Overdue Update

I can't believe how much we have done already in just the past month and a half we've been here!  I do not want this blog to be all about listing things we have been doing but life is so exciting right now, with doing stuff, it's hard to sum it all up : )

To start off, most of the things we do are on the weekends and with our friends the Poyser's (Amber and Jon), who are also here from Columbus and a few weeks ahead in training of Michael.  We are growing pretty close, doing most big things together on the weekends, and once a week we meet to go through the amazing book "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas.  It's such a blessing to be able to talk to another God-centered couple about similar struggles they face in marriage and to encourage each other to "press on" and pray for one another.  I also have been meeting with Amber to go through the book complementing this study, "Sacred Influence", about how to be a positive godly influence to our husbands.

Jon & Amber Poyser

So those are our summer buddies and thankfully, established friends to return to Columbus with!  Now on to our weekend activities..

I've been pretty good at keeping pics updated on facebook just not details on this blog.  Since the last entry we had visitors, our college friends, Jacque and Cameron, drove down from Shreveport, LA to hang out with us for Memorial Day weekend.  We are thankful they decided to come hang out, though they are not much for driving, they made the trek to join us for some fun at the beach in Corpus Christi.  We also went with the Poyser's and the Bexton's (another FAIP couple - First Assignment Instructor Pilot).  It was great to see the Gulf again but it's definitely not the same as the Emerald Coast (FL).

The following weekend we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns.  A pretty cool underground cavern system with impressive stalactites and stalagmites, columns and connected rooms.  It's amazing to think what is underground that you might never know if it's not a tourist destination like this place!

Last weekend, Michael and I went with Amber and Jon and used our free, once-a-year for military, passes to Sea World.  Very thankful for those!  Spent all day riding roller coasters, watching shows, having a picnic for lunch (highly recommend to save money) out front of the park, then spent the afternoon at the water park.  Tons of fun, especially free fun, except for the parking spot we had to pay for..but not complaining!

And this past weekend, we all went to Fredericksburg.  A cute little German town tucked in the hill country about an hours drive North of San Antonio.  I never knew, before coming to TX, that there were actual German towns, anywhere in America, but sure enough there are here.  After getting an intel brief : ) from the Visitor's Center, we ate at a very German restaurant (relative, due to the Mexican pizzas we ate for lunch), then headed to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

"The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome, that rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States."

We were pretty unprepared for the hike, wearing sandals, my big dangling earrings, and minimal water, but it was well worth it when we reached the top.  It was a little over a half mile - not bad - but it was pretty much a steep climb.  I was hoping to get a good view and picture of the hill countryside and it proved the perfect spot.  After a quick rinse in the parks bathroom (haha) we then headed back into town so I could get a Christmas ornament to commemorate our time spent in TX, then some delicious homestyle ice cream.  We then headed to Wildseed Farms to see some pretty wildflowers, defying the summer heat, took some pictures among the flowers with some I will not post for Michael's sake, LOL, and bought some wildflower seeds to hopefully plant back in MS for next Spring!  Our last stop was at the Grape Creek Vineyards where I enjoyed some delicious rose wine.  By that time we were pretty much ready to head back home, hot and sticky from our outdoor activities, we headed back to our apt and enjoyed our refreshing pool and delivered pizza.  It was a great way to end an exciting day!

Our hiking attire on the Enchanted Rock

That's pretty much our activities so far.  But did I mention the heat here!!!  We just happened to come to TX in the middle of a drought.  It has been triple digits for the past three weeks with a break getting down to 99 or 98 possibly next Tue!  Um, HOT is a huge understatement..but again, who am I to complain?  This is a paid vacation regardless of the temperature.

Now, on to the big news...the first job I have had since I got out of the Air Force...I am a housekeeper for the summer! It has nothing to do with what I went to school for but that's alright.  I am crazy and actually enjoy cleaning (I'm kind of a perfectionist..just ask Michael) and so this job fits me nicely.  It's for a couple that have 2 cats and 2 birds who all have famous people names (Siegfried and Roy for the cats - fitting - and Quentin Tarantino and Lucky for the birds).  Not a huge fan of birds, mostly because I'm afraid their beaks are going to rip my fingers off, but I haven't had to touch them, so our relationship is working out nicely so far.  I also couldn't have asked for a more flexible job that enables me to still do what I want on the weekends and mostly flexible during the week.  Michael's happy, that's for sure. This will hopefully increase the rate at which our loans get paid off (if just by a month or two : ).

Well, wow, that's it for now!  Again, I hope to be a little more philosophical, or something, but maybe when we get back to the quaint town of Columbus I will have more time to think introspectively.  Until next time..adieu!