Corpus Part 1

Brealynn and I first came to Corpus Christi over spring break, so about a month and a half ago.  I had started with a new company and since we were/are super poor, I went out to go work for a week and thankfully Brea with me.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we broke down in Corpus Christi.  My first thought was that the transmission had gone, but after thinking it over in my head some more I realized it was probably just an axle.  So after a two night stay we were back on the road again, and only a few hundred dollars more poor.

This really is a big state to drive across.

The first night in town we stayed in the most terrible hotel possible.  A tiny little Motel 6 just off the freeway.  Really it was bad.  Just, so bad.  I couldn't stay another night there, nor could I let my wife stay there.  We ended up switching to a Travelodge which for the fifty dollar a night price, I don't think you could beat.  It was so much better.

The week passed without too much eventful.  There was a little learning curve with the new companies and the way they wanted things done.  The guys took us out to dinner twice which was really nice, and Brea might have started crying when I told her they were taking us to Johnny Carino's and she could get some lobster ravioli.  They were really nice to us and tried to talk to Brea a little so she felt included which I really appreciated.

We went out for dinner one of the nights we were there, probably Saturday, and decided to try a little restaurant down on the beach that had pretty good reviews.  The hostess was terrible and there were a lot of people waiting.  There were mostly big tables though so a guy asked if we wanted to sit with them.  Brea said it would be okay, and I figured it would either be nice company or a nice story so we said yes.  

The food was alright though not wonderful (except the shrimp).  We did however get to see drunk ladies dance to the not very good band which is always fun.  And really it was nice to eat with that couple.  They were far enough away that we really could stay to ourselves, but we also got to talk a little with them, and they were pretty cool.  And it was a little fun to eat dinner with some strangers.

Yep, we made them take a picture of us kissing.

Our new pals.

Sunday happened to be stake conference so we missed church.  Instead we went to Shipley's for some donuts.  Of course.  However when we arrived, they were out of chocolate filled.  I began to weep.  Okay, not really, but I told her how sad I was, which I was.  She told me to hang on for a minute, walked to the back, and said they had some empty ones that she would fill for me.  And they were oooh so tasty.

Delicious.  The donuts were pretty good too.

We decided to stay an extra day so that we could go to the aquarium and it was really cool.  The Tempe one competes with it, or is maybe better on the inside.  But on the outside, they have a dolphin show, an otter exhibit, a place to pet the rays, some birds, as well as a big gator (which led to Brea saying that if she did something crazy, it would be gator wrestling...yeah right).  

Fish Feeding

The sea turtles were really cool.  The other ones stared at you wherever you went.

The dolphins were so cool.

That smile made it all worth it.  Even if it was crazy windy.

Wrestle gators my foot.

The only thing with bigger eyes than my wife and sister.

Blue Bell at the aquarium, how great is this place?

It was really just fun to be there.  We went to the beach one of the days, and even though Brea was bored most of the time, it was fun to go somewhere for a bit.  Fun to go to the beach again.  And fun to go back somewhere that I hadn't been for probably twenty years, to look at the aircraft carrier that I slept on when I was in scouts (the same trip as when the boys in the ward made fun of me for asking who "fluffed".  thanks mom).   

Some pretty decent brisket and ribs.

I look like such a creeper in this pic.  Good thing she looks good.

Of course we had to take at least one picture kissing on the beach.  Or two.  Or three.

Hey I slept on that ship!!  Probably the same year Brea was born....

We were on the beach, alright?  No making fun of me for having my jeans rolled up.

Maybe a titch racist?

On the way home we stopped in San Antonio and had lunch at this vegetarian restaurant that was supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the city.  Brea had a salad with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, that she said should have just been called "dirt salad", but her eggplant parmesan that was very delicious and my food wasn't too bad either.  We made it safely back home, even though El Paso.  All together it was a really nice trip, and really nice to take a little "vacation" together.

You're even Texas proud in the bathroom.
And you see the "Get Busy!" sign?  Ha ha.

Our vegetarian cuisine.  And yes, the place was full of dirty hippies and granolas. 

Funny to shop here again.

You know you're in Texas when they have smokers in front of the grocery stores.

The Road Less Traveled

So I made it to Texas again. Didn't even break down in El Paso. It's been nice. I've been busy and working in a city about forty miles west of Corpus Christi. 

On the way back last night however, I took the wrong road home. And by "wrong", I mean it would have gotten me there, it was just not the way I wanted to go. So I decided to get off the 44 and take Farm to Market 70 down to Farm to Market 665 (yes there are a lot of these roads). It is probably ten miles or so. 

At the time of this picture I am the blue dot. I am also confronted with a giant closed road sign. Super annoying. However, I am all alone out here and in no particular rush to get home this evening. So I see Co Rd 28 on the map (and in real life) and decide that I should go down this road. 

Now if you need the translation, Co Rd means "this is not really a road for cars, but for horses and oxen". Unfortunately Google did not mention this previously. So off I went down a single lane asphalt road that became dirt road as soon as I passed Co Rd 97. 

Ever determined the Camry fought along. Soon enough I arrived at Co Rd 95. And it got a bit worse. Soon I ran into this: 

Did I continue? Did I have any other option at this point in my journey/adventure? The answer is yes. At least until I got here. This is where, much to my dismay, I throw in the towel and retrace my steps. 

Possibly because I have the memory of this movie lingering in my mind:

Helping When I Can

After going out to lunch the other day with Brea and Tom, someone in the parking lot asked us if we had anything to get into a car. They had locked their keys in their car and the guy was about to try to be tough and break the window (I probably should have let him try at least once).

Turns out I have a lot of stuff in my trunk. The coat hanger failed, as this was the hardest kind of car to get into. I tried to lower the window more by hooking the handle, since they were the manual-open kind. That failed. I tried everything I could think of. However the window was open about two inches. So I went back to my toolbox. I got my needle nose pliers and two 12 inch drill bits. With electrical tape I taped them to the handles. I flexed the window back and shoved my hand though the tiny opening. Then I handed myself my pliers, angles it down, and pulled up on the lock. Awesome.

Meet Shelby

So here she is. The newest part of our family.She's eight years old, so not quite a puppy still. Appears to be in really good health, though a bit on the skinny side (good thing Carbiener's now how to fatten someone up). The owner seemingly had had a rough time as of late, and knew that it was best for the dog to part ways. And we're excited about having her.

Trying to figure out what to do when we went to bed.

The Aquarium

Months and months ago there was a Groupon to the Tempe Aquarium and I bought it, and a few weeks later we went. Brea loves aquariums, and I am almost always up for something new. Totally worth it. First and most importantly because of how excited she was. Secondly, because I really enjoyed it.

There were huge crabs that Brea tried to buy for dinner. There were starfish that we could hold (after five or ten minutes of talking Brea into it). There were tiny sharks, rays doing back strokes until they hit the sides of their tank. There were seahorses and clownfish and “Dori” fish and even some kind of puffer fish that even blew a big breath of bubbles right in Brea’s face when she got close. We both jumped a little and it was so funny. And though I feel a little bad for teasing her about it, the part when Brea realized she was standing on the plexiglass was the most entertaining part of the trip.





Before she looks down. Very happy.


But then she looked down.

Big Daddy. For A Week

You remember the movie Big Daddy? The one where Adam Sandler becomes a dad when he is entirely unprepared for it? I had one of these experiences recently. No, we are not having a baby. However with Brea’s parents taking a vacation to Missouri we were nominated to watch the five children during their absence. We knew it would help, and we knew it would give us a favor to keep in the bank for a future time when we need a babysitter, so we accepted.

As a brief summary, it was, eventful at times, and not so eventful at others. We had a rough first day, I made cookies with the younger ones while Brea was in class. Jay wanted to use the cookie cutters and I reluctantly agreed to not make perfectly even, perfectly formed cookies. And though oatmeal cookies are probably not the best for shaping, we did our best. And we got one of the most adorable pictures of Mary ever.
I did sixth grade math homework with Adam (which required some catching up for me). We hung around and watched a movie one day (I think). And we took the family to Airworx to play on their giant trampolines.

It was a little tougher than Brealynn had planned. About what I had expected. But a good experience I think, and all in all not too bad. Not something I’d like to do on a weekly basis mind you. And it was awfully nice to sleep in our bed again.

An Early Valentine’s (Though Posted A Month Late)

Valentine’s Day we would be preoccupied with child watching so we changed it this year to February 9th. Josh Olsen would have been proud. And based on a recommendation from Christin, we went to a restaurant called Posh. She blogged about it here. It was a bit tricky to get to, so we parked a little ways away and walked. Though Brea was really sore from over-doing it on a new workout and didn’t exactly appreciate that in her new heels…

But we got there. And scratched a few things off the menu. And then started eating.
Honestly I don’t know what most of this was, nor can I remember what he told me. Brea definitely enjoyed her food lottery experience better than me, though mine wasn’t bad. And it is really more money than I could comfortably spend on a meal more than once every year or two. But it is something that I am super glad we experienced and Brea had her favorite dessert of her life I think, pistachio crème brulee and raspberry sorbet. And if she’s happy, then I’m happy.

And one more thing. We had found some shoes at Nordstrom’s back in the first few months of our dating. They were Kelsi Dagger’s and great. But a little expensive. Not particularly expensive if you happen to be Christin but a little much for us poor kids. I thought about buying them a handful of times for the next seven or eight months. I checked once on the Internet and they were still there. Sometime mid-January I checked online, and they were on clearance! Fifty percent off! And of the two available sizes, one was a size eight. Which happens to be her size. Sometimes, just sometimes, things work out when you wait.