Late September/October Events

It's been a few weeks since I've filled in with what we've been up to, so it's only fair to pop in and give an update! Also, I've tried a few times (in vain, obviously) to get this written, only to be smacked in the face with technical issues (i.e. the post not saving when I repeatedly clicked the "save" button and never received an error message). Ugh. Anywhoooooo....here we are!

Not long after my last update post, Thomas and I spend a little bit of time helping Jean get settled back into her house. We considered it as a little bit of sweat equity for receiving all of the lovely furniture we did from her. Also, it helped her out, so that was a nice benefit. I'd like to report that she's all done with the remodel, but I can't. In the time since, she has had to find new painters to fix the poor job the original painters did, among a number of other touch-up details. We really ought to check in in the next week or so to see how things are going over there. One of our newest acquisitions from Jean's house is a new (to us, of course) TV! We started with a 22" TV and now have a 32" (I think) TV. It is so nice to watch TV on it, since the picture/picture quality is so much better on a slightly bigger screen! That'll probably be the end of upgraded furniture for us for a good while. If nothing else, these upgrades will (hopefully) last us until we're ready and able to easily acquire new items on our own. For now, though, we are more than grateful for what we have!

If you look closely to the left of the fireplace you can see the old TV. Love it!!!

Since last time, we also played host to a small dinner party with my new friend Charlotte and her husband Christian. It was a fun, laid-back night! I'm so happy that we've started making some couples' friends, as it makes coordinating get-togethers a lot easier and more fun for everyone!

Sometime in there, we spent the weekend at Thomas' parents' house dog-sitting the family dog, Zoe. That, in and of itself, was pretty anticlimactic, besides when Thomas was preparing to grill some venison. She went crazy over the smell of the meat and could hardly contain herself. Otherwise, she was a big bum, as per usual! During our weekend there, we spent one of the evenings attending the Plano hot air balloon festival! Despite the heat and humidity, it was cool to see hot air balloons in real life for the first time! My favorite part of the evening was when they lit up all the balloons on the launch field and we were able to go right up next to them and take pictures! What fun!

My Eagle Scout in front of the Order of the Arrow balloon.

Probably my favorite balloon of the night!

Yes, a picture of us, you're welcome!

We also took our old couch to the donation drop-off site. That was much easier than anticipated, given the runaround we faced initially.

See what I meant about it looking like it was from the 90s?
It sure was a good couch!

We also found out that a dear family friend of Thomas' is gifting us with a free week's stay at their vacation home near Durango, CO this summer! We only have to cover our travel and incidental expenses, which is incredibly generous of them! We're still nailing out a few details, but we're already excited for our later-moon!

On a different weekend, we also stayed with Thomas' cousins, William and Michaela. We had a great weekend all around. My favorite part of the whole weekend was finally getting to eat breakfast at Thomas' late grandpa's favorite diner. It was every bit as wonderful as they'd talked it up to be! We loved getting to spend some extra time with his cousins, also!

Truthfully, we were really busy for quite a few weekends. The weekend after that, my parents made their first trip to Texas since the wedding. My heart was so incredibly full all weekend! My favorite thing was probably just how wonderfully we all mesh together! We spent a good deal of time reminiscing about the wedding on Friday. Saturday was full, starting with my dad making us his famous biscuits for breakfast. Later in the day, us ladies traveled to a nearby town to look at a few boutiques and antique stores! I came out with a couple of new tops and some new old kitchen tools (from the antique store). We attended Mass and went out to dinner that night. Our choice of patio seating brought us good times when the restaurant's power went off for about 5 minutes, and not so good times when the mosquitoes came out in droves. All in all, we still had a lovely time. Sunday brought us back to Dallas, and my parents eventually back to Oklahoma. It went way too quickly, as usual, but was still fun while it lasted! In better news, we're headed to OK this weekend--I'm beyond excited to be back!

Mom and I, riding out to Quitman

I found a new sort of humor in this sign...
Thomas, not so much! ;)

Steve and Thomas out in the meadow examining a mysterious burrow.

Love this man!

By no means a great picture, but I love seeing all the parents together and having a great time!

Thomas and I also joined Steve back at Quitman the following weekend. It was a much less eventful trip. The main highlights included a visit from Steve's cousin LaNell and her husband Dick. They came out to see the place and for Dick, Steve, and Thomas to have some target practice at the built-in target range. Later in the day, Thomas attempted to go hunting for feral hogs, which have been tearing up the property, but came up short. He did, however, knock off a rogue armadillo.

Thomas and I were responsible for bringing Zoe out for the weekend.
She enjoyed the ride out there! 

Thomas in his natural habitat ;)

The next week brought about a visit from Elizabeth who was on fall break at college and celebrating her birthday! On that Friday, Diana took me, Elizabeth, Jackie (Diana's mother), and Elizabeth's bff/their neighbor Madison to the Dallas Arboretum. We narrowly edged out a rain shower so that we were able to enjoy our day out and about. I love that place for so many reasons, but the foremost is that it reminds me of my favorite high school science class, botany. I love learning more about plants and seeing beautiful displays. I like to think my teacher, Mr. Norton, would be proud of that.

The Cowardly Lion, made of hay

Diana and Elizabeth, looking awfully majestic ;)

Yes, I took a picture of a Ginkgo tree.
Pi-Hi students who took Mr. Norton classes will understand the symbolism of this picture!

How neat are these ornamental peppers!

The next morning, Thomas and I hosted Elizabeth for brunch. We'd made the revelation that she had never been over to eat with us, so we decided to change that. What a great time we had, swapping stories and munching on sweet potato pancakes! We loved getting together! The weekend was capped off by a celebratory birthday dinner at Steve and Diana's house with Jean and the remainder of the Coulters.

Our gift to Elizabeth...probably the best idea we've ever had!
Yes, those are custom socks with Zoe's face on them.
Yes, Elizabeth enjoyed them as much as we'd hoped!

All of the Coulter grandkids (and in-law) (sans McKenna) with Grandma Jackie

Diana with her mother and brother (Ross)
Love this picture!

The rest of the events were so short, I'll suffice to post pictures! You're welcome ;)

We also FaceTimed with Gina's crew...Jakub stole the show!
Love that sassy kid!

We went with Steve and Diana to watch a local band play at a restaurant in their neighborhood.
What talent! Such a fun night!

 Okay, I lied. I have to write a little more about this part...after being sorely disappointed by places advertising kolaches that only sold donuts and pigs in blankets, I found the real deal. Zamykal's is where it's at. By the name, you could probably guess that they are authentic Czechs. The shop is the fruition of the owner's grandmother's lifelong dream. Even better, I talked to the owner, and she told me all about their plans to hopefully acquire authentic Czech-style sausage from a neighboring town to put in their klobasniky! The best part is that they tasted almost just like my family's kolaches. I was a happy woman!

Coconut cream and traditional apricot. Heaven in my mouth!

We also celebrated Thomas' 5-year high school reunion and homecoming football game. It was a nice, albeit chilly, night!

All bundled up at the game...we only lasted til halftime when it was far too cold for us!

Okay, here's the big news of this post...(not pregnant, spoiler alert). I have finally acquired some new tutoring jobs! I found another family who homeschools their senior daughter, where I teach twice a week. Even better, I found an actual tutoring center that I now work at! The hours aren't spectacular, but I'm so happy to have more work after it seemed like it'd never happen. All of this is finally giving me the reassurance I needed that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing! I really do love tutoring. Honestly, I love it and private teaching leaps and bounds more than I ever did being in a secondary classroom. I gained good experience in the classroom, but I'm just not sure that that's where I'm meant to be. Maybe that'll change, but then again, maybe not! I'm interested to see what'll come next! Thanks for the continued prayers--you're all awesome!

As a last note, we're in the thick of another swath of family birthdays! Obviously, I've mentioned Elizabeth's birthday. Jakub's was last week...I can't believe he's four already! My dad's is today, and Scotty's is in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to seeing and celebrating with everyone this weekend! Also, we were able to have a spontaneous brunch with Jay and Mark, who popped into town for the weekend. Last, but not least, we're looking forward to seeing Thomas' cousin Nicole, who's in town all week. I love her kind spirit and having life chats with her. She's awesome, and I can't wait to see her! :)

Until next time, enjoy! Also, Happy Halloween!