My Sister's Wedding

Last weekend was my baby sister's wedding in Austin, TX. We drove down on Thursday night to be there for all of the festivities. It was a blast...though the weather didn't hold up. We didn't let it stop us, though!! Stephen and I love Austin, and being there the whole weekend, able to soak up all the great places the city has to offer was amazing! Here are a few pics from the beautiful wedding, and of the happy couple! Congrats, Hayley and Matt! We love you guys!!

Hayley with my Mom and Dad

My turn

The sisters'-in-law

Oh yeah...SURPRISE! Three preggo's at her wedding :)

My main men

The Happy Couple

Father/Daughter Dance

Sparklers to end the night!!!

It never stops...

We've been traveling like crazy lately! It's all to see fun people and do fun things, but I feel like we've been going nonstop. Two weekends ago I traveled to Horseshoe Bay for my sisters Bachelorette Party, last weekend we went to see Stephen's parents and this weekend we're heading back to Austin for Hayley's wedding. I'm loving seeing all of the family, but I also look forward to just staying home and laying low for the weekend!

Everyone asks me if I miss Europe. I do...and most of the reason I miss it so much is because we traveled all the time. If we were bored on a Saturday, we could load up the car and spend the afternoon in Paris, or head to Amsterdam for dinner. Here, I feel like our options are Sherman, Hurst/Euless/Bedford, or the occassional Ft. Worth. Not exactly the same. I was always shocked when people in Liege would say they'd never been to Amsterdam, some even Brussels. How could you not travel when you had so many beautiful things to see? Now I'm eating a humble pill, because I think of all the places to see this side of the pond, and I've got some work to do!! Hopefully Stephen and I can get away in the near future and see some sights! Cross your fingers!!

Time flies...

I'm so sorry, for those of you that read this blog, that I've taken such a hiatus! I have to say with all honesty that it was the farthest thing from my mind the past few weeks. That's not to say I don't miss blogging...it's just been crazy around here! We've had a lot going on--a 90th birthday party, two wedding showers, bachelorette party, a new roomie (for a bit) and WORK! It's been a crazy month or so, but so great as well!

Work is going great for both of us, the house is great, dogs are great...I'm just tired! Getting back in the swing of things was easy over the summer, but now that school is on full force, it's a mess! I've let the house fall to the wayside while I cart myself to class, after school meetings and training sessions, cheerleading practice and football games. You'd think I had two middle school kids and a mini-van...no, it's just my life these days! I love it...I'm just finding it hard to breath sometimes.

I promise I'll make a better effort to blog if you guys will keep reading...and hold me accountable :) Until next time friends...

Handy Manny?

Stephen and Jesse (Lyon, our neighbor and husband of my HS friend Lorie) decided to install our dishwasher. Gasp! Let me give you a little background first...Sears arrived and inspected our non-working dishwasher and found that they would not be able to install the new one due to 1968 plumbing--I would have to call a plumber out to fix it, then Sears would come back out and install it. I called the plumber and was told I was "on the list" for their services and the plumber would be by today. 7pm, no plumber. Should we wait until tomorrow for them to come and take care of it? Nah. Stephen and Jesse could do it!

8pm: We head over to the Lyon's to talk about the installation. Lorie and I checked out and grabbed dinner while the guys walked to our place to get started.

10pm: Lorie gets tired and heads home with Maddie, their dog. She asks Jesse how long he'll be, and he replies 30 min.

11:30pm: I enter the kitched to check on progress, and Stephen is holding a flashlight for Jesse, who is on the floor with tools I've never seen before.

1:15am: Expletives fly out of the kitchen while Jesse runs to the front door, water splashing all over our kitchen in a hurry to flood it. I freak. Grab towels. Dab. Water is shut off, guys are laughing! I'm not.

1:35am: Stephen and Jesse head to the Lyon household for "more supplies."

2:45am: Smell of fire coming from kitchen. I inspect the smell to find Jesse using a blowtorch to our pipes. Feeling like I'd said enough during our previous fiasco, I shut up and headed to the couch.

3:22am: After awaking to find Stephen and Jesse gone, on another supply run.

4:20am: With sounds of an approaching "Done!" I head to the kitchen to find a 2x4 in our wall charred from the blowtorch. Brings closure to the smell and my thinking the house was burning down.

4:30am: Finished product is running, without leaks. Boys high-five...I mutter something indistinguishable and curl into bed.

Moral of the story...we saved $150 bucks and lost 6 hours of sleep, but we have a perfectly working dishwasher and two guys that think they are something!

Our new house!

Stephen and I moved into our new house last week! It's been a crazy week so far, but we absolutely love it!! My mom came in town this week to help me paint and set it up...it took us forever, but we feel so at home now! Enjoy the pics, and come see us soon!!

This is our kitchen...i'm standing in the doorway of the study looking towards the breakfast nook:

Now opposite direction:

Breakfast nook--we antiqued the built-ins:

The living room, from the doorway of our bedroom:

Antiqued built-ins in the living room:

Living room from the dining room:

Living room:

Dining room:

Our bedroom, from the door...looking into his/her sinks! Room is empty, however, because our crate from Europe with all of our furniture isn't here yet :)

Bedroom #2:

Bathroom #2:

Bedroom #3:

Bathroom #3:

Bedroom #4, full of our junk :)

Patio view from our backyard:

Backyard:

Patio, looking into the backyard:

So, there you have it! Now...for real, come visit :)

Fourth of July

Stephen and I went to Austin to visit my family for the fourth! The weekend before we went to see the Dotson's in Houston, but sadly we didn't take any pics. For the holiday weekend, we laid by the pool, ate a LOT, and enjoyed the company of my family...and of course my sweet nieces, Mackenzie and Olivia! We had a great time, but were super annoyed at the 6 hours it took us to get home. Hope all of you enjoyed your 4th!!

Dad bought us a sweet sign to commemorate our return to the states! It's now in our new garage :)

We're alive and kicking...

It's been a complete whirlwind since we stepped foot on American soil. In a span of two weeks we looked at over 30 homes, and eventually found our diamond in the rough. We close on our house on June 30th...so give us a few weeks before you come visit :)

In the meantime we bought two cars and are knee deep in appliance purchasing and furniture shopping! Things are crazy around here...but everything has worked out so seamlessly and we couldn't have asked for an easier transition!

I'll post a picture of the house as soon as the keys are in my hands--until then I'll do what I can to adjust to the 100 degree weather and apply my sunscreen!

Box it up and ship it out!

Well, our European Adventure is over. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm excited to be home, with family and friends that I've missed so much, but I'm also sad to leave the friends that I've gotten so close with here. I feel torn. And exhausted. And it's not going to slow down. We'll be busy looking for a house, cars, setting up accounts, etc. in the states the first few weeks, so though I don't see an end in sight...I'm so ready for the next adventure!



I took some pictures today while the movers were here! They use an elevator to send things down after they've got everything boxed up. I thought it was pretty cool! And you can play a little game with these pictures, too! "Where's Gracie!" The first one's a little easy...

I was so intrigued by the moving "elevator" that I had to do a video montage. Not sure why I was so interested...but I was! Wish we could always be this lazy with a move :)

Saying goodbye...

Stephen's coworkers Ava and Gill threw Stephen and I a "Surprise" going away party last weekend. We knew we were having dinner at Ava's, but had NO IDEA she had planned for other coworkers to be there and to bring gifts...and Ava even made a video!! It was extremely thoughtful, sweet and generous of everyone...not to mention how yummy Ava's Indian cooking was! She's good!!! Both Ava and Gill were instrumental in my success here...I owe them both so much! I'm going to miss them, but they've both planned trips to see us...just have to make sure to have a BBQ so Ava will show up :)

Me with the hostesses, Ava and Gill!

We also had a little going away dinner with the girls from my work the night before. We met up at school and they had a little surprise champagne and some gifts! It was very nice of them, and I think we all had a laugh and enjoyed each others company! We then walked down to Park d'Avroy to have dinner and more laughs. Both Stephen and I are very lucky to have been able to work with such cool people!

Gene 2, Katika, Gene 1, Lisa and I

I drove to Brussels last weekend as well to have dinner with my Bible Study girls. We ate in Hoelaert, near Michelle's place. We had a great time talking, laughing and eating over wine! It wasn't a huge surprise that we got little Bible studying done and a lot of laughter instead, but that's a typical night out with these friends! I'm going to miss our long chats about random (and not always appropriate, ha) things, but I'm so thankful we have become as close as we have! I look forward to many Skype conversations and trips!

Michelle, Myself and Sarah (Shannon is missing)

Our great friend, and Stephen's coworker, Maite had us over on Sunday for a meal and fun with some of her (and no our) friends. Through Maite we've made lifelong friends, and we always have so much fun with them. Hopefully, if they keep their promises, they will all come and visit us in TX! We can't wait to introduce you to them :)

Anneminne, Stephen, Me, Maite, Carole, Virginie, Gregoire

Christophe, Me, Stephen, Maite, Anneminne, Gregoire, Carole

-at dinner my last night in Liege

And finally, knowing how much we LOVE Mexican food, Ava and Paul treated us to a Mexican/Spanish food evening out! We had so much fun...and of course LOVED our share of Mexican food and margaritas! I was so shocked at the quality of Mexican food in Flanders, Belgium. You'd think it wouldn't be very good...you'd be wrong! We ate until we were full, and laughed until our stomachs hurt! Thanks Ava and Paul...again, you're a complete blessing in our lives! We appreciate all you have done and continue to do for us! See you Summer '11!!

We've been SO fortunate for this opportunity, and we did our best to make it worthwhile and cherish every moment and every new adventure, but we'd be lying if we said we did it alone. I remember when Stephen and I first moved, and we were so nervous that we'd never find anyone we'd understand, or better yet understand us. We figured we'd go it alone and not have a social life or any friends. Boy were we wrong! Each and every one of our friends has impacted us in such a different way, and we're so thankful for all of you! Saying goodbye is so bittersweet...but I know for a fact I will see each one of you again, and I can't wait! BISOUS!