Spring break road trip

 For Spring break this year, Kate (the nurse that we had Thanksgiving with) told us that we could stay at her family's property in Orange Beach, Alabama.  We thought that this would be a nice little vaca away from Texas for a week.  We drove the 12 hour road trip in two days.  The first night we stopped in New Orleans.  We had some great gumbo and seafood!

The net morning we went on a trolley ride and saw some amazing old homes and of course did Bourbon street and saw the mighty Mississippi.

 I have about 20 pictures of old houses, but I figured that you wouldn't like to sift through all of those.

This river boat was playing some of the most awful sounding calliope music.  Talented, yes, nice sounding, no. But the experience was nice.

We then had another 6 hour drive to Orange Beach.  That week we got to see the gulf, relax, sleep in and even get some sun.  It was a much needed time away.

We even went to a local go cart track.  I totally won, and by that, I mean, I never let Sean pass me.

Sean on the Farm

I found some more Christmas time pictures from this last December!

To prove that he has done it, this is a picture of Sean and my dad feeding the cows in the pasture on Sunday morning. Nice and cold.  Oh yeah and we broke down.

Sandi, Sean's mom, was so good to get us all to have some family pictures together.  This is one of the better shots of Sean and I from that day.

Christmas 2011

I worked Christmas again this year at the hospital, so that put our trip back home to the 1st two weeks in January.  We got to spend some much needed time at home relaxing with our families.  This was Karissa and Adam's first Christmas with us and they drove up from Nevada for the occasion.

My camera died this year at Christmas, so this was the only picture of the entire 2 weeks that I got.  Makes up for last year I guess when I didn't have any pictures of my family.

Thanksgiving 2011

It seems like you never realize how much you appreciate your family until you don't have them near you.

We have been so lucky to have Kate and Aria (couple in the middle) in our lives.  Kate works with me on 13 Roberts, the cardio/thoracic surgical telemetry floor, at Baylor in Dallas.  Her husband goes to DTS with Sean and they play on the same basketball team. (I believe he is standing on the ottoman, because he is not quite that tall).  Her parents, Jack and Barb Stein, live in Arlington, which is just about 20-30 min drive.  They invited us to join them for Thanksgiving this year.  We had a delicious meal and great company.  I am so happy to have them in our lives.

Record setting heat

There wasn't too much else to report about during the Summer of 2011, except for the record breaking heat in Dallas and most of the south.  We had 60+ days in a row of 100+ degree heat and then we had a total of 100+ days over a 100 degrees.  Basically, it was hot as Hades! The chaplain at Seminary down here said that when he first moved to Dallas, he thought that he had moved to Hell cause it was so hot.   I figure, if he can say it, so can I!

We couldn't even find reprieve in the pool at our apartment.  It was just too hot! The water was even warm.  Not one bit refreshing.

But we survived, and actually last summer was the best time that we had since moving to Dallas.  Our friendships only became stronger and it was a good feelings knowing that we had 1 full year of school under our belts.

Weddings Galore

Summer 2011 was a fun one for our families.  My little sister Karissa got married on our family's house in Davenport, WA on August 6th.  It was a whirlwind trip for us, but definitely a fun one. We got into town on Wednesday, Thursday was a busy day with preparing for the wedding and getting the yard ready. That night we had a fun girls night and did Karissa's Bachelorette party and stayed at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane.

 The next day was the rehearsal dinner, so there were lots of flower arrangements to put together and last minute things to get ready.  Here is Sean helping put together some centerpieces.  My Aunt Judy has done all the flowers for all of her nieces and nephews' weddings.

We got to stay at a hotel the night before the wedding and get a little girl time together.  This made getting ready the next day pretty easy.

Karissa and I headed off to Spokane that morning to get her makeup and hair done.

Hottie!

Jen Nelson did my hair for my wedding as well as Karissa's. She has been doing our hair for years as well as my mom's so it was so fun to get to share this day with her.

The first look

The tables turned out awesome.  Karissa was so creative with the birch bark and lanterns. This is a picture sans flowers.

 A little bit of a hot day, but we all survived

Head table ladies

Back yard, reception area

 Toast time

Memory Montage Photography did the pictures for the wedding.  This was one of the only pictures that Sean and I took together.  Good thing it turned out cute.

We headed up to Spokane on Monday morning and got to spend some time with Sean's family.  We had another wedding planned for that upcoming weekend.  Sean's youngest brother, Alex was getting married on Saturday. It was nice to have 3 days to relax and enjoy each other before we flew down to Dublin, CA (outside Oakland/ San Fran).  This was our first time seeing Bayley after she was born in March.

Proud Grandma Sandi and baby Bayley at the rehearsal dinner

Sandi did the cupcakes for Katie and Alex's wedding.

The coordinators did an awesome job of setting the event space up 

Beautiful day for an outdoor wedding in Northern California

Saying some vows

Bayley was all tuckered out.  She did great during the whole trip.

Now Pronouncing: Alex and Katie Blackburn

We had a great time at the weddings and we flew back home on Sunday, the 14th.  My birthday actually.  It was a whirlwind 2 weeks, but some awesome celebrations!

Spring Time in the 214

Doesn't quite have the same ring as spring time in the 509.

Any hoo.

After a short winter in Dallas, which did include a couple days of snow and an ice week that shut down the city and classes, we get to enjoy the beautiful spring time in February!  That is one thing that Dallas does well, Spring and Fall.  Gorgeous.  Can't beat 70 degree days in March.

It was not hard for us to adopt the Rangers as our new favorite baseball team.  The Mariners had just been bad for so long, that they had broken our hearts one to many times.  Now that we live in Dallas.... we had to become Rangers Fans.

Rangers Ballpark is beautiful.  Great architecture.

Not too much to complain about in the Spring... except I know Summer is on it's way.