I miss Texas

I highly doubted that I would ever feel this way but it's true. I miss Texas, and I even miss Wichita Falls.

I miss the house that we were renting.

I miss driving fifteen minutes to some rural city.

I miss discovering all the fun things to do around Wichita Falls.

I miss our ward.

I miss our friends.

I miss the weather.

I miss the closeness, when people would ask if I lived nearby I would always reply "YES!" because I can guarantee you could drive anywhere in that city in under thirty minutes. Probably even less.

I miss the hills.

I miss the cuteness of the city. Sure not all of it was cute, but some parts were.

Like the littlest skyscraper. Yep, my beloved Wichita Falls is known for this beauty.
There's some lore surrounding this building but basically, somehow the blueprint was for a tall skyscraper and this skinny four-story building was built instead. I got this image from here. Really, you should go check that website out.

I miss having to drive to Oklahoma City or Dallas/Fort Worth when we wanted to buy certain items (namely computer parts).

I miss the tree-lined streets where we lived.

I wish I had checked out all the fun places I wanted to when we lived there. I was always too busy and pushed it off for another day. Maybe one day we'll go back and visit. Ooh, I can't wait!

A Picturefull Post

I was finally able to have my camera cooperate with me, so here are some random pictures from the past few weeks.

This first one was taken after my husband complained that our son never would fall asleep on his chest. I took this as proof that his statement was incorrect. I love that he's so out of it his arm is just limp to the side! CUTE!

Next we have proof that not only is my son long and skinny, it is true that he cries. Or in this case, screams his head off.

Here's a picture of me right after getting my hair cut, highlighted and permed. It's not the best picture, but it gives the idea. You should also know that this is me 30 pounds lighter than when I gave birth!! Only many more to go.

Here is one of our son's favorite places to sleep. He loves to be almost smothered up against anything, in this case he's between the back of our couch and my boppy pillow. He was totally asleep until I forgot that my flash was on. Oops.

This was after his first bath to show how crazy his hair gets, it stands up all over right after a bath.

And again, more proof that my son does cry. I think it's so cute when he's mad that sometimes I'll kiss him tons when he's like this...which just makes him cry more. You can't say he's not loved.

I LOVE the spring time! After being cooped up in the house for days I finally went outside for something and noticed how gorgeous it is. These are the trees in front of our house. I love it when everything is in bloom and I loved being pregnant and not being allergic to any of the pollen!!

This is again more proof that our child does fall asleep on my husband. It was too cute to not take a picture!!

Have I said how much I love my camera?! It's true I really do, I always have so much fun playing with all the different settings. We also love our love sac and of course love the child asleep on it!!

These last two pictures were taken at the Dallas Temple which was in the most gorgeous neighborhood!

Proof that mom was here. She was the first of our families to hold the little guy. You all should be jealous. The next family member to hold him will be my dad and I'm pretty sure the Kid's cheeks will be red from all the kissing.

3 reasons...

...That I'm Apprehensive To Open Our Door.

*Now mind you that this list has just been composed while in Texas and at our rental house. And these are all true events.*

1.) The Sheriff. I had the opportunity to open our door and to find the Sheriff standing there with an arrest warrant!! Thankfully it was for the guy who lived in the apartment out back and not for either of us. Or maybe I shouldn't be so thankful that the Sheriff was on the lookout for the man who lived just feet away from us.

2.) An FBI Agent. He actually flashed his badge at me! Although really I would have had no idea if it were a fake. So what do I do? I invite this man into my house while I'm home alone. Not my brightest moment. Thankfully he declined and stayed outside while I gathered the necessary information. Turns out he was looking for the previous renters, neither us nor the landlord knows what happened to them.

3.) The Crazy Lady. Or I should say the Crazy Couple. This one happened much more recently.

No one is currently living in the back apartment and so we have a For Rent sign in our front lawn. People are supposed to call the number to get in touch with our landlady but of course no one does that, instead they come to the door looking for information. Unfortunately for them I have no information to give; I don't know the rental amount of the apartment, nor have I been inside to see what it looks like. Until recently I didn't even know how many bedrooms it had. And I don't even know how to get in contact with our landlords because Stephen takes care of all of that for me.

Anyway last Tuesday I was busy getting ready for my appointment and Stephen was supposed to be home any minute in order to take me. I heard the doorbell ring like a million times in two seconds (as if by a young child who likes to push buttons) and figured it was Stephen being silly. Then he knocked on the door rapidly and so I rushed to get it before he woke the baby. Much to my surprise an elderly white woman in her pajamas combing her hair greeted me at the door.

She stuck her comb in her hair and then proceeded to talk to me. Apparently she lives down the street and is having issues with their rental house. I told her to call the number on the sign because I really couldn't help her as we are not the landlords. Instead of taking my advice she asked if she could come inside to see what our house looked like. Ummm, no. Here's a little snippet of our conversation.

Crazy Lady:"You know down by where the prison is?"

Me: "Umm, nope I don't"

CL: "Well the prison is named after my great-great-great-daddy."

Me: "Umm, ok."

CL: "Can I use you as a reference?"

Me: "Umm, no."

It was at this point that my child starts crying and I had to close the door and leave.

Later on her husband came and spoke to Stephen. I have no idea what was said but he knew from their conversation that he was married to the afore-mentioned Crazy Lady.

Saturday rolls around and after answering the door multiple times to possible renters (thank goodness we won't be around for that long) Stephen came hurrying to the bedroom to tell me that the Crazy Couple was coming to our door. After a quick assessment we deemed it best to not answer the door again. Again they rang the doorbell and knocked on the door repeatedly. Honestly, that is not the best way to get someone to open their door. When we didn't come to the door they continued to knock and ring for quite some time.

Finally they stopped and we went to the window to see them standing in our front yard plotting their next move. Again they came to knock and ring and when that proved unfruitful they decided to go around our house tapping on the windows!!! I was certainly creeped out and it didn't help that the lady was drinking her beer the whole time.

They soon left and came back to mow our lawn. As he was mowing the lawn she proceeded to knock on the windows and doors.

Later we heard a man near our door say, "No, I'm not going to do that." And we witnessed the mail man walk to the next house. From what we gathered she asked him to knock on our door! When he refused to do that she decided to knock on the door herself yelling, "Mails here, come open your door!"

They finally left and needless to say I was glad we have a storage of food to outlast the crazies who come to the door.

Fun Houses

After my appointment on Thursday and after we fixed the flat tire, I decided to drive around taking pictures of the fun houses nearby. These were taken near and in the historic district by where we live. I'm not going to comment on every single one because there's so many but I wanted to show them off.

I like the above one because it reminds me of Arizona, but it's definitely one-of-a-kind out here.

Now this next one is right by where we live, and I really like the look of it, I just think it's cute.

Now there are plenty of these types of houses all over, the run down very dilapidated homes. It always amazes us to see that people live in some of the homes that look uninhabitable. This one is just down the street from us.

Our City

It is my goal to go around town taking pictures and posting the stories about them here. I really enjoy living here and I want to remember all the reasons why. For some reason I have this issue stating the name of the city where we live. I guess that way no one can just google the city and up pops my blog. I don't have the same issue using my name or Stephen's whereas the rest of my family does and have given their family code names like Pollyanna. But I just can't say the city name. I'm sure I've said it somewhere on here and I am equally as sure that you could find out if you did some searching but trying not using it makes me feel better.

Here's the first picture. This is actually the building where Stephen works (from behind anyway). It used to be an auditorium and now it houses the city offices.
It is located in the downtown area and one thing that I love is how the freeways seem to fly right up next to some of these tall buildings. I'll have to take pictures of some of the tall downtown churches that have their steeples literally feet away from the freeway. The freeway was put in through the downtown more recently and instead of bull-dozing some of the older buildings, it is just elevated above the street level. I remember growing up hearing about other cities that had done this and I just couldn't fathom it, to me it seemed like there were two "levels" of the earth but now I realize that it isn't that crazy.

I need to take more pictures of the downtown and tell some of the interesting stories, but on this little excursion I was more focused on some of the various home architecture. I love how different all of the houses are here and I much prefer it to the cookie-cutter developments that are all over Phoenix, there is just such a different feel to the neighborhoods here. I love this country-style blue house and only wish the porch was bigger!

This one is just cute, Stephen and I like the windows up at the top and there's a name for them I just can't think of it now.

Here's another one with the fun windows and the big porch. I would love to have a house like one of these some day. It is interesting to note that these three houses are all on the same cul-de-sac. The other houses nearby aren't as interesting and these are definitely my favorite.

Then I went to a newer, richer neighborhood in town, and while I didn't take any pictures of the houses, I did take a picture of the lake that runs through the community. This person has there own island on the lake with a bridge that goes over to it. When Stephen saw this he knew we would have to have one someday!

Our City

Where we live is basically a big rural-ish city. At least compared to where else I've lived. Not to bash it or anything because I really do love it here, but there are just a few things that make me chuckle.

For starters it drives us nuts to watch the news programming here. The anchors are continually stumbling through their lines and the picture quality is sometimes ridiculously bad. Don't even get Stephen started on the commercials.

It's the biggest rage to advertise for your mom and pop business by having your children on the commercial. Not just visible, but they are the ones who do all the taking. I don't know if the owners of the businesses are aware that just because THEY understand their children doesn't mean that the rest of us do. Sure it's cute to see your children, but if I can't tell what your store sells chances are I will not be shopping there.

Living so close to Oklahoma there are many casinos nearby (on the Indian reservations). Many of these are tiny casinos and so their ads are equally as entertaining. Just the other day I heard one that proclaimed it had "the only escalators in Lawton!" (or anywhere nearby for that matter). And it's true. But would people go there JUST to see the escalator? Maybe.

It is also interesting to note the lack of some predominant food chains. As I've said before there isn't a Panda Express or a Cold Stone Creamery. Instead we have several McDonald's and Braums'. Just after Christmas we got our first Jack-in-the-Box. Everytime we drive by the parking lot is completely packed, and the drive-thru line stretches beyond the parking lot. Night or Day that place is THE Hot Spot in town.

Because many of my family (and those who read my blog) have never been out here, nor will they ever be out here. I am taking it upon myself to educate the rest of the world about our little paradise.

Ice Storm

So like I said we've been having ice storms which are really no fun. It's really new to me and I find it quite interesting. I've been in snow before but I've never LIVED in it (at least that I can remember) and I'm so fascinated by it! I've only driven in the snow once before and I ended up scratching our rims so who knows when I'll be trying it again. I provided some fun ice pictures.

It was so weird having everything be closed for so long. Outside it was dead quite and the only sounds you could hear was the falling ice or the police sirens going to an accident. I didn't venture outside with how sick I have been (minus the taking of the pictures, but I stayed on our massive porch for a few minutes before running back inside), but Stephen said that the roads were DEAD.

I'm still sick but luckily it has nothing to do with the pregnancy. I have a massive cold that I just can't shake. I'm taking so much medicine but I just feel like a mucus producing machine. I can't really talk to anyone on the phone because it agitates my throat too much and I'll get into a coughing fit. I've decided I'm going to abstain from talking for as long as I can. This will be quite difficult for me as I talk/sing to myself all day long, but I am terrified of making my throat any worse. We'll see how long my silence can last!

Trip to Corpus Christi

Stephen had to go down to Corpus Christi for work training and I decided to tag along. We were supposed to go to Galveston earlier for another work related event, but Hurricane Ike hampered that one. Thankfully we were not down there while a hurricane was visiting. The drive down was sooo neat, we had not been any farther south than Ft. Worth/Dallas, and we were able to see Waco, Austin, San Antonio, and ultimately Corpus Christi. While traveling through Waco (I think) we were stopped from getting onto the freeway by this HUGE motorcycle group. The line probably stopped us for twenty minutes and we came maybe halfway through. Neither Stephen or I had ever seen this many motorcyclists at once. We finally made it to Corpus Christi and found our hotel that was RIGHT on the beach, so we knew we had to immediately check it out. The U.S.S. Lexington is in the background.

The next morning Stephen was nice enough to bring me breakfast in bed. Turns out I was suffering from Pregnancy Heartburn. I was miserable all Monday until we got some medicine. So I just had to suffer and stay in the hotel room and watch movies and T.V. all day. It was rough I tell you. But here's what I had for breakfast...

Yep...a Texas shaped waffle. It was delicious. The next morning I was feeling sooo much better and was praising modern medicine the rest of the day. I decided to venture out and explore the beach on my own. I was going to take the car, but after I experienced the roads down here I decided I was better off exploring on foot.

It was warm but overcast the whole day.

Here's proof that I was at the beach!

It was super windy, but I loved how tropical it looked. Because it was the off-season I really had the entire beach to myself which was sooo relaxing.

I was bummed that it was so windy because I had actually curled my hair which I haven't done in forever, only to have it get ruined by the windy beach, so I attempted to take a picture of the curls before they disappeared. Apparently I need help with my aim.This store was really neat. Many of the structures are up on stilts so that the storms don't totally damage them. The entrance is through the shark, how cool is that! I found these cute shirts that were waaay overpriced but cute nonetheless.

As I left I thought it would be fun to show what it would look like to be stuck in a shark.

I walked up to the U.S.S. Lexington.This is the bridge that we had to take to get into Corpus Christi, I loved the way it looked and loved driving over it because you could see so much from up there.There were tons of cute shops between our hotel and the Aquarium.That night we went driving by the shore line. A storm was starting to come in and I don't think I've ever been in winds that fierce before. The water was raging like crazy. We drove down to some piers and saw this old wooden life-size replica of the Nina. It was much smaller than I imagined it to be and to think that their voyage would have taken months just was unbelievable. We promised to come back in the morning and take a picture, but we never made it back.

The next morning the storm had mostly disappeared leaving the seas oddly still. But the temperature dropped to around thirty degrees! We tried seeing the beach once more but were driven inside by the weather.We then headed back and stopped in San Antonio for some sight-seeing. It is now my favorite city ever. I wish we could live there. Our plan was just to see the Alamo and then to find the river walk which Stephen had heard about. We parked super far away so we didn't have to pay so much and then trekked it to the Alamo. (I think I should win the blog walking club that my sisters are doing. Between this day and when I walked along the beach I think I've beat everyone ;) Stephen even woke up this morning sore from all the walking we did in San Antonio. ) We were so glad we parked far away because we got to see so much more of the city that way. And as we were walking we found the river walk.

It is super gorgeous, basically they've taken the river that flows through the city and instead of leaving it alone, they made walkways down below the street level so you can walk right along side of it. Then we discovered the better portion of the River Walk. There were tons of Restaurants who opened up into the River and were gorgeously decorated. They had several stories and walking along the River was amazing. It reminded me of Disneyland, but I would guess that Disneyland got their idea from places like this.Here we are River level.There were even boats that would come along and give tours and such. And this is all right in the middle of the downtown area.Finally we came to the Alamo. I always imagined it to be in the middle of nowhere, but it's in the middle of the downtown area as well. Our trip was absolutely fantastic, and now I'm ready to head to Phoenix...two more days!!

Oh and I realize that I promised pictures of my growing belly, but it is hard to take pictures of myself. All the ones of me are on Stephen's camera. That's the only downside to having us both take pictures with our own cameras :(