wordless wednesday - tis the season

 

memory monday

for 8 years, we went on a ski trip.

durango for 7 years. copper mountain for 1 year.

that time each year, our friends and family came together for a vacation that always turned out to be amazing.
we talked. we laughed. we ate. we were lazy. we hot-tubbed. we walked. we shopped.

i love the mountains... i do admit that one day, long ago, when my family first moved to new mexico, i didn't like them. i was mad because we moved away from my friends in texas so i refused to enjoy the amazing views of los alamos, the surrounding valleys and mountains.

i love snow too... to look over a field of untouched snow - there isn't much that is more peaceful than that. and eating snow ice cream - YUM!!!

i remember first learning how to ski. mom and i went to santa fe and took lessons together. i remember teaching donal how to ski... my oh my was that entertaining!! he couldn't turn right AND he'd get going so fast that he'd end up falling face first after sliding into the splits!! i'm so glad he finds this funny now!

i hope donal and i can retire in the mountains. there is just something about them that makes me feel so refreshed and relaxed.

one of our annual ski trips is where the hubs and i got married!

...our cathedral made from the rockies...

our ski trip was the one thing that we looked forward to every year. before the trip was even over, we were talking about what next year's trip would bring.

2010 didn't allow for a ski trip as donal had just graduated from the police academy.
we are hoping that a trip in 2011 will be possible...

how perfect would it be for it to snow on christmas... it sure would help to make it truly feel like christmas. because it sure doesn't now. not when its 81 degrees!! ugh - good ol' unpredictable texas weather...

oh, an update before i go - my parents are HERE!! settling into our home for now. it feels like they haven't been gone for the last 9 years!!

fabulous friday!

today is fabulous for several reasons...

#1 - simply put, its FRIDAY!!

i don't know about you but i sure do live for fridays!

#2 - tomorrow is SATURDAY!!

and i don't know about you but i sure do live for saturdays too!!

#3 - today, my brother and i are driving down to san antonio

you: 'why is THAT so fabulous?'

i'm so glad you asked!!

tomorrow, we will be helping my parents pack a uhaul truck full of their belongings because they are moving...

to fort worth!!!!

my parents are finally moving back here!! i still can't believe that it's happening. they've been away for so long... i mean, i knew this day would come eventually but my gosh, i never thought it would happen so quick!

shortly after i started my freshman year at TTU, they moved to la place, louisiana. after hurricane katrina, they lived here for a few months with my brother before moving to fayetteville, georgia. then they moved to san antonio... and that just wasn't close enough!

we've lived states/many hours apart for almost 10 years now and since the day they left, i've wanted them back! each trip that we've made to see them, or each trip that they've made to see us has been precious because it was never long enough or often enough. but now, they'll be here. so close that i can see them whenever i want, even when they may not want to see me! :)

i am more excited than they know!

here is our family picture from thanksgiving :)

{left to right: donal, ranger, kobi, yours truly, mom, keight (mikey's fiance), bella, mikey, max, dad}

mikey and keight have 3 more dogs - not pictured: lilly, fezik, and oz

more family

{left to right: donal, yours truly, devon (our nephew), tracy (my SIL)}

Memory Monday

okay, it's time to start a new 'thing'...

and hopefully i can keep it up!!

this post is in memory of the good ol' days.
the summer days spent at the golf course swimming pool with my best friends.
laying on the hot pavement, eating jolly ranchers and popsicles!

those were the days that we didn't have a care in the world.
we weren't thinking about paying bills, getting gas in the car, or putting food on the table.
we were thinking about junk food, vacations, and swimming pools!

time felt like it stood still.
and i don't know about you, but i was in a hurry to be older... to have a later curfew, to be able to drive...

mom - 'don't be in a hurry. it goes by faster than you realize.'
me - 'ha! mom, that just silly!!'

time definitely wasn't standing still. i blinked and all these years passed by! i feel like this picture was taken last year!

not 16 years ago!!
{wow, i'm old!!}

my oh my how i miss those carefree days!!
but i definitely wouldn't change a thing about how my life has turned out and where i am today!

carman happenings

a lot has happened since my last blog post, so i'll start here! 

 we got a puppy!!

he is a chocolate lab and his name is RANGER!!

how fitting for a dog owned by donal :)

we got him less than a week after we got back from hawaii.

he was 9 weeks old, weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs.

now, he is 15 weeks old and is pushing 35 lbs!

his parents are both between 90-100 lbs so we are expecting him to be HUGE!!!

which is exactly what donal wanted!

ranger is a handful to say the least. we are totally in love with him, although there are definitely days that we wonder what on earth we were thinking! we can't say that he and kobi are the best of friends, although ranger would love for that. kobi... well, he has made it clear numerous times that he wants nothing to do with ranger.

next on the list of the carman happenings...

october 4th - i went to work. donal went to work. blah blah blah.

that night, i'm sound asleep until i'm woken up by a phone call at midnight.

those are never good phone calls, right?

exactly.

it was one of donal's buddies from work, whom i know well. he was calling to tell me that he was on his way to pick me up (in a patrol car) to take me down to the hospital.

where donal was.

he and his partner were on a traffic stop. they had just sat back down in their car when they were slammed from behind by drunk driver going about 45 mph. donal and his partner were okay, they just had really bad whiplash.

THANK YOU GOD!

what scared me the most about it was how much worse it could have been. i try not to think about that now, but in those moments - riding in the patrol car to the hospital, walking around the corner in the ER to see donal laying in the hospital bed - that's all i could think about... a fort worth officer was killed just a few years ago the exactly same way when his patrol car burst into flames.

(ok, i was trying not to think about it...)

so anyway, donal and his partner were off work for a week to recover. needless to say, it was very hard to say bye to him that first friday that he went back to work.



next...

my new hobby - photography - has turned into the beginnings of a little side business and i'm loving it!!! here are some of the pictures that i've taken so far!

  

 

these are just some of my favs :)

for now, us carmans are spending our evenings cheering for

texas rangers baseball team!!!

we are thrilled that they are in the world series (even though games 1&2 have been nearly embarrassing) and we'll be rootin' for them until the end!!

thanks for checking in! 

                   

hawaii #2

day 1:

arrive in maui at 4:30pm hawaii time (= 9:30pm texas time)

day 2:

go to the beach

girls go shopping

snorkeling at molokini island

day 3:

guys go deep sea fishing

girls go to the beach

girls go shopping

day 4:

go to the beach

parasailing

riding ATV's in the mountains

day 5:

drive to haleakala crater (highest point on maui) to watch the sunrise

go to the beach

sunset dinner cruise

day 6:

rent mopeds 

go to the beach

go to a luau

day 7: 

return mopeds

go to the beach

go shopping

fly home 

_____________________________

these pictures are some of my most favorite moments from the trip...

hanging with my love!