Small Town Fun at the Mountain

Jake and I went to breakfast yesterday at Whataburger and were contemplating what to do for the day. We didn’t really have any ideas and then Jake suggested we go out to Gander Mountain. Usually that is one of the last places that I care to spend any time at all, but there wasn’t much else to do. Gander Mountain embodies what is so dang funny about living in Texas/the South. Jake and I managed not to get kicked out but got some great pictures!

Here’s the mountain!

Let sleeping Andreas lie.

Seriously? Seriously.

Strange kid.

Trying to sneak up on the deer!

They really do make camo everything. I suppose this is for hiding from fish?

For the girl who has everything:

In answer to your question, “what does a girl keep her pink guns in?” :

Jake and I had a little too much fun in ol’ Gander Mountain today. By the time we left we were getting the evil eye from one of the checkers but it was all worth it!

Leaving on Jet Plane

I feel like I am going to camp all over again. I went to Kanakuk Kamp (misspelling intended) for four years. I looked forward to it the whole year because it was the most fun week of the summer. I knew how much fun I would have, and yet every year when I had to get on the bus to leave, I would freak out and want to stay, because I hated to say goodbye, and I hate missing people. That feeling is what has made this move so hard in the first place, but now it is coming back the other way. I am leaving tomorrow morning to come to Dallas. By myself. We knew when we moved here that I would be making more trips home than Mike would and in theory it is a good idea. But in reality I have to say goodbye tomorrow morning for two weeks. And it sucks. I am beside myself excited to go home and see everyone and have been looking forward to this trip for months. But I am a little sick at my stomach with that familiar homesick feeling that has plagued me so many times before. Since the day we met more than 5 years ago we haven’t been apart that long and it would be fine with me if we never were again. I said all that to say I’M COMING HOME!!! I’ll be home for two weeks and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone, shopping, eating Mexican food and doing all that fun stuff. Being home at Christmas was wonderful but it was so busy and we were trying to do all our Christmas shopping, Mike was working, we had tons of Christmas parties to go to and it was just all around holiday craziness. This trip promises to be much different because I have no to do lists and I am just playing everything by ear. If I know you- I hope I get to see you. If you can’t find me I suggest driving a loop around Corsicana making stops at Whataburger, Taco Shop and Old Mexican Inn. My minicab will be here in a few hours and I have to go snuggle my hubby a bit more before I have to leave him for two weeks. See you soon!

Happy Father’s Day

*NOTE* There will be no witty picture because internet is still an issue of contention here at F&C&S.

I made both of our mothers cry on Mother’s Day so I feel lots of pressure with this father’s day post. I don’t think I should use the same shtick, and I am racking my brain trying to think of something else.

I was going to list the qualities that I inherited from my dad but I realized that it was mostly bad things (apparently all my bad habits come from Dad and Aunt Carolyn!)  I am a lot like my father in good ways and in bad, in mental ways and physical ways- our baby pictures are eerily similar. Sometimes we are so alike that it scares me a little. One of my favorite shows is Friends and in one episode in a fit of frustration Rachel says, “I spent so much time trying not to turn into my mother that I accidentally turned into my father!”  I feel her pain.

There are lots of big moments in my life with Dad that I will always remember things like plays, trips, graduations and my wedding, but it is really the little moments that stick out when I really think about my relationship with my dad. Like:

Riding my bike by dad in the evenings while he ran and getting to run with him when I got older and stealing a drink from the water hose spout at that old carwash.

Doing “Who’s on First” together- broken pitcher and all!

Watching MASH and Law and Order.

Using dad’s Soloflex as a jungle gym while he was working at his desk.

Making jokes at his expense- whether he likes it or not.

When he taught my Sunday School class as a kid and all the kids thought he was the coolest.

When he coached our OM team for CCA just because I wanted to have a team and no one was prouder of us than he was when we placed 2nd!

Giving me allergy shots at the kitchen table- that was more of a love/hate thing though!

When he drove a bunch of us to the State Basketball tournament in Galveston and the tornado took the roof off of our hotel off.

Making our Amazing Race audition tape. No, we didn’t get picked, but I don’t think I have ever laughed so much in one day. FYI the first public showing of this video will be at Dad’s funeral.

Playing Scatch in the driveway. Anyone remember Scatch? AWESOME.

When he taught/tried to teach me how to drive a stick shift. Worst. Day. Ever.

Summer nights when we played in the yard until dark.

Having to be quiet in the car whenever Paul Harvey was on the radio.

There are many more where that smattering of memories came from, but they are all just as important as the big ones. I am lucky because I have discovered that some dads love their children but don’t enjoy their children. I always felt like Dad wanted to be with us and enjoyed the things that we did together rather than just put up with spending time with us. I still feel that way and I am so excited to get to see him in just a few days!! Happy Father’s Day, Dad!!!

Update and Story

Hello folks. I really wanted to get on here and post the rest of the Greece pictures but that isn’t going to happen! We are trying to switch internet providers and the switch didn’t go as smoothly as we planned and has left us internetless for a while. I am at the Whole Foods Cafe now using their wifi (for such a big city there are very few options for wifi- I would kill to be at Cafe Brazil on Central right now!). Uploading pictures here is just not going to happen as it would take so long they would close on me!

This last week we have had Jake staying with us and it was a blast! Since he had been here in March and seen all the big stuff (the Palace, Tower of London, National Gallery, Westminster Abey etc) we got to do other stuff with him. We went on the Jack the Ripper walk, British Museum, Natural History Museum and fun stuff like that. He got to meet lots of our friends and we went for Indian food and Vietnamese food- we learned that we share a deep love of seafood! It was really great spending time with the kid where he could just be himself and hang out. We watched tons of movies and laughed a lot. It was kind of a bummer he had such a short trip, but I tried to make it longer by picking him up from the airport a day early.

I woke up bright and early last Thursday morning and rode the bus for 20 minutes and then hopped a train at Clapham Junction to Gatwick, took the tram to the North Terminal and waited for Jake to get off the plane. I watched the arrival monitor and saw people with Delta tags coming out and waited and waited and waited. Finally I got worried. I went to information and they paged him. Nothing. I was afraid that he got off before I got there and was wondering the airport even though I specifically told him that he was to STAY near where he came out if I wasn’t there. I called his cell phone a bajillion times and his phone went straight to voicemail- which made me mad because we had the “turn your phone on as soon as your plane lands so I can find you” talk several times. Then information told me sometimes they hold minors at immigration until they confirm that someone is picking them up. I called immigration and there was no one by his name being held. I am FREAKING OUT and called Mike and he is trying to talk to Delta to make sure that he didn’t miss his connecting flight. I am trying to do all of this so that I can avoid calling mom and dad and telling them I lost their kid. Mike called me to tell me that Delta wouldn’t tell him anything without his booking number- which I didn’t have. I am in full on HOLY CRAP* I LOST MY LITTLE BROTHER IN LONDON panic mode and I summon my courage to call mom and dad. I was standing in the middle of the airport crying and mom answers the phone and seems confused as to why I am calling. I told her that I was so sorry and to not freak out but I couldn’t find Jake. She still sounded confused and said, “Sweetie, he leaves today. He won’t get there until tomorrow.” I did one of those half laugh and half sob things because I had worked myself up into such a tizzy and the relief that he was fine and not lost and that I was a complete idiot who can’t read a flight itinerary sank in all at once. Mom laughed at my expense and we hung up. I sat in the coffee shop near where I was for over half and hour eating a muffin and drinking a latte because I was so drained that I didn’t think that I could get home.

The next day I did it all again but with much better results- he was out by the time I got there and stayed exactly where I told him to!!

* I did not say crap. I said lots of things, but crap was not one of them. Sorry if you thought better of me and I let you down. But I thought I lost a PERSON here- cut me some slack.

Greece: A Bit More Athens

One of the highlights of Greece was getting to eat so many meals outside! It was warm but not too hot and we had some of the most lovely settings to enjoy! We ate breakfast on the top of our hotel in Athens in the mornings and then had dinner up there one night (inside for dinner because the winds were too strong.) I think that up close Athens is kind of a dirty city except for some of the more pristine tourist areas but the views were absolutely beautiful.

Greece: Athens and Delphi

We only had one full day in Athens and we decided to book a bus tour to Delphi.  It was an all day tour that took us to Mount Parnassus. It was a beautiful trip and we got to climb the mountain and see lots of archaeological sites. It is really a fascinating place- please go read the link because there is no way that I can do it justice in a paragraph. It was our anniversary and we had dinner in the restaurant on the top floor of our hotel overlooking the Acropolis!

Note: we were suprised to discover that our bodies have completely forgotten how to function in the hot weather!

It was such a wonderful day!! And thanks to everyone for you happy anniversary wishes. We think it has been a great three years!

Greece!

We are home from our wonderful vacation in Greece! This is the longest trip that we have ever taken together and we had a great time. We flew into Athens and spent a couple of days there before heading to the isle of Lesvos for five days of chilling on the beach. This was also our first real beach vacation together (we don’t count Barcelona because it was chilly and we didn’t spend any time on the beach). When we got to Athens we spent the afternoon climbing around the Acropolis and then had an amazing dinner. I really wish I had paid more attention in world history! I am not going to embarrass myself by trying to name the specific various really old stuff we saw.

That was our first day- or partial day I guess- in Greece! I have tons more pictures and stories coming soon.

A Year in London

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well folks, the time has come. We have been in London for a year. *golf claps* When I think back to our first week in London I want to laugh and cry at the same time. We spent the first night in London getting pizza, trying to figure out the buses and sleeping on the floor of our apartment. It feels like we have been here for one week/ a year/ forever. I have been looking forward to writing this post for since I wrote the two month update that made both our mothers cry because I thought that surely by a year in I would have some brilliant revelation that would make everything make sense. No such luck. No brilliant revelations- just living. Did we have a great year? Yes. Did we have a challenging year? Yes. Would I move back to Dallas tomorrow if I could? In a heartbeat. Am I ok that we’re not moving back anytime soon? Yes. So thanks for thinking of us this year, praying for us, visiting us, commenting on our blog or whatever you have done. Maybe I’ll be wiser next year but let’s not hold our breath.

3 Years!!

See Ya!

Fish and Chips and Salsa is headed to Greece for the next week! This will be the longest trip that we have taken over here and we’re really excited. We are headed to Athens for a couple of days and then going to an island to lie on the beach for a few days! Don’t worry, I have already written a couple of posts and have them set to publish while we are gone- I will not be blogging from vacation though- that would be just sad. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! Love you all!