Fall in December

While we were in Missouri before Thanksgiving, our sister-in-law Christie asked when it begins getting cold in Texas. I told her around this time was when it got cold last year (beginning of December), but everyone from Texas was telling us that it was actually colder than usual last winter. This past week in Fort Worth has been in the upper 60's, and yesterday we set a record high of 83 degrees. I've had to open the windows in our house because it's been a little muggy.


Aparently now, we're experiencing Fall. Kevin and I have just started noticing the trees beginning to turn colors. Well...some of them. In the following pictures I took from our front yard, you will notice a couple of trees that have begun turning pretty Fall colors, but then others which are still very green. It's quite interesting to see this phenomenon just a couple weeks before Christmas. I think I'll sing the song, "It's beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving..."



But I for one am very thankful for the warm weather. I love to be able to walk outside in the mornings without a jacket on and not freeze. I bet before long it will get cold again, but I am definitely enjoying it!

The First Thanksgiving at Our House

This year was our first time to get to have Thanksgiving at our house. Since we were in MO for Teresa's wedding, we didn't stay all the way through the holiday. So we planned on having Thanksgiving at our house with our friends and neighbors, Tim and Jill from Tennessee.

Jill and I split the menu and each made several dishes of food and desert. I made the turkey for the first time ever. It was just a 5 lb. turkey breast, but it was enough for all of us and very tasty. We also got the use the last of our unused wedding gifts - an electric carving knife set. We never had a need to use it before until now. Kevin was the carver and did a great job. We were very thankful for that gift.

We spent a few hours hanging out with our friends, checking out what holiday sales would be going on the next day and watching a little football. But the guys soon had to work on some papers for class, so we parted ways. A little later after they left it started snowing outside. So weird!

Chris and Teresa Wedding ~ Nov. 17

Kevin's sister Teresa got married last Saturday, so we traveled up to KC for the event. We rented a little red Ford Focus (nerdy car) and took off. Kevin was feeling pretty sick (a cold) on Wednesday when we left, so I drove the entire way up - 9 hours (with stops)! But we made it throug OK and KS.
We stayed in a hotel for 3 nights. On Thursday Teresa picked me up from the hotel and we had our nails done, but not before making a brief stop at Starbucks for some joe and Walgreens for Kevin some kleenex and juice. After our nails we met Teresa's mom at the church to start decorating. That night we celebrated Kevin's dad's 60th birthday at an all-you-can-eat Italian buffet called Cenzetti's. It was really good, but not good enough for us to need a "tour" of the buffet. I think we can find the food ourselves!

Friday we finished up the last minute details at the church and had the afternoon to relax. Then the rehersal and dinner - at Ryan's, another all-you-can-eat buffet. I'm telling you, I gained weight after this trip!
The wedding was absolutely beautiful! I did my duties (Mandy) but fixing her dress without falling on my face, and not dropping the ring. Kevin did a great job in delivering the charge (he felt a lot better by Saturday).
After the wedding we went on to Lebanon so we could have some time to spend with the Offutt clan. I got to see my new niece Chloe. Macy and Anna loved their uncle Kevin. We had a good time in Missouri, but we're glad to be back in Texas.

The Sky in Texas

We always hear country songs about how big the sky in Texas is. We do see alot of really pretty sunsets, but I don't think we've done enough traveling to really see the huge sky. I think it's because Texas is so flat and has few trees that you see so much sky.

Kevin took these pictures of the sunset outside our apartment last night. They're really pretty. Enjoy!

keeping in touch

Welcome to our blog! We wanted a way to keep our friends and family updated on stuff that goes on in our lives in Texas. We thought this would be a fun way to post pics and updates on how school, work and life are going. Please share this link with others who ask about how we're doing so they can keep in touch with us, too. As we go along each week and month, we'll try to post more to this site. We especially wanted a good way to share photos with you.

Just as a quick update, Kevin is enrolled in classes at Fort Worth, Texas. We live in campus housing. Below is a pic of what our apartments look like.

Kevin is currently working at the physical plant on campus in the Support Services area. Mandy is working at David's Bridal and also one day a week for a photographer (http://www.hillarymorgan.com/).

We've made lots of friends from all over the area - Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Colorado, Texas (of course), and Missouri. We'll start taking their pics and posting them so you can see who they are.

That's basically what's going on right now. We'll keep posting stuff as time goes on. Send us a note and let us know what's going on in your world!