Daniel Got Married!!!

Alright....so I only blogged once this summer.  I was extremely BUSY, but also had a TON of fun!  I guess I will try to recap the highlights because they are truly once in a lifetime events :)
One of the biggest highlights was going to Mexico for my little brothers wedding!  It was truly the most perfect, beautiful, sweet wedding I've ever been to. 
I am so happy for my brother. I know that he married his soulmate :) she has put up with him for the last 7 years after all :) andddddd, they were high school sweet hearts. How cute is that?!
We all had the best time in Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was so amazing to be on vacation with my family and friends. And if you haven't ever been on an all-inclusive vacation, GO! It really is the best way to vacation. 
Here are a few pics...there's no way I could capture how beautiful it really was, but hopefully this will give you an idea!

The sweet couple at the rehearsal dinner.

Me and my newest sister!

The handsome Zamora men :)

my beautiful besties!

during the ceremony

Those crazy Aggies...

My parents and their girls

Enjoying their perfect reception!

It truly was amazing and I am so proud of my little brother for becoming such an amzaing man!  I am so glad that I got to be there to see him get married.  And we even had a little unplanned celebration the night before that made for some excellent memories ;)

Memorial Day

Last week on Memorial Day I had the honor of going out to the National Cemetery here in Dallas.  I went with Aaron's dad, his two brothers and sister and Mawmaw. 
It literally took my breath away to see how many graves there were out there.  And then to think that this is just one of many cemeterys for the men and women who served our country....it was overwhelming. 
We went out there to see some family members who have served.  First, we made our way to Pawpaw's grave.  He passed away before I started dating Aaron, but I know I would have loved him if I had known him.  It was a very touching moment for me to finally "meet" him.  Aaron has told me so many stories about him...I know he was a special person.
Then we headed over and found Mawmaw's brother, Uncle Ray.  He just passed away last year, so this was everyones first time to visit his grave.  I did get to meet him, and he was a very kind man.   
It is so beautiful and peaceful out there.  I am so glad that Greg invited me to go.  I couldn't imagine a better way to honor those who have fought for our freedom, and I will be forever thankful to them all.

Pawpaw

WANTED

The week before school was out, we dedicated to the great state of Texas :)
We teach about all the symbols of Texas (bluebonnet, mockingbird, armadillo, pecan tree, etc).  At the end of the week, we of course have to sneak in a bit about Cowboys and Cowgirls.  I always enjoy this unit because the kids are so excited to be learning all of these facts about where they live.  And they get very into the whole cowboy thing :)
That week, on Tuesday, we had a Western day where all the kids and staff got to dress western to celebrate our principals birthday.  I took advantage of this and took their pictures with a bandana tied around their face to look like a bandit.  They all loved it of course.  So on Friday, we read a book about someone that was "wanted" (don't remember the title).  Afterwards, we discussed why someone back in the day would be WANTED.  We then talked about what a reward meant.  Then, they got to go fill out their wanted poster with their name, age, why they were wanted and what the reward for helping to catch them was. 
It was such a cute activity and thier ideas really made me laugh.  Some offered a reward or as low as $5 and others as long as $58723948875982984-20389072934838.  I wish I could have helped catch them!
Anyways, I found a cute idea to display them on the wonderful website that is TeachersPayTeachers.  Here is a pic of one of the finished WANTED posters :)

It says Wanted for: picking bluebonnets and the Reward is $300.

Seriously, how cute is that?!  I had them make "angry" faces for their pics :)
Anywho, I can't wait to do this unit again next year and see what my future kids come up with!

Softball

For the last two months or so, Aaron has been playing men's league softball on Tuesday nights with Becca's husband Garet.
We have both enjoyed going out there.  Aaron gets to play softball and be a competitive boy and I get to visit with my bff and her two precious boys.  It really has become one of my favorite nights of the week. 
Last week they had their final games.  It started at 8 with a semifinal.  They were losing by quite a few runs and time was running out.  Becca and I weren't too upset as that meant that we would get to go home and get to bed soon.  Of course, the boys had other plans.  They made a big comeback in their last inning at bat and ended up winning!  So then, they got to play at 9 in the championship.  Becca and her boys had to go home as they were getting tired.  I was left alone to cheer our men on. 
Again, things did not look good for them going into the final inning, but they somehow pulled it out and won.  Garet even scored the winning run :)
Here is a pic of the championship team!

While I will miss getting to watch Aaron play and be a stud, I will mostly miss hanging out and visiting with Becca....I have sooooo enjoyed her being here in Dallas and getting to hang out.  Now we will just have to come up with other reasons to get together.  But I will REALLY miss seeing this cute little face and hearing about all of his adventures :)

Love my Carson buddy!

Worry Wart

They say the first step to recovery is admittance.
I will admit, I am a worry wart.
Wow, I feel better already :)

I have always been a worrier.  But I love that the sermon at church yesterday felt like it was directed straight to me.  Funny how God does that. 
Lately I have been stressed about lots of things.  Personal, professional, important, silly.  Just worrying. 
We had a guest preacher at church yesterday.  He came in to lead a revival that the senior adults are having.  His name is Dr. Jimmy Draper.  He has more degrees than my whole family combined, I think.  He is an old school pastor who just gives it to you straight.  Exactly what I needed :)
His main point was - Live for today. 
You can't change the past.  You can't control the future.  Just live today.  That's all we are promised. 
I can rest assured that God is in control and is going to take care of me.  So I don't need to worry about it. 
Plain and simple. 

Good 'ol Days

A few weekends ago I went to Abilene for a 7 on 7 soccer tournament.  Every year the HSU girls team has this tournament as a fundraiser and a chance for the girls to play soccer.  That evening after the tournament is over, they have their ring ceremony.  Because of course, they win conference every year and get rings :)
Anyways, this year there was an alumni team in the tournament and Becca and I decided to go play.  I am sad to admit that we were the oldest girls there.  Luckily, we had enough alumni to do 5 minute rotations!  I never got too tired, but got to play enough to make the trip worth it.  We won our first game, tied the second and lost our last 2 by one goal each.  Not too bad for a bunch of out of shape girls! 
I had such a good time seeing so many of the girls I used to play with and catching up with them.  It's crazy, but most of us live in the Metroplex, yet we have to drive to Abilene to see each other.  Oh well, it was a good time.  And I even scored a goal in one of our games! 
Here is a pic of the alumni team - appropriately named Too Legit To Quit - and a pic of all of the current players with the alumni. 

Other than getting to play soccer and seeing old friends, I was so excited to eat and see some family!  As crazy as it might sound, I miss Abilene sometimes.  I was really looking forward to eating at some of the places we used to eat at all the time.  While we weren't able to make it to all of them, we did have Little Panda (chinese food) for lunch after the tournament and La Popular for breakfast burritos on Sunday morning.  We also had dinner with my aunt and uncle and cousins who took such good care of us all in college.  I was a happy girl :)
And of course, I got to spend the weekend with my bestie and her family.  Thats where I met her and her parents.  Such good memories!  We also got to introduce my favorite little boy, Carson, to some of our favorite things! 
Here's until our next trip to Good 'ol Abilene :)

Almost Famous

On Saturday, we headed out to the beautiful town of Azle, Texas. 
My brother came in town for a golf tournament and asked Aaron and Jonny to play with him.  When I agreed to come and watch, I was unaware that tee off time was at 8:00.  I decided to go anyway, even though it meant waking up at 5:30 to be there in time. 
We had a great time and the guys played really good!  They shot a 57, 15 under.  Unfortunately, that was only good enough for 4th place.  They probably should have won, but I think some people can't keep score accurately.  Oh well.  It was a good time and that is the most important thing.
It was a very well run tournament.  They had a "Vegas Hole" on a par three.  You paid $5 to get in and whoever won split the pot with the tournament.  Aaron teed off and it was going way left, but it hit the cart path and bounced all the way back onto the green and rolled about 10 feet away.  They ladies measured it and told us he was the closest one so far :)  He ended up losing to someone who hit it 8 feet away.
On one of the par 5s they let you tee off from the ladies tee if you paid $5 again.  The only stipulation was that everyone on the team had to pose for a picture in ladies skirts!  The guys were all really good sports and even said "I feel like a piece of meat"!  It was pretty funny.  I am so glad I brought my camera with me :)  Here are a few pics.

The Team

 Daniel and me :)

 Good sports....showing off their legs

 Daniel wanted to hit the ball in the skirt too

About bringing the camera with me....I just wanted to get some good pics of the guys playing golf, but I had a funny conversation when I went to the clubhouse to get some food.  When the guys were making the turn, I ran in to get some snacks for us and as I was going back to my cart, one of the ladies working the tournament ran up to me and asked if I was taking pictures.  I told her yes, but just of my group.  She then said, "well, yeah, but is there someone famous in your group?"  I almost started laughing but told her no, it was just my brother and husband and their friends.  She said, oh okay, I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing someone that we should be catering to. 
It was really pretty funny.  I guess we did kind of stick out...it was a tournment to raise money for the Azle High School Football booster club and we didn't know anyone in the tournament.  I guess my nice camera threw them off and they didn't know what to think.  When I came back and told the guys about it, they all got mad and said I should have said yes there was someone famous in our group.  I guess I missed my chance to be famous :)

Blame Game

Ok, so obviously I have been slacking in the blog area lately.  I completely, 100% blame the iPad for this.  Ever since we got it, my blogging has taken a hit.  I hardly ever turn on my computer anymore, and I only blog from the computer because I don't like how it looks when I try to write a new blog on the iPad.  Anywho, now that you know who's fault it is, I feel better :)
Lots has happened since my last blog...the most important being that Aaron started with Dallas Fire Department!  It has been a long journey to get to this point, but he did it!  Right now he is in the training phase so he is not enjoying it as much as he will when he gets to the station.  Training incluedes sitting in a class and learning all of DFD's protocals and LOTS of running/training.  Because of this, he needed some good running shoes.  Another guy told him about this store where they would fit you to a perfect pair of running shoes that supported your foot.  It is called Run On.  We went to the one in Coppell and the workers there were very friendly and knew what they were talking about.  I was a little scared we would be spending $200 on shoes (they didn't have the prices on the shoes and thats never a good sign).  However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his shoes were $90!  Hopefully they work out well and keep him from getting shin splints.
Another big event happened recently.  Baseball started!  If you know us, you know this is an exciting thing :)  I have enjoyed watching baseball almost every day when I get home from work. 

For the second year in a row, I am participating in Fatasy Baseball with the girls.  We have gotten a bit more competetive this year and all put in $10.  The winner and second place teams will get the money at the end.  Last year I ended up getting second place, so I am hoping to see some improvement and WIN this year!  We'll see :)
I promise I will do better with my blogging!

Excited

This is how I feel about this weekend....

Why, you ask?

My parents and brother and Kate are coming in town tonight.
Today is Friday.
I'm getting my hair done after school.
Probably shopping tomorrow with mom and Kate.

I think thats a pretty good list.  Obviously, the main reason is that my family will be here.  I am always happy when they are around.  They are pretty cool people :)

Dog Blog

If you know me well, you know I love my dog Griffin.  I am aware that I treat him more like a child than a pet, but what can I say?  He's so stinkin' cute!!
Saturday was his 3rd birthday.  I can't believe that in June, I will have had him for 3 whole years.  He is such a sweet boy and Aaron and I couldn't help but spoil him just a little bit.  Last weekend we got him a few new toys at PetCo. so we just bought him some new treats for his big day.  Anyways, enough of my chatter - here are some pics of my baby and his best friend Rookie sharing their treats :)

His favorite toy - The Kong

 Always so protective of his toys

 We're sitting!  Give us a treat!

 I can do tricks!

 My birthday boy :)

 Rookie was very curious of the camera

 Playing on his own personal jungle gym....the couch :)

Happy 3rd birthday Griffin!

Double Date

Aaron and I went on a double date with Becca and Garet to see The Hunger Games!  It was so good!  I thought they did a great job of staying true to the book and only changed some minor things.  Nothing that really affected anything big, so that made me happy :)  I especially loved how they portrayed all the people from the Capitol.  They looked awesome!  Just like I imagined. 
Aaron was skeptical of going to see a movie "about the future" but I really think he enjoyed it.  Of course, he hadn't read the books (shocking, I know) but I did my best to fill him in before hand so he would know what was going on. 
Now we just have to wait until the next one!  But on a sidenote, they showed a sneak clip of the last Twilight movie!  It hardly showed anything but I am very excited about that one too!!

Spring Break

Sadly, sping break is ending :(  I have really enjoyed my week off.  While it may not have been as exciting as some of the spring breaks I had during my college years, it was a great break.  I especially loved getting to spend time with Aaron and Julie and Morgan.
The biggest highlight would have to be that Aaron took and PASSED the National Registry to be a Paramedic!  He studied soooo hard for weeks, and his hard work paid off :)  He took the test on Tuesday and was pretty nervous the rest of that night and didn't sleep much.  Early Wednesday morning, he found out he passed.  It was a great day!
I also got to do my favorite thing - SHOP!  It's even better when you get to use gift cards left from Christmas :)  I have started buying little things for when I go to Mexico for my brothers wedding this summer.  So excited about that!
We also ate out quite a bit.  It was so nice to eat at some of our favorite restaurants.  The best was probably Rainbow Cafe in Downtown Carrollton.  If you haven't been before, go!  It is SO good.
To wrap up spring break, I am going to spend today finishing report cards and lesson planning for the next few weeks.  Wooohooo!  The good news is, there are only 9 more weeks and then it's summertime!  In honor of that, I went and got a pedicure yesterday and had my toes painted a rediculously bright color :) 
Also, I am so excited that The Hunger Games movie opens next weekend!  I can't wait to go and see it!!  Maybe I will even be able to convince Aaron to come with me...we'll see :)

An Unexpected Kindness

Have you ever recieved a compliment that was totally unexpected?
The other day I was on my Facebook and noticed a section in my messages that I had never seen before.  An "Other" section that had seven messages in it.  I clicked on it and was surprised to see that I had some messages I had never seen before.  I guess when I get a message from someone I'm not "friends" with, it automatically goes into this file....kinda like a spam filter.  Maybe?  Anyways, one of them caught my attention so I clicked on it to read it. 
Basically, I was completely stunned.  It was a message from someone back home who had watched me play soccer growing up.  They told me that I was their daughters all time favorite soccer player and that she really looked up to me and that I had inspired her college admission essay.  I was shocked to read these things and to think that I had some kind of influence on someone and never even known it.  It was honestly one of the nicest letters I have ever recieved.  
It really made me think about how much of an influence you can have on someone.  I know my life has been influenced by so many people.  And now, I know I'm going to take the time to let them know :)

How Time Flies....

when you're having fun!  Or just extremely busy :)
A lot has changed for us since my last blog (sadly, almost a month ago).  We packed up and moved out of our apartment and into Greg and Sheri's house.  Since our househunt has gone a bit slower than expected and Aaron is transitioning from his job at MetLife to the Dallas FD and with our lease at the apartment ending, we weren't sure if we should go month to month on our lease.  Greg and Sheri were so nice and offered to let us move in with them.  This is allowing us to save some money for that big downpayment we will be making on a house hopefully within the next couple of months.  So, with the help of a few strong friends  (Thanks Brent, Steven, Jonathan and Colton :) we were able to move out of our apartment fairly easily.  Also, my mom was a rockstar and packed up all of our kitchen in one day :)
I was a bit weary of moving in with my in-laws, but lets be honest....I have the world's greatest in-laws!  They have been so wonderful and fun to be around.  Sheri has even packed my lunch for me a few mornings!  I could get used to this :)  I know I have said it before, but I am SO LUCKY to have married into a wonderful family that I truly love and love spending time with. 
On top of moving, I feel like we have had so many other things going on this month!  School has been non-stop!  February is a busy month - our 100th day of school, Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day and Dental Health Month.  Annnnndd, its a Leap Year so I've got a special activity planned for tomorrow.  The kids are going to make a time capsule to remember how things were when they were in kindergarten. 
Aaron graduated from his Paramedic Academy on February 2nd which was a great way to start the month.  Since then he has been busy studying for his National Registry test to officially be a paramedic!  While it is stressful, I know he is going to do great! 
On a totally different note, while Morgan was home for Christmas break, she introduced me to a new show.  The Big Bang Theory.  I love it!  It's so funny!  I can't decide who my favorite character is.  Actually, I'm pretty sure it's Sheldon.  Could people really be like that?  Sadly, I think yes.
Well, here's hoping that it won't be another month before I blog again!

Aarons Birthday Weekend

So, I'm a little behind. 
Last weekend was Aarons 27th birthday!  We had a great time celebrating his birth.  We kicked things off with some TopGolf in Allen.  It was really fun, and got really cold.  That place is crazy, busy too.  We were joined by some friends and family and got to visit and laugh at each other.  Aaron did pretty good, I managed to hurt my pinkie a bit and almost hit a person two bays behind me (ooops) with a golf ball.  Needless to say, the cold weather was throwing my game off :)  That and the fact I was using Aaron's clubs.  I can come up with as many excuses as you need.
Anyways, we played for a few hours before heading home.  The next morning we went to breakfast with Jonathan to celebrate his birthday.  We took him to the Original Pancake house in Frisco.  It was DELISH!  We even had some free entertainment there - a man dressed as a woman.  Seriously!  He was there eating with who I assume was his wife.  Right before we left, he seemed to be getting upset from all the staring...from the whole restaurant.  Really though, what else could he expect?!  Anywho, when we got home, the boys changed and left to play a round of golf for the afternoon.  I took the opportunity to do a little shopping :)  When Aaron got home, he showered up for date night.  We headed to Chuy's (quickly becoming a date night fave) and then to the movies to see Contraband.  We had both been wanting to see it.  Aaron, because Mark Wahlberg was such a badass in Shooter and me because Mark Walhberg was in it period.  Although not as good as Shooter, we both enjoyed it.  
Overall, it was a great weekend!  Especially since we are BOTH now 27.  It makes it not as bad with him being the same age :)  Here are a few pics from TopGolf!

 The birthday boy!

 Jonathan getting mad at me for using the flash in his backswing

 Best swing in TopGolf that night

 Get it Garet!

 Paul taking a break to play air guitar

  Greg did surprisingly well :)

Done and Done

The time that I thought would never get here has arrived!  Aaron is done with his paramedic class!  Whooohoooo! 
He finished his last rotation with the Richardson fire department on Saturday.  He has been a very busy man lately between work at MetLife, his rotations and volunteering at Oak Point fire department.  This has left a limited amount of time for me and Griffin, but he was very sweet and attentive to us when he was at home.  I have a great husband and I am so very proud of him. 
He just has a few more classes to finish up studying for the national registry and then he will graduate in February.  Then, its just a few short weeks until he will officially begin his dream job with Dallas FD! 
As much as I was dreading turning 27...it looks like this year might be the best one yet :)  I love you and am so proud of you Aaron!

 haha...a pic of him dusting...he will probably kill me if he does happen to read this and see that I posted this pic.

love you baby!

Grown Ups

I don't know if I have ever felt like a "grown up" more than I did today. 
Aaron and I met with some financial planners this evening.  It was a bit scary and exciting all at the same time.  We now officially have GOOD life insurance, Roth IRA accounts and a 401 K.  Seriously, I had never heard of these things until a few weeks ago (with the exception of life insurance :).  I am still a little shakey with my understanding of it all, but I do know that these are good things for us to have and are good things to get started now at a young age. 
It is so exciting for me to think that we are putting away money for when we are retired!  I can't wait to see Aaron when we are 60 and have kids and grandkids and all this money to spend because we were so smart and started saving early :)
But it is a bit depressing that they told me I could retire in 2042!  Doesn't that sound like a VERY long time from now?! 
Oh well, here is to being a grown up!

Serious Questions

So, I've been freaking out just a little bit with my approaching birthday.  I will be (gulp) 27 on Saturday.  Where in the heck did the time go?  I don't feel like I'm about to be 27...I guess thats a good thing though :) 
I've been thinking quite a bit about a few things lately.
     - Can I stop aging here?  I think 27 is a good place to stop.
     - Can I still shop at Forever 21?  and lastly
     - Can I still get away with using my college ID for discounts?
Does anyone know the answer to these questions?  Maybe it's not so important...maybe 27 won't be so bad.  I'll let you know :)

Happy New Year

from the Woods!

We had a great New Year's Eve over at Gerad and Stormey's new house.  They decided to combine their house warming party with New Year's Eve and I think it was a great decision!  We all met at their house and headed out to dinner.  When we finished, we came back to their house and just hung out.  People played a little beer pong and Gerad made a BattleShots board for the guys.  It was very fun to watch all the games being played especially since everyone there was so competitive. 

It was a great evening and we really enjoyed getting to hang out with some old college friends.  We should do it more often!

Here are a few pics from the night.

 Aaron and Steven

 An intense game of BattleShots

 Me sneaking in the pic

 The girls at the BeerPong table

The next morning



Christmas

Well, the Christmas season has come and gone and I was a terrible blogger :(

This was my first year doing Christmas with Aaron's family on Christmas day.  It was a blast!  I had such a good time joining in on his family's traditions.  I had a total of 8 Christmases between his family and mine.  It was a crazy, fast and furious time....and I loved every minute of it. 
Some of the highlights were the wrapping paper war at MawMaw's house, our first Christmas morning in our own place, an amazing camera from my parents and delicious food at EVERY SINGLE MEAL.  Seriously, not good for my closet.  However I did manage to get sick while I was home with my parents so that counter-acted all the eating I did. 
Overall, it was a very relaxing break and I can't help but be a little sad it's over.  But I do have next year to look forward to :)
Unfortunately, I was also a terrible picture taker and didn't get one picture from any of our 8 Christmases.  The good news is that I got that amazing camera I mentioned earlier so we will be using it to capture some awesome pictures in the future!