As you will see below, we went to a Costume Party last weekend and had a blast! We have been so blessed to have found a great church with great people that are becoming our very good friends! So, I hope you enjoy the pictures! :)
And tomorrow, we head to TX for the big Nascar weekend! For Chris' 30th bday, back in May, I bought him tickets to the race at the Texas Motor Speedway, so we head out on Wed night and will be in TX until Monday. We are very excited about the races, seeing fam and friends and getting away for 5 whole days (woohoo), so check back sometime next week for lots more pics from that (hopefully). :)
Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mario and the Pirate (kinda a weird couple, I know)

Close Up (this pic CRACKS me up)

Close Up (Gosh, Mario, your darn mustache is SO BIG!)

Jessica Simpson, Me, and an Old West Saloon Gal

Jessica's Better Half, Romo

Toby, the Ladybug...poor lil guy

the view from our friends' back yard, yep, it was love at first sight!

Lake Charles, Louisiana

We had a great weekend in LA with my sister, bro-in-law and my 2 nephews! We got to see both of my boys play football on Saturday, and then we went for a drive and saw a bit of the remaining destruction from the hurricanes. We also got to take a ferry (the trip was free and the distance was about 100 yards), and we saw some cool ships and tons of dolphins (that was really cool, but I couldn't quite catch the darn things on camera). We played some games throughout the weekend (including Chris getting demolished by my 10-yr-old nephew, Coby, on PS2's NCAA Football-heehee), watched the Cowboys LOSE :( on Sunday, went to church, etc. We had a blast and it was so nice to see my fam since it had been since 2007! :( We also got to see their new house which is huge and totally cool. Houses down there are so different from up here; plus, they live in an older neighborhood, so that makes a big difference too. We also had some yummy Cajun cuisine, too. So, that’s' the story and here are some pics....

Caden's game, he's the one with the stylish black socks ;)


Coby's game; he scored a TD!

sweaty boys in the car after games

just one of many turtles outside a wildlife refuge that was closed
an alligator (one of a few we saw), just chillin on the side of the road
Holly Beach, LA, what a GREAT name for a town! :)
trying to get the dolphins in the pic, but here's a cool boat that passed as we were waiting on the ferry
yes, Caden fell asleep in the car like this! heehee
Sunday morning before church and look what Chris convinces the boys to do ;) (he also got a lil play time in before they went to school on Mon morning; talk about a bad influence! :)
Aggie, their cat; she is SOOOOO CUTE!
Chris playing with AggieCajun for lunch! It was yummy! A lil different, but yummy!

Fam pics!

Aggie thwarting my attempts to pack! :)

Quick Update

Chris' unemployment FINALLY started coming in last week, so that was a HUGE blessing and now we can both breathe a lil easier! Chris has been working with one of his friends, installing windows about 1-3 days a week and that has also helped, financially. AND, after the slow season, it looks as though Chris might partner with his friend and do the windows thing permanently. We are still praying about it alot and don't want to close our eyes or ears to any opportunities the Lord has for Chris, but we are thinking that, perhaps, this is it.
As far as I go, I'm just working. I still really like my job but am hoping that I can start taking on more responsibilities soon and start working my way up. But for now, I am LOVING all the errands I get to run outside in the fresh air each day and the people I work with. This job has been such a huge blessing and at such a perfect time, too!
We're going to Lake Charles, LA this weekend to see my sister and her family. I am SO excited! It has been over 10 months since I have seen ANY member of my family, and we will get to see my 2 nephews play football on Saturday! So, if I cam actually functions over the weekend, I will share some pics with you sometime next week!
Love you all!

KC Pics

So, you do have to forgive me for taking over a week to post the pictures from our Kansas City trip. I have been sick (YUCK!) and am finally getting back to normal. So, here you are, just as promised....BUT I will post them in clumps, and these are just some INTRO PICS! :)

Union Station

This cool Crayola Restaurant that we did NOT get to eat at! :(

Arrowhead Stadium

This weird but cool-looking "temple" for some church.

This amazing-looking Chateau right by the Speedway

Kaufman Stadium, home of the KC Royals

Downtown KC

More to come....We had such a great time. We went to the Speedway, Cabella's, the Harry Truman Presidential Library, and the College Basketball Experience on Saturday. We had dinner at a yummy BBQ place that night and watched USC beat up on the Buckeyes. Then we wnet to the game and had a blast on Sunday. It was a very short trip but so much fun!

Pictures from NM as promised.......

chris with his nephews..SO cute!

yes, that would be our dog ON the jet ski!! she truly does take after her dad!

chris and his prized bag of chips that he always seems to have in hand AND Chris with Jenn, his older sis



jacob, filthy dog and the happy couple!

jasmine finally acting like a DOG, patti (chris' mom) tempting chris by getting way too close and making it way too easy to dunk her, and my baby driving the boat-isn't he cute???

That's it for now....perhaps more will follow, but if not, some from this weekend in Kansas City ill for sure follow soon!!!!!! :)