Facing the Music

Remember that little challenge to myself that I like to call 29X29? Well, I weighed myself for the first time in two weeks today and... I lost .5 pounds. Not five, but POINT five pounds. And that was probably because I was stark naked. All of my fine NYC dining and lack of working out appears to have caught up with me. In 10 weeks I have lost 11 pounds. Make that 11.5 pounds. Not bad, but definitely not great. I've got eight weeks left. You do the math. It's doable, but I've gotta get moving! I'm up for the challenge. And I start boot camp next week, so hopefully that'll help too. Ready, or not, here I come 29!

Anyone home?

I am. After 10 days and six states. Or was it eight days? It's hard to keep track, but I'm home. I'm climbing out from the mountain of laundry, voicemails, facebook messages and paperwork on my desk. Not that I'm that important, just slow at getting back in the groove. I was in NYC for a few days and then Maryland at FEMA's headquarters for emergency management training. It was wonderful, intense and tiring. And fulfilling. I loved the experience and the much cooler temperatures, but there's no place like home.

I'll post all of my photos and anecdotes once I get through that laundry pile. Until then, here's a snapshot.

we saw the sites

and ate a lot

then it was work, work, work

and a little bit of fun. (that's me with General Robert E. Lee and the Mrs.)

Until next time, ashleigh

Pit Stop

I forgot to mention that we made a little pit stop on the way home from New Braunfels. We met our dear friends, the Edwards, for lunch at the Gristmill. Mmm. I love that place and the cute little town that it's in. Kate and Jared live in San Antonio and we don't get to see them near as often as we'd like, so we couldn't pass up a chance to see them when we were so close! We are so glad that it worked out and we got to catch up. Kate is part of my inner circle and Justin and Jared have a lot in common, so we always have a good time getting together. Perfect end to a perfect trip! Wish we had taken a picture with the four of us, but here are a few scenes from Gruene:

Beating the Heat

Justin and I spent the last few days attempting to beat the heat with my family. We joined my family for a few days of fun in the sun at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels and had the best time! We were the last to arrive on Thursday night since both of our work schedules have been too crazy to allow for several days off in a row! One day, one day.

My parents rented the cutest little house directly across from the park, so all we had to do was walk across to enjoy the cooool spring water and fun rides. We did have a short drive to the newer part of the park, but staying on the property allowed us to go early, park close and beat the crowds. It was perfect! Keira loved all of the attention and could ride most of the rides with us, so I think it's safe to say she had a great time. We didn't get a lot of pictures, or at least I didn't, but our days pretty much looked the same: get up, eat breakfast, put on bathing suit, lather up, go to the park, swim, ride rides, float, head back for lunch, nap, re-apply sunscreen, go back out to the park, grill out for dinner, shower, relax, bed. Repeat. We had a great time! And, for the record, it is surprisingly cooler four hours south of Dallas. We loved the 70 degree temperatures in the morning, and hanging out in cold spring water in the afternoons felt pretty good too. Thanks for a fun trip mom and dad!

Keira (with her life jacket on backwards) showing off her ruffley bottom ;)

uncle adam and aunt ashy with keira on day one

i loved her little hat.

play time with justin after lunch one day

cutey in her little bikini

"cheeeese" eating dinner with daddy on the porch

dad grilling up a yummy dinner

justin helped too. aren't they cute posing?

us ready for the last day. note - this is in the front yard, directly across from the park!

*authors note: I am aware that I have become obsessed with instagram. I love it. I can't help it. I'll do better at using my real camera. At least I'll try.

Life Lately

Just for my own sake, here's a little rambling of what's been going on lately. I apologize in advance if I bore you to tears. We haven't been doing anything too terribly exciting. It's summer in Texas. And it is H.O.T.

A few days back we took a half day off together and traveled to Grapevine Mills. (My old stomping grounds. Tear). We wanted to see the new aquarium, but bypassed that idea when we saw the three hour line. Yikes. Note: if you plan to go, buy tickets in advance so you can skip the line.

We made the most of it and enjoyed walking the mall and popping in and out of stores. After our afternoon in Grapevine we drove to the other side of Tarrant County and ate at Los Vaqueros. Mmm.

mini cupcakes! yum. Even justin had one.

justin makes fun of me because i love getting gumballs from a machine.

great local joint if you're ever in town!

delish skinny margarita. sweetened with agave nectar. mmm.

This week has been hard. For a lot of reasons, so I'm glad that it's almost over. Ready to relax this weekend and start fresh next week. Plus, we are leaving for a little mini vaca on Thursday with my fam! Fun things ahead. Anyway, mom brought the girls over for lunch on Tuesday. Here are a couple of short videos of Keira singing to Micah. Pretty cute. Also, as noted on facebook, the first thing Keira said when she saw me was, "Ashy! Read the sic 'em bears book?! Pleeeassee?!" (The child has mastered the manners thing). And rooting for the best schools ;)



sic 'em keira!



And finally, bringing my smattering of random thoughts post to a close, we ended our summer softball season last night. We had fun playing together, but we did not have fun losing. We won three games and got annihilated every other game. So NOT fun. Especially when your team name is "Just For Fun." Seriously. We're both a little too competitive to be on a team with that name! Ha. We were never in good moods after  games to pose for photos, but I did get this quick shot of me and Micah when she came to cheer us on! We miraculously won that game. Anyway, it's been fun having Thursday nights sat aside for each other since it's getting harder and harder not to see each other during the week. We usually cook dinner and then hang out before the game. Last night we got sno cones! Won of my summer essentials.

wedding cake sno cone. my fave.

me and my littlest niece. isn't she gorgeous?

Sorry for the rambling. Sometimes a girl's just gotta get it out of her system. Amen.

To everything there is a season...

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun. A time to be born and a time do die; time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal...a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance... Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

I posted this on facebook Saturday. It's a verse that spoke to me that day and really all week. I struggled with the reality of two of my closest friends losing both of their parents within a span of six months. We were all together just last weekend, laughing, swimming and relaxing. How were we to know that exactly one week later we would be gathering again, only this time to mourn? It seems so unfair that my dear friends have to deal with such tragedy while still in their twenties. I can't imagine. It makes me nauseous just imagining it.

I do know that God is good. All day. Every day. Although it's difficult to understand why things happen, I believe He works for the good in all of us. Natalie sent us an email on Saturday night that spoke to the true love of their parents. I know it doesn't make the grieving process any easier for their family, but I imagine it does bring comfort to know that her parents are together again. Here's an excerpt from that email:

"I found an old shoe box full that was taped shut that said "Love Letters" on it.  Of course I brought it home with me and found a box full of tons of notes and letters mostly from my dad and a few from other suitors from back in early high school years. Anyways, the most beautiful thing, that I know was mentioned today at the service, was that my dad literally wrote love letters to my mom almost every night when he went to college at Tech and she was still a junior in high school until they were married.  I mean there are literally hundreds of letters all expressing his undying love for her and how he can't wait to marry her.  I read a lot of them the other night and it made me understand just how deep really was and it seemed almost cruel for God to keep them apart for the 6 months that He did.  That kind of love story doesn't come around very often and I feel so incredibly blessed to be a product of that love.  It's hard for the 3 of us to stomach that we weren't enough for her want to live for here on earth, but when I understood their love, I realized that she truly needed to be with him and couldn't live without him with her any longer."  

Please join me in praying for Natalie, Kristin, their brother Justin and their extended family.

What happens in Scroggins...

Stays in Scroggins? At least that's what some locals said within ear shot of us as we left a restaurant on Saturday night after dinner. Gotta love small town Texas. We were in Scroggins on Lake Cypress Springs all weekend. As I mentioned in my previous post, I love these girls with all my heart and we had the perfect weekend together.

We spent most of it outside in the scorching HOT heat, but no one seemed to mind. Like always, time went waaaay too fast and before we knew it we were packing up. Plans are already in the works for our next getaway though. Can't. Wait.

Here are a few snapshots of the weekend. You can guess there was a lot of swimming, laying out, chatting, laughing and a few screams. (Wildlife tends to get most of us every time).

incredible "back yard"

me and ksti

jae and furr on the kayak

me and my "twin"

back of the beautiful lake house

spiercey relaxing

furr bringing the group beverages

ksti, nat and furr

jae and her church punch

view from the porch

furr and nat

nat enjoying her church punch

boat house

last sunset

I swear Kate was there too! These are just pics from my phone. I'll post the "real" pictures from my camera later.