houston

Our summer of fun has come to an end and we are packing up for our big move to Texas! We start driving on Thursday morning. I thought this map was pretty cool because it shows where The Woodlands is in relation to downtown. That is where we will be living! Everyone will have to come visit us!

my new job

I'm sooooo excited! I interviewed at a few schools this last week when I was in Houston and this school was by far top on my list. I wanted to teach here so bad. Carl Wunsche Sr. High school is a Career and Technology academy in Spring ISD. Students may apply to come here for 10-12 grade. At the school you take course in your chosen career path. I will be teaching students that think they would like to be teachers themselves early childhood through high school. Students can take classes in so many different fields: pharmacy, EMT, drafting, auto shop, culinary arts, helicopter and plane pilot, veterinary, criminal justice, horticulture, and the list goes on and on. The school was built in 2006, is beautiful, fully equipped with all the latest technology and every student is issued a laptop for school and home use! I am SO EXCITED! And not to mention how awesome all the staff and administration I have met is!

texas here we come

Not to alarm anyone....but since it is now 2010, this is offically the year we will be moving to Texas! Yeee Haaaw!

I'm so excited I want to make a chain for all the weeks until we move!

aldine isd

I'm so proud I almost shed a tear! Aldine Independent School District, where I did my student teaching in Houston, was just name the "Best Urban School District in the Nation"!!!! Uuuuunnnnnnnn, give me some of that! See it for yourself here. They were awarded $1,000,000 to be given in scholarships to some of Aldine's graduating seniors. Aldine has about 60,000 students in the district. I hope I can teach there when we move back next year!

"The annual prize, sponsored by California philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, honors urban districts that boast gains in student achievement and success at narrowing the performance gap between students of different ethnicities and family income levels.

Contest officials noted that Hispanic and low-income students in Aldine outperformed their peers statewide in reading and math at all school levels in 2008. Black students scored higher than their counterparts in math at all levels, but fell behind in reading in elementary school. Aldine also drew praise for its “clear, rigorous expectations for teachers and principals” and its aggressive recruitment of top-notch teachers.

A panel of eight judges, including three former U.S. education secretaries, decided on the winner. Last year's Broad (pronounced “brode”) prize recipient was Brownsville ISD. The Houston Independent School District was the first award winner, in 2002."

TLC: the little couple

I don't know if many of you have watched this show on TLC, but just so you know they live in our Apartment complex we lived in while we were in Houston.  Ryan actually hung out with Bill at the gym one day.  Ryan got the total low-down on their show, TLC, "Little People Big World"... it was fascinating.  He was really nice and I love watching their show.  It is amazing what they have accomplished.  I can't imagine how difficult it would be to live life 4' tall or smaller.  Just a little brush with fame, that's all......

blue bonnet fields

When my mom was visiting us in Houston, we took a little trip to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory in Brenham, Texas. We took the tour and got our free scoop of ice cream. The funniest part was when my mom bought her first ever "senior citizen" priced ticket! We had to caputre the moment. Then we went and took some pictures out in the beautiful blue bonnet fields.

happy b-day ryan

Happy 25th Birthday Ryan! Okay, well his birthday was in April, but I'm just putting the pictures up now. Isn't the cake the cutest thing you have ever seen. Not to mention it was delicious and from RJ Goodies Bakery. I'm sure it was a little embarrassing, but he has been working out so much lately that it is true! He is a super sexy muscle man! ha ha

houston rockets

All I need is a jersey. I love the Rockets. I have rekindled my long lost love for them ever since we were in Houston. Back in the day when I was like 12 or so they were wining the championships and we were big fans and I wore my jersey proudly; but now I need to get another one. We had the chance to go to a few games why we were there. Thanks Brittanie and Marcus for the awesome seats! Look how close we are!!!!

I'm hoping the Rockets can pull it out even with Yao injured. They have to beat the Lakers.......

the alamo

I'm catching up on all the blogging I haven't been doing. I have a lot of post coming your way. This is from the quick day trip we took to San Antonio, Texas while we were living in Houston. We drove out to visit the Alamo and the River walk. We had SO MUCH FUN! Parker and Carson got some Davey Crockett Guns while they were there. I can't remember why but there was a festival going on and the Alamo was all lite up at night. It was actually pretty cool. That is why there is a red projection all over the face of it if you were wondering.

Here we are getting out of our cars in the parking garage.

I'm sure glad Carson had his "puppy back pack" while we were walking next to the river. He could have fallen in so easily. I was in charge of 'walking' him part of the time!

We had such a great time we can't wait to go back. When we are Texans again this is where we can take all of our visitors! Oh ya!

my alma matar

Kuehnle, the elementary school my siblings and I all went to in Texas, is making the news today.  My niece and nephew also go there and just so happened to be home sick from school on Friday.  That's a little shady if you ask me....... but any-who.  It is the 11th school to close in Houston because of "a probably case of swine flu in either a parent or adult".  That folks is straight from the Houston Chronicle.  Check out the story here.  It maybe seems a little like an over-kill (but who knows) and I feel bad for all the parents that will be keeping their kids home for two weeks!! Crazy!

houston rodeo

One more reason to love Texas.  When you are at the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo with like a million people in the Reliant Stadium they begin it with an invocation.  That's right....an invocation, given by a sexy cowboy! 

i hope there are milkshakes in heaven

Where do I begin with these bad boys.  Ryan figures if I keep up this latest habit we will spend $60 a month JUST ON MILKSHAKES......hahaha  needless to say, I unfortunately haven't bought one yet this week.  I REALLY AM ADDICTED.  It is my favorite treat I have ever had.  It is the perfect milkshake.  Really, the perfect milkshake.  You can not get this good of a milkshake in the Provo/Orem area, trust me, I have tried.  Come visit me and you can try it too!

houston city hall

We were downtown and all the sudden we realized we were in front of City Hall.  So we took a picture!

PWC's office building

PriceWaterhouseCoopers office building in Houston.  On Saturday we went and explored downtown and we happened to walk by Ryan's official office so we took a picture!  Wasn't it such a beautiful day.  All you Utahans are pretty jealous of our 75 degree weather right about now!

Dinner With the Fam

I take so many pictures dealing with food.  It is my passion what can I say :)

Here we are eating at Campioni when my dad came to town for business.  Ryan even got to make it to dinner because they got off earlier that night!  Speaking of working hours, Ryan worked...........(drum roll) 136 hours the last two weeks!  Yep, that is pretty insane, but so goes it in the accounting world during busy season!

Hot Dog

You can't get a better hot dog than this!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE James Coney Island.  Nothing beats a chili cheese coney for the low price of $1.39!  They have been doing it for the past 83 years so I think they have perfected the art of hot dogs!  Man, I want one right now!

Chloe's graduation

Last week I went to my cousin, Chloe, her graduation from The Woodlands high school.  She is graduating a semester early so this was the mid semester graduation.  She looked so cute and sophisticated!  Ryan was at work so I went by myself, but he was able to come eat some cake when he got done.  We went to the Grotto before and then went back to their house for a super yummy RJ Goodies cake!  Congrats Chloe!  The whole time it was making Mandy and I so giddy for our own college graduations that are coming up.  Mine in April and Mandy's in May!  Hey-oooo.  I am even more excited too because I have never worn a cap and gown. Because I hated my high school in Utah so much I didn't even walk in my graduation there, so this will be a first for me!

project runway

I was like a paparazzi the other day when I went to this store here in Houston.  For any of you that watch Project Runway you probably remember the winner from a few seasons ago, Chloe Dao.  Well she is from Houston and I knew she had a store here and it is pretty close to our house.  So I went to it the other day and checked it out.  It has some pretty cute stuff, mostly cocktail dresses and such.  But I had to take a picture outside to document my outing.

apartment visit

Hilarie and Robert came over to see our apartment a week or so ago, and it was pretty funny seeing that we only have two card table chairs so they were laying on the floor!  Parker and Demi were loving Mario Kart

The best part was that I had just realized I still had a William Sonma gift card with $100 on it so I made the red velvet sprinkles cupcakes from there.  It was like heaven in your mouth.  The batter is seriously the BEST batter I have ever had.  It was like delicious fluffy air in your mouth.  I'm craving them just writing about them.  The only problem is little speckles of red get EVERYWHERE! This just cracks me up.  Carson is a little pro at using Hilarie's iPod Touch.  He was watching Sponge Bob Square Pants on it, and Ryan sat right next to him to watch him do it because he was so impressed with Carson's skills.  But it was annoying Carson and he kept looking at Ryan like "what are you doing so close to me".  And then finally right as I was taking this picture he looked at Hilarie and said, "MOM, THIS GUY IS BOTHERING ME." as he pointed his thumb behind him at Ryan while still looking down at the iPod.  It was classic!

yummy food

Oh we have eaten the best food since we have been here.  I bought my zagat guide for Texas and we are hitting up all the good spots, and of course places my family has always gone to.  Here we are in front of Pappasito's! Mmmmmmm, it so yummy!

This is the Bar B Q place I talked about in a post a few days ago.  It is delicious as well.  I have been there a few times by my self without Ryan because it is so good and cheap! This is Amy's Ice cream.  Also fabulously yummy!  We normally split a different milk shake of sorts.  And they are open till midnight so that is nice for when we are hungry for a little treat later in the evening :) Oh and of course there are many more delicious restaurants we have eaten at.  Ruggles cafe, the Grotto, Cafe Adobe, James Coney Island, Papa's Bar-B-Q.......