Texas Adventures

Here are some pictures from some of our adventures here in TX.  As the end draws closer, we are finding ourselves trying to check things off our lists.  Enjoy!

 Haby's Bakery

 Devil's River

 It's Big Foot! Aka Millie

 Can you spot the armadillo? Millie can.

 A man's best friend.

 Texas Sunset

 Sonora Caverns

 Our friends Jess & Joe

 We are silly!

In the caves

My Husband's Good

Erik is a good one.  What woman doesn't like to wake up on their birthday to 2 dozen roses, DQ ice cream cake, and a mimosa?  Okay, not the best combo but I'm pretty sure I have the best husband!

Country Weekend

Wow!  We had such an incredible weekend!  Erik & I stayed at a sweet little B&B cabin in Fredericksburg, Texas.  We got to go to their annual Crawfish Festival.  Erik tried to teach me how to eat them, but they were such a mess that I gave up pretty quick.  We also discovered that the National Museum of the Pacific War was randomly in Fredericksburg.  It was incredibly well done.  We walked in and six hours later we walked out.  We explored some vineyards and did some wine tasting and had some fun conversations with folks both local and not.  To top off the night we headed to a tiny town called Luckenbach.  We were hoping that Willie Nelson would make an appearance, but were just so pleased with the hometown country living, we didn't care when he didn't.  I think Erik is now completely in love with that town, and I am sure that you'll hear him mention it a time or two.  Here are some pictures from out trip

.

 Museum Picture

 Erik decided to just point and shoot at my face...you can tell I'm thrilled

 Wildflowers everywhere

 Our B&B

 Becker Winery

 Beautiful cabins all over the place

 Luckenbach

 The Hat Shop at Luckenbach

 Erik being silly

 Chickens in the trees

 Long day...but we are still partying

Luckenbach Concert

85 Days!

I can't believe we are on the downward slope of this year.  We are definitely ready to get the keys to our new adventure.  Erik & I have even been dreaming(looking on realtor.com) of houses we possibly look at if we get stationed somewhere fun. I think Erik has changed his mind to Washington solely based on the style of house they have in comparison to other places...that's one way to decide I guess?
Tonight Erik is going on a cross-country trip, which means that Millie gets to cuddle with me tonight...on the bed. Lucky her!  I don't know what we would do with out that dog.  She has provided us with so much love and comfort.  I'm going to miss him, but it will be fun to pour my glass of wine and eat garlic brie for dinner.( It's not a real dinner...but it's perfect for me;)

 

It's been raining a lot here.  I can see how there are flash floods.  Such dry barren land and it just can't hold the water in.  It has brought about more wildlife than I ever could imagine.  There are lots of good and bad insects to battle these days.  I think I could make a fortune if only squirrels were desirable pets.  I took a picture of a moth I found the other day and it was the size of a small bird.  CRAZY! It was a little creepy though, thick and muscular with a furry abdomen.  Things I never thought I would know about Texas. Who knows what the next 85 days will hold...

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This...

Today has been kind of a yuck day.  It's funny how we all encounter white waters when the sea had been calm just a minute ago.  I think the biggest thing is that we learn from the trials that we encounter and focus on the positive.  The sun is bound to come out again.  It can be healthy to regain focus on the things that are truly important in our lives and be thankful that we have them. So this isn't going to be a negative time, because we all have days like this.

54 Grill

As we were making our way to Texas we found ourselves in pretty much the ugliest part of the desert.  I mean we were in the middle of nowhere.  We had been driving several days and we were wiped out.
The temperature read well over a hundred and our dog couldn't survive without not one but two fans and the air conditioning on full blast.  We were in separate cars and not the radio nor the walkie-talkies would dream of working.
Lunch time was drawing near and my stomach was starting to grumble...even Erik knows how dangerous that is.  Towns were hard to come-by unless they were abandoned and sunscorched.  Out in the distance was a little building that read 'Giant Burgers 54 Grill'.  There was a truck out front that wasn't rusted out and that meant only one thing...people!
You know I remember that day because I really enjoyed it.  You probably wouldn't have thought so by my details, but it was a blast. Oh and the burgers were good too.

 We really were exhausted.  See it's all true:)

So I guess my take away is that perspective is everything.  Looking for the bright spots can make our lives a greater story.

What A Smile Says

Last week Erik passed his first check ride in the T-1. We of course celebrated with steak and cigars...sounds very manly:) It has been so nice to see Erik unwind a little and get back to being himself. (He has been crazy-study-machine for so long;)

I have to admit that pilot training has been challenging for both of us. As Erik puts it, "There's a reason that they have a swagger in their step." It's tough! But we are almost through...109 days til we find out our next assignment...not that we're counting or anything.

These pictures are from his last flight in the T-6. There's nothing like that smile! I love it!

Catchin' Up

Family Photo CA Christmas 2011

We are in the T-6!

T-6 Solo Tradition

Our Home in Del Rio

Utah Christmas 2011

This is when I graduated with my Masters.

Our sweet puppy Millie.

Erik suffering on deployment;)

Our beautiful wedding.

We definitely made the most of our trip down to TX. This is us at Mesa Verde.

Where to Start

Friends & Family,
This has been long overdue. I have been avoiding a blog for a good ole' time and the funny thing is that I love to write. Although life continues to grow and change us, I realize that the distance put between us and our loved ones actually feels of distance. So whether we are in Texas or Tahiti, here is a window into our lives.
We will post updates on our lives ranging from things as significant as moving into a new home to things as simple as finding a new favorite recipe. We thought it would be a nice, simple way for you to see the most recent changes in our lives, as well as see some fun pictures! We will try to leave frequent posts, but we may skip a week here and there if we are busy or don't have any updates. We hope that you will enjoy checking this site for updates and we welcome you to leave comments/feedback.

Becky & Erik