Ice, Ice Baby

Sam and I were treated to a night on the town to see the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine. It was so cool--no pun intended! I was 9 degrees inside. They gave you a parka to wear to keep you warm. I decided it was not enough, though! I should have worn wool socks, mittens, scarf, and a hat! It was an amazing site to say the least....the ice is carved by hand and takes hours upon hours. The carvers are stone carvers that are specially trained to carve ice. It is a definite to do....but go early to avoid the crowd because it got packed quickly. We ended the night with dinner in the sports bar where there was a 15 x 52 feet screen. Sam was in awe. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and hope to see you soon!

Sam's new toy....so much for the boat

Do you think his tractor's sexy?

Casa de Samuelito and Lolita

I have 5 assignments due soon and I am procrastinating at this point.....I'm sick of writing papers so I figure this is the perfect time to appease my brother and FINALLY post pics of the inside of the house....I don't know why he can't get in his truck and drive the 3 hours to visit to see it in person....he acts like he is busy helping his fiance plan their wedding.

Here you see master bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, study, and bathrooms.

Labor Day

Wow--Our Labor Day get together was a blast! It was great spending time with all the friends and the new additions to the gang...Kate with Sergio and Sophie....Reese, Sloane, and Brooks with Candace and Steve....and Zoe with Aaron and Karen. It's amazing how much things have changed in just a year's time!!! All the babies are just so cute, and Lauren is a little ball of energy. I just wish I had taken pics!!!

Confessions of a slacker

I have neglected my duties as blog master and I have not posted in over a month (and someone actually noticed--thanks Dave!) I just got way too busy with the end of my semester and the start of school. The kids arrived today--another first day of school checked off--only 18 more to go to qualify for retirement!! Wahoo!

Pics of the inside of the house coming soon! Stay tuned.

And the Winner is...

LORI! Yep, she won the big bad boy grill from Home Depot. Lookin forward to the day when we can all get together to grill up a big ole' steak!

Sam's New Motocross Track - www.tmxpark.com

Thought you guys would like to see Sam's new thing, he is now owner of a motocross track. Check out some pics. Let's hope he does not get any ideas.

9-1-1

Sam called me yesterday and said, "Hey, I'm at the hospital. I cut my finger off."

Can you believe that! Luckily, it wasn't severed. He just thought it was since there was so much blood. He did, however, have to have surgery this morning. He smashed his finger between a 20 pound trailer hitch and a blade to the tractor mower, crushing the tip of his finger and slicing it open diagonally across the nail bed (that's why there was so much blood). Doc said since the nail bed was so damaged and there was so much debris in the wound he needed surgery. There was a great chance infection would set in since the cut was down to the bone. If infection set in, he would lose his finger.

We went this morning for surgery. Everything went smoothly and he felt strong enough to go to work (against my wishes), but promising no tractor driving. Doc cleared him to supervise only. Anyone want to bet he did more than supervise? Anyway, he says he is almost ready for the big grand opening of the Motocross tomorrow.

We both realize this could have been much worse so we are thankful, but I did tell him there were better ways of getting out of unpacking boxes!

Minor Complications

It was the longest delivery ever recorded! Two weeks to be exact and only a few minor complications, such as the tremendous rainstorms making the retaining wall in the backyard wash out creating a Louisiana swamp, Sam's first home owner's project (sealed concrete in the garage), hardwood floors installed--which created my first home owner's project: cleaning all the dust out and off of EVERYTHING since the idiots cut wood in the living room, and the biggest complication--electricity turned off thanks to some imbecile in big business out there! Finally, after two phone batteries going dead, 5 hours on the phone with Reliant, and $97 later....we made it!!! We finally spent the night at the new house together for the first time exactly two weeks after signing the papers...What a mess, but it sure feels good!

8140 Rock Elm Road

Whew! Finally....our new little project was conceived in October 2007 and 9 months later we had a ....house! It has been a slow process getting into the house, but we are taking it one day at a time. It will really help once I have Internet access at the house and I can do my studies there. Check out our pics.