A Big Step Up

 A couple of months ago, Jonathan was looking at the Fry's Electronics weekly ad and saw that there was a discount on a DSLR Canon camera. Of course the ad was vague about what model it was so we went to check it out.

Reason #8,274 Jonathan loves living in Texas is we once again are close to a Fry's Electronics store.

While we've loved our current camera, it has many limitations. For example, the cameras we saw had sensors that are six times more sensitive to low light. We really liked what we saw and, thanks to Fry's awesome return policy, we decided to try it out. While we were at the cash register, the cashier noticed that the sales department gave us the wrong camera. Jonathan quickly did a comparison as we waited for him to get the right one and the real camera in the ad was better than the one we thought it was for. That was a very happy surprise.

A few days later, we took both cameras out to compare the two and it's easy to see why we now have two cameras.

This is our PowerShot camera.

This is our new DSLR camera.

The new camera picked up the colors in the sunset so much better! It's also really nice to have two cameras so we don't need to take turns as often. Jonathan likes zooming in on details and until we get a better zoom lens for our new camera he is happily using our old one.

We still are getting used to our new camera, but we love it and can't wait to get more lenses for it!

Visitors

Last month, my parents came out for a week long visit to Texas. It was a crazy busy week, but it was fantastic! A few months before coming out, my mom placed an order for a good thunderstorm while they were here and the forecast was perfect!

Monday afternoon, my parents flew in and we went out for some BBQ and check out the state capitol. I learned some fun facts that I didn't know like Texas has a part-time legislator that meets every other year. Also the capitol building is taller than the capitol building in Washington D.C. and is the largest of all the other state capitol buildings. It's also open until 8 PM on weekends and 10 PM on weeknights. If you go in the evening like we did, parking is free too.

On Tuesday, Jonathan went to work as usual but no one else was there so he came home and we played! My parents had the goal of seeing three temples during their visit, so we headed up to Dallas to see the temple there.

It is so much prettier in real life. Pictures don't do it justice at all!

I caught Mom & Dad taking a selfie together!

After the temple, we headed over to Fort Worth to see a real life cattle drive.

We got there just as it started.

After the cattle drive, we wandered around the area.

Texas has it's very own trail of fame. We saw many familiar names as we walked around.

We also checked out the Cowtown Coliseum next to the stockyards.

Sometime Jonathan and I will go to a rodeo here.

On Wednesday, we were invited to our friend's neighborhood 4th of July Parade. 

It was the real deal with a marching band and lots of floats.

We had plans to spend the evening with some old friends from Roseville and they live close to San Antonio. We decided to head down early to see the San Antonio Temple as well as the Alamo and River Walk. This was the first really humid day for them and as we were driving to our friend's house it turned into a big beautiful thunderstorm! When we got to our friend's house we hung out on the front porch and enjoyed the storm.

On Thursday, Mom and I hung around the neighborhood. I showed her some of my favorite stores including the 4 story Restoration Hardware. It was such an enjoyable day that I didn't take any pictures.

On Friday, Mom and I headed down to Waco. She's a big fan of Fixer Upper and the trip would not be complete without a visit to the famous Magnolia Market at the Silos. I have done enough research to know that going on the weekends is a terrible idea because it's crazy busy with lines that are reminiscent of Disneyland. Don't worry, it was still plenty busy!

 

The staff was very busy, but very helpful.

After shopping, we headed outside. It was really hot so while I waited for our pizza, Mom got us giant (must be Texas-sized) slushies.

A visit would not be complete without a picture in front of the silos!

Our next stop in Waco was to Harp Design Co. It's a cute little store with a lot of really nice products.

On our way back, I was able to do some digging and found a few of the houses in the area that had been on Fixer Upper. Since I've only seen little snippets of the show, my mom said that all of the houses were still in very good shape.

Saturday was another big day since Jonathan was around to play! We headed down to Houston to see the our third temple of the trip and then to Galveston to see the beach. It was a beautiful day with big fluffy clouds.

I fell in love with the Houston Temple both the building and the grounds. I can't wait to go back and go inside.

After the temple we drove past the Houston Space Center. Yet another thing Jonathan and I will need to check out on another day. We then headed down to the beach! Along the way, the heavens opened and it was pouring down rain for a few miles and then it was back to big fluffy clouds. The water in Galveston is a lot murkier than Mustang Island Beach, but it still felt great.

While we were enjoying the water, we saw another storm roll by.

I've never really seen pelicans flying around before. When they land on the water it seriously looks they are dive bombing as they crash into the water. They are not particularly graceful birds.

On Sunday, we went to church at our normal time of 8:30 AM. We were able to introduce my parents to a few people before we ran off to Primary. After we all had Sunday naps, we had dinner and watched the British Grand Prix together. Okay, it was mostly Jonathan and I that were watching it, but it was still on the TV.

On Monday, we visited Jonathan while he was at work and he gave us a tour of The Home Depot Technology Center. It was my first time there as well as my parents. I am really impressed with their office and the work that they are getting done there. They have very strict security and we had badges made up for us and lanyards for us to wear them. My dad asked if he could keep it since he collects keychains and lanyards. The security guard was nice enough to let him keep it. We all went out to lunch before my parents needed to get to the airport for their flight back. Fortunately, they got to the airport with plenty of time before their flight. Unfortunately, there was a big storm that delayed their flight for hours.

It was fantastic to spend an entire week with them so they could see a bit of Texas and our wonderful life here.

Sweet Sisters!

We have been spending quite a bit of time with the missionaries in our ward. From taking them out to dinner to visiting with them to seeing them at church, we've see them often. Not surprising, they like to visit where we live because it's an outdoor mall. Even though we've lived her for almost a year, we still haven't gone into every store. Well, the missionaries introduced us to their absolutely favorite store called Sugarfina.

We've walked past it many times, but never went inside. They told us about the delicious chocolates and gummy candies they have. Sister Eichelberger's birthday was earlier this month and her companion Sister Smith asked if I would help her with a birthday surprise by picking up a treat at Sugarfina. Of course I helped her and Jonathan and I finally visited the store. They did not oversell the quality and flavor of the treats.

I got Sister Eichelberger a fruit loops inspired candy bar. She was happily surprised with the gift and shared a bit with each of us. It was very rich chocolate and very delicious.

Sister Smith found out yesterday that she is being transferred to San Antonio this week and she asked if she could come by to say goodbye before leaving. I quickly responded for them to come over and then I ran to Sugarfina to get a farewell gift for her. Thankfully, we've talk about what some of her favorites are so I knew what to get her. That afternoon they came over after going to Sugarfina themselves since Sister Smith doesn't know the next time she'll be near one. Unfortunately, Jonathan had a meeting when they came over so he wasn't able to say goodbye to Sister Smith. 

These are my favorite!

Both Jonathan and I will miss her, but every time we walk past Sugarfina we'll be reminded of our sweet Sister Smith and Sister Eichelberger!

This Is The Life

I am a slow decorator especially when it comes to hanging up pictures. I come up with ideas and let them stew for months at a time before taking any sort of action. Well, just last week I finally hung up pictures above our bed. My original plan was going to involve a lot of pictures around our big "N", but last month I was going through a few boxes and found a print that says "This is the Life". It was perfect!

I decided to go with black and white photos because our bedding is already very colorful. I finally printed out a couple of our wedding photos. I had no problem picking out one for Jonathan and I let him pick the photo of me. Unfortunately, his first choice picture didn't crop down nicely but his second choice works incredibly well.

Our life and our marriage is by no means perfect partially because neither one of us is perfect. In spite of that, our life is wonderful because allows us room to grow as individuals as well as a couple and we still genuinely enjoy being around each other. Earlier this week I went out to breakfast with a friend and she thought that Jonathan and I were newlyweds when we first moved to Texas and she believed it because of how well we get along and how sweet we are to each other. I love hearing that. My mom still calls us the eternal newlyweds and it is my goal for us to retain that sweetness in our relationship. We've been through major and unexpected upheavals that could have broken us, but each time we held onto each other and overcame them together. That is one of the things that makes me say, "This is the life!"

I Can't Believe It

All of my family knows that I am not a morning person at all. I can't even pretend to be one. My bed is one of my favorite places to be. In spite of that, Jonathan and I decided in order to be more productive that we should start waking up in the 5 o'clock hour.

We just started this week and I slept through my alarm just this morning, but I did wake up just after 6 AM. I figure if I could do this for all four years of high school I can do it again. I was super productive yesterday and I see the benefits already. I just need to power through these first few days and get my body used to this new sleep schedule.

Also, I forgot how dark it is at 5 in the morning!

Number Three

I started my third bullet journal this month.

I filled up my second one much faster than my first because I used a different notebook. I prefer using dot grid paper instead of lined or grid lined paper. Luckily there are a few different companies that make notebooks with that type of paper. My first one was a Moleskine and while my second was a notebook that I got at the Erin Condren store in our neighborhood. The dots in my second notebook were farther apart and so I had to adapt my spreads from my previous notebook.

A lot of things that previously took up a single page now took two pages. It was nice to try out different ideas, but I wanted to go back to some of my smaller spreads.

I used to fit a week on a single page, but it took two pages for a
week in my second notebook.

My new notebook is a Leuchtturm1917 and I am very happy with it. The dots are closer together and the quality of the paper is much better.

I'm back to one week taking a single page.

There isn't much in this bullet journal yet and I can't wait to fill it up!

Currently Reading

I am currently reading Gone With The Wind and I absolutely love it! Jonathan and I watch the movie a few times every year and being able to see deeper into characters I already know well is fascinating.

I have a feeling that I will be reading and rereading this book for the rest of my life.