Carrabba's in Houston

Last night we went into Houston with David and Stephanie to meet up with Miraj, an old high school buddy of David's. Since he lives in North Houston, we drove up there for dinner at an Italian grill called Carrabba's. I've never eaten there before (we have one closer to where we live too), but it was great! Probably because we had children, they sat us in the very back so we didn't have to deal with crazy waiters passing us to get to their tables all the time and drunk customers shoving past to the restroom. Our server was great except that he served us bottled water that it turns out we had to pay for. Not a huge deal, but rude nonetheless. There was lots of food and wine and, of course, good people.

Here's Wednesday's going-out outfit. Bwahahaha!

We waited a little while for our table since we had 10 people (including the two babies) in our group, so we got drinks from the bar. (Callaway got into my laundry last night and ate the belt tie for this skirt... bad dog!)

Look at how tiny Wednesday looks next to Miraj! (And no, I'm not saying you look fat, Miraj.) His 7 month old son is probably off to the right growling at everyone. Freakin hilarious!

Waiting for the bill: David, Travis and Miraj.

I am so sad today because I didn't get to drive the new truck into work. =( Travis is bringing it to the dealership this morning to get it Nissan certified and detailed. They were unable to do that before we took it home because we bought it the same day it was traded in. Travis will have it back by the time I get off work this afternoon and it should be so fresh and so clean clean.

Mysterious Dark Spot

A strange thing happened this past Sunday. Sara and Jr were sitting in their yard playing with Logan when their backyard neighbors came out to pick the fruit from their trees. I think Sara said they called it some sort of a plum tree.

While her neighbors were under the tree getting ready to pick the fruit, they noticed something really scary - especially considering that Sara had just had a yard full of children for Logan's birthday party the day before. See the dark spot on the bark of the trunk? Here's a close up:

BEES!! They called for a bee keeper and he came out the next day. Instead of killing them, he picked them all off. Probably so he could start his own hive. No word on why they were all grouped like this, with none of them flying around. I still need to check with Sara about that. Either way, it was weird. Thankfully, no one was stung!

Bundle of Blair

Last night we FINALLY got to go see Blair! Travis and I still have a little leftover congestion, but we figured it would be okay. Alexa's parents left Monday, so we gave them one night to be alone with the baby before we barged in. Shannon and Chris went along too, so we carpooled in the Murano (our new baby, ha!). Alexa and Chris were having a stressful evening because they could not get the little bugger to fall asleep. In hopes of calming him, they took him for a ride to Wendy's and Target. We were just pulling into town, so we met Blair in a parking lot. Lol! Since they were having such a hard time getting him to settle down I decided not to attack the child with flash photography. That means I don't have any new photos to show you. =( We plan on going back up there on Sunday and hopefully he'll be good so I can take some pictures.

They both seem to be doing pretty well. Of course, Alexa is tired. And sadly, Chris has been going on flights frequently since Blair was born. He is a pilot for charter company and is one of the only people who can fly some of the planes. That means he is crucial for their company to function. Alexa is looking great and hoping to start running soon. She has begun walking (tisk tisk) in the anticipation of getting her stamina up quickly. Alexa is already talking about having another baby. Not in the near future, of course, but eventually. They have a busy life ahead of them!

Bells and Whistles

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We bought an SUV!! I've never been so scared in my life! This is the first time we've ever purchased a vehicle worth more than $7,000. I know we plan to keep this one for a long time, but it still makes me nervous. What makes me even more nervous is that we bought this car with the expectation that Travis will be getting his Journeyman's raise. Nothing has happened to tell us he won't get this. I'm just worried about how long it will take to get! Travis got a letter in the mail this past Saturday from the State of Texas regarding his Journeyman's license saying that he didn't include sufficient information about his previous employer. He called them to make sure he knew exactly what they needed, so hopefully I'll be sending that fax out tomorrow evening. Travis has another turn around at work coming up in May (around the time our new auto payments start) and he's hoping to get his new license before then. It does help a little that I got a raise. Mine is not as significant as his will be, but every little bit helps!

Last night we ran up to the Nissan dealership near our house to see if they had anything in the lot that wasn't up online. Turns out they did! I spent all day yesterday looking for a 2006 Nissan Murano that was one of the three colors I like, with leather seats. DO YOU KNOW HOW FRUSTRATING THAT WAS?! I was sure that we'd have to drive to another state to find what I wanted and I don't feel like it was that crazy of a request. I'm thinking it was just that what I wanted was a popular demand. Well, we got lucky and they had a black 2006 Murano SL with black leather interior AND A SUNROOF that was traded in yesterday!! We grabbed it right up! The downfall is that since it was turned in just yesterday they hadn't had a chance to clean it up or do the Nissan certification yet. Travis is bringing it back in on Friday to take care of all the kinks. It will be fun for him because he gets to pick a vehicle off their lot to drive while the SUV is getting fixed. =)

One good thing is they had a deal of a $1000 rebate that was ending yesterday (end of the Nissan fiscal year). I took some photos, even though I probably should have waited until it has been cleaned up. I am just sooo excited I couldn't wait! On Friday they are going to clean the inside and outside, replace the front tires and fix a dent in the front bumper. Travis took some photos of a few scratches and is going to point them out. Plus, they will look for anything else that may be wrong. We decided to get the Bumper to Bumper warranty and the car service warranty (which covers oil changes and basic maintenance). Basically, if anything goes wrong on this SUV for the next four years, the most we'll pay is a $100 deductible. While shopping around I found that this vehicle really holds its value well, so if we decide to trade it in a couple of years it should be worth our money.

Driving home from the dealership last night was hilarious. I figured out where the fundamental buttons were before I began driving, but I started to notice all these other buttons I hadn't seen before or that I didn't know how to use. I sat in the hotel parking lot with David while we figured most everything out. I was thinking I'd be bringing in the manual to read at lunch today, but when I got up this morning Travis told me he set up the garage door opener for me (the buttons are in the rear view mirror!). Despite having a softball game from 10-11pm, he stayed up until 12:30 in the morning messing around with everything! I hate that I get to drive this awesome new vehicle and he is stuck with his same old S10 truck. I hope that he gets his new dream truck in a few years!!! Well, here she is!

I still can't believe we got it.

Celebrating Logan

Logan's first birthday party was hilarious! Little kids crack me up. Plus there were a few people there that I hadn't seen in a while. David and Stephanie brought Wednesday over for the food and presents. Oh and of course the cake!

Logan was strangely careful eating the cake. No explanation for that one. In this photo he's getting a taste of the icing. Once they gave him a slice he just sat there with his hand on it. Eventually he made sure to rub some red icing in his hair and on the chair. After the cake, he opened up his presents. Boy did he make out good!

Watching Logan open his presents...

We got very lucky and the weather was great. We had a little sprinkle when JR was cooking the burgers, but that went away quickly. I managed to get a little sun without burning!

I gave Logan his very own chair. He may not get much use out of it though because I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a race car. He spends most his time running around. They have a great big yard to accomodate this activity.

This is totally an action shot, but it's hilarious. JR's brother brought confetti eggs and everyone kept getting each other. Travis made the mistake of getting Sara in this shot. She got him right back with a little beer down his back. Poor Davin had the wits scared right out of him!

It felt like we were circled around a campfire, instead we sat around a bush. I love the outdoors!!

And look who I found boozin it up at the end of the night... I don't think mommy saw... oops!

Untooned Toons

OH. MY. GOSH. Look at this picture of what Homer Simpson would look like if he weren't a cartoon.

I came across this new crazy blog that depicts what cartoons would look like in real life, through the wonders of Photoshop. Check it out. Freakin creepy. I used to work with Photoshop when I did graphic design for the US Corps of Engineers in Illinois. I cannot wait to get a computer at home so I will be able to use it again, though my skills are not as amazing as this guy's (or girl's).

Rachel and I have been doing some graphic work of our own. Check out the morphed faces of people you may or may not know (using MorphThing):

Travis and I

And of course:

Travis and Callaway
Sagira and I

Well, I'm off to Logan's first birthday party. It better not rain!

A Wednesday Surprise on Thursday

Travis and I had a great surprise yesterday when we got off work - David and Stephanie were a day early coming into town!! We met them for dinner and margaritas at Pappasito's and then went back to their hotel room for an hour to coo over the baby. They decided to stay in the company-paid hotel room last night because they didn't want to inconvenience us with a crying baby on a work night. I told them that's silly and that I don't mind, but I'll see them today for lunch so I let it go. =) They said that David is going to ask work for a transfer to Houston, so we may be seeing more of them in a few months! Little Wednesday is still tiny at 10 weeks old, but she has gained weight since we saw her last.

So cute I can't stand it!!

The happy family

Two men and a baby. teehee.

I've got a short and busy work day today, so I better get going!