Good Things in 2012 - April

April 1 - 4-mile walk at the lake followed by TCBY.  Great afternoon!
April 2 - I love my chiropractor appointments.  I wish I could go every day!
April 3 - It is amazing how quickly antibiotics start working.  Michael picked up my prescription today, and I took it when I got home from work.  I was already feeling better by bed time.  Amazing!
April 4 - Michael got to go fishing with my dad today.  I'm glad he is getting to enjoy this week off playing golf and fishing...and of course getting good stuff done around the house too!
April 5 - Last day of work before vacation!
April 6 - I love getting my nails done.  It's been a long time!
April 7 - We had a fun day hanging out with Michael and Jessica and got to end the evening at Salt Lick!
April 8 - Happy Easter!  We enjoyed church with the Hixons before heading on to Fredericksburg for our vacation.
April 9 - We saw lots of wildflowers today and visted Luckenbach.  "Everybody is Somebody in Luckenbach!"
April 10 - Today we climbed Enchanted Rock.  Gorgeous Day!  We had a beautiful drive to Llano to eat Cooper's Bar-B-Que for dinner.
April 11 - We enjoyed a laid back morning of browsing in Fredericksburg, and finally saw the Hunger Games movie today.  We were disappointed in the movie but followed it up with an AMAZING dinner at Navajo Grill!
April 12 - We were sad to leave Barons Creekside, but it was nice to get home.  Michael could barely stand the wait to check on his garden.  Everything has gotten bigger, and we're starting to see some fruit!
April 13 - Estate sale and running errands with my love.  I wish I could have Fridays like this every week!
April 14 - Great food day - donuts for breakfast, Jack in the Box tacos for lunch, and Spring Creek BBQ for dinner!
April 15 - I enjoyed the relaxing Sunday afternoon/evening while Michael got everything ready for his first day at his new job.
April 16 - After 10 days off work, my first day back went pretty smoothly.  Michael also had a good first day at his new job!
April 17 - The other team didn't show up for our first volleyball game of the season, but that meant I was able to get home a little earlier and enjoy a nice walk with a friend before it got dark.
April 18 - Arboretum Day with Mom and MaMa!  Michael also had a surprise to search for when he got home from work.  Big Binks is 2 pounds of chocolate!

April 19 - First vegetable harvest from the garden.
April 20 - Camping weekend is here!
April 21 - Although it was cold last night, we had amazing camping weather today!  It was great to be outside, away from the busyness of home.  Alaina, Katie, and I went on a five-mile hike this afternoon.  Fun times!
April 22 - I love camping, but it's always nice to get home and take a shower.  I can't wait to sleep in my bed tonight!
April 23 - Dinner with Mom and Dad at Potbelly...YUMMY!
April 24 - Baby Avance Reveal Party!  It was so fun to have friends share this special moment with us!
April 25 - Great time catching up and sharing with the FG girls at accountability.
April 26 - We picked and sauteed squash and zucchini from our garden to go with our dinner tonight.  It was delicious!
April 27 - Rangers' game with Jenni, Rod, and Kristin.  Fun times!
April 28 - Michael and I went fishing with Dad this morning.  It was windy, but we had fun!

April 29 - Surf and Turf (Lobster and Steak) dinner with friends.  We had fresh broccoli from the garden to go with it!

April 30 - Pizza and nacho night for the Mavs' game!

Ranger Game

We enjoyed the fabulous weather at the Ranger game last night.

Even though the Rangers didn't win, we got to see some Josh Hamilton greatness.

We also got to see a great firework show after the game!

Jenni had invited us to a fund raising dinner put on by Great Cities Missions at the Hall of Fame prior to the game.  We had a great time at the dinner, visiting with Jenni and Rod, Kristin, and Mike and Judi.  Michael also came away from the auction with an autographed ball signed by Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving – April (Lobster)

Eleven down, one to go!  L We're not ready for the shipments to stop.

June – Hot Sauce ü
July – Ice Cream ü
August – Beer ü
September – Sirloin ü
October – Pizza ü
November – Peanut Butter & Jelly ü
December – Coffee ü
January – Jerky ü
February – Tea ü
March – Salsa ü
April – Lobster ü
May – BBQ Sauce

Baby Avance Reveal Party

Tonight was the big moment for Tim and Stephanie (and family and friends) to find out what baby Avance's gender is.  Is baby Avance a boy or a girl?

Stephanie had yummy food for everyone, and the table was very cute with touches of pink and blue.

It was so special that Tim and Stephanie shared this moment with friends and family.  I am excited that we were able to be there to share this with them.  Everyone was anxious to find out if they are having a boy or a girl.

I wanted to take something, but since I didn't know what to buy, we played it safe and got both.  Which gift will Tim and Stephanie get to open...pink or blue?

Stephanie's friend Celia had made delicious cupcakes for dessert.  One of them was filled with either blue or pink frosting.  Finally, it was time for the big reveal.  Tim and Stephanie led the line to get a cupcake.  Tim tried to cheat and pull the toothpick out of a few to see if he could get  a sneak peak.

Once everyone had a cupcake, it was time to dig in.  Stephanie could hardly stand it and looked around expectantly waiting to see who had THE cupcake.

I had been waiting to catch their reaction, but when no one spoke up, I decided I'd better bite into mine.  Meanwhile, Stephanie was instructing parents to make sure their kids bit all the way into the cupcake!

Low and behold, I was holding it in my hand.  Once Stephanie realized I had it, I had to get a picture before I turned it around.

It's a GIRL!!!

Here are some pictures of the reactions at the front of the room.  Lots of excitement!

Gayland and Brenda had brought a gift that was quickly transferred into a cute pink bag.  It was a precious Willow Tree Musical Figurine.

A little later, Tim and Stephanie got to open the pink gift that Michael and I took.  I love the monkeys!

Stephanie's brother and SIL bought their niece a pretty silver piggy bank.  It was engraved with a quote that Chris and Stephanie's Nanny used to always say, "Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." - Nanny

How sweet and thoughtful!

Congratulations Tim, Stephanie, and Baby Avance!  You're halfway there.  We can't wait to meet your precious pink bundle of joy!

Dallas Arboretum Field Trip

The residents at Garnet Hill got the opportunity today to get outside and enjoy this nice weather on a trip to the Dallas Arboretum.  I had the opportunity to go with Mom to meet them out there.  MaMa did not expect me to be there, and it was fun to surprise her!  Aunt Kathleen was also there, and Mom's cousin Debra came out to meet her.  We all had a great day looking at all the pretty flowers and having a picnic lunch together!  We couldn't have asked for a prettier day or better weather to be outside.

While we were there, they were starting to set up some of the exhibits for the Chihuly Exhibit that opens next month.  I definitely want to come back and check it out!

Weekend in Austin

On Friday afternoon we left Dallas and headed toward Austin.  Traffic getting out of Dallas was terrible!  Since it took us so long to get going, we made a pit stop in Hillsboro, and I scored this amazing ice cream cone at Dairy Queen.  Can you believe this isn't even the large size?  What a great start to vacation (after getting through the traffic, of course!).

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to spend this weekend in Austin with Michael and Jessica.  We are sad that they don't live in Dallas any more but excited to have friends to go visit.  We arrived at their house Friday night just in time for dinner.  Even though Jessica is 24-weeks pregnant and had worked all day, she had dinner ready and waiting.  She was just finishing up icing her homemade blueberry cake (with homemade lemon icing) when we arrived.  She is amazing!

The Hixons' new house is gorgeous, and Jessica has done a great job decorating it.  Michael and I love our house, but visiting them did ignite a little jealousy over the spacious garage and awesome kitchen!

For lunch on Saturday, we went to a cute little bakery/cafe called Rolling in Thyme and Dough.  It was an old house with a nursery in the yard around it.  Michael noted that it was very "Portlandia."  Our food was great!

I enjoyed my girl time with Jessica on Saturday afternoon while the boys played golf.  Jessica is always willing to talk about any topic, and she isn't shy about asking the tough questions.  I love that about her!  Thanks for the awesome conversation, Jessica!

Michael has been wanting to eat at as many BBQ restaurants on Texas Monthly's Top BBQ list as he can.  He got to cross one of them off the list on Saturday night!  We went to Salt Lick, and had a great experience!

The atmosphere is a lot like the Gristmill in Gruene.  We arrived at 6:00 to find out we had a wait on 1 hour and 45 minutes.  We had expected this and went before we were starving.  They have a great outdoor waiting area with live music.  We found a comfy place to sit and enjoy the weather.

Once it was time to be seated, we walked by the smoker pit on the way to our table.  It smelled so good!

We opted to go all out and get the Family Style, which is all you can eat brisket, pork ribs, and smoked sausage along with beans, cole slaw, potato salad, and bread.  We also wanted to try the turkey so we threw in a half pound of the smoked turkey as well.  It was all amazing!  I normally don't like ribs, but they were tied with the turkey for my favorite meat.  I also don't typically eat cole slaw or potato salad, but they were both delicious!  Of course, dessert was a must.  It was hard to decide what was the best: warm pecan pie, peach cobbler, blackberry cobbler, or the ice cream that accompanied them all.  Even Michael Hixon ate dessert!  If you know Michael, you know it must have been good if he was eating it.  After one bite, he couldn't stop!

It was great to spend Easter Sunday with Michael and Jessica worshiping at their new church.  It seems like they have found a great place to call home, and we really enjoyed the service this morning!  We were sad to leave after lunch, but we are excited to have arrived at our final destination - Barons Creekside in Fredericksburg, TX.  We are excited to have this whole week off work!