Bells in Texas

We lost our dog Murphy unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. We are not sure exactly what happened to him. He was sick to his stomach a couple of times, and then kind of just collapsed on us. We raced him to the Emergency vet clinic, but his heart stopped after he arrived there and they were not able to revive him. It is still bewildering to us that he was absolutely fine earlier that day, but we are happy that he did not suffer long. We're not sure what made him sick--he was on new medication for his allergies but our vet did not believe there was any way it could have caused his death.
He was a GREAT dog, and we miss him so much. Our little abode in Texas is definitely a little lonlier without him! We adopted him through a fantastic organization called RAGOM (Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota); he had previously been living in a puppy mill. We will definitely adopt a rescue dog again-- it was a great experience for us.

Here are a couple of pictures of Murphy, taken just a few days before he died:

Adam's dad had a conference for his company in Frisco, TX this week (the city bordering ours), so we were able to spend some time with him on Sunday after he flew into town. It was so great to be able to see him, even if it was a short visit. The rest of his time in town was spent golfing, sampling some great local restaurants, and maybe even working a little when he had time in between :-)

We hung out at our apartment for a while, and then went to our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant--Mi Cocina. Here are a couple of pictures:

Hi Everyone!! I'm sorry that it has been a while since we have updated our blog. I thought I would give Adam a break, and start contributing! Here are some pictures from a hike we went on a couple of weekends ago. Dallas is not much of a place for outdoor enthusiasts; (not that I am one--but Adam is!) however, we did manage to find a nature preserve that had some pretty good hiking trails.

Starting out on our hike, I freaked out a little when I saw this sign!! If you cannot read it, it says "Poisonous Snake Habitat". Luckily we did not see any snakes, but did see a couple of large spiders (more on that below).



Here is one of those spiders I mentioned. Adam took this picture; this is actually the first time I am seeing it. Great--I finally stopped having nightmares of the cane spiders that spent our honeymoon with us in Maui, and now I have this little bugger to haunt my dreams at night. At least this spider did not chase us like those cane spiders did!!




Here are a couple of pictures of us at the top of an outlook tower--with a great view.








One thing that we definitely don't see hiking in MN is cacti! It was everywhere.



After our 2.5 hour hike in increasing heat, we were pretty tired! We had a picnic and then headed back to lounge by the pool for the rest of the day. That's more like it!!

Here are some pictures of Jessica and I and Murphy at the White Rock Dog Park in mid-August. It is a good size dog park in Dallas and it is one of the only dog parks around so there were quite a few dogs there for Murphy to sniff. The separated the different size dogs into two sections. One fenced off section was for dogs like 30 lbs max. The other section was for all dogs.

We also ran into someone who was also from Minnesota. We were walking by and she saw my Gustavus Football t-shirt. She yelled to us and we walked over and spoke with our Minnesota accents without feeling as embarrassed. She explained that she was from Mankato. It is really amazing how small the world is at times.


We all had a great day. We went fairly early in the morning before the temperature got too warm. Next time we could go even earlier because it got warm pretty quick.

It really was a beautiful day. Murphy got to run around with the other dogs, and got muddy by the well.


We then we went down to the water (White Rock Lake) and watched him cool off. There were a couple of Labs there that loved to fetch sticks and tennis balls. Murphy was a bit scared to go out too far. He also was unsure of his footing. The water was not very clear, and the landing was very rough and rocky.


The funniest part was this little pit bull dog thing trying to drag an entire limb off the shore. He was relentless in his efforts. He did not seem to care that it weighed probably 150-200 lbs dry. He was definitely determined to succeed. His ambition was definitely something to admire.



After the fun down at the shore, we went up to walk a bit on the bridge. The bridge spans the whole width of the lake. The span is quite some distance.

Here is a shot of Jessica and Murphy on the Bridge:

Murphy getting some water to drink before we head home.

Unfortunately, I have done a terrible job of keeping the blog updated. So, instead of going back two months and trying to write every detail of the events, I am just going to do a recap...

...so it was really great to be able to see my wife again. Here are just a couple shots of us in the backyard on the 5th of July having some cocktails.


The pictures are kind of blurry- sorry.







Jess and me



Jess relaxing by candlelight





For some reason, I kind of look drunk in this pic. I wasn't be my eyes looked glassy beyond the poor image quality. Maybe I was just drunk with love? ;)






We had some citronella tea lights to set the mood.


It was so great t be able to spend some time with Jess. This had been the longest duration since the drive to Dallas that Jessica and I had not seen each other.

I am going to be updating the blog here with some postings from before the move.

Jessica came back to Minnesota for the Fourth of July. We had a BBQ with some of the family and some friends. It was short notice and of course on the 4th f July, so we were happy that anybody could make it.

Here is a pic of some of Jessie's family that showed up.

(L-R: Sue, Dorothy, Herb Barb, Rick and Butch)


We were so excited that Holly and Jared came.

(The Chesters: Holly, Blake and Jared)

Jessica enjoying herself and the beautiful weather.

A man tending the meat on the grill. Yeah, I cooked way too much food. We had almost 4 pounds of beef and more brats and hot dogs than we could eat in a week.

Jessica made a bunch of her delicious appetizers and salads. The Chesters also brought a pasta salad. I know that I ate way too much food. I think I had a 2 hot dogs, a burger and a brat, plus all the sides.

It was a great day. The weather, as I mentioned, was gorgeous, the food was delicious, and the chance to see everyone was tons of fun.

Thanks again to everyone who was able to share the evening with us. We really appreciate it.

We are finally getting internet at the apartment tomorrow. I am psyched. Now I will be able to update the blog with all the pictures and comments that I have been saving for the past 3 weeks. There is tons of stuff that I need to post.

And I will be able to search for a job at the comfort of my home instead of the computer lab.

Until then...

For the second time in my whole life, I am unemployed.

Today was the last day at my job at West - A Thomson Reuters Business. I am now unemployed.

While somewhat liberating, it is also somewhat freaking scary. I know I will find another job, but the "meantime" will definitely add some additional stress to my life...

At least I will have a lot more time to blog?

We are goign to have a BBQ on the Fourth of July to celebrate us selling our house and Jessica is coming back for it. I have not seen Jessica for over a month now. It has been extremely difficult to be separated that long, but the Lord has answered our prayers. I am only weeks away now from moving to Texas for good.

It will be nice for her to get to see the house (and the dishwasher that I installed) one last time. Hopefully many of our friends and family can make it.

Good food, good friends, and plenty of reason to celebrate on this anniversary of our great country's declaration of independence.

The reunion is near. I have exciting news. Jessica and I have accepted an offer on our house in Minnesota. We are so happy that our prayers have been answered. Finally after months of waiting for the housing market to pick up, we were presented with an offer and we accepted. We did not have much bargaining leverage, but the terms were acceptable enough to make it work.

Coincidentally, I had given my formal notice to resign at work the day before. I was going to move to Texas in three weeks, and I still do not have a job yet and we had not sold our house. It was going to be a stressful situation, as you can imagine, with trying to pay a mortgage and rent on just Jessica's salary. But then the Lord answered our prayers and helped a nice young couple find our house and fall in love with it enough to want to buy it.

The inspection still has to pass (which it should). The closing is scheduled for July 28. My last day at Thomson is going to be July 11th. The movers are coming July 14-16 to pack and move all of our things. It is supposed to take up to a week to get the items down to Dallas. I have driven it in 14 hours, I am a bit confused on that one, but I will not worry about it right now.

I am praying that nothing happens to prevent the closing, but it seems like I am on my way to Dallas. I am so excited to be reunited with my wife, Jessica, and my puppy, Murphy!

One of the things I love about Texas is the fact that along the side of the roads in neighborhoods and office parks, you can see ranch life blended with the city life.

Jessica works for J.C. Penney's which is located near Legacy Drive in Plano, TX. You have these huge companies with their corporate headquarters situated on beautiful acres of land. On these acres of land you also have horses and cattle. Yes, horses and cattle. The reason we have been told for this is because then the companies get to claim agricultural land use for tax purposes.

Here are a couple shots of some Texas longhorns across the street from JCP:


Awesome.

It had been four days since I had last seen my beautiful wife, but I was heading back to the Big D to celebrate her 30th birthday. Jessica's parents', Rick and Barb, also came down to visit. It was a great weekend and great for Jessica to be able to see her mom and dad.


I decorated the apartment so that she would be surprised when she got home from work at noon. I put up some banners and streamers and had about 25-30 balloons inflated. I also bought her a "birthday girl" ribbon that she was supposed to wear all weekend, but it only stayed on about 15 minutes. I guess I really cannot blame her...


Rick and Barb bought her a bottle of sparkly (Jessica wants to save it for when I move down for good) and ordered her a big birthday cake.


Jessica and I went to Rick and Barb’s hotel one of the afternoons and laid out by the pool. Here you can see Jessica and I in the pool.


Jessica on her balcony enjoying some chardonnay before going out to dinner for her birthday.




Jessica and me on the balcony. We tend to take quite a few pictures of us on the balcony. It is not very big and the view is not that great, but it is still fun. Most of the shots in her apartment are done with the timer feature of our camera and balancing it on top of the tv, so the shots are not ideal, but Jessica is so cute that she always looks good.



Jessica and I outside the hotel.



Jessica and her parents outside the hotel before dinner.



Here we are at dinner. We went to a nice steakhouse named Jasper’s . I would highly recommend Jasper’s . The food was delicious and the service was great. My only complaint is that we had to wait a half an hour after our reservation to be seated. This can be expected however, at many fine dining establishments.

I also finally tried Tito’s Handmade Vodka. I have to say that Tito’s vodka is awesome. I love vodka and will definitely be ordering Tito’s again whenever I can. My dry martini was delicious and so smooth. Tito’s vodka is the first and only distillery in Texas. It is distilled in Austin and they have done a top-notch job of producing a quality vodka. I have had some very good vodka, but for the price- scratch that- even with the low price, Tito’s is better than almost any European vodka that I have had.

Jessica and I had to celebrate our 3-year wedding anniversary apart. It was May 21st. It was hard to be apart. I sent Jessica 100 blooms of lillies to her office on our anniversary and then did get to go down to Dallas the next weekend. I did not get a picture of the flowers, but they did not look like they did online. Jessica still loved them and was surprised, so I guess it was the thought that counts?

Here are some pics of the weekend, May 24th, when we got the chance to finally celebrate together:

I have the most beautiful wife! Doesn't she look great for thirty? I am the luckiest


Here I am on the balcony of Jessica's apartment enjoying a margarita out of a coconut. Jessica decorated the apartment to recreate our Hawaiian honeymoon. It was lots of fun.


Jessica and I went out to dinner that night to Mi Cocina. It is one of my favorite Mexican restaraunts in Dallas. There are several in the area. The food is really good. The service is great, the portions are "Texas-sized," and the atmostphere is just really fun.I have been there three times though I think and I always get the same thing. I need to try some other menu items, but the sampler platter I always order is just so good, and I get to try a bunch of different items.

It was also nice because Monday was Memorial Day, so I got to spend an extra long weekend with Jessica and Murphy. It was hard to go back to Minnesota, but I had plans to come down the next weekend, so it would not be long before I was back.