Quarter of a Century

One year older and wiser...maybe...:)

The highlights from Luke's 25th birthday party:

1) Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate cake (Luke had been talking about his cake for over two weeks before his birthday -- I wasn't sure if any cake could live up to his anticipation -- but the cake turned out pretty darn good if I might say so myself!)
3) Luke trying out his new ab workout
2) Popping balloons with knives after the party

Here's a few pics:

- Luke with his chocolate heart-attack bonfire -


- Thoughtfully reading his birthday card -


- Trying to impress us with his ab strength -

Tourists in our own town

For the last couple of weeks we've been trying to explore different areas that we haven't been to yet. We hadn't been to the beach yet, so we decided that would be the perfect place to watch the meteor shower. We took a few chairs and blankets and drove down to Surfside Beach. It was a nice evening -- still very warm (about 86 degrees) -- and we did get to see a few good shooting stars. Next time we go, we'll have to make sure we bring more mosquito repellent though. Even with some on, the mosquitos had quite a feast!

Last weekend we took advantage of the "Free Museum Day" and went up to the museum district. We spent most of our time at the Museum of Fine Arts and we had a good time. They have some very impressive collections up there.

-Luke in front of a picasso -


- Me with a Monet -


- The Houston Skyline -


This last weekend we started on our landscaping. We've got some big plans, but we're beginning to realize that it is going to take quite a while and be a lot of very hard work.
Friday we built a stone edge around our trees and front walkway, and yesterday we started to dig out the grass along the fence line. We are planning to dig up quite a large area in the corners so we can plant some fruit trees and a narrower strip on the edges so we can plant some flowers and plants. We thought that the grass might pull up easy once we got started, but boy were we wrong! After 2 hours of both of us digging (in 100 degree weather), we only managed to dig up one corner. Ah well, I guess it will be our pet project for the next couple of months.

- Luke smiling before we realized what we were in for -


- The first few digs -

They're settled

Heather and Troy arrived Monday afternoon and we've all had a whirlwind week. They successfully closed on their house and Luke and I helped them unpack and get things put away yesterday. Their house is very cute and they've remarked several times that they might actually have enough space this time to put everything away! What a novel idea...

I had a job interview Monday for an Environmental Engineering firm who would like me to edit their reports and outgoing documents to make them sound more polished and professional. At the interview, he handed me a sample of the type of report they generally send out and it was longer than Tolstoy's "War and Peace"! But, a lot of it was charts and graphs, so that made me feel a bit better. I now know exactly what Luke describes when he talks about the engineers that he deals with. This guy was an engineer through and through -- very nice though. I thought the interview went well, and we'll see what happens. I'm trying to decide if it would be a good fit for me.
I have another interview Monday for a consulting firm who is looking to hire an Administrative Assistant. This is actually a work-from-home position, which is very exciting -- I would love to skip the commute! So, anyway, that's the latest in my job hunt. The good times continue... :)

Luke and I were planning to stick around here for our anniversary, but we came across some incredible fares to Washington D.C. and decided to seize the opportunity. Uncle Val and Aunt Alice have invited us to stay with them, so it looks like we'll get to spend Labor Day weekend exploring the capital. We've both been there before, so we're going to try to pick our favorite sites and fit in the ones we both missed last time. Unfortunately we really only have two full days, so we'll be busy trying to fit everything in! We're very excited though!

We hope everyone is well! Keep us posted with the latest.

We made it!

Well, we did it. We finally graduated. I think both of us expect to go back to school in the fall, so it might actually sink in that we're done around September sometime. Here are some pictures from our commencement:




Our next adventure was to move to a little town called Houston, TX. (We decided L.A. was too big for us and a little too cold!) Actually, we're about 20 minutes away from the city and our area is perfect. Our neighbors have been so nice and friendly -- we've never had friendly neighbors, so it's been a pleasant surprise. In fact, we've been pleasantly surprised at how friendly everyone down here is. It has really made the move easier.

Since we moved into our house, we've been doing a lot of "projects" as Luke likes to call them. Poor guy -- I did have quite a list for him for a few weeks. These projects have been little things, like, painting (and sometimes repainting), replacing light fixtures and moving the furniture around a few times...
But, the house is really coming along and we're just so excited to be in our own place. I've included a few pictures of our "projects."





Luke started working for Dow on July 2, and has been in-training since then. Most of his group was on vacation around the 4th of July, so his training started a little slow, but now he's been keeping pretty busy. He's been doing a lot memorizing and learning how everything works -- he's explained some of it to me...and I just smile and nod... I'm just glad it's him and not me!
All in all, he really is enjoying the job and the people he is working with and he feels like his job has a lot of potential.

We thought we would have made it out to the beach by now, but it has been raining nearly everyday since we got here. Supposedly, it usually doesn't rain this much, but it has been pretty wet. There was even some pretty nasty flooding in North Houston about a week and a half ago, but we're not complaining because as long as it keeps raining and stays overcast, the heat is bearable.

Our blog

Luke and I have been inspired by Melanie's awesome blog and we thought it would be the best way to keep everyone updated on the happenings down here in the South, since we can't talk to all of you as much as we'd like.
Also, it will help us remember to take more pictures! (We always bring our camera, but for some reason both of us forget to actually use it...)
Anyway, we're excited to keep y'all (hey, I can use that word now!) current with the latest.
We love you all and miss you.