A Blue Ribbon Visit

This past week my mom and Alison came to visit us. It was so fun to have them here. We ate a lot of good food, did a lot of shopping and went to the famous Texas State Fair.

Of course we took time to make bread and with every batch of bread you have to make a few pluskis (fired bread). They were super yummy. You can also see my super groovy highchair that arrived last week. It folds up super small and is easy to set up. Happy with the purchase. 

Before arriving my mother had found that there was a Talbots outlet only ten minutes from my house. As we entered the store we had to take a minute to catch our breath as we realized that everything on the store was on sale for $17 dollars or less! If any one knows me, I love finding a deal. Alison was a little embarrassed as my mom and I shouted across the store the great deals we were finding. But in our defense, there were many other women around us in a price induced frenzy. James got tired under the weight of our many finds. 

The following day we went to the Grapevine Mills Mall. This mall is not for the faint hearted. There are more than 100 stores, and it also includes an ice rink, a Legoland, and an aquarium.  If my father-in-law is reading this-his worst nightmare.  We had a blast and again poor James was exhausted. 

On Saturday we took the train to the Texas State Fair. Sam was so excited to see the famous Big Tex, the giant mechanical statue that has been welcoming fair goes for 60 years with a big, "Howdy." Sadly the day before we went he caught fire and burned down. We were laughing as we saw fair patrons paying tribute to Tex, with T-shirts, photos, and even a corn dog bouquet.  The fair proved that everything in Texas is bigger and better. There was an entire room dedicated to fried foods- fried bacon cinnamon rolls, fried banana pudding, fried waffle battered chicken on a sick, potatoes fried in every way imaginable, fried alligator (yeah), fried red velvet cake, the list goes on and on. So to all, if you are going to come visit us come while the fair is going, to not only get a very Texas experience but a stomach ache.  

Now for the food that we enjoyed, in order from the worst to the best!

8. Corn on the Cob ( I have had Gary's (Sam's Dad) fresh corn, so never will I enjoy corn any where else)

7. Belgium Waffle (Cold)  It is proven that eating to much fried food causes your eyes to cross. 

6. Chicken Sandwich ( We ordered a hamburger- so?)

5. Twisted Tators

4. Mini Corn Dogs

3. Chicken Fingers and Battered Fries with Gravy ( need I say more)

2. Fried Banana Pudding (way good!)

And the Blue Ribbon goes to:  1.Chicken and Waffles on a stick! 

The Fair was full of exhibits, shops and thrill rides. We were shopped out and mixing rides with our latest meal would have been fatal. So we went to the cars shows. They had several, but by a miracle one of the exhibits that day was the MG club of Dallas. Even in Texas we can find a little bit of Britain. 

This one is for my brother-in-law, sorry Ross, I spent all my tokens on food. 

Of course you can not attend the Texas State fair without finding the pride of Texas- the prize Texas Longhorn Bull. 

All the fun at the fair wore us out, but we are excited for next year. James was loving the ride home on the train. 

Sunday was Stake Conference and I wanted to get a nice picture of everyone together, but James is the only one that would pose for me. 

James was sad to wake up and have to say goodbye to Grandma Lee and Alison.

Garage Sale

Earlier this week I saw a little sign on our street advertising a Garage Sale, and with the hope of finding a bed frame, I suggested to Sam that we check it out. We were in desperate need of a frame for our guest bed, as for the last four weeks it has been on the ground in James' room. As we drove up to the sale oo Saturday morning there was a funky old wood frame that just happened to be a full! We talked the lady down, and bought it. Luckily it was close to out apartment, because Sam had to carry the head and foot boards as they did not fit in our car.

The before: crowded and sloppy.

The after: roomy and bright.

James loves it.

An Aldi just opened a few miles from our apartment and it is my new favorite store. The prices are shocking!
I was so excited about my purchases, I had to take a picture. All this for $15.

James is really starting to move. He isn't crawling yet, but between his rolling and pivot skills he can get any where he wants. His new favorite thing is to roll over while you are changing him, makes things difficult. James has also started eating cereal, and he eats really well if dad can entertain him enough so mom can slip the spoon in. 

In Tune Husband

The past week James refuses to sleep any other way...

Friday night I made a special dinner for Sam, to celebrate a good hard week of work finished. I made pizza and tried out my pizza stone for the first time, it turned out really good. I still need to perfect the crust, but it is getting there. When I set the table I was longing for fresh flowers, so I put out a vase in hopes that my imagination would satisfy. Then the most lovely thing happened, Sam came home with a bouquet of flowers! Good husband.  

James is now fitting into his 9 month clothes.

Sunday Treats

Sam and I have taken the challenge, along with my mom, to only have treats on Sunday. We have done it for two weeks and feel great. To get through the week we plan the most outrageous treats for Sunday. This week we made a giant chocolate cake with  whipped cream and toffee. It was super good!

The sadly thing is left overs are useless as Monday forbids there eating. So we gave one half of our cake to the neighbors and the other to the missionaries. Our neighbor, Jennifer, was so surprised and said that no one had ever done something like that. In Utah goodies at your door is a regular, here it's a novelty. 

I have been running each morning with James. There are trails every where in Flower Mound through beautiful wooded areas along streams and ponds and it is quite delightful. James loves the time in the stroller. Today we passed a pond where a mama turtle and a baby turtle were sitting on a log soaking up the sun together. It was really sweet. 

We went to a festival in Lewisville this weekend called the Western Days Festival. There were tons of vendors, a car show, live bands playing, food booths, but no people. We felt really weird as we walked through a ghost town festival. The rain must have scared everyone away.  After the no show festival, we met up with the Peets, family friends of the Powell's, who have also recently moved to Dallas. We had a very nice lunch with them.

James' hair is long enough to comb now and I think he always looks so handsome after a bath.

James Update

Here are a few recent photos of James for the grandmas.

Dallas Texas

We moved to Dallas, Texas! With this move I have been commanded to update my blog more often and I will try to please.

Last week we loaded all of our stuff into a uhaul with the help of Brian, Ross and Jake. Thank goodness for there help. Mary-Jane ended up cleaning my whole house, because I woke up with a horrible stomach flu and James had an eye infection. We were miserable, but everyone was so helpful. Thank you so much to all.
While everyone was loading and cleaning my mom was finishing up our couches. Sam's parents had given us there old couches, and my mom was recovering them. She did so much work and they look great.

It was two full days of driving to get here, with all three of us in the front of the truck. It was a tight squeeze. James was a sweetheart and laughed and slept the whole time. We only had a few times where he got upset.

Sam has started his new job as the manager of YESCO Dallas, a sign service and repair company. I have almost unpacked all our boxes and the apartment is starting to become our own. James is moving all over the place and has started a new habit of screaming out. It is a happy scream, but very loud.

The Garden we had to leave behind. It got flooded. 

James and his sick eye. 

Cute James.

A lot of work to do. As we were unloading the truck it was so humid and we were so tired I said a quick little prayer telling Heavenly Father it would be great if the missionaries walked by. Five minutes later who did we see across the parking lot- the Elders! We put them to work! 

James is happy to be in Texas.

3 Months

James is growing up too fast. He is now three months old!