Bye Bye Birdies

To make a long story short, the birds below died and we're sad about it. They must have been eaten by something. It's been quite depressing to think about it.

On a happier note, our families arrive in 3 days for "Thanksgiving in August"! We can't wait to celebrate all of the things we're thankful for (a bit early this year since Christine will be in India in November).

This weekend has been wonderfully relaxing. Friday night Christine had a (fun) work dinner and Dana had a guy's game night in honor of Brian Blanchard's birthday. Saturday we cooked an amazing dinner (seriously - the best dinner we've ever cooked and it was so easy) and just enjoyed a romantic evening out by the pool.

Today I hosted a baby shower for Stephanie, one of the girls in my church community group. We had an ice cream sundae bar and made personalized onesies (using cute iron-ons) for Baby Wannemacher, who arrives in September.

Our little newborns

We have had a pleasure of watching a cardinal lay its eggs in an easy-to-see nest right outside our backyard and then watching them hatch. We check on them several times a day because it's actually been really cool to see them grow!

Here are the before & after pics. They were born a couple of days ago but still haven't opened their eyes.

Fun in the Sun

I've gotten lazy about taking pictures lately so unfortunately I don't have any photos of actually people to share from this weekend.

Friday we attended a Goodbye Party for our friend Diana. It was sad, but so fun at the same time because the party was packed with our good friends and Diana made amazing food for us all. Diana is very inspiring in that she isn't afraid to take risks to follow her dreams. Diana is leaving her job at Frito to move to Napa Valley and go to culinary school (one day she hopes to open a restaurant). Isn't that incredible? We will miss her and Vish, but wish her the best and hope that our paths cross again soon (I may be going to a wedding in India with her in Sept, so it may very soon!)

Saturday we hung out with the Cavins and Hottingers and played in the pool with their adorable baby girls (Charlotte and Maya) because it's been over 100 degrees here every day. So hot! I'm praying that a cool spell moves through in 2 weeks when our families visit for "Thanksgiving in August".

Saturday evening we had an awesome Indian dinner at the Saffron House. Unfortunately we always get the same things anytime we eat Indian (Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Vindaloo) because we love them so much, so I'm excited to try new things when I am in India this Fall and can eat Indian more often.

Today we had our church group over for swimming and burgers. The highlight for me was watching Lauren and Elizabeth do cheer routines in the pool (that they actually remember from high school!). That is amazing to me.

Tonight we bought a new piece of art for our dining room. I love the colors! Here's a picture...

Fireworks & Floating the River

This weekend we headed down to Austin to celebrate the 4th of July with Christine's Kappa Kappa Gamma pledge sisters and their husbands. We had a great time catching up with 14 close friends. We enjoyed Texas BBQ, floated down the river in inner tubes, swam, mini golfed and played games. Austin was HOT HOT HOT, but we love it there. Such a great city... so much character.

Sara & James (the "newlyweds" of our group) were wonderful hosts! Today I'm working on setting up special bank accounts and credit cards for my India sabbatical. I could do without the logistical details, but I'm very excited about the trip!