Hey y'all

Just a little photo dump from the last couple weekends. Too busy writing papers, composing portfolios, finalizing lesson plans, writing reflections, and detailing case studies to even think about a real blog post. Or even write in full sentences. Best wishes!

(Family photos and Christmas tree shopping)

(Palo Duro)

(Carlsbad Caverns)

(Hueco Tanks)

Family and friends

 We were lucky enough to have both my family and Rex's parents visit last weekend and we just had the best time. My parents and his parents got to meet, we got to take them to our favorite restaurants, and we got to catch up over Mom's famous margaritas. It was so great! 

Also, have y'all heard Victory Bells by Josh Abbott Band? He wrote it about Tech and it just gives me goosebumps when I hear it! So proud to be a Red Raider!

Sweet 16th

Happiest of happy birthdays to my most precious little sister! Absolutely cannot believe you're turning 16 today! You are just a little gem of a girl and I can't wait to see what a wonderful woman you are going to be. 

Also, don't kill me for that. I really just can't resist.

So proud of you for being such a strong, smart, hard-working, kind-hearted, altogether BEAUTIFUL person.

Hiya!

I spent a long time trying to think of some kind of "I'm back!" title that was clever without being cliche or hard to understand without voice inflection ... and I came up with nothing. Obvs I've been away from the blogging world for too long. 

Anywho, can I get a "Hallelujah" that this season of life is over? Summers are always somehow the CRAZIEST times for us here. We were both working full time, and taking six+ hours of summer classes, and moving, and trying to be normal humans who have friends and social lives and all that (pffftt). 

So I figured we could do a little picture wrap up of the last several weeks and call it good. Kay?

We worked, we played, we camped in Colorado, we celebrated my birthday, we went to Dallas, we celebrated my birthday again, we were loved on by my sweet parents and sisters, we made A's in all of our summer classes, and now we're getting ready to start a whole new semester! 

And can we just talk about this sweet guy for a sec? He took his first classes at Tech over the summer and has a 4.0 GPA right now. No joke. He's a business genius, y'all, so look out. The smartest man I know.

So here's to a new season of life! My last year of undergrad and Rex's first year at Tech...so exciting! I'm looking forward to sharing it with you!

Cousin Weekend

Last weekend, Rex and I met up with a gaggle of cousins in Dallas to spend the weekend bonding with our much-loved family!

Now, I love my family. Growing up, Taylor and I had Kelsey and Kaila as a second pair of sisters that we could spend time with when we got tired of yelling at each other (just kidding....but really). But now, any time we try and get together, a giant debacle usually ensues. Like Saturday morning, we couldn't find a FedEx that could print out our tickets to the game, so we had to drive to Kelsey's boyfriend's parents' house to print them. 

Since we successfully made it to the game, it ended up just being funny. But from the hours of 11 AM - 1:30 PM on Saturday, we were all just about at the end of our collective ropes. 

It was so nice to get to see everyone. Kelsey and Kaila are both in Dallas, Karmen and Taylor are in Tyler, and I, obviously, am in Lubbock, so we don't get to see each other as often as we used to. But it is just such a blessing to have such a wonderful family.

I am the luckiest.

Can I Ask You A Weird Question?

This is for ladies. Ladies who do a lot of daydreaming.....

(you've been warned)

(via)

Do you ever wonder what it'd be like to be pregnant? I basically spend "nap time" at work daydreaming, and I have the thought train of a rabbit on speed....and this came up. Also, I'm following a grand total of six blogs that are pregnant or have a newborn, and I have five friends in the real world with new babies/babies on the way, and it just got me thinking.

I can tell you a few things for certain: A) I will be the most hormonal pregnant woman you've ever met. Bet on it. B) I will claim to have/actually have more medical issues than anyone ever should. C) I will gain weight like a whale; not one of those cute, basketball-belly ladies.

However, I also know it'll be worth it. What about you? Do you ever think about that? Or, if you're not so weird and have actually been pregnant before, what was it like for you?

Disclaimer: I also daydream about what it'd be like if I were Italian, what I'll do when the zombie apocalypse hits (yes, WHEN), and what my future students/house/kids/job/hobbies/life will be like....so pregnancy isn't so weird right? Right??

Also, a realistic baby photo....hah!

Okay.

I'll be honest, blogging hasn't really been my number one priority lately. Finishing up the spring semester, starting summer classes, finishing my school year job, starting my summer job, preparing for our summer camping trip, moving out of my old house, moving into my new house, trying to get my computer fixed, and trying to get a decent amount of sleep has really taken precedence lately. And, let's be real, getting up to date on How I Met Your Mother has been pretty important too. But, here's a little bit of what's happened since we last talked.

We tried our hand at fly fishing some Lubbock lakes... not too successful, I'm sure you're surprised to hear. But we got to throw using the flies we had tied! That was really cute.

Meet the wooly bugger.

Annnnddd.....Rex graduated from South Plains!! Yay! He'll be at Tech in the fall in the Business program and I'm super excited and proud of him!

For my mom's birthday, we got her tickets to see Dave Matthews Band in Dallas, so we got to do that last weekend! It was a lot of fun, and of course we didn't get a group picture, but it was great to spend time with the family and hear good music.

Otherwise, we've been working and trying to do normal life things...the usual! I hope you're having a good Memorial Day weekend! Be safe and happy and healthy! 

Tired Little Pups

One of my favorite things in the world is when the dogs are out and about in the house, running around and causing commotion - and then suddenly I hear a solid flump that means that Murphy's just dropped to the floor, and a heavy, I'm-exhausted-from-all-of-that-playing *sigh* ... it's just so ... I don't know, family-like I guess. Precious and silly and happy.

The Usual...

Watching Louis C.K. stand up and drinking Italian beer while I suffer through hour number 12 spent working on my final project for Language and Literacy Instruction....

oh, the life of a college student.

Also, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to the BEST. MOM. EVER. I really am just the luckiest daughter ever and I'm thankful for you each and every day. Thank you for blessing my life more than I could ever imagine. I hope to one day be half the mother that you have always been to me and my sister. I love you and I can't wait to spend this weekend with you!!

Happy L(ate)easter!

Since the Cooksey family (and myself as well, at times) is the worst about remembering to take family photos, I don't have anything to show for the weekend that we spend in Abilene. It was a great time, however. We got to spend a lot of time with long-time family friends, eat LOTS of good food, and, unfortunately, attend the funeral of Rex's great-godmother (god-grandmother? I'm not sure how that works). It was a happy weekend, with a little bit of sad as well.

I hope you had a good Easter! Here are a few of my favorite Easter posts from around the web, to make up for my lack of photos. (That last one isn't Easter-themed...just hilarious.)

And here's a precious Easter baby...

(via)