Since We Last Met...

Fall is in full swing which means that I have spent my free time grading papers, lesson planning, trying to keep my home clean among other things. I am thankful that Michael has been home a lot lately! I am also thankful for Facebook as I it keeps me in the loop! =)

My precious 4th graders:

We celebrated 2 years of marriage!!

Grandpa Lummen's 85th Birthday!

On the Riverwalk for Grandpa's birthday party!

Mimi, Tracey, Hannah, Eli, and Laura

Celebrating Grandpa's birthday!

Eli wearing a Play-dough hat made by Grandpa Jim

Me in a deer blind...

Hunting with my hubby!!

Baby Cal at Halloween!

Mark Tucker, Matt Srp, Mike Srp and Rob Tucker

Hunting at Contigo Ranch!

Joe, MC, Christian and Mike

at the Geneva Gala!

Before and Afters

Michael and I bought our house in December 2008. It is hard to believe that we have almost lived here for a year! We love our little hill country home and have had a great time "playing house." I thought it would be fun to post some "before and after" pictures of our projects...

1. We painted our living room a pale blue to brighten up the space... thanks for the suggestion MC... we love it!

Living room before:

Living room after:

2. Mike and Tracey had some old patio furniture that they did not want anymore so we offered to take it off their hands. It was in need of a little TLC...

Patio furniture before:

Patio furniture after:

(plus Michael's birthday gift... the grill!!)

3. The on-going battle with our yard... between the lack of rain and extremely hungry deer, we have had quite a trying first year! I am proud to say that today our yard looks AMAZING and our persistence has paid off!

Back in March my 1st attempt:

(the grass has a "top dressing" on it to fertilize)

The deer LOVED it!! =(

TODAY!!

1st attempt in March:

2nd attempt:

Finally had to call in the professionals:

TODAY!!

March... before:

TODAY!!

4. Finally, my husband's absence brings out my crafty side... here is a flower cross "wreath" that I made for our front door!

Remember When...

Remember when I was going to use this blog to keep a "journal" of Michael and my life.....

Apparently, I forgot about that goal! I really do have good intentions!

In-service starts tomorrow and I am very excited to start school! I have 14 little 4th graders this year and am looking forward to meeting them at Back to School Night on Thursday. This will be my second year at Geneva which will hopefully mean an easier year! Last year was fabulous... I just had a lot to learn!

Ok, end of summer re-cap...

Hannah turned 2 and we had a blast celebrating with her!

Cal was dedicated at 4 months old!

My parents moved!!

We bought a KING size bed and new bedding!!!

Our living room floor has turned into my "teacher work room"

Michael continues to travel... his current Wal-Mart is in Vernon, Texas... job starts tonight!

MC was babysitting a sweet family from Geneva this last week and we made a Slip'N Slide... it was SO MUCH FUN but my body hurts from running, falling and sliding on the ground!

The Lord blessed me with a fabulous, relaxing summer that is hard to say good bye to. I will miss sleeping in/watching the Today Show each morning but I'm ready for the adventures of a new school year!!

HOME

The word HOME comes to mind when trying to describe the last 3 weeks of our life. It has been a busy, family and friend filled couple of weeks!

To start, I headed to Galveston to visit my husband after being apart for almost 3 weeks. One of the jobs he is working on is in La Marque, Texas very close to Galveston. An apartment on Galveston Island is his HOME away from HOME. Here is a picture of us eating lunch on the beach!

After almost 12 years, my parents have sold their HOME and will being moving at the end of August! I am so excited for them! They will be moving into The Fairways at Barton Creek Country Club. Needless to say, both Mike Crockett and Mike Srp are pumped about being right on the practice putting green! Here is a picture of the HOME I grew up in.
For the 26th year in a row, we spent the last weekend of July with our dear friends, The Hardies, & The Shepards! What started out as 3 families spending the weekend at Horseshoe Bay at the Hardie's lake house has turned into quite a large gathering! We had to change the location to The Crockett's lake house a few years ago... my parents are happy to host the gang! Each year the group gets bigger, especially with the addition of grandkids!! Nothing says HOME like a weekend full of family & friends!

Pictured below (L-R): Christian & Mike Srp; Brooke & Bo Crockett (baby Cal); Amy & Ray Peeples (baby Ada); Sarah & Gate Davis (baby Eleanor); Robert Shepard; Stephanie & Derek Land (Paxton & baby Tatum)

Front row: Debbie & Mike Crockett; Susie & T Hardie; Cydney & Bobby Shepard.

Not pictured this year... Jenny & Taylor Shepard (baby Drew coming soon!) and M.C. Crockett.

A few more pictures from the weekend:

Uncle Mike and Cal Crockett

Aunt Christian & Cal Crockett

By far the BEST part of lake weekend this year, came in the form of a 15 lb. 3 month old named Cal Crockett!!! Brooke & Bo make the trek to TEXAS from Connecticut! It was such a treat to have them and a JOY to finally wrap my arms around baby Cal!! He is simply precious!! Here is a picture of Cal showing off his new cowboy boots from Aunt Christian and Uncle Mike!

My parents invited our extended family over for a "Meet Cal and Celebrate Bo's 29th Birthday Party!" Here are a few pictures from the celebration!

4 Generations!

Aunt Christian, Grandaddy, & Cal

The proud parents!

Bo & his proud parents!

Great Aunt Sue Beth & Great Uncle Jim

YCGABB

(Your Crazy Great Aunt Bebe)

Cal, Gran-Apples, Brooke

Of course Bo wanted to eat at Matt's El Rancho for his birthday dinner!

After spending time with my wonderful family in Austin, I headed HOME to Boerne for 2 days. Mike was in Humble working on a job with his buddy Rob. Lindsey and I decided to load up and head to Houston for the weekend. Lindsey's precious kiddos Truitt (almost 2) and Torin (7 mo) came along for the ride! The girls and Truitt spent Saturday at the Galleria while Mike and Rob played golf... I have a feeling this wasn't the last time for this combo! It was so fun spending the whole day with the Tucker's! We all met up for some dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and ice cream at Baskin Robbins! Truitt was so excited about his ice cream cone and he got it all over his face!
Michael and I stayed in Houston on Sunday and Monday. My mom's best friend Kathy Burney went HOME to be with the Lord on Tuesday, July 28th. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer 9 years ago and finally lost her heroic battle. We joined hundreds of people on Monday to celebrate her life. Before she died, Kathy asked my mom to speak at her funeral on behalf of her family. With the Lord's help, my mom did a fantastic job reading letters to Kathy from each of her 4 kids. Kathy was a wonderful mother, grandmother "Khaki" and friend. She holds a special place in our hearts and she is missed dearly! Below is a picture of Kathy at Michael and my wedding in 2007.
After a sad day, Michael and I traveled HOME to Boerne on Monday evening. It will be a treat to have my hubby HOME for the next few days!! Plus, my sister comes HOME from Alaska tomorrow!!

I'll Take It!

As you know, my husband is out of town a lot for work. He is currently overseeing two Wal-Mart remodels... one is Humble, Tx and the other is in La Marque, Tx. He has been super busy lately traveling back and forth between jobs putting out fires and dealing with the headaches of construction. Not to mention the fact that he has a new remodel starting in Del Rio, Tx very soon. 

In 2 days I am hopping on a plane to Houston to visit Michael! I have not seen him in 17 days! 

We thought it made more sense for me to fly to Houston and stay the weekend than for Michael to drive 4 hrs to Boerne on Thursday night... 4 hrs to La Marque on Sunday... and 7 hours to Del Rio on Monday! So, I will join him in relaxing Friday and Saturday in Houston! He has to work Sunday night but I am going to stay and ride with him to Del Rio on Monday... here is a map of our "Summer Vacation!" 

It's not exactly a vacation at the beach... but I'LL TAKE IT if I get to be with my hubby!!

While He's Away...

Since Michael has been traveling so much for work lately, I have been filling my time with friends and family. I spent 5 days in Austin last week helping my parents clean out all of my old stuff. They put their house on the market this week, so we had to clean out and stage my sister and my bedrooms. After 4 days of cleaning out, reminiscing, sweating, and repainting the final product was amazing! Rumor has it there maybe a contract in the works! 

We took a few breaks to get a snack from Yogurt Planet... the do-it-yourself yogurt place... you can fill your cup up with as many flavors and toppings as you like and then you place it on the scale and pay per oz. I filled mine with a little peanut butter yogurt and mostly vanilla with fresh strawberries... yummy!! 

I have also had the privilege of hanging out with my precious niece Hannah. My mother in law usually watches her 3 days a week, but she is in Hawaii visiting her sister... so Auntie Christian is filling in! We went to music class at Gymboree, bought a new baby doll at Target, gave the new baby a bath and have been to the park a couple of times. Here are a few pictures...

On our way to Gymboree... Hannah's first time to ride in Auntie Christian's car

Walking to the park... Hannah picked the "lello" flowers for her mommy!

Speaking of bath time... every night I take a bath and read before I go to bed. Emerson usually hops up on the side of the bath tub and falls asleep on the ledge while I'm soaking. The other night he laid down and placed his head on my shoulder... it was simply precious! He is a cuddle bug and makes you feel so loved! I took a picture with my phone because I wanted Mike to see how cute Emerson was being while he was gone... I know it's a little strange but I thought I would show you so I could brag on my kitty!

The last adventure for this post... my friend Lindsey asked me to meet her at this super cute store called Bitter Creek Designs today. It's a bead store that you can select your beads and create your own necklace. I was overwhelmed with all of the amazing beads... of course I went with my usual of turquoise but I think it turned out great... I can't wait to wear it!! Thanks Lindsey for the fun date! Let's do it again soon!

A-Open Golf Tournament

I am long over due for a post... sorry! 

Michael and his best friend Robert Tucker played in the A-Open Golf Tournament a couple of weekends ago. The tournament was in Austin at the University of Texas Golf Club and Barton Creek Lakeside. My dad's college fraternity (SAE) puts on the tournament as an annual reunion... always plenty of fun to go around!! Here a are a few pictures from the weekend...

Tucker and Srp

Tiger and Elin

My Mikes... I love them both so much!!

The Srps and the Tuckers

My fabulous parents!