Shopping in Louisiana

On Saturday, Chris and I decided to go into Shreveport, Louisiana and go shopping at the Boardwalk Outlets. They were huge. It was only about an hour and a half drive and we thought it would be fun to mark another state off of our list. We weren't so lucky in our shopping, but had a good time anyways. Chris did find himself a new watch at the Fossil store. Everytime we go to a Fossil outlet, he thinks he needs a new one :) It makes me smile. We also had dinner in Louisian at a place called SaltGrass Steakhouse. It was really good and a fun atmosphere. Here are a couple pictures of us looking down from the parking terrace at a small portion of the outlets and some of Shreveport city in the background.

Memorabilia

So, when Chris and I found out we were going to be moving around for the next five years, he had this wonderful idea of how we should get something that shows everywhere we have been. So, we decided to get a key chain from every state we go through. We haven't been too many places yet, but I am sure once we move around the next five years we will hit some good spots. Before the move, we both had only ever been to Utah, Nevada, California, and Idaho...and I guess you could count a corner of Arizona, but we didn't ever stop there so we don't count that. Now, we have added Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. We are about 30 seconds from the Arkansas border and only about 15 minutes from Louisiana so we plan to get some more states in within this next year. So, since we live in Texas and are so close to Arkansas, we haven't picked up those key chains yet...we have been slacking. And can you believe that we never thought of getting a Utah one until after we left? Oh well, we will just have to pick one up when we are back home for Christmas. By the way, there is a Washington DC key chain that is in our pile because that is where Chris had his interview for the job, but I haven't been there. I just tell him he has to take me there some day. The Oklahoma key chain is by far the coolest. Angela would probably say, "for sure, that is where I was grew up." Come on, am I right Ang? :) Wyoming is definitely my least favorite...I think we will try to get another one. The horse with the rider is kind of cool, but I am not a fan of the acrylic key chains. They just remind me of when I was in junior high and tried to have the most loud obnoxious key chains out of everyone. Oh the good old days. Well, I hope you enjoy our little collection.

Pictures of Our Home

As promised, here are the pictures of our home. Still some decorating I need to do, but there are too many people who are waiting to find out what the place looks like. We love it here in our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment and couldn't ask for a cozier place. We were a little worried going from a house back to an apartment again, but it has been great. The walls have got to be insulated really good because we have never once heard any of our neighbors. It is kind of set up like an 8-plex style I guess you could say. There are two floors, an upstairs and downstairs and 4 apartments on each floor; we are on the top floor.






















My favorite things about our new place are: two walk in closets, a bay window in our bedroom, a porch/balcony out our living room, and our little eating bar in our kitchen/dining room. Chris's favorite things are: the living room, dining room, and kitchen are all open, all of the rooms have ceiling fans (and we have central air), and he also likes the little eating bar. We also have a pool, tennis court, and a fitness center here and we have enjoyed using both the pool and fitness center. We haven't ventured out yet to the tennis court. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

More Cali Pictures :)

What can I say, we took so many pictures and I couldn't pick any favorites so I posted a ton of them.

Catching up

OK, I know it has been a very long since I have updated this. Things have been so busy since the move. We were here for about a week and a half and I was off on another trip. I went to California for my friends wedding. It was so much fun, but I don't think I ever want to be away from Chris for 16 days again. I was so glad to get back home to him. Actually, I wish he could have gone, but it didn't work out with his new job/school schedule. So, I got back home to Texas on Saturday and started work on Monday. Chris had my desk and everything all set up when I got home, thanks Babe! He's so sweet. Work is going very well. Today was my second day back at the job and I think I am going to love it. Things are going well for Chris in school, he has met quite a few people and has even gotten in a car pool, which is great because he only has to drive 1 week out of every month. Tonight, Chris and I are going out to dinner with a guy he goes to school with and his wife. The ironic thing is they came from Utah and Chris and John both went to school at Utah State. Although, they didn't know each other then, it is just weird we come all the way to Texas and end up going to dinner with people we used to live close to in Utah. It's a small world. Well, here are some pictures of California and the wedding. I promise to post some pictures of our apartment within the next week...I just have to get a few more things in order.

First Day of Work

Okay, I know I have been blogging a lot this morning, but I am just trying to get caught up. Last but not least, Chris started work/school this morning. He was so cute, last night he was trying to decide what to wear. As many of you probably remember with the whole interview process I blogged about, Chris is not one for dressing up. So yesterday after church, we had to go looking for him some new clothes, but didn't have much luck since he does not care for nice, dress up clothes. Anyway, with a lot of changing last night, he finally decided on an outfit to wear today. I thought he looked very nice. Here are a couple of pictures I took of him this morning - one while he was getting ready and the other right before he was about to walk out the door. I can't wait for him to get home so I can hear how his day went. I am so proud of him, he is such a wonderful guy!



Well, now that I have been on here all morning, I think it is about time I get started on some work around my house and finish getting everything in its place.

At Our New Home

Our first night at our new home, we heard this ridiculous buzzing outside (so loud and obnoxious). We thought it was one of the porch lights kind of humming, but then it started this crazy, whirling/siren sound. We opened our front door and this huge bug was flying around. A little later, we looked out and found the bug lying dead on its back. You won't believe this picture.


Isn't that thing nasty? If this is a taste of what we are going to get - no thanks! Just kidding, so far it seems like it will be nice. Our apartment is so cute, but I will have to post pictures a little later; we are still trying to get everything in order. We have most everything unpacked now, just a few things we are not sure where we want to put and lots of decorating needs to happen! :) My favorite things about the apartment are that we have a bay window in our master bedroom and a patio balcony out our living room. I also really enjoy our kitchen bar and that we have two walk in closets. What more could a girl ask for? Espcially, when we picked out our place on the internet. Our second day, here in Texas, we ventured to Arkansas so Chris's brother, Brian, could mark off another state on his list - it is literally only 1 minutes drive to cross the state line.


On July 3rd, we celebrated Chris's 24th birthday. Didn't have much of a party, it was only Chris, my mom, and I - but we had a good time. I made a special dinner and one of his favorite desserts that he requested rather than cake.




Here are some pictures of Chris, my mom, and I hanging out at our new place.





Friday night, my mom got us a hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas because she was flying back home Saturday morning around 8:00 am and the airport is about 2 1/2 hours away from our house so we would have had to be leaving our house around 4:30 am. She didn't really want to do that so we stayed at a Holiday Inn that night. It was a blast! Here are some pictures of all of us at the hotel that night and the next morning before she had to leave.





There were a few tears between my mom and me when we had to leave her at the airport, but I know I will see her in a few more days when I go to California - that will be the tough good-bye.

Yesterday, we tried a church about a couple of miles up the street from us and it was really good. The people were so friendly and the music and the pastor were awesome! I won't be here for the next couple of Sunday's since I will be in California, but I think that is the church we will start attending regularly. So exciting to find a new home church.