Whats been going on in our neck of the woods

In the of Summer 2011 Richard was offered a teaching and coaching position in Kingsville, Texas. So we packed up the moving truck, and headed to South Texas. Its been a whirl-wind to say the least, but we have adjusted to our new home and the area. I luckily found a good job that has allowed me to learn a whole new side of the Real Estate industry, and I've gained some good friends to top it all off.
Richard is in the middle of soccer season, and baseball just started.. so its about to get interesting. During the fall he coached freshman, and worked with the Varsity, which went to Playoffs.

The hardest part of being here in Kingsville is being so far away from our family and friends. But we know that we were called here for a reason, and are trying to do our best with what is in front of us.

Spring Break VIsitors

Richard and I love having company. We love sharing our home with family and friends; laughing, making memories and doing things around time. For Spring Break Tabitha (Richard's sister) and her family came down for a few days. They came down Monday night and we stayed up late catching up. Tuesday morning we played in the backyard and made breakfast. Very low-key. Tyrell and I made paper airplanes to throw around the backyard. That afternoon we made a trip to Cabella's so Travis could drool, then to the playground.
Wednesday we headed to Zilker to ride Zephyr, play and have a picnic. It got a little crazy after that. Travis decided to rent a kayak, and Richard and Tyrell explored the creek. Then Tyrell really wanted to ride in a canoe so Travis, Tabitha and Tiffany set sail :). Tiffany hung out with Richard and I. Thats when I took the last pic ... she just melts my heart. So adorable, and such a cuddle bug.
I kept asking to keep her, but no such luck. Cant hurt to ask right?!?

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree Farm

aka.. The Browns Christmas Decorations.

Richard made these adorable cut outs, and we painted them. We loved being able to brighten up the Christmas spirit in our neighborhood. Someone mentioned them this past weekend .. its Feb 15th ;)

Papa's 80th

My sweet Papa turned 80 this past Nov. He is such an amazing man and would bleed Red White and Blue if possible. So the only appropriate decor for a party was to go USO style. Stars, Red White and Blue etc. My mom and I made a cupcake replica of the American Flag. I also scanned hundreds of pictures of him from over the years, and he decided that he needed to be the commentator on it... hence the microphone. :)

Merry Little Memories

Im always trying to come up with new ways to get more involved with my clients outside of them buying, selling or renting. A friend of mine from church is kicking off her photography co and we came up with the idea for Merry Little Memories. This was an effort to raise money for Family Link, a foster to adopt agency.. and if we raised over $300. These are the pictures that Jenni took of our little family. Lola was less being less than photogenic that day. She kind of looks like a statue.

Photos by Jenni Robert with http://www.jennirobertsphotography.com/

Kitchen Remodel Update

This past fall Richard and I started the remodel. It turned out to be a long bigger project then I think I had in mind (about a month), but it was well worth it. We built out some needed cabinets, restained them, new countertops, paint and appliances. We love how it turned out, and if you look back to the very begining it looks like a totally different house.

And if I havent mentioned it before, I super puffy heart love our stove.  :)

Arbor

The morning glories we planted are starting to get big! In a couple weeks they will be all the way to the top. Richard made the arbor for our wedding, and last year we had the vines completely covering it. It was beautiful!

PicnicTable

Richard made us a table for the backyard on Sunday. He found some great lumber that someone was throwing out a couple weeks ago and it turned out GREAT! For Stevens bday we had them over for dinner and got to 'break' it in. Richard is eventually going to make benches to go along the sides and we will probably stain them to help sustain them.

Flower bed update

So here is how everything is looking. We have spent several hours, weeding etc, but things are really starting to fill in well.

Homemade Wood Planter Box

We have a palm that is planted in a plastic pot and every time we have any wind it blows over. So Richard made a new planter for it, and hopefully it will withstand the weather a little better. I will be staining it tomorrow and then replanting the palm. All of the wood Richard used for the box was reclaimed wood he has been collecting. He is so awesome... its great having your own furniture and accessory maker available at a moments notice.