I NEED TO GET OUT.

As you can see from the picture to the left, I will go to extreme measures to feel adventure. To feel that adrenaline rush. To do something other than sit in an office all day.

Adrenaline junky? Maybe.

Man, let me tell you. Growing up is tough! Don't get me wrong, I feel very blessed to have a stable job, to be able to help provide for our family. But sometimes I long for the freedom of... well... not having an 8-5 job with a whopping 10 days of vacation for the year. Does that sound crazy?

Luckily the countdown to our European adventure is getting mighty small.

20 days.

I wonder if I will regret using 7 of my 10 allotted days for this trip. Probably not.

All in a (Satur)day's Work

We have had quite the Saturday so far, and it's not even 7:00 pm yet. After a few months of doing some shopping around, researching, and going back and forth on what we want, we finally made a decision today. We are proud to announce that...

WE ARE NEW COUCH OWNERS!

Thanks to Lori at Bassett Furniture (and the 30% off sale going on this weekend), we purchased this couch in brown leather. Please ignore the goofy couple actually sitting on the couch in the middle of the showroom. We were pretty dang excited, as this is definitely the biggest purchase we have made since we got married, and we really feel like we got a good deal. Unfortunately, we won't be getting the actual couch for a few more months (brown does not come in stock), but we are excited to add this lovely addition to our family.

What do we do to celebrate? Lunch at Costco, of course.

Oh yeah, and then we went shooting! A few months ago we told you about our friends Brent and Holly. Well Brent loves hunting. They have been meaning to take us out shooting for a while, so we found a range today and gave it a "shot." Ha... get it?

 This is Russ's "Man shot." He was excited to use Brent's AR-15. Russ was like a kid in a candy shop with Brent's gun collection.

This is Holly. She's going to have another baby! Please take note of Brent showing little Avery the ropes in the background. So cute.

Whew. What an exhausting Saturday. I guess it's all in a day's work, right?

THE RUNDOWN.

WOW.

Wow wow wow.

Now this was one heck of a whirlwind weekend. It was non-stop from the moment I said peace out to my office until 1:30 am Sunday night when we finally arrived back to our apartment

But so good.

A special thanks to all those who helped make this birthday weekend one of the best yet! I really felt so loved and cared for, and that is all that matters. It would be hard to say that this was the best birthday, because last year this happened:

... but dang, it was still amazing. Pretty crazy to think of all that has happened in a year. Well here's a quick rundown of this epic weekend:

FRIDAY:
How can this day not be fabulous when you start it off with an amazing strawberry french toast breakfast made especially by Randal and Argelia? Well that's what happened. And I have fabulous in-laws. Later we met up with MY mom who flew down from Washington for the weekend (definitely not a coincidence). We had lunch, caught up on life, shopped, you know, everything you should do with your mom. Oh yeah, and we picked up our race packets!

I think I'm beginning to see why people say "like mother like daughter"

We finished the day off with an amazing dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Perfect fuel for the big race.

SATURDAY:

After sleeping approximately 2 hours Friday night (definitely NOT on purpose), us three girls suited up, tied our running shoes nice and tight, and headed to the starting line. Honestly, I had no clue how this race was going to go with fighting training injuries, limited time to train, an extreme change of altitude (trained at about 900 ft above sea level, raced at about 4,300), lack of sleep, etc. To my astonishment, I beat my previous 1/2 marathon time by 9 minutes! I also came in 2 minutes faster than my "goal time." So I was happy. My feet weren't so happy, but I was happy. 

I must also give a shout out to my amazing sister and mother. Brittney dominated yet another race and my mom proved how amazingly in shape she really is! I feel so lucky to be able to accomplish such a huge goal with my family. We have definitely bonded on a whole different level.

The three McLaws girls. 

I must also publicly thank Russell and Stuart for having a tray with three large Diet Cokes waiting for us at the finish line. 

You don't even know how much that meant.

We most definitely cannot forget to mention Russell's awesome accomplishment. 

HE BIKED A MARATHON!!! 

He had a blast in this race. I think I see road biking in our future....

I apologize for this picture. But Russell said people are drawn to disturbing things, so here you are. I really wasn't exaggerating when I say I get reeeeally bad blisters.

Ok moving on. The rest of my birthday consisted of a fabulous refueling lunch, watching a Fictionist concert on the grass under the sun, saying goodbye to my Mom, visiting friends, and more.

I feel spring coming on! Hallelujah.

Isn't she cute? I think so.

Natalie works at this dangerously delicious cookie shop in Salt Lake City called My Dough Girl. I'm still thinking about these cookies. And also about how cute Natalie is at all times.

So then Russ outdid himself once again and planned a surprise party for me at one of my favorite places to eat in Provo, Costa Vida. We then headed to Brittney's for an evening of fabulous treats and fun. It was so fun to see a bunch of our friends from Provo. We miss these people so much, and hate that we see them so little. But at the same time, I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends. What more could you want?

Emily and Erin. The fantastic trio of Enclave 303. Wow that was a fun apartment. And double wow... I miss them like crazy.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by. Perfect end to the perfect day.

SUNDAY:

Dinner with the Lewis's!!! Always a party. Argelia made yet another fantastic meal with fantastic carrot cake. 

 I was just a little excited about the Anthropologie gift card from the Lewis's, as you can see. And as always, little Lucy is such a great helper.

So then we left. All good things must come to an end. Such is life. After a loooooooooooong flight home, we finally show up to our little apartment at an obscene hour for how early we knew we had to wake up. Considering I was half asleep, you can imagine my confusion and utter surprise when I open the door to find this in our living room:

Let me explain. For the last month Russell has been helping his friend build a pie chest for Melissa, his wife, on Saturday afternoons while I would be taxing away. He also was working pretty late at work for it not being busy season. Or so I thought. He was really in Matt's garage building this -- an ingeniously designed desk where I can store my sewing machine, craft supplies, and more. That whole left side of the table collapses down to conserve space when not in use. He built this!!! For ME! Wow, I love him a lot. We are now just trying to decide what color to paint this perfect little craft desk of mine.

Lessons we have learned with this story? Russell is incredibly thoughtful and creative, and I am really gullible and easy to deceive. Apparently a whole slew of our family and friends were in on this secret, or at least knew about it. Thanks to all of you who helped Russell accomplish this little surprise and helped keep it a secret. 

It really was a perfect day.

The end.

10 Things that make me happy:

1. The glorious fact that tax season is O-V-E-R.
2. Fun surprises on my desk from fun friends
3. The idea of going out to lunch -- such excitement for such little things! And here's the best part: lunch at Chipotle. Oh how happy am I.
4. Leaving on a jet plane. Ok not really a jet, but a plane. Let's talk a minute about a seriously needed vacation from work, Texas, and the daily grind. It's needed. That's all.
5. Waking up to rain.
6. Letters from my little brother.
7. Um, birthday?
8. My "tax season survival" kit that was attempted to be left in my car from Russell. Although it didn't quite work out, meaning he did actually put it in my car, but had forgotten that he was driving my car that day to get the oil changed and I was driving his, so really he gave himself his survival kit. But the thought was still cute.
9. GLEE IS BACK! (And yes, despite the craziness of work this week, I still managed to watch it. Totally worth it.)
10. We get to see our families! (And friends!) In T minus 8 hours!

Let's make a play list.

Ok you guys, I just worked my last Saturday and am on the home stretch, for a lot of things. Busy season... vacation... race... etc. So now I need your help:

I am in the midst of building the ultimate race play list. Any awesome running/exercise songs I need to know about? What song(s) pumps you up???

Till The Sun Turns Black

Today was another stuck-in-traffic-on-the-way-to-work day. And I mean bad traffic. But then this song came on and I was reminded of when my sweet husband brought this album home from me (Till the Sun Turns Black by Ray LaMontagne). It was winter. It had been a bad stretch of days (you know what I mean -- we all have them). I was making dinner and he walked in with a huge grin on his face. Apparently Russell loves giving small, thoughtful gifts as much as he loves receiving them. It was exactly what I needed. After dinner I put the CD in and listened to the whole thing. This song came on and I just laid on the floor totally entranced. I really don't know if I can explain how much I love this song. It's that beautiful.

This morning I was also thinking about how I have ONE MORE WEEK until the craziness of busy season is over. Oh how I can't wait. I'm tired, and quite burnt out. It turns out not having a day off since New Years Day is not good for one's soul.

In exactly one week's time I will be on a plane with my husband, headed to see family and friends. Oh yeah, and to run a half marathon with these two wonderful women:

Yeah, about that race. We'll see how that goes.

And also, it's spring here in Texas. Wildflowers are a bloomin'. They really are beautiful, and this short season has redeemed some of the scenic value for Texas. Although I've heard it doesn't last long. Soon it will be dreadfully hot and the flowers will die. Such is life.

And on that cheerful note, my lunch break is over and tax returns are calling. Thanks for tuning in as I assure you faithful readers that I really still am alive.


{For you music fans who just haven't gotten enough, I've also been slightly obsessed with THIS SONG by Muse. For real.}

Happy Easters!

This is my Easter basket for Russell. I love how genuinely happy he gets from such simple things -- like Easter baskets with goldfish, yellow peeps, candy, and a homemade card.

(By the way, Natalie, do you like the bunny??)

Other Easter day activities consist of:

Sleeping in.

Homemade waffles.

Watching conference. SO great.

Texting parties with family who live way too far away.

Russell spending time with his tomatoes. (See previous post)

Planned activities, yet to come to pass:

Easter walk with husband.

Chicken cordon bleu. (I don't love baked ham, so this is how I will integrate a traditional Easter dinner ingredient)

Probably playing Ticket To Ride. Oh how we love that game.

We hope your Easter has been just as great as you spend time with family and friends and
remember the real reason for today.

The Great Experiment

A couple of weeks ago I was doing the grocery shopping at HEB (yes Russell grocery shops) and I spied some tomato plants sitting out front. I thought how nice it would be to have some of those babies pumping out tomatos for me. So I bought a couple with the idea of planting them in some pots on our balcony. I called my sister about the idea and she told me to get a topsy turvy. I had no idea what this was, so I googled it and found this.

If your reaction was the same as mine, you felt that no greater thing could have been invented and you had to get one right away. I first thought of staying up real late one night and waiting for the infomercial to come on to order it because you know there is always 'more' if you order one now. I couldn't wait that long though, so luckily the Walgreens on the corner had one available for $9.99. So I got some potting soil, a topsy turvy, and a pot and have officially begun my great experiment.

Exhibit A:

This is an Early Girl, and she already has blossoms.

Exhibit B:

This is a Celebrity with a tomato cage around it to help it grow up.

They get about 5-6 hours of sun and are potted in Miracle gro potting soil. I will keep you posted on how they do. Submit your vote on who you think is going to win by commenting below. :) As for me, I'm pulling for the Topsy.

Feliz Cumpleanos Suegra!!

I wanted to take a moment and say  FELIZ CUMPLEANOS to my favorite Mother-In-Law, Argelia. Not only am I so blessed to have Russell as my husband, but I am even more blessed to have married into such a wonderful, kind, generous, and amazing family. 

Thank you, Argelia, for welcoming me with open arms into your family, and for being the mother and friend you are to all of your beautiful children, and to me, a new member of the Lewis clan. I look up to you and everything you have accomplished in your life. I have loved the time we have spent together thus far, and look forward to an eternity more of memories. Happy Birthday! I love you!

This is Argelia with three of her four children (and me). Isn't she beautiful?

I hate spring break

So if you are feeling as though your Monday has been less than optimal, here's a story:

As mentioned in the previous post, Russell and my Harry Potter lunchbox were supposed to return home to me last night. Ah ha! Not so fast. Once he boarded the plane in Salt Lake, they tell the passengers that the toilet is broken and they cannot take off. Russ is starting to worry he will miss his connection in Denver. He politely asks the stuartist if she thinks he will make it, otherwise he will stay in SLC with his family rather than a lonely airport hotel room. She assures him he will be fine. Well over an HOUR LATER, they take off, and once landing in Denver, the SAME stuartist tells all San Antonio passengers to go to the customer service desk. They have missed their connection. Are you serious lady? What happened to your calm assurance from earlier?

After much discussion with the oh-so-friendly airline staff last night and today, Russ learns that the soonest they can get him on a flight to San Antonio is Wednesday. Why, you ask? Oh, because it's SPRING BREAK. Everything -- on every airline -- is booked out, or should I say over booked. Why has it become Russell's problem that every airline over books their flight? It's not like he doesn't have a job to attend, a wife to come home to, and last but not least, jury duty to attend this week. Does someone get arrested if they don't show up to jury duty? No, I'm not going to go there.

Well in fear of rambling, I will just cut to the chase by telling you that he has been sitting in the airport all day, getting denied as a stand-on passenger time and time again. I just heard word that he got on to a flight to Austin (not the destination he paid for), and will have to rent a car and drive to his intended city.

Point of the story?
1. Buy direct flights in/out of San Antonio (this is our second time learning this lesson...)
2. Spring Break is not fun for those who don't actually get to be on a break.
3. All airlines, in some way or another, are corrupt.
4. This whole ordeal is because of a broken toilet.

The end.

Because it's still the weekend...

I will post this picture. Cracks me up.

If you can't tell from the far right hand side of the picture, those are Utah mountains. Russell left poor ol' me here in Texas to prepare taxes as he went on a "business trip" to Utah. It was just so convenient that his whole family lives there! He had fun planning this weekend, as it was a surprise to most of his family besides Marcella.

Now you may be wondering why he is so animatedly showing off a Harry Potter lunch box that I know you are all envying. Well back off, it's mine. My friends from an internship I did a few years ago  gave this to me as a goodbye gift (shout out to Randi!), and it accidentally got left behind in our move, along with a bin full of other things from my old apartment. I leave for the airport in a few hours, and all I can say is I'm so glad to be getting my husband ... and Harry Potter lunch box... back to where they belong.

SXSW

People. Music. Lights. Food. Hipsters. Energy.

All things that define South by Southwest.

5 points for finding Stuart

I drove up to Austin last night after work to hang out with Brittney and the band at SXSW. Dinner at Annie's restuarant, walking around in the cool evening, and people watching like it's nobody's business. I don't think I've ever seen so many hipsters in one location. Next time I go to SXSW I'll be sure to wear my gold spandex pants.

All kidding aside, it was pretty dang awesome. This is such a huge production -- bands come from all over the world in hopes of being discovered and meeting the "right" person at the right time. The city closes the roads to cars and opens every club, restaurant, and store. Music literally comes from every doorway in Austin.

There was also the obvious perk of hanging out with my sister one last night before she went back to Utah. It's like we miss each other or something.

On Winning Things

I won something today! In the midst of preparing millions of state returns for some ginormous law firm, I got a call from "Thai Chili" telling me that I won a free lunch! Last week when Russ and I tried out this restaurant (which was amazing, by the way), we thought it'd be fun to throw our business cards into those business card raffles. First of all, kind of cool that I have a business card to give away, and second of all, why not? Who doesn't love getting something for nothing? Winning is such a fulfilling feeling.

I'm honestly just relieved to know my good luck has not completely worn off. For a few years I won all sorts of drawings, but I have had a slight 3 or 4 year drought. One of the most exciting nights of my life was my High School all-nighter. Yes, I said it. At this little shin-dig I won the following:

• $150 cash
• Gym membership, combined with a basket full of exercise goodies (weights, exercise ball, yoga mat -- which I still use)
• Blanket -- which still keeps me warm
• Lamp -- which still gives light
• Car 

Yes, I won a car. It was a '78 Ford Tempo in the most horrid color of maroon, but I still won a car. I ended up selling it to a friend for $1,000. So really, I won $1,150. 


In other news, I saw the most beautiful sunrise on the way to work today. You know the kind where the sun looks absolutely huge and everything is an incredible mixture of oranges, reds, and yellows? Yeah, it kind of took my breath away. Also, I got to read a letter from my brother who is IN the land of the rising sun, so that is cool, too.


I also must say Happy St. Patty's day my friends. Did you know Leprechauns are REAL? I need to pull out my flute to help homeboy find the gold. Confused yet? Take a look:

Sister sister

Sister time. There really is nothing else like it.

I love having my sister here in Texas. Brittney flew into Austin yesterday for business (she's attending South by Southwest for all you tech/art/music junkies out there). Because he has sisters of his own, Russ is well aware that there really is nothing like sister time, so he kept himself busy at home while I drove up to Austin to stay at her hotel with her for the night. It's not too hard to guess what we did...

Shop (San Marcos Outlets -- huge success)

Eat (umm... discovered Wendy's twisted vanilla frosties. We chose to twist it with cookie dough.
WARNING: may be too good to resist)

Talk (We used to live five minutes apart. Three states is rough.)

One thing that I love about sisters is how we have each others backs. Like how I wanted some new shoes, so when I found some I liked and was about to check out, Brittney tells me she'll be in the shoe store next door. Right as I hand my card to the (already grumpy) cashier the doors fly open and with big eyes Brittney shouts "DON'T BUY THE SHOES!!!" I ask why, and she hesitates, but says "they're $10 cheaper next door!" Well, duh. That's a no brainer. I look at the cashier and sheepishly ask "can I have my card back?" She puts on an even grumpier face, hands me the card, and when I apologize she simply says "whatever. Just go." Hey you know what lady? You would do the same thing. $10 is like, 3 more twisted vanilla frosties. Thank goodness I have my sister.

Sunday ramblings.

There is something soothing about the cloudy sky outside of our window as we lazily lay around on this Sunday morning. I love Sundays.

I worked my first Saturday during tax season yesterday. I liked it only because I got to wear jeans and converse to the office.

So happy because after a week of resting and icing, I was able to run 9 miles again yesterday. Hooray for bodies healing themselves. Even happier because Russ ran them with me.

To accompany the cloudy sky outside, I am going to make THIS SOUP since my awesome sister-in-law recommended it so highly.

I think we found one of Russ's new favorite restaurants -- Ruby Tuesday. It's amazing how something so simple as a cherry coke and "triple prime cheddar burger" makes a man so happy.

I can no longer stay awake during movies. I only made it half-way through Sherlock Holmes last night. Wimp.

I miss my family, but am so happy that my sister is coming in a few weeks.

Sea World has opened again. Must visit ASAP.

Sometimes I wish I could see what I would be like if I was a cartoon. My brother-in-law, Stuart, just got made into a cartoon. It's totally awesome, and I'm slightly jealous. See for yourself:

...Take It Back to the Start...

I've never really been into this show in the past, but I am this time. I keep hearing a lot of my favorite songs... which might be part of the reason I am locked in. Last night Ms. Katelyn Epperly totally won my vote when she sang "The Scientist" by Coldplay, a song with so many memories for me. Her voice rocks. She almost brought me to tears, which would have been embarrassing, since I was definitely watching it in the gym. Go Camille.

Anyway, take a look at this girl and her white piano.

(Click HERE to watch Mr. Chris Martin sing it himself. Totally captivating.)

Limited

As some of you know, I have been training for my second half-marathon that's quickly approaching (about 6 weeks away). It will be my post tax-season "celebration" and "happy birthday me" event, as I run the Salt Lake City race on April 17th. I wanted to push myself to stay in shape during this busy season, when it is oh-so-easy to put such activities aside.

I wanted to set a goal and reach it.

Then why, why, WHY am I limited?

Training this time around was going awesome. I felt stronger and faster than before. However, lately I have been having some extreme pain in my leg -- I think it's an injury that stems from my knee (no surprise), and is affecting my hip flexor. I had to quit my long run on Saturday at 2 miles, when I was supposed to have run 9. aaaaargh.

There really is no point to this post, besides letting off some steam. I know I have some awesome friends out there who are amazing runners, so if you have any advice or experience with these kind of injuries, I'd love your help. Until then I will continue to send healing vibes to my hip flexor. Your vibes would be great, too.

A Majestic Evening

Friday nights = date night. I look forward to them all week. This last weekend Russ put some extra thought into the evening and found tickets to the San Antonio symphony and a guest pianist playing Chopin. Oh how happy was I?

It has taken a lot of thought, but I can say with 95% confidence that Chopin is my very favorite composer to play (there is a 5% uncertainty due to strong love for other composers... I don't want to leave them out of my favorites list, it's not fair to them). I have spent many, many, many an hour practicing some of Chopin's pieces, and so when my sweet husband told me we would be seeing this symphony I was oh-so-excited. They started the evening off with Brahms, then Chopin, and finished it with Cesar Franck.

The symphony did an amazing job, and watching this incredible pianist play a 45 minute, 3-movement Chopin piece with such elegance and passion was delightful. San Antonio has a great theater, called "The Majestic," that really brings in some great shows. It is an older building, but has so much character and history. It's always fun to visit.

During this last visit to the Majestic we got a pretty good laugh out of the water fountains. Maybe we were so entertained by these miniature fountains due to the early morning (5:30 am!) and long day of work (two words: tax season), but look at this picture and tell me it doesn't at least make you chuckle.

I love date night, and I love going out on the town and supporting the local arts. After the Chopin piece ended, I regret to admit that I had a really hard time keeping my eyes open. I tried so hard. Hopefully next time I can stay awake longer than the kind senior citizen sitting next to me.

In Honor of Jace Garrett McLaws

 

We call him...

Bud
Little bro
Jacey
Jackelson
Jace Face
[Ha-say]
Chorro
Jacey-boy

...and, last, but not least,

Jacey-bobbie-wobbies.

He is known by so many names, but most of all, to me he is my favorite little brother ever. I look up to him so much (both literally and figuratively), and I feel so blessed to call him my best friend and brother. He is in Japan right now serving a mission for our church, and I miss him like crazy, especially on days like today... because it's his BIRTHDAY! He has reached the ripe old age of 20. Welcome to the twenties, bro. It's a good place to be.

I love you!

Today I miss...

NATURE.

I have been fortunate enough to live in places with beautiful natural scenery literally in my backyard or a short 15 minute drive away. I realize now that I took these places and the natural splendor they offer for granted.

Spokane, Washington by winter. I loved growing up here.

Spokane by summer. I miss trees. And natural bodies of water.

(PS. Look at that form! Go dad!)

Summer in Utah. Look at the changing colors starting to creep in. And those mountains.

(Taken from half way up Mt. Timpanagos)

Moab, Zions, and all the national parks Utah has to offer. That red rock is striking!

I love Texas, I do. But for some reason the practically flat, mostly dead foliage isn't quite as impressive as some of these places I was fortunate enough to live in and visit. We are trying to make the most of the situation by scoping out all the state parks, and we have luckily found some decent hiking trails. And I must admit that the 75 degree weather was very welcome today.

So the point is, just try not to take where you live for granted. I'm sure once you leave, if you leave, you will miss something (hopefully something) about your current place of abode.

{All photography by yours truly}

Rodeo, Round Two

Well it's happened. We have turned into true-blue Texans. Anyone would say that if you go to the rodeo TWICE within one week that makes you a true Texan. Even though it was a "work night" (you know, a school night, but for grown-ups) it was totally worth the yawns today.

It's time for you to meet our friends, Holly and Brent.

Holly was one of the first people I met in San Antonio. It was the first Sunday we went to church, and I saw Holly from far away and instantly thought "I want to be her friend." Well later in church we sat right behind her and her husband, and she just turns around and introduces herself like it's no big deal. And that's because it's not! I learned a lot from Holly that day! Sometimes moving to a new city is scary and you feel vulnerable and out of your comfort zone. But you have to get over it or else you will be lonely and awkward for a long time. She invited me to get together with some of her friends that week, and from then on we have been great friends. We always have a good time. (And might I add, they are the parents to some of our favorite little kids in the world.... need I remind you of THIS STORY).

Anyway, the rodeo was great. More cowboy hats, bull riding, barrel racing, and country music. Ok, I know some may be thinking "Camille going to a country music concert?" Shocking, I know. We saw Dierks Bentley, and I will be the first to admit he put on a great show.

And to finish off I will leave you with one resounding message: Yee haw!

My Valentine

I am sitting here on my couch wearing my valentine's gift reflecting on the past year of my life. A year ago from today, I had asked Camille to go to a Monster Truck rally with me. She politely declined (she had a family vacation in Vegas) and I spent the weekend alone. I called her up that day (had to make sure she wasn't lying right?) to wish her a happy valentine's day. Sure enough, she was driving out to Hoover dam and she really was in Vegas. Well a lot has happened since then and I like to think I've learned a thing or two. First being, don't plan a Valentine's date to a monster truck rally! Second to really appreciate what I have. I'm grateful to have such a great Valentine and wish the same to everyone else. Camille never ceases to surprise me with the things she does. Here are just a few things that I love about her:

1. She lets me disappear with a friend and my bike for four hours and doesn't even ask me what happened or why were you gone so long.
2. She carries apples for me.
3. She makes cute, creative cards for me that always manage to make me more emotional than I like.
4. Zesty chicken pasta alfredo.
5. Long drives and talking about our future.
6. Wandering around stores with her.
7. Dance parties in the car to Radiohead.
8. Baby watching at church

BTW, if you were wondering what it is I'm wearing, it is a smile that won't go away.

Sorry about the cheese, the gift is really a sweet green shirt from Gap.

A few firsts

Last night presented a few firsts in the life of Camille:

• Getting to be in a "box" at an arena
• Seeing a rodeo
• Seeing a rodeo in a box at an arena
• Watching Darius Rucker (main singer of Hootie and the Blow fish) sing on a revolving stage at an arena

Russ got some free tickets from his job to hang out in the company's box at the San Antonio Rodeo. It would be an understatement to say I was less than excited to go. It had been an early morning and a long day of tax returns, amplified by an hour commute on the way home. It's a good thing I have an amazing husband that is patient and kind and lets me be frustrated sometimes and let off some steam. And it's also a good thing I have a husband who is an "eternal optimist" and always tries to pack as much fun into our day as possible. Cause we did it. We packed a night of fun into our already full day. It ended up being a really fun night with more cowboy hats than I thought could fit into one solitary building.

May 2010: Getting Ready

You guessed it. We're goin' global!

WHOOPEEEEE!!

The tickets were officially purchased a few weeks ago, and they are most definitely non-refundable (the obvious cheaper way to go), therefore we are locked into a European adventure from May 19 - June 1.

Exact details are not set in stone, but for now our rough itinerary is:

London

Bath / Stonehenge

Paris

Marseilles / Coast of France

Barcelona

Islands off of Spain

What will make this even better is the company:

Brittney and Stu (my sister and brother-in-law)

Caitlin and Robbie (Stuart's sister and her husband)
(Sorry Cait... I totally stole this from your blog...)

...

And one other couple (Chelsea and Rusty) who we do not yet know, but will become friends with and I'm sure will make it that much more exciting!

And now my friends, as tax season starts getting busier and busier, I will refer back to this post often to remind me why exactly I am preparing other people's taxes alllllll day long. 

Oh yeah, adventure. Bring it on.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Is it just me, or has everyone at one point looked at their birthday cake that is sitting in front of them and wished that they could just dig in face first and tear it apart? Anyone? (Natalie, this includes you). Yesterday we went to our friend's Stacie and Brett's little girl's 1st birthday party. It was so much fun! The highlight of the party, however, was when Kylie got free reign and was allowed to literally "dig in" to her birthday cake. Someone made the comment later that wouldn't it be nice if you were allowed to just make the biggest mess and everyone thinks you are so cute for it, and even better, they will clean it up for you! Ah, the life...

Here is Kylie. She is so adorable. Despite the pained expression on her face in this picture, she really was enjoying herself. I mean, wouldn't you?

In other news, we had quite the busy day yesterday with exercising, errands, parties, and journeys to Austin. My cousin, Megan, is serving a mission for the church in an area north of Austin, and we got to take her and her companion out to dinner yesterday. She goes home in about 3 weeks, so it was really fun to see her as a full fledged missionary before she heads back home. The combination of reconnecting with family and eating Chipotle made me so very happy. 

After dinner we had about an hour to go visit Ikea, which we all know is a highly desired store to attend (especially since it's almost 2 hours away from our home). It was fun to browse through and pretend all of the kitchen models or living rooms were actually ours. We did walk away with one item that we were particularly excited about...

Introducing our first live plant! This will be a good test run to see if we can actually keep something alive.

Thoughts from a Traffic Jam

This morning as the rain was pouring down and my car was literally in park as I was sitting in traffic, I had a long, long time to sit and listen to music. One of my favorites came on, and before I knew it I was choking up. I hadn't heard "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" by Sir Elton John in a while, but every time I do I am immediately taken back to happy childhood days, driving nowhere with my Dad as he played the song over and over again.

I became so overcome with gratitude and emotion for my family. I thought of my Dad and how he started his company literally from our basement. He has worked so hard to provide for our family and get to where he is now. Now that I am older, I know that at times money was tight--really, really tight--but Dad never cracked. Him and my mom did everything in their power to let us kids have a happy and carefree childhood. Not only were we cared for temporally, but I know that they loved me, Jace, and Brittney more than anything, and what an amazing feeling that is. I am a Daddy's girl by heart, and I am so grateful for the example he set that helped me realize the kind of husband and future father to my kids I would want.

I wish there wasn't so much distance between my family and me. It's hard sometimes. But I know that families can be together forever, and this short time that we are separated is ironically meant to bring us closer. I am so grateful for the memories we have created, and cannot wait for the many happy times ahead.

So without getting too mushy on everyone, I would just like to say thank you family, I love you.

A picture from long ago -- ca. 1998

1/2 a year!

Last night Russ and I celebrated the fact that we had been married for 6 months. I know to many of our readers, that's no big deal. But to us that's huge. We have been married for half a year, and it's been the best 6 months of my life.

Russ took me to "Russ Ruby," the Russ Lewis version of our favorite Thai restaurant, "Thai Ruby," found in the one and only Provo. We went to Thai Ruby restaurant for our first date and then on the day we got engaged. Needless to say, we love Thai. He recreated the experience for me, and I have to say I was majorly impressed. He made a curry dish with authentic Thai rice--he even cracked his own peppercorns. He may now regret impressing me so much when I sign him up for future cooking assignments...

Birthdays and Shorts

Well my friends, this has been a busy but fun-filled week. As you probably saw in my earlier post, it was Russ's birthday this week. It was so fun watching him get so excited about everything -- but as you can see here, he was particularly excited to open gifts. He is funny because if the gift allows he will put it on as he opens another one, and so on. So by the end of a gift-opening session he is usually sporting quite an interesting look. As you can see, he just opened a "sweet backpack" and is about to open some "awesome bike parts."

We also had a fun little surprise party at one of his favorite restaurants, Rome's Pizza. Thanks to everyone who came! It helped make the perfect day. He was even lucky enough to get an ice cream cake!

The next night we hung out with our friends Reagan and Sada. Good food and good company. They were lucky enough to be exposed to Beatles Rock Band. I think they liked it.

Another one of Russ's gifts was a Texas State Park pass. This one I was also particularly excited about. You know we all love giving gifts to others when it benefits you as well. So we decided to put it to use and checked out Government Canyon state park, that just happens to be about 10 minutes away from our doorstep. Who knew?

We went on a nice long hike and enjoyed the shrubs and cacti of Texas. But in reality, it was actually quite pretty, which was probably amplified by the fact that it was in the 70's.

I have a weird fear of bees. Well, of all insects that can hurt me. And apparently I carry an amber glow around with me.

Russ thought this cactus looked like a man stretching?

Oh and please notice Russ's clothing in the last picture. I wore shorts and sandals in January. And I got hot.

uh, WHAT?!?