oh the difference a year makes

last year in june

this year in july

the funny thing is, i look at last year's picture and i can remember exactly what was going on in my life at that time. the night that picture was taken, i felt like i was forced to smile and pretend that everything was ok. of course it wasn't even close. i look at this year's picture, and it was taken right before we went to the visitation for jordan holden. the circumstances were much worse. the difference is that i did a lot of spiritual growing in one year. the circumstances weren't any better, but instead of trying to fix everything on my own, i turned to God. last year's picture will always remind me that while i don't always have a choice regarding situations i find myself in, i will always have a choice whether or not to trust in God.

while we were waiting

while we waited for them to get our room ready, we walked to the starbucks next door to our hotel (this trip just keeps getting better and better). kelli got hungry and decided she needed a monstrous rice krispy treat.

silly girl!

change of plans

apparently we love san antonio so much that we decided to stay longer. the plan was that after lunch kelli, joey, ryan and i would head back to san angelo while my parents went to visit one of my aunts. while we were eating, some random lady came up to my dad and asked if we liked baseball. after my dad answered "sure!" she gave him 7 tickets to the san antonio missions baseball game tonight and then walked away. we were shocked. we immediately started planning ways to stay another night. the thing is that kelli has class tomorrow and she HAS to go because she has a test to take. finally we decided to give the tickets away and stick to the original plan.

when the four of us got to leon springs, my parents called with an alternative plan. basically, we're staying another night. tonight my dad and brothers will go to the missions game and mom, kelli, and i get to hang out with kylah! tomorrow half of the family will go back super early in the morning, and the other half will stay here and do some more shopping.

i'm excited!!!!

oh, and something weird that always happens in san antonio...my parents end up running into someone they know. this trip was no exception. earlier this week they ran into a couple whom they know from the school where i teach. then last night we went to look at cars late at night, and dad ran into one of his minister friends. turns out they had just closed on a deal and were driving away while we were looking at cars. THEN as we were eating at pappasitos today for lunch (double yummy), we saw a family with two boys walking in. one of the boys was wearing a central t-shirt. weird, huh?

shopping!!!

i love san antonio! we did some major shopping today, and it was wonderful! i got some shoes that courtney would be very proud of, an outfit from ann taylor (pink and super cute), jeans from express, a skirt and jacket from forever 21, and sunglasses from mervyn's (how random was that?). maybe i'll take pictures and put them on here. i wanted to post other pictures, but joey beat me to it. if you want to read all about our day, click here and here.

but what i am most excited about is tomorrow's lunch...

.

i can't wait!

random

while i wish i could put some interesting pictures up from last night's boat ride, it was too dark to get anything. so instead, here are pictures of us!

waiting for the boat. kelli said she was too hot to take a picture
(she was in a bad mood)

first night in san antonio, check

so our first night in san antonio was pretty eventful. the six of us set out to eat at the hard rock cafe. we opted to sit outside rather than wait for a table inside. it's was hot but not unbearably so. our server was a trip. he kept telling us to keep "rocking and rolling" and how cute he was. i'm not even kidding. we took to calling him pretty boy throughout the meal.

afterward, we decided to take a boat ride on the river. unfortunately, the maps were wrong as to where to get on them, so we walked for a good 30 minutes before we figured it out. it was worth the wait, though. our guide was funny and so informative. it's been such a long time since we've done something "touristy" in san antonio as a family, so it was nice. i tried to take pictures, but it was already dark that the pictures are not that great. i'll see if i can steal them from joey.

now i need to go to bed and sleep. we're having breakfast tomorrow at mi tierra...yum, yum! i need to get my strength up for shopping too, of course. happy weekend!

happy august!

ok, here's the update on florida:

i went with my principal and three other new teachers at the school. we went to a conference that was held at a college in pensacola. it was absolutely beautiful. i think we did a great job of making the most of our time there!

we got there on sunday, and since the conference didn't start until monday afternoon, we checked into our dorm room, changed and went to the beach. unfortunately, there were jellyfish in abundance, so we just sat and talked for a while. monday morning we went to the peaceful beach in perdido key. because we went early in the morning, it was nice and quiet. i got in the water, which was nice and warm, and we even saw dolphins! we went back to the beach wednesday afternoon, and that time i opted to lay out and read a book. so peaceful. the best part is that i didn't burn at all, but i do have a pretty great tan =)

during our down time, we also ate at macaroni grill, moe's southwest grill, and went to the mall. they had great stores and great sales. BUT i was good and didn't buy too much because i knew i was coming to san antonio to shop some more. (and because it wouldn't fit in my suitcase. it weighed exactly 50 lbs. on the way back!)

with all that playing time, it's surprising that we had time for the conference. i went to some pretty sessions and learned lots of new things. and even though i'm not real big on math, i learned great stuff for teaching 1st grade math.

i think the best thing about this trip was getting to know the other teachers and my principal. it was such a sweet time of fellowship, and of course, with 5 ladies the conversation never stopped! i'm so glad that i was able to go and that everything went well. the only bad thing was that i kept forgetting to take my camera with me to the beach, so there are no pictures. sorry =( i did record the relaxing sound of the beach on my phone, so next time you see me i'll let you listen to it....haha!

so anyway, kelli and i drove to san antonio this morning to meet my parents and brothers who are here for the weekend. this is going to be our mini-vacation for the summer and i am so excited to go shopping. this time i'll have enough room to bring it all back!

ya'll have a great weekend!