Sam

Well Sam has made the move! We put it off for quite a while, largely because we were worried he wouldn't make the move and stick with it. Sam is our outdoor cat that we adopted from the humane society a year ago. When we moved beginning of May, Sam stayed at Amherst and Tia Mel and Uncle Queso took great care of him! We did our research about moving an outdoor cat and followed the most common protocol and so far so good! We kept him inside for 2 weeks, fed him yummy food such as wet cat food, turkey lunch meat, and tuna so he would want to stay, and then, we attempted to walk him around the outside of the house on a leash. Out of all the cats I have had in my lifetime (about 10) I never thought I would walk a cat on a leash. :) But like I said... we tried to do everything possible to make it work! He has been outside for about a week now and is always around, comes inside every now and then, and seems happy with his new surroundings!

please ignore my creepy narrator voice... no explanation :)

Baby Moon

This past weekend we spent a long weekend at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas. We didn't really plan on taking a baby moon and definitely procrastinated until I shouldn't travel too far away just in case something happened. So... we decided last minute to take a "stay-cation." We checked in Friday and checked out Monday and never left the resort. It was just what we were looking for! A little getaway together before Lilly gets here, relaxing, a pool to lounge by with wonderful service, and not in the middle of downtown but more of a resort environment. Yes... the pool was a major prerequisite. It is my favorite place to be this hot summer! It cools me off and makes me feel weightless! What more could I hope for? The pool couldn't have been more perfect... from the frozen fruit, smoothie samples, cold towels, piña coladas (virgin of course), and refreshing face mist!

Where we spent most of our time! We picked the best spot! Secluded but close to the pool!

Our view!

Our attempt to take a picture of the two/three of us!

A big green egg and a trip to the ER

Well... this past weekend was eventful... but not quite as I had planned. We traveled to Longview for Jeremiah and some friends to shoot skeet in a Buckner benefit and then hang out at the lake. They had lots of fun and Jeremiah bid on a Big Green Egg... and won! Those of you that know Jeremiah... know he has been holding out for a grill, and is most definitely an advocate for a charcoal grill/smoker, no gas! So to say the least he was thrilled! If you haven't heard of the big green egg... where have you been? I know it does look a bit funny, but it grows on you and supposedly cooks amazingly delicious food!

Now... about Wednesday night I started having some drainage. This happens to me... I have allergies so I figured it would pass. To my dismay it didn't. I progressively got worse and worse and by Saturday night I could not sleep because I was in so much pain. It felt like knives were in my throat when I swallowed and I completely lost my voice. Jeremiah was a trooper though and stayed up with me from 1am-5am fetching me hot tea, warm salt water to gargle, mouthwash, etc. and with a HAPPY spirit, which is not his normal state when woken up in the middle of the night! I stayed in bed all day Sunday hoping that rest would make me better, but I kept heading down hill. So, Sunday night Jeremiah called my doctor and due to my symptoms he wanted me to go to the ER and get checked out and make sure everything was ok. So there I was at about 9pm in the Good Shepherd Emergency Room. They ran labs, took my blood pressure, gave me fluids, ran a strep test, and the best part, checked Lilly's heart beat. :) All came back good and I was diagnosed with dehydration (since I couldn't swallow) and a very bad viral throat infection. It's hard to believe that that was all it was when I had to go to the ER... but thankfully it was nothing too bad. The problem was the cure: get rest, drink fluids, wait it out (7-10 days for the virus to run its course), and only take Tylenol for pain because I'm pregnant. So I've been in bed for the past 4 days, sleeping, trying to drink water, and taking Tylenol regularly every 4 hours. Today I can actually make sounds so my voice is coming back and my throat feels much better so I've cut back on the Tylenol. :) We are headed toward a full recovery!

Lilly and I have our 30 week doctor appointment tomorrow! Only 10 more weeks to go!

Arrivederci

Well... we have sent them on their way to become Italians! Ahh!

Jonathan, Jeremiah's brother, and his wife, Sara, left about a week ago to be stationed in Vicenza, Italy. Jonathan is serving in the Army as a JAG officer. I think that would be the correct terminology... basically he is a lawyer for the army and is stationed to serve 4 years in Italy. This past month we have been soaking in lots of Jon and Sara time. Jon has been in lots of training but Sara and I had lots of fun being housewives, sunbathing, mani/pedis, lunches, and just hanging out as we counted down the days until their departure. You can keep up with them through their blog (there is also a link to it on my blog list). Sara's family hosted a going away bash in their honor a couple of days before they left (see pics below)! We know this is not goodbye... but more so farewell until we meet again in December! Take lots of pictures you two and keep in touch!

It's hard to believe Lilly will be outside my belly to meet you in December! How exciting! :)

4th of July!

The fourth of July was a fun celcbration! We were fortunate to spend a couple of days at the lake with my family, and then a couple of days in Dallas with Jeremiah's family. At the lake we watched fireworks, ate super yummy food, danced to a live a band, and relaxed by the water. I'm not able to get in the lake because of the bacteria, so dad bought me a blow up family pool to cool off in on the dock. It is perfect with a mister and everything! Lilly and I love soaking in some vitamin D, but of course fully protected with a good dose of SPF! Everyone knows that Mocha LOVES the water and she fully took advantage of anyone willing to play fetch with her. :)

Fireworks

Mocha.... playing fetch!

Relaxing in my pool

In Dallas, we attended the Park Cities Independence Day Parade Celebration! I had always heard it was really neat, but never attended until this year. It was a lot of fun and I got to see and catch up with a lot of my past students as well!

Marshall siblings at the parade (minus Sarabeth and Ben)

Jeremiah and Jonathan