Good Times in Amarillo

Well, we have been in Amarillo for a week and a half now, and so far it has been quite nice. The kids and I have found our way around pretty well, and Bryan at least knows his way to the law firm and back!! :) We've been trying to find things to do that get us out of our dark apartment (that is my one complaint about this apartment, there is no overhead light and only a small lamp!) but don't cost and arm and a leg, which basically means we've spent a lot of time at the Zoo and the Mall. Yes, Amarillo has a FREE zoo! It really isn't anything fancy, and you can see the whole thing in an hour, but it does have lions, a tiger, monkeys, bears, and a few local animals. We went FOUR times last week! But really, what else do we have to do?

We have also found that the mall has a nice indoor play area that the kids both love, so we have been there about every day as well! Good times in Amarillo!

Here are the monkeys at the Zoo.

Oh, wrong picture! ;) Those are MY monkeys at the zoo!!

These are the real monkeys at the zoo. They are spider monkeys and are really quite fun to watch. They use their tails a lot and do all kinds of tricks swinging from the ropes and trees.

This is my sweet Grace. Yes, she really did the whole "talk to the hand" thing when I tried to take her picture!! Guess she was too busy watching the monkeys. What a turkey!

We have also discovered that a lot of dish soap and a little water makes A LOT of bubbles in the kitchen sink. We didn't have room to bring very many toys, so we have to get creative!

And this is my handsome husband on his first day of work! Bryan is really enjoying working for Underwood Law Firm. He has some projects that he is working on that he is really excited about, some immigration and estate planning cases, which is just what he was hoping for! The people at the firm have been really nice, too.

We went to a BBQ on Memorial Day at one of the attorney's homes. We were all a little nervous and hoping the kids would behave, etc. We walked in the door and introduced ourselves and Joshua immediately stuck his hand out to shake the attorney's hand. I'm thinking "Nice! He's going to use his good manners!" Then Joshua opens his mouth and says: "Hi, I'm Buzz Lightyear Star Command!" and walks off! He then proceeded to introduce himself to everyone at the BBQ as "Buzz!" Oh well, at least he was polite and well behaved, right?!?

It was nice to meet some of the people that Bryan has told me about. They were all really nice, and it was fun to see how well they all got along. You could tell they must get together fairly often because all of their kids knew each other and played together well. Joshua had blast playing with them and is already asking when he gets to see them again! Good times!

Two Bits About Me Tag

Two Names You Go By: Janelle, Mommy
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Grey shorts, pink shirt
Two Of Your Favorite Things To Do: Hang out with my family, scrapbook
Two Things You Want Very Badly At This Moment: I really can't think of anything, I'm happy as a clam :)
Two Favorite Pets: Huckle Berry Finn, cat, and Sunny, dog
Two People Who Will Fill This Out: Becky and Melissa
Two Things You Did Last Night: Watched American Idol Final!!!! and colored file folder games
Two Things You Ate Today: Apple, Popcorn
Two Last People You Talked To: Bryan, Grace
Two Longest Car Rides: I guess Logan to Maryland, Logan to Nauvoo
Two Favorite Holidays: Christmas and the 4th of July
Two Favorite Vacations: Yellowstone with Bryan and Joshua, and Virginia with Bryan, Joshua and Grace
Two Favorite Drinks: Milk and Water, boring, I know :)

Now I tag Becky, Melissa, and Katrina (if you are up to it after moving half way across the country!)

The Amarillo Adventure Has Begun!

We have officially begun our Amarillo adventure!! I'm supposed to be posting pictures of our apartment but I just wanted to post this one because I think it is so cute. I'm so blessed to have my sweetheart Janelle and our cute kids Joshua and Grace. It is getting late so I'm going to limit this post to just these two pictures with comments. I'll try to get some pictures of our place on the blog before too much longer, although it isn't all that exciting of a place. We are happy to be here in Amarillo and I'm glad Janelle and the kids are here so we can share this experience together. It is a challenge to be far away from family, friends, and all that is familiar but I appreciate their sacrifice for our family. Well, I've probably written more than enough. We hope all is well with each of you who read this post.

I began working at Underwood Law Firm yesterday and have really enjoyed the first two days. I've already got a few different and varying projects on my desk, including some immigration law research that I'm especially excited about. I will typically work from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and then come home to my family, although last night there was a firm happy hour which turned out well. I only stayed an hour although some people lasted 5 hours. Good times here in Amarillo! Above is a picture of my kids taking me to work on my first day (Janelle was taking the picture so she couldn't be in it).

Adventure Awaits!!!

Well, Bryan finished his second year of Law School on Friday!! I can't believe we are two-thirds of the way done! I am very proud of him and all of his hard work. I really don't know how he balances all of his responsibilities so well! And now, in just a couple of days, we're off!! We leave Friday to begin our summer internship in Amarillo, after which we will head to Utah for a week vacation. After our week in Utah, Bryan will go to Denver to begin his second internship while the kids and I stay in Utah with my family! It ought to be an interesting summer, but really, we are excited for the opportunities. Now I've just got to figure out how to pack for three months - you can't take everything, but there are a lot of things you just don't want to live without for three months! So stay tuned, I'm sure you won't want to miss our summer adventures! ;)

Different is Good

I am continually amazed at how different our children are! I remember when Grace was born I wondered what she would be like and figured she would be a lot like Joshua. I remember thinking, "how different can two little babies be?" Ha Ha Ha, that was a joke! Let me tell you, two babies can be VERY different, right from the beginning!!

I remember hearing Grace cry once when she was a couple months old, and in spite of the fact that I had already cared for a newborn that cried, this was a very new sound to me. It was so much more dramatic and scream-like right from the beginning!! I knew I was in for it!!

But seeing how different Joshua and Grace are has really made me a believer in the idea that "different is good." I love that Joshua loves to sit on our laps and read book after book, but I also love that Grace can hardly make it through one book before she squirms away to find something to climb on! I love that Grace can't eat anything with out getting it all over her face, but I also love that Joshua has to have me wipe his hands off every time he gets anything dirty stuck to them! I love that Joshua still wants to cuddle with me in the rocking chair, but I also love that Grace NEVER cuddles, except on rare occasions that are made more precious by their rarity. And what I love most about their differences is that they don't keep them from loving each other and being friends! I love that Grace follows Joshua around and wants to do everything like him, and I love that Grace can be Joshua's princess when he wants someone to dance with!

And here are just a few pictures that illustrate our kid's WONDERFUL differences!

Playing outside: Joshua, clean;
Grace, wet and muddy from head to foot!

Let me just say, NEVER turn your back on this kid when

she has an Oreo in her hand!! :)

My handsome boy!

I LOVE you kids!! Thanks for letting me be your mom!