Vegas 2015

If you read my last post, you know what the weather was like from Texas to Vegas. Snowing and school cancellations, to sunny skies in the desert. Once I arrived off of the plane in Vegas, Jearen picked me up and we drove out to the race track where he was working. I dropped him off, drove to get lunch, made a pit stop at Wal Mart, and made my way to the hotel. People usually assume that because we go to Vegas, that our hotel is one the strip. That is not the case. The racetrack is about 30 minutes away from the strip, and so we usually stay at a Holiday Inn Express for the week. Nothing fancy over here :). I had been trying to think of things for us to do for what felt like forever (because I like to plan), but I just wasn't set on anything in particular. Usually, our schedule includes Jearen working all day at the track while I hang out with him, then change into different clothes, and drive over to the strip to get a bite to eat, and for entertainment. Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

Dinner at Gallager's in New York, New York..

Food was great. I would go back.

Walking around New York, New York and Monte Carlo Hotels.

Biggest game of connect four we've ever seen.

Freemont Street (that we were only at for an hour to get cheaper tickets for some shows). The highlight was one guy doing improv as people were walking by. He basically was making celebrity look a like jokes, which was super funny!

The Neon Museum.

Illusions Magic Show & The Laugh Factory.

The carpets in The Tropicana hotel. Kind of over the top, but matched my dress, so it was a win. Ha!

They upgraded our seats for free & I was so nervous that one of us was going to be called up on stage. Thank goodness that didn't happen.

Cute little restaurant in the Tropicana that we ate at in between shows. Unfortunately, the food was bland and I wouldn't return here for dinner. 

Again, we were put in the very front. The show was funny and the comedians were great, and just by our luck, we never were the butt of any jokes (unlike several couples around us).

Pink Overload. Yikes! At least my date was hot!

At the racetrack while my sweetie works.

Thank you selfie stick for this great photo!

Please don't mind the grown adult in the background who ruined this photo for me, hahaha!

On the drive back to Texas, we were able to stop in Arizona to have lunch with my oldest brother. It was a great pit stop, especially when family is involved!

Always a good time with Jearbear. I'm glad I get the opportunity to go on this trip with him! 

xoxo-

becky

Snow Days in Texas

Usually once a year, Texas experiences a cold front that leaves us with a few snow days. Mind you, we know that it is actually just ice, but it is worth cancelling school and playing around in nonetheless ;). My husband and I had the privilege of being in our friend's (Kent & Lindsay) wedding, and the day of their rehearsal ended up being one of those snow days. Plans were changed for the evening, and we had the chance to go sledding at our in laws. I am an embarrassingly worried person when it comes to the weather, so after being sent home early from work, driving slow on the roads to avoid any accidents, and watching hours upon hours of news reports saying "If you don't have to get out in this, don't.", I was anxious. So of course, the minute my husband gets home and tells me he wants to drive over to our in laws (less than 10 mins away), I start crying and panicking. Embarrassing, I know. I somehow pulled myself together, put on bundles of clothes, and allow Jearen to drive us in the ice. This is were I tell you how much of a fool I am for being such a worry wort. Jearen drove us there just fine and I'm so glad he did. We carried our cookie sheets & pizza pan just like we do every year to the top of the hill, and began to slide down. So much fun. So much laughter. So much snow!

The next day we had to drive over to Keller for our friend's rehearsal and lunch. The roads were slick, but once again, I have the best person driving me around that it made it less stressful. The wedding was planned for outside, and on the day of, the bride and groom got their wishes granted. I will say, that being in an outdoor wedding, near a lake, with no jacket, in weather conditions right above freezing is quite memorable. There aren't too many people that I would have done that for, but The Scroggins were with it! :)

The following day, Jearen had to drive out to Vegas for work, and I was going to fly out Wednesday night to join him like I have done the past two years. Tuesday night, I am all packed and ready for work the next day, when the only thing on the news was how another cold front was coming our way, with the possibility of 2-4 inches of snow. Trying to be mindful of everything, and not stress out, I prayed that God would give me wisdom in this situation (with me being a person who worries about the weather) and I knew what to do. I called the airline and had them change my flight from 8pm the following evening, to 9 am the next morning. I am thankful that at 11 pm that night, my boss was available for me to talk with, and was understanding about me having to take off work and fly out early. My father in law picked me up bright and early Wednesday morning, and I had a good 45 minute before flying out to relax and trust that I just made the right decision.

As soon as I arrived in Vegas, it was sunny and in the high 60's. All flights that were scheduled that night out of DFW were grounded, and the metroplex got over 6 inches of snow in some places. School was canceled Thursday, and I knew I made the right choice in bumping up my flight. Without someone telling me to, or having my husband do it for me. I felt proud to make a big decision instead of getting discouraged and fearful and anxious. Glory to God!

Stay tuned for the blog about our Vegas trip :)

Becky

DALLAS BIG Scavenger Hunt : Valentine's '15

Love this one!

In the years past, our Valentine's Day consisted of a home cooked meal, a decorated & cleaned house, and a surprise or two throughout the day. Of course there would also be sweet love notes, texts, and emails between my husband and I too. This year, things were a little different, and to be honest, I wish Valentine's Day ALWAYS fell on a Saturday, because having the whole day together without work was pretty sweet. Jearen had told me mid-January that he had made plans for us for Valentine's Day, that would include another couple and that would last all day. I was pretty thrilled to know that he had something up his sleeve for us, and that the pressure was taken off of me to plan anything. (Not that I don't LOVE to plan a date, but you know what I mean :)!) I eventually found out that we would be with our friends Caleb & Rachel, but I had no idea what we would be doing.

Saturday morning we drove out to Dallas, and met up with our friends. We pilled into one car, and off we went. We arrived at an unfamiliar area to me, with nothing but a closed off field and a run down neighborhood. Then the boys get out of the car, told us to stay put, and walked away. Talk about freak out moment! We had no idea what was going on, but found out later that there was suppose to be one of those BG signs there. GPS was wrong. As the day moved on, we made several pit stops around Dallas, and after the second stop, I realized what was going on.

This is how our date started: stranded in the car haha

And there they go, just walking away

We were on a scavenger hunt! In Dallas, there are 14 signs (more like statues) of the letters BG, where you stand in the middle to form the letter I, to stand for Dallas Big. (You know the saying, everything is bigger in Texas!)  I'm not exactly sure the significance of it, or how it got started, but here is a map (incase you want to do the hunt yourself!) http://www.visitdallas.com/big/b-g-locations-map/

To be honest, any time I had seen the BG sign, I didn't want a picture with it. I guess in my head, a "big girl" standing in a sign that spelled out big was a 'no thank you' in my eyes haha. But I got over it quickly, and let me just say, it was SO MUCH FUN! We were able to explore a lot of Dallas that we had not been to before, we ate a delicious brunch at Oddfellows in Bishop Arts, and it as the perfect sunny day. Seriously, the weather was amazing!

Brunch @ Oddfellows

The Rustic

Klyde Warren Park

Klyde Warren Park

Winspera Opera House

After we completed our little BG hunt, we went to our house to change and get ready for a night out. Again, I didn't know what was planned, but I had just bought a long black dress for $10 (thanks Goodwill) and was ready in no time. We drove down to my favorite date night place, Sundance Square. The traffic was awful & parking was a nightmare, but what else would you expect on this day. The guys surprised Rachel & I by taking us to The Petroleum Club (no not like a dancing club, but more like a you have to be on the list kinda place). There was a live jazz band playing current hits, a yummy buffet of fish & rib eye, and a dessert bar. It kind of felt like we were attending a fancy wedding, only we were the youngest people there, and had a good laugh about it. After dinner, we walked over to Four Day Weekend, where the guys surprised us with tickets to the improv comedy show, and it was the icing on the cake of a perfect date day. We laughed so hard, and Jearen's picture of the day he cut his beard off before church made it into the second act. What a fun & memorable time.

40th floor of the Petroleum Club 

Dinner @ The Petroleum Club

Dinner @ The Petroleum Club

Sundance Square- Ft Worth

Sundance Square- Ft. Worth

Four Day Weekend

Four Day Weekend

-Becky

Being Transparent: Being Happy for Others

Sometimes, it's scary being transparent. I want to share from my heart, be honest with what's going on, and hopefully encourage as much as I can. But with putting yourself out there, there are those who will judge you, discourage you, mock you, and not like you. So when I go to blog, or post a status, or share a photo, I want to share about my life, but in the back of my mind, I feel like there are those who could care less about what I have to say. Anyone else ever feel that way?! That when you go to share something on social media, even though no one is necessarily saying things about you, your mind begins to wonder off in that direction? I hate that. There are so many times when I share a photo of my husband and I that I have to fight off the "what ifs." "What if they think I'm bragging? What if no one cares? What if people are tired of seeing me happy? What if they think I am faking it?"And then I am reminded: If I feel good about sharing something, I should share it. And you should too! I know I am not the only one in feeling this way. One day I was talking to one of my sisters, and we were talking about how we get so happy/excited about something that we want to share it with the world, but fear that others will think we aren't being grateful enough, that we are bragging, that we are trying to show off. Oh, how far off from the truth that is. 

As a woman who so desperately wants to start a family, I can't tell you how many times I have scrolled through social media only to see hundreds of smiling baby posts, pregnancy announcements, etc. A few months after my ectopic pregnancy, there was a baby announcement literally EVERY day. I didn't WANT to be jealous, and I didn't want to be upset at the person posting such a happy moment in their life, but that is where I found myself, and I knew I had to get my heart right. I had to get rid of bitterness and jealousy before I could truly be happy for someone else. It hasn't been smooth to come to this point in my life, but I truly believe that I've made huge strides in learning how to be happy for others. Please don't think that this is for anyone specific. I'm just sharing this as an example because it's come up in conversations lately, and I don't want people to think that they have to tip toe their happy life with a baby around me! SHARE THOSE SWEET MOMENTS. The laughing, the cooing, the crying, the crawling, the sleeping. Share away and I will love every moment you share with me. I know when the day comes for me to share pictures like that, I want you to like seeing them too, haha (just being honest) :)!!

And in this season of my life, whatever I have, whatever I do, I want my life to point to Christ. There are days I will fail at this, but I want to be free to be myself. And you have every right to be yourself! I want to share with others what makes me happy. If that is my husband, my home, my dog, my family, photos of the sky, and Jesus, then I shouldn't be afraid to share that. I'm learning to be content with the things I do have, instead of being upset by what I don't. Can you relate? My challenge to you (and myself) is to be HAPPY for others. Truly. Encourage others. Share in their joy. Because it's easy to share in each others sufferings, when the world seems to be against us, and all we want to do is wallow in sadness. But can you share joy with someone who is experiencing something amazing in their life? YES, YOU CAN! If we are there for each other, we are there for the good and bad. The moments that bring tears to our eyes, and the moments that make us want to shout from the rooftops with gladness.

Just wanted to share that this afternoon. Keep posting & let your hearts be free to share with others what brings you JOY! :)

Becky

Garth Brooks Concert in Tulsa.

Back in late October/early November, my husband discovered that Garth Brooks was going on tour. You wouldn't have known he was a big fan just by looking at him. I mean, it's not like Thunder Rolls is his ringtone, he talks about him all the time, or even owns a cowboy hat. But let me tell you, he LOVES his music. So when he mentioned to me that it would be cool to see him in concert, I was on board. I knew he would be filling one of his bucket list items by seeing him in concert, it would make a fun date night for us, and Christmas was right around the corner, so we could purchase the tickets as a gift for each other. And then the hard reality came...Garth wasn't going to be playing in Texas.  

So, we made the decision that would would drive to Tulsa, OK since that was his closest show. We purchased the tickets (stressful thanks to the overload of ticketmaster fans trying to purchase tickets too, that the site kept freezing up on us.), and then we waited for the weekend of the show.

On the drive down, Jearen played Garth's greatest hits, and I remembered so many songs that I had forgotten about. I fell in love with some. I learned the words to some (like Baton Rouge!), and had fun singing (or I should say yelling) along with my husband as he drove us. 

We arrived on time to the concert, but I was SO out of it. I had no appetite, a headache, my body ached, no energy. Not exactly how I wanted to feel going into a high energy, highly anticipated concert. It was so bad that when Jearen left to get me some sprite, I started to fall asleep in my chair. With thousands of people around. At a concert. Ha, I must have been embarrassing. 

Despite feeling totally off, I still wanted to make the most of this trip we just drove all the way out for. We sat on the very last row, which sounds like a bummer, but turned out to be perfect. We got to stand to any song we wanted to, without anyone behind us telling us to sit (this happened to people in front of us down the row, who kept being told to sit by some REALLY old fans, haha). We got to sing at the top of our lungs to our favorite songs, and had so much fun.

I must say, I was HIGHLY impressed with Garth Brook's performance. He had put out a new cd earlier in the year, and I wasn't sure what he would play. Besides playing two songs from his neweset album, he played his GREATEST HITS, which was perfect, since I just had a crash course on all of that songs. That man can sing and entertain a crowd!

After the concert, I was running to the nearest gas station for some headache medicine. I didn't have any medicine available since I have been using Young Living Essential Oils (and haven't had any medicine since that night). I was desperate to feel better, and nothing seemed to help. 

Still don't know why or what made me feel so bad that Friday, but I am so glad we got to go to that concert. (And felt fine the next day)

I left a bigger Garth Brooks fan than when we first arrived, and got to make memories with my husband.

Who is on your bucket list to see in concert?! If the opportunity arrives to see them, GO! You won't regret it! :)

Becky