Good Times

Well, Brandon and I are finally moved in and getting settled in our new house. All of the big stuff is unpacked. The kitchen is finished (except for whatever I decide to put on top of the cabinets). All that's left to do now is decide where bookshelves should go and load them up with books and what-nots, and then decorate! Fun stuff! :)

I love it here! The neighborhood is so gorgeous! I can sit out on my balcony and look out around the different brightly colored houses and I almost feel like I'm at the beach! The saltwater pools and the beautiful white egrets that fly around from the lake only enhance the feeling.

My parents got to visit us this last weekend. They drove the 10 hours all the way from Alabama on Friday and just went back yesterday. It was so great to see them and get some good Mommy-time. We haven't been able to spend a lot of quality time together in the last few years since I've been living in Texas, so this was really nice - and much needed. We all had so much fun. Brandon and I took them to Ikea (which, by the way, if you haven't been, GO!) and got some fun stuff for the kitchen AND some super fun stuff for my classroom. I actually found a big, heart-shaped pillow with arms and big hands. Perfect for working on steady-beat with my little ones! Ikea is wonderful! It's like the DisneyWorld of furniture/home goods.

While they were here, we discovered that the ponds and lakes around the community here are actually catch-and-keep until the end of August, so we spent a good bit of quality time fishing with my dad, too. He and Brandon ended up catching enough for us to have a fish fry! That, coupled with the fresh gulf shrimp that my dad brought with them, made my favorite meal. It was so good! I think Brandon may be hooked on fishing. :D

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and we were sad to see it end. Even Gizmo misses my folks. He had so much fun playing chase with my dad and snuggling with my mom - it was adorable (sometimes I wonder if he likes my dad even more than us!). He's even gone up and whined at the guest-room door a couple of times today, hoping to find them.

In other news, I will hopefully be able to get in my classroom tomorrow to drop off some of my boxes and see what kind of supplies I have. I've been told I should have a pretty big puppet collection - I'm really excited about that! I'm ready to start setting up and planning! I've already been to new hire orientation and my staff development starts August 10 (kids come on the 24th). In a few weeks, Brandon will have his placement exams and ensemble auditions at UNT, and by the end of August, things will be in full swing for both of us. I think we're both looking forward to it, but for now we're enjoying this vacation time too. :)