Over the past month...

Alot has happened since my last post about the TEXAS game! Over Thanksgiving Josh and I drove 850 miles from Dallas to Odessa, down to San Angelo, and back to Abilene then home to Dallas. Anyway, while Josh was hunting in San Angelo, I met my mom and some of our friends in historic downtown San Angelo. It's kind of been our tradition for the past 3 years. San Angelo has some of the cutest boutiques and antique stores...we love it!

Here Allison and I wait outside J.Wilde while our moms do some "Christmas shopping" inside!

What a packed car!

Us girls had a blast Christmas shopping in San Angelo and yes, we definately missed you Steph and Merideth!!!

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Josh and I have been blessed to be apart of a small group at Watermark for the past year. We have loved getting to know these other married couples while getting to walk and grow with them in our faith. What amazing a FUN people!!! Last weekend was our Christmas party / gift exchange at the Horners house in Allen. Take a look...

The Horners (and baby Horner!!!)

The Bodenhausens

The Treadaways (and baby girl Treadaway!!!)

And I can't believe I forgot to get a picture of the Burns (I'm so sorry!) But nevertheless, here is a group pic :)

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Getting ready for Christmas has been really fun in our new apartment this year. We were able to have room for a (normal sized) Christmas tree this year and Josh's sweet Ma let us use her old one! Here a some pics taken in the apartment...

I fell in love with this little glittery snowman when I first saw him on the shelf at Hobby Lobby!!

This whole vase of vintage ornaments was only $8 at the Estate Sale!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree...





This last picture is what happens when you stick your camera in the middle of a tree looking up...pretty cool!



Until next time, I hope you enjoy this holiday season spent with family and friends!

Go Horns Go

Last weekend, Josh and I met my parents down in Waco for the Texas/Baylor game. We've always been TX fans, but my mom and I are definately a little obsessed with Colt McCoy...I mean who isn't??? Anyway, we had really great seats which made the game that much more exciting. Oh and let me just share with you my favorite quote from the game...

Mom:(in reference to Jordan Shipley after he ran for a touchdown)"Man, I wonder if his legs look as good as his arms!"

haha...and for those of you who've ever watched Jordan Shipley play, you know what I'm talkin' about :) Here are a few pics from the game:





After the game we met up with my cousin and his family, my Aunt Janice, and Mimi. They all live in Waco and it was great seeing them! I hadn't seen my cousin and his family since our wedding! I loved spending time with my 2nd cousins Elijah and baby Sadie!

Rayleigh Turns 1!

This past weekend Josh and I flew to Odessa (well, flew to Midland, did not land, flew back to DFW, then turned around and landed in Lubbock, THEN landed in Midland!) for Rayleigh's one year birthday. Rayleigh is our beautiful niece who we have loved getting to know this past year. There was a big birthday party Saterday evening at his parents house. It included 'backyard burgers', friends, family, cake, and presents! We enjoyed spending time with our family and making more great memories!

Nana made Josh and I matching beanies haha...

Nana reading to Rayleigh her new book...

Rayleigh testing out the cake and not sure of what she thinks of it...

Rayleigh LOVING the cake by now..

Presents...

...presents everywhere!

Cameron & Collin...

My life...plus 22 others

Since school has started two weeks ago, things have all of sudden become a whirlwind! It's weird for me to think about the relaxing days during my last post, only 1 month ago, in Seaside Florida. Waking up whenever, walking to the beach, eating meals at my own convenience, and just basking in the sun. Now, things are quite different! I find myself tonight enjoying a quiet Friday evening alone (only for a few hours though) while my husband (and his 10 other college guy friends) sets up his fantasy football team via skype online in the other room. I've enjoyed the long shower, candle-lit rooms, control of the remote, and freedom to just...sit.

I decided to blog tonight about my {new} class. I have 9 girls and 12 boys from 7:50am-3:00pm everyday. Oh wait, did I say 3:00? Oh I mean from 7:50am to, well yep, 7:50am. Yes that's right, when you're a teacher, it's hard to just leave 'work' in 'the classroom' when you're dealing with 22 little minds. Just like every other teacher, I find myself thinking about my 22 new little lives that I'm about to invest so much into within the next 9 months. Because this is only my 2nd year to teach, it was such an odd feeling to see my 1st group of studnets go on to 2nd grade and have someone else as a teacher. {For all you experienced teachers out there reading this, you're probably laughing in your shoes as you read about how this 'odd feeling' is merely natural for a new teacher to experience} Anyway, I have really enjoyed these past two weeks getting to know my new group of kiddos. Our team has some new ideas we want to implement this year and I'm excited to see what this school year is going to look like! For now, I hope you have an enjoyable day and find rest and relaxation amongst the business of your life.

Still in Seaside...

Wow, what a past two weeks it has been! Two weeks ago we embarked on our mystery trip to...Seaside, Florida (www.seasidefl.com)!!! We got home on a Saturday night and that next day we began house-sitting for some friends for the following week. All that to say, today is our first day back in our apartment since August 1!

For those of you who read my mom's blog (www.jcspurlock.blogspot.com) you already know about how our flight to Seaside was cancelled as we were about to board. For those who have no idea of what happened, here's a recap:
Saturday 3:30pm- arrive at DFW to make our 4:30 flight
4:45- flight to Seaside cancelled. Decide to see if we make it on stand-by for the 8:30 flight
9:00- realize that there are only 3 openings for the '8:30' flight. Decide not to split up and try and catch a later flight to Florida.
9:30- told that there are no flights (w/ open seats) going into Florida until Monday. Decide to catch a flight to Mobile, AL the next day and drive to Florida airport (where our luggage and rental car will be waiting)

Sunday 12:00pm- arrive at DFW to make our 1:00 flight
2:00- arrive in Mobile to be told our luggage was lost and they had no rental car for us
2:30- finally have a rental car to Florida...still don't know where luggage is
4:30-arrive at airport in Florida
5:00-find out that our luggage HAS been found and waiting for us the whole time at the airport.
6:30-arrive at Seaside, FL!! (Only 24hrs behind!)

So, all of that to say, we have never been so happy to drive through Seaside and walk into our 'little place by the water', called "Beach Baby".
For those that have never visited Seaside, it's one of the most wonderful places ever! It's 30min east of Destin, away from the busy 'tourist crowd' and nestled between two little towns called Watercolor and Rosemary. Every house there in the town is painted different shades of pale green, yellow, pink, blue, etc... all with white trim and a picket fence. Each house is at least 2 stories, with most houses having a screened porch as their 3rd story. Each house is named by the owner, some called "Mom Got Her Way" / "Memories Made Here" / "Sea Ya" / "Four the Girls" ...well you get the picture. One reason why I love this place so much is because it's so family oriented. There are kids running around everywhere, moms and dads reconnecting, and friends having the time of their life. Sounds cheezy, but I fall for it every time! Anyway, our 'cottage' was named "Beach Baby" and was located directly on the beach. We had a huge screened-in back porch with an additional porch attached to it and only a 2 minute walk to the water. It was such a relaxing yet rejuvenating time for us all!!!

View from our back porch!

Enjoying our time on the beach!

A magnificent storm rolling in.

Enjoying ice-cream on the beach, yummy!

Christmas card worthy?

About to ride into town!

Until next time, my heart is "Still in Seaside!"

It's coming...

Hello everyone! We are officially back from .......... (our secret trip!) However, we are house-sitting this week and unable to upload my pictures to blog about our trip. I'm sure most of you already know where we went, but for those that don't, I'm hoping to blog about our trip within the week! Stay tuned!!!

Last vaca hint!!!

As most of my blog followers know, my parents are taking us (& my sister) on a vacation for their 30th wedding anniversary. However, they are not telling us where we are going until we arrive at the airport next Saturday! So far they have emailed us several hints which I have posted on my blog and I have the last hint to give to you today! My mom posted these pictures on her blog along with the sub-titles next to them. They are pictures of a place 'similar' to where we will be going...

The first one is a great family picture of us having a swell time. As you can see, Mark and I are lounging in the background!


Next,, Mark and I are showing off our tan and trim bodies in our new swimsuits!!


Last, we have a group pic of all of the new friends we are going to make on this trip!!




Obviously, you can tell from the pictures that we will be going to the beach...but which one? That's the mystery!