school is busy and ours fit the mold. My feet are killing me and I am reminded why I need to wear my athletic shoes this first week. Most of the day went great. Dismissal was chaotic but successful, try getting 600 kids in cars, vans and buses.

Steve had his first day of class as well. This is his 7th year at Baylor teaching math. His 4 classes are full with over 200 students, mostly freshman. The summer went by way to quickly but guess that's what happens when you are having fun. On a good note, the shot worked and Steve's leg/back is feeling great!! He has no pain right now which is awesome. We are hoping he won't have to get another shot for awhile and this one will last past our Italy trip.

Beautiful Sight

2008-08-20T17:57:00.002-05:00

This picture is not of the sonic sign :) Monday and Tuesday we got some much needed rain. Our yard is looking a little more green, thank goodness. When I came out of a restaurant last night there was a BEAUTIFUL Rainbow. I couldn't help but smile and be reminded of all the blessing God has given to me and my family.

Phelps Phan

2008-08-16T11:33:00.005-05:00

I love watching the Olympics! This week has been filled with late nights trying to keep up with everything. I started back to school this week so staying up to watch everything was a bit hard. Thank goodness for DVR and the msnbc Olympic updates. We got home just in time last night to see the amazing race Phelps put in in 100m butterfly. I have especially enjoyed swimming since that is a sport I could actually do, I mean not race in but get in the pool and swim. I will never be able to do backflips across a balance beam :) So for now I am a Phelps Phan and can't wait till tonight when he swims his final race and a chance for 8 gold medals.

Super Shot

2008-08-13T14:34:00.003-05:00

Steve had his first steroid shot this afternoon. It was a much bigger deal than I originally thought. He had to go to a surgery center and sign off on all sorts of papers. The doctor was very, very nice and had lots of encouraging words to share. Dr. Schwartze used to work at Baylor. The procedure only took about 20 mins. but it was a long 20 mins for me in the waiting room, I'm sure it was longer for Steve. We are glad it is over and are hoping for great results. Steve probably won't know for a few days if the shot actually worked. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!