Care Group

Can I just say that I big puffy heart our care group? It is such a diverse group of personalities, ages, careers and places in life, but we mesh so well. Tonight was our "fun night" and we went to the Stewart's house for a little Mexican potluck...yum! This was only our fourth get together, but I can already see that we can rely on this group of people and they will be there to support us in the good times and bad. Phil and I have been really blessed in that we have always been surrounded by good friends that we love.

And on a random note, 4 out of the 6 girls in our care group are Pi Phis. And I'm sure if they had sororities instead of social clubs at ACU, Sherry would have been one too. ;) Sorry Em, you are the odd one out this time!

Muenster Bike Rally

This Saturday we participated in the annual Muenster Bike Rally that takes place on the weekend of Germanfest. Phil rode with some of his work buddies and John-Michael; and I paired up with some of the ladies that were participating. The men did the 100K ride, while the girls chose to go with the tamer 65k. This was my longest bike ride to date, but it wasn't too bad because we stopped at the rest stops to stretch our legs, get a drink and eat a snack. There were some killer hills and going down can be as scary as going up is painful. At one point I hit 35mph and I chickened out and hit the brakes. I kept thinking that if I crashed at that speed I could die! The guys had to brag about going over 40mph!

After the race we walked over to Germanfest where the guys indulged themselves in huge plates full of german sausage, kraut and potatoes. I stuck with a tame corn dog and french fries. It was a fun day and we are hoping to do this again next year. Although I will definitely be putting sunscreen all over my shoulders and arms. Luckily I always put it on my face, but the rest of me is hurting from that mistake!

Go Green!

In honor of Earth Day, I think it is a good idea for all of us to take a moment and consider the simple changes that can be made in our everyday lives to reduce our ecological footprint. We have really tried to incorporate environmentally friendly products and take steps to reduce our waste in the past year, but almost every day I come across something that I wouldn't have thought to recycle, or that I wouldn't think to switch to an earth friendly product, so I know that there is so much more out there that we can do. Here are some of our ideas, and please add anything that I've missed.

* Riding public transportation (at least Phil does!)
* Recycling - that includes the plastic containers that your plants come in from Home Depot, your cereal boxes, cardboard shipping boxes, junk mail, newspapers, and of course your plastic bottles, coke cans and the other usual stuff, oh and check the lid, they are often recyclable as well.
* Switching to organic or locally grown foods. Better for you, better for the environment. Organic produce keeps chemical pesticides out of our water supply (and out of your body!), while locally grown foods reduce the pollutants created from shipping across countries and as a bonus, they help stimulate our local economy. Whole Foods has a great selection of organic and locally grown products, while mainstream grocery stores are starting to carry many more organic options.
* Get rid of harsh chemical cleaners in your house. Look for words such as biodegradable and chlorine and phosphate free. Some of my favorite brands are 7th Generation, Biokleen and Mrs. Meyers. Vinegar is one of the best cleaners out there and it is cheap and non-toxic. Use 1 part water and 1 part vinegar for a great all purpose cleaner. And if you need a soft scrub, add baking soda.
* Switch to all natural and organic lawn and garden products. Chemical fertilizers pollute our water supplies. There are several local organic nurseries in the area, although Rhode's is the only one I've been to. http://www.beorganic.com/
* Buy reusable grocery bags. Whole Foods has great bags made out of recycled plastic bottles that they sell for $1. We use the produce bags when we take the dogs on a walk (enough said!)

There is so much that we haven't done that we would like to do, but awareness is the first step. We can all make a difference if we try!

Brenham Trip

This weekend we took a road trip to Brenham with Brian and Amanda, our good friends from college. Brian's parents have a ranch there, complete with cows, called Aggie Acres. Patton and Dodger came with us, and it was probably the most fun they've ever had! They chased cows, went swimming, went for rides on the polaris, and rolled around in the grass all day long. It was so nice to get away from the big ol city and hang out with good friends. Our friend Matt came up on Saturday and Amanda and I went antiquing in downtown Brenham while the boys went out to the river and shot clay pigeons. It's amazing what you will run into when you get out of the city. We saw a wild boar with two babies, a coyote and Phil saw a snake. I thought our dogs were going to attempt to jump out the car window when they spotted the pigs. Here are a few pictures, including some really funny ones of the dogs in the car on the way down, and the link to the album: http://picasaweb.google.com/elicia.graves/AggieAcres?authkey=rgijwcF1_kE

This is Liz

She likes to show up to work wearing the same pink sweater as me. She also likes sickly sweet wine, men with accents (at least she married one), dogs, unfriendly cats and gardening. There you go Liz, your very own blog post! Oh, and even a pic of you in my/your/our pink sweater. :)

Biking with the Paulsens

Our friends Chris and Lauren brought their bikes with them to church and we all went for a nice ride around the lake afterwards. I say nice, but really it was super windy and not fun when you are pedaling as hard as you can and moving 11 miles per hour! We had a good time though and I wish Lauren could be pregnant all the time, because I can actually somewhat keep up with her now. Whenever Phil wants me to do some athletic endeavor or another and I say no, he asks "What would Lauren Paulsen do?" Dang you Lauren! But we had a good time, and after the ride we went to JG's and indulged in hamburger and cheese fry goodness.

Lauren, Chris (wearing his Texas shirt to spite Phil) and "Kelly in the Belly." We're not quite sure why Chris struck his best cheerleading pose here. On a sidenote, check out that awesome azalea in the background!

Phil and I. Of course he is all aggied out!

Playtri Triathlon

Phil is the brave soul who entered an April triathlon. I won't touch the water unless it is pushing 90 degrees outside. This triathlon is held in Las Colinas near the canals. It is a nice event, and I did brave the cold front and was there to cheer him on with his mom and dad, and our babies (Dodger and Patton.) We had a good time watching, and Phil did pretty well too. He has definitely improved his swim time. I need to hit the pool if I'm going to keep my reign as fastest swimmer in the PE Ratio household!

Below: Transition from swim to bike, Grandfather with Dodger, Phil on the run, Phil with the dogs right before Patton attacked Dodger and scared away all of the moms and kids who witnessed it, Patton sacked out in the truck after his "real hard day":

Welcome Campbell Holladay Kretz!

Sweet Baby Campbell was born to some of our best friends, Emily and John-Michael at 6:28pm on April 10th. Phil and I went to the hospital to visit them and meet Campbell for the first time tonight. He is quite the cute baby, and you have got to see and hear this kid cry. It is the cutest thing! His lower lip starts quivering and he makes this adorable cat like sound. He didn't cry for long though. We witnessed the new daddy change a dirty diaper, and then the little guy made himself comfortable and went to sleep. We look forward to watching you grow up Campbell! You are a lucky little one with wonderful parents. Here are some pictures from our visit:

Big D Half Marathon

My first blog was my marathon training blog, which I don't update very frequently, but I will post about this over there as well. Phil and I ran the Big D half together and it was Phil's first half marathon experience. He kicked butt and placed 19th in his age group and finished in 1:47, which is a great time for someone who has been running these for a while, let alone a first timer! I *think* I had a PR and finished somewhere around 2:09, but I'm waiting for the results to be posted to find out. Afterwards we had a delicious calorie filled lunch at JG's (awesome hamburgers and cheese fries if you've never been) with Emily and John-Michael, and then I dragged Phil to Home Depot where we managed to spend another $70.00 on flowers and plants. We are obsessed! We just can't pass up the azaleas for sale at $2.50. We will dig something up in order to put them in our flower beds. I spent the next few hours planting and regretting my full cart at Home Depot, but the yard looks nice!

The Arboretum

Last weekend we enjoyed a nice Sunday afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum with Phil's parents. The Arboretum is one of my favorite spots in the city and I had the opportunity to volunteer there several times over the past year with Junior League. This is one of my favorite times of the year at the Arboretum because the azaleas are in full bloom and the tulips are blooming as well. Phil and I love azaleas and we've planted a bunch of them in our yard since moving in to our house, but we are always looking for new ideas. Here are some pictures from the day: