Dallas Farmers Market

This past weekend we went downtown to check out the Dallas Farmer's Market. I've heard good things about it but was actually disappointed. Yes, there was TONS of produce vendors selling the same stuff I could buy in a grocery store but that was about it. They had a section for "local farmers" however they weren't really local like it was in California. And let's face it, not a lot of stuff grows out here. It was nice to try something new but I am happy with the result because in the end, I learned that my little Frisco Farmer's Market meets my needs! (And I can get there in 5 minutes.)

Baseball and Snowcones

This August has been REALLY hot. In fact, it has been over 100 degrees 23 out of the last 24 days. Crazy!

Earlier this month we crossed off one of my Texas "to-do's". We finally went to see a Frisco Rough Riders baseball game. It's silly that it has taken us this long to do it since the ball park is literally 2 blocks away from our apartment. Peter's job had a family night at the ballpark so it was a great opportunity to both see a baseball game and get to know Peter's new co-workers. It was a lot of fun and they were a nice group of people.

Later that week we crossed off another one of my "to-do's". I had been hearing from many locals how we needed to go to a place called the "Snow Cone Lady". We finally did. It's this small building/shack run by a woman known as the Snow Cone Lady. It's extremely popular and there is often a wait that can go past 1/2 hour!! We stopped by one night 10 minutes before she closed so the wait was minimal and enjoyed the perfect summer treat - a snow cone. I LOVE snowcones. They remind me of fun times at Lagoon as a teen. I was happy to see that I could order the Tigersblood flavor. That's my favorite and it wouldn't be the same if I had to order something else.

I'm finally starting to feel like we are experiencing a lot that Texas has to offer. I'm still not crazy about the place but at least I can name a few things that we've done that I enjoyed. The next step is to figure out how I can make some girlfriends so that I have someone to get out of the house with sometimes.

Family and Austin

My cousin on the Carlson side, Heather (along with her two boys Liam and Walker and husband Isamu), has just moved to Austin from Detroit, Michigan. I am so excited to have some family within a few hour drive! At the beginning of August we drove to visit them in their new house. They live in a beautiful part of town west of the city in the hills. I mentioned to Peter how much it felt like Roseville, CA.
We had a great weekend visit filled with Settlers of Cataan, War (the card game), hanging out by the pool. We made my first peach pie from local peaches we bought at the side of the road. It was YUMMY!
We really enjoyed the visit and are looking forward to the next time.

FC Dallas

We tried something new last weekend IN TEXAS. Crazy, huh? :) We went to a professional soccer game. The only soccer games I've watched in real life have been played by those who were under 12 yrs old. We did watch a little of this year's World Cup so I was looking forward to seeing that type of skill in person. We watched FC Dallas take on Real Salt Lake at Pizza Hut Park here in Frisco. I struggled with which team to cheer for - my old-home team or my new-home team? I went with the crowd though and cheered for Dallas. Despite the rediculous heat (it was nearly 100 degrees and of course we were facing the setting sun) it was a lot of fun! I don't mind that in general, soccer is a low scoring game because there is tons of action and the game can completely change in seconds. Dallas won 2-0! The soccer season goes until October so we'll go back but when it cools down a bit. (I can't imagine what the players feel like running around that massive field in that type of heat.)

Bad blogger?

I wonder if I am a bad blogger. I don't blog regularly. I don't feel like I write particularly well. I read some people's blogs and feel like they've really figured out how to write so that you see inside their heads. They have profound things to say. They have funny things to say. All I do is write a recap of what we do along with pictures. I don't edit the pictures and crop them so you only see the parts of the picture you care about. I just upload them exactly as they are, red eye and all. I would like to think that if I ever open this blog to my friends/family that they'd be able to get a glimpse of not only what we are doing but HOW we are doing through my writing. But I don't think that would happen. I've gotten away from the purpose of the blog which was to help motivate us to get out and explore Texas. My blog layout is pathetic and simple. It's a fact. I am a bad blogger. Sorry?

July 4th in Nashville

For 4th of July we went to Nashville. I am craving being around family so it was really a nice way to spend a holiday. We got to town on the 3rd (Saturday), which was perfect because Julianne had a concert that night. Marriann's nephew Justin came to town for the weekend with his wife Stacey and their two boys Jack and Anderson. Plus Michael's mom and step-dad also came to town so there was plenty of family! It was fun to meet them all and get to know them.

We rode to the concert with Julianne in her convertible. I think everyone needs to spend some time in a convertible during the summer! :) The venue was right on the riverfront downtown. It was a pretty location. Julianne had dinner catered by a BBQ company before the concert. YUMMY.

The Phillips family - Logan, Tony, Katherine, and new baby Arianna (Ari)

Enjoying dinner, the heat, and the company

It was Tony's Birthday so of course we had to celebrate!

Here's the crowd for the concert. (VERY different from her Ft Worth concert) Here are pictures from Julianne's concert. She did an amazing job. It was a huge stage and she was the headliner. It was a great crowd, too. It was fun to see her concert again and catch things that we might have missed the first time. Plus, we were more familiar with her songs so I could sing along more. She did a shout-out from the stage to her family and we all went crazy screaming. Such dorks. :) Sometimes I took pictures of what was on the screens since we were on the side of the stage. Great, great, great concert!!! She is a great performer.


Anderson was a DOLL. He was nearly always smiling.

Right after the concert we went to a private viewing area right on the riverfront to watch the fireworks.

On the 4th we hung out at Julianne's all day. She did a short concert downtown on the waterfront again but rather than deal with the crowds we all decided to stay at her house and she came home right after her concert. We grilled and did fireworks at the house.

Stacey and Jack
Justin and Logan

Wouldn't be the 4th without doing some sparklers.

Tony was the chef for the night and did a great job!

The whole group

This was the first time I've ever been in a place where you could light off fireworks that actually go into the air. WOW! It's a whole new world! Here are the girls posing as they light off Roman Candles. (Side note - - this was also the first night I've ever seen fireflies. Can you believe that I'm over 30 and never seen them before? It was awesome! I tried to get a picture but it didn't work.)

The Poole Family

Peter and Tony lighting off bottle rockets. Boys will be boys.

After all the fireworks had been lit, we sat around, played a little "Big Booty", and talked. Julianne's house is far enough from her neighbors that we didn't have to worry about keeping it down. Such a perfect thing!

What do you do when you've had a great day but it's midnight and no one's ready to call it a night? You go night swimming of course!!! We enjoyed swimming in the dark at Julianne's neighborhood pool and finally headed to bed around 2 am.

On Monday everyone headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before Stacey and Justin had to begin their drive home. That afternoon Peter, Marabeth and I went to the movies and saw "Grownups."

Waiting outside Cracker Barrel

Afterward the movie, we stopped and picked up some food for our dinner picnic at the vineyard. Arrington Vineyards was so pretty and picturesque. The whole group was there - - Michael/Marabeth/Aiden, Michael's Mom and Step-Dad, Katherine/Tony/Logan/Ari, and Marriann. We relaxed on the grass, the boys played some frisbee, and enjoyed the sunset.

After dinner we went to Michael and Marabeth's and hung out around their fire pit visiting. It was relaxing and a perfect way to end the day.

Kat, Marabeth, Ari, and Marriann On Tuesday, Katherine and I met with Marabeth and Michael for Bikram Yoga. My only real experience with yoga to this point was YogaX (part of P90X). Holy cow was it a workout. So, not only are you getting into these crazy positions and doing rediculous balancing poses, but you are also doing it in a room that is heated above your body temperature (98.6!!!). I made it through the 90 minute class without dying and only had to take a break a few times. I have never sweat so much in my life. I will totally do it again. :)

For dinner we went back over to Marabeth and Michael's. We sat around their firepit again and roasted marshmallows. It sure was nice to be somewhere it cools down at night.

Our last day in Nashville, Wednesday, was laid back. We went to lunch with Marabeth and Michael's mom and step-day. Then Marabeth and I headed to her spa Natural Oasis. We both got our hair cut and colored. It was a fun way to spend time together! After that it was time to go to the airport and go home. It is always so nice to visit with family and so hard to leave. Sigh.

Race for the Cure

On June 12th I did the North Texas Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5k. It was a BIG event. There was something like 9,000 people that participated.

I had set a new years resolution to do a 5k once a quarter and I missed the first quarter and second quarter was nearly up so this came at a good time.

Even though I was running alone, I was excited and wanted to see what the results would be when I ran the whole time at my own pace. The humidity (and the heat) was awful and really impacted my run. I did great the first mile but after that really struggled. I was drenched (as was everyone who passed me)!

I thought my time would be horrible so I was really pleased when I rounded the corner and saw the time clock. My final time was 45:37 - my best time yet!

(I ran the 2008 Nutrition Fuels Fitness 5k with Shannon and had a time of 50:17. And then ran the 2009 Nutrition Fuels Fitness 5k with Shannon and had a time of 47:29.)

I am looking forward to my next 5k for 3rd quarter but I'm going to wait until probably Sept when hopefully it will have cooled down and the humidity will be lower.