kenny and molly

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T06:39:00.000-08:00

Squeeze the one(s) you love today! Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas morning?

2012-02-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

I finally downloaded Christmas pictures and once again I did a terrible job. The best thing I can say is that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were too busy playing to take pictures.

Daisy was just as excited as the kids were.
Maeve and Meg made sure Daisy felt the Christmas love :)
Then it was time to open presents!
Mom and I and the cute hat we got her for Christmas. She is precious.
Uncle Paul sure is funny with his HUGE bags of Beggin strips.
Someone was spoiled at Christmas.
And so tired, she had to rest before she could do it all again in Maryland!
And those are all the Christmas pictures I took. That is terrible!

Merry Christmas (in February!)

Sick day

2012-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

Currently I have no voice. Literally, throughout dinner tonight Kenny kept saying, "what?" each time I spoke. I did have a productive day of catching up on the newest fad-Downton Abbey. Can you say, LOVED IT!!!!

In between naps and petting Daisy, this show kept me company all day. Thanks PBS! It even opened with a telegraph and train which I just taught about -industrial revolution and all. Oh PBS, you keep me in the classroom even when I am absent. Thanks!

So my parents

2012-01-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

are really models.

Okay, maybe they aren't runway models even though Mom has got some moves she could use on that runway, BUT we did have a photo shoot for them while they were here for Thanksgiving. They are NEVER photographed together, so I told them that I was planning this, and they had to show up. It totally helps that as the third child I can guilt them by saying things like, "Well, I don't have that many pictures of MY grandparents who have since left this Earth." Yes friends, I used death guilt to get some beautiful pictures of my parents. Sue me.

They have spent 42.5 years laughing together which is a great lesson for all of us!
And Dad has spent 42.5 years talking and telling stories (as he did throughout the photo shoot).
And they have spent 42.5 years supporting each other and standing by each other in tough times and in great times.
And they created and raised 3 beautiful children (if I don't say so myself).
And they never stop having adventures and enjoying life (like Dad is right here!)
Thanks for being great role models to Kenny and me about how to keep this marriage thing rolling and embracing all of life's ups and downs and how to take sweet model-like pictures. We hope we did you proud.Thank you to our friend Kara for taking the pictures!

I've got friends in loooow places...

2012-01-16T10:48:00.000-08:00

just kidding, they are all in high places, (well North of us at least), but who doesn't like a little Garth Brooks?

Anyway, while over the break we got to see some GREAT friends.

In VB, we did a little photo shoot with one talented Valerie Horn Demo. Pictures to come if you haven't seen them on Facebook. Let's just say, she captured my every wish in a photo of Kenny and me. Flight suit. Wedding dress. Beach. Amazing 4+ years of adventures together. Then we got to see Mel-Bel who has been a good friend since I was in 9th grade. Both ladies stood up with me at the wedding. Let's just say, they are pretty awesome.

We also got to have a glass of wine with our Whidby friends who should be models because they are such beautiful people. If they weren't so nice, we would dislike them, but darn are they not super sweet people. :)

Off to MD, we got to see some of our fave peeps including the Mumbachs who have some of the prettiest/sweetest kids ever. Kylie and I got to hang out for an entire weekend once while her parents had a trip. We are kind of tight (but let's be honest, she adores Kenny). Natalie, Whit and I, and Kylie and I

I also got to see my bff from first year at UVA, Bri who is getting hitched this summer to a sweet and SUPER tall young gent who is also a teacher. :)

Finally, I got to see Lizzy (and in spirit, Bridgee) who fooled me into going to Tyson's the day after Christmas which was insane. Even though I wanted to kill, I mean hug her when I saw her, I was super glad to get to have a lunch date with a super special Chi O (and not short bus). We missed you Bridgee! (Lizzy and Bridgee with me below).
We are pretty blessed with some pretty, I mean amazing, friends.

What we did over break

2012-01-09T09:04:00.001-08:00

We drove from Corpus Christi to Liberty. Then from Liberty we drove to Atlanta. Then from Atlanta we drove to Virginia Beach. The Fosters and Vaughns road trip with Aunt Molly in the back! (We were ready to be in VB!)

We parked it in VB for a bit to hang out with the parents and enjoy some good ol' family hang out. We went to the state park almost every day (even when it rained which Daisy was NOT a fan of). We also did a lot of playing with cousins. I think Maeve and Daisy are BFFs. They snuggled, hiked, licked, rubbed bellies, and were pretty inseperable.

We did take everyone to go to this little aviation museum in VB which had all of these WWII planes. Uncle Kenny, Doc, and Will were in heaven! The rest of us enjoyed seeing the planes, but you just can't match those three and their excitement!

Please note Will's little cowboy boots. Doc shined them up for him, and he LOVED them. More adventures to come!

A little note

2012-01-02T08:42:00.001-08:00

Hello from the Vaughns! We have arrived back home and are safe and sound and starting back tomorrow. I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to our friends and family for making the holidays wonderful and opening your homes to the three of us!

We hope you have had a blessed start to the new year!

Love,

Kenny, Molly, and Daisy

We finally went to Austin!

2011-12-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

For less than 24 hours.

Kenny got a one night cross-country flight to Austin, so we made a trip of it. I wouldn't normally make an 8 hour drive round trip to a city, but our good friends were also going. Therefore, I had a fun person to drive. We also took Kenny's student's wife who was excited to grill us with questions about being a Navy wife and the first real duty station. It is always fun to make other "young" wives feel better about marrying a Navy pilot.

We go up there before Kenny did because he flew by way of Alabama. We actually had lunch at this little restuarant which I had been to with family! I have been two Austin twice and each time for less than 24 hours. Only once I have eaten out in Austin, and I do a repeat! But it was really good, so why complain, right?

When Kenny and his student arrived, we went down to the capital building which was neat to see and walk around.

Kara even did an impersonation of the people at the burning of the Alamo.

We then treked super far (unbeknownst to us) to a really cool bookstore, Anthropologie, R.E.I. and the originial Whole Foods.

We then had dinner at this neat Mexican place that had some amazing fish tacos.

And the best part for Kenny and his pilot friends was hanging out a bar call the Hanger. It was all airline themed and pretty much made their night.

We can't wait to do more cross-country trips up there because it is certianly worth the drive, if you have a friend to drive with!

And a little holiday cheer with our sotckings hung by the chimney... just waiting to for the holiday!

Some pictures :)

2011-12-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here is the set up of the baby shower I threw...

Here is Daisy cheering on the Cavaliers vs. FSU (which we won!) She does not look super enthusiastic at the moment.

Here is what Thanksgiving looked like before guests arrived.

Lastly, Daisy with her grandparents.Daisy with her favorite Uncle... Some might say she is a wee bit spoiled.

The Henry siblings :)

Daisy has had a very short haircut. Her father is training her to be in the military, so we are trying to get her a little jacket before we head north for the holidays... How does this one look?
Hope you all are gearing up for the holidays. We are excited to see family and spend some quality time with even more family. It was so awesome to have family in over Thanksgiving. Makes you appreciate what you have. Daisy is also excited to play more with her grandmother who would play keep away with her. It's a favorite of hers.

Now for more sweater shopping.... Daisy needs a whole wardrobe, right?

Thankful- Check!

2011-11-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

Parents in town - Check
Happy puppy - Check
Aunt and Uncles coming in town - Check
Friends over for Thanksgiving - Check
Celebrating a friend's kid's first Thanksgiving - Check
Having parents have a photo shoot - Check
Turkey - Check
CRANBERRY SAUCE (best part of any holiday, hands down)- Check

Filled with love and gratefulness - definitely! Hope you and yours had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Because you miss me...

2011-11-17T06:04:00.000-08:00

right?

Sorry we have been MIA. Kenny has been out of town. I have a student teacher. I threw a beautiful baby shower. I hosted book club. We had mold in our brand new house. We had the vents sealed. We had the ceiling repainted. Daisy puked over stress of furniture being moved and the knowledge that someone had been in our house without us. (The nerve of those people!) It has been busy!

But I wanted to post a picture of Daisy Vaughn who is just precious as always, and so you don't miss us too much.

Promise to post more after this weekend and for sure during Thanksgiving when the Doc and Grandmother will be in town to spoil Daisy, go to Academy, and oh yeah, see their children. :)

An additional Halloween pic

2011-11-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

Please note that Daisy is in the front. Kenny is hiding behind me and to the right. The Vaughn's represented, and Daisy made lots of friends.

Mom- this is really for you, so you can see Pat's dress in full.

Happy Thanksgiving Month!!

A little halloween fun

2011-11-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering what we have been up to...

We have dressed up as Mad Men characters (Don Draper and his wife Betty, well now ex-wife). Please do not mind the fake cigs. I didn't even know which end should be colored red. Our friends, the Karaffas went as characters from the Wizard of Oz. Cutest tin man ever!

I made owl cupcakes for the squadron Halloween party.

We have carved amazing pumpkins - Kenny's the Grim Reaper and mine is the Owl.

We saw Lady Antebellum with our friends the Karaffas.

And now, I need a nap.

Hope November is going well for you all! It is 55 degrees outside, and the kids are acting like it's is 10 below, but boy does it feel glorious!

Not to toot my horn

2011-10-27T17:16:00.001-07:00

But I won a $100 gift card Wednesday for my classroom!(Please note me in my circle dress that I have sweated through and have sweat rolling down my legs. Also please note that I am doing the sorority squat. When I said, "Let's sorority squat," the other women didn't know what I was talking about. Don't I live in Texas?)

I was told that I was meeting with Wal-Mart executives to chat about forming a relationship with our school district. After sweating through the opening remarks from the various people there opening the Super Wal-Mart including our state representative and a youth pastor, we were awarded (unbeknownst(sp?) to us) our gift cards!

Our principal was super sweet in rewarding our hard work. I jokingly said I would buy cookies for my room, but in actuality, our school needs lots of things like notebooks, glue, pencils, paper, etc. We even have a need for children underwear and socks which always breaks my heart. I am sure that the $100 will go quickly. I just hope that whatever it is that I spend it on serves as many kids as possible.

Boy, was I glad I wore a washable dress... I almost wore something that needed to be dry cleaned... CLOSE call. Now I just have to wait for the excitement of Wal-Mart opening to die down so that I can actually go into the store!

Homecoming Parade!

2011-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

So Texas is much different than the east coast when it comes to Homecoming. In VA, we had a homecoming parade at the high school during half time of the football game. In TX, we have a homecoming parade Monday before the football game. The WHOLE town shows up and participates with floats, cars, etc. HEB had a HUGE motorized shopping cart entered in the parade. The little kids walk in the parade. The high school sports walk in the parade. The churches put floats in the parade. Children wear "mums" all week at school showing their school spirit. It is pretty intense.

As cheer sponsor, it was my first TX parade which was fun mainly because I got to see lots of my students from last year. That is the best reward for teaching is knowing those kids realize how much you have given to them (even the stinkers). They want to show you how they have changed over the summer and how they have improved. When the kid who always goofed off in class comes up to you in a NJROTC uniform with a prideful way of holding himself, I can't help but think, "I had a wee part of that." SUCCESS!

It was fun walking with the girls and showing off their hardwork and seeing how Texas does homecoming!

Here are a few pics from the parade!

The moment you have been waiting for...

2011-10-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

My bedazzled jersey!
The picture doesn't do it justice, but all the wording is sparkly silver glitter!

Now try not to be too jealous!

We are having a HOOT with fall!

2011-10-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

This little number adorns my front door. Isn't he cute? What should we name him? Ollie the Owl? Or Howie the Hoot? Thoughts, please...

And two of these are hanging out on my dining room table just waiting to be lit and to make my house smell like fall!

Hope you are having a great fall!! It is hard to get in the spirit with 80 degree weather, but we are trying!

Stay tuned... next post is my bedazzled jersey...

A virtual tour of my classroom.

2011-09-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

I am by no means a good "bulletin board maker." I am not an elementary school teacher for many reasons and that is one of them. I cannot make a good bulletin board since I am not super creative. Thank goodness for whoever decided that they should put together posters kits and cut outs of the Lincoln Memorial and fake copies of the Declaration of Independence. I love you.

This year, I did a little more than last year especially since my lovely mother had picked me up posters along the way of her travels. (Thanks mom!)

So here are some pictures of my room (before the kids start to destroy it and we have to cover parts/take down for testing).

My room as you walk in to the haven of learning :)This year I learned that you can write on bulletin board paper! (Why I didn't realize this earlier, I have no idea).The front of the classroom with todays assignment: People of the Revolution including my boyfriend, TJ.My nook/desk area with a picture of my boyfriend next to my desk. The timeline on my walls! Begins with the 13 colonies (which are divided by region to help students remember New England, Middle, and Southern) and the American Revolution timeline.Then my welcoming Uncle Sam so that kids remember my name and don't just say, "MISS!"Next part of the timeline: Declaration of Independence (by my boyfriend) and then making our government with a Constitution!Then the idea of Westward Expansion and the Civil War which ends our class!

Thanks Momma B for all the fabulous additions to my room this year and keeping me looking cool since Bulletin Boards are not my thing.

Hope you enjoyed a little tour of 612.

A plug for an awesome friend!

2011-09-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

One of our beautiful friends that we met in Whidbey is Whitney. Whit makes amazing jewelry, and I have bought a few pieces for family. And because I am a blessed to be Whit's friend, she has also so kindly made me a few pieces that have been personalized just for me! Let's just say an owl piece has been a real fave of mine. I have a thing for amazing owls... and amazing friends.

So if you have a need for a fun piece of jewelry or need a gift for someone, check Whitney out!

Her website is http://www.etsy.com/shop/whitneyrose328?ref=seller_info

This necklace is awesome looking... I am literally trying to figure out a person who might need this in their jewelry collection...I actually own these too. Super fun "going out" earrings! Go buy them at Whit's website!
So proud of her for being an awesome mommy and finally letting the world see her talent!

Kenny's Bday Celebration

2011-09-18T15:14:00.001-07:00

A little late on this post, but better late than never.

Kenny's birthday fell on a Friday, so we went out to a steak house and then had funfetti cake (a Kenny Vaughn fave).

And what Kenny had really wanted was a Beer-rita. A man with simple needs. Beer-rita and big screen.

The next night we had a couple of friends over to watch on the big screen and drink more beer-ritas and celebrate Kenny's natal day!

Hope year 29 is a great year, my love!!

4 years ago

2011-09-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

TODAY, we stood up and said "With this ring, I honor thee." And we became a family. Kenny and I have been so blessed in these 4 years and hope to continue to be blessed in the years to come. We also want to say thank you for all of those who have supported us and loved us over the extent of our relationship.

Kenny's Birthday Present!

2011-09-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

is a HUGE TV! Boys get excited about watching football on a big screen. I am excited to get Netflix and watch endless hours of Modern Family! (And eventually Jon Hamm on Mad Men whenever it comes back on!)(Kenny and I miss you Don Draper. Come back!)

I told him that there was a letter from the insurance company that I needed him to look at right away when he got home from his cross country. Little did he know that a 60 inch television would greet him!

One happy boy!
Happy 29th Birthday (on Friday) Kenneth Warren Vaughn!! Thanks for being born, so I could be your wife!

I would like to introduce you to...

2011-09-04T17:36:00.001-07:00

the new assistant cheer coach for FBJH! (it's me.)

Now I was never a cheerleader, so it isn't as though I have a vast amount of experience. However, I was a field hockey coach for 3 wonderful years to middle school aged children, so I hope I can transfer that coaching skill set.

I am excited to hopefully be a role model to some young girls and make sure they understand what being a role model in school means. A cheer outfit doesn't equal cool. A cheer outfit equals responsibilities!

I can't lie that part of why I am excited to do it is because I get a jersey with my last name on it and it is BEDAZZLED! Once I get it, I will post a picture. We have had 3 practices, and our first game is this coming Tuesday. I can't wait to see the boys play football and the girls cheer them on! L-E-T-S-G-O, Let's Go! Let's Go!!

August in a nutshell...

2011-08-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

Doggie play dates with our friend Gus.

Annual trip to Camp in Bridge City, Texas with the Fosters, Henrys, Buchanans, VanEttas, and Vaughns.

Lots of swimming in Aunt Cindy's pool.

Playing "Staw Wars Wegos" with Uncle Kenny
Attending the beautiful wedding of Meghan Tighe.
(my dates: Bridget, Lizzy, and Annie)
(A favorite picture of us enjoying the awesome band)
The Lambda Gamma Chi Omegas!

Now school starts tomorrow. I have to go to bed so that I can scare the pee out of 7th and 8th grade students. We all have to have a goal, right?

School has started

2011-08-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

which means my life is not my own... dog days of summer are over sadly.

However, this weekend, I am escaping the heat of Corpus to attend the wedding of a dear friend of mine. Meghan Tighe soon to be Schorr will always have a near and dear place in my heart as she was definitely one of my best friends in college. She stuck by me, drank wine with me, was my date to date functions, chatted late at night over baked cheetos, ate at El Puerto with me, wrote me sweet letters when I was in the fun known as grad school, came to visit me while Kenny was deployed, and most importantly is someone who I will always cherish.

So to Tiggie on her wedding weekend, love you and can't wait to see how life unfolds for you and Dan as you conquer the world!

xoxo,
Molls

I survived hurricane Don

2011-07-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

On my own. It was rough waiting, waiting, and waiting some more for the storm to come. Especially since it didn't come. We had NO rain. Poor Texas just wants a drink of water.

Not to worry. Daisy and I survived by making dinner and having friends over. Yes, you read that correctly, I made dinner. Please don't faint. I made spicy eggplant with couscous which was awesome. My friend and I watched Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey which was really rather good.

Daisy and her friend Lucky ran laps outside and played continuously. I think they only sat when Daisy would steal poor Lucky's toy and hold it hostage underneath her paw. She did share all of her toys and bed, but she does covet other puppies toys. Guess there needs to be a lesson on sharing in this house. I choose Kenny for that lesson.

Back to the hurricane. I decided that I should go to Target and make sure I had school supplies before the hurricane hit. No not really, I just wanted to go to Target to get more of the Pretty Little Liars series of books. However, if I say I am getting school supplies, then don't you feel badly for me that I already have to go back to school? Don't you feel like I deserved 2 new teen reads? Yeah, me too.

Here is my loot. (Not to worry, Mom. I did buy non-perishables like you told me too and plenty of bottled water for Daisy and me.)

Bags and bags of spiral notebooks for 20 cents each!
My sharpies to grade 8th grade work and write things like, "FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!" over and over. A good pen is necessary. And Daisy's bone that got a wee bit destroyed last night!
A little UVA pendant since my school has all of these other school pendants but not UVA. They have lots of Texas schools, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and Norfolk State... how does that make sense?

Also, I was feeling guilty as I had dropped off Daisy to get her haircut at Petco. We were trying a new place since we haven't been pleased with the other places. She literally shook the whole time she waited to get taken back and laid flat on the ground as soon as it was her turn. They had to scoot her in while she put her front paws out and the Petco person pushed from behind. I needed a little retail therapy to get over my guilt of torturing her with a bath and haircut.

Daisy looks good though. Best haircut yet!

Now we wait for Kenny to get home because he fled to Lubbock in a T-44 because of the hurricane. Don't worry. I am buying myself flowers today for surviving the storm all by my lonesome and cleaning the whole house while Kenny golfs. :)

Don't tell me this won't be attractive...

2011-07-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

What is this you might ask? Well it is a device to keep me from damaging my teeth as I clench them in my sleep. Super attractive, right?

No...

Oh...

I am proud to say that I have held out until the ripe old age of 27 before needing such a device. I am joining a long line of Buchanan and Henry family members (is it long if it is only your immediate family?) in wearing protective mouth gear to bed. I always aim to follow in the footsteps of my lovely sister just like I did when I "borrowed" her sweet clogs when I was in ninth grade. Thanks, Meg!

I am hoping this will protect me from having to get dental work done further down the road. And, I will also look really cool now at night which had really been lacking in my cool-dom.

Please don't be jealous...

The couch- update

2011-07-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

So I am by NO means a decorator. My mom so kindly got me a decorating book before we bought this house. Little suggestion, mom? eh? ;) I have used it for rug sizing, color schemes, etc.

Now I showed you a picture of the couch that we just bought which we LOVE. Whoever invented the chaise lounge should be given a special place in heaven, for the short-legged people out there rejoice for having a place to rest our legs when the feet don't touch when sitting.

The only thing we did NOT love about the couch were the uber ugly throw pillows that came with it. We are talking ugly 70s fabric.

So with the help of a good friend and her sewing machine, I removed the ugly covers (don't be too impressed, they had zippers), and we created a new covering for the pillows! I am deviating a little from my green and brown color scheme that has dominated our home, so I hope you like.
I also just purchased a Daisy-like rug that I hope she will like/not destroy to put under the coffee table. We are thinking of getting another (remember the whole decorating book with sizing of rugs). I just wanted to make sure we liked the look of it/Daisy didn't destroy it.
(please note swishing tail in left area, that is Daisy happy to be reunited with her long lost friend, the rug).
I think it looks pretty good, but hey, what do I know?

Italy!

2011-07-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well we began our trip in DC at Christine's wedding, but since we were both part of the nuptials, we did not get many photos. However, it was a BEAUTIFUL weekend, and the two of us are so happy for Jason and Christine!

Then we took a flight from DC to Toronto to Dusseldorf and finished in Milan, Italy. Although we arrived in Milan on time and ready to explore, my bag did not. My bag actually never arrived and had decided it wanted to stay in Toronto. I actually picked up the bag in Corpus this past Friday with all of my belongings having been gone through in order to try to identify the bag.

We arrived and took the train to Milan proper and found our hotel. We did a little exploring and a little shopping to get me some duds and a tooth brush (Cars 2 to be exact).

The next day we took a bus tour around Milan and saw the Last Supper, the Opera House, a Castle and the Duomo in Milan.

Duomo

That evening we found our way to the canals in Milan for some heavy appetizers and happy hour.

Then we hit up Grom's for some delicious gelato! One of many a gelato eaten!

We took a train to Florence and explored the Medici Chapel, found the Medici Palace and Pitti Palace, and took a climb to the top of the Duomo. I nearly died of tight spaces and lots of steps.

This required more gelato and a walk around town to see the shops and the river.

We then took a train to Rome which was probably the highlight of the trip for us!
First we saw the Colosseum! We took an audio tour and just got lost in the history and were fascinated to know that famous Romans sat there and ordered gladiators to fight to the death.

We then walked around the Forum where Caesar was sentenced to death and where he walked as he was emperor!

We the treked over to the Pantheon to round out our historical day!

The next day we walked the Vatican seeing the Sistine Chapel and toured St. Peter's Basillica. Both of which were fascinating. The Vatican was a little overwhelming as there is a pathway to get to the Sistine Chapel that gets a little packed with tourists.

We then took a train to see Pompeii in all of its glory! Roads, homes, pizzareias, baths, theaters, crosswalks, the forum, etc. It made my 8th grade Latin learning dreams come true!

We then spent our last day in Sorrento sitting by the pool. We did have a few snafus with a bus boycott and a train boycott, but all in the name of a good time!

It was a great trip to Italy despite learning to wash and dry clothing in a hotel bathroom (Joe Buchanan is so proud) and having minimal toiletries.

We were excited to get back though because some little puppy missed us despite getting to be with her favorite Uncle Paul for two weeks :)

Our new sofa!

2011-07-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

I promise to post about Italy, but first I would like to introduce you to our new sofa!

Our old sofas were looking a little tired. We have been looking and looking and finally found our match!

Please meet our new Sofa...

It will have different pillows which is my one Do It Yourself project for the summer. More to come later. I am still recovering from the Italy trip!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

To Phil who is a great father in law and dad! We hope you have a great day!!

And to my Dad for being a fountain of wisdom and for being a great Doc!

We Love you both! So Happy Father's Day!

Love,
Molly, Kenny, and Daisy

I hang out with some high-fa-lutin people

2011-06-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

Like Thomas Jefferson (and Brittany)
My students know of Thomas Jefferson as one of these following names:" TJ," "Hoo is Mrs. Vaughn's favorite president?" "A little man made a BIG deal with this man!" "My homeboy!" "My BFF!" "My BUDDY!" and my personal favorite, "My Boyfriend." That one makes all the 8th grade children giggle.

Of course I am not dating Thomas Jefferson, but I did make an awkward comment in class about how good ol TJ may have had some kids by another lady... aka, Sally Hemings. And as Tina Fey said, "In order to get some play in Charlottesville, you either have to be a Martha Jefferson or a Sally Hemings." Now off that awkward topic...

If I wasn't hanging out with my homeboy, I was hanging out with these sweet ladies...
How did TJ get in there??? Sneaky, sneaky...

Thanks for a great reunions ladies (and gentleman!)

Love,
Molly (aka, TJ's girlfriend)

Today I turn 27

2011-05-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

And last night I fell asleep mid-conversation with a friend because I was so tired.

What a precious friend to let me do it the first time and did not say anything because I didn't even realize it. Then the second time, we both busted out laughing, and she gathered up the rest of the guests at my bday bbq and ushered them out the door.

Mom, don't worry. I will never be wild and crazy because I will always fall asleep before the wild and crazy time happens.

The best part is. This is the second time this has happened to me this year. Note to self. If you come to the Vaughns, leave before 11pm because there is no guarantee that I won't fall asleep mid-conversation on you.

What we do to torture, I mean improve ourselves

2011-05-25T10:43:00.001-07:00

Is we run things like the Beach to Bay Marathon relay. And we run in late May in 100% humidity and it is 90+ degrees outside.

To say that I nearly died is an understatement. Kenny ran the 5th leg which was 4.1 miles and finished some time around 10:20.

I ran the 6th (final) leg (of a different team) which was 4.89 miles and didn't start running until shortly after 11am. It was a miserable 4.89 miles. Had a 17 year old not run with me telling me to breath and that I could keep going, I might have whipped my cellphone out of my ziploc bag and called Kenny to come get me. When I did finally get to the last quarter mile, Kenny had found me and offered to run in with me. He asked me if I wanted him to go to the car or to run to the finish line with me. If he had not finished with me, I think I would have been the hysterical person who cries after finishes a race and collapses requiring the announcer to say over the loud speaker, "First aid and water on the right."

This is NOT how I looked crossing. And, add about 3 hours of time to that finish time!

It definitely took a while to recover. And bless Kenny's heart for not only cheering me on, but also not scolding me for not training or not getting an inhaler before the race. Let's just say that I was so pooped afterwards that not only could I not really walk, but I couldn't even enjoy my two free Miller Lite's. What a bummer! At least I can check it off my list of things to do in Corpus. Now I never have to do it again!

Doesn't Daisy need this?

2011-05-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

for her first birthday in July?

I think it would go very well with her fuzzy, cream coat. Plus it would show off her girly side.

She says hello by the way. She spent her weekend lounging outside with me. Licking me as I read my book. Standing on my book to get my attention. Then the ultimate excitement was getting to go to the beach and DIG!

Maybe she will just want another trip to the beach for her birthday.

But in all seriousness... is this cake too much???

Maybe just a little....

Starting to see the light

2011-05-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

at the end of the tunnel of the school year!

So with that we are gearing up for exciting adventures.

1) Reunions at this amazing place.
with these amazing people!

2) Christine is getting hitched to a really nice young man named Jason!
(Christine with bridesmaid Sarah at the High Tea Shower!)

3) We head to Italy for a little vacation!

So if you have anything we HAVE to do/stay in Italy, please tell us! We will start in Milan and end in Pompeii for the nerd in me who wants to relive Pompeii Day from middle school. Togas were worn. Chariot races were had. Roman myths were performed. I may have to pack my toga to wear ... Kenny may not hang out with me though which would defeat the purpose of a vacation.

Pictures from HEB camp

2011-05-08T16:45:00.001-07:00

So someone I know happened to leave the camera at work, so I am just now getting to posting pictures.

I had 12 sweet girls who listened, cleaned, said yes ma'am and only got scared at night when we went to bed with the windows open. They won skit night (one proud camp counselor!) and rocked the fashion show with one of my campers wearing my jean jumpsuit from college.

My nerdy girls on skit night. They had jocks and bullies hit on girls and then the nerds got the girls in the end. :)
Our hike went through part of the Frio river. It was slippery and cool, but not as cold as we wanted! We brought up the rear to make sure the girls were hiking. A little encouragement does wonders. (Or me saying, "I am older than you and faster than you, so pick it up!")
Michelle (my fellow US History teacher) and myself. Please note my awesome shirt my girls made me.The counselors... we kept getting bit my something.
My pretty girls and I at the top! Their shirts spelled out HEB CAMP 2011 :) which was all on my shirt.
The US History department: me, Sid, and Michelle. I couldn't take a normal picture because I was so darn tired and punchy that I almost started making "waca-waca" jokes (cough, cough, Meg Buchanan Foster). The girls spent time canoeing, swimming, crafting, tye-dying, etc. I was too busy to take that many pictures. However, since I know you want to know how I saved a child's life despite my lack of lifeguarding training, I will share this story.

So we took half of the girls hiking to another part of the Frio River to swim in; however, my girls stayed at the camp to swim there. I was tasked with taking another counselor's girls since this counselor had a bum knee. Always eager to hike, I jumped at the chance. So the three life guards and the other three non-lifeguard adults took our girls to the River. Well a couple of girls who couldn't swim got into the river where they could stand, but in order to get out, they had to swim to the exit. A bit of a dilemma. Well two of the lifeguards took two of the girls and literally hoisted them up the rock cliff to the bank (think like a 3 foot push UP of 14 year old girls). I go swimming back to exit, following the other children and notice one of my students struggling. I inquire as to why she is struggling since she is one the swim team, and she states, "Mrs. Vaughn, I am pulling this girl who can't swim. That would be embarrassing if I was struggling this badly all by myself!" So I say, "You swim ahead, I got her." I grab the girl and start a side stroke to drag the girl to the exit. Well of course, I am not wearing a "lifeguard" swimsuit, so as I sidestroke along, my swimsuit flaps open exposing myself. Any normal person would pretend it didn't happen to NOT draw attention; however, I have this student basically connected to me, so I yell out, "Nobody look, my boob is exposed and I want you to respect me as a teacher!" I was assured by the adults on the bank that even though it was exposed that the water was too murky to see anything. Thank goodness! But I saved a child's life (that may be a little dramatic) and my students still respected me in the morning!

It was a nice four days, but I was super glad to get home to my bed, to Kenny, and to my sweet Daisy!

where i have been

2011-04-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

for the past week - at HEB camp with a cabin of 12 8th grade girls in a cabin with NO air conditioning and little air flow. We battled a snake, hiked up a mountain, canoed, had a skit night and fashion show, made cookies in dutch ovens, tie dyed shirts, played volleyball, and rode on a school bus for a total of 12 hours. My kids were great! They were respectful and went to bed when I told them. They also made me a pretty sweet t-shirt.

Pictures to follow, but I didn't want you to worry that we had fallen off the earth. Just been a little busy saving people's lives in the Frio River. You know, that lifeguard stuff is hereditary...

just a few pics from spring break

2011-03-29T18:25:00.001-07:00

The Fosters came to visit... their trip in reverse order... (the Alamo above)

Golfing with Uncle Paul and getting to have Blue Bell for lunch afterwards. Visiting the Aunts and Uncles equals SPOILED!

Seeing Uncle Kenny's planes AGAIN!

Playing with Uncle Paul is AWESOME!

We went to the USS Lexington which was fun to see the planes and have Maeve and Will get excited about "flying" the planes.
Daisy is now also Maeve's dog, and Daisy surely misses her cousins. Daisy was definitely a wee bit down for a couple of days after their departure (as we all were!).
Thanks for a great visit!!!

Love,
Uncle Molly, Uncle Kenny, and Daisy
(Will called me Uncle Molly, that is not a typo).

Even though Duke is out...

2011-03-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Daisy still supports her Blue Devils!

Happy Birthday William Foster!

2011-02-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Will turns 2 today! He loves choo choo trains, terrorizing his older sister, and airplanes. The first time I saw him, he had just thrown up all over Meg. It was love at first throw up. :)

Bubs and Uncle Kenny :)I love the look on Will's face - pure astonishment at being INSIDE a plane.

And now he steals my heart every time he smiles his sweet, mischievous smile.

We love you Will!

Kick up your boots!

2011-02-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

We headed to the rodeo up in San Antonio. Three major reasons: 1) we got to see our good friends, the Saxtons! 2) we go to see Lady Antebellum perform 3) I finally got to go to a rodeo!!

We drove up to San Antonio to get to play with Carter and Emme before the adults went to the rodeo, and then the big kids left for an adult dinner and night at the rodeo!

My cute date :)
Vaughns and Saxtons - reunited and it feels so good...

We had a delicious dinner at a fun restaurant where the boys were excited for $2 beers.

We got to the rodeo where we had super high up seats which caused for a little vertigo and worked off our dinner :) BUT we had a great view and the perfect view of MUTTON BUSTIN'! The litle kids ages 4-7 get on sheep and ride them for as long as possible. It is hysterical! I am pretty convinced that if Will Foster could compete, he would win.
Here is a small child riding a sheep...
And then falling off...
Where the sheep hide from the wee people.

Then we saw barrel racing, bronco riding, bull riding, the 4H kids rounding up calves, and many other fun "rodeo" things that I don't know the name to.

The end of the rodeo was the performance by Lady Antebellum. They performed for about an hour which was perfect. They did all the great ones like "Need You Now" and even performed a new one they are recording now. They were FABULOUS!

We had a great weekend getting to see a real part of Texas (the rodeo), one of our favorite bands, and some ol' faves in friends :)

A little game I like to call "Catch Up"

2011-01-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

So I have refused to upload pictures for a bit. Why, because I am the third child and sometimes I throw mental temper tantrums. (or for real ones - just ask my mom and sister about Easter EVERY year.)

But I digress. Really it is because I am mad at myself for not taking more pictures over the holiday season. As in I have NONE that show that Kenny actually has a family. Kenny is not orphaned. I just came down with a cold and let's be honest, was lazy at taking pictures. Kenny even got a fun tripod for Christmas that we put the camera on, and we never took a picture in Maryland.

Now what I DID download and what we took, I will now share...

The Henry siblings all together after Thanksgiving.

My mom, Daisy, and Uncle Paul cruising around Corpus looking at the sights. Please not how they all color-coordinated with a shade of blue. Daisy is sporting her UVA collar.

Daisy's first day at the beach. She LOVED to dig in the sand. She did NOT love the water.

The squadron Christmas party - I had a pretty cute date.

And finally, the few pictures from Christmas. Would you believe there are adults in our family other than Meg? No, I wouldn't either.

New Year's resolution: take more pictures.

Happy 4th Birthday Maeve!

2011-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Our little niece is growing up... she turns four today! She is wicked smart and loves books. She is beautiful and some might say a princess. :) I fell in love from the moment I met her, and Uncle Kenny is a big fan. We love you little Maeve and can't wait to see you in March!!!

Such a pretty baby :)
Such a cutie patootie!
Such a cute toddler!
And such a BIG girl!

We love you Maeverini! We miss you lots and hope your 4th birthday is amazing!!!

Missing us?

2011-01-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

I got a little note from a friend (thanks Molly) reminding me that people other than my mom and mom-in-law read this little blog.

I will post some pictures of Thanksgiving which was amazing! We had Papaw and Maw (Kenny's grandparents), Uncle Rick and Aunt Cindy (Kenny's side), and my parents for the actual day of Thanksgiving!

(Maw and Kenny)
(Papaw and Uncle Rick)
Kenny attacking the turkey...ew.
He made it wave at me...
My cute parents! (and our Christmas card photographers)
The in-laws, Kenny and Daisy.

Then we had my aunts and uncles from Texas come on down for the next day and spend some time together. It was our first hosting of Thanksgiving. Our first roasting of turkey. AND Daisy's debut with my parents and Kenny's side of the family.

All were a real hit! I married an amazing cook and we got a pretty sweet puppy.

And because I think these are funny...

Dad and I attempting to pose to see how the Christmas card should look. Dad has Daisy's lamb in his hand so he can get her attention when we take the picture. Mom is the professional photog - she did run Cox's newspaper for years. She has major credentials.
Here I was the one that ruined the picture. The wind was blowing - and I am kind of vain about my hair looking good.
Here was the winner. Thanks Mom for being an awesome photographer. Dad thanks for being a fill in model and the one with the squeaky toy.

Old Friends...

2010-11-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

Because all posts should start with a cute picture of a cute dog...

As soon as school got out for Thanksgiving break, I packed my bag, left Kenny and Daisy at home (Daisy in charge of course), and headed to the airport bound for Whidbey.

After an unexpected delay, an unsuccessful sprint through the Dallas airport, and a long flight in the middle seat, I made it to three smiling faces at SEATAC!

Kylie!

Whitney, Jamie, and Kylie (Whitney's daughter) came to pick me up! Then we stopped at a Starbucks to meet with our friend Lara who was heading out for a Mexican cruise.

Then once we got to Jamie's house, we threw Whitney a surprise baby shower for baby girl Mumbach who will be here in April some time! Of course I forgot to take pictures until after the event (woops).

The next morning we met at Calico Cupboard for a yummy breakfast, took the kids bowling, and enjoyed some QT with old friends.

Cat and Carlos
Me, Kylie, and Whitney
Aunt Jamie and Carlos

On Monday, Whitney and I awoke to snow coming down in Oak Harbor and before we knew it we were stuck on Whidbey because Deception Pass bridge was closed.

It was a bit of an adventure, but it was amazing to go see old friends and to see the snow! I even got to see some of my students and just enjoy being super COLD :)

next up... Thanksgiving!

Trip to Liberty

2010-11-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

So Daisy got her last set of shots this past week, so she could go out in the world a free puppy! The first thing she did was hit the salon (or Shear Heaven) to get a little spa treatment or haircut. I did not know that dogs god their hinies shaved, so when I picked her up, I was a bit traumatized. These are things people should worn me about before I experience them!

We then took Friday off of work to head up to Liberty, TX (momma's hometown) to surprise my cousins at the last home football game for Liberty High School! One cousin was playing saxophone in the band, one cousin was dancing as a prancer at her last football home game, and one cousin was dancing as a little prancer! High school football in Texas is a much bigger and better deal than what I experienced in high school, so I was excited to not only get to see family but to really experience this Texas tradition.

After a long drive, we surprised the cousins and were happily surprised that it was Senior night, so Emmie would be honored as a Co-Captain of the Prancers (dance team) and as a senior! Emmie is named after my mom (her first name is Susan), and my mom was a Prancer in high school, so it was extra special!

Uncle Mike, Emmie, and Aunt Cindy (mom's sister). Please notice the awesome white boots.
Emmie is in the middle of the first line, kicking to the left.
Emmie is smack-dab in the middle of the front row!
Lindsay (Liberty High Math teacher, cousin and Emmie's big sis), me, and Emmie, our Prancer!

Emmie's niece and my 2nd cousin, Natalie who is 6 got to get out on the field at half time too to dance as a little prancer. (Natalie, Lindsay's dauther and her favorite aunt Emmie!) Also, James, my second cousin did an awesome job leading all of the extra people in the band who came because it was friends and family night. James is the one middle with the green shirt and sax! Mom and my uncle played the sax in the Liberty High School Band!

It was a real proud evening! We weren't close to family in Washington, so we made our own. Living in Texas, it has been awesome to get to be there for special moments and love on family members. I can't wait for even more exciting events like high school graduations and proms!

And because we have to have a shout out to my Uncle Paul (mom's brother) who not only housed us and fed us but loved on Daisy like any good great-uncle would. His own dog, Dusty, was a little jealous at times because as you can see, Daisy likes to take over people's laps. :)
Hope you all had a beautiful weekend. Daisy would say hello, but she is too tired from her exciting weekend away.

A little Arizona time

2010-10-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Kenny and I left Daisy (gasp) to go to a wedding in Phoenix a couple of weekends ago. Daisy stayed at the house with our good friends, and we hit the town with Kenny's fraternity brothers. Chris was one of our groomsmen and Kenny's fraternity brothers. We flew in and met everyone at the rehearsal dinner at Grimaldi's pizza.

Ben, Kenny, and Abe - just missing the groom

Then the next day we went to see Kenny's childhood home and cruise his old neighborhood. It was neat to see that it was still there and to see the elementary school Christine went to!

Then the wedding was at a beautiful manor, and it was fun to get dressed up and dance the night away with old friends!

We are so excited for Chris and Kristin and their future together!
The Pi Lams - Ron, Abe, Clee (groom), Kenny, and Ben

Bride and Groom!

And because we know you always want to see the cutie puppy. Here she is :)

I can sit pretty

2010-10-17T17:34:00.001-07:00

My parents would like to apologize for the lack of posting of how darn cute I am. They are busy trying to get me to potty outside and not on their tile floor and not eat their crocs. I have become a little curious about shoes (especially shoe laces and flip flops) and rugs. I have also lost my first baby teeth this week. I have not received any payment for the teeth from the tooth fairy since I ate them. Woops. In other news, I now only have to potty once at night and am about 15 pounds (up from my 9 lbs at arrival in Corpus). I like to eat dirt and snuggle, and I have recently discovered rawhide bones. Wooooweee are they amazing! Molly is busy teaching 8th grade kids about US History and snuggling me at night while Kenny is busy in grad school. Kenny has finished his IUT training, so now he just waits to get to fly with his first students here in Corpus!

Hope you all are doing well,
Daisy Vaughn

happy birthday mom (aka, my personal penguin)!

2010-09-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

I can't let today pass without giving a shout out to the woman who raised me since it is her natal day!

Mom, I hope you have had a great day despite having a bike fall off the end of the car while driving on the interstate. At least you get to be with Maeve and Will who think you are amazing (and are right about that) and hopefully eat some yummy salsa. We are sorry we can't be there to celebrate with you and let you snuggle Daisy. Know that we are grateful for all that you do for us from clipping doggy treat coupons to sending me countless packages with teaching stuff to being my personal penguin. We love you lots and hope that the day is just as special as you!

Love,
Molly, Kenny, and Daisy

and for your own personal enjoyment, please read this book. warning: it may make you sob like a baby, but its good.

Our sweet puppy

2010-09-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

Daisy arrived a week ago Friday on Sept 10th. The previous day had been Kenny's birthday (sorry about no post. A full time job really limits me.)

Oh and here I am on my first day of school...

So back to Daisy. Her flight out of Houston was delayed, so although we arrived in San Antonio to get her at 8:30pm, she did not get to us until 11:15pm. She was a wee bit traumatized, and I think a little wary of these two eager people who were constantly calling her Daisy. However, when we let her out to pee, she was bounding like a happy pup. The whole ride home from San Antonio was quiet with her on my lap and Kenny driving.

Her first week has been fun/tiring/exciting. She had her first vet appointment with our neighbor who said she was the cutest pup there that day. (Duh) She has successfully pottied outside a lot and had few accidents inside. She has learned to love her toys and her crate to sleep in. She has won the hearts of all around, and she has webcamed with one set of grandparents and her cousins Maeve and William. Maeve declared that Daisy is a cutie-patootie and I do have to say I agree.

She has been a wonderful addition to our family and a perfect companion when Kenny is at work or at school. (especially on those days when 8th grade students are not so fun.) She is my little snuggle bug.

She will be ours on Friday!

2010-09-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

dont you just love her? she arrives in san antonio on friday, and we will go get her sweet little self!

You may come visit her if you would like :) Oh, and her name is Daisy. Daisy Vaughn.

What we've been up to...

2010-08-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Has been LOTS! Once I found out I got the job, my sister, niece, and nephew came to Corpus. We had a great time hanging out and going to the beach. We even had the joy of having my Aunt and cousins come on down to see Meg and our new home!

Aunt Molly taught Maeve how to make Sangria - an important life skill.
Will being a big boy in the big chair. Please note his Virginia pajamas.
Maeve on the beach. We "broke" waves, played with sand diggers, and sweated A LOT.
Meg, Will (who LOVES planes) and Uncle Kenny
Someone was in heaven on Uncle Kenny's lap
Maeve found these bandaids I had been meaning to give her of lips. They were in purple - her FAVORITE color.
Then my parents came my first week of in-service as a new teacher! They were great help in getting my room set up and cutting out letters for my bulletin boards. I, of course, was too busy to take pictures, but trust me that they came and had fun! We even took a trip up to Liberty and Bridge City where what we call "Camp" is. This was the first camp experience for Kenny and my Dad! Still no pictures, but forgive me since I am new to this full time working gig!
Then this week, Kenny's parents came in town for a visit! They had a great time eating a little Whataburger and seeing the sights. They too were super supportive and patient with my hectic schedule and late evenings; however, we were able to get in some quality hanging out and good food! Still no pics. Phil took some though, so there is proof that they were here!

Now school starts tomorrow, and I will make Kenny take my first day of school picture. Too bad I wont be rocking the side ponytail, but I will be doing important things like regulating on 8th grade boys who smell badly. :)

My brother and I on my first day of school in 1st grade. Yeah, I was cool. Nice elastic waist pants Bo.
Hope everyone is having a great end to their summer!

I will be

2010-07-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

working at a Junior High School as of August 6th!

I will be a Hustlin' Hornet teaching US History to 8th graders and Texas History to 7th graders at Flour Bluff Junior High School!

I am still in shock and can't wait to start this adventure. Public school, here I come!

You think your husband is cool...

2010-07-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

does yours do his yard chores with his sweatband on his head? if not, then he isn't nearly as cool as my husband. And did your hubby just buy a really cool trimmer Lowes? Did he buy really awesome anti-spider fertilizer for his new sod? Because mine did... and he is loving every moment.

please note that I was sitting on our back patio reading a good book in my bathing suit. this is the life...

Pictures of the House

2010-07-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since I know you all are dying to see pictures of the house. We finally put pictures up in the bedroom, and so I finally took pictures. We still have the relatively empty breakfast area, but it will be decorated soon enough!

So without further ado, our new home...
The study - where all of the work is done and the airplane paraphernalia hangs out.
Guest Bathroom if you wish to visit.
The guest room if you choose to visit. The chalkboard says, "Welcome to the Vaughn's." Courtesy of Grandma Buchanan. Furniture courtesy of Grandma Henry.
If you don't find yourself in this photo montage, it isn't complete, so don't feel left out. Plus, you might be in our living room :)
This is our dining room. Thanks to Val for our amazing artwork and to Phil and Carol for our amazing print of UVA!
Our living room. The cut out is the hallway to the master bedroom.
Living room and looking into the empty breakfast area/kitchen.
Kitchen from the dining room.
Kitchen from the breakfast area.
Our Bedroom
Our master bath and closet in the back.
Our patio and outdoor furniture from world market.
Hope you all enjoyed and are enticed to come visit and enjoy our outdoor furniture and guest bedroom!

When we get the rather empty breakfast area filled, I will update pictures!

Our Journey to Texas!

2010-06-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

We began our trip after graduation on June 10th and after having lived with our lovely friends, the Smiths for a couple of days.

The first day we only made it to south of Seattle, but the second day we made it all the way to Sonoma, California!

Welcome to Oregon! (don't worry, the passenger took all pictures!)
Welcome to California!

We stayed at a beautiful hotel that was just down from Sonoma Square and just mere miles from wine tasting. Our third day, we took in some wineries and the Muir Woods. It was a gorgeous day and perfect to sit outside and enjoy some sunshine!

Muir Woods!

The first vineyard was gorgeous - so were the others!
The fourth day we made our way to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Grace Cathedral, Coit Tower, Lombard Street, and China Town.

Grace Cathedral
Lombard Street
Coit Tower
A Little Trolley Ride
China Town!
The fifth day we did Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz and then headed East through Yosemite National Park.

Seals on the wharf (they smelled bad!)
Alcatraz!
This is a redo from when I was in San Fran when I was 14!
Kenny is locked up!
Yosemite was BEAUTIFUL!

The sixth day we drove to south of the Grand Canyon.

Then the seventh day we saw the Grand Canyon via helicopter! Kenny surprised me since we didn't have much time to see it! I got to sit in the front with the pilot which was awesome, yet a little unnerving at points! Then we drove on to Sante Fe, NM.

Our view! (More pics, but you will have to come visit me to see them all ;))

The 8th day we drove to Las Vegas, NM to visit with Kenny's aunts and uncles and see where his mother grew up. Then we made our way to Albequerque to see UNM where Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn met and got married!

Uncle Robert, me, Kenny, Aunt Ada, and Uncle Joseph. Aunt Louise took the picture.

The 9th day we drove to Granbury, TX where we stayed with Kenny's grandparents and enjoyed a lovely dinner with the two of them.
Kenny, Papaw, and Ma!

Then on the 10th day we drove to Liberty, TX to see my aunts and uncles and pick up Kenny's truck.

Then FINALLY on the 11th day, we made it to Corpus Christi! It took an extra day to close on the house due to the sod being laid down late, but it has been great to finally be here and begin to get settled!

Getting the keys!
Finally in our new home!

Pictures of the house to come next!

My final day at North Whidbey Christian High School

2010-06-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

As I search for a new job down here in Corpus, I cannot be too quick to forget my old school. My 7 US history students and my 1 algebra students and the 5 seniors that had to create and present senior projects under my supervision. It was a sad day to leave them as I have taught some of them for two years now and wish I were there to continue to teach them and watch them grow; however, it is better to leave with them loving you than to leave with them thinking "get the heck out!"

For all who were wondering, the boy on the left of the picture is my Algebra student.
My co-worker and sanity partner this year, Laura.
Now let the application process continue!

Just in case you were wondering...

2010-06-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

we are in Santa Fe having just flown over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter - yeah, a helicopter. You could say we are bad to the bone, or just that it was part of my bday present that I didnt know I was getting! Let's just say, you should be jealous because it was spectacular, and I got to sit in the front seat!!! Kenny was even jealous of that part. It helps to not weigh much :)

Anywho, we will be traveling to Albuquerque tomorrow to see where Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn met, fell in love, and got married (along with other things), and then Friday it is on to Granbury, TX to see the grandparents. Some may say that a major reason I married Kenny was because of his grandparents (I don't have any alive), and those some may not be entirely wrong. Then we will wake up Saturday and head to Liberty, TX to get Kenny's car and see my extended family (YEAH!!!), then Sunday it is on to CORPUS CHRISTI!!!

We close on the house on Tuesday, so all warm thoughts and well wishes accepted. We should start moving in, if all goes well, a week from TODAY!

Hope y'all are having a great week! We are relearning to sweat, wear sunscreen and sunglasses. We miss those dearly in WA (there may have been some major tears), but are excited to see those in TX.

Don't worry, pics of all of this trip will happen once I am in a home and not living out of a small backpack.

Peace out from New Mexico,
MGV and KWV

Here is all our stuff...

2010-06-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

It isn't in our Whidbey home... it is sitting out in the driveway in a big truck.

We had the home packed on Friday. Furniture was wrapped. Beds were taken apart. Mattresses were packaged. Then our friends swooped in, moved the stuff, and the truck was packed in about 3 hours.

The empty truck with our washer and dryer.
Getting all filled up!
The boys and the truck!

I was super helpful - I got pizza and beer and stayed out of the way. I have muscles, but not ones big enough to move things like our new fridge.

(Not exact picture, but you get the idea).

I kind of felt like the 3rd child again being told I was too little, but to be honest, this time it was a-okay with me to be too little.

Let's just hope we have such strong friends in Corpus!

I did spend my evening being productive. My friends and I went to walk for Relay for Life and raise money for kicking cancer's booty!

Thanks to our friends for their help and thanks to our families for your support and love during this crazy time!

What we've been up to...

2010-05-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, after much searching, we realized that someone packed the cord to connect the camera to the computer. Just a wee problem as you try to upload photos.

We went to the drive-in movie theater to take our friend's daughter to see Shrek 4 and to cross that off Kenny's list of things to do. Kylie LOVES Shrek. She always asks to get to watch Shrek and Princess Fiona and does the best interpretation of Dragon I have ever seen. We were pretty excited to go and enjoy the evening together. They even play fifties music before the movie starts to dance to! The best part was that there were 10 adults, a two year old, and an eleven month old. It was a wee bit chilly and windy, but lots of fun to hang out with friends and enjoy a great evening together.

Bobby and Lara
The Vaughns. Please notice our UVA hats :)
The Yates and Kylie. No Kylie is not their child, but she only wanted to hang out with them.
Jamie and Whitney as we waited the long line to get into the drive in.
The Infantes.

Then this weekend was the birthday weekend. If you can have a three day birthday celebration, why not?

Friday was the all girl party during which we ate Mexican food and went and saw Sex and the City 2. It was great fun to be with some fun friends and get all dressed up.

This was the only picture I took. It is my FABULOUS birthday cake. I love Barefoot wine, so my friend got me a red velvet Barefoot birthday cake!

Saturday, I picked up Kenny from the airport and we had a nice dinner at a tapas rest. called Tango. The food was great, the wine was delicious, and the company was superb. It was a nice way to end our time in the Pacific Northwest.

Here is Kenny after we had devoured a lot of the food. We meant to take pictures of it all, woops.

My new sassy outfit.
The amazing dessert!

Sunday, (the actual natal day), we had a bbq at our friend Whitney's house with all of our friends to just enjoy memorial day and eat some amazing hamburgers and drink some yummy sangria.

The ladies: Whit, myself, Cat, Jamie, and Kristy.
The boys are grilling.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Hopefully year 26 will be fun and exciting as we make our new home in Texas.

Happy Birthday DAD!

2010-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

From your favorite birthday present (me), I hope you have a fabulous 70th birthday filled with lemon meringue pies and some good back porch sitting. Maybe you can wash a car or two since I know that is a favorite hobby of yours. And have a big ol' glass of lemonade with lots of ice. Know that we wish we were there to help you celebrate, but I am sure when we see you next, we can go grab a crabcake in your honor!

Love you lots Dad and thanks for being willing to share your birthday even if I was a wee bit too eager and came out just a little too soon to share the day.

Happy Birthday!!!!

So the list of things to accomplish...

2010-05-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

in the Pacific Northwest goes like this:

1) Eat at Gere-a-Deli's one more time. Dad, I had half a BLT for you. It was amazing. And since Dad doesn't read this, Mom, please tell him. Kenny had a Fresh Mozza (mom, you can start drooling). All eaten at Washington Park... oh the beaut.

2) Go flying around the islands again. We took our friends up in the little plane going around the islands. This time was MUCH smoother since there wasn't so much wind. Hopefully we can continue these little flights in Corpus and take some willing relatives up!

3) Go to Change of Command Dinner. We had a lovely time celebrating the present Skipper and new Skipper-to-be. Of course a major highlight was getting to hang out with all of our good friends here in Whidbey and get a little dolled up!

Below are Jamie, Lara, me, Wendi (New Skipper's wife), and Jill. Photo courtesy of Lara!

This weekend includes: Change of Command Party, Blue Fox Drive In Movie theater, and maybe a little Knead and Feed lunch (that is my hope!)...

Sorry for no other pictures. Our camera battery died. Woops. Will be charged before this weekend's activities!

House is still in the process of being packed, and I am still in the midst of planning the rest of my school year with the kids. It is all going so fast! But we are grateful for our friends and family for being so loving and supportive during this crazy time!

Happy Belated Mother's Day and other news...

2010-05-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

So, I kind of feel like a poor daughter/daughter-in-law for not posting about those special ladies in our lives. However, traveling on Mother's Day and you know, making life changing decisions can kind of dampers a girl ability to blog. We did call our mothers though and appropriately loved on them, but a little shout out on the blog is always nice. :)

So thanks for raising us and making us such awesome people ;) No no, in all seriousness, thanks for always cheering us on and supporting us through all of our big decisions. We love you both and appreciate greatly everything you have done for us and sacrificed for us!
Here they are:

And just in case you haven't heard - we bought a house! I seriously cannot believe we have actually bought a house. It is still being finished with important things like A/C, light fixtures, and carpet. It was pretty painless for me since I flew in, looked at 8 homes, narrowed it down to 2, looked at them again, looked at a rental, and put in an offer. Kenny did all of the hard work before I made it down there, so a major thanks to Kenny for the stress and driving!

So here is our beautiful new home without grass and a real front door, but here it is!

The Front of the House:
The formal dining room. (I LOVE the arches!)
The living room (don't mind me looking a little sweaty)Our back patio that will have a fan and outside furniture!

This is the living room looking at the backyard and the breakfast nook/sitting area and wine hutch possibly?
The master bathroom and closet on the left.
The kitchen (and our realtor in the back)
There is the pantry in the middle. We are so excited about a pantry! And the mud room is the open door in the back.
There are three bedrooms, so come on down for a visit! And wow, we bought a house! And just in case anyone is wondering - in one month's time, we will be leaving Whidbey Island for our trek to Corpus! WOW!

Farewell, sort of

2010-05-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Kenny and I got farewelled this past Friday. This basically means that the squadron says good bye and gives Kenny his squadron gifts. Then Kenny gets to speak to the guys there and say his parting words. Since I am not allowed to rave about how awesome Kenny is, let's just say that it was very touching. Kenny then got to go play 9 holes of golf with some of the guys, and the girls and I then prepared for our farewell dinner. It was a lovely evening with friends, steaks, and cookie cakes. Luckily, we still have a month here to get our house packed and move, but it was the start of the farewell...

This weekend we are heading to Corpus Christi, TX to get a look at housing, so hopefully, we will find a home and get even more excited about our move!

Another Cowgirl Babyshower!

2010-04-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

So this weekend, my friend Jamie and I showered our friend Kristy since she is having a baby the first week in June (hopefully!). I only took pictures of the set up, but it was pretty cute (if I don't say so myself!) We did it at a local restaurant in Anacortes called Star Bar, and we had about 15 ladies show up including the momma-to-be's momma who flew in all the way from Florida.

The momma-to-be is a real cowgirl. She is the owner of a beautiful horse, Mya, and so Jamie and I decided another cowgirl shower it would be! We used the same decorating ideas from the previous shower we did, but in a different location, they had a different feel.

The cake! (we did not make it, but we can claim we ate it!)
The party favors were homemade cookies from Etsy. Taylor is the baby's name!
This was hanging as the guests walked up - pictures of Kristy as a baby and bandannas.
Jamie got this cute picture frame for the guests to sign.
The decor on the balcony area including the pink boots with roses.
The decor inbetween the balcony and eating area. My favorite onesie said that "My horse is smarter than your honor student."
Favor's table
If I had pictures of the pretty momma-to-be on her evening, I would post them! Hopefully I can add those later, but for now, we are so excited for Kristy, Mark and baby Taylor! They will be such a beautiful little family filled with lots of love and cowgirl boots!

Whistler!

2010-04-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

So a dream of Kenny's since he began skiing was to get to go to Whistler, BC and get to ski on the slopes there. After the Winter Olympics were there this year, Kenny had an even bigger desire to get to Whistler!

We arrived Thursday evening to get ourselves acquainted with the area and Whistler Creek.

Behind Kenny is the gondola that we took halfway up the mountain. You can't see the top of the mountain in this picture.

Then it was up at at 'em on Friday morning to hop on the gondola to get to skiing! I could tell you how pretty it was, but really, the pictures can speak for themselves.

This says "Elevation: 6,939 ft." That is really high up.

That night we went to Whistler Village to see the shops and eat dinner. Then it was back to resting at the hotel. Saturday we woke up again early to get on the gondola to ski our last day. Whistler has a Peak to Peak gondola which takes you from Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain.

We spent the day on Blackcomb until the rain came and the clouds descended on the mountains which made it harder to ski. So after a little souvenir shopping, we headed back to our hotel to head home.

It was a great way to cap off our skiing adventures in the Pacific Northwest, but now it is time to pack the ski gear for the next time we make a trip from our home in TEXAS to ski slopes. Strange.

KENNY IS HOME!

2010-04-06T08:57:00.001-07:00

So about midnight last night, I was sitting at a pretty empty terminal on base waiting for a certain somebody to walk off the plane. Since it was so dark, and the glass is pretty reflective, you really can't see them until they are RIGHT there walking into the building. As Kenny walked through the door, I put my arms up and said something to the effect of, "YOU ARE DONE WITH DEPLOYMENTS!" (please read that with a parenthesis of (for now)). It is strange to think that Kenny will be home for around 2 and a half years, but we will welcome the change!

Now for Carol, Christine, Meg, and my Mom, no I did not tell Kenny who won the championship game. We all know I don't keep secrets well, but not only did I keep that secret, I watched the whole game without giving away who won! Okay, so I didn't watch the whole game, but I did stay up until 2am and passed out for the last ten minutes, but let's remember, I already knew who won. Also, I woke up for the last 45 seconds which was the best moment anyway. Kenny literally jumped up off the couch trying not to yell since I could only open one eye to watch and was obviously still very out of it.

So at the Vaughn household we have had a very exciting 24 hours during which Kenny came home from his final deployment (for now) and Duke is National CHAMPS!

KENNY!!!!!No this is not a picture of Kenny coming home, but I thought it could be a little symbolic of packing up and going? A midnight return does not bode well for a welcome home picture, but we will snap some shots soon, I promise. The welcome home boy is still sleeping. :)

GO DUKE!!!!

Now the race is on to pack and get to Texas. WOW.

Some additional Vegas Pictures

2010-04-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

The guy didn't know he was getting ready to take our picture AS the fountain show started!
Can you tell in this picture who lives in the Pacific Northwest and was SUPER excited to have the sun on her skin? I will give you a hint - her name starts with M and ends with olly.
We were sooooo excited to be there!

Our last night in the lobby. It was magical!Now go celebrate Easter with your family and get excited over the fact that He is RISEN!

and the fact that Kenny should be home some time MONDAY!

Vegas!

2010-03-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

So I am super blessed. I have amazing friends and a husband who willingly pays for me to go hang out in Vegas with my amazing friends.

So after getting delayed 3 hours in the world's tiniest airport that consists of two gates that are literally in a trailer, I finally made it to Las Vegas! My poor east coast friends waited up for me at the hotel when I arrived at 10pm. They even allowed me to put on deodorant before we headed to dinner at Maggiano's. We enjoyed a nice meal and made it back to the hotel to crash.

Bridget, Me, Lizzy, and Annie eating. Please excuse their sleepy looks, but also notice our hotel in the back - The Wynn.

This was my bed and that is Annie in it. That bed was SUPER comfortable.
This is the view out our window. That sun was fabulous :)
The next day we spend shopping at J. Crew with a friend of Bridgee's mom and got a rad discount. I got a pair of shorts and a sweet dress that is pink. After a nice lunch, we sat out by the pool and enjoyed catching up even more. Then that evening we made our way to Mesa Grill which is Bobby Flay's place. If you don't know Bobby Flay, then you need to watch the Food Network and his throwdowns.

Lizzy and I got to the restaurant first and we were EXCITED! Please note the back of the chair that is cow print!

We were waiting for the fountain show in front of the Bellagio.

The food was great and the company was even better. Afterward we walked over to the Bellagio and watched the fountains, saw the gondolas at the Venetian, and even stopped by the massive Walgreens for some Milanos and Pirate's Booty. Then we hit the hay.

The next day we spent at the pool and then headed to the Mirage to eat at California Pizza Kitchen and see Love Cirque de Soliel. Then we headed back to the hotel to crash. Lizzy and Annie had EARLY flights and were up before the crack of dawn. Bridgee and I had a morning at the pool, ate In and Out burgers, and then departed at the airport.
Bridgee and I are SUPER excited to be at the pool!
All four of us loving the pool!
Annie and I decided to celebrate her belated birthday with some special drinks by the pool!Annie and I before we headed to see LOVE. The background is the lobby of our hotel which was stunning!

It was a wonderfully tame Las Vegas trip that was perfect for our little foursome. We loved getting to just be in the same place and cherish our friendship. (And maybe get some frozen yogurt with toppings like Arch's).

So moral of the story is that I have amazing friends and an amazing husband. May you have such a blessed life.

To those who couldn't make it, we missed you. Next time for sure!

MOLLY HARRIS LAUFER!!!

2010-03-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

So some people make life a lot better by just being in it - one of those people is Molly Harris Laufer. And this Sunday, I got to see her! I got to wrap my arms around her sweet little self as she returned home from a 6 month deployment.

First I drove down to Seattle to meet up with her very excited Mom and Mom-in-Law. We hung out a little before we walked down to the ferry to meet Molly! It was hard to see her since she is so little, and as she told us later, there were over a 1000 people leaving the ship that day. But she found our eager little selves waiting for her! After long embraces, we made our way back to the mom's hotel to drop Molly's things off and take a load off the feet! Afterward, we walked down to Pikes Place Market to see the sights. I literally cannot explain the feelings of happiness I had for seeing Molly and seeing her reunite with her moms! It was pure joy and happiness and so much more!

Here is her ferry ride!
Two moms waiting!
Mom and Molly reunited!!
Two Moms and a Molly!
Two Mollys in Pikes!
So Molly, welcome home and I cannot wait for you to get to be in the arms of your husband! I was so glad to get to give you lots of hugs and hear your stories first hand, and I hope your Tigers are having fun and enjoying their time on carrier! Your moms can come back any time they want!

Now onto my last Chi Omega reunion for a bit - Vegas with three special ladies!

How I have become my mother...

2010-03-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

When we were little and it was Mother's Day, we would take the very special woman (mom) out to eat. Sometimes we would go to this place called Surfrider. There my mother would get to have whatever she wanted on the menu, and she would normally choose a head of steamed broccoli. I remember this distinctly as a child because all I could think of was, "YUCK!!! Why in the world would she want to eat THAT!" Now it was Mother's Day, so I am sure that her three children never verbalized their disgust with her choice (yeah right). The children of course (along with Dad) would get yummy things like hamburgers and french fries. Oh the heavenly french fries which we willingly shared with the honoree!

However, now I have become my mother. I LOVE that I can eat as many heads of steamed broccoli I want when Kenny is gone. It is a perfect single ladies meal, and I can now understand why that was such a special treat for my mom.

So thanks mom for passing that on to me. Now I will go eat my head of broccoli, YUM!

X and a Horseshoe, Chi O!

2010-03-18T22:44:00.001-07:00

This will be the second weekend in a row during which I get to see a Chi Omega. I am pretty excited! One of my sisters, Sally, is living in Seattle for 9 months while she works with the PGA, so she and I met up this past weekend to do a little shopping. When you live in an area that only boasts a Wal-Mart, it is always an adventure going to a mall with a NORDSTROMS! I got two books at a BARNES AND NOBLE! and a pair of sassy heels at DSW! I am not a huge shopper, but I LOVE barnes and noble and dsw. Books and shoes. Amazing :) And spending time sipping a sparkling pomegranate lemonade with one of the sweetest people in the world just kind of made my Sunday. So thanks to Sally for unintentionally moving only 2 hours away from me :) I appreciate it.

The Help = AWESOME book, cannot put down!

THIS weekend, I get to see Molly Harris Laufer, another stellar Chi Omega. Molly got married this past September and allowed Kenny and I to celebrate our second anniversary hanging out in Cville. Not only that, but Molly is one of those girls whose laugh is contagious, whose smile is always warm, and who give some pretty amazing hugs. Now why is Molly coming to the Seattle area? She is coming home from a LONG deployment on the USS Nimitz and their last port stop is Bremerton. Now if you are thinking, but if she got married in September and has been on a long deployment, how does that work? Well my friends, it means she got hitched, honeymooned, and deployed. So her homecoming is super special in that she will actually be with her HUSBAND! YEAH!! So this Sunday, I will head down to Seattle to meet up with Molly and her Tigers (people that come spend time on the ship to experience carrier life) which just happen to be her sweet mom and mom-in-law.

Molly and Molly in the good ol' days at the Chi O house...

Now hold onto your horses because there is going to be a third Chi Omega weekend... I know. I can hardly stand it myself. Next weekend I will head to Las Vegas to hang out with THREE Chi Omegas! It will be crazy exciting :)

Esteel (or Lizzy or Elizabeth) and Bridgee (or Bridget) will be meeting me in Vegas!
And Banoo/Bananie (or Annie) will be there too!
Hope you all have a great weekend filled with people whom you love lots too!

So four years ago around this time...

2010-03-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

*** There are no pictures that can illustrate this because I did not want my mother to know at the time, but after 4 years, I think it is okay to admit to this story.***

I went on my final spring break of college and my final spring break in Corpus Christi, TX. Living in the Chi Omega Sorority house had its advantages such as borrowing clothes, hanging with some cool chicks, and having an awesome suite. However, it also had the major excitement/pressure of being one of the sisters who might get engaged while in college. Before I went on spring break, all the talk was about how Kenny would definitely be popping the question. I kept saying that I really didn't think he would do it until after graduation, but the buzz around the house was that it was totally happening. (At least that is how I felt).

So I get to Corpus, Kenny knows that all I want to do is go to the beach, so he has put together a picnic lunch for us. Now this wasn't just any picnic lunch, it was HEB chicken salad on amazing HEB rolls with diet Sunkist, so basically my favorite things. And if you don't know about HEB, you are missing out in life. So I started to get nervous as we ate and enjoyed the sun and began to think "this is it, this is it, this is it." We were out on the beach with lots of talk about the future. Kenny was getting ready to get his wings and move. I was getting ready to graduate and was awaiting acceptance to grad school. Due to my nervousness, I forgot to put on sunscreen. I mean, how can a girl concentrate on a silly thing like sunscreen when this man of her dreams MIGHT propose. Also, we were going to go meet his grandparents and aunts and uncles that week, and I kept thinking that maybe Kenny would want them to meet me as his fiance. Well needless to say, he did not pop the big question, but that night, my face started to get red from the sun exposure. By the next morning, my face was swollen and beat red from being sunburned. It was awful. I was literally rubbing aloe on my face nonstop. I have definitely learned my lesson in terms of sunscreen.

So instead of getting a ring that week, I got a wicked sunburn, but the plus was that when I met his grandparents with a red face, I couldn't blush terribly which I can do on a dime. And they liked me despite my tomato face.

When I returned from Spring Break, a few of my sorority sisters were a little bummed that it didn't happen, but we all got our wish a month later. Kenny surprised me by knocking on the Chi Omega door when he was supposed to be in San Antonio playing golf with his buddies. And the rest is history!

And because a post without pictures is boring... Here we are moments after I said, "Am I old enough to do this, I mean, yes!"
And the gorgeous ring and roses :)

there is an end in sight

2010-03-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

This might sound strange since this is the 6th deployment that we have done. However, tomorrow I will go to my last hail and farewell before our own in April, and I can see the end of this det in sight. I can also see the end of our time in Whidbey, which is sad. I can see the end of my job at North Whidbey Christian which is sad. I can see the end of living in our first married home together. I can see the end of extended time apart (for now). I see the end of living SO far away from our family.

All of these obviously stir up a whole smorgasbord of emotions, but there are of course exciting beginnings coming that cannot go unnoticed. Beginning of living only FIVE hours from family. Beginning of warm weather and real beaches. Beginning of living in a city with an airport. Beginning of having our family together :)

And now a little trek down memory lane...

Kenny and I enjoying the Corpus beach in 2006. I might have thought we were getting engaged that day and I might have been super wrong. :) Woops.
I look really cool on a T-44.
Kenny looking "fly" on the T-44 which he will instruct new students on when we go to Texas!

So it is kind of weird to see this end in sight and to know that soon we will pack up our first home and move. May we do this with grace and maturity and have a great end and a fabulous new beginning!

Hootie Hoo!

2010-03-08T07:49:00.001-08:00

So I have this great friend, Whitney, who is a fabulous jewelry maker. She has this fabulous ability to put things together and come up with unique and fun pieces. She is always scoping out beads, so when she found an owl pendant, she knew that I needed it. She made me an awesome necklace for me that I just had to share!

If there is any Chi O who would like one, she can make them in silver or gold depending on your preference!

And just so you can see my friend and her sweet little girl, Kylie, here they are! We went bowling the other night and Kylie might have bowled 2 strikes and wooped all of the adults. Just might have... :)

A Day of Remembrance...

2010-03-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

6 years ago today, my big brother passed away, so today, I remember him. Bo taught me all of those great four letter words, how to have high expectations for myself, and how to stand up for myself. So in honor of Bo and his passing, I encourage you to reach out to someone you love today and just let them know that you love them and that they have helped shape you. I know that I would not be able to deal with high school aged boys if my brother had not been such a royal pain in the you know what.

Bo getting the best present of his entire life - his little sister ;)
You can't say we weren't stylish kids... This was a year that Bo's ornaments did get to go on the tree because he hadn't been a royal pain in the you know what to my parents :)

I toast to you, my big brother, Bobo. And we miss you, so.

Josh Turner!

2010-02-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

So a week ago, Jamie, Kristy, and I made our way down to Snoqualmie Casino to see Josh Turner in concert! He was FABULOUS! Some artists aren't great live, but he sounds even better than he does on his CD. He has this amazing deep voice that sings beautifully; plus, his wife is his keyboardist which is pretty awesome!

First we had a little shopping excursion during which we found some cute clothes for Kristy who is pregnant and was looking for a welcome home outfit for her husband who comes home Wednesday! She wore her new purple dress to the concert and looked beautiful! We got to the Salish Lodge which is a beautiful resort right on the Snoqualmie Falls and put on our cowboy boots for a rocking evening. After dinner at a fancy restaurant in the Casino, we made our way into the ballroom to be entertained!

We were just a wee bit excited!There he is!!!

As I said, Josh Turner was awesome, and I would highly suggest his CD Haywire because there isn't a song on it that I don't love. It was a fabulous weekend away despite not having a husband to share it with (Kenny loves Josh Turner as well)!

We woke up the next morning to enjoy a hike down the falls and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and "warm-ish" weather!

The Falls- Me, Jamie, and Kristy
I don't know where I would be without this little lady!

All pictures are courtesy of Kristy and Jamie since I charged by battery and then left it in my kitchen. Woops!

And other good news - One month down, and one to go before the deployment is over! Also, we got a very personal, welcoming letter from our next squadron which greatly impressed me! So VT-31 here we come! And appropriately, they are the wise owls. :) Hootie Hoo!

Once a nerd, always a nerd...

2010-02-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

As a proud member of the National Honor Society while I was in high school (might have been the treasurer and president, cough, cough), I decided that my wee school should have a National Honor Society. We didn't have any clubs for the kids to be part of or any real opportunities for the students to learn leadership skills! So after contacting my own NHS sponsor and getting board approval, I am proud to say that North Whidbey Christian High School has its own 6 member NHS! I inducted the 6 students on January 11th in a brief ceremony that was really well attended. I was shocked as people just kept pouring into the room. The school decided that it would be great to have our picture in the paper, so here it is for all of your viewing pleasure!

And because I know you want to be able to read the caption it says this: "Vaughn challenged these first National Honor Society members to excellence in scholarship, leadership, service, and character." (It's not like those aren't the four pillars of the NHS or anything.)

These kids have already planned and executed a Valentine's Day bake sale to raise money for Haiti Relief. They raised $52!! I am so proud of these 6 students and hopefully the other kids will see how awesome it is to be part of a club that does great things and teaches them life skills!

As I close this post, I must thank both of my NHS sponsors for always encouraging me, Mrs. Matson for all of her love and support with the student government, and of course my momma for expecting us all to get involved, be a leader, and leave places better than we found them!

Happy 1st Birthday William!

2010-02-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

So on the 15th of February last year, a wee little person joined our family. And he grew and grew and grew, and before we knew it, he reached his first birthday!

Second week, all bundled up!
Chilling with Aunt Molly

Thank you for all your smiles, little William and your ability to do something that you know your momma doesn't want you to do, but you smile anyway and crawl away. Now you are walking, and it will only be a matter of time before you are running and your momma is chasing you.

Love those chubby little cheeks and little buddha belly!

You are such a sweet, sweet boy, and Uncle Kenny and I look forward to seeing you as soon as possible! We love you!

Some bright moments...

2010-02-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Now it is always sad to have your hubby gone, but if he is going to be away there are some things that make the absence not quite as hard.

1) I get to wear his sweatshirts and sweatpants all I want.... that is the best. Kenny is not always so keen on me stealing his clothing - but I love how they swallow me and are nicely worn and comfy. So at least if he has to be away, I can benefit from his absence by wearing his sweats.

2) And I get to eat morningstar vegetarian chicken tenders which are made of soy. They are awesome. Kenny has even eaten them and said that they aren't "too bad" for a meat lover like him. They are my treat when Kenny leaves - a little vegetarian chicken tender. Try them out - you will fall in love.
Hope you all are having a great week and if you are snowed in that you aren't going too stir crazy with so much snow!

NEXT lesson for the week...

2010-02-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

When you are a Navy wife, you move lots, you apply for jobs lots, and you make friends lots.

Well when one thing goes wrong because you made a plan (silly me) and thought it would TOTALLY work out (REALLY silly me) and then reality smacks you in the face, you need your family and your friends.

To say this past Tuesday morning was pretty awful is an understatement. It wasn't the biting off of the elephant because I have been super focused on nibbling my small portions; it was the, Texas would like to make it harder for you to get a job despite the fact you went to two prestigious universities thing that smacked me right across the face Tuesday. (My mom says not to bring that up to Texas because that won't help my cause... kill them with sweetness... not snootiness.)

So back to the lesson of today... Bless Kenny's heart. He called to tell me that he was safe and sound and got a sobbing wife. Then my sister called me, and got a sobbing sister. Then my friend called me, and got a sobbing friend. Now if you know me, I only sob when I am super frustrated which was the case. So, Kenny, Meg, and Jamie all told me that it would all be okay and a door will always open and opportunities will come!

Then, after teaching, going to the gym, talking to my mom rationally about everything (she didn't get the sobs), I made my way up to Anacortes to pick up Jamie for a farewell dinner.

What was there to make my day so much brighter?

These:

So despite being frustrated your lesson for the week is to stay positive, surround yourself with great friends and family, and have faith that all will work out! Because it will! (and a little chocolate never hurts!)

One bite of the elephant at a time...

2010-01-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

When Kenny and I were planning our wedding and I was feeling super overwhelmed with the wedding, grad school, getting ready to move, becoming a real adult, etc., he told me that I couldn't eat the whole elephant at once. He said that I had to take it one bite at a time. Now of course, he doesn't remember this poignant conversation like I do, but nonetheless, it is something I seem to be reminding myself a lot lately!

Kenny leaves tomorrow for his last detachment. This time, I can say last with a little more certainty as he detaches from the squadron in April which is the month he comes back. This means, that we will pack up, and he will move in May. Then I will wrap up school and leave after graduation on June 11th. This means that I have got a super long list to get done during his two months away. You know, that whole getting a job thing... it takes a wee bit of work. But as I told my dear friend this week, you have to take it one step at a time, just take a little nibble of that elephant at a time.

So for anyone feeling a little bit overwhelmed, your lesson for today is this: you can't eat the whole elephant at once! One bite at a time, my friends. One bite at a time!

And please keep Kenny in your prayers!

Happy Birthday to TWO cool people!

2010-01-24T18:00:00.001-08:00

This is a wee bit belated because we have been crazy busy, but I would be a terrible aunt and sister in law if I did not recognize the birthdays of two awesome people!

First, on the 21st was MAEVE's 3rd birthday! I can still remember the moment she was born and we finally found out she was a SHE! I never thought I would watch someone give birth, but it was one of the coolest things ever. And with her birth, I became an aunt, Kenny became an Uncle, mom became Grandmother, dad became Doc, and Meg and Andrew became MOM and DAD! She has brought such joy and love to our family, and every time she puts her little arms around my neck for a hug, it makes my heart burst with love! So Happy 3rd Birthday MAEVE! We LOVE you!

Maeve's first week home. All I wanted to do was kiss those sweet little cheeks...
So wee!
Maeve, now 3 and a princess!

Secondly, on the 23rd was Christine's birthday! Christine is a fabulous sister-in-law who helped raise my husband and beat... I mean, form him into the great man that he is. She has the best recommendations for books to read, can whip up an amazing meal, and so kindly is always on call when we have questions about pretty much anything and everyone else on the east coast is asleep! We hope that YOU had a great birthday, and we are so glad to have you as our sister/sister-in-law!

Kenny and Christine visiting Santa
Christine enjoying her stocking at Christmas. Santa was good to us!

A little more skiing

2010-01-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I embarked on an adventure with some of my school (8 students as opposed to 16). We went skiing at Mt. Baker! Now I have skied with Kenny, but never have I had to rent my skis, get my lift ticket, drive up the mountain on my own, or be responsible for others! It ended up all working out fine especially since the mountain was practically empty! I even went down a couple of runs I have never done on Mt. Baker with the assistance of one of my students, Kalissa. The best part (other than conquering the BIG run twice!) was getting to hang out with two of my favorite students and spend some major QT with them. It will certainly be hard to leave them at the end of this year, but I will certainly look back fondly on our ski day together!

Mary and Kalissa, my skiing buddies (and US History students and NHS members)

Posing at the top of the mountain!
Kalissa and I after going down the BIG run! She was so kind to go down first and wait for me so I could tell where to go. She was awesome!Never did I think that I could go skiing all on my own and be the responsible adult, but I did! I guess I really am growing up :)

More to come on the NHS inductions!

There are moments...

2010-01-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

when you just want your mom around. Like right now when I am attempting to download the template for my National Honor Society certificates, but it isn't working, and I could REALLY use her perfect handwriting. Or like when I need her unbiased opinion on whether or not my quotes for my induction ceremony are "too liberal" or come from "too liberal" of sources. Or like when I have terrible congestion and a cold and I just want my mom to rub vick's vapo rub on me, but she is off gallivanting on a cruise off the coast of Mexico with my dad and some John Steinbeck scholar.

Well, I guess she does deserve her fun. Plus, my 24 hours of being mopey and sick are up (Buchanan house rule), so I would probably have to rub my own vick's vapo on me anyway. But, boy, could I still use her handwriting...

A Trip Out East for Christmas!

2010-01-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Belated Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Vaughns!

Kenny made his way east a little bit earlier than I did, so he got to spend a little extra time with his parents and sister. Then I arrived on the 18th RIGHT before the HUGE blizzard on the east coast. We were supposed to make our way to NYC on the 19th; however, with the snow, we decided to stay home and watch the Duke basketball game on the television. I wish I had taken pictures of the snow, but alas, we did not. We did go trek in it, shovel it, snow angel in it, make a snowman in it, and throw snowballs, but no pictures... In MD, we got around 2 feet of snow!

Then Kenny and I headed down to Virginia Beach on the 21st to hang out with the Buchanans and Fosters. We got in some great time with the niece and nephew and they plum wore us out!
Grandmother and Maeve making biscuits for Christmas Day breakfast!
William wanted some biscuits too!
Uncle Kenny and Aunt Molly before 9pm services. We stole this little guy for the picture. His cute outfit was courtesy of Grandmother!
We celebrated Christmas morning in VB, and then headed to MD to celebrate Christmas up there!

Happy first Christmas William!
Aunt Molly and some of her favorite munchkins! (Maeve is wearing her princess costume)
Uncle Kenny got a headlamp! (We are both wearing our onesie pjs!)
Someone is overwhelmed with his cuteness in his first Christmas bib...
In Maryland opening our stockings!
The Vaughns!
The Ladies!
I even got to have some of my best friends from college and undergrad gather to catch up!
(Top: Bridgee and me, Bottom: Lizzy, Jan, Bri, and Julia)

After much celebrating, Kenny left on the 28th to head back to WA, and I headed south to Richmond to spend some more time with the Fosters and Buchanans. I got to spend an entire day with Meg and my mom shopping! We had a great time, and then it was time to make my way back west. It was a great holiday season, and now we are gearing up for all the changes in 2010!

Hope you all are having a great start to the 2010!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Kenny and I got our Christmas tree at the local tree farm. It was PRETTY chilly outside, so we picked a good Fraser Fir and made our way home!

We got it all decorated and listened to some great holiday music (a little Bing Crosby). Please also notice our Advent Wreath! I have been wanting one of these since we got married. My mother's church bookstore connection has finally paid off, and she got us the wreath, candles, AND snuffer as an early gift! Kenny has not done a good job of holding up the tradition of fighting over who gets to light the candles and snuff them out, but hopefully with each passing year, he will get into the Buchanan tradition!

We also went to a beautiful wedding down in Seattle where we got to see the 49ers who happened to be staying at the hotel!
We have also had three Christmas parties this week! I had my VQ-1 Spouse's club party, and we have had two parties for Kenny's squadron.

Kenny and I won a Starbucks gift card!

It has been a packed week, and we are looking forward to getting to the east coast to hang out with family and friends!

I hope you and yours are gearing up for a great holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-12-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

So here I thought Kenny would be the one to post, but this weekend I got pretty caught up on life, and poor Kenny was the one working until almost 8pm on Friday night.

We flew into Honolulu on the 25th and the weather was cloudy, but WARM! We spent the first afternoon just hanging out with the other 3 couples and recovering from an eventful 6 hour flight. The girl in front of us had a medical emergency while we were in the air. It was rather exciting and not in a good way. She ended up fine, but epi pens were pulled out and oxygen was turned on. That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant in Honolulu where you got to grill your own food. My Mahi Mahi was so mouthwatering I wasn't willing to share (woops).

The next day was Thanksgiving. We spent the morning on the beach before getting to have a Thanksgiving feast! We had a turkey that was cooked Hawaiian style in the sand! It was so tender and moist. There was delicious stuffing with sausage in it, and broccoli casserole, and the Vaughn Potato Casserole, and my pecan pie :)

The view off the back of the house on Thanksgiving Day!
I look a little pale, but oh so warm!
The next day was a surf lesson for everyone while I lounged and soaked up the sun while reading for fun. My idea of heaven. :) After another day on the beach, it was time to head back to the house and rest up for Saturday's adventures.

Off to conquer the waves of Waikiki...

Yeah, he is like a pro...
Not too shabby!
Everyone else was heading to the Hawaii/Naval Academy game, so Kenny and I headed to Pearl Harbor, hiked the Manoa Falls, hiked Diamond Head, drove up the Northern coast, and ate Mexican on the North Shore. My souvenir was a Pearl Harbor DVD for my class. I was so excited to be there at such a historical landmark. It made me want WWII to come faster in US History. To heck with Jackson and the National Bank :) Kenny's souvenir was a cool book on the plane that Papaw flew! All in all, it was an awesome day!

USS Arizona Memorial

USS Utah Memorial
Hiking up the Manoa Falls (where LOST is definitely filmed!) Hikers have come down this trail and seen the crew filming!
Diamond Head Crater. Kenny is the only one near the edge because I may have a WEE fear of heights. Let's just say, had Kenny not been there to encourage me, and had I not said the Lord's Prayer over and over, I might not have made it!
Yeah, we hiked up that.
Just the coast of Oahu. Kind of beautiful!
Sadly Sunday we had to pack up and head back to the wind and cold. Before everyone else got up, Kenny and I drove down the coast from our house to take some pictures of the beautiful scenery. Where we were staying was just down the road from where parts of LOST is filmed. We are HUGE LOST fans, so we were pretty pumped! We even stayed down the road from "The Others" homes which were first The Dharma Initiative's homes. If you don't watch the show, don't worry about it. We were jazzed, but then it was time to take out the trash and head to the airport.

Last morning... :(
The Other's Houses! (Or the YMCA camp)

We were so glad to get to be warm and get to see Hawaii before we move from the west coast! We certainly will have to go back!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

WELCOME DECEMBER!

2009-12-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

I am sure you are waiting for our extensive Thanksgiving post, but I am in the midst of grading until my fingers bleed and planning until I dream about the formation of our great nation and setting up our first NHS induction ceremony....With that, I just want to say, welcome December and Advent. I hope that you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and I have tasked Kenneth with the Hawaii/Thanksgiving post since he is the less busier of the two of us. :) I am sure he will do a great job!

Happy Advent!

A little Goodbye...

2009-11-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

This week we said a little goodbye to our first friends here. Literally, first friends. First people who had us over for dinner on my first night visiting in Oak Harbor. First people we went to a squadron event with. First people who went through the first deployment with us. First people who welcomed us as newlyweds. First people who we had Thanksgiving with. The list goes on and on. The support of the Saxtons in our first two years of marriage has been priceless. We are ever so grateful for their friendship and the way the military brings you in contact with some pretty awesome people. Who would have thought that one of the people Kenny went to the second SERE school with would turn out to be some of our best friends! The Saxtons have moved onto the great state of Texas, specifically San Antonio. It was a little goodbye because Nate will come back to the O.H. for a little bit before he departs permanently in February, and we will see those Saxtons in Texas!

Before the Saxtons left, some of our friends and I threw Beth a Cowgirl baby shower. We had a great time putting together all of the fun pink, cowgirl decorations and showering Beth with our love.

We couldn't resist these cute little onesies that were SO wee!
I was so excited about these cupcakes, and Kenny even helped taped those hats to the toothpicks. He is a good helper!
The little outfit we got little, baby Saxton!
Beth's diaper cake and Jamie's super creative way of decorating the table with fabric!
The five dollar boots that Jamie found!
The precious onesies that said things like, "Can I get a Yeehaw!"

Then this Tuesday we all gathered at Esteban's (the local Mexican place) and said goodbye to the Saxtons. Beth will certainly be missed as a key component of our group. No one makes homemade cooking like that girl including chicken tenders, blackberry cobbler, enchiladas, and guacamole to name a few. More importantly we will miss her warmth, support, hugs, and love!

We hope that they get settled into San Antonio, and we cannot wait to meet the newest addition to the family! And thanks to Beth for going before me, I had asked that she move first since I wasn't sure if I could leave her. (Now I didn't ask that she leave 6 months before!) We look forward to eating a lot more Mexican food with you in the great Lonestar State!

ps. I "borrowed" all of these pictures, so thanks to Lara and Beth for the pics!

What we've been up to...

2009-11-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Just a little wine tasting and skiing...

On Veteran's Day, we rented a car from the local Enterprise. They only had two cars to choose from, and we went with the Corolla as opposed to the PT Cruiser. I was hoping for the PT Cruiser just because I thought it would be funny to watch Kenny drive around in a silver PT Cruiser, but alas his manly side came out and we went with the Corolla. Why did we need a rental, you might ask? Well for those of you that don't know, Kenny was rear-ended by a "speedy" car who decided that if two cars are stopped in front of you and the light is yellow, you can still go. Therefore, the Dodge truck is getting a little face lift, if you will. Hopefully we will get the Dodge back sometime after Thanksgiving break.

Our real fun started though when we decided to head down to Greenbank farms which is conveniently located in Greenbank on Whidbey Island (about 30 minutes South of us). They have a wine tasting room, cafe, and many art shops. We decided to do a little wine tasting of the local vineyards and then wandered over to the cheese shop to take a look. After looking at the art that I declared looked like something I did in art class in 3rd grade, we headed home. The best part of going was it was one of the few days this week that the wind has not nearly toppled you over and the rain hasn't been pelting you in the face.

The Barn...
I really liked the wooden cheese. It kind of reminded me of the movie "Ratatouille"

Then this weekend we decided to hit the slopes since our local mountain opened up on Thursday. We skied with our good friends the Smiths who snowboard which was awesome since that meant that Jamie and I could head to the lodge when our less experienced legs needed a break. I think I am finally getting the hang of this skiing thing! I have even said aloud that I would LIKE to go on a ski vacation!

Yeah, we skied that...

It is a definite winter wonderland!
It was pretty cold up there on the top, but pretty beautiful too!
We hope you all are gearing up for Thanksgiving! We are heading to Hawaii then, so we will be gratefully getting out of the wind and cold and heading to the (hopefully) sun and warmth!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2009-11-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all who have served for our country including Papaw, Uncle Rick, Phil, and Kenny! May we thank those who put their lives on the line so that we may be free!

Papaw Vaughn

Uncle Rick and PhilKenny
Thank you!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

This year we once again carved pumpkins! Last year, we had seen these cool Obama carvings; however, we felt like we couldn't carve those. First of all, we didn't want to jinx Obama's win and secondly, both of our job environments are a little more right swinging. But THIS year, we are just supporting our President! I did an Obama pumpkin, and Kenny did a cute little face pumpkin.
My pumpkin!
Kenny's Pumpkin

Then on Halloween Day, it was so pretty during the day (which it hasn't been) that we decided to take a little plane out. I nearly had an anxiety attack as we were slightly jostled by the wind, but once we got to 2000 feet, I was breathing regularly. (and I had loosened my grip on both the door and seat). It was awesome to get to see what Kenny does (on a very small scale) and to see how much he enjoys seeing the world from above. It was super fun to see the little San Juan islands from above. I just couldn't believe how quickly our hour was over, and we were back on the ground. Next time we might make our way to landing on one of those islands and having a little lunch.

So here are some pictures of the pretty scenery from above!

Looking at Lopez Island.
The islands...
My personal pilot.
Look I am SMILING not puking!
Heading home...
Then we got ice cream from Dugualla Bay since they close today and won't open again before we leave. It was DELICIOUS! Kenny got peanut butter and chocolate ice cream and I had to go with the cookie dough.... That ice cream will be missed!
Hope you all had a beautiful Halloween as well!

Happy Birthday Navy!

2009-10-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

October 13th was the Navy's Birthday! VQ-1 decided to make the Navy Birthday Ball a mandatory fun event. So all gussied up we got!
Saturday, Kenny and I headed up to Anacortes to hang out and get our hair done (well, not Kenny). Jamie, her fun friend Lindsay, and I headed to an afternoon of getting dolled up! It was a bit of a process to get beautiful. I don't know that I have ever had such big hair, but I am just prepping for moving to Texas possibly. Big HAAIR!

The Big HAIR...

The finished product!
Then it was time to get the digs on and head to the pre-party. Since we like to hang out with the Saxtons so much, we stopped by their abode for a photo op. Thank goodness that Beth always has a camera!

The two lovely couples!
The girls! (Me, Carter, and Beth!)
At the pre-party at the XO's house, we enjoyed getting to see everyone all dressed up. I love the casual living of the Pacific Northwest, but it is always fun to get a little dressed up. :)

My ladies: Lindsay, Jamie, Amy, Me, Beth, Whitney, and Lara

My second main squeeze at the event and I. It's great to have a pregnant friend because you have an excuse to sit down!

My hot date :)
The actual ball was not exactly what I was expecting. Let's just say that as Momma B would say, "You can't buy class." I did luckily get to sit next to Beth and my handsome husband, and I got to do a little dancing with my main squeeze (that would be Kenny). Plus, I got to wear my prom dress again! It was nice to celebrate the Navy's birthday and have a classy date out on the town with some great friends. Thanks to Beth for taking pictures, being DD, and always being my buddy! And thanks to Jamie for doing my makeup and setting up a day of beautifying!

Happy Birthday Navy!

A few things off the checklist...

2009-10-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

We have been making a to-do list of things needed to be done before we leave for the great state of Texas. This weekend we crossed off two!
I get that from my mother. So Kenny packed his pack and waited for his friends to pick him up because they were heading to a weekend of roughing it in the Olympic Mountains. Kenny has wanted to go camping in Washington since we moved here, however, getting a campsite in the summer is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. These Washingtonians are super outdoorsy. (Plus, with the Navy it is pretty hard to plan one's weekends.) However, Kenny decided that it might be fun to go to one of the campsites that you have to hike about 4 miles to and then camp. For this little adventure, I suggested that he find some friends who would like to go with him because I am a wimp. I like camping outside and hiking, but I don't like being cold! Mind you, none of the other boys were as prepared as my Eagle Scout, but somehow they survived the arduous hike and sleeping in 20 degree weather. (no thanks) The next morning, the boys hiked to the top of a ridge to see Hurricane Ridge and then made their way back down to the car. He came back pretty smelly, but so happy that he had gotten to experience camping in the wilderness of Washington!

The Camper is ready...
Stay warm!
Kenny and his crew.We have gotten our pumpkins every Halloween season at Dugualla Bay farm, so this year, we had to do the same! It is our last time to do that here in Washington which is so bittersweet. I did find my pumpkin right away, but we looked for a while before leaving our favorite pumpkin patch!

Someone is sad that Corpus might not have such a fun pumpkin patch....
We ran into some friends at the pumpkin patch who so kindly took our picture!
Our finds!
Just wait until we carve those pumpkins! They are going to be sweet!