Prince Reception

We drove to Dallas for a quick trip for a 'back from the destination wedding' reception for Tiffany and Michael. They are two of my friends from Dallas that I met at work at American Appraisal. The three of us would go have lunch together often and they fell in love. They married in Mexico in October. We are so happy they found each other. They are a great couple. Congratulations and best wishes Tiff and M! Also, thank you Megan and Steve and Brooklyn for letting us stay at your house.

30?!?!?!?!??!

Yes, I finally feel like a semi-adult. I turned 30! We celebrated by having some friends over to the house and then eating dinner at Rancho Loma in Valera. It was fabulous, as usual, and we even had a designated driver thanks to Nevie! She's the best. The meal was great, except for the goat cheese and beet salad. The cheese was EXTRA GOATY!! It was a great evening with great people. On my actual birthday, we went hunting and Aunt Bette and Uncle Paul joined us at the Lacy Ranch. Nevie got a fabulous cake from City Bakery. OMG! It was the white cake with raspberry filling. It was beautiful and sinfully DE-LISH! Paul shot a buck and a spike over the weekend and Leland shot an 8-point buck. It was nice to finally feel a little colder weather coming on. I love the time of year around my birthday. Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family for making my 30th so special. Now.....take note. I am hereby freezing all birthdays from here on. It will be the anniversary of my 30th birthday next year. Got it!? Love you all.

Weenie Witch!

Lefty dressed up as a witch this Halloween. She didn't like the costume at all! It was pretty much a total disaster, but it was cute for all of about two minutes. It was hard to get a good picture because she would just crawl up in a ball on the couch every time we put the costume on, so Nevie did the best she could taking pictures.

Lefty is 1 year old!

Our sweet puppy isn't a puppy anymore. She turned one year-old yesterday. She has been an absolute joy and I can't imagine our family without her now. I wanted to throw a dog birthday party, but the hubby was against it. He's just no fun!! :) Lefty was 2 pounds when we got her at six weeks old and now we think she is about 7 to 8 pounds. Her favorite things are pulling her t-shirt (one of Leland's old t-shirts she uses as a blanket) out of her kennel and playing with it, playing fetch with her squeeky toys, chewing on her Kong with peanut butter in it, and going on walks. She is a very focused puppy. When we go on walks, she never stops to sniff anything. She just walks very quickly with her head held high, looking straight ahead the whole time. It's the cutest thing! We love you Lefty and look forward to many more years.

P.S. Lefty was going to enter the San Angelo State Park Weenie Dog Race last Saturday, but it was rained out due to a fast-moving thunderstorm that produced some rotation (the tornado sirens went off). San Angeloans were happy to receive over 2 inches of rain, but I was bummed that Lefty couldn't race. Maybe next year!

Remembering Colin

My heart is heavy this week. Sunday would've been my friend Colin's 30th birthday. He was murdered in a car-jacking incident in Lubbock in August 2002. He was a great friend. He had the biggest smile and brightest blue eyes. His eyes sparkled with his joy for life and he had an infectious laugh. People were drawn to him....they just wanted to be around him because he was always so much fun to be around and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Susan (Colin's mom), we are praying for you. Colin, we love you and miss you and rejoice in the fact that we'll see you again in a better place.

September Dallas Trip

Above - Whitney, Laura and Hayden (notice the green kitchen....Whitney's kitchen is where I got the idea to paint my kitchen green)
Below- Laura and Macy Ann




I went to Dallas month to visit my friends, my friend's new babies, and for a bachelorette party. First, I got to meet Hayden. She is just a perfect doll. She is very long! I think she is the tallest 5-month-old I have ever seen! She was just a little angel and it was so good to see Whitney. I went to supper club with my Dallas friends on Friday night. It was so good to see everyone. I got to see Ashley's beautiful, new engagement ring and we got to use Heather and Richard's new wedding presents....dishes and that sort of thing (the kind of stuff that most girls love). I stayed with my friends Mike and Jennifer on Friday night and got to meet Macy. She is a beautiful baby and so sweet. I wanted to take her home with me! On Saturday, I had lunch with my mema, went shopping with Laurel, and then went to Tiff's bachelorette. We had a blast. We went out to eat and then to Sharee's house for drinks and cookie cake. Tiff loves cookie cake. She is getting married to Michael in two weeks in Mexico. The three of us used to lunch together at my old appraisal firm in Dallas. They fell in love and now they're gettin' hitched! I am so happy for them. Congratulations and best wishes Tiffany and Michael!

Aggie Happy Hour

I went to Aggie Happy Hour last month and it was good to see my friends. It's always a good time--Aggies are fun people!

Katherine is here!

My cousin Russ and his wife Rachelle welcomed Katherine Grace into the world on Thursday, October 7th, which is also my Mema's birthday. How neat! Mom and baby are doing great. Congratulations on the birth of your first child. We love you guys!

Meeting Madelyn Claire

Welcome to the world Madelyn Claire! Our friends, Ashley and Justin, delivered a happy, healthy, 8 pound, 12 ounce baby girl yesterday in San Angelo. We went to meet her today and she was a perfect angel. She didn't cry at all! Congratulations Ashley, Justin, and big sis Sydney!

Meeting Harper Nell

I Ifinally got to meet sweet Harper Nell this week. She is so precious! She was such a good girl while I was there....well, Genny and I did get peed on a little bit, but I won't hold that against her! Genny is a great mommy and has become a true pro in a short three weeks. Harper Nell was three weeks early and I actually came to visit on her due date. The nursey is absolutely adorable. I forgot to take a picture though. The colors are red, pink, orange, and an aqua blue. Congratulations Russ and Gen!

Roy James Dennison

My great-uncle Roy passed away a week ago. We are going to miss him so much. Roy was born in August 1926 in Connecticut. He married my great-aunt Lula Mae in 1969 and they were blessed with 41 years of marriage. Uncle Roy served in the Navy in WW2 in the Pacific and went on to graduate with an engineering degree. He retired from the federal government and moved to Waco in 1986. The Waco community was blessed to have him as a resident. He volunteered MANY hours with Habitat for Humanity, Compassion Ministries, Columbus Avenue Baptist Church (as a deacon, usher, greeter, and library worker), and with the McLennan County Library System. He always had a smile on his face and loved to give hugs. He enjoyed art, fishing, watching football on TV, and spending time with his family. We'll miss you Roy, but celebrate that we'll see you again! My prayers are with Lula Mae especially, and with the rest of the family.

Bon voyage Anthony and Marc!

Kent and Nevie hosted an international student from France this year. His name is Anthony and he has been a pleasure to get to know. Anthony stayed a year and attended Angelo State University. He met a really sweet girl, Elise, from the Netherlands, and they are still dating. I also got to know Marc, Anthony's friend from Paris during this year. Marc interned at Lacy & Co. Realty this summer, so we got to go through Realtor training together. Anthony's sister and her boyfriend came to visit in June. The picture is of us out to dinner together. Anthony left San Angelo this week and Marc will depart next week. Best of luck to Marc and Anthony and we hope to see you again!

Nicole & Lance's Wedding

Buddy Holly Center - Laura and Leland

Mom and Dad at the Buddy Holly Center

L to R - Larry (father of the groom), Dick, and Phil

My mom and Dad (they are celebrating 39 years of marriage this month!)

Mom, Paulette (mother of the groom), and Gail (seated)

Last week we traveled to Lubbock for Lance and Nicole's wedding. Lance is like a second brother to me. We grew up two doors down from each other and I was always over at their house with my brother. I guess I was kind of a mis-fit....there were three guys and me! I wouldn't say I was a tomboy, but I did my fair share of hanging out with the guys while I was growing up. I broke my arm at their house when Travis and I had a trampoline contest. The catch was that we were jumping onto the tramp from the roof of the next-door neighbor's garage. It was a beautiful rehearsal dinner and wedding and we got to see our friends from Kansas - Ashley, Dan, Madison, Gail, and Phil. The rehearsal dinner was at the Texas Tech AT&T Jones Stadium. They reserved a whole floor where the suites are for the dinner. For the cocktail hour, we got to hang at in the suites-- very cool. It was a neat view. Of course, I brought my camera to some of the events, but didn't take any pics. Thankfully, Ashley sent me the pictures she took. Amazing that a mommy with an 18-month old has her stuff more together than I do. Thanks Ash! We stayed with Leland's relatives, Ann and Jim, and had a great time catching up with them.

We also visited the Buddy Holly museum and we are pictured at the top of the post in front of the oversized glasses in front of the museum.

Harper Nell is here!

My life-long friend Genny and her husband Russ delivered a healthy baby girl last week on Monday, August 2nd. She was three weeks early, but healthy and happy. Congratulations to Genny and Russ and the beginning of their life as a family of three! Love you guys!

Catching Up

I was looking through my pictures today and I realized I never posted our pics of the bluebonnets at the ranch. The bluebonnets at Lacy Ranch were awesome this year. Lefty got to frolick in the flowers, but of course, she is a scairdy-cat so she never ventured far from Leland, Kent, Nevie, and myself.

Also in April, I got a new car! It's a 2007 Camry V-6 with leather and sun roof. I love it. I bought it from my Uncle Jerry's lot in Waco. I miss my old silver Hyundai Tiburon, but it was time to move on. I personally put around 150,000 miles on the Tiburon and had a blast driving it (except when my foot was on and off the clutch in Dallas rush hour traffic). The accelaration issue has been fixed in my car, so y'all don't worry about me. It drives great. I will try to post some pics of the new car soon. I need to get it washed.

Genny's Baby Shower

In June I went to Waco to help host a baby shower for my lifelong friend, Genny. We had a great turn-out for the shower. Genny looked great and got a lot of cute things. It was nice to see some friends that I haven't seen in awhile and catch up. Rebecca even came -- all the way from Chile! She is living there with her husband teaching school in English. She hardly ever gets to come home, so it was a special treat to see her. All the grandmothers were there and other family members of Genny's and Russ' attended also. The food was fabulous and the cookies were ALMOST too cute to eat. Congratulations Genny and Russ. We are so happy for you! May God continue to bless you during your pregnancy and as your life changes when Harper Nell arrives.