Finally... something on our walls

We've moved into our house for over a year now.  Unfortunately, we are still working on settling in. We focused on getting furniture last year and just now started getting some decorations.  It's so nice to not have bare walls anymore!  We still have a long ways to go though... baby steps.

Summer Fun

Just thought we'd document a few activities this summer...

We've been in search of the Best burger in Houston.  We liked Hubcap Grill and Millers, but we like Christians a little better.  It's still not the 'best burger ever', so we're still on the lookout.  It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

D had a new little patient and she didn't cry at all.  Looks like it was a successful visit for all parties involved.

We got to celebrate Father's Day with both our dads.

We love the Miller Outdoor Theater! We went on the hottest day of the summer, but the Houston Symphony was amazing as usual.  Thank you ExxonMobil for sponsoring the summer symphony night!

Our dear friends, the Rowleys, decided to leave Houston.  We are so sad they're leaving us, but we have grand plans to meet up in Montana, the next time we have to go.  Until then, we'll just have this fun memory of Jeff.

During one of J's recent girls brunch, a new visitor decided to join them - baby Harrison Hicks.  His hair is his signature look already!

We got to hang out with the Funky Bunch (as Wing calls them) at our house.  D and Logan became quick friends.  It seems boys and balls always go well together.

D's cousin, Christopher, came to Houston for a month-long training.  It was so fun to hang out with him while he was in town.  D and Christopher are such chums!  They make something as simple as eating watermelons look more fun!

Austin Weekend Rendevous

D had a continuing education conference in Austin, so we decided to make a weekend trip of it.  It had been a while since we both visited Austin.  It's a fun city, and we'll definitely be going back again.

The first thing we see when we pull into the hotel.  Is it obvious there are a bunch of dentists here? 

Since we've been in search of the perfect burger, we thought we'd check out Hopdoddy to try their organic burgers.  We waited in line for an hour for these yummy burgers and also had their amazing nutella pretzel shake!

Austin Skyline

While trying to use the restroom at the Palmer Event Center next to the park, we were given tickets to the event that night - a Mariachi Band.  Since we were obviously under dressed and showed up during intermission, the usher wanted to make sure we didn't just sneak into the show.  When she explained that this is a ticketed event and asked to see our tickets, D proudly showed her our tickets! She apologized and left us quite embarrassed.  Hey, just because we were the only people under 50 years old there doesn't mean we didn't want to party with the Mariachi Band! 

Love this map we found at the Oasis on Lake Travis.  It's so true! 

Next stop, food truck dinner... yum!

UT Graduation

J had a chance to go to Austin to attend her cousin, Kevin's, graduation.  It was a special occasion because she felt like she played a small role in this event.  When her cousins came to the US in 2006, J was Kevin's school guardian while Lilian was Ricky's.  So, she felt like a proud 'parent' attending his graduation from her fellow alma mater.

 

Surprise NYC Visit

J's dear friend Lynda turns 40 this year.  Her awesome husband wanted to do something special for her 40th birthday and asked whether some of her close out of town friends would be able to fly into NYC to surprise her.  Being on crutches didn't stop J from flying up to NYC.  Lynda was definitely surprised and everyone had a very 'memorable' birthday weekend.

First stop after arriving, Emily's house for Lynda's birthday party.  She knew about the party, but didn't know J and her other friend Naomi was flying in to celebrate too.

The four girls at the top right, plus Joy, also spent the next day together, as we all treated Lynda to a Korean spa.  Let's just say we all 'bonded' and took our friendship to the next level. Korean spas have a way of forging these bonds. :)

Not only did J get to catch up with Lynda, she also got to hang out with the cute Todd kiddos.  They just get cuter each time she sees them.

Good Friday aka Surgery Friday

J's surgery was ironically scheduled on Good Friday.  We thought that would be a good omen for her.  The surgery went well, as J did not wake up in the middle of surgery.  However, when she did finally wake up in recovery, she kept saying "my knee hurts."  The nurse decided to give her more drugs, which made her very sleepy.  Apparently, she was so sleepy that she would periodically stop breathing.  D kept watching her oxygen levels fall and would frequently poke her to wake up and breathe.  Although she was half asleep, J remembered thinking, 'why are you saying that, of course I'm breathing!'

Once home, although she didn't feel too much pain, J had to take a lot of strong pain medications (hydrocodone).  That was the worst part of the whole surgery experience, as her body did not like it very much.  The medication made her nauseated (throwing up each time she took it) and very drowsy.  She quickly decided to ween herself off the meds and stick to tylenol and aspirin...good thing she has a higher tolerance for pain.

Before and After photos of J's right knee.  Good thing the doctor operated on the correct knee.

First post op visit, 5 days after surgery, the knee is a wrinkled mess

 Two weeks later, still swollen, and now comes the bruises.  The bruises are supposed to get worse before it gets better.

One month later, all the stitches are gone with some slight bruising remaining.  Just need to rebuild some more muscles.

J's first excursion a week after surgery, shopping at Costco.  She asked Dan for her crutches, and he shows up with a much better option.  Turns out these electric carts have weight sensors on them.  Joy finally figured it out after several stalls.  Dan was quite the pro at maneuvering the cart - forward and backwards.  Yes, it does beep (very loudly) when it's in reverse.

COTA Track Day

D had a once in a lifetime opportunity to drive the COTA (Circuit of the Americas) track with his dad.  Driving is his passion and he takes it very seriously.  He has driven on a few different tracks, but this one beats them all!  

 

 

 

Happy 3 year Anniversary to Us!

This year's anniversary kind of snuck up on us.  We can't believe we've been married for 3 years!  The last year really flew by and we've had a great 3rd year of marriage.   We celebrated by going to our favorite restaurant - Sushi King, and then watched our wedding video to reminisce the day.

 Flowers along with a lovely card from D

Reminiscing three years ago today

Exploring Houston

J has always wanted to find the location in the Heights that have large statues of US Presidents and the Beatles musicians.   Now that her Saturdays are not booked up with workouts, errands, and dance class; we have more time to enjoy our Saturdays together.  We decided to explore and try some new things around Houston.

Afterwards, we decided to went to Hubcap Grill in the Heights.  Apparently, their
specialty is a peanut butter burger.  Sounds gross, but D thought it was good.  

Valentine Treat

We didn't plan to do anything for V-day today, just take out.  But, J decided last minute that it would be fun to have a treat too.  Her first attempt at chocolate covered strawberries.

Wow, is this how I look from D's perspective?  I look so short!