The Much Anticipated Proposal Story

Thank you for your (lack of) patience.  Here is the proposal story, in our favorite He Said/She Said format.  As usual, my thoughts are in orange, The Boy from Texas writes in blue.

Preface

 

You people are a little pushy.  I've had numerous text messages, blog comments, and Facebook comments from unhappy readers waiting for this story.  Some of you threated to boycott the blog.  Some threatened physical violence.  I mean, seriously, it happened!

Just for the record, I don't really think that this should all be public knowledge so they should feel privileged to read it.

The Background

The Boy from Texas and I had been talking about marriage for a while.  So while I knew a proposal was coming sometime, I did not have any clue it would be the weekend that he asked me.  Honestly, I thought it would have been Memorial Day weekend, so when that didn't happen, I pretty much decided that I put the cart before the horse and it would be a couple of months down the road.

We had been talking about getting married, and I knew when I was going to propose and when I planned to do it.  Tiff kept asking me questions trying to figure out when I was going to do it.  I knew when I was going to do it and where I wanted to do it, but kept telling her answers that would throw her off.

The Day Of

We spent all day on Sunday helping my parents at the farm.  We mowed the lawn (well, I mowed most of it until after I ran over two pipes and got stuck in a ditch The Boy from Texas kicked me off the mower and finished it himself).  We worked on the swather so that we could cut hay.  We moved some sheep around.  If you know my father, this is actually quite fitting.  Ever since I was a kid if anyone (especially a boy) came over to my house, my dad automatically put them to work.  It was kind of a running joke at school--people would say, "Don't go to Tiffany's house, you'll have to help Dallas with something!"  I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary....The Boy from Texas didn't seem nervous or anything to me.

I woke up that morning and put the ring in my pocket with every intention of speaking to her dad that morning.  I couldn't ever get everyone do disappear long enough for me to talk to him. 

About 2:00 in the afternoon, my dad, The Boy from Texas, and I all went down to the hay field to test out our swather repair skills.  While my dad was on the swather, The Boy from Texas said, "Your dad sure is hard to corner."  I took this to mean that he still hadn't even asked my dad yet, which confirmed my thought that a proposal was probably still a couple of months away.  Once my dad had cut the ends out of the field, I headed home on the four wheeler while The Boy from Texas and my dad rode home in the pickup.

So we finally ended up down in the hay field.  Tiff and I were riding around in the four wheeler taking pictures of the hay and the swather.  I thought Tiff was going to turn it over on us, so I made her let me drive.  I didn't want her to get us hurt on the four wheeler and me have to propose in the hospital!  So, when Tiff was on the four wheeler and we were taking the pick up back.

Then Tiff took the four wheeler back home and me and her dad rode back in the pick up.  Since I had him alone, I told him I had a question and I asked him if I could marry his daughter.  He said that sounds like a great idea.  I told him I felt like I need to ask him even though we had all been talking about it.  He said he appreciated that and said, "Get after it."  So I did.

At this point, we were getting ready to head back to Amarillo, but were sweaty and dirty and gross, so we wanted to take showers first.  The Boy from Texas won rock, paper, scissors and got to take the first shower.  Then I took one. 

So after I took a shower and got dressed, Tiff was taking a shower, so I went outside to tell her mom I talked to her dad and I was planning on doing it.  She offered to get the camera and take pictures if I did it in the front yard.  I told her I had another idea where no one else would be around.

I was nervous and I walked inside and Tiff was already outside of the shower and I really hoped that Tiff didn't see me and her mom talking because I had showed her the ring.

When I got out of the shower, I figured it was hot, we were just driving back to his house, and I didn't really care what I looked like.  I put on flip flops, pink and black running shorts, a turquoise t-shirt, and didn't even dry my hair.  When I came out of the bathroom, my mom said, "Don't you want to, like, dry your hair a little?"  I said, "No.  It's hot.  That's stupid."  I now understand why she wanted me to dry my dang hair!

The Proposal

So at this point, The Boy from Texas tells me we need to go pick up my dad who had taken the tractor to the other farm before we left.  We loaded up into his pick up and headed that way.  On the way, he said we had to run over to one of our barns because he thought he left the door open when we had been over there looking for water skis on Friday night.  This made no sense to me.  I told him I was sure that he closed the door.  He said that he just wanted to double check because I was busy freaking out about all the nasty bugs flying at our heads when we opened the door on Friday and he might have forgotten to close the door.  I still thought this was dumb, but said okay.  This place on the farm is what we call the White House, because there is an old white house in the pasture (we're creative like that).  There are some big, old trees, red corrals, a windmill, old barns, and a hay barn. 

So I told Tiff that we had to run over and pick up her dad from the other farm and we had to run by one of the barns to be sure we closed a door on Friday.  I told her I thought I left it open.  She said I didn't.  So anyways, we went over there to check and be sure the door was shut. 

We got over to the barn and sure enough, I was right, the door was closed.  We got out of the pick up, looked in the barn, re-closed the door.  I headed back to get in the pick up, but The Boy from Texas sort of ambles off under the two big trees.  I didn't think too much at that point because, well, country boys do that--the often get distracted looking at grass or crops or trees.  For example, frequently my father drives off into the bar ditch because he's looking at someone's field. 

So I walked over to The Boy from Texas and he grabbed my hand and said, "I'm going to ask you to marry me."  I said, "You are huh?"  He said, "Yes.  Right now."  Next thing I know, he's down on one knee with a ring in his hand. 

The door was shut and then I talked to her about how it would be really neat if we could get married there, but we couldn't because there was no electricity.  We had talked about that before.  So I told her "I'm going to ask you to marry me."  She said, "Oh really?"  I said, "I am and I'm going to do it right now."  I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me and she said yes.

Honestly, everything after that is kind of a blur.  Obviously he asked and I said yes.  I remember he just kept laughing.  I remember I said he was sneaky.  I also remember perhaps my favorite part of the entire proposal was shortly after he asked when he said, "What do we do now?"  I said, "I don't know, I guess we go get my dad off the tractor?"  And so we did just that.

I said we better go get your dad who we stranded on the tractor for like an hour in the middle of the summer with no air conditioner.  So we went and got him.

Because I didn't want to look like some dang bum in my pictures, I went home and changed, dried my hair, and we went back over to the White House place to take some pictures.  My mom served as photographer and did an outstanding job, if I do say so myself.

Final Thoughts

Perfect.  That's really the only word I have to describe the whole proposal.  The fact that he asked me on my parents ranch was perfect.  The fact that it was just a normal day that we spent dirty and sweaty working on farm equipment was perfect.  The fact that I get to spend the rest of my life with this guy is perfect. 

It was the happiest day of my life.  So far.

I Thank God

48 Hours Worth of Thoughts from a Fiance

Now that I've been a fiancé for 48 hours....I have some insight to share on my experience.

(For those of you who are upset right now that I don't have a proposal story blog ready to go, just be patient.  I'm working on it!)

Here are my thoughts.

1.  On Monday, I was headed to meet The Boy from Texas, his mom, and his sister for lunch.  My ring was all shiny on the steering wheel and I got distracted looking at it and almost rear ended someone.  Oopsy!

2.  The first thing people ask you is when and where your wedding will be.  You do not know the answer to that an hour after the ring is put on your finger.  Don't be annoyed when the response you get is, "I have no clue!"

3.  When you get 500 likes and 168 comments on Facebook, your phone will revolt and hold a charge for about 10 minutes.

4.  I just about poked my eye out when I went to wipe my eye yesterday and realized there's a big honking ring there.  The struggle is real. :)

5.  Just because someone is having a short engagement (4 months), does not mean that they are pregnant.  Multiple people asked that.  No lie.

6.  The fact that my farmer father spent yesterday morning talking wedding venues, table cloths, and arches makes my heart really happy.  He says that he is now over wedding planning.  His part is done!

7.  I have the best family and friends in the world.  Seriously, I've just about gotten an entire wedding planned just by people saying, "I'll help you with flowers" or "I'll take pictures" or "You can have my leftover decorations."  It's amazing.  I'm so blessed!

8.  I could not be more excited about the fact that I get to marry The Boy from Texas.  I still kinda pinch myself every time I think about spending my life with him.

That One Time We Looked at Rings...

It's possible that I had kept a pretty awesome story kinda quiet from you blog readers and most of the people in my life.  Well, today, I'm fessing up.  Last October, The Boy from Texas and I may have gone into a jewelry store and did a bit of looking around.  Here's how it all went down.

We had met for the weekend in Ft. Worth.  Just the two of us.  Oh, well and one of the kids who works for him, but he only stayed the first day to pick up a truck and then drove that home.  On Saturday we took the kid to get the truck, had lunch with my Aunt Delta Dawn, and then decided to do a little driving and walking around before going to Joe T's in the Stockyards for dinner.

Picture from that weekend

So we headed to the area down by where the Ft. Worth Stock Show is held and started walking around. We went into a western store where we looked at some clothes and bought me an awesome cross air freshener for my pickup.  When we walked out of the western store and The Boy from Texas said, "Let's go across the street."  I looked up and saw a Gelato shop.  Being the chubby kid I am, I said, "Oooo, for gelato??"  He simply said, "Nope, one over."  It was a jewelry store.

At this point I kinda forgot about my desire for my fav Italian dessert and was trying to be sure I kept breathing as we walked across the street into the store.  Once inside, we looked at rings.  Aggie football was on tv.  The sports fan in me remembers that detail. The Boy from Texas asked what I liked.  I tried to remember how to form words.  Seriously, I was so in shock and excited that I think I might have been able to utter about seven words the whole ten minutes we were in the store.  "Yes."  "No."  "That one."  Square."  "Too expensive."

But I did find one ring that I fell in love with.  So he had me try it on.  It was perfect.   Later my girlfriends would scream at me for failing to take a picture or get the collection name or any information.  I explained that it was all I could do to stay upright and continue to inhale and exhale at that moment, so they just had to give me a break.  Luckily, Mrs. Arizona played sleuth on the computer and tracked it down for me to show everyone at my birthday party a couple of weeks later.

As we left the store and walked outside, The Boy from Texas squeezed my hand and said, "Well, I bet you didn't expect to do that today did ya?"  "Um, not hardly," I responded, "so can we get some gelato now?"

The chubby girl got her gelato and that little ring browsing session turned into one of my favorite memories with The Boy from Texas.

Oh, what did the ring look like, you ask?  Well.....it was the one he put on my finger over the weekend.

 

That's right kids.  Someone book the billboard.  This girl is getting married!

 

Family Farm Friday #91: A Comparison

My dad said it pretty much perfectly on Facebook, so I'll let him do the talking here too.

"I don't know if the worst drought in 100 year history is over, but it's definitely taking a break. The top picture was taken May 15, the bottom June 14. What a difference 4.5'' of rain and a little irrigation water can make."  - Dad

A Low Key Weekend

The Boy from Texas and I don't really do low key.  You know me, I'm always on the go.  And he cannot sit still and just do nothing.  But last weekend we ended up being able to sort of just hang out and have some downtime.  We went to my parents and just helped with a few things on the farm, checked on some show lambs we sold to some kiddos, went to church, and just generally hung out.  It was pretty awesome.  Here's the photo recap.

We'll start with this beautiful West Texas sunset.  I mean, seriously. 

Praise God for the irrigation water that is currently flowing down our ditches and watering our fields!  This, kids, is a very pretty sight!

Here is a photo of a sorghum field on our farm.

I absolutely love this picture.  I asked my dad to get a picture of The Boy from Texas and I having a romantic Saturday night irrigating.  The fact that I have managed to find a boy that is game to spend Saturday doing that and even grins about it in a picture?  I'm a lucky girl.

Speaking of The Boy from Texas....he has a birthday coming up in a few weeks!  I had been working on a surprise for him for a few months.  His horse died about a year ago and I wanted to get a painting done of the horse for The Boy.  Luckily, my parents' super awesome neighbor is an amazing artist and this is what she was able to do based on a picture of said horse that I stole off of The Boy's wall.  He was pretty excited about his present and I loved being able to surprise him!

 

And now, a couple of shots of the parentals.

This was 9:00 in the morning.  Breakfast apparently wore him out.

My mom had been at a wedding shower and said, "I'm cute, take my picture."

Gran's Peach Cobbler Recipe

Last weekend, The Boy from Texas and I were at my parents' house for the weekend and I decided to whip my dad up a peach cobbler using Gran's recipe.  Is there anything in the world better than a recipe on an index card in your grandma's handwriting?  I think not. 

So I followed her directions and had to make some guesses due to the fact that she didn't include everything on the card.  Apparently she thought that future generations would know what temperature and how long to cook something without her telling them.  God bless her, she didn't anticipate me being the future generation!

But in the end it all worked out pretty well and we dined on this as the finished product.  I think that Gran would have been proud!

Gran's Peach Cobbler Recipe

1C sugar
1C flour
1 T baking powder
Salt  (How much?  Gran didn't tell us...I just shook a bit in my hand and called it good.)
3/4 C milk

Sift dry ingredients and stir in milk to make the dough mixture.

1/2 stick butter

In a casserole dish or pan (I used a glass 9x9 dish), put in the butter and melt.  Pour dough mixture in dish on top of melted butter. 

Peaches (I used a bag of frozen peaches and supplemented with two real peaches sliced up.  You can also use one large can of peach pie filling, but the frozen and/or real are better!)
1T flour
3/4C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar

 Mix the 1T flour and 3/4C sugar with the fruit.  Pour fruit mixture on top of the dough in the dish.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the fruit mixture.

Bake.  No one knows how long or at what temperature.  Just go until the crust is golden brown and no longer doughy.  I felt like it took a long time.....maybe 30 minutes?  I baked it on 350 because that's the oven default so I was hoping that meant something.  Who knows.

Enjoy!

Sarge

"No heaven can heaven be, if my horse isn't there to welcome me." ~Unknown

I truly believe that there is a special place in Heaven for a good horse.  In particular, I think this is true for a good kid horse.

 

You know the ones.....that will stand still without blinking an eye while a kid throws a rope and whops him in the face.  Who doesn't move while another kid stands up in the saddle doing circus-like tricks.  The one that you can put a 5 year old kid, or a 40 year old city boy, on without thinking twice.  The horse that you can crawl over and under and behind and he just sort of smirks.  And most importantly, the kind of horse that makes people feel confident and comfortable and safe, and make a horse-lover out of anyone.

 

 

Sarge was one of those horses.  Yesterday, he died.  You can think what you want and argue theology if you want, but I'll just all but guarantee you that horse is walking around the golden streets.  He sure deserves to be.

Green Chile Pork Tacos

Recently I've been sort of living on this new recipe I invented for green chile pork tacos.  Since it's not every day this girl invents a recipe (I'm much more of an every day catch the oven on fire kind of gal), I figured I needed to share.

Pork chops (I prefer the boneless ones because I'm lazy and they are less work.)
Roberts Reserve Hatch Green Chile Honey Glaze (I buy it at HEB, not sure where else you can get it.  You can probably just make your own.)
Ear of corn
Butter
Pepper
Garlic powder
Avocado
Lime juice
Paprika
Red pepper flakes
Something green (lettuce, cabbage, spinach, etc.)
Shredded cheese
Corn tortillas

Pork Chops:  Marinade the pork chops in the glaze.  I don't know how much, enough to cover them up.  Cook the pork chops on the grill (I cooked them on foil rather than right on the rack because the honey will make a big ol' mess). After cooked, I put the pork chops in the food processor and grind them up.  This just makes them more like shredded pork...so good.

Corn:  Shuck the corn and place the ear on a piece of foil.  Smear on a little butter, pepper, and garlic powder.  Roll up the corn in the foil and grill it as well.

Guacamole: I use one avocado, some lime juice, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and just a few red pepper flakes.  Smash it up, mix it all together, and you're done.

Now just build your tacos:  tortillas, pork, corn, cheese, guacamole, green stuff.  I really like cabbage---it isn't slimy like lettuce and I think it tastes summery. 

Viola.  Bon appetite.  You're welcome.

The Ranch Party

Y'all.  Let me just tell you.  ND Friend and her family know how to throw a party.  Holy smokes!

Because ND Friend and Tiny Dancer will be getting married in Chicago, her parents wanted to host a party back home in New Mexico for all of her friends and family out here that might not be able to make it to the big city.  So over Memorial Day weekend, we all headed to her parents' ranch for the festivities.

First off, let me brag on Super Mom for a minute.  This lady is 37 weeks pregnant, chasing around three boys under the age of 4, and still found time to get her bunk house situated for The Boy from Texas and I to stay in, provide us with snacks, and make us a homemade pancake breakfast fit for a king the day after the party.  Seriously, TBFT is still raving about her pancakes.  She is just the absolute best.  And we did not get one single picture together.  Fail!

Super Mom and her precious little family.

Oh, the boys' shirts.  They refer to ND Friend (their aunt) as RoRo.  Tiny Dancer's real name may be Sean.  Now check out the adorable shirts they wore to the party.

Okay, back to the party.  My favorite thing was the fact that Tiny Dancer's family came from Chicago.  Mind you, he's got a huge family. 7 brothers and sisters, his parents, two aunts and uncles, at least 8 cousins, there may have been more, I'm not sure.  They didn't have to haul off to the boondocks for this.  But they are so awesome and fun and supportive that they did....and I mean they REALLY did.  All of them got cowboy boots for Christmas last year to prepare.  When they got to New Mexico, they hit up the western wear store and the report I got was that they LITERALLY bought every single hat for sale in the whole town.  They were so enthusiastic and fun and up for anything.  I could not have been any more impressed with the in laws that are soon to belong to my sweet friend.

The party consisted of great bbq, four kinds of homemade cookies (family recipes), a well-stocked bar, a washer tournament (at which the priest who had never played before was my favorite participant!), dancing, and tons of fun.

The decor.

I kinda love this picture of The Boy from Texas and I at the dance.

Fr. Joe taking his turn.

Hiding out under the barn during a brief rain storm

Me and the lovely bride!

The Boy from Texas looking quite handsome pitching washers.

If there is anyone in the world who deserves a perfect engagement party, it is ND Friend.  And I think she got it that night.  Now the countdown in on for the big wedding in Chicago.  I can't wait!!

The happy couple!

Ask Me What's Now

Last week, I read this article written by an unmarried, childless 26 year old.  And guys, she nailed it. Flat nailed it.  

It was like she was putting my own thoughts down on paper (okay, down on a computer screen, but whatever).  Let me share a few of her words (in black) and my thoughts (in orange).  We're about to get a little personal here.  (That means, BFF, this post is probably more geared towards the readership with ovaries.  Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Believe me, I am fully aware that I am unmarried and childless. Heck, I don’t even have a real job at this point in time. I’m aware that I’m getting older. I’m aware that I’m not following the same patterns as my parents or my brothers or many of my peers. I’m aware that my biological clock is ticking. OH MY GOSH I AM SO AWARE.

Listen, as much as you worry about my singleness and the possibility that I might die alone in an apartment full of cats, I worry about it 10 times more.  You're not informing me of something that I've never considered.  In fact, this is probably the thing I think most about, with college football rankings and how many calories were in those cookies I just ate coming in as close seconds.

So when you — friends, family, acquaintances, Twitter followers and blog readers — remind me that I’m far behind where one would expect to be at my age, it makes me feel broken. I feel like I’ve done something wrong. I feel like I’m letting you down or making some horrible mistake.

Broken is a good word for it.  I might use the word unworthy or "not chosen."  I used to tell my friends that being the only single one made me feel a bit like we had all been dogs in the pound and they had all been rescued, yet I was left in the kennel waiting for someone to come along and choose me.  I'm not saying that is reality, but I am saying that is how it feels to a single girl in her late twenties.

Instead of relishing in the freedom, blessings and limitless possibilities that this stage of life offers me, I am left frozen, feeling like I’m not enough. Like what I’ve done doesn’t really matter or that I’ve accomplished nothing. I’m an outcast. I’m defective. I’m panicked. When you comment on my life stage as if there was something I could do to change it, it makes me feel inadequate. Most days I truly do love where I’m at right now, but when people question my marital status, I think I’m messing up my chances to do anything worthwhile with my life.

I used to secretly dread going to my hometown.  Because I really enjoyed my life--I absolutely loved my trips to Europe and cheering at OSU football games and going skiing in the winter and in the summer and being able to sleep in on weekends if I wanted to.  But in my hometown, someone would always point out the life I was missing and make me question whether what I had was any good.

What if my ultimate goal has nothing to do with marriage or kids or a career? What if my aim was to love people well, and to fully embrace the gifts I’ve been given? Would that be enough? What if my life goal was to simply run the race, to be called a good and faithful servant at the end of it all? Maybe that would mean marriage and children and a thriving career, but maybe it wouldn’t. Is it ok if it doesn’t?

That is my favorite paragraph of the entire article.  "What if my aim was to love people well, and to fully embrace the gifts I've been given."  That's what I've tried to do.  To enjoy the experiences and opportunities that have come my way, even when no shiny diamond ring was involved.  To love people well--be that my family or my friends or my friends adorable children or my sweet God Daughter--despite the fact that no one called me mom.  When people make comments that make girls question whether that is enough, those speaking really need to think twice about what they are doing.  Because if you ask me, aiming to love well and embrace the gifts we have been given should always be our aim, period.

I would like to suggest one thing, though: instead of asking me what’s next, ask me what’s now. Ask me what God is teaching me, ask me what I’m struggling with, or what brings me joy. I am learning, I am growing, and I am happy. I would love to tell you all about it.

I am 26 years old. I don’t have a husband. I don’t have children. I don’t have a career. I don’t have what people expect I should have, but I am abundantly blessed with absurd, exhilarating, and fantastic things I would have never dreamed up on my own.

So please, my dear friends, don’t ask me what’s next. Ask me what’s now.

I do hope that you all will consider this the next time you talk to a single, childless twenty something.  Ask her what's now, because my bet is that she thinks her now is pretty great and can't wait to share it with you.

Tweeter? Twitterer? Twirter?

Whatever it is called, I am one now.  To keep up with the latest ag law news, follow me at @TiffDowell.

Oh yea, and if you haven't checked out my ag law blog, Texas Agriculture Law, click here.  (Once you click on that link, you can subscribe by entering your name in the box on the right and once you follow the easy steps, the blogs will come directly to your inbox!)

Happy Saturday to everyone.  Let's go get that Triple Crown, California Chrome!  The Belmont Stakes are this afternoon!

Family Farm Friday #90: Things We Forget

One of my favorite songs is Things We Forget by Mark Wills.

  

Here are a couple verses:

I forgot how much I loved that smell of dirt fresh off the plow, 
that tailgate rattle, tires on gravel, I sure do love that sound.
And I can't believe I spent so many years running from this.
It's slow and it's small and it's life at a crawl but it's everything I missed!

Where we come from, where we're goin', how to live right here in the moment.
How to love somebody let 'em love you back.
When to let go and cry, when to lighten up and laugh,
 slow it all down and take a long deep breath, man the things we forget.

There are lots of things about home that I never forget and always miss.  The smell of fresh cut alfalfa.  Seeing baby lambs everywhere.  Branding.  Cool mornings.  People that have known me my entire life.  Dogs swimming in the stock tank.  My mom's green chile enchilladas.  County Fairs.  Setting irrigation tubes.

But while I was back home for a few days last week, I realized that one of the things that I had forgotten was the sky.  It's just bigger and brighter at home than it is other places.  Here, in the crock pot that is Central Texas in the summer, it's hard to get a good look at the sky.  There are clouds and trees and hills that block the view.  But not at home.  There, you can see for miles.  And until I left and lived somewhere without this luxury, I didn't realize how much I loved it.

Not sure how I was able to forget something that beautiful, but now that I remember, it sure made it harder to leave!

RIP Susan

Yesterday, Susan Spencer-Wendel, author of Until I Say Goodbye, passed away from ALS.  She was 47 years old and leaves behind her husband and three children.



I never met Susan.  But I know her story.  Both from reading her book and from losing someone I loved to ALS.

Though she was dying, Susan was able to live out her last years in amazing fashion.  She traveled the world, reconnected with her birth mother, saw the Northern Lights, gave her family and friends amazing memories upon which to cling now that she has gone.  As she put it, "I cannot lift my arms to feed myself or hug my children.  My muscles are dying, and they cannot return.  I will never again be able to move my tongue enough to clearly say, 'I love you.'  Swiftly, surely, I am dying.  But I am alive today."

Susan offered a bit of insight into what Mr. Franklin must have thought and felt as he was saying goodbye.  This woman in Florida, whom I never met and frankly with whom I probably didn't have much in common, offered me a bit of peace five years after I said my own goodbye.  For that, I am thankful.

Please keep Susan's family and her friends in your prayers.  May God be with them all.

Where Have You Been?

Everywhere might be the short answer to that question.

I was in New Mexico watching Baby Hepburn graduate from high school (and ROCK her speech!)

I think we clean up quite well.

Afterward we headed to visit Ski Trip Jerry and Dr. Kyra (they are married even though their blog names don't show that very well) where we proceeded to hang out and visit for 2 hours while the men drank Natty Light....Ski Trip Jerry's favorite.  Those two crazy folks are two of my absolute favorite people and I just love that The Boy from Texas likes them so much that he actually suggested the visit! As if I needed something else to add to the "win" column for him.

I also got to enjoy the fact that it rained!  That's right, folks, over three night we dumped a total of 3.10" out of that there rain gauge.  Answered prayers!

I also snapped this picture of these two kunckleheads...Sarge and Buttons.

Next it was off to Clayton for ND Friend and Tiny Dancer's Engagement Party.  This will be getting its very own blog....stay tuned.  It was that good.  Here's a sneak peak.

Dear professional photographer...please don't sue me!

Then I met this sweet little guy in Amarillo....Aunt Tiff is quite smitten with him!  And I had an awesome visit with his mom and grandma!

Please note I held him without any tears from either of us.

Oh, I got sworn in as an officially licensed lawyer in the State of Texas.

Taking the oath...

Me and this boy I know.

The parentals.

Then it was off to Lubbock for an Ag Law Conference.  While I was there I went for a run around the Texas Tech University campus and I have to admit, it is really quite beautiful.  Had someone shown me that when I was in high school, I really think I might have considered going there.  (And the still picked OSU because, who are we kidding here?)

Go Pokes!

After that The Boy from Texas and I headed back to New Mexico for a weekend of fun at Aunt and Uncle Evil Kineval's new lake house!  Fishing, swimming, four wheeler-riding and LOTS of eating made for an excellent weekend.

I do enjoy a boy in a large cowboy hat.

But first, let him take a selfie.