a Vacation BEFORE a Vacation? Oh that's just crazy!

But it's true! Tomorrow morning we are headed to Austin to see my oldest friend, Nichole Varner. Clarification: SHE is not old, our friendship is. Literally we have been friends since toddlers. Anyways, Nichole, her boyfriend Eddie, Nichole's cousin Erica and her husband and Nichole's little sister Natalie and her beau will all be joining us for a fabulously fun day of wine touring in Fredericksburg this Saturday. Dang we are so stinking lucky! The day is destined to be a thrill as those three girls are probably the funnest women I know. Casey and I have recently been thinking a trip to Fredericksburg would be right up our alley as :

A. I love Wine

B. its a relatively close destination for fun
C. I love Wine

D. My husband likes to make me happy

And with Nichole celebrating her birthday this past Wednesday, it just seemed like a Great idea to do all together. Don't worry - although we know it will be a crazy day, we are being responsible and having a limo drive us to and from the wineries. I guess with age, there really does come wisdom.

So to Recap :
Crazy girls + A limo + Winery Tours + husbands/significant others who are super fun = a day to remember!

So excited!!

Other awesome highlights from our life :

• We got confirmation this week that Casey was the number one salesman for Citibank in the NATION for the month of August. That's right - think of all those Citibank's you see in New York, etc. My husband beat them all in sales for the month of August. I was so proud that I put the sale sheet on the refrigerator with a big "A +++ " written on it. He's such a rockstar.
• One of my friends at work is pregnant and we found out this week that she is having a little girl. It has been so fun watching her pregnancy develop and now that she is having a girl its even more special. After being blessed with Emily this summer, I have been exposed to the amazing sweetness of little girls and am so excited for LeeAnna to get to experience the waves of pink that are coming her way.
• Casey's mom and Grandma took a well deserved vacation this week to Destin, Florida (there favorite place) They made it there and back safely and we are so glad! Also glad they got a chance to get away and relax together.

Nichole and Kristi at their best. Always Silly

The 1600 Report (1600 Pensylvania Avenue that is)

PRESS RELEASE:
It is official Ladies and Gentleman! We are headed to Washington, DC. And we are headed there soon! Next Wednesday we are flying out of Houston and will spend 4 tremendous days exploring our nations capital (and we are SO PUMPED). Upon return on Saturday I fully expect to weigh 5-7 pounds more (from the delicious food I plan on consuming) and have some seriously sore feet from all the walking I'm sure we'll do. Casey and I both really enjoy seeing the historic landmarks at the places we've traveled thus far and so what better place to be to explore all the history a girl and boy could dream about ? Why, Washington, DC - that's where!
Casey has two more weeks of vacation to kill this year, so his lovely wife will be joining him on one of those weeks and we decided to travel to a place neither of us have been before, but really want to go. (For the other week, I am selling him to the highest bidder-just contact me if you are interested. Ok, I'm kidding.)
Because it was sort of a last minute trip, we got some really great deals and will probably still be able to afford to bring home souvieners if you play your cards right. :)
My fabulous parents have agreed to take us to and from the airport and keep the dogs while we are away. In exchange, we will probably have to give up our first child but we'll contemplate the consequences later...No really, we are so thankful that my dad is officially retired and is willing and able to help us out on our random adventures. We realize how lucky we are to have traveled all the places that we have this year and are just so excited to knock another location off of our "bucket lists"

So, Don't worry American Citizens : Team Krasey is headed to Washington, DC to straighten out the government. When we return next week Social Security will be fixed, Health Care will no longer be "Obama Care" and the Washington Monument will be crack free.

.........and if not, we atleast got to have a little vacation together and enjoy the beautiful weather in a place where the high is only 70 degrees. I mean, what else do you want from us?

Farewell Weekend

I'll keep this short and sweet since it's Monday and my brain isn't quite running on all cylinders yet...

Highlights from the weekend with Team Krasey:

• We were actually in town this weekend! Don't get us wrong - We LOVE our family and friends, but every once in a while you just need a break from packing your bags, you know?
• Neither of us had to work - Hallelujah!
• We got to sleep in ! (however our bodies tricked us into waking up at 8:30am)
• ESPN's College Game Day was on and we watched the entire 2 hour broadcast
• Eggo Waffles for Breakfast on Saturday
• Aggie Game Day! -let's not talk about the game, let's just reminisce over the nice weather, tailgating with friends and enjoying campus. Seriously, Don't talk about the game.
• Church on Sunday was inspiring
• My husband made some KILLER grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches for lunch
• 2 hour nap. Oh yeah, I said it - TWO HOURS
• Everything we cooked for dinner on Sunday was fried. That's awesome- I don't care who you are
• Favorite Shows came on : The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire.
• In bed and asleep by 10:30

Stay tuned for other exciting news later this week :
I'll give you a hint - We are going on vacation to a place on the East Coast. Starts with a "W" and ryhmes with Bashington  :)

Married Life is the Bomb

Me and the Man of my Dreams

Warning : If you don't want to read some major cheesy-ness : please skip this post. Enjoy the cute picture above and then press the red X in the upper right hand corner of your screen. But if you feel like indulging me, read on....
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Oh good! I'm glad you stayed!
So, it occurred to me recently that Married life is soooooo great. (imagine me saying that in a totally valley-girl accent) "Like, uh, soooooo great!"
The second revelation that I have had is that what makes married life so great is the person to whom I got married to. He spoils me so often and our love is so great that I'm sure I don't acknowledge what a blessing it is way too often. But when I am still for just a few minutes (this rarely happens) and I have a chance to reflect, it's worth a shout of praise! God gave me a good, good spouse. Sometimes when things are so good, you forget to say "thank you" You just bounce down the golden road and smile like you are in a parade, and if you are like me, we sometimes don't acknowledge those every-day blessings. Well that stops today. So here it is: I'm shouting it from the proverbial mountain top :

Thank you God for my spouse and for my marriage!

Here is what I imagine the Lord saying to everyone who has gone through the whole dating game gamut : "Child, I know you think this person is great, but if you only knew what I had in store for you, you would quit being so stubborn and just drop it."
And so to be on the other side of that it seems so refreshing and fitting to just breath a big sigh of relief and be thankful that we didn't settle. To be thankful we ended up together, to be thankful that we are smart enough to invest in one another. And to be thankful that after over 3 years of being together we still haven't killed each other  :) 

Our Weekend in Numbers

0. Number of books on CD that Casey and I listened to on our car ride over to Pflugerville. We ALWAYS listen to a book when we are traveling, but for some reason this time I decided we didn't need one for the short drive. My decision was met with a firm pouty face from my husband, but he survived.
1. The place that Emily holds in her big brothers heart. You should have seen how sweet Noah was being to her this weekend, lots of un-prompted kisses and snuggling. Such a good boy
2. Number of precious little baby girls who got baptized on Sunday at Liz and Mike's Church. Both of them had such cute little dresses on and they made the whole congregation say "ahhh"
3. Number of burp cloths I estimate that Emily went through before church
4. Number of bags of Candy corn that my mom bought me. Candy corn is my favorite candy of all time and she always spoils me this time of year with gifts of sugar :)
5. Number of pictures you will find below documenting our fun weekend
6. Number of football games we watched yesterday - gosh I love Football Season!
7. Number of hours I got to sleep before Noah woke me up to watch a movie at 7:18am. Don't get me wrong, this was a great accomplishment for him to sleep in this late, but after staying up late visiting with the family the night before, Aunt Kristi was a bit tired. (note: my husband stayed in bed until 9:30 - lucky dog!)
8. Number of pieces of cake that I wanted to eat at my sister's house yesterday (but refrained!) We both LOVE butter cream frosting and the cake they ordered in celebration of Emily's baptism was covered in it. Mmmmmmm.....
9. Number of people who slept over at Liz and Mike's on Saturday. Thank you guys for hosting everyone and also for having a big enough house to do so!
10. The score I would give for this weekend (based on a scale of one to ten obviously) We had a great time visiting with everyone this weekend - It was great to see Mike's family as well as the Laneman's. Also, it was a great reminder of the blessings that God has given us. When we were sitting in church together as a family I was struck with how often I fail to thank Him for everyday blessings like that. The fact that we were all able to come together and honor Emily was so special and warming to the soul.
11. Number of times I had to hand Emily off to my mom. Don't get me wrong : She is a good baby, but when she gets mad, she is MAD. And Aunt Kristi tends to get flustered when I can't make her happy... plus my mom has a crazy magic touch on children and can make them stop crying in an insta-second.
12. Number of Dinosaurs that Noah can name by memory. (like the full scientific name, not the short-cut names that people usually say like "t-Rex") He can also tell you if they are meat eaters or plant eaters. Probably the cutest thing ever.
And last, but not least....30. Number of points the Texas Aggies scored over Idaho in the game on Saturday. Whoop! We are SOOO excited to be in town this weekend to be able to go to the game. We play Oklahoma State - first conference game so its going to be an important one to win.

And here are the promised pictures:


This is Noah's Life right now- Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs!



Uncle Thomas holding Emily - you can tell she adores him already!

Noah giving his little sister a sweet kiss on the cheek

Look at that pretty girl in her pretty dress!

Noah did so great for the pictures! Thanks Buddy!

Another One Bites the Dust

Move out of the way work-week, you can't hold us back anymore. Toot! Toot! Weekend : here we come! (In background some man with a deep-voice yells : "ALL ABOARD!")
Want to know what Team Krasey is doing this weekend? I thought so! Isn't it crazy how I can just read your mind?

So, this weekend is going to be special because our niece Emily (see adorable picture below) will be getting baptized on Sunday in Pflugerville. Mike and Liz have asked that Casey and I be the God-parents to little Emily so we have a special responsibility on that sweet life that we are honored and humbled by. The whole Tilton gang will be at my sister's house this weekend for the event, and it will be so great to see everyone at the same time. You see, for one reason or another, life always keeps it where one or two of us can't come to certain events so when all 5 of the "original" Tilton's and their families are in one place at the same time - well, it's worth celebrating! (And in our family we like to celebrate with wine and snacks! yumm yumm!)

Last weekend was with the Zimmerman's and this weekend with the Tilton's - not a bad way to start the month of September off. We Loooooove our Families.

Only sad part is we will be missing the second home football game of our beloved Aggies. Really, when you compare the two (baptism v. football game) it's easy to see which one holds precedence, but still - we love our Aggies! I heard somewhere today that we are expected to win by a large spread, so hopefully that will be the case. Plus our I-phones are super handy in keeping us informed of game stats.

Both Casey and I had a pretty decent week : We both won our fantasy football match-up for the week, nothing really dramatic happened at the work places and we both made it to the end of the week safe and with our sanity entact. I call that a success! I'm assuming that when we have kids, our weeks will be measured in milestones that the child reaches (for example: so and so started walking this week, or so and so ate her first jar of baby food, etc.) but as for now, our weeks are nice and calm, and rarely something ground-breaking to report. I will say that I made some killer Verde-enchiladas last night that were note-worthy. Not to brag or anything...

Other than that, we just had our usual evenings of reading,playing X-box, watching movies,playing with the dogs, and over-all just lounging at the house. Yes, life is good in the Zimmerman household.

From our house to yours :

Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend full of friends,

fun and whatever else suits your fancy.

Until next time, feast your little eyes on this doll we call Emily Marie. She's gauranteed to bring a smile to your face

Told ya.

Weekend Recap

This weekend we traveled to the booming metropolis of Winnsboro - and once again the entertainment did not disappoint. Not only did we have the class reunion to attend, and my father-in-law to keep me on my toes, we also had some excitement on Sunday as a grass fire ignited less than a mile from Casey's sister house. Let me immediately clarify why it was "exciting" : No homes were damaged nor anyone hurt - (didn't want you to think I was some sort of sicko or something...)
Thankfully the fire men had it all under control within a few hours, but me and the nieces still got to go to the site and watch the firemen in action. It was a profound experience to say the least. Casey and his dad took a separate vehicle with shovels and supplies in case they needed to help and the girls stopped to fill up an ice chest with water to give to the firemen. Luckily, the firemen had the fire under control and were just handling "hot spots" by the time we arrived on the scene, so the Zimmerman guys didn't have to jump into action. (Of course us girls stayed at a safe distance and stayed in the car) It's safe to say that it added a little excitement to our normally calm Sunday afternoon. But as I sat in the SUV with the smallest of the girls (Kennedy Kate) on my lap and the other three in the back seat, I was able to really comprehend what dire need our state is in for prayer. The vast difference between the sweet sounds of giggles in the car versus the destruction that was just outside the windows was astounding. The closest major threat of fire to our house is over an hour and a half from our home (In Bastrop) so my head has been in the sand somewhat about the damage that is terrorizing our state. But just within the last two weeks both Casey's sister and my sister have experienced fires in their area that were too close for comfort. With the grass and trees being so dead and dry, firefighters are working overtime to beat the quickly spreading flames - and after watching it first hand, my eyes were opened.

Dear Firemen: Thank you for leaving your families on a lovely Sunday afternoon and racing into danger to save your neighbors land and home. Thank you for being willing to put on the heavy gear and stand in blazing heat all for someone you might not even know.

You are inspiration.

On a lighter note, We had a great time at Casey's high school reunion ! - it was actually a lot more fun than either of us thought it would be. He graduated with a class of 90 people and I think there were about 35 of them in attendance. They did a great job of entertaining us while we ate and visited. There were awards given for "most tattoos", "highest degree of education earned", "most kids", etc. We won the prestigious award of "Most Recently Married" Since we've been married over 2 years, that kind of surprised me, but hey - at least we won something. Apparently, his classmates were on a faster track than we are, as some of them were on their 3rd child! 10 years, 3 kids - no matter how you do the math - it's been a very busy decade for some of those folks!
We took some photos for your viewing pleasure ...

Family photo! Nobs, Sam, Mom and Dad

Now that is one good looking couple!

Casey and Whitley - these guys have been friends forever

A group of the alumni

Thoughts on Age

I think we are getting old! Or at least a little more mature. Question: What brought this revelation on ??

Answer: This weekend we are going to Casey's hometown for his TEN YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION! That just seems crazy to me. Do you remember when you graduated high school and you thought about your ten year reunion and it just felt like a million years away?

Another Recent News flash related to age and maturity - the difference between early twenties and late twenties is quite a difference when it comes to responsibilities and the things that matter to you! My husband would disagree with this greatly because he insists that he is still "cool" and it is only me who loves to crawl in to bed at 10pm and eat dinner at a prompt 5:30. I however, have a different theory - I just have an "old soul" - and I'm pretty sure I always have. (High school friends can attest to that)

So let's just say for arguments sake that my husband is still waaaaay cooler than me. I will admit defeat, BUT I've got some other pieces of evidence to demonstrate the progressive "maturing" that is happening in the Zimmerman house. (to BOTH of us)

- Already noted this above, but doesn't hurt to mention again : We are attending his 10 year high school reunion this weekend

- We Love Wheel of Fortune. Like to the point where if we are making dinner and it comes on, we will pause it so we can sit on the couch together and try and solve puzzles while we eat. I've tried to enact the 'loser has to do dishes' rule but that hasn't worked out yet.

- We talk politics. We even watch a political show on Sunday mornings while we are getting ready for church. While politics itself doesn't really mean anything, the degree to which we care about it because it affects our income, taxes and laws has increased significantly!

-We are totally comfortable asking other couples a number of things about their children and the birth of said children. And when they answer - we actually listen (and sometimes take notes)

-We would rather go to dinner with friends than venture out after 10pm to a bar.

-The weather is of much importance to us as it affects how much we need to water the lawn. On another weather related note:- When there is an impending Hurricane in the Gulf - the first thing that pops into our head is NOT "Where we are going to have a party with our friends? and do you think we still have time to get a keg before the stores close down?" but instead we now think " should we board the windows? and do we have all of our important items in the safe deposit box?"

Yep, I think it is safe to say, we are well on our way to 'maturing' into lovely adults with greater priorities and better focus in life. Rest assured, there are still many fun-filled days in our future - no matter the age! But don't you think its just kind of interesting to reflect how your perspective changes in only a few short years?

I'm off to read the newspaper, drink some tea and do whatever else responsible adults do....

A Lesson from Babylon

My women’s Bible study started this week and we are studying the Book of Daniel for the next 12 weeks. I am very unfamiliar with this book – in fact I told my sister that all I pretty much remember from Sunday School is ‘Daniel and the Lion’ – she responded by saying Noah (my three year old nephew) knew about the same. Dang he’s so smart!

ANYWAYS, so the first lesson is about recognizing the “Babylon” culture we live in. From what I’ve read this week, Babylon was an empire very much like the Western Culture we live in. They focused on Perfection, Wealth, Fame and "Self". They were living the motto of:

‘I am, and there is none besides me’
(Isaiah 47:10)

Sound familiar? We are given the choices to custom order everything from homes to hamburgers! And everything is better "sooner rather than later". In a nutshell: It’s all about ME in this culture. I’m not notating this to be cliché - I know we’ve all already seen tons of little commentaries or articles concerning this observation - but I’m letting you know how it has applied to our life lately.

You see, Casey and I are to the point in our marriage and life where we are ready to start our family. (holy guacomole that is crazy just to say!) When we got married, we initially said that we would wait two years to start this process and sure enough- when we had our second anniversary this summer we both agreed that this was the right time. We had lots of travel behind us, had bought ourselves a home, have appropriate "baby seat" cars... all that stuff. And I mean really, with genes as great as ours - who wouldn't want to create a baby? :)

And here we are.

And I'm incredibly excited (and nervous - very very nervous). But I’m also incredibly floored by the lessons God is teaching us through this process already. God is helping me to take the focus off of ME and what I want and bringing the focus back to HIM and HIS timing. I may never know the reason behind God’s timing, and the fact is that it doesn’t matter. (Although I would appreciate it if He would take into consideration that I do not want to be 9 months pregnant during the month of August!)
All joking aside, I hear Him speaking very clearly in my heart and He is saying “BELIEVE ME” – so I will. And I do. I am committed to patience. Those who know me realize that I am not a very patient person by nature. (in fact sometimes I'm somewhat of a nut job)

I remember waiting for letters to see if I was accepted into certain colleges. Or the week of our wedding, I thought that Saturday was NEVER going to get here. And when I had to get a new car? Ha. Forget about it. I wanted one the first day I went looking. It's hard to wait (for me)!

But Patience is a virtue, one that I really need to work on.

Especially now.

I realize that patience is also a spin-off of the “ME” attitude. When you really think about it – Impatience is focusing on what I want right now. It’s not cute and it’s not who I want to be. Thank you God for taking this opportunity for a nice little life lesson. And I can’t forget to send a shout out to my husband who is incredibly forgiving of me in this area.

God has been with us through everything. Our meeting, Our marriage, Death and Life of family members. Everything. And I know that it will happen when He has planned.

P.S. I found this cute little picture on another blog I follow, how sweet is this message? Very sweet I tell you!

The roads we travel...

What a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! Not only did we get a 3 day break from work and the Aggie football team dominated, we also were able to travel to see some friends that we haven't seen face-to-face in a while.
Team Krasey headed to North Texas to visit our fabulous friends in Runaway Bay and Bedford. Both the Smalley's and Lloyd's have precious baby girls who kept us entertained and full of smiles. Let me be honest and say that when Casey and I envision having a family of our own, we have always guessed that we would prefer boys. (as if the choice is up to us) BUT being around those little girls, really opened up our eyes to the joys of what little girls bring to their families in ways that boys just probably couldn't. The sweet smells, the pink clothes, the pretty eyes...

Here's a re-cap of each visit:
Ashley and Dustin welcomed beautiful Aubrey Jeanne in November of last year and I'm ashamed to say we were meeting her for the first time this weekend. Our first attempt to meet her last December was foiled by the nasty cold Casey and I both got. Turns out new mom's don't like the chance of colds transferring to their precious children before Christmas. Go Figure :) We attempted again to visit Aubrey in the spring but both families schedules were just too full. But let me tell you ---- our visit was completely worth the wait! Aubrey is at the most adorable stage !!!! She warmed up to Casey and I immediately and those little legs and arms were intoxicating. We were also lucky enough to be there to witness some of her very first steps! How fun! Congrats to Dustin & Ashley for making such a cute kid! (see pictures below as proof) We spent the afternoon on Saturday enjoying football, relaxing, drinking a few beers and having a lot of hilarious conversations. A very needed visit. Thank you God for good friends. After church and a ridiculously good lunch on Sunday, we put another book-on-CD in the car's player and headed over to Bedford.

"Mrs. T" is the nickname for Erin and Amber's little girl Taylor. She has grown so much since we saw her last - which was when she first started walking. Now 2 years and 3 months old - she has turned into quite the precious toddler! Her brown eyes are as big as saucers and once she warmed up to the two of us, she had a smile that went on forever.
We all went to the Bedford Bar-b-q and Blues festival to help Erin celebrate his 30th birthday. Heard some really good music and managed to only eat a cup full of sand. It appears North Texas has had the same severe drought as we have had 4 hours south of them. The beautiful part of the outdoor concert was the fact that the temperature dropped and we were able to enjoy sitting outside for 5 hours without really sweating. I'll wait why you compose the shock you must feel from hearing that statement.
After the blues concert, we headed back to the Lloyd's house and watched the Aggie Game we had DVR'd. Then we got exposed to the wonders of "Kinect" It's basically the X-box's version of the Nintendo Wii. Casey is trying to convince me to get one. Like we need another gaming system in our house. Sheeesh.
Since the temperature is so perfect today, I'm heading out for a nice evening run - something I haven't been able to enjoy for several months. Thank goodness for the indoor elliptical machine or I would have put on 20 pounds this summer!

Look at her Go!

Just try and not be melted by those baby blue eyes

Fun at the Concert!

Mrs.T Being Sily with mom and dad

Good-bye Dog Days of Summer

Since Labor Day weekend is typically coined the "end of summer" - I want to take this opportunity to thank the Summer of 2011 for all the fun it provided to the hubby and I. Before we get wrapped up in all the wonderful things the Fall provides: cooler weather, FOOTBALL, the holidays... you get the point - let us take a moment to reflect.

Here's a re-cap of how we spent our summer: The Good, the Bad, the Awesome

Lots of Friends got married - always a sweet event to attend!


Lindsey and Adam tied the knot in Dimebox on May 21st

Brad and Misty exchanged vows in College Station on June 25th - Casey was a groomsman (and looked so handsome)

Kelly and Jared had a beautiful Wedding in Katy on August 6th - I was a bridesmaid (and honored to be so) - it was so good to see all my favorite Angleton gals too!


With the wonderful nuptials of these fabulous friends came the showers and the bachelor/bachelorette parties - oh the fun we had! Casey headed to Vegas for Brad's bachelor party and I got to have a wonderful girls night with Kelly and her other friends in Houston.

Seeing all of our friends get married was a great reminder of our own vows as we celebrated our 2 year anniversary on June 27. The second year seemed to be much more calm than the first. Not so much moving, and big life changes - more getting in sync with one another and dialing up our obsession with one another.

On July 22nd we welcomed our niece Emily Marie to our family. My sister's second child came more effortlessly than her first. Just noticed I used the word effortlessly while referring to a birth and I apologize for the injustice. But really, Emily came so quickly we didn't even make it into town before she was in her mom and dad's arms! Congrats to Mike, Liz and Noah on their new little family member!


Speaking of nieces, we had our 3 oldest nieces in town for the weekend at the end of July. For those of you who don't know - Casey's sister, Gretchen, has 4 amazing girls. Paige is 13, Carley and Callie are 11 and Kennedy Kate is 6. They are my absolute obsession - maybe because we don't get to see them as often as would be preferred or because they have the best personalities ever. And that's impressive that I can even say that considering they are in their tweens. I wish I was a quarter of the sweet that they are when I was that age. They amaze me. Anyways, the 3 eldest twins were in town and we had a blast watching movies, playing laser tag, having a cupcake competition, and just hanging out together.

We also both celebrated our birthdays this summer. I turned the big 26 and enjoyed dinner and dancing with friends. Casey turned 28 and had a joint pool party celebration with our friend Brad who has a birthday in July as well.

On a not - so - good note, we had the hottest and driest summer that the Brazos Valley has seen since 1917. We literally broke records for the most consecutive days above 100 degrees and longest spans without rain. NOT cool records to break. Our grass has certainly taken a hit and we actually found ourselves having to water our foundation to avoid any cracks. Yes, it was that hot and dry.

Overall a great summer! But I think I am now ready for the crisp mornings where I don't sweat before I get to work... oh how wonderful that will be!