Marnie & Brett Talbot

Baby Wish List

2011-03-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

So here are some items I found that I thought were really cute. If we have a girl I might try to make the bedding like the one I found below....I just love it!

Tea on the Thames Backpack Diaper Bag

Flax Gwen Baby Bedding

WallCandy Arts Chalkboard Animals Wall Sticker

Queen B by Bumbleride in Lava

Great Friends & Good Food

2011-03-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Monika had some of her family visit, her mom is an amazing cook and shared some of her recipes and skills with us. It was delicious food and I had fun to see how the authentic food was made. Some of the dishes were, mabodofu, sweet and sour chicken, seasoned eggplant, egg rolls, fried rice, gyoza, veggi delight...and more.

March 10th - Grandpop's 90th Birthday

2011-03-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Both Brett and I were able to go to Sacramento to celebrate Grandpa Green's 90th birthday.

I got out there a little early and grandpa wanted to go run some errands. We get in the car and then it hits me.......the driver is 90 years old. I said "Gramps do you want me to drive?" he said "do you trust me to drive?" I said " should I?" he laughed and told me that he was fine driving as long as he didn't drive at night and didn't take the freeways. Truthfully I was really amazed at how well he did. I payed close attention and he was doing a great job! It was so good to see him doing so well!

Brett flew into Oakland on Friday, so Megs, Miss & I drove out to get him and then made a quick stop in San Francisco. That is a fun city. We ate lunch on pier 49 and I got some delicious clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. We got attached by all the seagulls that were hovering around to eat people scraps. They got more than half of miss's food before we even sat down...... needless to say we had fun!

It was so good to be able to get together with all the family. Brett had not met Dave and Les's family and so it was good he could meet some of them. We did a lot of hanging out and visiting, which is what we all wanted to do.

Baby Chase

2011-03-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

In February I was able to go out to Gilbert Arizona to see my newest nephew Chase, Chad & Katie's first child. I loved seeing him he is so adorable!! It was fun to see the difference between Chase (two weeks) & Aiden (nine months). Both under 1 year and yet such a difference. Chase just ate and slept he was so fun to hold as he would snuggle up to you and be content. Aiden was so fun as he showed so many expressions, you could get him to laugh and smile, I loved seeing his reactions. the last time I saw Aiden he was two weeks old just like Chase. Needless to say I love being able to see and spend time with my nephews!!

Maya Papaya

2010-06-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

Miss came out this weekend and we had a blast. We went to Galveston and went crabbing, went to Kemah and rode the bullet (the coolest roller coaster), Ate out, saw a Astros game, shopped, played games, Ate out, went to a RS activity where all the RS sisters fell in love with Maya. and more....Thanks Maya for coming out we loved every minute of it.

Grandpop, Liss, and Katie

2010-06-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ride On!!

2010-06-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is Mike's dirt bike that he has had for over 25 years. Brett was stoked to ride it. I jumped on for a little spin around the block.

The Talbots

2010-06-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

The Boyz Jammin at the Cabin

My favorit shot of the trip is Brett and Ava......(how cute are they...)

We were able to hang with the whole family at friends cabin in Sundance, lets just say amazing!!! We had so much fun exploring the cabin and being with each other seeing our new nephew. We played lots of games and had lots of food...so you know I'm happy. Thanks Lisa & Mike for the great trip.

Baby Aiden

2010-06-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

We loved seeing baby Aiden. He is so stinking cute!!! I couldn't get enough. We love going to Utah to be able to be with everyone. I was able to take off a week of work and we had a blast seeing family and friends.

Sunnyside Baptism

2010-05-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

So today we had the privilege to addend the baptism of Lanetta Marie Houghton. Brett had the honor of baptizing her. It is so fun to see missionary work going on here in the Sunnyside Barnch (we have amazing missionaries) and get to be a part of it. LOVE IT!!!!

Couponing

2010-04-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

So Monika has got me hooked! I have been couponing now for two weeks and am already looking forward to Saturday to get the paper and see what things are on sale. The past two weeks we have saved $30 or more each time and have received 2-4 Free items! I suggest this to everyone, it's quick, fun and saves you $$$$$$.

the site that makes this so great is www.thegrocerygame.com you can do a free trial, but then I think it is $5 a month (which I think will be worth it, I haven't signed up yet but plan on it)

This site lets you choose what store you want to shop at, and then will have a list of all the items that are good deals that week. It will categorize them from ok deals (might as well if your going to buy it anyway), stock up on them deals, & (my favorite) Free Items.

It will break it down to what the item normally cost, then the sale the store is having, what manufactured coupon you need (it even directs you to the date it came out and the place to find it), and what the end cost will be.

You can select items from the "Master List" that you want and then it will make a new list of just what you selected.

Anyway....All yall should try it!!!!!

Backyard Fires

2010-04-26T19:49:00.001-07:00

This weekend we, well Brett, built a FIREPIT!!!! I love it. We, well Brett, has a little more to finish it up but we were too excited to wait to use it and so we had the gang, (Grill, Ronika, Kat and the kiddos) come over to help us enjoy it. You guessed it more SMORES and some Croquet (mom you would of beat us all). Summer Fun Here We Come!!

Smores

2010-04-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

So two weeks ago Brett and I really were itching to go camping......so we finally had a weekend were we didn't have obligations. The only down side was it probably wasn't the best weekend to go, it was supposed to rain, but we decided to be troopers and still go. We went to Hunstville State Park and we found these camp sites with "shelters" (see below pics) so we jumped all over that!!! It was fun...but cold....we struggled to get the camp fire going because of the wind, but Brett being the man that he is got it going enough that we could have SMORES!!!!!! That's the best part of camping.

SMORES!!!!

TINFOIL DINNERS

THE "SHELTERS"

TYRING TO STAY DRY

SAM HOUSTON & BRETT (what a cutie)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY....3 YEARS SURE GOES FAST....

2010-01-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

2010-01-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

The Zoo with the Cobabes

2009-10-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

NASA part 2

2009-10-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

NASA

2009-10-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

We went to NASA when my parents were in town! it was awesome!

Update

2009-06-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

OK.....So i finally got around to updating the blog. All that has been going on for me is pretty work..WorK....WORK!!! (like 60 hrs a week). Brett has been a good sport. I got sick on Tuesday, I thought it was just allergies, but it turned out to be a really bad cold. I couldn't have the day off, because things are so busy with work. It was kind of rough, but Brett gave me a blessing and I know that that helped. (And Brett made some insanely delicious homemade chicken noodle soup that was so amazing that the Queen of England herself would have dumped her tea and crumpets just to smell it!!...ok that was me, brett, who wrote that). But he's right, it was delicious. And today I came home and he had the house clean. So he's been very good to me. We are planning on playing hard this weekend, since we are so busy during the week.

Jed, our houseguest, moved out. He was here for only about 2 weeks, which was shorter than we thought, but it was still good. He was fun to have around. Brett and him were Wii buddies. (More like Jed was a Wii WEAKLING and Brett DOMINATED, that was me again, sorry marn for interrupting). We'll sure miss Jed (even though he's not a "real" doctor) and Jen and their whole clan!!! But, we got a queen size bed out of the deal, so we're happy about that.

Oh, and about Brett. He just received a position to start this Fall for one year to do research and therapy at the Texas Children's Hospital. It is a really renowned hospital for adolescent research and stuff. Also, he got his own personal research project approved to start collecting data later this summer. And, one more thing, one of his professors just got a big research grant and asked Brett to help her do it (that's a huge compliment). Its bilingual research so he'll get to use his spanish. anyway, thats my hubby!!!!

Houston is getting HOT and HUMID, but we're enjoying it here, lovin our house, and each other.

2009-05-25T08:28:00.001-07:00

We couldn't go to Utah without seeing the fellas even for a little bit! Everyone was kind enough to fit us into there schedule. We all met for lunch at Cafe Rio. Not everyone was able to make it, but we appreciate those who did. Dave and Karlie came by the house later that night and some people we're out of town. It was good to see everyone and catch up. It's hard being away from all of our friends. Dan Yeates and Doug are both engaged to great women! Congrats to both!

Wes and the MTC

2009-05-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

We flew home to Utah for Wes' farewell. He did awesome! The following Wed we took him to the MTC. Pics are of the fam and Marn and I with Wes, what a good lookin missionary.....Wes looks pretty good too! The picture of the bench is where I first saw Marnie in the MTC when we were both missionaries. Don't get any ideas...we we're both focused on the Lord's work. We thought it would be fun to take a picture where we first ran into each other in the MTC.

My Day

2009-05-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

So I turned 26 yesterday!!!! I woke up to Brett making breakfast, we had a relaxing morning and got out for a fabulous lunch. I had been looking for a fun place to go and I found a Japanese restaurant here called Shabu House that I had been to in Japan and was so excited to go. It is called Shabu Shabu and what it is, is were you have a pot of broth in front of you and they give you a plater of veggies and a plater of meat, now the meat is sliced really thin and you cook it all on your own. the give you two different kinds of dipping sauce, peanut and teriyaki. It was fun and delicious!!! Then we went Birthday shopping and I got some new clothes and Brett was so patient while I took my time browsing the stores. It was such a great day!!

U of H

2009-05-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Brett had a busy weekend, he was on committee at school that was in charge of putting on a psychology conference. He then also presented in it twice. The first was in a group of three and he presented his candidacy project and then he presented a poster by himself. He did a great job and I have to say I am so proud of him! He is doing so well in school.

Dutch Oven Cooking

2009-05-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

Brett got a dutch oven for his birthday, and last sunday we put it to the test. He has been getting it ready for a while by lining it with crisco and heating in the oven (that's called "seasoning" ). We are excited to try new meals in the dutch oven, and take it out camping.

The Shrine Circus

2009-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Circus

2009-05-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

We went to the Shrine Circus last weekend and took the Cobabes. We had a blast! I loved it because it was a old school feel. I especially loved the cotton candy and nachos!!!!!!

Kings Firecrackers

2009-04-18T08:26:00.001-07:00

These girls are amazing!! This is a fun one to watch, you gotta see it to the end.

An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ

2009-04-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T16:15:00.001-07:00

These are all the kids that are in our branch. This is covering nursery and primary (needless to say it is tiny!) The kids are great though and we had fun in church learning about Christ and the Resurrection. Then we had them go on a little hunt of there own. (they were all about the candy, and I can't blame them I would be too)

Easter Egg Hunt at the Talbot's

2009-04-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

We colored eggs and had a little hunt with friends over General Conference Sunday. I love to see the kids get so into it!

Happy Birthday!

2009-04-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

April 3rd Bretty Boy turned the big 24!!!!! Happy Birthday Honey!!!!! We celebrated by going to a Chilean restaurant and going to David and Busters for some games afterwards. We had the Cobabes & The Sorbers over that weekend for general conference and had B-Day brownies for Brett. It was a fun weekend!

Easter

2009-04-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am putting together an Easter Lesson for primary (I am 1st counselor in the primary) and I remembered a lesson/activity that my mom would do for us when we were kids. She found it for me and I thought I would share….. if anyone wants to make it and do this with there family for Easter, it is really a good way to have the kids remember the reason for the holiday.

Spiritual Easter Eggs

12 plastic take-apart Easter eggs.

List of items to go in eggs with scripture references:1. Sacrament cup2. Small silver coins (2 or 3 dimes)3. Piece of rope4. Piece of soap5. Piece of red cloth6. Small nail7. Dice8. Jagged rock9. Piece of white cloth10. Round flat rock11. Spices (cloves, cinnamon stick, etc.)12. Nothing
Number eggs on the outside with a fine-tip permanent marker or stickersnumbered 1-12.Roll up scripture and insert in the appropriate egg with theaccompanying item.Display in a pretty Easter basket.With your family, open the eggs one at a time, in order, to share withthem the story of Christ's death and resurrection.This is a great "advent" style activity.The first egg is opened with the family. The scripture is read and isplaced to the side where the picture is then set up to go along with theegg. The picture and the contents of the egg are visible for a wholeday. It really makes you begin to think about what happened to Christ.And looking at the symbols in the eggs deepens the meaning.Each day you open an egg (in order) and display a picture until Easterwhen the last egg is opened.
Display picture of Christ on the Cross & At the Tomb.

1. Matthew 26:39 –Sacrament Cup

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: neverthelessnot as I will, but as thou wilt."

2. Matthew 26:14-15 – Three Pieces of Silver

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chiefpriests,And said unto them, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver him untoyou?" And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

3. Matthew 27:1-2 - Rope

When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of thepeople took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him toPontius Pilate the governor.

4. Matthew 27: 24-26 - Soap

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumultwas made, he took water, and washed his hands before themultitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: seeye to it.”Then answered all the people, and said, "His blood be on us, and on ourchildren."Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, hedelivered him to be crucified.

5. Matthew 27: 28-30 – Red Cloth

And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head,and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him,and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

6. Matthew 27: 31-32 - Nail

And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, andput his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: himthey compelled to bear his cross.
[And he was nailed to the cross, and crucified.]

7. Mark 15: 24 - Dice

And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lotsupon them, ...

8. Matthew 27: 50-51, 54 – Rock

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top tothe bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, sawthe earthquake, and those things that were done, they fearedgreatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."

9. Matthew 27: 57-60 – White Cloth

When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, namedJoseHe went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commandedthe body to be delivered.And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linencloth,And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock:

10. Matthew 27: 60, 62, 65-66 – Flat Rock

And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chiefpriests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate...Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure asye can.So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, andsetting a watch.

11. Mark 16:1, Matthew 28: 2, 5 – Spices

And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother ofJames, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they mightcome and anoint him.And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lorddescended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone fromthe door, and sat upon it.And the angel answered and said unto the women, "Fear not ye: for I knowthat ye seek Jesus, which was crucified."

12. Matthew 28: 6 – Nothing

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said...

I love My Savior and am grateful that we can all live again after this life, and not only live again but have bodies and be resurrected to a perfect sate. My grandpa Metz just passed a way and knowing this truth brings me peace!

Detox

2009-03-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

So today is day 5 of my cleanse. I have to admit I am pretty proud of myself! I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it past day 1. So for those that don't know what I am talking about, I am doing a cleans called "The Master Cleanse" or "lemon Diet" It is were all you drink for 10 days is a mix of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. It is supposed to give you all the nutrition your body needs to be healthy but by keeping it simple your body can use the extra time pulling toxins from your body. Everyone in my family has done it at some point and Brett and I tried it last year and only lasted 1 day(I think cuz we didn't have any real reason to be on it, we were just trying it cuz Meg and Steve were doing it). I decided to try it again cuz I have been on a sugar binge for the last little while and when I tried to stop eating as much sugar it was no use. This cleans is also designed to help break bad habits. So now with a reason behind the cleanse I am finding I am doing just fine, and I feel wonderful, light and clean!
-If you want to know more about the cleanse check out / or we have a pdf format of the book that tells you all you need to know. http://therawfoodsite.com/mastercleanse.htm
Good Luck Dad! (he is on day 2)

Brazos Bend State Park

2009-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

So we are finally settled enough that with our spare time we are starting to explore Texas. Last weekend we went camping with some friends to Brazos Bend State Park which is known for alligators!!! Yep we camped by the alligators and other animals, we kept having a raccoon try to get into our camp and steel our stuff, he managed to get a tackle box and fishing reel. It was really fun to be right there looking at alligators in the lake. We spotted about 20 and everyone said that was not very many that on sunny days they are all out sunbathing. 20 was enough for us, we loved it.

2009-01-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

So Mike and Lisa got the family tickets to come visit Brett and I in Texas. They were here two weeks ago. We wanted to give them a real Texas greeting so we made sure to dress appropriately (cowboy boots and hats and the whole get-up, Brett was actually trying to put pigtails in my hair but I stopped there) they were here from Thursday night until Monday afternoon. Here is a run down of what we did;

Herman Park(took a train around the park)
Holocaust Museum
Whole day at Galveston (rode the fairy and played on the beach)
Gave them a tour of UH
Had a Texan BBQ lunch at Pappas BBQ
Played card games
And just enjoyed each others company

Here are some pics of the trip;

Wes was the only one that was brave enough to get in.

Here is still a lot of damage from Hurricane Ike

We all loved the way the houses were up on stilts

Sod

2009-01-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

So we got a backyard now. We had the missionaries over and they helped us with putting in the sod. It took all day but we did it!

2008-12-30T08:36:00.001-08:00

Miss made this picture cologe I love it………Good times!

So Chad is Engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He proposed to Katie on Christmas Eve!
Love you guys we are so excited for you.

Christmas

2008-12-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

I just want to thank all of you for your support and love!

That is what made our Christmas so special!

So on Christmas Eve we were spent. We had been up since 5:00 am moving into our house. We had been invited to a Christmas Eve dinner at some ward members up in Mont Belvieu, but come time to leave we could barely walk let a lone go to a party. We had to run to Wal-Mart to get a few things for the house and we realized we had no food for dinner. We were going to just grab a frozen pizza but the decided to go out. So we had Christmas Eve dinner at Chili’s, we were happy, no mess and no stress.

We had Christmas Dinner with the Cobabes and there cousins. It has wonderful. Young shin made a delicious ham, sweet potatoes, a cranberry jello, and a fun cranberry cocktail. I brought potatoes a veggie tray rolls, and corn!

This year with moving into our home on the 24th and all the expenses of a new home we didn’t buy to much extra stuff for Christmas, but we couldn’t be happier. Brett’s family has a awesome tradition they call “food sacks” (it was started by Brett’s grandma Loveridge were on Christmas Eve she would give each child a bag of food/treats that they might not have been able to get during the year. I love treats and was more than happy to keep this tradition going) So we each picked out two items for our “food sacks”. I got mint melano cookies and egg nogg, Brett got A&W cream soda and gummy worms. Then I got baskets for the house from Brett and I got him a sports jacket. We also got wonderful things from our parents and siblings! Thanks guys, We loved all of it, it was perfect!!!!!

Tex & Boots

2008-12-26T07:58:00.001-08:00

Meet Tex and Boots!
(they are so cute!)

So . . . in our ward there was a family giving away black lab puppies. So we decided to get two (so they have a friend to play with while we are at work). The timing was a little ruff though, we thought the house would be finished mid December and that was the time the puppies would be ready to leave their mom. But with the house getting pushed back we had to push back getting the dogs. So the day we closed on the house we had to pick up the puppies because the family was wanting to get rid of them. So it was a challenge to say the least trying to move and watch two pups.

One of my co-workers made us the gates for the dogs, and we are so grateful but at the time we didn't think about the dogs getting stuck in them but that's exactly what happened.

Tex has so much energy and wants toz of attention. When we put him in his pin he couldn’t stand it and yipped and yipped and was trying to get out. He managed to push his head through the holes a few times and would get stuck. you would think they would learn from that... but nope. We woke at 1:00 am to Tex yelping when we went down stairs to see what was up we found him stuck again! Since then we have resorted to keeping them in the garage until we can get grass in the backyard.

The Big Day!!

2008-12-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

We did it!!! We closed on Tuesday the 23rd. To tell you the truth closing went a lot better than I thought it would. I have heard a lot of stories about people having a lot of trouble closing. I am glad we don't have horror stories to tell. It had it's ups and downs but overall things went smooth.

We asked the missionaries and Branch president to help us move. The Branch president brought the young men. With everyone’s help it went fast.

Brett's Creation

2008-12-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

Brett had us take 50 different shots of this one so we could get it right. It is a dod peeing on the snowman. . . . . Boys will be boys . . . .

(Brett after he finished his creation)

Bill worked really hard on his and I think it paied off. It was the best one!

Ginger Bread Houses

2008-12-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

Getting Ready for Christmas

2008-12-09T14:39:00.001-08:00

We Close December 23rd

2008-12-09T14:26:00.000-08:00

So, we are supposed to close on the house on Dec 23rd!! (cross your fingers) It has been pushed back from end of November to Dec 4th, Dec 17th, and now Dec 23rd. It is getting close though and it is fun to see the progress that has been made on it. Brett and I go about every week and check on it. We are really excited!

Be Thankful

2008-12-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know somethingFor it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitationsBecause they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challengeBecause it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakesThey will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and wearyBecause it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who arealso thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.Find a way to be thankful for your troublesand they can become your blessings.

Peace, Love, & Light!!!

Thanks to chadders, I can share this will all of you!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

Halloween in Houston

2008-11-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

Our house...well the portion that is built so far.

2008-11-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

Help

2008-11-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

I am still learning about the whole blog thing. I don't know how to post on your blogs? can anyone help????

Halloween

2008-10-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

It has become a tradition to have a family Halloween party! It is something we look forward to each year. This year we were able to have it at the same time we came to Utah for Amanda’s wedding. It was Sat. October 11th and Miss and Chad and his girlfriend came up from Arizona to attend. We have it at Kirsten and Carlen's house. Everyone must come in costume and we carve pumpkins and have taco soup. Meg and Steve were cowboy and cowgirl, Chad and Katie were devil and angel, Miss was a bumble bee, Mom was Pro. McGonagall, Dad was a really scary police officer, Brett and I were not really prepared so we just put some stuff on. Kristen’s family was character’s from Dr. Sues (they always have great costumes) needless to say it’s a blast.

Amanda's Wedding

2008-10-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

We flew into Utah on Friday Oct. 10th. Mike picked us up from the airport and we went straight to the church to finish the set-up for the wedding. It looked beautiful!!!! Amanda picked awesome colors (mustard yellow, crimson red and eggplant purple) The Reception was that night and the next day was the temple ceremony. All of it was wonderful. We loved spending time with family. The food was great too she had caramel apples from the Chocolate Factory and brownies with lots of different toppings, spring rolls and wontons! Yeah, delicious! We helped ourselves to lots of leftovers.

Pics of the Accident

2008-10-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Still House Hunting

2008-10-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

We have an offer in on this house! It is the second offer we have made so we hope all goes though We are just waiting to hear back from the bank.

FROG LEGS, Yep you heard it right...FROG LEGS

2008-10-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that last Saturday between conference sessions we went out to eat at a seafood place in Baytown, Tx. I'm not a huge fan of seafood, but the Cobabes said that there was other stuff their too, so I figured I'd get a burger or something. While looking through the menu I saw a side dish......"Frog Legs." I jokingly said that I was going to order it (I actually thought someone was going to chuckle and then tell me that they weren't really frog legs, rather some fun side dish that they just named it "frog legs"). But to my astonishment they really were frog legs and the kids thought it would be funny for me to try it. I made a deal with Marnie that if she would at least take a bite then I would eat the rest of it whether I liked it or not. The deal was made!! "Fried or grilled?" the waitress asked. I replied, "well how do you like your frog legs?" (i thought that was kinda funny). Anyway, i got my frog legs grilled and they were actually really good, I really enjoyed them. They were kinda expensive ($2.00/leg, and each leg is pretty small), but all in all it was good!!! So there ya go.....I ate frog legs! (oh, and marnie did too, but just a wee bit)

New Car

2008-10-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

So I got in a car accident last month.  I feel really stupid but I ran a red light. This is what I think went down. I was on my way to get Brett from work (note that, I am still trying to get used to the area) I have my GPS and so with the combination of looking around to familiarize myself and with the GPS telling me to “go straight on” I went “straight on” and ran the red light. I was fine (shook up and some airbag burns) and the other lady that I hit was ok. It messed up both of our cars pretty bad. Ours was declared “a total loss” So we just got a new car. It's a Toyota Corolla XLE '09. We are excited about it. I wanted to post our pics of it but our camera is out of batteries and the charger is packed somewhere with all of our stuff in the storage unit. So, no can do. This pic is the same body type, ours is a dark grey and we have tinted windows, FUN!!!

The After Math

2008-10-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

We survived!!! This was an interesting experience! So we evacuated to “The Woodlands” and stayed with some friends, the Sorbers. Hurricane Ike hit in the middle of the night, so Brett and the one other evacuee guest stayed up all night to keep watch. I fell a sleep on the couch waiting for them. The wind was the most intense part. But luckily we were far enough inland that we didn’t get it to bad. The next morning we surveyed the damage. It was pretty bad. Trees down everywhere! The roads were covered with debris and power lines. We stayed inside all that day and the next. The Sorbers fortunately had a generator cuz no one had power. We plugged in the fridge on and off during the day to keep our food cold and used lamps at night. We cooked on the grill and propane stove. I have to admit that we might have just been hit by a hurricane but our stomachs sure didn’t feel it! We ate so good! Young Shin, Rachel and Erin are all wonderful cooks and made sure we had plenty of good food. Gas was nowhere to be found so we had to be careful of our usage. Finally after about 3 days the trees were starting to get cleared (Brett helped with chainsawing for most of that time, going from house to house with a a few other ward members with chainsaws). We went out to clean up the mess it left in the Sorbers yard. Once the gas stations were receiving gas again it was mega lines (4 hr was normal). We opted not to drive and wait until the lines were not so bad. We ended up staying with the Sorbers for about 6 days then we got word that the place we are staying, in Mont Belvieu had power. We left and waited it out there a little longer. All in all Brett and I were out of work and school for a week and a half. I went back to work and they still did not have power but were running on a generator. We are told the some people will not get power until November! We feel so blessed to have good friends that we could stay with during all this craziness. The after math is finaly starting to get a little better like a lot of lights were out downtown so traffic was crazy! Well that’s it, Thanks for all your prayers in our behalf!

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

What a welcome to Texas! So I am at work right now and I have been told that I need to leave by noon so we can evacuate! Hurricane Ike is on its way. So we will be going to stay with friends in the Woodlands and hope that is far enough away. It has been kinda exciting to be apart of, last night people were boarding up their homes. I went Wal-Mart to just pick up some lunch stuff and the lines were unbelievable. So this will be our first time dealing with something like this.

HI YA ALL

2008-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

We made it!! truthfully I was really nervous to make the drive down to Houston cuz Brett and I had to drive separately. But fortunately we made it!! The First day driving was great, the time flew. The second day however was much harder. Once in New Mexico the landscape all became similar, FLAT FARM LAND! The landscape was not the only thing that changed, we now were the ones that talked funny. We had made a stop for lunch and Brett was ordering and the guy at the counter said " You aint from Texas now are ya?" LOL! In Houston the landscape is great, it is so lush and green. It has been raining every day since we got here. The first day we are in the car ready to go explore our new home and once we got onto the freeway it started to dump rain. It was so bad that we couldn't see out the windshield even with our wipers on full speed. other cars were pulling over or slowing down a lot and turning on their hazard lights. We ended up pulling off and waiting it out while we grabbed some lunch.
Brett Started working yesterday 8.19 at the university, he is working in the office for the psychology department. I am still looking for a job. We think we found an apartment complex that we want to live in. It is in Pearland which will be about 15-20 min for Brett to get to campus. It is really nice and in a new and growing area. Well, we love all of you and can't wait to come back to Utah in October for Amanda and Jakes Wedding! XOXOXO

It's getting closer!

2008-07-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

So we finally have a move date, August 16th! We just found out that we have to be out of our apartment the 29th of July so our landlord’s daughter can move in. Not fun! But we hired a moving company to pack us up and store our stuff for us until we can get into a place in Houston. For the in-between time I think we are going to stay with my mom and dad. It defiantly will be the start of our crazy adventure!

JOB HUNT!

2008-05-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

We are trying to get down to Houston asap but I need to find a job first! If anyone knows of any hook ups let us know! I am wanting to stay in Events. Also any advice on buying a new home would be awesome!!!!

Love ya all!

OUR BIG TRIP!

2008-05-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

We had the wonderful opportunity to take two weeks off and go on a vacation before we jump back into graduate school in Houston, TX in September. We flew to AZ and stayed with Chad and Miss, went to a Diamonds Backs Game and chilled. Flew to Miami Florida left on a Carnival Cruise to Florida Keys, and Cazumel Mexico! Then Back to AZ were we celebrated Chad's graduation of a masters degree in Social Work. The Metz Family all came down for it and after the graduation we drove to Rocky Point Mexico and rented a beach house for the weekend! We loved every minute of it!! Check out our slidshow on the upper left!

Graduation

2008-05-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Brett did it!! I am So proud of him! On April 26th Brett walked with his class at BYU and recieved his Bachelors degree in Psychology!!!

books

2008-04-11T11:45:00.001-07:00

i am reading into the wild by jon krakaure. i love books like this that make you feel that you are out experiencing the same things with them. it also makes me want to really try things i might not have tried otherwise.

fun

2008-04-10T18:52:00.001-07:00

az baby!

2008-04-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

i am excited to go see miss! meg and i leave saturday @ 4:30pm to see miss and chad! we are going down to hopefully give miss some support and just to let her know that we sisters are there for one another. we come home monday in the am. so just a quickie.