Catching Up

So for my 1st real blog, I thought I'd catch everyone up on what has happened w/the Dotsons so far in 2008...

January: We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on New Years Eve...and then January was fairly boring! We spent most of our free time working on our kitchen remodel that began in October 2007. Seriously...that's all we did! Oh, and we started attending two different weekly small groups affiliated with our new Sunday school class at our church (Houston's First Baptist). Well, one was actually a Bible study every Wednesday night and the other was a course by financial advisor Dave Ramsey called "Financial Peace University" (http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home/) where we learned to "live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later!" This course was AMAZING! It will change the way you think about & handle money.

February: Not too much excitement in February either! Again...more work in the kitchen and not much else!

March: ...was a busy month! We FINALLY wrapped up the kitchen remodel & what a relief that was. It was seriously like having a second job. Our house was built in 1983 and the kitchen needed a serious update. We gutted it & Rhett built custom cabinets w/the help of his dad. We painted & varnished all the cabinets and doors (those we ordered), and we also tiled the backsplash. The only thing we didn't do ourselves was install the granite. Everything turned out great! (the whole project took about 6 months from start to finish) We also started playing in our church softball league on Saturdays. Our team was people from our Sunday school class. That was a lot of fun, but boy did I ever find out how out of shape I am! Anyway, here are some pics of the kitchen!

*BEFORE:

*AFTER:

April: ...was another busy month! We wrapped up softball. Our team really sucked, but we had a blast & it allowed us to get to know more people from our class. The 1st weekend of April, we traveled to Woodville for the big Dogwood Festival. We ate lots of yummy food as usual & enjoyed time w/friends and family. Rhett has grown to love Dogwood & all the eating that is involved. The 2nd weekend of April, we went on a mini-vacation with our friends Jenn and Jarod. We went to Orlando & visited The Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios! We had a blast! Then, the 3rd weekend was my friend Rachael's baby shower. I co-hosted the shower along w/our friend Karen & Rachael's aunt & sis-in-law. Then on the 25th, Rhett's brother & his wife had their 1st baby, a boy named Cal James! Here are some pics from Orlando and some of Cal:

Daddy & Cal:

Mommy & Cal:

May: For the 1st weekend, we traveled to Baton Rouge to meet Cal. Weekend trips to BR always feel rushed, but we had a good time anyway! Then, the 2nd weekend we celebrated my nephews 9th birthday by going to his baseball game & grilling at my aunt & uncle's house. Josh came home from GA for a few days, so he was able to be there! Mom, Dad, Courtney & Josh drove in from Woodville to go to the game w/us. Then we went to Bill & Jackie's to grill & hang out. Good times! For the 3rd weekend of May, we went to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels w/Jenn and Jarod. It was overcast, so we froze...but still had a blast! We just stayed home for Memorial Day weekend...that was a nice change. My friends Rachael & Charlie had their 1st baby, a girl named Allison (Allie) Kay on the 28th!! Then, the last weekend of the month we went to Woodville for my little sister's HS graduation! She graduated 4th in her class & is going to Texas A&M in the fall! We also went to Lumberton to meet Allie! Here are some pics from May:

The birthday boy, Jake!

our nephew Luke (3) with Uncle Josh (my bro)

Courtney (lil sis), me, Josh (lil bro), and Stephanie (big sis)

Schlitterbahn pics:

Courtney's graduation:

June: ...went by in a blur! We went to two big games at Minute Maid...Astros vs. Yankees and the Astros vs. Red Sox games! We haven't had much luck going to games where the 'stros actually win this season. I still love going, though...its one of my favorite things to do!! We go to almost every Tuesday home game...good times! Nothing really major happened in June. I did go w/friends Karen & Kassi to visit Rachael & Allie again. And, I co-hosted another baby shower...for a girl in my Sunday school class. Lots of babies! I currently know 6 pregnant women! Oh, and our dogs ate up a red ink pen on our living room carpet & we decided to put in laminate wood floors! It looks awesome! Rhett did most of it himself in one weekend. He is the best handy man a girl could ask for!















And now, we're finally to JULY! We spent July 4th weekend in Baton Rouge. We did lots of shopping and hanging out w/Rhett's family. I don't know why, but we always have the best luck finding what we're looking for at the Mall of Louisiana in BR! I don't think we have too much going on for the next 2 weekends, but on the 26th we're leaving for Playa del Carmen!! Can't wait!!! (surprise, surprise...we're going with Jenn & Jarod!)


Well, I think I've written enough for one night. Hope it wasn't too long! Stay tuned for more...although I may not have anything until our vacation!


~MORGAN :o)