AquaPalooza

AquaPalooza was amazing!!! I am not even sure where to start. I suppose I will begin with what exactly AquaPalooza is for those of you who were not able to experience all of its greatness. AquaPalooza is essentially a concert on water that is only accessible by boat. Yes, you heard right, you cannot buy a ticket to this show. You must own a boat, or have a friend that owns a boat, and get to the concert on water. There were musicians playing all day, but the headliner was Brad Paisley. While floating in the water with the other 30,000 boat goers we not only got a free concert, but also incredible time spend with friends. We had a blast hanging out, getting a tan, and listening to great music. It was another awesome weekend out on the lake, except this time with many more boats :)






P.S. There were bathrooms available on land, if you swam to the shore. I know many of you were thinking about the restroom situation ;) Also, there were NO drownings! Yay! A successful, fun day on the lake for everyone :)

4th of July and our 2nd Anniversary

The 4th of July is by far my favorite holiday. I absolutely love watching America come together to celebrate our incredible country. Plus, I love fireworks, American food, baseball, and everything else American. This is the one day I can have everything I love without everyone thinking I am overboard on the whole American pride. Therefore, Edward and I had an all-American 4th of July. We started the day at a local celebration that was filled with carnival games and great greasy food! Then we went to the ballpark and watched the most American sport we could find, BASEBALL! Since it was the 4th, the ballpark had an awesome firework display at the end of the game. Now, as most of you know, I am a city girl and Edward is a country boy. So Edward has always shot off his own fireworks on the 4th, while I have always watched from a nice spot on some concrete while the professionals blow me away. This year, however, since we watched my wonderful fireworks while sitting in comfortable bleacher seats, I owed it to Edward to also have his own firework show in our backyard. Therefore, after the game we headed back to our home and shot off our very own. I was extremely nervous at first, but after watching Edward light just a few, I quickly jumped in. I am still not brave enough to light the big fireworks quite yet, but I did have fun doing all the childish ones. This 4th of July was definitely one to remember :)

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Since the 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday, I always dreamed of getting married on that weekend. I am blessed to have a man that made all my dreams come true! Two years ago, on July 5th, Edward Reid and I tied the knot. It was an incredible wedding spent with all our friends and family. We had fireworks at our rehearsal dinner (another benefit of being wed on the 5th) and then an incredible ceremony the next evening. This year Edward and I were able to celebrate our anniversary at our home relaxing and just getting to spend time with one another. We slept in, received massages at the spa, and ate an amazing dinner at Jasper's. It was the perfect way to celebrate our two years of marriage. We have experienced so much over the last two years together and have grown closer through it all. It is wonderful to be married not only to the man of my dreams, but also to my best friend. Each day is a new experience full of surprises and I could never imagine meeting all the daily challenges and rewards without my best friend, Edward, by my side.

The World's Reaction to Landon Donovan's Game Winning Goal

World Cup

Watching the World Cup has made my heart swell. Seeing the pride in Americans hearts as they watch their team take the field and win brings tears to my eyes. As Americans we often forget how incredible our country is and all that we are capable of. I saw it after September 11th also, but we quickly forgot that pride just a few months later. Again, with the World Cup Americans have come together regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion to celebrate the greatest country in the world. Are there things we can change? Absolutely! We are not perfect, but every country has things they could do to make it better. Although our ancestors are from numerous countries, we are all Americans. I am so proud of everyone for putting aside their differences and coming together to cheer on our country in the World Cup! Watch the following video and tell me your heart doesn't fill with pride and your eyes with tears (the video is located on the previous post).

USA, USA, USA!!!!!

Z71 4x4

Well, Edward and I finally did it...we bought a new truck!  Edward has been wanting a truck for over a year now and we finally found one we both agreed on.  It is a dark gray, 4 door, Z71, 4x4 Chevrolet pick-up.  It has a sunroof, black leather interior, and is only a year old!  After hours in the dealership, the truck finally came home to meet its brother and sister (yes, we now have 3 vehicles).  Buying the new truck reminded me just how stressful big purchases can be.  Just over a year ago we also made another large purchase, our home.  For some reason my heart begins beating faster and faster throughout the entire process of purchasing something large.  I know it sounds silly but I always fear the "what ifs".  What if we can't afford it like we thought?  What if it's a mistake and we're going to find a better one in a week?  What if, what if, what if?  It drives me absolutely crazy, but I know that I have to trust we did the right thing.  Becoming a grown-up is so challenging and full of stresses that I never imagined.  I find comfort though knowing that God has a plan and that as long as I am following my heart, He will take care of me.  I am simply a worry wart, who will think of everything possible to worry about.  Believe it or not, I even wake early often times because my mind simply cannot rest.  I find comfort, however, by reading the verse Matthew 6:34 which states "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  So although I spent an entire night worry about whether we made the right decision or not, I now feel completely confident.  Purchasing the new truck was well worth all the worrying.  Not only do I love our new truck, but I also have learned to trust in the Lord when making those big purchases and He will lay on my heart what I should do.  I just have to get myself in gear, do it, and trust.  Now, off for a ride in the new truck... :)

Amarillo, Texas

Edward and I recently got back from an incredible trip to Amarillo.  At first I was apprehensive about the trip because it is an eight hour car drive and we were simply doing a quick weekend getaway.  Well, for a quick weekend trip it sounded like a lot of driving to me.  However, I smiled, got in the car, and trusted that Edward had made the right decision of driving all the way to Amarillo just for a weekend.  Now, I am so happy that we went.  We could not have had a better trip!  Our weekend was jammed pack with activities and seeing friends and family.  We are so blessed by our relatives and close friends who truly made our weekend extra special.  We arrived their on Thursday night  around midnight and went straight to the hotel.  We were so exhausted from the trip we thought it best to simply go rest.  On Friday we woke up rejuvenated and ready for a fun weekend.  We spent the day with the Melius family (Edward's sister, Heather, and her kiddos, Hayden, Hayley, and Hannah).  We ate lunch, went to the zoo, and even had enough time to check out Cadillac Ranch.  We LOVED getting to spend time with our nieces and nephew.  It was truly a blast!  Friday night we headed out to see Edward's best friend, Jeff, who lives in Hereford, TX (close to Amarillo).  We spent the night at his place and then woke up the next morning and helped him on his farm.   We shot Edward's new rifle, rode a 4-wheeler, fixed some sprinklers, and just talked.  As a city girl, I learned lots of new things about cotton, wheat, and corn...go ahead, test me ;).  Saturday night we headed back into Canyon (again close to Amarillo) and went to an awesome event the museum was doing called "Night at the Museum."  It was super cute and all the nieces and nephews loved it.  The museum turned out all the lights and had real people in some of the exhibits.  All the visitors had flashlights and we toured the museum at night just like in the movie.  Hannah, Heather's youngest daughter, kept asking all the people in the exhibits how they got there and how they came to life.  She obviously was thinking of the movie, while most of the people had no idea what she was asking.  It was adorable and super funny.  Our last day in Amarillo was on Sunday.  We spend the afternoon at Katelyn's 6th birthday party (Desiree's daughter).  Desiree (Edward's other sister) did an awesome job at having a fun filled birthday party.  There was an awesome blow up water play area, great food, a beautiful cake, and the ever famous pinata.  We felt so blessed to be able to celebrate Katelyn's birthday with her.  Since we live so far away we don't get to spend much time with our nieces and nephew so we feel extra special that we were able to celebrate with her on her special day.  After the party, we headed to Wonderland.  Wonderland is an amusement park with lots of fun rides.  We rode to our hearts content and got to spend lots of time having fun and playing with our family.  The trip was truly incredible and by far the best vacation we've gone on in the last year.  It was well worth the drive.  I feel so lucky to be able to have such awesome in-laws.  I was the only daughter in my family growing up, so it is always nice for me to spend time with my new sisters and start a sisterly bond them.  I can't wait to head back up there for Heather's college graduation in August!  

Amarillo Zoo

Cadillac Ranch

Helping Jeff on the Farm

Night at the Museum

Katelyn's 6th Birthday

Wonderland 

Well I have finally taken the leap and started a blog.  I hope that I will be able to keep everyone updated on the things occurring in both my life and in Edward's as well.  Perhaps I should start by giving a low down on the last couple years.  Over the last two years Edward and I have gotten married, purchased a home, traveled to Australia (where my parents now live), started new jobs, adopted two adorable puppies, and most recently, purchased a new Chevy pick up.  I graduated in 2008 fromTHE University of Texas (Hook 'Em!) and have since been working in Austin ISD as a third grade teacher.  Edward is still working on completing his degree in Construction Management while also working full time as an installer at Austin Gutterman.  We have been extremely busy over the last couple of years and have had many life changes, but honestly feel beyond blessed.  God has given us so many opportunities, as well as an incredible support group to help us make the most of life.  I have included some pictures below from the last couple years!

Graduation at The University of Texas

Our Beautiful Wedding Day

The Incredible Wedding Party

Our Amazing Honeymoon in Mexico

Our New Home

Our New Home at Christmas

The Reid/Grine Family in Perth, Australia

Our trip to Perth, Australia

Us With The Dogs (Yes, it actually snowed in Texas!)