Houston, Texas

Flashback!  Our latest trip down to Houston was at the end of August.  I know it is now October, but I am trying to keep our travel posts in chronological order, so I wanted Johnnie to get in his SE Asia posts before I moved on. 

Moving on...  (Just a heads up...this is a LONG post because I was in Houston for a LONG time.)

As many of you know, my little sister Lauren and her husband Austin spent the last year living in South Korea, teaching English in elementary schools.  They had a great time, but were so ready to come home on August 20th.

Their flight was a little late and then they went to the wrong terminal, so we waited...here is a picture of My dad, Mr. Schauer, and Lauren and Austin's dog Ella of course...

After what felt like a super long wait (and a page over the loudspeaker since Lauren and Austin didn't have cell phones), the travelers finally arrived!  Not sure if Lauren was more excited to see her family or Ella the dog...probably Ella.  :)

Here's my favorite homecoming picture.

Lauren: "She doesn't remember me!!!"  Haha

With their welcome sign and balloons!

Of course, we all headed straight to Pappasitos from the airport...no Kimchee here!!

The Brothers-In-Law (BILs, as we call them).  These are 2 very handsome BILs, if I do say so myself.  :)

We had an all-weekend welcome home party at my parents' lake condo in Conroe.  Grandaddy was there!!

Dad was on the grill...

Mrs. Schauer , Mom, and Nance were lookin' good...

And we finally got the dogs to look at the camera!!

To me, the smallest get together is a good enough excuse to make a fun dessert.  For Lauren and Austin's welcome home party, I decided to do a Texas-themed cake with matching cupcakes...

Cutting their cake (since they didn't have a cake at their wedding).

Johnnie had to leave early Monday morning to head back to Missouri for work.  I wasn't the only one who didn't want him to go...

While I was still in Houston, I got to see some of my girlfriends.  Here is a picture from a dinner date night with Sarah.  I completely forgot to take pictures of my other evenings out with the girls. :(

Johnnie flew back into Houston on Friday, September 3rd.  That night, we met my friend Stacey and her husband Stephen at my parents' condo.  We had a great time hanging out with the awesome couple and got to "sprinkle" them with baby gifts for their daughter Zoe, who is due this November.

The beautiful mommy-to-be...

Mini "baby" cakes that I made for the "Baby Sprinkle" party...

Stace and Stephen...they are going to make excellent parents!

The next morning, Johnnie and I headed into Houston early to meet up with some friends for the UT vs. Rice football game at Reliant Stadium.

Sarah and Amy in the car, waiting for the parking lots to open for tailgating...

Unfortunately, I do not have ONE single picture from tailgating.  I was a little preoccupied...nursing my finger after slamming it in my car door.  :( 

But I wasn't going to let that get in my way of supporting my Longhorns!  TEXAS! FIGHT!

Johnnie, me, and Patti at the game...

The impressive University of Texas marching band...

And here is Rice's band...not so impressive, but very comical!  :)

Johnnie and I had so much fun in Houston.  There were so many things to celebrate and lots of reasons to have fun (although we don't usually need a reason).  :)  Check back soon to see the next post from the girls' trip I took with my mom and sister!