I started school last Thursday and to my surprise it was one the smoothest first days I've ever had. I have 19 kids in my class and they keep trickling in. For the most part it's a good group of kids that seem to be pretty with it. Of course I still have to remind them of the rules and break them of the habit of calling me "teacher, teacher." Hopefully their cute little faces and their willingness to learn will keep me going this year!

Travis and I went camping over the weekend at Huntsville State Park. We were finally able to try out our new tent and I love it!! We didn't get out to our site until sunset but we got the tent set up and a fire started pretty quick. It was quite the trip for me. While I ran up the road to use the facilities Travis had 2 furry visitors- raccoons. Too bad I missed out on that excitement BUT after hearing about it I made sure to keep an ear on my surroundings. Eventually I was spooked by what I thought was a Raccoon but was really nothing- just my imagination. We soon crawled into the tent and settled in for the night. Travis always sleeps on the right and I'm always on the left. That lasted for about 5 minutes. I was getting comfortable when I noticed 2 HUGE shadows over our tent. I thought someone was out there about to get us! YIKES! Travis reassured met that those shadows were of the people in the campsite next to us. (It took some convincing though) He then said you sleep here and I'll sleep there. That was working out just fine until the owl starting hooting from the tree above us. I just closed my eyes and prayed for daylight.

Daylight came and we tore down the campsite and loaded up. We headed back early and fooled around outside. I ended up falling asleep on the porch swing. You have to love those kind of days. Monday came too soon of course but the good news is is that today is hump-day! Only 2 days to go. This weekend Travis and I are going to the Home and Garden show to meet EVAN FARMER- I mean we are going to get ideas on home improvement 'n stuff.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BECKY & KRISTINE!!

I am so tired of the radio these days. It's the same songs being played over and over again. What's really annoying is when different radio stations play the same song at the same- there's no escaping! It seems as though I have the same problem with music here at home as I do in the car. Last night I decided enough is enough- why should I make myself suffer with the same old tunes!?! So I spent a little time online listening to cd samples and found several new artists that I liked. I created a list of potential new cds to add to my collection and then this morning I headed out to Barnes and Noble where I narrowed my list down to 2 new artists (new to me at least) Howie Day and Jamie Cullum. Howie Day has a John Mayer style/Bono sound to him and Jamie Cullum is nice and jazzy!

ahhh peace at last!

This past weekend Travis and I fell in love with the Dodge Magnum RT We decided to test drive one just for kicks and ended up seriously considering to buy one. I was drooling over the Cool Vanilla while Travis was admiring the Magnesium.

I went up to school Monday to work in my room. My goal was to get the furniture moved in to place. Mission accomplished. Tomorrow is our first day back- donuts and bagels served at 8. I think I'll pass on that. Not sure what's in store tomorrow or the year for that matter but hopefully it's not as bad I'm thinking.

This weekend I'm heading up to the hill country with my parents. Saturday I'm going to help my dad up at the ranch and then Sunday we'll be heading back home. Kind of a long drive for such a short trip but it'll be nice to get out of the city. Travis is going to Florida to help his buddy move back home. He's off for 4 days...lucky! I guess I shouldn't be jealous since I've been off for 2 months. lol

Oh, one more thing Travis and I decided to clip and use coupons this month to see if we'd save any money when purchasing grocery items. Low and behold, we saved a whopping $8 at Krogers yesterday! If only it would of been triple coupon day!

This morning I was listening to sound clips from the JB and Sandy show. I was checking out their site and came across a picture of what happens when a Zebra and a Donkey get together...If you look at long enough it's kind of cute!


Pet the Zonkey

What a great weekend! Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was incredible. I have never tasted a steak so flavorful. I actually ordered the stuffed chicken but sampled the steak off of Travis' plate. I am sneaky..very sneaky. We actually spilt our meals but for some reason I ate more of his than mine but not to worry I had mine boxed up and enjoyed it last night.

Yesterday Travis and I went into town and bought a new......Greatland® dome tent . I absolutely love it! I can't wait to try it out! It sleeps 4 but it is perfect for 2 and a little pup.

Travis also surprised me BIG on Friday night. On our first trip out to Fredericksburg I went to a quilt store and found this amazing quilt with a not so amazing price-tag. I told Travis about it and even showed it to him one afternoon. He told me that we could go in half on something if I wanted to. I couldn't make up my mind because I had my eye on something else. Well I left town empty handed which was fine because I figured I'd be back the following week and would have my mind made up by then. On the return trip I told Travis I had stopped by the Quilt store and to my surprise the quilt had sold. I told him that I guess a tourist had bought it over the weekend. Little did I know what he had up his sleeve. He had been teasing me all week about how I was getting a surprise when we got back to Houston. A SURPRISE!?!?!

Of course that started the guessing game....Is it something that fits your pocket? What color is it? Is it breathing? I asked every question in the book and all I got were two responses from him, "I have the right to refuse to answer and you'll find out on Saturday."

Well he couldn't wait until Saturday and neither could I! So on Friday he covered my eyes and revealed the surprise. There was the quilt spread out on my bed! I couldn't believe it. I was practically speechless.

I love my quilt and I love Travis!


The Quilt


The design upclose

So now I'm on the search for quilted pillow shams and a new bed.

I'm back!

I got in town this morning around 10. I had gone up to Fredericksburg on Tuesday because Travis was going to be working there. During my stay I learned more about what he does and talks about doing by watching him work and actually doing it myself. I collected a few water samples and helped label over 300 glass jars used for sampling. Thursday I managed to swing by Grandma's house. She was surprised to see me and offered to take Travis and I out to lunch. Travis couldn't make it because of his work load so it was just the two of us! We went by DQ (of course). We talked about the price of real estate in Fredericksburg (which is outrageous) and about my visit in town. Afterwards I managed to stroll down Main Street and did a little shopping. For the most part I just relaxed and enjoy my time with Travis.

Travis will probably be back later tonight. He had so much work left to do on his own-hopefully he'll finish before sunset.

Well next week we head back to school for inservice sessions. Today was our Kindergarten Team luncheon at Kathy's house. It kind of motivated me to get my room ready for the 20 kids I'm expected to have. We are all kind of nervous about this year because we have a new Principal, an extended day and several other changes that are going into effect this coming school year. I'm sure it'll all work out though. Change isn't always a bad thing.

Well this weekend is Travis' mom's birthday. She made reservations for all of us to go to Ruth Chris' Steakhouse to celebrate! I picked her up an antique bud vase from a store called Rebbeca's when I was on Main Street. The vase looks like a round jelly jar with a domed shaped wire lid.

Other than dinner tomorrow- not much else is planned. Perhaps we will practice the Art of Doing Nothing.

helping water the plants

Helping Gi-Gi make cookies

Let's play teacher!

Maxie B. at the Pioneer Museum

Travis and Maxie

After our camping trip I headed to Johnson City to pick up Maxie. Maxie stayed with Gi-Gi and I for 3 days. We had a lot of fun! Monday Gi-Gi took us to the Pioneer Museum to see some of her Great Grandfather's artifacts. It was pretty interesting and there was lots to see. We did a little shopping and had an ice cold treat at DQ. Maxie and Gi-Gi made oatmeal raisin cookies one afternoon and then Maxie and I did a little more shopping. I'd try to give Grandma a little time to herself so she could rest and restore some energy. We'd visit Travis everyday at his job-site. I am glad I had the chance to see what he does when he is out of the office. Travis stayed at the Miller Inn which was right around the corner from my Grandma's place- so pretty convenient! It was nice being that close. Tuesday was date night out on the town. We went out for dinner at Bejas, a causal Sante-Fe restaurant. We dined on the patio facing Main Street. We started out with chips and queso and a tangy margarita. For the main course I had the Cobb salad and Travis had a stuffed chicken dish and we shared a peach cobbler topped with ice cream for dessert! It was nice to go out and enjoy the small town life. I love Fredericksburg because work isn't the priority for people- it's family. People work hard at what they do but it's family (not money) that keeps them going.
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Last week Travis and I went camping at Inks Lake- which is just North of Marble Falls. The drive out there was pretty. There were rolling hills, winding roads with amazing views of the land and the water. When I arrived Travis was tucked away in his tent but was aware of my arrival- he quickly popped out to greet me. He had picked a great location to camp- close to the water which gave a nice breeze and it was near the restroom. Travis took me on a quick tour of the campsite and then suggested renting a canoe to paddle around the lake. I'd never done that before so I was up for it! At first I was little nervous about being on the water but Travis assured me that the boat was stable! We paddled around for a couple of hours and enjoyed the fresh air! I do have to admit I could use a little help on my rowing technique but overall I got the hang of it. That afternoon Travis set up the hammock and we spent some time relaxing in the shade with our books. At night we built a fire and watched for shooting stars before going to bed. We took it easy on Sunday morning and tore down the campsite little by little before heading to Fredericksburg.

the view from our campsite

Me and Lucy watching the sunset

sunrise...sunset...sunrise...sunset

taking it easy

creepy crawly critter

Travis and Lucy in the water at INKs Lake

Becky- Thanks for all your help with my blog issues! You certainly do have "magic fingers!" So here it is- the latest look for my Blog....is it a keeper? You bet it is!

Last night Kristine and I saw The Notebook. I had read the book last summer and when I heard about the movie I knew I had to see it. I definitely recommend seeing it-and bring a box of tissues. We were both crying and laughing at one another but we gave each other a hug and we were all better!

Tomorrow I'm heading to Austin for some good-time fun with Maxie! On Saturday I am meeting Travis at Perdenalis Falls to go camping- I hope I'll be able to find him when I make my way out there! We will camp out Saturday night then head to Grandma's house on Sunday and stay until Thursday. Should be a great time to take lots of pictures!

I was surfing mtv.com earlier today to find out what's going on in the world of entertainment. I came across a link called 20 Questions about your favorite Real World cast memebers. I personally am a big fan of earlier epidsodes of the show but the San Diego cast was pretty interesting- especially with members like Frankie- woah!

One question in particular caught my eye. What's your porn star name? (Your childhood pet's name + the name of the street you grew up on.) So that's my question to you fellow blog readers. Post your responses on the tag-board located on the right panel of my entry!

Sugar Sham would be mine. It's got a nice ring to it but I have no interest in changing professions!

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did over the Holiday weekend. I decided I'd go over to my parents house to help my mom out. She has been nagging me to clean out my bedroom closet for several months now. Since Travis was out of town I decided that now was a good time to get organized. I decided go the extra mile and clean out the gameroom closet as well. I figured out that if you can't find a place to store something just shove it in the closet and that'll work best. I should have worn protective head gear while cleaning- the closet was jam packed with stuff (not all of my stuff either). That little closet probably took a good 3 to 4 hours to organize. But now you can feel safe knowing that nothing will fall at you when opening the door. Then it was time to tackle bigger and better things like my bedroom closet.... I started cleaning it around 9 o'clock Friday and 10 trashbags later I was finally done. You can actually see the carpet now!

Travis and Scott took off on Thursday for a 2-day trip to the Sunshine State. First stop UNIVERSAL STUDIOS and Islands of Adventure for some roller coaster action! Then Saturday was race day. Travis and Scott attended a little thing called the Pepsi 400. Travis' drivers of choice are Rusty Wallace and Casey Kahne. Travis made it back early Sunday morning and by early I mean they caught the 5:30 a.m. flight. We dropped Scott off at his house in Spring and then headed back over to my parents place to pick LUcy up and visit with over breakfast. We spent the remainder of the weekend in Conroe and took it nice and easy!

Movie Rental Must- Cold Mountain