Three years!

June 25th is a great day! It's the day that Jordan and I got married! That's right! We've been married three years now! (Three years and 5 days, now!) I guess time really does fly when you're having fun because it doesn't seem like we've been married three years already! These three years have been the best three years of my life! I love Jordan so much! I'm so grateful for all that he does for me. He means everything to me. Thanks, Bando!!! You're the best!

And you're such a "catch!"

A great thing about our marriage is that we help "steer" each other in the right direction by helping each other and loving each other!

We also "nourish" each other and help each other be "cheery," (or "cherry," as the case may be).

(Note of explanation: If you have not driven between Artesia and Cloudcroft, NM, you probably won't recognize this picture. It's at a fantastic fruit stand that sells amazing cherries and cherry cider! It's called Runyan's. If you ever happen to drive through there for some reason, stop here! - It's worth it!)

We try our best not to be "turkeys" to each other.

We work hard to "reach the top" and achieve our goals,

and we "celebrate" when we accomplish them!

We "kick" our problems away the best we can.

We "walk" together through life.

And we just LOVE being TOGETHER!!!!

Happy anniversary, Jordan! I love you!!!!

Note: All of these pictures were taken on our actual anniversary. We had a busy day of driving and sight-seeing on our way to Las Cruces, NM, with Stephen and Mel. The next day, we drove to Phoenix, where we are staying with Jordan's aunt and uncle. We're having a great time!

Margie's Wedding

Margie is my dear, dear friend from Tech. She was a senior my freshman year there, and she's a blast to hang out with! She got married on Saturday, June 21 to Andrew Walker. They got married in San Antonio, so I drove there for the reception!! The last time I saw Margie was during a pit stop Jordan and I made two summers ago when we drove from Salt Lake to Phoenix. I'm so glad I got to see Margie on her wedding day! She looked beautiful, of course!


The happy, new couple!


Old friends!

I also knew Daciana and Mark from Tech, but when I was there, they weren't married. It was great to see them, too!

Baseball

Jordan got tickets to the Rangers vs. Braves games in Dallas for his birthday. His favorite baseball team is the Braves, and Marshall hooked us up with the tickets. (Thanks, Marsh!!) So many people were able to enjoy the baseball games!

I just love patriotism! This flag was furled out on the Tuesday night game!


Here are some of the people who came to the games.
Julia and Jordan

Laura and Matt

My dad, Steve, Timee

Marshall, Jennifer, and my dad

Mel and Stephen

And Justin. Justin lives in Arizona, and he caught the t-shirt!!! He said he had to bring something home for his mom. I wonder if she ever got it...

The Hawk

Jordan has an eye for hawks. He spots them all over Houston. On one trip from Houston to Dallas he spotted more than 30 hawks. He just has this thing for hawks - and for all birds of prey. So we call him Hawkeye.



Well, my dad told him that he walked into the barn one day, and there was a red-tailed hawk in the barn! The hawk looked at my dad and must have wondered what on earth he was doing walking into his territory. The hawk then flew out a hole in the roof. Since then, my dad has been on alert for the hawk. He was mowing the backyard, and he noticed the shadow of a bird circling overhead. It was the hawk. Another time when he was mowing the backyard, he saw the hawk eating dinner at the edge of his property. He just stopped and wathced until the hawk flew away.



My dad had no idea that Jordan is also known as Hawkeye, but when he told Jordan these stories, Jordan almost couldn't contain himself!!! One day while we were in Dallas, Jordan, Mel, Kyle, and I went on a walk to look for the hawk. We stood at the edge of the property and looked in the field next door, and there it was. (Jordan spotted it, of course). You might need to click on the pictures to enlarge them and see the hawk better. It's perched just to the right of the chair thing.





The hawk knew we were looking at him, and, pretty soon, it took off.

Then it started circling overhead, so I took one more picture, and we left it alone.

Hawkeye was thrilled!!! He thought it was so fitting that he spotted the hawk while he was wearing his eagle shirt. After all - a bird of prey is a bird of prey!

Towards the end of the walk, we ate some peaches, and even Kyle enjoyed them!

What a fun time!

Laura, the Celebrity

Laura has found a new pass time. She loves hanging out with the rich and famous! Where does she get this great opportunity? At the Celebrity Cafe and Bakery, of course!



Okay, so she doesn't just hang out there. She works there! She was so happy to get this job, since it meant that she didn't have to work at a daycare. (Ask her about that one!)




While we were in Dallas, we stopped by the local celebrity hangout for lunch and dessert.

We didn't see any celebrities, but we had a big crowd there!

Here's the view from the place. It's pretty nice, huh?!! They don't deal with celebrities on a daily basis, but they did cater an event when Jason Castro, (from American Idol), came home to Rockwall.

The Hunt!

My family got together and decided to get my dad something big for Father's Day, but we didn't want him to have only one present to open, so we sent him on a HUNT!!! He was excited - can't you tell?!!







He very quickly figured out the first clue, and he was on to the second one.

Clue #3: How do you slice a cantelope into 11 equal pieces?

Answer: "You cut it in half, and you cut each half in halves so you have quarters. You cut each quarter into thirds, and you eat a slice!" So he went straight to the outside fridge where the cantelopes are!

That clue sent him to the mailbox, so we all took the trip with him.

At the mailbox, he had to solve for x. (Thank you, Laura, for making a math problem that was challenging for Dad, and for making the x=88).

Why 88, you ask? Because the piano has 88 keys, of course! He figured out that connection without any problem!!

He found the clue hidden in the piano...

...but he needed Taylor's help to solve it. (Taylor really did figure out the answer before my dad did!)

With each clue, he received a letter. At first he thought they were letters in our alphabet, but he soon realized that these were Russian letters he was dealing with!

He brought out the Russian dictionary, (yes, he has one!), to try to help him end the hunt. In the mean time, some of the others were involved in other entertaining events.

Finally, he figured out that the letters spelled "grill," and he was very excited. We're letting him choose his own, so we didn't have it to show him. We had a great time on the hunt!!!

Our Father's Day Meal

Happy Father's Day, Dad! To celebrate Father's Day today, my siblings, their families, my parents, and I gathered and had a great meal together! My dad absolutely LOVES seafood, so we had some Copper River king salmon in his honor. (Also, my mom really does NOT like seafood very much, so when we cook seafood at home, it's usually on Father's Day or on my dad's birthday!)

I know this picture has nothing to do with dinner, but I really like it. Taylor always finds ways to entertain himself, and today he made a maze with yarn all over the solarium! I left for church soon after I took this picture, so I don't know how much more entwined it got! Actually, Taylor didn't call it a maze; he called it a trap. I hope he caught whatever he was trying to catch!




Now we're to the dinner pictures. Marcus had a great looking plate of food in front of him. There was some corn that had been cut off the cob on his plate. But when he saw the cob, he knew exactly what he wanted! (He just didn't know which way to put it in his mouth!)

Now he got it right! He ate all the corn off of this cob, and he started on another one, too!

Here's the happy family with Marshall and Jennifer. We didn't want to risk removing the corn from Marcus's hands for the pictures because then he might not be so happy!

See? Here's what happens when the corn was not in his mouth!

Peter and Taylor are enjoying their dinner.

Jordan and I did, too.

But Laura, (who does not like seafood, either), was trying to get away from the salmon that Peter was trying to force her to eat!!!

Peter and Taylor also got a little crazy for the camera!

After dinner the dads opened some presents. (Stay tuned for another blog on my dad's present). Taylor got Peter some things for Father's Day. They were wrapped up, and they were all in a big yellow bag. Since Peter is such a great dad, he did what any great dad would do. He let Taylor open his present for him! Taylor had a great time digging each item out of the bag, unwrapping it, and showing Peter what it was. He got some wrenches, a flash light, and duct tape. But the best gifts by far were the soap dispenser, the toothbrush holder, and the bathroom cup, which were all as fun as a barrel of monkeys!!!!