Toes in the water, toes in the sand

Yes, I am aware that the title of this post is the edited version of that famous Zac Brown Band song. And no, I'm not ashamed. After many months of anticipation, Cody and I finally made it down to his hometown of Harlingen to celebrate July 4th with some much needed time with family, friends, and the Gulf of Mexico. Cody hadn't been home since our Harlingen wedding shower last May, so it was a much needed escape for him.

My sister Kirby also joined us and had her first "deep sea" fishing experience. This was a running joke for the weekend due to the fact that in my sister's novice fisherwoman's mind, the fishing excursion would include an offshore adventure. Sadly, there were no marlin or 40 foot yachts, but we had a blast fishing with the best fishing guide around, my father-in-law, Lynn. Before the fishing adventure began, we had to say hello to South Padre Island, where we spent a relaxing day on the beach with family and friends. Cody hadn't spent time with his cousin Keith since we got married, so it was awesome to catch up with him and his family. Plus, this provided a great excuse for a crazy game of washers. (We won't discuss who the champ of the tournament was, due to harsh feelings on the part of my overly competitive husband and sister.) I was perfectly content sitting my bootie in a chair and soaking up some sun. Maybe now you'll be able to see me when I walk down the street...

Here is photo documentation of a wonderful extended weekend down south.

And the washer playing begins...

Kirbs, me, and Rachel just being fabulous

"Thank you Johnston reunion for giving me championship washer skills."

The best father-in-law around, Mr. Lynn Johnson

Lovely ladies: My wonderful mother-in-law, Tami, Aunt Ann, and Rachel

We just couldn't escape the paparazzi...

Love!

Love?

We were thrilled to spend a little time with some old friends. Miss y'all!

Ash & me

 The toe picture!

 She'll kill me for publishing this, but I must include in this post that my sister, the tough, tom boy, squealed like a little girl upon her first encounter with a fish. If only I had a recording...

 Her first official bite, cast and all!

 My first catch of the day, a baby trout

 Clearly Kirby and I are capable of hosting our own fishing show at this point.

 There's the big guy. That's more like it.

 Oh you know, just being a pro fisherman. No big deal.

 Like father, like son. One of my personal favorites from the fishing photo shoot.

 Not too shabby for a Sunday afternoon!

 Professional grade fishing

Another great day with the best fishing guide ever! (Maybe we'll tip him next time...)

Thanks so much to Cody's parents for a wonderful weekend. It's always so refreshing to spend time with family, and we were even able to have dinner with a few of the Johnson cousins and Grandpa and Grandma while we were in town. What a blessing for both of us to belong to such loving, not to mention big, families. We wouldn't have it any other way.

After our few days in paradise, we've returned to the desert mountain city of Las Cruces and are looking forward to establishing a sense of normalcy back into our lives. Don't get me wrong, we'll probably get bored after about a week of it, but everyone needs a little down time, right? 

Love is in the air...

I honestly cannot believe that the month of June has come and passed. Perhaps the fact that Cody and I were jet setting fools contributed to its rapid escape...can't stop, won't stop! Now that you're familiar with our New Mexican life, I suppose its time to catch up on all of the Texas adventures we've had lately. (You didn't think I'd cease to glorify the best state just because we're a little closer to it now, did you? )

Here's a brief summary of our June in pictures. Can you feel the love?

The weekend of June 11th, we were fortunate enough to celebrate the marriage of our two great friends, Wes and Nicole. I was a real picture-taking slacker, but hopefully you can see how beautiful everything was just from this one photo. The ceremony was in downtown Austin at a gorgeous cathedral, followed by the reception at the famous Driskill Hotel. This weekend also happened to be our first anniversary (What?!), so we took advantage of the opportunity to stay at the Driskill and treat ourselves. There is simply no better way to celebrate our first year of marriage than to spend time with great friends. We had an amazing time, and appreciate the Toudouze and Laprade families' great hospitality!

 Excuse the sweaty look (clearly I had grown accustomed to New Mexico's dry climate and was not ready for the TX humidity). Sadly these are the only pics I got from the wedding, thanks to my good friend Alison!

Before Cody began the 9 hour trek back to Las Cruces, we were able to watch our wedding photo slideshow and eat our cake. We weren't too impressed with the year-old dessert, but my sister and mom's sweet tooth sure were pleased by it! Due to my lack of makeup that day, we didn't take any pictures, but that just gives me the chance to take a walk down memory lane with a few pics from the actual event.

Isn't he handsome?

If you thought that our anniversary concluded a month of amor-filled activities, well, you thought wrong. The weekend after our anniversary, we had the honor of celebrating the 50th anniversary of two incredible role models of mine, my grandparents, Stelvin and Kathy Johnston. They were deservingly surrounded by tons of family and friends as we gathered for a party at their church in Comanche, TX. I am so blessed and thankful for the example that Grandma and Grandad have set for our entire family regarding marriage, and for their constant love for each other and each one of the members of our growing family. Our fabulous photographer and my lovely Aunt Stacey was able to capture several great photos at the event.

 The Lovebirds

She so politely fed him cake.

1 down, 49 to go...then we'll be there too! 

Sister and me

The fantastic hostesses and host, my mom, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Julie

Needless to say, June was a great and busy month filled with lots of family and friend bonding time. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we even participated in perhaps one of our favorite pastimes...floating the river! Oh Texas Hill Country, how we love you. After so many weeks of travel, I must say that it's nice to be home for a bit. But don't worry, because those who know us well know we never stay put for long!



Mi Casa es Su Casa

Hello blog world! After a few weeks away, we have much to share in the realm of updates. First and foremost, we are settled in lovely Las Cruces, New Mexico, and are loving our new homeland. The climate and landscape took me a little getting used to (I've never been too fond of the whole southwestern/desert look, for those of you that know me well.) Nevertheless, I've decided to embrace this place and appreciate the culture that we're quickly diving into. Good thing we can get in touch with our south Texas roots, because living only 45 minutes from Mexico sure does require the ability to speak a little Spanish and be somewhat familiar with the Hispanic culture. And that we certainly are. So far everyone has been very friendly and welcoming, and we couldn't ask for a better area to reside. The house is very different from the classic and traditional brick homes of our past, but with the help of my all-star interior designer mom, we've adapted my decorating style to fit an adobe, desert-style house.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...here are some pics of our new home! (in no particular order..and my apologies for the strangely small size. Grab your specs!)

 Living room, complete with my latest art project--the turquoise coffee table! If you'll think back, you'll remember Cody's lame wooden coffee table. Don't get me wrong, it was great for a bachelor pad, but I'm feeling the brightness much more. Believe it or not, so is he! (But I didn't tell you that, haha.)

 Perhaps our favorite part of the house, the deck. You can't tell yet, but this awesome set up overlooks the Organ Mountains and a fabulous view. The sunsets are quite romantic, and all Cody has to do is open the back door. :)

 Dining room, made extra special by my parents' former dining table. This was the table that I grew up eating meals at, so I was very excited to make it my own (another art project).

 Entry way--notice the great tile at the front door. Reminds us a little of Texas, naturally.

 Living room fireplace--clearly the perfect home for my favorite painting. Cody is just glad that it's as far away from his head as possible, as it was notorious for falling off the wall and hitting him in the head due to its heavy wooden backdrop.

 Say "hola" to our very own adobe homestead! Interesting, huh?

 Guest bathroom--it will be a horribly sad day when I have to finally part with my beloved Anthropologie shower curtain!

 Guest bedroom #1 (guest bedroom #2 isn't furnished yet, but will be added as soon as we pick up some additional furniture and a new bed)

 Mom enjoying some delicious homemade ice cream in the fabulous kitchen!

 Another glimpse of the living room and my gorgeous table, inspired by Bella Vita of course.

 Master bedroom--don't get too attached though. Our new bed will make its debut in the next few weeks. King Cody just isn't content with a full-size bed these days...

 More master bedroom (yes, that's a pronghorn antelope on display, and yes, you may see another one in our home in the near future. But it will be mine this time!)

 Now for my favorite room...the master bath. This thing is the size of a bedroom, easily, and I'm obsessed with my jet-setting (I can say that, right?) bath tub.

 There's the mountain view...please excuse the telephone pole. This clearly doesn't do it justice, so I suppose you'll just have to see it for yourself!

 Office/man cave. Don't worry, Cody's massive man couch and chair made it in here.

Sunroom, off the dining room. My Dad commented that we can eat each meal at a different table these days. I must add that this will become the puppy's room in just about a month though...yay!

We are so thrilled to have ended our days of apartment living, and are loving the space of this house. Ironically, Comcast has decided to play John Wayne more often than ever on TV, so not only am I living in the land of cowboys and indians, but I'm getting to watch some great movies set near us, too. Takes me back to visiting my Uncle Brian when he ranched/cowboyed in New Mexico during my childhood. I'll never forget that Christmas, and am so glad to be able to experience again a great memory from many years ago. Now it's everyone's turn to visit us...and we're serious, we have plenty of room, so come on! Just be sure to bring your hot weather clothes, because man, this dry heat is unforgiving. But as you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. Until next time (which will be soon), adios amigos!