One Year Anniversary

We started off our weekend celebration on Friday, when Travis was awarded the "Best Instructor Pilot" from the class of students that were moving on to the next stage of pilot training. It was such a great compliment to him, especially from this class that we both loved getting to know. He really seemed to enjoy teaching these guys, and I had the chance to hang out with them on a few occasions and enjoyed meeting them as well. We are looking forward to going to their graduation in six months!

On Saturday morning, we drove to San Antonio. We had originally planned to go skydiving (my idea), but Travis' flight commander would not allow him to do it. So instead, we decided to spend the day at Sea World! As active duty military, Travis and his dependents get one free pass to Sea World a year, so we were happy to use it this weekend.

We had a wonderful time at Sea World!! Travis had never been before, and it had been at least 15 years since I had been, so we tried to enjoy it all! We watched an extremely cute sea lion and otter show, which was our favorite. We also watched a show full of dolphins, beluga whales, at least 15 exotic birds, synchronized swimmers, and divers. It was pretty amazing. Then, we walked around and visited all the various animal exhibits, that included penguins, sharks, fish, eels, and more dolphins. We also rode the roller coasters, one of them five times (it was our favorite). Travis really enjoys riding in the front row of the roller coasters, so we waited in some of the longer lines in order to sit in the front! It was pretty fun, though, so I'm not complaining! We had planned to go to the water park and water rides next, but by the time we headed that direction, the line to get into the water park was over an hour long and for the water rides it was two hours! So, we decided to leave and head to our hotel instead.

We drove the rest of the way into San Antonio and found our hotel down by the riverwalk. We planned to stay at the hotel we really love. The staff is always amazing, the rooms are really nice, and the breakfast they serve in the morning is phenomenal!! We got more than we bargained for, though, when we arrived.

Upon checking in, we found out that we had been randomly upgraded to the Presidential Suite for the night. Apparently, the hotel was overbooked, and the manager just picked one random couple to move up to the empty suite. It was AWESOME!!! And then, they found out it was our one year anniversary, and the concierge sent up champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, on the house!!

The room was absolutely amazing, and was probably about as big as our house. There were THREE bathtubs, a huge entry way, three chandeliers, a dining room, china cabinet, sofa, extra chairs, and two flatscreen tvs. Also, we were on the top floor in the corner room, so we had three patios, more than enough windows, and the best view of the riverwalk and surrounding area! Did I mention there was also a sauna in the bathroom? Check out the pictures:

Yes, we really stayed here!!

Our view from one balcony overlooking the riverwalk!

We could have spent the entire rest of the night in the suite, but we had already made plans for dinner. So, we left our beautiful suite and went to Fogo de Chao for dinner. It is one of Travis' favorite restaurants, and we both really enjoy eating there. The food was delicious and we had a wonderful dinner. Then, we had planned to go to one of our favorite clubs in the area, but the line to get in was wrapped around the door and didn't move for the ten minutes that we stood there. After waiting in lines at Sea World all day, we were tired and didn't feel like waiting in line anymore. We headed back to our beautiful suite instead. :-)

Then, in the morning, we enjoyed the beautiful breakfast buffet by the river. The waiters were so nice and pleasent, and when they found out it was our anniversary, they brought us a little surprise!! Check it out:

We had found that the one year anniversary is supposed to be the "paper" anniversary, so we chose our gifts accordingly. I gave Travis a couple of pictures for his desk in frames, as well as a fun card and letter. Travis gave me the sweetest card, and then completely surprised me with a Nook!! It's basically an online library where you can download books and read them anytime and anywhere you want. Here's a link if you want to see more about it: NOOK

We drove back home on Sunday morning after breakfast and took the puppies out to the lake when we got home. They had a great time swimming around and playing with all the people on the beach. My friend had shown me this new, great cove to go swimming in, and I think it is my new favorite place at the lake!

We came back home, had dinner, and enjoyed our defrosted wedding cake for dessert. Surprisingly, it tasted fantastic!! We felt like we had just taken the cake off the table at our reception, and we really enjoyed it.

Overall, our anniversary was a blast. We are still so very much in love, and we wouldn't change one thing about our lives today. It's sad to think that a year ago today we were on our way to Costa Rica, and now this year today, Travis is back to work and I am swamped with homework and laundry to do. We, however, could not be happier about our first year together, and we are both so grateful we had the chance to celebrate together like we did. It was a perfect weekend!

It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed!! One year ago in Costa Rica:

Today, our honeymoon continues. This time, though, we are just a little closer to home! :-)

On the riverwalk in San Antonio :-)

"That's the strange beauty of marriage: It's full of hard times and hard lessons that no one can ever prepare you for. But in the end, those are the things that give richness to your life together — and make your love even deeper and stronger than when it began."

Wedding Dress Photos

Finally!! Almost a year after our wedding, Travis and I finally made the time to take some non-traditional photos in my wedding dress. We hired one of our friends (who is working as a professional photographer), and we went around the city of Del Rio for the morning, taking pictures in fun and different locations. I think the pictures came out pretty well, so I wanted to share some of my favorites!

I wore my wedding dress and made my bouquet with sunflowers and red roses. Travis wore his fanciest cargo shorts, white polo shirt, and flip flops. :-)

And, I added a lot of pictures to this post... I apologize for the number...I just couldn't leave any out! :-)

This first batch is in front of a mural in downtown Del Rio, outside an old house that has been renovated as a hair salon/optometrist's office. The owner of the place paints these murals on the huge concrete wall behind his building; his wife is the hairdresser! It was really cool, and I loved the colors behind us in these photos:

This next location is a random, abandoned barn, also in downtown Del Rio, that is now in the middle of a parking lot. We parked next to it on our way to something else and just stopped to take a few pictures. This one is my favorite:

All the pictures with the yellow background were taken in front of the Yellow Taxi Cab office. They have painted their entire building bright yellow, and again, I loved the color!

There was an abandoned trolley in downtown as well that the owner is changing into a restaurant. After we had asked for permission, we took several pictures there. Then, the owner came out, offered us a free dinner at the restaurant (when it opens), and asked for a copy of one of the pictures when we finished. He wants to use the picture in the paper for the opening announcement for the restaurant and for decoration in the trolley! So, does this make us celebrities in Del Rio?? I never thought that would happen... :-)

We also took several pictures at the Del Rio Winery in downtown. It was absolutely beautiful since all the trees and grapes were in bloom!

These last pictures were taken out by a creek behind one of the houses in downtown. Again, just a random place we stopped and ended up getting some great pictures:

It was so fun to take all these pictures, since it felt like we were celebrating the wedding all over again! It's hard to believe we've been married almost a year!! We are looking forward to our anniversary in a few weeks! :-)

Key West Vacation

Travis and I traveled to Key West, Florida with his entire family, and we really enjoyed our week long vacation together! Not only did we get to hang out with Shane, Kelly, Grandma and Grandpa, Diane and Ted, Catherine, Jerry, and Hilary, but we also got to see our cute baby niece and nephew! Carson and Avery are nine months old now and are so cute and adorable! They are crawling around on the floor and really enjoyed their trip to Florida, especially the part where they got to eat sand at the beach. :-)

We had a blast in Florida. We went sailing and "snuba" diving (where we saw sting rays and Travis caught some lobsters with his bare hands), rode on a glass bottom boat through some coral reefs, shopped all over Key West, played on the beach, and enjoyed the beautiful house the family had rented. Travis had a chance to play golf (where he accidentally hit an iguana in the leg with the golfball) and go fishing for sharks. We enjoyed playing with the babies when they were awake and lots of fun family time with everyone else.

A few photos to share:

The beautiful view and backyard of the house we rented for the week in Key West

Uncle Travis and Auntie JJ swimming with the babies in the pool

At Mallory Square in Key West for the Sunset Festival, a nightly event which celebrates the sunsets, vendors, and performers, all original to Key West; these pirates were posing for pictures with anyone who wanted one!

One of my favorite views that we saw...

Our group (Ted, Travis, Diane, me, Catherine, and Kelly) on our snuba diving, snorkeling, and sailing adventure. The couple in charge of our trip lived on the boat with their cat, and we had a great time hanging out with them for the afternoon.

One of the things Key West is known for is being the "end of the road",

so here's the sign to prove it! :-)

Travis and I at the end of the southernmost pier in Key West.

It was soooooo beautiful!!

Tri-It in Spanish Triathlon

Another successful triathlon!! Here are the results from my previous triathlon to compare.

We were racing in Martindale, Texas, an area just outside of San Marcos. We started off with a lake swim in some muddy water. Luckily, this time, the water was about 85 degrees, so it wasn't so shocking to jump in! I started towards the middle of the group and swam 300 meters in the lake. My time was 5:59 (which also included the short 30 second run from the lake back to the transition area), and I was the second person in my age group to finish the swim.

My transition time from swim to bike, which is improving, took only 2 minutes and 40 seconds!! Hopefully, I can get this going faster... We hopped on the bikes and started the 12 mile out and back. Within about 5 minutes of starting the biking portion, we had to go over a HUGE, steep hill. The rest of the course wasn't too bad; just gentle rolling hills. My time for the biking portion was 45:36, and I was the fifth person in my age group to finish the biking.

My last transition took only 41 seconds. It could have been faster, but I went back for my water bottle. It was so hot, and I was sweating profusely! I drank the entire thing on the 2.1 mile run, so I was glad to have it. The first half mile was extremely tough for me, as my legs were cramping pretty badly from the biking. (I guess I need to work more on going quickly from biking to running...) After about five minutes, my legs loosened up and I could go a little faster. I finished the run in 22:01, placing third in my age group for the run portion.

Overall, I placed fourth out of nine people in my age group!! The time difference between 3rd and 4th place was ONE second; between 2nd and 4th place was TWO seconds. I was SOOO close to being in the top three!! Pretty awesome! I almost got a medal!! (They only award the top three finishers.)

This event was really fun, too, because I had a cheering section at the transition area. My mom, dad, sister, Travis, and my friend Sarah came to watch and cheer me on! My friend Kristy also came and participated in the race with me. Her husband was there to cheer her on too! And, crazily enough, Travis ran into a friend from high school who was there cheering on her boyfriend as he raced. It's a small world! :-)

At the end of the race, the event organizers had a huge picnic set up under the shade of pecan trees along the river, so we all sat and enjoyed the food and shade while we waited for everyone to finish and the results to be posted. Then, we went tubing down the river again and had a great dinner at the Gristmill. Another fun and successful day!!

Another Triathlon

Here's the next triathlon I am planning to do:

http://www.redemptionrp.com/SpanishTri2010

I signed up yesterday! The event is on June 20th at the River Ranch, just north of New Braunfels and east of Canyon Lake. My friend Kristy will be participating in it with me, and my friends Sarah and Marc from Austin are not only letting us stay at their house, but they are also going to come that morning to cheer us on!

The course is pretty much the same as the last one, just in a different location. The distances are the same - 300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. This race is sponsored by the same company who did the last event, so I know it will be a good one!

Only 12 days to go...I'd better hit the gym! :-)

Five Years!

They handed out awards for years of service today at the high school on our last day of teacher in-services for the year. We applauded and gave a small token of appreciation to those teachers who have worked at the school for five, ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty, and even thirty-five years!! I've only worked at the high school here for one year, so I wasn't included in the awards, but it made me want to reflect on my own service.

I have officially finished five years of teaching!

Year one - three: Middle school in Austin (2006 - 2008)

Highlights:

• Teaching 7th grade Math (Advanced and grade level)
• Coaching 7th grade volleyball, A and B team
• Coached soccer (2 years) and hurdles in track (1 year)
• Club volleyball for 12 year olds
• CDL certified to drive a school bus

Year four: Middle school in Austin (2009)

Highlights:

• Teaching 8th grade Math (Algebra and grade level)
• Coaching 8th grade volleyball team that won District Champions!
• Coached track and had some hurdlers place in district and break a school record
• Club volleyball for 14 year olds
• Re-certified to drive a school bus :-)
• Tested for my high school certification and got it!
• Travis proposed in my classroom at the end of the year :-)

Year five: High school in Del Rio (2010)

Highlights:

• First year of teaching Math in high school!
• Teaching Geometry Pre-AP and Math Models to over 150 students
• 68% of my students passed the TAKS test!
• Completed the last of my 150 hours of inservice training and renewed my teaching certificate for the next five years
• Started my Master's degree in Education

A lot of hard work, time, and effort have gone into these past five years of teaching. I am proud of my career and my service in teaching and look forward to more in the future!

Weekend Adventures

On Thursday night, I went out to dinner with a group of friends and then had a birthday celebration with another! (Travis was working late, so the timing worked out great!)

Outside the Applebee's in the mall...

At a yummy hangout restaurant called TBs...

On Friday, my parents came to visit, and we took them to the base for a ride in the flight simulator. It was really cool! My mom and dad had a chance to (virtually) fly the T-6 all around Del Rio!

On Saturday, we spent the entire day at the lake. It's getting really hot here now, so the water feels great! We wore the dogs out to the point that they were sound asleep for most of the afternoon and barely moved at all once we got home. Rio and Percy love to swim!! Travis did some wakeboarding, and I skied, and everyone had a great time.

Driving out to the coves...

Percy swimming and fetching the tennis ball!

Wondering why mommy is in the water and they can't go...

Rio absolutely loves the water and will fetch anything we throw out there.

Travis on his new wakeboard...

Hanging out on the boat

At the end of the day :-) (Percy was so sound asleep he was snoring!!)

Sunday, Travis and I cleaned out the garage. Travis built some new shelves for us to hang our lake stuff on, as well as for some extra storage space. We cleaned everything else out and got rid of a lot of junk! Then, I went to the pool to hang out with some friends and then to dinner at another friend's house. Travis stayed home and worked on his papers.

The new shelf that Travis built! :-)

Newly organized and cleaned out garage

Now summer is officially here for me, so I am starting to get work done at home and catching up on my online master's classes. Laundry, errands, papers, cleaning....all sorts of fun things that I finally have time to do now! :-)