Camping!

Last week, Justin and I took a couple of days off work and headed out to Cedar Hill State Park.We've talked about going camping since we got married almost 10 months ago and finally made it happen.  Unfortunately, our carefully created opportunity coincided with a week of severe thunderstorm forecasts.  After some debate, we decided to chance the rain, packed up the tent and headed out of town.  We are so glad we did!

As you can see, Beau got to come along. He LOVED it.

After we got the tent set up, we decided to go on a little hike...

And somehow managed to get ourselves quite lost!

About an hour and a half later, we stumbled upon this outhouse.  We took this as a sign that we were getting close to the campgrounds!  Next time I think we'll pay a little more attention to where we are. :)

We eventually made it back and set about making dinner.

We ended the evening watching the sun set by the lake, seeing the stars come out, and sitting around a campfire. Ahh.

And in case you were wondering, it did rain overnight - for maybe an hour.  Did I mention we're glad we didn't cancel because of the weather? 

TGIW

Now that I am out of school for a couple of weeks, Wednesday has become a new favorite day.  That is because in this house, weekends fall on Wednesdays. 

Wednesday is the only day of the week that Justin and I both have off.  This means that it is our day to spend some time together, and we have thoroughly enjoyed it these past two weeks.  When school starts up again on June 1st, we'll have to re-think this arrangement, but for these few weeks I am loving having a day off with my husband to go on walks, ride our bikes at the lake, or even just to run some errands.  Too few people have the opportunity for days like these!

For Christmas, my parents gave me and Justin a membership to the Dallas Arboretum.  We LOVE to visit.  If you are ever in town, please let us take you!  You will almost certainly love it (unless you go in December during a blizzard like my parents managed to do).  We are becoming regulars there, and it is so impressive to watch the gardens change from week to week!  We have never seen it look the same twice but it is always beautiful.

Two Wednesdays ago, it was the prettiest we have ever seen it.  It was a gorgeous day and Justin and I agreed that the flowers had never seemed so bright and beautiful.  Unfortunately, it was also the only time I  have visited the gardens without my camera! :(

When we went again this last Wednesday, I attempted to make up for this mistake.

 

I especially love the storybook theme garden they have right now!  It's pretty adorable.  It has a series of houses, many made out of flowers, illustrating popular children's books.

  

If you are ever in Dallas, you must come with us. It is one of the best escapes within the city! 

On another note, Justin and I would love your prayers regarding this next year.  I have one more year of grad school here before we are able to move too terribly far away, and we would love for Justin to find a teaching postition to fill that time (and more if we stay in Dallas post-graduation).  I know that God will use Justin wherever he is, be it teaching, working in the bicycle shop, or whatever else comes his way. We truly believe this and are content with God's plans for him.  Until that plan is made clear, however, we will continue to pray for teaching opportunities in the surrounding districts and would love it if you would too!

I am so thankful for the supportive family and friends that surround Justin and I.  We are deeply blessed!

Bicycles, Birthdays, and Babies

Here are some pictures from Justin's last few races.  As I have said before, he is doing so well!  Justin has been blessed with many gifts and has a very passionate spirit.  This means that I frequently have the pleasure of watching him succeed in doing what he loves!

I also included some pictures from Justin's birthday... We went to a Ranger's game and had a great time, despite the unexpectedly FREEZING cold weather.  It was a good day!

This weekend, Justin and I made a spur of the moment trip to see the siblings in Early, TX.  Justin works weekends so we aren't usually able to leave town. However, we somehow both ended up with a free Friday and took the opportunity to get out of the city!  Justin hadn't seen our little nieces since Christmas and neither of us had seen Geoff and Jamie's new home, so we were very thankful for the chance to see everyone.  It was a quick trip, but we had a great time full of fun and relaxing. I think little Beau enjoyed it just as much as we did.  He is an inside dog on the outside, but an outside dog on the inside - he LOVES being outdoors and took full advantage of the opportunity to run and play with the big dogs. I'm pretty sure we brought all of the burrs on the property home with us via Beau's fluffy fur coat!  We are so thankful for Geoff and Jamie's hospitality and for Jason and Katie driving down from Abilene with their little girls.  It was just the respite we needed!

On a final note, Justin and I are celebrating nine months of marriage today.  God gave me a tremendous blessing when he brought Justin Schofield into my life, and I am so grateful.  Justin is a dream husband and I love him more every day!  Thank you to all of you who have supported us along the way. : )