America the Beautiful

For the past two years, Brady has been trying to convince me of how Florida is beautiful.  I made the mistake of telling him I would not follow him to Florida if he went to medical school there so don't apply (it just did not sound appealing to live in Miami, nor will it ever).  Now, whenever Florida comes up he raves about how great it is, just to irk me. So we had to put it to the test.

Last week over the 4th of July weekend we went and visited our friends Mike and Courtney in Destin, Florida.  More accurately, Niceville, Florida, which is just across the bridge from Destin.  If all of Florida was like Niceville/Destin, I would fully admit to take back all my judgment and fall in love with all of Florida.  Because that is what happened in Niceville/Destin!

We left Saturday night and stopped in New Orleans for a night.  I loved seeing the architecture and the history behind the buildings and the town.  We went to Cafe Du Monde and enjoyed delicious beignets and then walked through different parts before starting on our drive again.  

The Kelley's were the more darling family and we were so grateful for their hospitality and generosity!  We had a blast on the beach, walking around different parts of town, dreaming of yachts, jet skiing with dolphins, and just hanging out with Mike, Courtney, and their family.

We enjoyed our few days away and were so sad to leave!  We drove home through a downpour of rain, and we got back to Houston just in time to watch the fireworks.  In Houston, people just park alongside the busiest freeways to watch fireworks because they have the best views.  So we found our spot, and watched two different firework shows.  What a country we live in!  And on that day, we enjoyed the beauty of 5 different states!

I still will never live in Miami.

Things from far away...

enjoy the journey

lovely, lovely utah

At the beginning of June my darling cousin got married to her prince.  Brady and I flew out, and I had the privilege to be part of this special day for her.  Everything was perfect.  Emi looked so beautiful and so happy!  I was so happy I could be there to see their marriage and celebrate with them!.

The added bonus was getting to see all of our friends and family.  We spent a day on the lake (later resulting in split lips for me. SOMEONE please keep reminding me to load lots and lots of spf Chapstick on to my lips), ate In-N-Out TWICE (in one day), competed in a heated match of badminton, and spent the precious time we had with family and friends.  Brady even spent an evening with a creeper mustache.  Enough said with that.  Amazing trip!

We ended it celebrating Brady's 25th birthday!  Flights got delayed and we got home at 3am, but back to work we went.  Texas woohoo BABY!

Now for the goods...

It is a novel...

Some people say medical school makes widows, and I have to say this is a false statement...

Unless it is test week or the week before,

which it is.  Thus, it leads me to the close of a Saturday filled with reading, cleaning, and going across town to stores with dear friends.  It has been a good day, but I am most excited for the next hour when Brady is stopping his studying and I get him back until Monday!

So here are our updates.

Christmas...

Fabulous!  Two weeks of pure happiness with family and friends.  The only thing missing was snow and skiing, but we were so happy with those we love that it didn't damper the trip.  There was lots of games, shopping, eating, movies, talks, hugs, and love.  Cheesy?  Well, it was perfect.

The trip started with Brady's best friend's wedding. 

They made great t-shirts for everyone at their wedding dinner

The groom and my groom

We ran to another wedding reception after their wedding dinner and we some of our two favorite people back from Cali.  Then met up another night and played games and caught up.  We love you guys!

the bride and groom

We love being with these guys and their wives all night!

Little pictures taken at the Heaps, but this is a great action shot of Justin

And Claudia, who laughed (probably angrily) at me after I took this.

Nana and Boppa took all the grandkids to a play, and we got to go along.  So fun!

Adorable. period.

I loved spending time with this lady.

the classic nelson christmas basketball game took place with Dennis and Justin Heaps as the honorary guests.  Fun day as always!

Holy smokes. Heart melting.

My mom planned a spectacular nativity with all the grandchildren, and they were adorable.

what a family.

night with the girls.

and a night with my amazing dad!

still my heart is melting.  he turns two in a couple weeks, and he already know how to play angry birds.

Then we came home.  It was shocking to come back to 75 degree weather.  We took advantage of it and played tennis in shorts and t-shirts the day we got home!  For New Years, we got dinner and then went downtown for the cities celebration of bringing in the new year.  It was fun being with friends and people watching for hours!

Amy did a good job of getting in view of this guy's lit mullet.  What a spirited guy

And then we were back to life.  I took and passed a certification test.  Brady started back to school.  Last week we went to watch Jimmer and the Kings play the Rockets, and we even got to go shoot a ball on the court after the game.  The Rockets holding a BYU Alumni night, who woulda' thought?

Jason was thoroughly excited to go take his shot.  He kept asking, are you ready to take my picture??

So back to school and work!  We love it!  And now that Brady has put his flash cards down, and called it a night, we are going to go see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  I loved the book, and I am so excited about the movie!  

And of course, being with this man