Here We Go Again....

For as long as I've known him, Neal has owned a sport bike but has always talked about getting a cruiser. After I got my Rebel, he was the only one in our neighborhood biker "gang" who didn't have a cruiser, and so he made the decision to sell his sport bike and get one. Apparently, it was meant to be since our neighbor's friend (who's name is also Neal) just happened to be looking at buying the same bike Neal was selling. He bought the bike with no problem and we were able to go out and get Neal the bike he wanted - a Yamaha V-Star 1300 touring model. It's a beauty and Neal has already has such a good time riding it the last couple of days. We've gone out with the "gang" to explore a bunch of the nearby country roads and are impressed with how much driving you can do without even getting on the highway! It's liberating to be out on the open road with just you and the air, feeling the temperature changes and smelling the air around you. We're enjoying this much more than we ever imagined.

Neal's bike in beautiful black cherry

Ready to ride home!

Neal's lookin' good on the bike :-)

Today we went out riding with Mike and Lisa and she was gracious

enough to pass on some of her Harley Davidson apparel.

This picture is in honor of the bike Neal just sold.  We had some fun

times on this bike, like the time here in Virginia when we drove up

George Washington Parkway to visit Mt. Vernon.

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!  We had quite a busy one, as we were blessed to spend the day with family, friends, and some new friends whom we just met this week.  Between the great company and delicious food, it was quite a memorable day. 

Here we are with Tony and Christine at her apartment.  

After mass she made us a wonderful brunch.

For the last few days we've been hosting a group of college aged

kids who are part of a Catholic group called Net Ministries.  They

travel by van around the country putting on retreats for youth in

schools and parishes.  Our next door neighbor, Barbara, has a

daughter who is leading one of the nine groups they have nation-wide.

For Easter they came to Texas to visit her family and while the girls

had a 5-day slumber party next door, the boys hung out at our house

playing XBox and swimming in the pool.  After brunch today some of

the group came over for a dip in the hot tub. 

For dinner we went to Mike and Lisa's (a couple doors

down) and spent the evening with them as well as our 

other next door neighbors, Sarah and Gibron.  

Back at Barbara's to say "good-bye" to the girls

The whole group together

On Saturday we joined the group for dinner at Salt Grass

before they headed off to Easter vigil.

Out 'N About

Today we spent the day with our neighbors, Mike and Lisa.  They're super nice people and coincidentally, are also bikers too.  :-)  Mike already owns a Harley and Lisa, having ridden her whole life, has been wanting a new bike ever since she sold her last one before moving here.  When she saw my Rebel (and sat on it a few times :) her desire to get a new bike sort of grew exponentially and within days, she had herself a black one!  So, now that we have twin bikes we decided to ride around the neighborhood (can't go too far until I get my official license).  The boys came along too and we had a blast!    

Rebel biker chicks

This one's for you mom!  We do definitely wear helmets.  :-)

After our bike adventure, we hopped in Mike and Lisa's

Hummer and drove to Brazos Bend State Park, a 

local park that is great for camping and hiking.

One of the highlights of the park is the opportunity

to get up close and personal with alligators. 

Here is a baby one.  They're kind of cute when they're

not big enough to eat you.

This is a sign outlining proper alligator

"etiquette."  My favorite rule is not on this

sign but on the brochure.  It says that if you

are fishing and an alligator gets a hold of the

fish you've caught, it's best to give it up and let

the alligator have the fish.  Can you imagine 

someone actually trying to fight an alligator

for a fish?!  Too funny.

As we were walking along the trail, we noticed an

alligator in the swamps, quietly watching people pass.  

Hmmm....this might be a little too up close and personal.

A crane we saw on the trail

Us with Mike and Lisa

This is the best sign of all.  :-)

This might just look like a random field with scattered 

dirt piles, but these are no ordinary dirt piles.

These are all ant hills - RED ant hills.  We saw them

everywhere driving home from the park.  I wouldn't

want to step on one of those - yikes!

The following photos were taken by Mike.

I thought they were really cool so I'm including

them here too.

"Gutsy"

Rebel-ious

Well, the secret is out.........I have a wild side. As a child of the 80's, I grew up watching Top Gun, and a part of me always wanted to see what it was like to be Kelly McGillis on the back of a motorcycle with Tom Cruise. I had never seriously thought about biking, though, until I met Neal. When I found out he had a bike, I was naturally curious and wanted to fulfill my childhood fantasy of holding tight to a handsome man and riding off into the sunset. :-) The first time he took me out, it was everything I had hoped. After that I was hooked and have been wanting a bike of my own ever since.

With the weather starting to warm up here and signs of spring in the air, Neal has been itching to ride his motorcycle. And with me as his partner, he thought it was time I venture out and get my own bike. I, of course, had no complaints! So, after researching all the best bikes for little people and looking at both new and used bikes, we decided on a beautiful, red (naturally), '04 Honda Rebel. It's in great condition and rides like a dream (well, that was what Neal said after riding it home). Luckily, I had the best instructor ever (Neal :) and once he showed me the ropes I was off. The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing around the block. I absolutely LOVE it! It's so much fun and I can't wait to get my motorcycle license so I can take it out on the open road (side roads, that is - I don't plan on being wild enough to go on the interstate). It's official now - I've become a biker chick.

Here are a few pics of the day.

Da Shop

Can you guess which one it is? (Remember, it's a little person's bike.) It's up on the left - 2nd bike in the row.

Following Neal home

Back home, just after learning to ride, ready to hit the road!

Isn't she beautiful (the bike, that is)?!

Heeeeeeeere we gooooooo!

Look, no feet!

Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Once a year Houston has a big event called the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It lasts several weeks and much of the proceeds go to benefit Texas education. The event includes a huge carnival with rides, games, food, etc., concerts every week night and weekend, and my least favorite part - the rodeo. It all takes place at Reliant Stadium, which is the home of the Texans. We've never seen a game there but have been there for other events like the rodeo. This year Tony was able to get us some tickets to see Kevin Fowler, a well-known country singer who has lots of fans in the area. Although we weren't familiar with his music, the show was good and fun to watch. Among the other artists that performed this year were Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Martina McBride.

**Interesting note: Until recently, Selena held the record for highest number of ticket sales at a rodeo show (that was in the mid 90's). In the last couple of years, she has been beat by the young female star, Hannah Montana. Crazy isn't it?

Pulling up to Reliant Stadium

One of our favorite things to get at the rodeo is a deep fried Twinkie. It's a heart attack on a stick but it's soooo good. Here is Neal indulging in one.

This is one of the strange things we see here in Texas. Stars on

just about everything. A set of benches at the rodeo wouldn't

be completewithout some Texas stars on them.

Look, we glow!

At the end of the show they had a cool mini fireworks display inside the arena.

Some of the other strange stuff we see here in Texas. In case

you can't read this bumper sticker, it says,

"On earth as it is in Texas."

Where are we??

Only in Texas

This is a small image of the new Waterlights District that is being built just up the road from our house.  It will be attached to the Spectrum at Clear Creek, a huge promenade of shops, restaurants, businesses, walkways, and lakes.  While the plan looks awesome, I'm a little frightened by the idea of the Grand Canal featuring giant president heads (yes, all 42 of them and each 18 feet tall).  The first six heads went in last week and as I was driving home at night the other day, I was actually startled by them!  Granted, they're not lit up yet and all you see are big shadows of faces looking at you.  I just had to share this picture because only in Texas would you see something like this (well, okay, maybe besides Mount Rushmore in South Dakota - but that's waaay cooler!).    

The one positive in all of this -- we're in a booming area.  In fact, Pearland is the 36th fastest growing city in America, and the 9th fastest in Texas.  So, we've gone from moving here a year and a half ago with virtually emptiness around us, to feeling like we're now in our own little metropolis.  It's nuts!  Here is a good link that gives an idea of everything we see popping up around us.

http://pearlandtexasnewhomes.com/pearlandarea.htm

Family Visit

Over the weekend Lynn left the cold Nebraska weather (in the negatives!) and came to spend some time with us in warm, sunny Houston where the temperature was in the 70's.  It was a great getaway for her and a nice treat for us as well.

Out to lunch with Christine and Tony

A gloomy day yesterday in Galveston

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day we went to see Steven Curtis Chapman perform in concert at Champion Baptist Church in north Houston. The concert was good - a mix of songs old and new from his 16 albums - but the most inspiring part of the evening was hearing about his ministry.

Years ago, when his three biological children were already in their teen years, Steven and his wife decided to adopt a little girl from China. The experience touched their lives so much that they adopted two more little girls from China. After talking to others about their life changing experience, they discovered that many other families also wanted to adopt but did not have the financial resources to do so.

With guidance from above, they decided to start a ministry dedicated to raising money to help families on their journey to adoption. They have been very successful in their endeavors and tonight alone raised $16,000. A local Houston family was called on stage at the end of the evening and was given a check for $4,000 toward their adoption costs. It was really neat to witness.

With adoption having been such a personal part of my own life, I know first-hand how life-changing and beautiful it really is. To briefly be a part of the ministry that gives deserving families across the country an amazing opportunity to change the lives of orphans was a great way to celebrate love on Valentine's Day.

To learn more about this organization, check out http://www.shaohannahshope.org.

This is one of Steven Curtis Chapman's new songs called "Cinderella." I've fallen in love with this song even though I don't have children yet. In this video clip, he tells the story of how he came up with the idea for the song (it's the same story we heard him tell at our concert) and I guarantee you will want a tissue box nearby when you hear the story and the song.