Picture Perfect

Avery was taking a break from the sun. We loved this picture of her! This is a framer!

Family

Here's a family pic taken at the surfside beach. That was a super fun day! We met the Bergers, their neighbors and my brother and his girlfriend there. At the end of the day we had a campfire and had s'mores for the kids. Fun Fun!!

Nelson Art

My husband is always thinking creatively! We are getting this in a big black and white print to frame and put in our stairwell. We are all about the beach and water so thought this would be cool as a decorative piece in our house. This was a fun day at the beach as well so every time we look at this print we'll remember the day.

The Crew!!

This looks like so much fun! I can't believe they got that many people on that boat!

"Ahhhh....what a life"

Ave relaxing at camp mimi! Looks like Miss Diva!

Crazy Kids at camp Mimi

Kids posing crazy at camp mimi!

Camp Mimi - The Kids

Here's a recent pics of Avery and her cousin's at Camp Mimi. John's Mom (Mimi) takes the grandkids for a week every summer to go camping. This year they went to Kerville on the river. They had a blast! From left to right: Maddie, Ian, Ellia, Avery and Jack.

John - South Padre - 8/29/08

Doug just sent me this picture of John a few minutes ago. They arrived in South Padre at 1:30ish in the morning and camped out. They said there is no surf right now so they are packing up their stuff to head to the grocery store. Then their on a mission to find a good surf and fishing spot.

Avery's 1st Day of 3rd Grade!

Here's a cell phone pic of Avery this morning. Today is her first day of 3rd grade and she was extremely excited! Apparently she has a really cool teacher and she knows most of the kids in her class already....so....today is no sweat for her. It seems like just yesterday she was in kindergarten...time sure does fly!!!

Jules N' Mimi

Here's a picture of my mother-in-law (Mimi) and I at Bronwyn's shower. I couldn't have gotten luckier in the M-I-L department! She loves me, I love her and I'm very lucky to have her in my life. What I like most about Mimi is that I can talk to her like a friend and she has always made me feel so welcome and loved in her family.

Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer

My friend Amy was right! This is an awesome series of books written by Stephanie Myer (http://www.stephaniemeyer.com/). It's basically a love story between a girl and a vampire. Sounds kind of wierd, but it's really awesome. You get all the feelings when you read this book: romance, suspense, nervousness, anger...etc. When you read it, you really feel like you are a part of these characters. It's hard to keep my attention in a book unless it's really really good...and I can't put this book down! Here's the order of the series...I suggest you go buy them now if you haven't already!

1) Twilight 2) New Moon 3) Eclipse 4) Breaking Dawn

One more thing to add...there is a movie coming out in December for Twilight...so you must read it before then!

Favorite Moments

John at Willie Nelson Concert

This is a pic of John at the Willie Nelson Concert. I had a group of about 15 people (kids and adults) go to this concert for my birthday celebration. It was one of my most fun celebrations yet! If you weren't there...you missed out on a good concert and good times...there's always next year!

Ray Lamantagne Coming 10/23 - Houston

If you have never listened to Ray Lamantagne, you are missing out. He's one of the best music artists I've ever listened to. His voice will give you chills. His songs tell stories that really make you think and he can belt it out like no other. It's hard to describe his music so I just encourage you to go listen to some of his music on http://www.pandora.com/ or you can check out his website http://www.raylamontagne.com/home.php.

By the way, he's coming into concert on 10/23/08...I think I just might have to get tickets! He's also playing in Dallas on 10/24/08

John John

This is my favorite picture of John...probably because he's making a normal face for once. Like I said in an earlier blog, he rarely gives me a real smile. The night this pic was taken, we went to watch Avery in a parade at Twilight Camp for Girl Scouts ~2007~

Tricia, Lori, Jules

The girls came up to see Lori for her birthday weekend in Corpus Christi. We had so much fun at the beach, at Lori's bungalow and our crazy night out! I vow to have many of these kind of weekends from this day forward. I love being home and I also love getting away and bonding with my favorite female friends now and again! Some things just can't be said with boys around...

Avery and Sister Isabelle

Here's a picture of Avery and her little sister Isabelle (from her Mom's side).

Brothers

I love this picture. This is my husband John and my brother Paul hugging at our wedding. These two have been friends since high school. These two were already the best of friends before we got married so it was cool making them brothers once and for all, since that's what they considered each other anyway. There are very few people my husband gets giddy about seeing, and Paul is one of those people. I just love that.

July 4th 2008

Here' s a pic of John and I July 4th, and of course once again he could not be serious. If you make him pose for a picture, 9 times out of 10 he will make a goofy face. This is proof of these statistics!! We went to our great friends Doug and Brandy Berger's house where we did fireworks out the wazoo! You should have seen the cul-de-sac when we were done! eek! Good times...good times...

Edinburgh Castle

At the end of May my company sent me to Scotland for two weeks. I have to admit I felt like I was on vacation more than I was on a business trip. We did accomplish all we set out to do (business-wise) but we also got in lots of play time. We were lucky to be there through a weekend, which allowed us to take a train to Edinburgh for the day. That was amazing. Edinburgh was beautiful, especially from the very top of the Castle where we could see the entire city and ocean. Such an amazing experience. I also enjoyed the train ride in itself. All you see the whole time from Aberdeen to Edinburgh is coastline and rolling green hills. Breathtaking!!!

Surboard In Flames

This is an older surboard that John made. I like this one a lot! He gets better at graphics every time he makes a board!

John's Latest Creation....more photos

John's Latest Creation

Now that the surboard shop is finally complete John is back to one of his favorite hobbies, making surfboards. This isn't a very good photo, but hopefully you can at least tell it's a surboard! The plan is for him to start selling some of these boards so we can make back some of the money we spent building the shop and buying supplies. Either way, I always encourage him to keep up with this hobby because I know how much he loves it. This hobby allows him to use so many of his talents...working with his hands, sculpting, painting, drawing...I personally could never make anything this cool!!!

Cindy Loo Who

Avery as Cindy Loo Who for school. John and I were proud of our work that day. It was teamwork getting her hair to look like that. What's the secret? There's a water bottle on top of her head!

Avery, Ellis and Destiny

Avery, Ellis and Destiny July 4, 2007. The girls were wearing pink for a performance they were giving the adults that day.

Tough Avery

Avery was putting on her tough act for Ian's rambo birthday party last year. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of scared of her looking at that face. :)

Uncle John and Elizabeth

Does Uncle John like dolls? Originally I would say "NO", but when Avery made Uncle John hold Elizabeth, he did not refuse. Therefore I conclude Uncle John likes dolls!

Silly Ave and Silly Ian

This picture was taken a year ago (July 4, 2007) of Avery and Ian (my other Nephew). Sometimes I think Avery has just as much fun or more fun playing with Ian than she does with the girls. They make a good team!

Pretty Avery

This is one of my favorite pictures of Avery taken the day of our wedding. She was the only one standing in our wedding so it was extra special for her. I wanted to emphasize not only John and I joining together but also three of us becoming a family. It was a great day!

Diva

This picture totally cracks me up!! Avery was watching TV with her dad one minute and the next minute she was conked out cold with her eye mask on. John came and got me from downstairs just to take a picture of this. Now that's what I call a Diva!

John and Avery

This is an older picture taken just before John and I got together. I always love looking at this pic. Avery looks so sweet latched on to her daddy and you can tell how happy she makes John.

Pretty Patricia

This is my sis-in-law Patricia. Isn't she beautiful? Not only is she beautiful, she's naturally beautiful! I know very few people that look this good with hardly any make-up on. It kind of makes me sick to my tummy to be honest. :) On top of that, she's also beautiful inside too. I won't go on and on about how great she is because I did that in an earlier blog. We always tell each other that we should have been friends all our lives because our friendship was just meant to be. I actually met Tricia years ago when Jennifer and John were getting married. I met her at a shower and then again at Jennifer's bachelorette party. She and I had more fun hanging out together than we did at the actual party. Years later we got reaquainted when I started dating John and the same thing happened again. Friends instantly! I think she was always meant to be in my life.

My Husband

This is my very handsome husband, John. John is a wonderful person, which makes him a wonderful husband. He's devoted, sweet, caring, loyal as all get out, smart, funny, talented and deep. Now no one is perfect, but this guy is perfect for me. He gives my life more purpose. I love having a live-in best friend, partner, someone who keeps me in check, somone to laugh with, cry to, make mistakes in front of, someone to take care of. We grow every day as independents and together in our relationship. I make mistakes all the time and so does he but the beauty of it all is that we learn, we forgive, we support each other, respect each other, encourage each other and no matter what...we will always be together until literally...death do us part.

Spinning

What you see in this picture is a person taking a spin class. These are indoor cycles that are like no other. It's an aerobic excercis where you pedel while listening to motivating music and the instructor talks you through a vizualization of an outdoor cycling workout. They tell you when you are going up hill and downhill, they make you crank up the tension, pedel while standing up, surge (go real fast), etc. During a 50 minute class you typically burn between 300 and 500 calories, depending on how hard you work. This is why I love spinning!! I have tried so many workouts and never really get in to any of them. But for some reason, I really enjoy this one. The motivation is knowing how many carlories you can burn in such a short time. Oh...and you can get these really cool spinning shoes to wear that really enhance your workout. Come on...try it!!!

Kids Are A Blessing

This is a picture of my two neices Ellis and Maddie (on the ends) and my step-daughter Avery in the middle. I love all the girls so much! Ellis and Maddie are the same age. I've been watching them grow up for awhile, which seems to be happening very fast! They are both extemely smart, sweet and deep thinking kids. I almost forget they are kids when they are around because their intelligence is so high that they can keep up with any conversation. If I were their age, I'd look up to them! Avery is the youngest and she's one of the people in my life that keeps my heart beating. My life took on more meaning when she became a part of it. Being a stepmom can be hard at times for so many reasons but in the end it is so deeply rewarding. I didn't get to change her diapers or rock her to sleep, she will never call me mommy, I'm not always the first person she turns to when something's wrong, and I have to share her with 3 other parents...but that's okay...what's wonderful to me is that we have our own special relationship. She's a friend, a companion, someone to take care of, she loves me, respects me and enjoys being with me. I get to watch her and help her grow her entire childhood. I can teach her the things I have done wrong and right so she knows how to make good decisions as she gets older. Having a young person in your life, whether they are yours or not, is definitely blessing. I think you learn just as much from them as they do from you. There are a million reasons why I'm lucky to be Avery's step-mom. And look how darn cute she is!!!

My Girls

These are 3 of my favorite people; Lori, Bronwyn and Tricia. The day this picture was taken I married into a very special family, and these people are in it. Lori and Tricia are John's sisters and Bronwyn is the cousin. Lori lives in Corpus Christi, Bronwyn in Houston and Tricia in San Antonio. I don't see these gals every day but when we finally get together, it's like I just saw them yesterday. All of us have completely different personalities but together we are a great mix and always enjoy hanging out. What I like most about these girls is that they are loving, sometimes brutally truthful, real, caring, so so funny, they love life, and they are very loyal. I consider these girls not just family, but my true friends. Now that's a deal!!!

Super Surfer and Boogie Boy To The Rescue

I love this picture of John and Jack, pretending to be surfer heros. Jack is one of my very cool nephew's. He's kind of a stinker sometimes but so adorable and sweet too. We always enjoy his company.

Just Getting Started

Welcome to my Blog!

I always like to document life, moments, pictures, etc so I thought I'd try blogging for a change.

If you don't find this blog interesting then it's real easy to click on the little x in your top right hand corner to exit. I promise I won't be offended. For those of you who choose to stay, I hope you will enjoy what I have to share.

"One of the best ways to educate our hearts is to look at our interaction with other people, because our relationships with others are fundamentally a reflection of our relationship with ourselves"