Sweet(er) Dreams!

Can you believe it's only been one day and I'm already doing another post? I'm quite proud of the volume of blogging I've been able to accomplish this month. I guess we just continue to have a lot going on! Either that or I just like to share every detail of our life and pretend like it's way too exciting...
In any case, we've had some updates to the house lately and the decorating diva in me simply must share the new additions.

You may recall my mention of the 6:00 am garage sale purchases in the last post. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law, Tami, and I proved our incredible shopping expertise when we picked up an antique sewing table and cute leopard print chair, both of which I adore. The chair has made a stylish addition to our first guest room, and the sewing table added just the right touch to our dining room, serving as a buffet of sorts. I can't wait to display desserts on it when we have people over for dinner!

Here's the fabulous sewing table, all the way from the 1800's. It even has the antique sewing machine still in it.

 Thanks to a recent purchase, we were finally able to finish the second guest room! We were lucky to receive the furniture from Cody's sister Katie's room in Harlingen, and I love the look of everything together. It's more than ready for visitors, so come on over!

 Drum roll please... the main event...our brand new bed! It's amazing how much bigger our room looks now that we have a bigger bed in it. The only problem is it's so pretty that I hate taking it all apart to go to sleep. :) Cody is ever so thrilled by the collection of throw pillows.

I meant to include this pic in the last post, but since I forgot it had to be part of this one. How precious are Lynn and his grandpup? 

Wishing everyone a fantastic week. Until next time!

White Sands or Bust...(literally!)

See? I told you that the next blog update would be coming soon. Again, it's simply because our life is, and continues to grow more and more exciting. We were extra thrilled to have a few visitors last weekend, too. Cody's parents and sister, Katie made the long trip to New Mexico to spend some time with us. It was so great having them here, though the weekend definitely went far too quickly. We saw the sights of Las Cruces (Cody is an excellent tour guide), ate lots of green chile (signature New Mexico cuisine), watched Aggie football, and perhaps most importantly, took a trip to White Sands for the Balloon Festival. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the excitement really went down.

After lots of resistance on my part, my mother and father-in-law convinced me to wake up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to view a collection of hot air balloons. I must say, I'm glad I gave in to the peer pressure, and not just because it enabled me to break my shopping record by being the first customer at our neighborhood garage sale at 6:00 am. It was one of the most gorgeous sites I've ever seen--a white sand backdrop, clear blue skies sprinkled with just the right amount of color from the mountains, and TONS of bright hues as each hot air balloon signaled lift off. If you ever get the chance to witness something like this, do it. It's truly incredible and yet another reminder of the natural beauty around us that we too often take for granted. OK, my hippie moment is over now, so back to the excitement...

 Katie and Lynn pre-balloon launch

 Cody just being fabulous, as usual.

 Big sis & me! So glad we were finally reunited.

 Balloon launch pad

 Time for takeoff!

 A little father/son bonding time at White Sands

 Family photo op

 Isn't he even more handsome with a colorful balloon backdrop?

 I have the best in-laws, and no, I'm not just sucking up. They're incredible!

 Had to document the Aggie-colored balloon. Whoop!

After the balloon launch, we had to participate in the must-do activity of White Sands: sledding down the sand dunes. Naturally, we loved the thrill of speeding down these hills, and Lynn and Tami even participated. Tami, in fact, was probably the most hard core sledder of our group, when she flew down the dune and got at least 2 feet of "big air" upon landing...and that wasn't all she got. She unfortunately bruised the heck out of her tailbone and caused quite a scene at the national monument (hence the "bust" in the title of this post). The park rangers even called the paramedic team over! I promised I'd be a good daughter-in-law and not go into too much detail, but trust me, Katie and I could hardly resist taking a few paparazzi pictures of the scene. Not to worry, Tami is doing well now and mending the tailbone like the champ that she proved to everyone that she is. In other words, I have one tough rock star of a mother-in-law!

 Let the sledding begin!

 I think I was born for this.

 Right before the rock star, big air moment...

 The paramedics responded rather quickly. Moral of the story: if you're going to be hardcore and bust it while sledding at White Sands, it's nice to know their first responders will be there in a flash.

The excitement clearly did nothing to deter us from continuing the sledding extravaganza. It's always good to get in touch with your inner child, right?

 My favorite part of the morning was the hot air balloon ride! Sorry the pic is so far away, we were busy floating over New Mexico...

Can you believe how cool we are?

We were really sad to see a portion of the Johnson family go back to Texas, but now we're even more excited about the big reunion at Christmas. Plus, as quickly as time is flying, we know that will be here before we know it. Thanks again Lynn, Tami, and Katie for spending a wonderful weekend with us!

"I wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy..."

First, I would like to say hello to blog world. I know I have become prone to neglect the Johnson blog these days, and I have no other excuse than that life has, and continues to happen. I'm sure you're wondering why I chose to entitle my returning post with the rather over played line from one of Kesha's always recognizable hit songs. I felt it was only appropriate, considering this line was repeated over and over by my husband the week prior to and the weekend of our return to Aggieland. Yes, I am married to an exceptionally cultured man, and I couldn't be more proud of his ability to keep up with the latest in viral pop music...even if he is a couple of years behind. Now back to the update...

We've been super busy with work and being fantastic puppy parents lately, so we were pretty excited for the chance to return to Aggieland and channel our young(er) college selves. Not only was it a long weekend, but it was also my sister's 20th birthday and the first football game, all providing more than enough reasons for extreme celebrating. I can't even begin to count how many times Cody yelled "Fightin' Texas Aggie Gameday" or my sister informed everyone that she was the birthday princess. Naturally, this made for one incredibly fun visit. Mom even made the trek from San Antonio to join in the festivities. We shopped, ate at our favorite College Station establishments, danced like there was no tomorrow, played a mean game of Cranium, ate chocolate cake, shopped some more, ate some more, and finally cheered the Aggies on to the first victory of the 2011 season. Whoop! Rio really enjoyed his first visit to Aggieland, and he told us that he's ready to go back and visit all of his new friends and his 20-and-fabulous aunt very soon. The fact that I survived two pretty much sleepless nights really impressed me (and everyone for that matter). Looks like this old lady can still hang!

Warning: this post may be slightly heavy on the pictures. I'm trying to make up for lost time!

The birthday princess in all her glory. I could really go for some cake right now... 

 Sister and her precious roomies. Thanks again for putting up with us!

 So glad Mom was there to celebrate with us! We missed you, Dad!

 Perfectly normal behavior for these two... (they're playing Cranium, trust me).

 Ready for a night out on the town!

 Happy birthday to the most gorgeous, smartest, fabulously accessorized and merchandized sister ever!

 Back to our old stompin' grounds...

 Can you tell he's excited?

 The Brown girls and some of their favorite boys

 Ready to watch the Aggies BTHO SMU!

 So happy Ali made the trip to CS! Love this girl so much and loved catching up!

 A little game-watching at the Corner with friends

PJ and Kirby...just carrying on the tradition and making brother and sister incredibly proud. :)

As always, the weekend flew by way too quickly. We're looking forward to another visit sometime soon, though we're not too sure about that 13 hour drive at the moment. Rio was very well behaved the entire trip (for the most part), and even got lots of compliments about how good he was for still being such a baby. We are such proud parents. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of him...he's growing more everyday!

Just watching Cody take care of some fantasy football business...



Another update coming soon, I promise!

Kennels, Leashes, and Milkbones...Oh my!

That's right. The above mentioned items seem to have taken over life in the Johnson household these days, and we wouldn't have it any other way. We're so proud to annouce the newest addition to our family, our (almost) brand new four legged friend, Rio!

We lucked into getting this 6 week old little guy, and the timing could not have been more perfect. I was getting pretty antsy and ready for a companion, and we had planned to wait about a month for a pup from one of our good friend's litter. (This would be the female I had been bragging about, aptly named Betsey Johnson.) We were pleasantly surprised, however, to be gifted a precious male black lab much earlier than we had anticipated having a dog...I mean, I hadn't even had time to puppy-proof the house yet! We were both super excited though and couldn't wait to meet our little buddy.

Last weekend, we drove to San Antonio to pick up our baby Rio at my parent's house. They were generous enough to puppy-sit for the week, as Cody's brother, Cale, brought the little guy up from the Valley on Tuesday and we weren't able to get there until Friday. The second I saw him, it was love at first sight. And to this day I can't imagine life without him...even if he is a little monster most of the time. :) We've had lots of fun potty training (ha!), teaching him to fetch and sit, and even high five. My father-in-law is a little concerned about the lack of fried chicken in his diet, but I think he'll survive somehow.

Life these days is definitely a little more crazy, as Rio is certainly full of energy and personality. He loves ice, and will sit patiently in front of the refrigerator upon hearing the sound of the ice maker. Also, I have to be very careful when doing routine activities such as loading the dishwasher, because he likes to climb into it and make his way into the lower basket with the plates and silverware. He also loves the couches, and I have a feeling we'll be fighting a major battle with him soon, as I certainly don't plan to have black shedded hair all over my nice furniture. Can't wait for that one... haha. Overall though, Rio is a fantastic dog and is super smart. I watched the movie Marley and Me last night, and though he shares much of the craziness of Marley in the movie, it's really true what they say in the end about a dog loving unconditionally and being the best friend you could ever have. I'm pretty sure he's completed us. (Cheesy, I know, but what can you do?)

And now, for the much awaited first Rio photo shoot...

 Doesn't it just look like he's saying "Ok Mom, enough with the pictures"?

In the words of my good friend Nicole Toudouze, "he'll be a 120 pound dinosaur" before we know it, so for now we're just soaking up all the fun puppy time that we can. Now I bet you really want to come visit us, huh?



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?