Family Visitors

Last weekend my sister, brother-in-law, neice and nephew came to visit Jesse and I in Houston and we were so thrilled to have them!

Name reference list:
Amy = sister
Brent = brother-in-law
L1 = neice
L2 = nephew

They got in Thursday late afternoon and the kids wasted no time and went swimming. Of course the water was a little chilly.

We also went to the Galleria mall and went ice skating. Let me just say that was quite an adventure. Neither Amy or I had ice skated in years and L1 and L2 had never ice skated. L1 picked it up real quick. L2's attempt was not as successful, however even though he fell several times, he never cried and he wanted to keep going. And my sister and I, well let's just say it's not like riding a bike. Jesse and Brent decided to sit back and laugh as we fumble around on the ice.

A good picture on the left since we weren't moving. We pretty much laughed the whole time we had L2 on the ice. He wanted to do it on his own so bad, but he could only go a few steps before falling. I'm sure it doesn't help to have two adults helping you when they can't even ice skate themselves.

The next day we went to NASA. We have gone before with Jesse's parents, but this time we were able to do more kid things. I know the kids had a great time, but I think Brent enjoyed it even more :)

Jesse and I being kids again.

On the trolley for a tour.

Left: Amy, Brent, L1, L2, me. Right: We told them to give us a thumbs up, but for L2 that meant giving the "go pokes" sign.
We got to see a science show and L1 got called on stage to be an assistant. There was no hesitation, she hopped right up there.

At our favorite Mexican resturant in Houston (thus far), Chuys. The kids got some pretty cool balloon characters made for them.

Saturday we watched the first half of the OSU game together before everyone had to pack up and head back to Oklahoma.

Thanks for coming to visit us!

The McKEY WEST Vacation

First of all, I need to point out that Jesse created this title, he is proud of it and I am proud of him for at least being somewhat interested in my blog.

Second of all, I have to warn you that there will be picture overload on this post and a few of them I played around with in Photoshop, so they may look disjointed, hmmm not sure if "disjointed" is the word I want to use.

Third of all, I need to get to the point of this post, so here we go.

Attending the "wedding of the year" allowed Jesse and I to take a mini vacation, which was a nice treat considering we typically don't travel in the Fall.

The trip started in Miami, FL, where we met up with our friends Dustin and Robyn.

Our hotel.

From the rooftop of our hotel. The view was amazing!

At the rehearsal dinner.

Jesse wore pants the color of the ocean.

A better shot without my hair in my face.

The Nerd Herd- definition: a group of engineering friends.

I just love this application/filter I used, I think it is called "seventies"

Reception pictures.

At the southernmost point in the United States.

Sunset.

A before and after shot. Our last night in Key West having dinner with friends: Robyn, Dustin, Clay, Jesse, Heather, Lauren, Aaron.

Jesse and I decided to make a quick stop in Everglades National Park before heading home.

I love how the clouds reflected in the water.

Not sure if you can tell, but there is a gator down there. Look past our reflections in the water...do you see its tail?

As we left the park we saw a rainbow in the clouds, not a bad scene to see before hoping on a plane and heading home.

And that my friends was the McKEY WEST Vacation.

Wedding of the Year

You are probably thinking I am going to do some kind of recap of Prince William and Kate's wedding or Kim Kardashians wedding to Kris, but no.

Some people recall those weddings as being labeled "the wedding of the year," but not for me.

There is only one "wedding of the year" in my book for 2011 and that title belongs to James and Brittany Nickles.

Last weekend Jesse and I traveled to Key West, FL for the "wedding of the year."

Just a few snapshots of the bride and groom...

Five things that made this wedding great (well, there's more than just five):
1) Beautiful couple
2) Wedding on a beach
3) Reception on a boat
4) Vacation, vacation, vacation
5) And do I even have to say it? Key Lime pie!

I will post more pictures later on our vacation segment of the trip and just as a heads up, Jesse created the title for that blog all by himself, so get ready.

For now all I have to say is, Congratulations James and Brittany!

It's All About Being Organized

Moving from a larger space to a smaller space creates challenges.

Challenges that make you scratch your head and say to yourself "Where is this all gonna go?"

You all remember this, right?...

A lot of boxes and not a lot of space. Jesse and I decided to tackles these boxes full force a few months ago to make our apartment feel more like home, boy what a task. The majority of the boxes were all kitchen stuff.

Here is the solution we came up with...

A custom made storage solution...all for around $100!

Now, it's nothing fancy, but it is a whole lot better than those boxes. And a whole lot cheaper than other storage solutions we looked at.

Here is the spending breakdown:

• Two book shelves from Big Lots at $30 a piece = $60


• Two short curtain rods from Wal-Mart at $2 a piece = $4


• Fabric from Hobby Lobby = $15


• Shower curtain rod from Wal-Mart = $12


• Four storage baskets from Wal-Mart at $4 a piece = $16

Total (give or take a few dollars)= $107

Finally, no more boxes!