Cricket Invasion

When they said "Everything's Bigger in Texas" they weren't kidding! Earlier this year, Floresville (where I work) was infested with these large ,black, stink beetles. The beetles are finally gone and now we're overrun with crickets. San Antonio has an annual cricket season from June to August. Last year there weren't very many at all because the extremely hot and dry weather killed all the cricket larva. On average, hundreds of thousands of cricket eggs are laid every year with only 25% actually surviving and becoming new crickets. We have been blessed with lots of rain and much cooler temperatures this summer (we haven't hit 100 degrees at all!). Unfortunately that means that instead of a fourth of the eggs hatching, we had somewhere between 70% and 80% of the eggs hatch this year. There are crickets EVERYWHERE. It's so disgusting here at work. In the pictures below you can see crickets piled up outside our building and in the parking lot. We've sprayed numerous times and even though they die, more hatch everyday so we can't stop them. It's horrible. I hope the season ends soon!

First of Many Home Projects

We are still working on slowly moving in to our new home. We decided to do some minor construction/renovation projects prior to moving in. The first thing I noticed about our kitchen is that the cabinets, although nice and fairly new, did not have handles. It looked unfinished and, well, not to Williams standards. I purchased some very nice brushed nickel handles on Amazon.com for approximately 1.00 each and Ricky completed their installation this week. I completed the cleaning and painting of most of the baseboards (thanks Christina and Norma for your help). We have also packed up and moved our guest bathroom over to the new house. I am working on packing up the guest bedroom and unused kitchen products this week. Our new fridge was purchased today and we are in the process of getting our new, grown up king sized bed! So many new, wonderful changes.

**Ricky has since installed handles on the drawers too!**

Closing Time!

After weeks of waiting, it was finally time to close on our first house. Unlike many of our friends, we had a very smooth and uneventful experience. Most of this was due to our amazing realtor, Jo Lewis and our fantastic loan officer, Cleo Garza. After signing a stack of papers the little house is FINALLY ours! Jo (see picture) gave us a great little gift--a bowl to match our new kitchen, great chef's knives and other kitchen accessories. We could not have had a better realtor! We have to do some routine things before moving in...calling the locksmith, getting it exterminated, etc... but we can start moving in any day. We're going to pick up a new TV and finalize paint colors this weekend! It's all very exciting and I can't wait to get started. We will definitely keep you updated on our redecorating process.

First Anniversary Weekend

One year of marriage: done! With all the changes--graduation, moving to Texas, new job and now a new house, we almost didn't have time to do anything special for our big day! We decided to take a weekend trip to Fredericksburg, Texas for a quaint celebration. Second only to Napa Valley, CA the Texas Wine Country is one of the largest wine producing regions in the US. There are numerous vineyards and winery starting in the verdant Hill Country about one hour northwest of San Antonio. We stayed an adorable Bed and Breakfast, 'The Magnolia House" right in the heart of Fredericksburg. There are B&Bs on every corner in the wine country, each with their own twist on Texas charm. The Magnolia House was voted "Best Breakfast in the Wine Country" and we could easily see why. Homemade peach muffins, great fresh squeezed juices, and local sausages made the breakfast to die for! Ricky and I also enjoyed a wonderful anniversary dinner at The Nest, followed by our one year old butter vanilla wedding cake. It was delicious!

To see pictures from our trip, click here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059331&id=50401332&l=ebc827af73

Massey-Williams Family Vacation

I love vacations. There's just nothing better than getting away for a few days, indulging in great food and relaxing. In May, Ricky and I went on our first post-marriage vacation with my parents and Erin to Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. After meeting up with Erin in Jacksonville, we travelled to St. Augustine to do some sightseeing. The Castillo de San Marcos is a key stop in St. Augustine as it is the oldest military fortress in the United States. We had a great time walking around Old Town and enjoyed a great wine tasting of Florida citrus wines. While in Florida we enjoyed time at the beach and a great seafood meal at Clark's Fish Camp (my personal favorite). We decided to be adventurous and try some exotic food while at Clark's. If we had known that the snake of the day, python, would be totally repulsive we definitely would have picked kangaroo or turtle. I LOVE trying new foods but I cannot recommend python. Imagine removing the sole of an old, sweaty gym shoe, covering it in batter and frying it. That's exactly what fried python tastes like! I've never chewed and chewed something only for it to remain in the same shape it was when I put it in my mouth. NEVER again!

We road tripped from Jacksonville to Charlotte, NC. On our way, we stopped and spent a day in Savannah, GA. If Savannah is known for anything other than coastal waters and historic homes, it has to be food. Of course we had great meals while were there and tried to burn them off by walking the Savannah River Walk. If you ever visit Savannah, we recommend the Pirate's House southern brunch buffet. It's delish! Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, okra, green beans, macaroni and cheese (the best I've ever had) squash casserole...mmm mmm! All kinds of southern goodness. If you are in the mood for spirits, the Key Lime Cooler is amazing as well.

Ending our trip in Charlotte was great because we got to spend time with many family members I don't get to see often. My aunt Michelle hosted a barbecue at her new home so that we could see as many people as possible while we were in town. We were also privileged to meet Isaac Taylor, Annalee and Chris Taylor's new baby! Isaac was lovable and cuddly, just as we expected. To see pictures from our vacation, use this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058848&id=50401332&l=07a3aa940a

Our First Home...the Williams Edition

Ricky and I have casually been looking at real estate in San Antonio for the past few months. With the first time homebuyers tax credit on the brink of expiring we hustled our search into high gear and finally narrowed down our house search to a few picks. After much deliberation, we decided on a small one story house in the quaint subdivision of Emerald Point on the northeast side of town. It's cozy with just the amount of space we need--an ideal find for first time homeowners! I'm already making plans for painting, new furniture and backyard parties. Ricky is shopping for BBQ grills and lawnmowers. Needless to say, the three days of offers and counteroffers, along with all the stress, was totally worth it. We cannot wait to move in! (Closing date is tentatively June 14th). As long as our inspection goes well this week, we'll be calling this our home!

Lauren's Mac and Cheese

Since I detest and refuse to eat Easy Mac, I've been working on perfecting my own homemade macaroni and cheese recipe for a while. I wanted the baked cheesy goodness my Mom and Grandma can consistently produce but I didn't want to ask for their help, hahaha. If you're interested, my fantastic concoction is below. It was amazing; Ricky and I devoured half of an 11 x 13 baking dish of it by ourselves!

*Note: The picture is not of my macaroni but of the closest replica I could find online (www.countryliving.com). We ate half the pan before I thought about taking a picture. I also want to try these individual baking dishes when I serve it for a dinner party!*

You'll need:

2 cups of rotini pasta

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 egg, scrambled

1 teaspoon diced garlic

3 turns of fresh ground pepper

1 can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (low sodium)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese

1 cup half and half

Cook the pasta for about 3 minutes so that it's not quite al dente. I use the Barilla pasta with extra protein so it takes a little longer to cook. In a large bowl mix the following with a spatula: cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup cheddar cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, half and half, butter, garlic, pepper and egg. Add the cooked pasta (drained) to this mixture. Mix thoroughly and place in a greased baking dish. Top the mixture with the remaining cheeses including the Parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes at 325 degrees until the cheese on top is fully melted with small regions of brown crispy cheese on the edges.

Enjoy!