Kelly Times Two

On Friday night after I picked Kelly up from work, since I had the car that day, we drove to the hotpot restaurant in the science park and enjoyed a rare dinner out together.  We had such a nice time being out on a date with just the two of us, as we usually have Christopher too, but we left him at home.  It was the beginning of a long weekend together, since the boys had Monday and Tuesday off of work and school for yet another Taiwanese holiday that we didn't know about previously called Tomb Sweeping Day.  Thanks for a night out with you, Kelly!

Kelly ordered some books that were shipped from the United Kingdom for his team of engineers and it was rather expensive (more than $500) to get a dozen of these technical textbooks. Luckily, the company reimbursed him. He has a meeting scheduled (right now) and asked me if I could make a little card and put a bow on them before he gave one to everyone. He's never asked me to do anything like that, so I was actually excited that he did. Here's what I came up with. I asked him if he would mind if I also made cupcakes for their meeting, and he was happy about that, so I whipped up a dozen moist chocolate ones with cream cheese frosting and festive sprinkles. I opened up the books and have no idea how anyone could make it through the first page, let alone the whole book. It's all GREEK to me. Let's hope that at least some of the engineers might be happy to see his or her name on the little card, handmade for them. One guy was going out of town and demanded a copy of the ...

Friday night, Kelly and the kids and I went to see Wicked for the first time and it was a nice way to celebrate our 23rd anniversary, which was that day. When I bought the tickets in May, I went back and forth on how many tickets to buy, two or four, and decided that both our kids would be old enough to enjoy the show. The music and orchestra were especially a treat for all of us. The UT campus was hot, like most days this summer have been. We begin mandatory water restrictions tomorrow, where we can only water our lawn once a week. This drought is intense. For those who want to put their name in for the show two and a half hours prior, there is a drawing for $25 a seat, with a two ticket limit. Good to know! We had decent seats, in the lowest balcony on the left, and I sat right on the edge. It was cozy. I just wish I had not left my binoculars on my desk at home so I could get a closer glimpse at the actors' faces. All the binocular rentals had sold out. Next time. Kelly and...

Here's Kelly taking a quick swim in the pool. The pool was crystal clear this afternoon and it was a perfect day to be in it.

After the hailstorm that hit on March 25, we finally got our roof replaced this week. The workers braved the heat and got it done in about two days. Our yard was a mess in the meantime and we couldn't park in the garage. The timing worked out fine because our garage door opener isn't working well. It's been messing up intermittently quite often, and a Home Depot employee helped me pick out a new garage door to be installed since that is where the problem seems to be originating. It's going to take a few weeks for it to be here, but in the meantime, I drove by a house today that has the door I chose. I love it, (see below). I am not having windows added since we have already have these six windows (above) in our garage and natural light isn't a concern. I just took this picture of our new roof this morning. The gutters still need to be replaced and that will happen next week. Kelly got home from Taiwan last night after midnight. We all missed him so much and the ...

A few days ago, Kelly was napping on the couch and I took his picture, knowing that I would be missing him soon. Why? Because he's in Taiwan and will spend two weeks away from us, the longest business trip he's been on, and possibly the longest I've been separated from him. He's been learning Chinese like crazy, just for fun. He's going to town! I'm really proud of the hours and hours he's dedicated to learning this new language, which is a savvy move, considering he is now working for a Taiwanese company. Anyway, just wanted to post this picture of my husband catching a quick nap since he looks so cute. It's funny how he's kind of holding his chin. He'll probably think I am a spaz for posting this, but what's he going to do about it? He's on the other side of the world! I love you, Kelly!

Christopher is thrilled to be a Boy Scout and especially loves going on camp outs with his dad. This was before they left on their last camp out to Pedernales. Notice Kelly breaking into the treats before they even leave. This could be counted as his after school snack. While there, Christopher was playing cops and robbers with their youthful, enthusiastic new Scoutmaster and the other boys, and fell into a tree and came home with a scrape on his forehead that he got to tell everyone at school about the next Monday. It was an impressive battle wound that he was proud to have. Luckily, it's clearing up well. They took a lot of pictures up at the campsite, but Kelly uses his camera and I never see the pictures, so here's all I've got for you. I'm so thankful for James, Christopher's Scoutmaster, and his awesome leader, Jonathan. They have really made a huge impression on my son, and being a Boy Scout is seriously his favorite activity.

For several years, I have wanted to host a Valentines dinner party at my house and finally got some interest this year. I kept it to a cozy and manageable group of eight, but it still kept me busy all day. It went really well and here are a few pictures. The floral centerpiece was from my favorite local shop, Lakeline Florist. Michelle and Jim were one of the three couples who attended. She's my son's pediatric dentist. They brought us four bottles of Martinelli's sparkling cider...look out! Things might get a little crazy. Shane and Jenn were also among the guests. They brought me a cheerful bouquet of flowers, something I can always be grateful for. Buddy and Tom also joined the dinner party. Thank you for the very pretty note pad with the black tone on tone cover. Lindsey invited her friend, Jenn, to spend the night and help cook and serve for us. They were a huge help and did an awesome job waiting on us so carefully and thoughtfully. Here's Lindsey preparing for...

Since Kelly took Christopher away, I wanted to post some pictures of him, eight years ago, just after we'd moved to Texas. This was when we lived at Riverlodge Apartments on FM 2222 while our house was under construction. He was pretending to be asleep while Lindsey took these shots of him with his monkey and Winnie the Pooh, two of his favorites. He's always been a really snuggly little boy and still is. He learned to read at age three by his dad, who was so patient with him. He could read anything by the time he was in preschool and always blew everyone away with his reading skills. The boys are camping tonight (Friday night) with the scouts on this cloudy, mild December evening in Texas. Lindsey and I are home alone. It's past midnight and I just wanted to say that I know they're having fun and I look forward to hearing all about it tomorrow. Now I'm stalling to head upstairs to sleep in our king sized bed all alone, not looking forward to freezing. It's...

My sweet husband always picks out the most beautiful cards for me. The inside sentiment said, "Through all the changes life and love have brought us, one thing will always remain the same--you mean the world to me. Happy Birthday." The finishing touch included a sweet hand-written note by my darling husband. This picture was two days past my birthday, immediately following the Saturday evening session of stake conference, as we stopped for appetizers before heading home. This was the same day of the UT game that I blogged about in the previous post. Early in the afternoon, I was setting up for a card camp which I was hosting that night on my birthday when the doorbell rang. On my porch bench was a box of fresh flowers. You can see the stacks of cardstock and ribbon, and rubber stamps in the background on the table. Now isn't that a way to cheer someone up? The excitement continued as I unwrapped the bouquet and carefully took the freshly cut stems of the flowers from th...