To-Do list

What a whirl wind Ive been in. We have a date set, April 11th, 2009 and so far we have the location, the dress, cake, and colors taken care of. My next task is photographer and possible dj. So if you know of any please email me! And we are knocking out the caterer on Sunday.
Richard and I are going to San Antonio for the day on Saturday. He is riding in a mission bike tour, my grandmother and I are going shopping for material..she is making my veil for me. Im so excited. So much to do... so little time!
This past weekend Richard and I planted two new trees in our front yard. We also cleaned up some of the over-growth (is that a correct term?) from the flower beds. It looks so much better! While Richard was busy using his toys aka power tools I pulled out all of the Christmas decorations. We put our tree up on Sunday, and we are slowly getting it decorated. But our lights are a little retarded. Last night they were all blinking, and tonight there is one section of a strand thats not blinking. Atleast they are on I guess. O-well I guess Santa probably wont care, right? I cant believe that Christmas is 24 days away... time goes by fast when your having fun!

'SURPRISE' Engagement Party

They got me! Martha and Kay threw us an engagement party tonight. I was under the impression it was my birthday dinner, so needless to say I was a little surprised when my grandparents and family friends were there as well. It was a lovely evening, they did an awesome job!

Martha, Kay, Mom, Steven, Grandma, Papa, Mandy, Sophia, Sarah, Zach, Jean, Marty, Jenifer, Sonya, John, Chris, Charla, Christy, DeeDee, Daphne, and us!

WE ARE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One year ago today Richard and I first met. We had been talking awhile online before face to face, at Baby A's in north Austin. Because of work he was late, so I sat at the bar and had a couple margaritas and waited..patiently! And boy am I glad I did.
So today we got up this morning and went to church, then headed to Baby A's for lunch. Afterwards I suggested going to Mt.Bonnell since it was such a beautiful day since Richard had never been. We hiked up to the top, and walked around then we were standing on this huge rock. And he had pulled the box out of his pocket and he asked me to marry him. My heart started racing, I cried, and I said "Yes!".

My face is a little sore from smiling so much! :)

Celebrating Birthdays!

Papa's Birthday is tomorrow (he will be 79) and mine is next week (I'll be 29), so we all went out to eat tonight. Mimi's Cafe---YUMMY! I had pistachio crusted salmon, it was delicious. Had a great time with everyone!

Richard's Sisters

Richard's sister Silver who lives in South Carolina came to visit last weekend and we got to visit with his sister Robbi who lives in Round Rock. There was a lil get together for a birthday Friday night, saturday we walked town lake and watched football. Saturday night we took Silver to Hula Hut and to the Warehouse district. Did a lil bootie shaking and had a couple of cocktails. Can you tell they are related.. Im not really so sure :)

Random pics

A few random pictures from the past couple weeks. Dinner at the Saltlick with my mom, Steven and Martha. And after a night out.. good times:)

Laura's wedding

A friend of mine from high school was married last week. Laura made a beautiful bride and it was an amazing venue on Lake Travis. The bridal party did the "Hustle" was very cute.

Dinner with the Ferrier's

We had the opportunity to have dinner with some of my family a couple weeks ago. We were celebrating my great uncle Doug's 65th birthday. It was great seeing them, and catching up. Pictured: Uncle Doug and Aunt Marie, Cousin Katie, and Cousin Tom.

On the road again...

So we had a long weekend, full of friends, family and many many good times.

Over 15.5 driving hours, 900 plus miles.. austin to abilene to lubbock to plainview to hamlin to abiline to austin. A few other stops in between.

On the way home we made a pit stop at the Colorado River. And yes those are cows in the river. They were trying to get across the river and back up the other bank, but were having issues. Silly cows. BTW-Richards shirt says, 'you're ugly and your momma dresses you in burnt orange' he got it when we stopped in Lubbock.

Tyrell's Bday Party!

Tyrell turned 5! Such a sweet boy, and adorable! We stopped at Tractor Supply store and bought him a John Deere book of tractors and a gift card so he could go shopping. He loves Tractor Supply, and it was my first time..very cool place, some really cute stuff--FYI. The party was at Gatti's in Abilene and we got to hang out with Richards family which was great since we dont get to see them too often.

The bottom pic from left to right: Travis, Tabitha (sis), Aimee' (sis), Tyrell (nephew), Jimmy, me, Richard, Lanona, Randy (bro) and Ashton (neice).

4-wheelin

After the wedding, we stayed at Richards sister's house in Hamlin. And they have 2 four wheelers, and since I had never been on one. So I hopped on with Richard, and hung on for dear life. He was very careful with me, I was just a big scardy-cat. But when he was riding around by himself, I just didnt watch. A couple times I think he went on two wheels. Men--crazy! :)
I also posted a pic of Richard and his nephew Tyrell. Such a cutie-pie!

What you talking about Willis?

Chris and Charla got married this past weekend. Richard was Chris' best man, and I was in charge of cutting the cake! Both very important jobs. Their families were so sweet and kind, it was great meeting so many wonderful people. They had a beautiful wedding! Wishing them the very best in their future. (btw...their last name is willis)

we do...do you?

Do you have a blog? If so we would love to check it out, send us the link!

Best wishes, Carisa and Richard!

Richard and Carisa's Gas Party!

OK, not at all what it seems. Friday night Richard and I were in the backyard playing with Lola and hanging out. After a while we started getting huge whiffs of gas. We went inside and no smell, then went out front and near the gas meter it was so strong you could hardly breath. So I called Tx Gas Co and they finally showed up about 12:40 AM. The guy said that it was a good thing we called because it was not a good situation. He had to call his manager and two others to help dig up almost 6 feet of pipe they had to replace. Richard got really excited when they pulled up with a huge tractor/backhoe. They ended up not using it, but had it for a just in case scenario. Surprisingly no neighbors came out, with the spot lights, running generator, and the horrible sound it made when they cut the pipes and the gas came out sounding like a geyser. They said that the pipes had just deteriorated over time. But Richard and I had the grand idea to sit outside, enjoy the nice evening, and drink a rita well, untill it started to get cold. Then things got so interesting we just sat out and watched them work. The last guy finally left at 3:30, and we were in bed by 3:45. And yes, Im the dork that took pics.They didnt come out very well but it was dark, you can atleast get the picture.And it makes the story much funnier! :)

Insurance and BBQ

Very exciting news, Richard is now licensed in the State of Texas for property, casualty, life, renters and a few others insurance. He is waiting on his paperwork from the state and he will be good to go. At this time he is asking his friends, family etc for their help in allowing him to give them quotes for their insurance needs. He understands that its a competitive market and some people have great deals because they have been with their provider for so long, he would at least like the opportunity to practice on you.

For Labor Day, Aimee' and Jimmy went to a wedding in the valley so they stopped and stayed a few nights with us to cut their trip in half. I had an awesome time with them... and we ate some really great food! Yummy Salt Lick!

whats been going on?

Richard and I have been kind of laying low lately. He has been studying profusely for his State Insurance exams. Its coming up soon and then he will be licensed in Texas. I'm so proud of him, he has been working so hard. I know he is going to do great things with Farmers, and make amazing long lasting relationships for a very successful business.
I'm starting a new "to-do" list. There are several things that need to be done around the house and I just need to start marking them off one-by-one. Makes it a little less over whelming and you get to cross them off the list...great feeling!
Lola goes to the vet tomorrow to get fixed. She is too tiny to ever have puppies safely , and I don't want to deal with puppies. Plus there is research that dogs have less likely chance of getting cancer if they are fixed, so snip snip she goes. Poor thing.
We are planning on going to Schlitterbahn in a couple weeks. So exciting, if your interested in joining us just let us know. The more the merrier! It will be a great end to the summer.

SS Birthday Barge

We went to an awesome Birthday party for 2!
Tasha and Christy turned 30 (or are just about too). It was a 4hr boat cruise on Lake Travis ... amazing time! Weather was beautiful, water was perfect and lots of good times. I posted a few pics, Richard dancing, newly engaged Charla and Chris, bday girls and a group pic.

4th of July Weekend

Some of Richards family came down for the 4th and we had a blast. Or atleast I did! Randy (brother), Lanona (sis-in law), Ashton (niece),Aimee' (sister), Jimmy (bro-in law) and his dad Randy Sr.
Thursday night we cooked out, made ritas, talked and hung out at the house. Friday the 4th we went to my moms for swimming and burgers. Richard and I had planned on taking the shuttle to watch the fireworks but the powers that be in Austin decided not to have a shuttle this year. So we ordered pizza and lounged around for the evening. The rest of the weekend we hung out at the house, untill everyone had to leave. Ashton had fun running around the house yelling, I think she liked the echo! :)