It’s Rock Removal Day at the Salome house today!!!  And you know what that means!!!  Soon we’ll have grass…..well, soon as in this spring! Also today we’re having the dead trees in the backyard removed and the sprinkler system installed.  I am SOOOOO excited!  WE’ve got a decent sized backyard, but since we moved in almost a year ago, I have hardly spent anytime in it because it’s just not welcoming or comfortable.  I cant wait for grass.  The other fun thing that we’re having done is having better access put in for the backyard.  Currently, the only access to the back yard is down a steep slope covered in river rock or down the stairs off the upstairs deck.  So we are having steps installed on the steep slope….it’s going to make it so much easier to get down there.  I know Miss Maggie Mae will be thrilled to have all of that rock gone….it can be comfortable on her little paws!

We welcomed a new Salome this past weekend.  Rell’s brother Stanton got married to sweet little Ashley.  We headed to Waco for the wedding.  It was a QUICK weekend.  Flew into Austin late late Thursday night and stayed with Terry and Leslie then drove to Waco Friday morning.  We met up with my parents and ate lunch with them.  Then we headed over to Roberts new house and spent some time with the Brooks Family. I can not believe how big the kiddos are getting.  I wish I would have brought my camera with me.  Truck is getting so big…scooting all over the place.  He is such a sweetie.  Ava is very vocal, although not always in a recognizable way.  She is just such a doll.  And Lilly, like always is a hoot.  She is very good at playing pretend, and Ava is very good at helping her.  Lilly REALLY likes Uncle Rell too…..Uncle Rell the jungle gym….she was climbing ALL over him.  She hardly paid any attention to me.  She hosted a little tea party while we were there.  Uncle Rell said he wanted her to make him some food, so she went back into her room and filled up her plastic little grocery cart with all of her plastic little food and wheeled it out into the living room……..naked, except for an apron.  I almost fell off the couch laughing.  It was hilarious!  The kid hates to wear clothes…but realizes the importance of an apron when preparing food! J

Friday night we headed to the rehearsal dinner and then after that met up with some old friends and stayed out too late!  Saturday we headed to the wedding and then the reception.  We had a nice time and are happy to welcome a new member to the family.  Saturday evening brought more time with old friends and another late night!  Our friend Valorie was in town from Memphis and we were so happy to be able to spend some time with her.  Its been so long since we have seen her!  Sunday morning we did a family brunch at Rells grandparents house and then headed to Austin to catch our 3:30 flight…where we then proceeded to sit in the airport for three hours…ahh, airport delays.  But we finally made it home…and we were exhausted.

We’re also excited to soon welcome yet another Salome…..Rell and I are expecting a baby in April!!!!  We’re very excited…..nervous and scared too….but mostly excited! Im almost 15 weeks along now and finally feeling better.  April 22^nd is the estimated due date, so Im really looking forward to spring…..we get grass in the backyard AND a baby!

10 years ago today you turned 21!!!  I remember your 21st birthday…..of course, since I am MUCH younger than you, I didn’t get to go OUT and celebrate with you, but I remember the pre-party fondly! 

Hope your tenth anniversary celebration is Fabulous!  Happy Birthday!

I dont think they had invented digital cameras ten years ago (because if they had, certainly, with my love of photos, I would have had one!) so I dont have a photo ready for upload of Jodi and I from 10 years ago…..but here’s one from like 5 years ago….just as adorable as when we were 21 and 20!

I’ve been a horrible blogger as of late…but really…not too much has been going on in “the life of a salome”.  I mean, I could blog and tell you about how I am in the process of making a dust ruffle…or how I just cant seem to motivate myself to finish painting the office (so I just keep the door closed)….or about how This Old House magazine is much more interesting than I thought it would be……but, I am guessing those are not the things that the two of you that read my blog are interested in hearing about. 

We were in Santa Barbara the other week visiting Russ and Erin…Terry and Leslie were there too..It was “Salimsang” weekend…Salome-Sims-Lang Weekend….in an Un-Meg like move, I FORGOT my camera…so I dont have any pictures to post…..such a pretty town though.  I really want to go back and explore the area a bit more.

Rell is in Dallas this weekend for his brothers bachelor party….rare is it that he is in Texas and I am not…Im a little jealous!  But Maggie Mae and I are going to have a little girls weekend….snuggling on the couch watching the UT game and then possibly a chick flick….oh the exciting lives we lead!!!!

Next trip to Texas is at the end of October for Rells brothers wedding….Rells grandparents are headed our way next weekend.  My friend Kerry is due mid October…can’t wait to meet baby Tobar….. these are the highlights coming up!

I think that The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a phenomenal organization.  I have a friend who is a member of the Team in Training.  Her goal is to raise funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.  I think it’s a great cause….maybe you do too!  Here’s a link to her team in training page….she is so close to her goal of $3000….maybe you could help out with a few bucks…and if you can’t, maybe you could just send some good vibes her way!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ctx/rnrsa09/amandaeblackAlso, in real life, she’s a pretty funny chick…..I have a link to her blog right over there on the right…she’s Amanda Black.

Ahhh, the good old days.  Mandy, Jodi, Amy and I before Amy’s going away party….what a fun night.  Probably best for all of us (and our livers) that we don’t live that close to each other anymore!

Oh, how to decide which of the adorable eleventy billion photos I took last weekend to post on  here….

Haircut...which he HATED...and his first sucker ever, which he LOVED

Chair from Aunt Meg---obviously for climbing, not for sitting.

HIs favorite present....his new train set.

Loves it! The destruction of the cake at least...not so much the cake itself!

Sweet Face!

Checkign out the fish at the Aquarium

This is a seriously happy baby!

Writing this blog from 30,000 feet!  Well, kind of.  Writing a draft of this blog….and actually, I have no idea at what altitude we are flying!  That is neither here nor there.  On my way home from Mr William Brooks Rowe’s FIRST birthday “party”.  Not really a party…we watched him destroy his gluten/dairy/soy/nut/wheat/taste free cake……but he wasn’t really all that interested in eating it..but honestly, can you blame the kid?  Then he “opened” some presents…his favorite, clearly the toy train set from his parents….smart kid.  I mean, the train set was awesome, but it’s also always wise to show favor to the presents that your parents get you.  They are the ones paying the bills!  Then we went out to a yummy grown up dinner where I had fabulousy rich macaroni and cheese (very grown up) and a yum yum yum blackberry mint margarita!  The weekend went too quick.  I arrived in Boston at about 5:30 am Saturday morning and my flight left today (Sunday) at 4:30pm……never enough time!  But I got some great quality Will time in…oh yeah, Melissa, Matt, Mack and Tickie were there too…and I even got to see my good friend Mandy briefly for breakfast on Saturday morning.  We haven’t seen each other in a couple of years, but she was nice enough to pick me up at the airport (please re-read above where it says that I got in at 5:30 AM!!!) and we went to breakfast.  Thanks Mandy!!!

Melissa had no idea I was coming…..us Brooks’ like our surprises….and if they involve plane trips…even better!  After breakfast, Mandy dropped me off at my parents hotel.  Melissa came over to the hotel to pick the rents up, and while they were getting in the car and greeting Will, I surprised Melissa through the open drivers side door……it being downtown Boston, Im lucky that she didn’t hightail it out of the parking lot and run over my foot at the first sign of a “stranger” poking through the drivers side window…but she was preoccupied with Mack and Tickie getting into the car and getting Will all excited to see them…..note to Melissa….you may want to watch out for stuff like this in the future…it’s not always going to be me!  (“This is a car, Jack!”  Anyone…Anyone???  Quoted from the often underestimated Brady Bunch movie)

Super happy that I went…..super tired….but hey, totally worth it.  But I will for sure be sleeping in tomorrow morning.  I will then be uploading the approx 600 pictures…..NOT an exaggeration……and posting some of them here.  That’s got to be some sort of record right, 600 pictures in like 36 hours…..about 593 of them are of Will alone…..and I think there are 2 pictures where he appears nowhere….considering that there’s a good 8 hours of sleep time in there for me….and probably about 11 hours of sleep time for Will (He is NOT a good napper….he should have spent wayyy more than 11 of the hours I was there slepping….but Im kind of glad he didn’t!) that’s a pretty good amount of pictures!  Some people don’t have that may photos taken at their wedding!  Wish I had remembered to bring my camera cord with me…what a good use of plane time…uploading photos.  Next time I’ll remember to do that!

Battery about to die….plane about to land…FINALLY!

Photos Stolen From the Facebook pages of family

Not so Safe Ava

Click It or Ticket!

Napping.

No, really...She naps like this.

Sweet Sweet Truck!

Sweet Sweet Will!

Hungry Will

Still Hungry!

Seven years ago tomorrow, Rell and I met. In Austin. At a bar. (However, when I retell this story to my children in 20 years, mommy and daddy met at the library) 

 Im pretty sure it was a Thursday night, and as was typical for me seven years ago on a Thursday night, I was downtown on 6th Street with my friend Jodi. It was almost time to go home, but we decided to go into Logans for just one more beer. I mean, we did have to work the next morning! And it was already past midnight, I am sure. So we head into crowded Logans and order a beer. Any of you that have ever been to Logans know that “a beer” is really like 5 beers poured into one massive beer mug….HEAVY! We head to a corner to hang out and Jodi spots someone she is interested in talking to. (Im being nice here….it was late, we had had a lot to drink…it was a boy (a friend of Rells),,,she was flirting…you can picture it) Basically, I am bored with it and leave her to talk and try to go find a seat…I spot a chair at a table…there are two guys sitting there that I don’t know but I don’t care, Im tired and my beer is heavy and I need to sit. So I ask if I can sit down, and low and behold, it was Rell. We talked, we found out we had a lot in common…like that he was moving to Waco in a week and I was moving to Waco in about a month, along with other things. I gave him my number.

And he actually called! It was a Saturday night….we had planned a girls night in. We were all set on the couch, Jodi, Amy, Mandy and I. We had just popped Bridget Jones in for what had to be the zillionth time, and he called. He was headed downtown with some friends and wanted to know if some friends and I wanted to meet up. I said sure, convinced it would be easy to round up the girls and get them downtown….but it wasn’t. They wouldn’t. And I didn’t have his number to call him back. So I stood him up. I was sure I would never hear from him again.

He called a week later. We had a bad connection. We kept losing each other, but finally had a decent enough connection to actually talk. So we planned a date. And we kept the date. He took me to Trudy’s and the Horseshoe Lounge….two of my all time favorite places. He was moving the next day. We talked on the phone a bunch that week. That Friday I was having my wisdom teeth pulled….he came down after the surgery and sat with me. Against doctors orders, we decided to go out. We met up with some of his friends at Baby A’s…Terry and Leslie…..who to this day are some of our best friends….and thank goodness they didn’t hold it against me that I had fat chubby chipmunk cheeks and probably had one too many margaritas.

 Several weeks later I moved to Waco to work for my family business. And Rell and I have been inseparable ever since. (Except for the couple of months he lived in Arizona without me while I prepared to move out here) We’ve moved cross country together…we moved in together….we got engaged… we bought our first house together …..we got married….(best wedding ever)…. …we renovated our house together….I got my first dog ever with Rell….we bought a business together….we sold a house together….we bought our second house together….we work together every day…. He is my best friend.

And I thank my lucky stars each and every day that Jodi drug me to Logans that night and just had to talk to that boy over in the corner. (that boy by the way, was also a groomsman in our wedding!)  Thanks Jodi!