Thanksgiving in Vegas

Brian and I headed over to Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday, November 22 to spend Thanksgiving with Brian's mom, Sara.

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful! We had turkey breast, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, yams, rolls, pecan pie... the whole nine yards!
It was so yummy!

We went down to the strip and met up with Philip and Trina.
And then we met Lyndsey in New York... JK... but we did go by New York New York on the Vegas strip! :)Phil & Trina winning the big bucks!
Philip & Trina in front of the MGM Lion
Catherine & Brian in front of a big lighted Christmas tree!
Sara, Brian & I went to Mount Charleston on Saturday afternoon and walked around! It was about 20 degrees cooler and beautiful. We went to eat at a little diner at the top of the mountain and enjoyed beautiful scenery.


(Brian got a phone call from his best friend, Patrick, from Iraq!)




We left Las Vegas early Sunday morning on got on the road for a long six hour trip back!
Happy Thanksgiving!! I can't wait to be back in Texas in less than a month!!!!!!!!

Nathan & Rachel Price are married

So, I have been in Dallas since Wednesday, November 15 and had such a wonderful time. I was able to get to spend time with wonderful church friends, high school friends, one college friend, my parents' friends and my parents!!! I wasn't able to spend near enough time with everyone I wanted to see (I didn't even have time to call everyone I wanted to just to say "Hi!" and "I'm in town!" So, I am sorry if I missed you...

However, I spent from Wednesday night through Saturday morning with 8 bridemaids trying to get our precious friend Rachel Nelson married off!!
And that we did!!! The wedding was so much fun and the reception was that much better!! Rachel definitely knows how to throw a party... and keep the after-party very much alive until early the following morning!! :)

Here are a couple of pictures I took though my camera battery died early on and I was not able to get near the amount that I wanted to take.

Here is Nathan & Rachel Price with one of the beautiful rings Nathan bought her... that girl gets so spoiled by him... :)
This is Rachel on the wedding night just minutes before she walked down the aisle! She looked amazing; the train on her dress was 12 feet long and I believe the veil was 15 feet long...

I am making my toast to Rachel and Nathan... Bailey Tipps is smiling to the side after just making his hilarious toast to them! Tierni (Washam) Driesner and Mary (Kha) Ho are behind me... all friends we have shared since we were 5 years old!This is the part where the maid of honor and the Best Man get introduced... Josh Wood & Catherine Goode

Here is Deanna Schafer and I at the wedding... a wonderful friend since we were little...
TC Willis & I... a wonderful friend since high school!
Frances Moffett made this fabulous cake to share with everyone at the cookout the day after Rachel & Nathan's wedding! YummY!!!!
Catherine Goode, the groom, Nathan Price, the bride, Rachel (Nelson) Price, and Will Binford, one of the bestest and most loyal friends anyone could ask for... Rachel, Will and I have known each other since Kindergarden and Nathan came into the picture during 7th grade!
Me with the cake!!!



Hope you enjoy...

It's November?

It is shocking to me that it is approaching mid-November and still 80-something degrees outside. The evenings cool off but the day is still warm and comfortable in shorts and t-shirts. So, I can't really complain.

So, my mom has a job!! I think all of her children are so proud of her commitments to volunteering for various activities which have opened the doors for her to become a volunteer supervisor for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree at Valley View Mall! Way to go girl!!

And Lyndsey, congrats on the job!! I'm so excited for you and the show! I hope it keeps you busy and opens up lots of new doors for you!
(Here are the shoes I was talking to you about! Aren't they cute!!!)

Veeves, I'm mad at you for not coming home this next weekend... it's not like you haven't seen me since June...

Dad! I'm glad you are my dad!! I can't wait to see you next week!

Phil (who doesn't read this), I'm glad you're my brother! I <3 FISH!

I think I have a friend!

I think I have a new friend! There is a couple about Brian and my age that moved from Austin to Tucson the same month I moved from Dallas. We went to dinner at Old Chicago last night. It was nice to go on a double date with another couple. They are named Jeff & Trisa! Trisa and I have walked together a couple of times and we are going to go jog tomorrow morning.

So, I finally got the pictures off of Brian's computer that I have been asking for a while! So here are some updates!

First, here are two pictures of my 25th birthday dinner. Brian took me to a fancy restaurant in Tucson that seems like you are out in the middle of no where. The food and service was delicious and the view was amazing.


Then off to Vegas... this first picture is with Brian's college friends Pete & Nina. We met up with them in Vegas the weekend before they got married since Brian and I would not be able to make it to Seattle for the wedding.
Sydne and her friend were also in town so Sara (Brian's mom), Sydne, her friend from high school in Oregon, Brian and myself went to some nice restaurants and had a lot of fun playing!!!
Brian is always so mature in our pictures!! :)And Sara and I always behave ourselves!! :)

And then it was Halloween!!! Brian, Adam (Brian's roommate) and I went to a Halloween party the Saturday before Halloween. I wanted to dress up but not be trashy, I wanted fun make up but didn't want to look ucky.... I don't so much like Halloween but I love Christmas so I decided to dress up as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!!
So here it is....
Brian and Adam were professional soccer players...
Here's a cute one of Adam and I...
grrr... I'm scary....
And a really cute one of Brian and I!!!!
And then there was Gavin... This is Brian's cousin! Doesn't he look fabulous???
So, this was my Halloween holiday fun!!
I'll keep you posted! :)

No mother!!!

Not a bike ride like a road bike.... a bike ride like on his motorcycle. You crazy lady!! :)
I wished I was in that good of shape... but if you don't remember, my road bike was stolen at the apartment in Dallas and I have not bought another since then.

A lovely Sunday

So, the weather over the last few days has been quiet lovely. It has been a little warmer then I expected for the end of October but Sunday was fairly overcast and cooler.

On Saturday, Brian, Adam and I went to a Haloween party (when I get the pictures from Brian's camera I will add them) at one of Gavin's friends homes. It was pretty fun! I was rudolph the red nosed reindeer!!!! I definitely think I was the cutest person there!!!! :)

On Sunday, Brian and I went on a motorcycle ride to Vail, AZ (about 25 miles outside of Tucson). It is so open out there and it is neat to see the development that Brian and his team at work are working on.
We rode all the way to Colossal Cave Mountain Park and walked around on a couple of trails and checked out the 'colossal cave'. Neither of us brought our camera's so I don't have any pictures of this... but trust me... it very pretty!!!! We petted the animals at the petting zoo and looked at all the horse's that you can ride (for a fee, of course).

Then we made our way back and stopped at Barnes & Noble (mom, your membership has expired by the way...) :) Brian bought me the book, 'Body for Life for Women'. I thing it will be pretty interesting. I'll let you know what I learn.

Brian and I are going to visit a church on Sunday night called Second Mile.

That's all I've got for now.
TTYL

this past weekend

This past weekend was pretty eventful. Brian's mom (Sara), Uncle Tom (Sara's oldest brother), Aunt (Liz), cousin (Catherine) and husband (Michael) all came into town. Tom & Liz are Gavin's parents...

On Saturday evening, we went over to Gavin's to cook out and play cards. It was so much fun getting to spend time with everyone.

Sara left on Sunday evening and we picked up Adam (Brian's roommate) at the airport at the same time. He had gone to Vegas for the weekend to play with some friends.

Then it was back to work on Monday. Having the Come before Winter video finished has opened up some free time to get to all piles of things I have lying around my house. Last night I was able to catch up on all my ironing. On Friday and Saturday I completed all of my laundry that had been piling up for over two weeks. And this evening will be full of going through bills, mail, etc.

At least the apartment if fairly clean so come visit!!!!!!

A quick update

I think I've been spending more time on mom's blog than my own. But alas...
A whole lot of not much has been going on for me. Work is work, Tucson is Tucson...
Brian's dad and step-mom were in town last weekend and now Brian's mom, aunt, uncle, cousin and husband (Gavin's parents, sister, and brother in law) are all in town.

I will work at Starbucks tomorrow morning and then spend the rest of the day probably hanging out with his family.

I think Lyndsey, Valerie and I are going to celebrate the coming of the New Year in none other than NYC itself!!! I'm pretty excited about that!

I miss you all so much! Please keep me posted on what is going on in your world. I am really looking forward to coming back home in mid-November. If you are going to be in town, please give me a call so we can play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UW vs. UA

So, here are some pictures of us at the Univ. of Washington v. the Univ. of Arizona game and tailgate before. We went to our seats right before the game and were escorted out of our section within 4 minutes of arriving. Since Brian and Adam went to U-Dubb the 5 of us that attended were all in purple. When your seats are in the "Red Zone" (college student section/the cheapest tickets to purchase) it isn't smart to be wearing the other teams colors. Security saw us and took us to other seats on the other side of the stadium to make sure we wouldn't be injured in any way. U Dubb won by the way!!!! :)
Cat & Brian at the game
The seats were packed...
at the tail gate... cat, brian and dave (co-worker), and the little face in the back is one of Brian's bosses...
Dave (co-worker of Brian) and Bill (one of Brian's boss')
Brian trying to be too cool for a pix
the game... our new seats were very close!!

Mary's wedding

I am so thankful I was able to come home last weekend for Mary and Jerry's wedding! I had so much fun spending time with Mary and her family, as well as all of my childhood friends! It is such an honor to still have such dear friends that have known you, and their parents have known you as well, since you around 5 years old!!

Catherine and Mary at the rehearsal dinner... same Chinese restaurant we went to for Mary's 18th b-day...
The gorgeous cake...
Mary & Jerry cutting the cake...
Toast....
First dance as husband and wife...
Bridesmaids: Susan, Alyssa, Tran, Diana and Catherine (I've known her the longest!!!) :)Me, Mary & Mom
Tara (and baby), Me, and Langston
Leslie J. (soon to be Farmer), Susan, Me, and Gef (Farmer)
Rachel Nelson (soon to be Price) and Me ... I'm the maid of honor in her wedding next month!!!
Patti Tipps, me and Mom
Susan Harding & Me
Tierni (Washam) Driesner & Katie (Mayor) Zell
Top: Leslie J., Rachel N., & Susan Harding
Bottom: Amy L., Me, Deanna S.

I LOVE MY GIRLFRIENDS!!!!

Don't be jealous or anything...

So, I am still not overly comfortable with life in Tucson, but when I look out my window and see this... it reminds me how glorious and creative our Lord is and allows me to remind myself that challenges and getting out of your comfort zone are sometimes a good thing...
This picture was taken right outside my kitchen window just a few days ago! :)

WOW.. almost a month!

Well, I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to respond. Life has been a little chaotic recently. Between two jobs, a new town (still feels that way at least), beginning an intensive bible study, Jerry & Mary's wedding in Dallas last weekend, and a Come before Winter video with over 16 hours worth of raw footage to sift through... so no excuses...

I haven't even been able to take the time and look at everyone else's blogs to stay updated on their lives.
Here is a quick update on mine:
Work is still fine and Brian and I are doing well. Through all of the stresses listed at the beginning of this page, we have had some tense moments, but I think that is normal when you want to see each other but one person is too busy for the other. I'm sorry Brian!

Mary's wedding was beautiful! She looked amazing and the mix of cultures combined in her ceremonies, that is right my friends... 2 ceremonies, was so neat to see. She and Jerry both are Chinese and both have a lot of family that still lives over seas. They had a traditional Chinese ceremony and then a wedding ceremony and reception that we are more accustomed to in the States.

It was so good to see all of my friends... watching the Office with Tim, Grey's Anatomy with Madeline and Rene, Chiptole with Brittany and then all of my high school friends at the wedding and most of my church friends on Sunday! It was a quick but wonderful 4 days. I ALSO GOT TO DRIVE DAD'S TRUCK!! Let me just tell you something my friends, there is something special about flying into the DFW airport, going to El Fenix for a fabulous bowl of Tortilla soup, and then heading home to set down your things hop in a F150 extended cab pick-up truck and drive towards downtown Dallas in rush hour traffic. I can't express the joy I was feeling to be sitting in traffic on a HIGHWAY... they haven't figured out those are yet. And though people may drive a little quickly on the highways and byways of Dallas, I would take that any day over an elderly person who should not be driving, going approximately 7 miles under the speed limit on a two lane road.... oh, the blessings of living in a retirement community.

I will be posting pictures later once I am at home and have my computer!

COME VISIT!