Rodeo Parade

Yesterday morning we headed to downtown Houston to watch the Rodeo Parade! It's a kickoff for the rodeo here that will last about a month. They have a rodeo every night of the week and then a different person/group perform a concert afterwards. People like Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, and many more come! Joe and I haven't decided which concert we want to go to. My first choice is Keith Urban but he comes on a Tuesday and we wouldn't get to see much of the rodeo because we wouldn't get there until at least 7:30 because of work. So, we'll see who we end up going to see. Anyways, Serena, Dave, and Maggie met us down there and we watched it together. Maggie looked so cute in her little denim dress with leggings, pigtails, and pink sunglasses. She had her little lawn chair and sat right on the front row mesmerized. First of all, I have never been to a parade in the month of February before! That's just unheard of in Utah. Second of all, I have never seen some of the things in any parade I had been to before this one! The battery in the camera was dying but I did take a few pictures. I wish I could have taken more. You can look for yourself to see if you notice anything different. Some pictures are normal things you might see though.

At the beginning of the parade they had none other than the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band! Joe stood with pride as they passed.=)

Later followed the Core Cadets from A&M on horseback

Mexican Cowboys

Mexican Cowgirls

Black Cowboys

Black Cheerleaders

Pooper Scoopers

This high school band had some funk in their march!=) These were the march leaders.

A couple things reminded me of my brother Joseph. This was one because look at how little that kid is and he's riding that huge horse! Joseph would do something like that with his kid=)

The donkeys were the second thing that reminded me of him!=) That's the nickname I gave him a while ago, so whenever I see one I think of him!=)

Joe and Maggie! So CuTe!

Joe and me! I sported my cowboy hat and Joe wore his boots!

Surfside Beach

This past Saturday morning when Joe and I were headed to the gym the weather was absolutely amazing! It was sunny and felt really warm outside and we didn't have any plans for the day so we decided after the gym we would go to the beach! Of course, when we left the gym it had gotten a little bit chillier and there were some clouds in the sky. We decided it was only a 45 minute minute drive so we didn't have much to lose. It ended up being about 60 degrees when we got to the beach and it was cloudy, but we still had a lot of fun! We played catch with the football, Joe did donuts with his truck on the beach, and we drove through the town looking at the beach houses.

These are some "normal" beach houses for Surfside.............

and this is a beach house MANSION!! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was absolutely gorgeous!

Here's one that looked like it had been destroyed by the hurricane.

and here's another where the shoreline had moved over time and the house was in the water now! Joe said when that happens you just lose everything. That would be so awful!

The water was FREEZING but there were still some surfers out! It was so fun to watch!

Jazz Game

We went to the Toyota Center last night to watch the Jazz and the Rockets play! Of course I was going to represent and wear my Korver Jersey! There were a lot of haters! As we were walking around the arena to get to our section, this big group of "SUPER FANS" wearing masks and totally decked out in red, came up and surrounded Joe and I and were booing the jersey. When we got to our seats there were some other guys that were kind of playfully teasing me, saying "look at that ugly Jersey" and other stuff. I felt like I was the ONLY Jazz fan in the whole arena, but I didn't care! I felt proud to wear my Jersey! When the players came out it made me feel right at home! I have missed watching the games. I couldn't help but thing of little Zsa and how much she loved the Jazz. Joe was rooting for the Rockets and was wearing his red shirt. So, in this sport we are torn=) Before the game started this guy right in front of us turned around and was looking at me. I thought he was just another hater, but he whispered something to his girlfriend and she turned around and said "Hey! I'm a jazz fan too!" and sure enough she was wearing a Jazz shirt! We instantly bonded and the three of us cheered the Jazz on together the entire game! It was the best game! We instantly pulled ahead, but they came back and we were neck n' neck for most of the game! The arena cleared out about a minute or two before the game was over because their precious Rockets just couldn't keep up!=) I was SOOOO happy that they won! I wanted to run over to the super fans and say "WHAT NOW????" I refrained for the most part! On the way out someone yelled "The Jazz suck" and I whipped around and yelled "WHO WON?!" Joe quickly grabbed my arm and was dragging me out! He said he didn't want to have to fight someone because of me!=) ha ha ha ha! He said I was walking out proudly wearing that Jersey! I just couldn't help but smile and be proud! My Jazz didn't let me down! I had a blast! Thanks for the tickets babe!

This was before the game when they were just shooting and warming up.

Look at how they cleared right out!=)

Final Score!

My fellow Jazz fans!=)

Valentines Weekend Cont.

Here's the rest of what we did for Valentine's Day Weekend!.........

On Saturday morning we went to Costco to get a few things. Let me give you a little background for this first picture........Joe has these flipflops that he ALWAYS wears that I hate! I know it's petty, but I would just prefer that he wears shoes...... especially now when it's cold. I can understand flip flops in the summer. I just feel like they make him look sloppy. Anyways, so on Saturday before we left he had his flip flops on and I begged him to please wear shoes. I finally got him to change his shoes and when I came out to the living room I found that he had replaced the flips flops I hate, but he had added something else to his outfit!=)

I just laughed and didn't say anything about him taking it off. Look at the little smirk on his face. He will do anything he can to get under my skin sometimes! The funny part is I would rather he wear this hat than his flip flops! I may be a weirdo, but I can't help it! He told me he's gonna start making me wear high heels everywhere we go to get back at me!=) ha ha! Needless to say, when we pulled in to Costco he switched this hat for another one he had in his truck and I didn't have to walk around with Captain Joe Joe=)

We have tried to cut back on the number of times we eat out a week. We have been doing pretty well with only eating out once a week. It gives us a chance to get out and it gives Joe something to look forward to all week. This week he chose to go to Joe's Crabshack. He got a pot and I got salmon. I just had to get a picture of him with his man bib on=) After dinner we came home and watched the NBA Slam Dunk contest.

On Saturday night Joe surprised me with flowers, fabulous chocolates, and a sweet card with tickets to the Jazz/Rockets game on Tuesday!!!! The red bag is a bag of goodies and a card that I got him. It was my first Valentine's day where the man I was with acknowledged the holiday. It was perfect! I'm so blessed to have found this wonderful man. I never dreamt that someone so wonderful really existed and that I would be able to find him. Looking back, there is NO doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father led us to each other. There was no coincidence with timing, and being at the right place at the right time. I just want Joe to know how much I love and appreciate him. He's a hard worker, yet he doesn't bring his work home with him. He loves adventure and doing new things together. He has a sweet soft side, and he's always reaching over to feel my arm or my face in the middle of the night to make sure I'm there. He won't go to bed until I go with him, and he always includes me in everything. We have fun joking and teasing one another, and he always finds a way to make me laugh. He would do anything for me, and I can feel how much he loves me. I love you so much babe! Thank you for a wonderful weekend!

On Sunday I made a mini Thanksgiving dinner. Cornish game hens, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and peas. YUM!

This is the only picture I took of the pretty flowers Joe got me! So SWEET!! xoxox

Valentines Weekend

Joe and I decided that since Valentines day is officially on Sunday, that we are going to celebrate it all weekend=) After all, it is our first Valentines Day as a married couple and actually our first together! I wanted to surprise Joe and do something fun and romantic, so I had to do it on Friday when he came home from work because he's home Saturday and Sunday. Of course, he came home early (around 4:15) instead of around 6:00 like normal. I just went with it though and made the necessary changes I needed to. Luckily he called and told me he was coming home early! I wanted to have dinner ready and everything but it was too early. When he walked in I heard him giggle and when he found me the first thing he said was "Well, I guess you're gonna be the one cleaning up this mess?" Then he laughed. Not the most romantic thing he could have said but hey, it made me laugh! I had to turn on lights to get decent pictures. It was much more romantic with the lights off, but you get the gist.

It turned out better than the pictures show. It was fun to surprise him. I made dinner and we had a wonderful evening watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I made cookies, and even got Joe to help me decorate them. He was so cute, and we had a lot of fun. He was not enthusiastic about me taking a picture of him frosting cookies though=)

I made Dad's Roquefort Pear Salad. Yum!

For dinner I made porkchops with mushroom gravy, brown rice, corn and cabbage. It was pretty tasty!

Tiff gave me this recipe for Sugar cookies and they were fabulous!!!

Here are the finished products! Since cookies aren't exactly healthy, we have to get rid of them so we're going to take them to some neighbors and ward members.

Flag Football

Joe started playing flag football with some guys from work a couple weeks ago. Their games were cancelled last week due to weather, so yesterday they played their first two games! Of course with my luck it was a whopping 43 degrees at 6:30 when their first games started! I took two blankets and my winter coat, but by the end of the two hours my body was numb! There was one other girl there to support her boyfriend, and they left after the first game because she was freezing! I had given her one of my blankets and I think I would have frozen to death if I hadn't gotten it back for the second game. Joe had a lot of fun, and even made a touchdown!!! He's a lineman and he did a good job at keeping the quarterback covered. It was fun for me to watch him, and be there to support him. Here are some pictures from the night.

Joe's in the middle wearing his A&M sweatshirt under his yellow jersey. The first team they played was supposedly the best in the league and Joe's team only lost by 2 points! Not bad!

Here's the huddle! Determining what their next play will be!=)

This is the second team they played. They won this game!! They were stoked! It was so funny to hear them all joking and giving each other a hard time! Joe's there on the back right again, hunched over wearing blue shorts over his sweats!

Birthday Fun!

James and Shelby had their birthdays this past Friday and Saturday. Joe and I decided to go to College Station and spend the day with them on Saturday. We always have fun whenever we visit them, and this time was no exception. They fed us a really great lunch, took us to look at homes in a development called Traditions, and we watched the A&M basketball game against Baylor! We won 78 to 71! James and Joe would jump up and yell when it got intense! Parker (their dog) was asleep on the floor and when they yelled he jumped up so quickly! It was pretty funny! Shelby wasn't feeling well, due to the baby but she was a good sport and let us take her and James to dinner. Since it was her birthday that day she got to pick where we went and she felt like Luby's. It was fun, the meal was good, and we joked about hangin' with the elderly=) After dinner we asked Shelby if she wanted an ice cream cone from McDonalds and she said that it sounded good. The first one we stopped at wasn't making cones because the machine was down, so we drove to a second one. We finally got our cones, and it hit the spot! James had worked out really hard that morning and decided he would pass on the ice cream! What strong will power! We had a fun day, and were glad we got to spend time with them! Here are a couple pictures from the day!

This was one of the homes in Traditions that we tried to look at. James and Shelby had gone a few weeks ago and a bunch of the homes were open to look through. We didn't have such luck today, but we walked around it and looked through the windows. There are some really beautiful HUGE homes there!

James got Shelby a photo session she can use before or after the baby comes! What a sweet idea! She loved it!

We forgot to take a picture at dinner so we had to get one with Shelby and her ice cream cone!=)