A trip to Dallas/Brazil

This weekend Paul's mom's side of the family had a get together in honor of his Aunt Rachel and Uncle Daniel. Paul, Bethany and I drove up on Saturday while Dasher stayed behind with his puppy girlfriend Molly.

I guess now would be a good time to further explain a few things. Bethany, Paul's sister, moved in with us about two weeks ago. She recently took a job here in Houston and had to start within a few days of accepting the job so she moved in with Paul and I while she settles into Houston and moves into a place of her own. It has been good having her here. We are all so busy though, that we really don't see each other often; we all literally go in three different directions every morning. However, I do enjoy having someone else to shop with besides Paul. No offense dear.

Dasher's puppy girlfriend, Molly, is the beagle puppy of one of Paul's good friends in medical school, Robert. Robert and his family were kind enough to host Dasher for the weekend while we were in Dallas. It is nice to have friends you trust and who are kind enough to help you out when needed. Houston is beginning to feel more like home with every new friend we make.

Ok, now back to the post. Paul's Aunt Rachel is a doctor in the military and will be deploying to Iraq soon. She has three children she will be leaving behind as she serves our country overseas. Paul's Uncle Daniel will be moving to Minnesota to attend seminary school soon as well. So, on Saturday everyone got together to wish them well and encourage them as they moved on to the next chapters of their lives. For those of you who may read my blog and don't already know, Paul's mom is from Brazil and has 9 brothers and sisters. Not all of Paul's aunts and uncles were able to come to the get together, but there were a lot of people nontheless. We also had a traditional Brazilian dinner with desserts and everything. I even made Pao de Quiejo (a Brazillian cheese bread that I love). It was great food, and it was nice to see everyone again. Paul just happens to have two aunts who are speech therapists as well and I always enjoy talking with them.  Below are a few pictures I stole from Paul's mom from the weekend.

Group shot of everyone gathered in the den area

Paul with his little sister Jessica

After the get together, we spent the night with mine and Bethany's old college roommate and friend, Beth. We didn't get to spend much time with her, but it was good to see her even if it was just for a little while. It had been a while since I had gotten to hang out with her and Bethany at the same time too. We just needed Kendra and it would have been a complete little mini reunion of the 211 girls.

Before heading home on Sunday morning, we drove back to Allen to go shopping at the outlet store and it was lots of fun. I practically got a whole new wardrobe. I wasn't expecting to find very much at the outlet store, but they had some very good deals that I just couldn't pass up. It will definately be a place I visit again.

All our purchases
(please excuse the I have been in the car forever looks)

Paul had to make up for all the time he spent in the girly stores by stopping at the PGA Tour store.

All my great purchases

Paul's old belt

Victory! We found a replacement...thank you Target!

It was definately a long weekend, but a good one. I am glad to be home and I think Dasher is too. He has been sleeping since we walked in the door. Thank You Molly for wearing him out. Monday I believe will come to soon. I am ready for summer and it is just around the corner. Paul only has 2 weeks left of school and I only have about 6 more. Then we will have 3 weeks off together before Paul starts back again at the end of June. I am definiately looking forward to it.

More Spring Break Fun

Working in the schools definately has its perks.  One of its perks is definately spring break, and it always seems to come at just the right time. In fact, one of the reasons I wanted to work in the schools this year was to enjoy the benefits of all the time off. I was hoping with Paul being so busy with medical school it would be beneficial for me to have more time off so that when he was free I would more than likely be free as well. That worked out great at Christmas time (we both got 2 weeks off); however, apparently medical school does not believe in spring break and Paul has had to go to school all week. Luckily for me, my mom, 2 youngest brothers, grandparents, older brother, sister-in-law, neice and nephew all came down for a visit the first half of the week to keep me company. Surprisingly, Paul even got to spend a lot of time with us as well.

My mom, 2 little brothers and grandparents arrived early Saturday evening and we headed out for pizza and a quick run to Wal-Mart to pick up everything Steven, my youngest brother forgot. My oldest brother, sister-in-law, neice, and nephew arrived later that night. I am grateful we live in a great little town home that has enough room for everyone to stay comfortably.

Sunday morning we all woke up and headed to Galveston. Paul and my two younger brothers left before everyone else to go fishing. They didn't have any luck. Our first stop was the ferry. We were hoping to see dolphins, but I think they all migrated south to warmer waters as we didn't see any. After, the ferry we spent some time on the beach and walking/shopping on the seawall before heading back to our place for dinner.

feeding the sea gulls off the ferry

Addy really wanted back inside the ferry

playing in the sand

Tyler got burried first

Then it was Nick's turn

I don't think Addy knew that Nick was actually under the sand.

Some people thought it was cold at the beach...and I think my grandpa enjoyed his nap.

Others were not afraid of the chilly water and enjoyed some wave jumping

Monday was Pearland ISD appreciation day at the Aquarium in downtown Houston and it was a rainy day so we all took advantage of my 50% off all day passes and spent sometime with the fishes.  Paul even got to come with us since he got back from school before we were ready to go. This particular aquarium was pretty decent and even had a white tiger on display. Not to mention carnival games, a ferris wheel and a train through a shark tunnel. My nephew was a big winner at the carnival games and even had all the workers amazed.

petting the sting rays

underwater viewing

Paul liked petting the shark

the random white tiger at the aquarium

riding the train to the shark tunnel

Tyler won the big dog by making three baskets in a row.
The carnival workers told us that they had never seen someone do this on the first try.

Uncle Nick and Steven won Addy a stuffed dragon too.

Ferris wheel time.

Steven's not a huge fan of ferris wheels apparently

Three point shoot out

We had a great time at the aquarium and the rain stopped just as we were arriving.

We went back to Galveston on Tuesday for more fun on the beach. My grandparents weren't really up for another beach day so we toured Moody Mansion and the rest of the island. The Moody family pretty much owns all of Galveston Island. It was neat to learn about some of the history of Galveston and one of it's more 'famous' families. I think my grandparents enjoyed it as well.

Wednesday came too soon and everyone went their separate ways. I am very grateful that my family will make the long 8 hour trip to visit Paul and I here in South Houston. I am also very grateful that my grandparents are able to travel and take part in our lives even though we are far apart and they are in their 80s. I really enjoyed my spring break and am glad I got to spend it with my family. I feel very refreshed and recharged for school come Monday and hopefully my speech friends will benefit from that. It is hard to beleive that when I get back to work from spring break I will only have a little over 2 more months of school left before summer vacation. I definately am getting used to the benefits of being in the schools and I love working with the kids and seeing all the progress they make. I could not ask to be in a better profession with so many options. Paul and I are definately blessed in our careers.

Spring Break with the McGahas

March has been a very busy month and it has only just begun. The first weekend in March was the beginning of Paul's brother and sister's spring break and his family came down for a visit. I had just gotten back from a conference for work Friday evening and unfortunately had to work on Saturday as well to catch up from being gone to the conference. We still found some time to go to Yachty Gras at Kemah on Saturday night. I think Paul's little brother and sisters really enjoyed all the rides and catching beads on the boardwalk. Unfortunately, we kind of forgot to pack for the chilly evening, and it was surprisingly difficult to buy a sweatshirt on the board walk.

Jessica, Megan, Paul and Jacob on the Drop Zone

Megan, Jacob, Jessica, and Anne riding the ferris wheel

Paul and I sitting in the ferris wheel we somehow got off of the ferris wheel before riding it all the way around.

Paul, Jessica, Jacob and Megan are in the second car on the roller coaster.

look at all the catfish that were hiding under the boardwalk

my favorite yacht at Yachty Gras

Look at all the beads we caught.

On Sunday before Paul's family headed back to Tyler we went down to Galveston and rode the ferry, but it looks like I forgot to take pictures of that...oh well there is always next time.

NASA does exist!

The last weekend in February, my good friend from grad school came to visit. There are few things in life that are as comforting as visiting with a friend from your past life that you haven't seen or even spoken to in a while as if you were never apart. For the first time in a long time I felt like my old self again not trying to put my best foot forward, but really relaxing and just being myself. After living with me for 2 years, there is nothing I can hide from Ashley. I was so excited that she was coming for a visit.

Ashley was supposed to arrive Thursday evening; however, it didn't seem to be what was in the plans. She ended up having to spend the evening at DFW airport.  She finally arrived Friday morning and I brought her back to my house to freshen up before we met Paul in Galveston for lunch. He had just finished his final that morning, and for medical students the weekend after a final is the few days that they can actually relax and they show a glimmer of their true selves before the next block of craziness begins. Being married to a medical student at times can feel like riding a roller coaster. At the beginning of their course they are excited and nervous, but as the course begins and the car begins to climb the steep hill their anxiety and stress build with each clank of the chain, until they finally reach the top and take their final then there is a sudden release of stress, anxiety and happiness as the car flies down the hill and they find themselves at the bottom of the next hill and start of a whole new course with the promise of new twist turns and excitement.  Anyway, after we had a delightful lunch on the seawall we headed back home so Ashley could rest before we had dinner and a movie that evening.

The next day we decided to go to NASA. Paul and I hadn't had a chance to go since we moved here and I have to admit, I was a little skeptical that it even truly existed. (I wish I could say after my visit my skepticism has diminished). Before heading to NASA though I made sure Ashley didn't leave Houston without visiting the urgent care center. I wish I could tell y'all that I am a gracefull, organized, put together person, but that just wouldn't be true. As I was running around trying to find my camera, purse, a jacket, and whatever else I just thought I needed, I ran smack dab into the car door and cut my head open just above my eye.

my battle wound



on the tram ready to see some astronauts

 

Who knew Brazil had astronauts



After, NASA we (Ashley and Paul, I had chicken) had some sea food fresh from the Gulf and then watched the Hangover again. Paul is obsessed with that movie.

Ashley left bright and early Sunday morning and I am happy to report had smoother and faster trip back home than she had here. It was good to see her and was much needed. It was truly relaxing and I needed some quality time with Ashley just to chat. Ashley is one of the few people in my life that I feel truly understands who I am and where I come from. I am grateful to have her as a friend.

And Sew it Begins.

My good friend Beth's parents live in the Houston area as well. I have been meaning to go visit them since we moved here. I recently got a sewing machine around Christmas time and need a lot of practice. Luckily for me Beth's mom, Carma, is a great seamstress and teacher. Paul had a huge test coming up so I spent a Saturday sewing with Carma. It was tons of fun and I can't wait until I plan my next visit.

To prepare for this visit, I got a great deal at JoAnn's when they had patterns on sale 5 for $5.00. I picked up some great patterns and some fabric and packed it all up with my sewing machine. Carma was ready to get started as soon as I arrived. We began by cutting out the patterns and fabric, then began sewing. It was so nice having someone who knew what they were doing to guide me and help me out when I made a mistake. She was even able to make adjustments to the pattern in order to work with the materials I had and create something unique.

I thought I was doing pretty good finishing my apron in just a few hours, until I realized that Carma had made 2-3 cell phone cases from a pattern she created with the use of my phone in that amount of time.

The adorable cell phone case.

My apron

I had a great time during my visit and am plotting my next project as I type this.