Endless Ramblings

Happy Thanksgiving!!

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:28:00 +0000

It's been three months since I last posted, so I figured I was due for a short briefing. I don't have any fun pictures to post, so that is why I have been putting it off for so long ;) I have had this week off of work, and it has been fabulous. I had a little bit of work to do, but I have been able to spread it out amongst other fun things. Like....I ordered myself some UT Longhorn license plates for my Jeep and went to go pick them up this week :)!!! Now my car is officially the way I want it!! Then I drove down to campus and tried to find a UT vs A&M shirt that the Texas Exes usually sell during this week. I parked and walked around campus for a few minutes trying to find their display....I didn't find it. But, it was so fun to walk around campus again and feel like I was back in school. I ventured into the Co-Op and bought a generic UT shirt instead....I would one day love to add up all the money that I have spent in the Co-Op on t-shirts and various UT paraphinalia (spelling???) During my first year at UT, I would stop in the Co-Op during long breaks in between classes. I think I bought more burnt orange shirts that year than anyone should ever be allowed :) I love it!! This week I was also able to put up all of my Christmas decorations and bake some goodies. I made snickerdoodles, pumpkin bread, and my mom's jello pudding double layer pumpkin pie. It was fun! I love to bake, but I never have the time or engery to do it! I have read one and a half books so far! I am currently reading "The Lost Symbol" By Dan Brown. He is the one who wrote The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons. They are all very fast reads. Tomorrow Chris and I are headed to San Antonio to have Thanksgiving with mom, dad, gramma, and grandpa. (and Jennifer's dog Abby). We will stay with them for one night, and they we will be moving to a hotel in San Antonio. One of our college friends from Concordia is getting married this weekend. So, we have the rehearsal/dinner on Friday night and the wedding on Saturday evening. It should be a fun weekend! Hopefully I will return from the weekend with some pictures to post...that is my goal! I hope everyone has a happy and fun Thanksgiving with their family/friends!!

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:25:00 +0000

We finally got around to painting the front door red, so now you get to see a picture :) I love the way it looks!!

Last weekend, Chris and I went to Galveston to visit the family before I have to go back to work. It also happened to be Jen's birthday, so we went to an Astro's game to celebrate. They lost, but it was still fun ;)

Take number two of this shot. Take number one is below :)

My family- I love the way they pose when you ask them to take a picture ;)

This picture was taken at Jen's graduation party in Austin.

Not much else has been going on lately. I start back to work on Monday, so I am feeling anxious this weekend as usual. Even though it is my third year in the same district, I have done something different each year. maybe next year I will be doing the same thing!! I hope things start off smoothly this year.

Also- we just sold chris' playstation on Craigslist and bought a Wii. I never played the playstation, but I have really gotten into the Wii. for those of you who haven't played, you should try it!! I love it!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Promised pictures

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:56:00 +0000

The friendly Vermont bears

Boston Harbor

me at the statue of Liberty (way in the background)

We got to sit in the 2nd Row :)

Times Square

The family in Vermont

Jen's graduation

All of the graduates

Ok....I finally loaded all of my pictures onto a shutterfly page. To view all of the pictures go to: http://www.lesandchrisphotos.shutterfly.com/

I also posted some selected pics on facebook :)

I am still sick with whatever I picked up in New York, but am at least feeling well enough to post something.

Our trip was wonderful. We started out in Boston, Mass. While in Boston we visited the Boston Harbor, Fenway Park, Quincy Marker, Faneuil Hall, Cheers, and took a two hour walking tour of the Freedom Trail. The freedom trail led us through such sights as: Boston Commons, the Boston Tea Party, where the Boston Massacre began, where the Declaration of Independence was read to the people, and through a very old cemetary where the following people are buried: John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams (there are pics of all of these hot spots on shutterfly). Chris' favorite part of the trip was definitely our visit to Fenway Park. The Red Sox were out of town, but we were able to take a guided tour of the park.

Our next stop was Montpelier Vermont. The first night we stayed in mom and dad's hotel. the second night we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast. This was my first experience at a bed and breakfast. The house had a cat named Boots who had to have weighed thirty plus pounds. She was my favorite part :) We awoke at 5:30 in the morning to the rattling of our bedroom door by boots. While in Montpelier we got to experience such things as Jen's graduation (yay for Jen!), going to the VonTrapp family lodge, and stopping at crosswalks so that pedestrians could cross. What a strange phenomenon!

Next stop was New York City. Our hotel was on Manhattan, about one block from Times Square. We really wore ourselves out in New York. We visited the following sites: Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Today Show lot, 5th avenue shops (Saks, Tiffany's, Trump Tower), Central Park, Radio City Music Hall, the Late Show with David Letterman (we sat in the second row!!!!), Grand Central Station,Wall Street Financial District, Ground Zero, the statue of Liberty, riding the subway, and various other things that seemed to have slipped my mind. My feet are currently covered with blisters!!! Our hotel room was the smallest thing I have ever stayed in! It consisted of a double bed that took up the majority of the room. There was approximately two feet of space on one side, and five on the other. (literally!!) The bathroom even had a 'dwarfed' bathtub! But, I cannot complain because of the great location and cheap price!!

I enjoyed everything about our trip! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to the east coast ;) oh, and I forgot to mention another highlight...I got to ride on a plane for the second time in my life !!!

Tease post

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:24:00 +0000

We are back from our FUN vacation. I promise I will post pictures soon...however, I am not going to do it today :) I am either extremely exhausted, or sick....or quite possibly both. I started getting a sore throat on Wednesday, but still had a great time despite feeling bad. Now, I think I am paying for it! I have so many pictures to post, and I will probably create a shutterfly account or something, because they won't all fit on my blog. Stay tuned for more details and pictures of our trip :) We enjoyed so many things from: Cheers in Boston, the beautiful scenery in Vermont, and going to the Late Show in NYC. (although I have no pics of the Late Show because NO cameras are allowed inside the Ed Sullivan theater...boo!!)

Pictures from my NEW camera :)

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:51:00 +0000

My four-year-old digital camera died over the 4th of July weekend. Chris took it apart (literally) and fixed it. However, he still decided to surpise me with a new camera for our anniversary! yay! My old camera was definitely out dated. It was not able to take 'action' shots because there was a delay of approx. five seconds between pushing the button and the picture being taken. My new camera is much faster, and much smaller.
Not much has happened of late. We finished the house....except, my new front door still has to be painted red for the finishing touch. It is currently white, and just blends in. I will post pics of the front of the house when the door is finished. Chris and I celebrated our two year anniversary by going out to dinner at the Oasis. We went there last year as well...maybe we are starting a new tradition?

How can you get a new camera and not take a picture of her????

the dining room

my new living room, with new wall/window

new wall-up close

the view of the doors/new wall from the outside (and blurry)

me pointing out the 'sunset' at the Oasis

The End :)

new windows :)

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:25:00 +0000

We are in the process of getting all new windows in our house. When we moved into the house, it had single-pane, alluminum windows. We quickly found out this winter that single pane windows do not keep the cold air out ;) So, we decided it might be time to put in some new windows :) (in the hottest part of the summer) we also decided to move the back door exit to the dining room instead. We used to have a sliding glass door in the living room. Now we have french doors that open into the dining room (onto tile floor, instead of carpet). Chris has plans to eventually put a deck in the back yard right off of the dining room

so as of right now, we have new doors in the dining room, two new windows, and half a wall in the living room. what's left is- two more windows, and the dry wall/texture in the living room. I am posting some before and after (in the process) pictures below :)

dining room before (with window on the leftt)

dining room after (the picture is too dark and doesn't do it justice)

living room before

living room in progress (and again very dark)

view from outside before

view from outside (in progress)

Summer Lovin'

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:29:00 +0000

It has been FOREVER since I last posted...but for a reason. I always feel like I need to post pictures with my blogs, and I haven't taken any pictures in a long time. So, I have felt like I have nothing to blog about.

I have been out of school/work for a couple of weeks now...and it is WONDERFUL. I am always worried that I am going to get bored really quickly, but I have found so many things to do :) I am helping to coordinate VBS at my church this summer, so that has kept me uber busy. I have been trying to figure out a cheap way to make t-shirts, and have been making posters to advertise the event.

Last week I went to Dallas to visit one of my best friends, Stephanie. She went to grad school with me in Dallas, and we spent A LOT of time together during our two years there. I am so happy that we have both been working hard to keep our friendship up. We talk at least once a week, and have been able to see each other every couple of months. While in Dallas, Steph and I got to visit our other friend, Krista. Krista got married several months before me, and just had a baby in February. So, I got the privilege of meeting Krista's baby, Gracie. She is beautiful.! However, it was slightly weird to see Krista with a baby. I am used to being around babies/small children, but none of my close friends have had babies yet. I still think of myself as too young to have children, so it was kinda surreal.

What else have I been up to?....hmm...I wake up, check my email/blogs/facebook, work out, work on VBS stuff, read, take a nap, and make dinner. That's about it...and its great!!

Jennifer is graduating from her master's program in July, and the whole family is headed up to Vermont to see her walk. Chris and I decided to make a vacation out of the trip as well. We will be flying into Boston,and will stay there for several days. Then we head to Vermont for graduation. Finally, we will drive to New york City and stay there for the remaining three days. Of all the states I have been to in my lifetime, I have never made it that far up the east coast. So, needless to say, I am VERY excited. We have booked our flights and hotels...but I still need to do some trip planning. I should probably get on that, since we are leaving in a few short weeks.

Next week (July 4th weekend) we will be going to San Antonio to spend time with Dad's side of the family. All of Dad's brothers and sisters will be there, and many of the grandchildren as well...so, hopefully I will have some updated pictures to post in the not so distant future :)

The worst hail storm...EVER

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Austin....more specifically, northwest Austin...even more specifically, our neighborhood, was recently hit by the worst hail storm I have ever experienced in my life. It was a Wednesday evening, and luckily Chris and I were both home from work already. The sky suddenly became black and small ice pellets began falling from the sky. Then within about one minute, golf ball size hail began pelting the ground, our house, and unfortunately, Chris' new truck. The entire lawn and street were completely covered with icey balls. If one didn't know better, it looked as if it had just snowed. The hail came down in golf balls for about five- ten minutes before letting up and completely stopping. The storm disappeared as quickly as it arrived. The storm damage left us with getting Chris' car repaired and a new roof on our house. Pretty much everyone in our neighborhood is getting a new roof. It looks like a roofing advertising lot as you drive down the streets. Hopefully the amount of money we get from insurance will cover the whole cost of the roof, including the deductible :) Not much else is going on in our world.....we are going to visit mom and dad for Easter, so maybe I will have some family pics from next weekend :)

Evan's First Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:11:00 +0000

As I sit here typing, it is finally Spring Break! Yay! I definitely needed this week off of work, if to do nothing else than rest. About a week and a half ago, I came down with a virus that I wouldn't wish on a single soul. It started with a simple rash on my hands and feet. It didn't itch, and only hurt when my shoes rubbed against it. I decided not to see any kids at work that day and went to the doctor to have it checked out. As it turns out, I had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. ugh! what an awful name! As that day progressed, I ended up getting ulcers on my tongue and on my inner lip. I could barely talk or eat for the next two days. Chris avoided me at all costs, and I was made to sleep on top of the cover :) Needless to say, I am better now. But, that was an awful way to spend an entire weekend!!
This past weekend was much more enjoyable. It was Evan's first birthday party. He turned one-year old on March 12th and we celebrated on Saturday. For those of you not in Texas, this past we have been having an unseasonably warm late winter. It had been in the 70s and 80s for a couple of weeks, until last Wednesday. We had a cold front come in that brought lots of rain. While we needed the rain, it didn't make for much of an outside birthday party on Saturday. I stayed outside for brief stints until my brother-in-law lit the outside fire pit. I am such a whimp that I won't even tell you what the temperature was that day :) The party was fun...Evan got LOTS of toys and clothes and was able to tear into his first cake.
Now I am spending the week relaxing, and catching up on extra work from last week. I would always much rather do work sitting on my couch than at work, even if it is spring break :) I hope you all are doing well !!

By the Grace of God

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:54:00 +0000

By the grace of God, many prayers, and lots of hard work...mom and dad's house is complete AND liveable! Dad and grandpa have been working non-stop since September to fix the house after it was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ike (see previous post with before pictures). Dad was able to finish the house this past week, and they moved in on Tuesday February 3rd. After the storm hit, I couldn't even fathom how long it would take for them to complete all of the work that lay ahead. There were many volunteers from various churches, along with much help from grandpa, (and endless hours on Dad's part) that made it all possible. It truly is amazing to see God's love and faithfulness through the help of others.

Chris, Jennifer, and I were able to make a weekend trip to Galveston to see the new house. It is beautiful! I am so impressed that it was done so quickly, and looks so professional! I have included pictures of every room in the house. Keep in mind that mom and dad haven't unpacked any of the few boxes that were in storage. They also haven't purchased any decorations yet, so it will look even more complete in the coming weeks.

Thank you for all of your constant prayers. They have paid off!! Thank you God for helping us all to see your handiwork, kindness, and blessings during a time of trial and devastation.

Love you all!!

The front door

view from the front door- notice there used to be a complete wall there...it was shortened to make the room more open

the new dining room

the living room

the living room from a different angle

the kitchen

kitchen again

bathroom

the new study- the desks haven't arrived from the store yet

the guest room

mom and dad's room

again

The teeth are out!

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:18:00 +0000

I was finally able to get my wisdom teeth taken out today. I have been trying to get this procedure done for over a month now. My dental insurance has really been giving a run for my money. They initiall denied any coverage for the procedure until they received copies of xrays. So, they were sent and finally received about a week ago. Once they got the xrays, they decided to completely throw my oral surgeons opinion out the window. My oral surgeon had decided that the procedure would be surgical because some of my teeth were impacted in the gums. But no, why would insurance belive the person who has been trough at least eight years of school. Instead they decided to only pay for 200 dollars of a very expensive procedure. So after many, many days of arguing with insurance, I decided to go ahead and get the procedure done and hopefully get more money reimbursed than what was originally projected.

So, I got my teeth (all four) taken out today. I actually slept pretty well last night, but I was very nervous this morning. I opted for the IV sedation, because I know I am a whimp when it comes to procedures like this. The last thing I remember is the doctor asking me if I wanted a Texas Martini. Then he injected the meds, and what seemed like five minutes later I woke up to Chris receiving post-op instructions. So, I have to say that the actual procedure was not that bad. I slept most of the mid-morning/afternoon and am now just laying in bed. I have been given an antibiotic and several types of pain killers. I am sticking with the IB profen right now and will bump it up if need be. As of right now (knock on wood) I am not feeling any pain. Lets just hope that this continues and I don't experience any of the possible complications/risks. Last time I had surgery I was one of the lucky estimated 4% to experience complications. Hopefully that will not happen this time. I guess thats it for now...if My cheeks puff up I will probably take pictures for laughter purposes :)
The end

The Christmas Story

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:11:00 +0000

So, I forgot to take pictures of my Christmas dinner table. Whoops! Everyone said that the food was edible, and no one has died yet...so I guess I did an acceptable job. Christmas was definitely a whirlwind..but worth it. We celebrated Christmas eve and Christmas morning with Chris' family. Then we drove back to Austin and celebrated Christmas evening with my fam. The day after Christmas Jen and I spent the morning/early afternoon exchanging items around Austin. Then Chris and I went down to San Antonio to spend a day with Grandma, Grandpa and my parentals/sister. It was definitely good to spend time with everyone, even if it was brief.

In other news, I have been spending my Christmas break at the dentists office. I recently found out that I have several (putting it mildly) cavities and I need my wisdom teeth taken out. Insurance didn't approve my wisdom teeth extraction in time to get it done before Christmas, so I have been getting some cavities filled instead. What a wonderful way to spend your Christmas break, right? For anyone who doesn't know, I am deathly afraid of the dentist. I have been only going to the dentist over the last several years for emergency situations. So, they would fix one or two teeth here and there...but I never took care of any preventative measures. So now I am stuck with fixing what I have been putting off since I graduated high school. Not fun!! I am scheduled to get my wisdom teeth removed on Jan 16th if insurance ever approves it.

Christmas was definitely short, but fun. I am glad I got to see everyone over the past couple of days. Now on to spending the rest of our budget on fixing my teeth :)

Abby opening her present

The above pics are of my nephew, Evan, opening presents on Christmas morning

New Traditions???

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:43:00 +0000

Chris and I are about to head to Temple to spend Christmas Eve with his family. We are going to church, and then coming home for a tamale dinner. Tomorrow morning we are opening gifts, eating lunch, and then coming back to Austin. Then, my family is coming over for Christmas dinner and more gifts. Who is making this dinner you might ask? Well, me. I know, I think it is humorous as well. I have already made the turkey because I won't have time tomorrow...it looks edible, and smells pretty good too. On tomorrow's agenda is making the mac n cheese, stuffing, and green beans. I conned mom into making the rolls...one less thing on my list. I will hopefully have some pictures to share with you guys come tomorrow...

I hope everyone has a very, merry Christmas!! I love you all!

My Christmas Tree

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:17:00 +0000

I have quickly discovered that updating my facebook status now requires me to update other things as well. So demanding!! (just kidding) Anywho...this picture doesn't do the tree justice. It makes the corner it is sitting in look very bland in this picture. But, I think it is pretty in real life and that's what matters- I suppose
Thanksgiving updates- I forgot my camera in Austin, so I have no pictures to share. BOO!! But, it definitely was a great time. I think the final head-count was 31 people. It was good to see everyone. I am so thankful to have such a big, caring, funny family. Thank you God that we all have each other even in the face of material destruction. The end

Galveston update

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Sam says I am overdue for an update- so here it is. I have been really busy at work of late and have been exhausted at night, so I have been neglecting my blog. This past weekend Chris and I went to Galveston so he could help dad with the house. I was able to take pictures of the house at it is now if you guys want to see them. It was definitely surreal walking through the house. It is all basically one big room now, since it has been ripped down to the studs. I walked into my old bedroom and almost lost it. But, on the bright side- Mom and dad are really blessed that they are able to live in Jenn's apartment. There are many people in Galveston who are a lot worse off. I hope everyone is doing well and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I miss all of you Nebraskians. Hopefully I will have happier pics to share of Thanksgiving when we get back from Dallas.

In mom and dad's room-looking into the kitchen

The living room-filled with kitchen cabinets

Looking into the garage

The hallway

Mom's 50th Bday

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Hooray for Mom! We were all able to get together on Sunday and celebrate Mom's 50th birthday. We met mom and dad in Gruene and had dinner at the Gristmill. It definitely was a nice relaxing moment in a time of many stressors. Happy Birthday mom, you are the best! I love you so much and am so blessed to have you as my mother!

A few pics of mom/dad's house

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:36:00 +0000

The front of their house- doesn't look too bad. Mom lost her car because the water was up to the console on the inside.

This boat is not supposed to be there.

These boats were thrown/floated onto the highway on the way onto the island

One of the spare bedrooms, you can see the water line on the bedspread

This is my old room. The chest was turned over, and you can see the water line again. The floors are covered with mud and dad said they are buckled in many areas as well.

This is a blurry pic of the kitchen, I included it so you could see the amount of mud on the floor

This is a peek of our street.

Dad and grandpa went back down to Galveston today to clean up. They took some of the fallen trees out of the yard and sprayed all of the walls with bleach to help prevent the mold from spreading even further. The insurance adjuster is supposed to come take a look at the house tomorrow morning. Mom and dad will be living in jennifer's apartment until their house is liveable. That's pretty much all the updates for now. We are all taking it one day at a time and putting everything in God's hands.

I can do all things through Christ....even rebuild!

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:11:00 +0000

Hurricane Ike has come and gone, but the devastation in Galveston is long-lasting. The pictures that I have seen are engraved in my mind. Every picture and story I hear touches my heart in a different way. To see buildings and houses that have been a part of my life for so long, that are now nothing but a pile of rubble, is hard to comprehend. We have hard several reports on that status of my parents house, but don't know which one is true. According to some, we had at least 1-1/2 feet of water in the house (and maybe my mom's car-which is in the driveway). The mayor suggests that power won't be restored for another month and that the island won't be 'liveable' until Christmastime. The city officials allowed a 'look and leave' today for residents to go to their houses and assess the damage-but they had to leave the island by 6pm. Well, too many residents came to the island and the plan did not go as anticipated. So, now we are back to no one being allowed on the island until further notice. Mom and dad are currently in San Antonio and Jennifer, Abby, and Alley-cat are with Chris and I. I am without words. Jesus, please be with all those who have lost everything-including houses, loved ones, and personal belongings. Please give us all the strength to rebuild and renew. We can do all things only through you, Lord.

Smurfs and Refugees

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:54:00 +0000

The weekend is here, and so are the refugees. The family showed up late wednesday night (early thursday morning) to avoid the traffic from the impending hurricane. Hurricane Ike is starting to hit galveston as I am typing. We are all watching the news reports of the water crashing over the seawall. We are constantly praying that everyone will be safe and houses will still be intact come Sunday morning. I have posted some pictures of the aftermath at my house as well as a long awaited picture of my mom with her blue 'smurf' casts. I failed to mention in my blog that my mom fell in the kitchen several weeks ago and broke both of her arms....she has been in double casts ever since. My wonderful aunt sam has been begging me to post a picture of her pretty arms...so without further ado...

Labor Day Weekend in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:02:00 +0000

The weekend was most definitely full of fun events....but not relaxing. Chris and I started the weekend by tailgating before the UT vs Florida Atlantic game. Then we went to the game...the seats this year should have come with kleenex to wipe our nose bleeds. Mom and Sam would definitely not have been able to sit in our seats...we were about 4 or 5 rows from the top in the highest section. The air was thinner, but the view of the field was actually pretty good! The stadium is even bigger this year because they added another tier in one of the endzones...the total head count was 98,000 people.

Then on Sunday Chris and I along with many old college friends went to an all day outdoor concert. Very fun, but way too hot to be outdoors for 8 hours. Now its back to the grind....working is for the birds!

Happy Birthday Chris

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:33:00 +0000

We went out last night to celebrate Chris' 25th birthday a few days early. His actual birthday is this Wednesday, Aug 20th. We had a fun time hanging out with friends! In other news, I start back to work tomorrow....and needless to say I am very anxious. Having the summer off was great, but this last week of anticipation was not so much fun! I know it will be fine....but would I be myself if I didn't worry about things to come?

Fences and Phones

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:50:00 +0000

This past Saturday Chris, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law undertook the big task of putting in a fence in our backyard. When we moved into our house, the backyard was open to the park behind our house. It was nice to have a nice, open yard (pretty unusual in Texas), but Chris and I quickly became irritated with the amount of foot (and bicycle) traffic through our yard. So, we called a fence company who quickly told us that it would cost $1500 dollars to put a fence along the back and one side of our yard. Yeah right! You don't know the Locketts! So, Chris and his family decided to complete the task themselves. I had full confidence, they really are a jack of all trades family. All of the poles were successfully put in place, and so far the back of the yard is complete!! yay! All that is left is to put up the chain link on the right side of the house....but here is where the complications arose (at no fault to Chris !!)

I was sitting at home yesterday afternoon and saw a couple of guys snooping around the poles on the right side of the house. I went to the front of the house and looked out the kitchen window to see several ATT trucks parked in front of our house. Then....doorbell! The man at the door informs us that when digging one of the posts on the side of the yard, the auger (digging tool) hit the phone line. Whoops! Apparently, the whole neighborhood had been without phone (and cable and internet....for those who have ATT services- we are not one of those families) since Saturday. Now, like I said earlier...this was of no fault to chris. Last Monday before any of the undertakings took place, I called the Dial Before you Dig company to come out to our house and mark all of the buried cable lines. Well, the ATT man 'forgot' to mark the side of the house. So, we had no idea that there was buried cable running along the side of our house. Chris is actually lucky that he was not shocked by any other unmarked cables! How did they remedy the situation, you might ask? well, about an hour after the knock on the door a contractor came out and dig a 3 feet deep by 3 feet wide hole in the side of our yard. Then the ATT man spent the next five hours replacing the wires. Ugh! As I am typing right now, the contractors have returned to our house to fill in the hole, replace the fence post, and place some new sod on top. Luckily, since the event was not our fault, we don't have to pay for the digging and fixing costs. The ATT rep estimated that is would cost about 1000 dollars to complete...ugh! What a monday! I have posted a couple of pics of the hole as well as a pic of the completed back fence....the end!!

The infamous Hole!

The damage

The Fence in the back....sorry for the darkness!

Nebraska, Shreveport, South Padre, and Galveston

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:07:00 +0000

Mom and Aunt Sam

Cousin Natalie and Uncle Mark

Chris and I in Shreveport- he likes to botch my pictures

Me, Emily, and Stephanie in Galveston

Kate, Jennifer, and me in Galveston

I would like to say that I was able to visit all of the above places over the last three weeks...but that would be a lie. But, I did visit two of them and have some connection to the other two. For starters, my aunt, uncle and cousin came to Austin to visit me (just me and no one else...hehe) all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska. My aunt Sam wanted to see all of the famous Austin sights, but I wasn't very successful in this endeavor. During their trip I discovered that I am not a very good Austinite...maybe one day I will play tourist and discover all of the cool things that the city I live in has to offer. Then....the next weekend, Chris and I went to Shreveport to visit one my best friends. The weekend entailed a little gambling (in which we lost almost 100 dollars that could have bought me several outfits at Target) and some good time spent with friends. During the whole trip, the thing that got me the most excited was spotting cheap gas stations. The gas in Shreveport was almost twenty cents cheaper than it was in Austin, so I wanted to fill up every time we passed a gas station. When we got back to Austin, things were not quite as exciting. Chris' grandma had a heartattack and was put in the hospital. A couple of days later she was brought from Temple to Austin in order to undergo a procedure to remove the calcium from her arteries and put in a couple of stints. According to the doctors, one of her arteries was 99% blocked and another was 97% blocked. They were able to successfully complete the procedure and place 4 stints in her heart. They did the whole surgery while she was awake....kudos to her, because they would have had to strap me to the table!! She is now back in Temple at her assisted-living facility. It really is a miracle that her surgery was so successful!! Thank you, Lord! During this week of surgeries and time spent at the hospital, I began watching the news about Hurricane Dolly that was heading for the Texas coast. It wasn't heading towards home, which was a good thing....but it landed right over South Padre, where I was supposed to be going with two of my good friends for a girls weekend. So, where did we go instead, you might ask....to galveston. The parentals were in Colorado for a well deserved 30th anniversary vacation, so my friends and I invaded on my sister. We went to the beach, and spent plenty of time in the sun. It ended up being a good trip, despite the fact that I still have never been to South Padre. Every time I plan a trip to another Texas beach, something always comes up...I think God is trying to tell me that everything I need is located in Galveston. Anywho... on a side note...I need to learn more about Bloggerland because I hate that my pictures posted at the top of this section and I can't move them....ugh!!

One Year Anniversary!

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:38:00 +0000

I can't believe that one year has passed already! It has been a wonderful year, to say the least! Quite a few things have happened to us over the year as a married couple...I started working as a speech pathologist, we bought a new Jeep Cherokee, Chris got promoted to manager of a branch, and we recently bought a house. whew! To celebrate one year together, we went out to eat at the Oasis, which is on Lake Travis. We pretended to be tourists and took pictures of the scenery....I pretended like we were back on our honeymoon cruise. Afterwards we came home and ate our saved wedding cake and toasted with champagne. We finished the night with me breaking one of our engraved wedding champagne glasses...is that a bad sign? oh well, I don't believe in omens anyways. One year down and many more to come...I can't wait!

Libby Day

noreply@blogger.com (LesAnn) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:27:00 +0000

Happy Belated Birthday Gramma! 75 years! I am so glad that we were able to get together over the past weekend and celebrate your birthday....since you have never had a b-day party ;) It was so fun to see everyone and spend time together. I can't wait until your 80th...althought it might take a little more trickery to pull one over on you again! I love you lots!

Uncle Corky as the MC
The Fajita chef

The beautiful cake that Ann made

The Locketts

The Taylors and Locketts

Happy Libby Day!

Opening Presents

Dad pretending to have hair