Dave Here!

So on Thursday Dave came into town. Dave is one of Mike's really good marine buddies who is stationed in Camp Lejeune, NC and can retire in 19 months!! He has never been to Texas so we wanted to show him a good time. On Thursday night, we all went to a Hibachi grill and then came back to be bums on the couch with the dogs. On Friday, we went to see the Parks Mall, eat at Kinkaid's Hamburgers, and explore Texas Stadium (Mike and I's picture). Friday night, I went into work and the guys went out downtown. They started at Flying Saucer, then Fox and the Hound, and ended at Pete's Piano Bar. They definitely had a great time!! On Saturday, we all got up at a decent hour and chilled at the house for a bit. We then went to walk the dogs around the neighborhood and play frisbee. We were going to head to the Botanic Gardens, but they closed earlier than we thought. Saturday night, it was Dave's birthday so we had big plans. Jenni (a girl I work with) came over and we went to Olive Garden to eat. We then went to the Pour House (a bar) and Lindsey (another girl I work with) met up with us. We then headed to Pete's Piano Bar again. We took some crazy pictures and we all went hoarse from screaming and yelling the songs so much. It was a great time!! Today, Sunday, we had a nice BBQ at the house. It was our first official gathering at the house. We had the Rogers (Josh, MaryPat, and Juliana), Reinhardt (a guy I work with), Jenni, Lindsey, Dani (another girl I work with), and Dave is still here. Mike and Dave roamed around downtown in the morning and then went shopping to get the food and drinks. Mike cooked hamburgers on the grill and I boiled hot dogs. We had corn and chips and dip for the sides. Jenni brought some good desserts and we were set. It was an absolute blast!! I'm soo glad I was able to take off work Saturday and Sunday so I could spend time with everyone!! Sooo blessed to have friends who are just like family!!

Mike's Birthday

Well on February 18th, Mike and I celebrated his 28th birthday! He was in class earlier in the day and I was out making the final preparations for his birthday. I went to pick up his cookie cake from Great American Cookie Company and then came home to wrap his gifts. While I was at home, his big time surprise gift arrived and I rushed to wrap it in my christmas wrapping paper since I didn't have any birthday wrapping paper. I then went to hide it. Mike's dad then came over to drop off Mike's Mamma's infamous Charlotte Russe cake for Mike's birthday so we had two terrific desserts. Later, Mike came home from class and wasn't in the best mood b/c traffic was pretty bad coming home, but it turned out to be great :) We loaded up the car with our cracked lazy susan and two wobbley chairs from our new dining room table and headed to Lewisville to get our new ones. As soon as we arrived, the new lazy susan and two chairs were ready to go and they loaded it up in Mike's truck quickly and safely. We then headed to The Porch, which is one of Mike's favorite restaurants and had a delicious meal. When we got home, there was plenty to eat for dessert so we chowed down. Of course, Mike got the first piece and made his wish when he cut into both cakes :) Over the weekend, my parents and brother and his girlfriend, Kaci, all came up to celebrate. They all got in Friday evening and we had a great dinner on the brand new dining room table, which was awesome! I then got ready for work and everyone else stayed at home watching movies and visiting. On Saturday morning, we all woke up for a great day. My mom, Kaci, and I headed to Dallas to get our haircut by fabulous Kelli because she always does an amazing job! My mom got her Mrs. Kardashian cut and I went with the Rihanna look and chopped mine short again, thank goodnes! We both left loving our haircuts and Kaci was impressed by what a great job Kelli did/does. We then headed for Kohl's. While we were out enjoying ourselves, the men were at Costco getting the essentials. When we all got home, we then got ready to go to dinner at The Melting Pot. Wow it was awesome!! We all had such a great time and it was sooo much fun!!! We laughed, ate, and just had an all around fantabulous time together! When we got home, Kyle and Mike played Wii Resort while the rest of us just hung out. On Sunday, we shopped at Target, grabbed lunch, and then they all headed home and I went to work. It was an absolutely great weekend :) Oh and Mike got work out clothes and his big surprise was a Marine Corps NCO Sword :) He loved it!

Snow Day 2010 Dos

Yay for Snow Day Number 2!! It definitely wasn't as intense or fun as the first Snow Day, but it was a good time. The puppies still had a blast playing in it and Mike and I had a great day together. He got out of class at around 2:30p and then came home and we were able to eat lunch together and On the Border and then run some errands. We had such a great day together!! It was seriously awesome. I actually drove in the snow today, which is the first time I've ever driven in snow! So while I was driving around our lovely little town, I took some pictures of the minor snow day. Here is the link so enjoy: http://s576.photobucket.com/albums/ss204/emsmith10/Snow%20Day%202010%20Dos/

Snow Day 2010

Here's the link to Mike and I's Snow Day Pics!! We hope you enjoy them!!
http://s576.photobucket.com/albums/ss204/emsmith10/Snow%20Day%202010/

Haven't Posted in a While

Well the picture down below is of Mike and I's new sofa and loveseat that we got from Rooms to Go!! Soo exciting!! They're nice and deep and super comfy and much bigger than our other couch and loveseat!! They're a great addition to the living room!! The living room is officially done now!! So now we're working on the dining room table and our bedroom set. That will all come in time. We have found a 72" round dining room table with 8 chairs and a lazy susan that we really like, but we haven't found time to head out to the store in Lewisville just yet. Hopefully sometime this week we'll head that way. The picture to the right is of Mike and I at Fox and the Hound celebrating one of my academy mate's birthdays! We went on a double date with a good friend of mine earlier that night at Pappasito's (soo good), met up with my academy classmates at a frozen yogurt shop for dessert, and then we all headed to the bar for a round of birthday drinks. It was such a fun night!! It had been forever since Mike and I had gone out out with a bunch of friends so it was awesome! Other than that, things are going well. Bronx and Olivine are loving the cold weather and I'm hating it at work. Too many accidents because of the icy roads and well it's just too cold to stand out in on calls haha. Mike's in his last semester of undergrad! He's been taking GMAT Prep courses every Monday and Tuesday night and taking day classes this semester, which is different for both of us. He's also working on getting ready for OCS for the Marines, so all together he's been working pretty hard on things. Oh and lastly, we can't wait to go get our taxes done for the $8,000 tax credit!!

Snow!!

It's snowing!! Mike and I missed the first snow up here on Christmas Eve, but we were here for the second one! Every Christmas my family celebrates Christmas down in Kingwood and then heads up to Plano to see the family up here :) This year, instead of spending both nights hanging out in Plano, Mike and I had everyone over to see our house one of the nights. It was such a great time!! We had burgers and hot dogs, beans, queso, cream puffs, eclairs, yummmmm!! It was so much fun! Mike's parents were able to make it out for a little while as well, which was nice that all of us could hang out together. Bronx, Olivine, and Koda also had a great time being outside in the snow and running around the backyard. Bronx and Olivine got to the point where they were shivering so we made them go inside even though they didn't want to haha. Koda on the other hand was a super happy dog laying in the snow in the shade and it not affecting him at all with all his fur! Crazy! All together, the holidays were absolutely awesome! Mike and I had a great first Christmas as a married couple along with a great New Year's. :)

Christmas Time is Here!!

Oh Christmas Tree!! Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire!! Hark the Harold Angels Sing!! Joy to the World!! Jingle Bell Rock!! Oh I love Christmas time!!! Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. I love giving gifts, seeing smiles, everyone being happy, running around like crazy, all the chaos, and my absolute favorite part is the family time :) I love getting together with family and friends and spending this amazing holiday together. Christmas is an amazing day b/c our savior was born!! This is Mike and I's first Christmas together as a married couple and it's been going great so far. We've set up our Christmas lights, we've set up our Christmas tree, and a bunch of good Christmas decorations inside the house. We also have the lovely gingerbread house (previous post) set up. The pics are of our lovely Christmas tree with some presents Santa brought early, our outside lights at night time (and if you look close you can see the Christmas tree lit up inside since I left the front door open), and our stockings by the fireplace. We hope you enjoy!! We sure are :)

Good Times :)

All of these pictures describe the awesome dinner party Mike and I had with Josh, MaryPat, and Juliana!! We had a great italian dinner with some good wine and then came the fun part....we made gingerbread houses!! Mike and I had such a blast!! We decided to make a two story with a loft inside and we decorated the outside with all the candy and icing we had :) Josh and MaryPat on the other hand went in a different direction....they (well mainly Josh) built a space ship haha. It was actually pretty impressive how high it went with just being held up by chocolate. MaryPat did a great job helping Juliana build her little beach house and she was the main decorator and artist with the icing :) In the end, we all had an absolute blast making the house and getting chocolate everywhere!! We then were able to chill out on the couch and catch up on things. Mike and I then headed home so he could study and I could get in bed at a decent hour for my Arrest, Search, and Seizure class today....yay for my intermediate peace officer license!!
On another note, Mike has been making some big decisions with the Marines and I made a big decision with work. Mike officially decided he is not going to re-enlist and his contract is up next year. He's wanting to go to the officer side either in the Marines (yay!) or the Air Force. He's hoping to go to OCS over the summer and then start grad school in the Fall. He's going to be a big graduate in May!! I withdrew my application to Crime Scene due to the sergeant and I not getting along and it wasn't the best time for me to move over there. I would have only had 2 days off during the week and worked 11p-7a. Now I have 3 days off and I work 8:30p-6:30a. It works out much better with Mike's schedule and we can spend more time together. I also have more learning opportunities on patrol and I can go to different units on the department on loan if I feel like trying things out. Oh and there will be a Christmas decorations picture coming soon :)