Hurricane Don Hits New Mexico

I know what you're thinking upon first view of this post- there are many environmental wonders in New Mexico, but how can we experience hurricanes in the desert? Well you see, Hurricane Don is a very special occurrence, in the form of one of our best friends (and a former Churchill Charger and Texas Aggie), Stephen Donley, who is better known affectionately in our group as "Don". Wherever Don is, you can guarantee a wild party and a good time, and we were so excited when he decided to take a trip to visit us in Las Cruces with his sweet girlfriend, Brittany.

The hurricane made its appearance on Friday evening, and we kicked off Stephen and Britt's visit with a little relaxation on the deck, just catching up since the last time we had seen them was in May for Memorial Day weekend. These two are so much fun and just wonderful people, and we loved having them at our house and showing them the sights of Las Cruces.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and feasted on Cody's famous breakfast tacos before we visited the local farmer's market on a quest to find Britt some unique New Mexico jewelry and freshly grown veggies. We were super excited to land her a gorgeous turquoise ring along with some other great finds (I took my role as personal shopper very, very seriously), and tired the boys out to the point that they sat on the tailgate while we finished up our shopping excursion. After the farmer's market, we ventured to Mesilla to show them the site of Billy the Kid's trial and hanging, and before returning home we feasted on yummy margaritas and chips and queso at Peppers, one of our favorite restaurants. Britt and Stephen were pretty fascinated by all of the history in our area, and we had fun playing tour guides for the day.

Shopping at the Farmer's Market

Outside the famous spot where Billy the Kid was tried & hanged for his rebellious ways

Enjoying a little down time at Peppers'

My buddy and me! Stephen and I go way back to our days as Churchill Chargers. Dad coached him in football, we went to Texas A&M together and now he works with my mom at Independence Title. Love this guy!

The trio enjoying some yummy margs

Saturday night we hosted some of our friends for a fiesta/BBQ, and naturally, my husband took it upon himself to provide enough food for at least 3 more parties. :) The boys did a fantastic job grilling up some delicious fajitas, and Britt and I created quite a spread of chips and dips, salad and veggies... along with a very sweet-tooth friendly Pineapple Cake. (I must credit the Johnson family cookbook for this one-- it was definitely a hit!) We had so much fun hanging out and visiting with everyone, and Britt and Stephen enjoyed getting acquainted with our NM friends.

Only part of the spread. You better believe we had pounds and pounds of fajita meat spread over the entire kitchen counter! Cody never skimps when it comes to feeding a crowd. He may have inherited that trait from his daddy. :)

The master griller in all his glory

Britt & Stephen (and a guest appearance by Cody the grill master's tongs)

Our sweet friend Steph and Sonny, Nick and Danette's little man. Sonny loved the watermelon and couldn't finish one piece before he stuffed another into his mouth. What a cutie! He loved playing with Rio and growled at him as he chased him around the deck and backyard. Rio didn't know what to do with this "little person" and kept his distance of at least a foot. He was so good with Sonny!

After catching up on some sleep Sunday morning, we woke up, got dressed and headed to one of our favorite spots, DeLaVega's Pecan Grill for brunch. We all feasted off of each other's plates, then headed to Lulu (Mom and my favorite boutique in Las Cruces) for a little more shopping. We ended the day with a visit to Rio Grande Winery for a little wine tasting and live blues music, and were in awe of the beautiful weather. I am so excited that fall is upon us-- it's definitely the most beautiful time of year in these parts!

Stephen doing his best Matt Bomer impression at Lulu. The boys were good sports and endured even more shopping for us!

Our little group at Rio Grande Winery

They loved the mountains, so we had to get a pic of them showing off the gorgeous scenery.

Just livin' the dream enjoying a few of our favorite things- live music, the great outdoors and good wine!

We were so sad to see Britt and Stephen go, but are definitely looking forward to the next time we can all get together. We truly cherish our friends from TX, and are so blessed that we are able to see them so often even being so far away. Thank you two for being so wonderful and such gracious guests. We love y'all!

Princess Addie

On August 2nd, Cody and I were super excited to welcome our first niece into the world. Addison Lynn Mayeaux was born in Houston shortly after noon, and she is absolutely beautiful! We can't get enough of her red hair and animated expressions. We get to meet her in just a couple of weeks over Labor Day weekend and it really can't come quickly enough. I am in hog heaven buying accessories, headbands and outfits for this sweet little girl. You better believe its never too early to begin an extensive shoe and accessory collection. :)

We already know that our brother-in-law, Jason, and Cody's sister, Katie, are wonderful parents and we can't wait to see them in action. They are amazing and so faithful and we thank God that he blessed them and the Johnson family with this sweet little angel.

We love you Princess Addie!

Redecorating Rio's Room

If you've been to our house, you know that we have a great sunroom that leads to the backyard and deck. This room has also been dubbed "Rio's room", as it is where he makes himself comfy at night. As of late, I have become quite unhappy with the vast amount of filth and dog hair in this room, so last weekend Cody and I came up with the perfect idea for making the sunroom more user-friendly (for humans that is). Naturally, I am much more inclined to clean a space that actually looks pretty and put together!

Being the avid Pinterest pinner and home decor maven that I am, I found a great idea for a pallet loveseat and thought it would be the perfect sitting area to pair with the table and chairs that we already have in the sunroom. After removing the thousands of dirt layers that can be expected when one lives in the desert, we rearranged some things and Cody put his fantastic carpentry skills to work. He sawed apart a few wooden pallets, which we stacked upon one another to create a love seat perfect for drinking coffee on lazy Saturday mornings or reading a good book on a crisp fall afternoon. My hubby is absolutely the best to put up with the constant need to update our home that I must have inherited from my mother. :) He looked quite handsome with that power saw, might I add! After adding a few outdoor cushions and throw pillows, we created the perfect place to enjoy the view of the mountains and feast on brunch.

Behold- our new and improved sunroom, and a much nicer place for Rio to rest his head!

 Cody the Carpenter's masterpiece: the pallet love seat!

 We can't wait to spend our mornings and evenings in here. Especially when it cools down a bit.

Rio wasn't too sure about his room becoming so "pretty" at first. In fact, he made a statement by dragging all of the throw pillows into the yard this morning. We might have another battle on our hands with this one...

The finished product

So Happy Together...

We wrapped up our adventures in Boston on Friday and headed to Kennebunkport, Maine to celebrate the marriage of our sweet friends, Meghan and Ryan. I can't tell you how many times we had people tell us "man, you Texans like to party!" We certainly took that as a compliment and decided that New England had a thing or two to learn from "us Texans". Cody and I got a kick out of the fact that when people asked where we were from, we responded with "New Mexico", but quickly qualified that we are originally from Texas. Think we're a little proud of our Lone Star roots?

We had so much fun reuniting with all of Cody's good friends from Harlingen, and he and Ryan got some quality time together for the first time in several months. Cody and Ryan go way back to middle school in Harlingen, and spent several summers living together at South Padre Island. My first memories of dating Cody wouldn't be the same without Ryan in them--so believe me when I say that this guy definitely holds a special place in both of our hearts. His sweet wife Meg is the perfect match for him, and I was super excited to celebrate her official entry into the Bull family. Meg's family is originally from Boston--and they're Irish-- so we knew the wedding festivities were sure to be a great time. We started the weekend with Meg's bachelorette party in New Hampshire, then spent Saturday at the pool after a yummy brunch at a local cafe overlooking the gorgeous ocean. (Cody will be quick to tell you that he ended the trip with a total of 6 pounds of lobster consumed, and that is no exaggeration.)

I must say that Maine is definitely on my top 5 list of most beautiful places in the US, and I hope that we're able to go back one day. The weather was perfect, and a much needed escape from the torturous New Mexico heat. We couldn't have had a better beach getaway, and were even honored to visit the site of President George Bush, Sr.'s vacation home. How appropriate for a bunch of fun-loving Texans!

We started our first full day in Maine with a yummy brunch full of lobster omelets, crab florentine, and mimosas. The view of the water was amazing and the sun felt incredible.

The boys lounging at the pool before rehearsal.

The houses in Kennebunkport were incredible-- they looked like real-life dollhouses! I kept saying that I felt like I stepped into an American Girl book. (Anyone remember the books and dolls?)

The gorgeous Atlantic ocean

George Bush, Sr.'s home in Kennebunkport, ME. If you look closely, you can see that the Texas flag is flying, which means he and Barbara are home! (PS-they own the entire peninsula.)

My handsome hubs and me at the rehearsal dinner

Cody and Ryan at the rehearsal dinner. BFF's!

The groomsmen anxiously awaiting the start of the ceremony

Meg and her dad walking down the aisle. Isn't she a stunning bride?

In my opinion, this pic is the perfect definition of this sweet, fun couple. When the pastor announced Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Bull, Meg lifted up their hands and yelled "woo hoo!" I loved it!

John giving the best man speech. Such a sweetheart!

Yummy cake

Another photo op for the Johnson's

 John, Cody and Ryan's youngest brother, Will being goofy at the reception. What a party!

Meg and me. Love this girl!

The four of us-- can't believe we're grown up AND married! My how time flies.

We were sad that our vacay had to come to an end, but were happy to see the mountains upon our return home. We can't wait for the next time all of our friends get together, and are so thankful for the wonderful people in our lives, near and far!

Red Sox Nation

On Thursday night, we joined the ranks of dedicated baseball fans and took the subway to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox. I had been to a Red Sox game when I was 12, but I was incredibly pumped for a second chance to visit the Green Monster and all of the super intense fans. For those of you that don't know, baseball is a way of life in Boston. The Red Sox fans call themselves "Red Sox nation", and I found many similarities between the traditions and loyalty of Red Sox nation and the Texas Aggies. For this reason, Cody had no trouble being just as intense as the 40-year season ticket holder on our row. We had amazing seats in the lower deck on the first base line, and enjoyed a meal of ballpark hot dogs (my favorite!), nachos and beer. Sadly, this was also our most expensive meal, but it was worth every penny and calorie. Perhaps the best part of the game--besides singing "Sweet Caroline" at the top of our lungs--was watching the Red Sox come from behind to win the game with a walk-off home run. The stadium literally erupted with cheers and the team ran out of the dugout, ripped off Cody Ross' jersey and drowned him in blue Gatorade. My husband is the ultimate sports fan, and was right in the middle of the action, high fiving everyone in our section and jumping up and down. He makes me so proud! We can't wait to go back for a game in a few years, and had so much fun seeing another historical landmark in Boston during the year of its 100th anniversary.

 We did take the T to Fenway!

 Dad hooked us up with some pretty stylish Red Sox gameday shirts. Don't we look good?

 A few of the Red Sox players warming up (That's Jacoby, Dad!)

 The famous Green Monster in left field

On Friday morning, we woke up and soaked up the last historical sites that we could, including a walk through Little Italy, a tour of Paul Revere's house on the Freedom Trail, and a visit to Fanneul Hall. (I believe this is where the original US Constitution was created, but better not quote me on that.) We also saw the site of the Boston Massacre and found the cutest little boutique to satisfy the last bit of my shopping hunger. I would just like to add that my husband is the best EVER and took a break from seeing historical sites to let me shop. He even braved a trip to H&M-- talk about Prince Charming!

 A view of the houses in Little Italy. If only it wasn't 9:00 am-- we could've enjoyed a little wine and pasta!

 This was our inside joke of the day. Cody was convinced that I was trying to dress up as Rosie the Riveter for the day, so he had to take a pic of me doing my best impression of the "We can do it" pose. Perhaps there's a bit of resemblance?

 Cody's main goal of the entire Boston trip was to see "real cobblestone streets". We finally achieved his goal on the morning before we left, thank goodness!

 We enjoyed a tour of the Paul Revere house, where we learned several things, including: kitchens during colonial times were more like campfires than what we consider a kitchen, master bedrooms where made for entertaining guests with card games, and Paul Revere was a silversmith by trade, but also practiced dentistry, surgery and who knows what else. There was definitely more valuable info, but these points really stood out for us.

Before our Boston departure, we had to take advantage of a photo op in the "real cobblestone streets". Aren't we presh?

Around noon, it was time to rent a car and head north to Maine. We were super excited to see our friends and celebrate Meg and Ryan's wedding! More to come!

I think I'll go to Boston...

Last Wednesday morning, Cody and I pretended to be morning people and arrived at the El Paso airport at 6:30 AM to begin an adventure to New England. Sure, you might wonder why I would complain about leaving my bed at 4:30 AM when there is a fabulous vacay involved, but let's just say that sleep and I have a very, very necessary dependence upon each other. :) For the sake of Cody's sanity, however, I replaced sleep with its very close sidekick, coffee, and we prepared to head off on a second honeymoon and a visit to one of the most historical sites in the US.

We arrived in Boston in the height of rush hour, and trust me when I say that this experience could be likened to Houston rush hour-- on foot. We braved the incredibly crowded subways and finally arrived at our hotel after walking 10 blocks in the wrong direction...in the rain... with luggage. We're pretty sure everyone knew we were from Texas (or some place without public transportation) at that point, but it was an adventure nonetheless. We stayed across from Tufts University and the New England Medical Center, which is conveniently located in walking distance from Chinatown, the Theatre District, downtown, Boston Common and, yes, the shopping district (can you say score?). After getting settled and freshened up--which took quite a while for two people who are no longer accustomed to humid climates--we headed out to dinner at a cute little wine bar that boasted the most AMAZING lobster mac'n cheese. If you haven't had the pleasure of feasting on this dish, add it to your bucket list. It's to die for.

Thursday morning we began a day of tourist attractions, beginning with a visit to the Prudential Centre and our very own Duck Tour. The Duck tour consists of a ride around Boston on a vehicle used during World War II which is simliar to a bus on land and transforms into a boat on sea. We were able to learn a ton about all of the Revolutionary landmarks in Boston, and saw all of the memorable sites from the time of our nation's independence.

President JFK's home prior to his time in office

 Lots of memories of the Boston Tea Party... and Starbucks?

  

 The cityscape as seen from the Charles River. This was the river that the Red Coats sailed into for all of the Revolutionary battles.

 USS Constitution

 Boston Massacre Burial site

 Fanneul Hall

 Entering the Charles River

 The building that housed the police force in The Departed. Leo Dicaprio and Matt Damon could be seen running up and down these stairs pretty frequently during the filming... how cool is that?

 A piece of the original Berlin Wall at the Holocaust Memorial

 The Old State House

 The original Boston fire station

 Old South Church, where correspondence between the messengers (think Paul Revere) occurred to warn the Patriots that the British were coming

 Beacon Hill, the elite neighborhood of Boston (and home of sweet Karen Craun!)

 The steps of the Prudential Centre, home of lots of shopping, restaurants, tours and business

 Getting our day started in Boston Common

Tufts University in the New England Medical Center. This was the view from our hotel.

 The finish line of the Boston Marathon. I tried to run across it, but a bus got in the way... 

 Where everybody knows your name!

 Statue memorial of Paul Revere

The Fairmont Copley Hotel, where every president stays upon visiting Boston

Stay tuned for day 2 of our Boston visit. So many adventures!