New Mexico Weekend

My family gathered in New Mexico over Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate my grandad's life at his memorial service.  My mom, dad, Steve and I hit the road on Friday afternoon for the long drive to Albuquerque.  It was my first time driving through the Texas Panhandle and we decided to embrace the experience with rattlesnake signs and cowboy hats.

Steve's Bar Celebration

We got some big news last Friday - Steve passed the Texas Bar Exam!  After months of studying, sitting for the exam and waiting for the results, we were finally able to bring this chapter of life to a close and celebrate!  And celebrate we did.

Texas Hill Country

Last month, my parents and I went on a last-minute trip to the Texas Hill Country over the MLK holiday.  When I learned that I had MLK Day off, I wanted to take advantage of the long weekend but, with Steve in hard-core bar study mode, I didn't want to pull him away from his studies.  So it worked out perfectly to get away for the weekend with my parents and be an only child for a couple of days!

Texas Forever

Hello!  Long time, no talk.  Thanks for bearing with the radio silence around these parts the last few months.  As I said in my last post (over six months ago!), God was doing some big stuff in my life.  And while sometimes I feel like I'm still caught up in that whirlwind, I've missed this little space and the sense of community that comes with it.  So I'm happy to say that TSL is back - with a new look, new posts and a brand new beginning in a brand new state!

Here's what I've been up to the last few months...

hey there, high school

I flew down to Texas for the weekend to attend my ten-year high school reunion and had a blast.  After arriving in Houston and spending a great day with my mom, my college roommate and I headed off to our favorite restaurant, Chuy's, for the best tex-mex in Texas.  I filled up with tons of chips and queso and a swirl margarita - yummm.

like mother, like daughter

Last weekend, I flew to Houston, Texas to attend my ten year high school reunion.  My parents have since moved from Houston to Dallas-Fort Worth, so I made plans to stay with friends over the weekend.  When I told my mom that I would be in Houston, I was thrilled when she offered to drive down and spend a day with me.  I promptly changed my travel plans to arrive in Houston early Friday morning so we could spend the entire day together.  We had such a great time! 

dear monday

Dear Steve, you had your first big work conference in Utah this past weekend.  I was proud of you for going, but even more proud when you texted me a picture of the Olympic bobsled course and said, "Guess what I just did?"  You are a daredevil and I love it.

little sis, md

Two weekends ago, Steve and I made the big trek down to Houston to watch my little sister graduate from medical school!  Woo hoo!

graduvacation

Happy Friday, friends!  I am currently on a plane on my way to Houston to watch my sister graduate from medical school.  Today is going to be a very special day :) followed by a weekend of celebrating and a fantastic week of houseboating with my family in Arkansas! 

easter and birthday celebrations

When Steve learned that his grandmother was ailing, he and his brother decided to take advantage of the long Easter weekend to drive to Alabama to see her.  I didn't have Good Friday off, so I couldn't make the trip with them.  When I mentioned to my family last week that I would be at home by myself for Easter, my sister graciously offered me her Southwest miles - hello, free flight to DFW!  So off to Dallas I went... which worked out perfectly since we were able to celebrate not only Easter Sunday, but also my sister's 25th birthday!  

a very texan birthday

For my 28th birthday at the end of last month, I only had one birthday request - to spend a long weekend in the Texas sun with my family!  Steve and I flew down on Thursday evening (my actual bday) and celebrated all weekend with my mom, dad and sister.

lone star christmas

Merry belated Christmas, friends!  Steve and I flew down to Texas to be with my family for the holiday and we had a great time.  My only complaint was that our trip was too short.  It was wonderful spending the holiday with my family.  There are so many fun longstanding Christmas traditions in my family, and it was really special to share them with Steve for the first time this year.  Here are a few moments captured during our time together.  

 

One of the most exciting developments over the holiday was that I got a new camera!  I am so excited to learn how to use it and to use more than just my iPhone for documenting those precious moments in life - like our family Christmas picture.  So. excited. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

the gaylord texan

My mom arranged a special surprise while Steve and I were in town for Christmas: a trip to the Gaylord Texan to tour its annual ice sculpture exhibit on Christmas Eve.  This year's exhibit was entitled ICE! featuring The Nutcracker and was incredible! 

The temperature inside the exhibit hall was 17 degrees, so we bundled up in winter coats, hats, gloves and parkas provided by the hotel.  We were lookin' pretty stylish rockin' those parkas, let me tell ya.

 The exhibit itself was incredible.  We walked our way through the Nutcracker story, one exquisite ice carving at a time.  I've never seen anything like it. 

 There was even an ice slide.  Of course, I made my sister go down with me.  Weeeee!

 The ICE! exhibit ended with a tour of New York City and a beautiful nativity scene.

After thawing out from the ice exhibit, we explored the rest of the hotel.  It was huge!  I would love to someday spend a long weekend there... there's so much to do that you would never have to leave the resort the entire time!  

 The Gaylor Texan's trademark is this huge Texan star in the center of the hotel.  I would love to see it lit up at night - I imagine it would be pretty breathtaking.

We wrapped up our trip with lunch at the Riverwalk Cafe.  Mexican food - yum!

It was a great trip to the Gaylord!  And even greater to spend the day with my beautiful family.  If you're ever in DFW and looking for a place to stay or just to spend a few hours and grab a good meal, I highly recommend checking out the Gaylord Texan.

full

Friends, my tummy and my heart are so full.  We spent the holiday down in Texas with my family, which was complete with a delicious Thanksgiving meal, football, family stories, tex-mex, Sonic Happy Hour, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, family card games, hot tubbing and a drive-through safari.  All in all, truly the best weekend.

{Halsey women}

 

 {Thanksgiving day football}

{learning how to cook a turkey}

{Herman's new friend down the street}

 

{Thanksgiving dinner} 

  

{Sonic!}

 

{Fossil Rim Wildlife Center}

{Tex-mex with the family}

 

Now it's back to the real world until Christmas.  This month, Steve and I are going through John Piper's Advent Devotional, Good News of Great Joy.  I've really enjoyed it so far, and the best part is, it's free!  If you're looking for a devotional this Advent season, I highly recommend it. 

 

Happy December my friends, and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!