One Year Lists

As of July 3, Jason and I have been official residents of Texas for a whole year now. We were trying to think of some way to commemorate this momentous milestone in our blog and decided to make some lists. Enjoy.

How Texas is different than what we're used to:

• Roadkill is mostly armadillos.
  
• There are no gutters.
• Traffic lights are horizontal (instead of vertical) and black (instead of yellow).
• All the ants bite.
• Instead of sewer grates, there are gaping holes big enough to swallow a small child.
• Male dogs are allowed to retain their masculinity.
• Sales tax is 8.25%. Ouch.
• Every other vehicle is a huge, noisy truck. Whose owners can't drive or park correctly.
• Texas birds are PSYCHO. First of all, there's this huge ugly one called the grackle with beady little eyes, greasy-looking black feathers and an obnoxious repertoire of screeches. Then there's this other crazy bird that is so territorial it will literally dive bomb you if you get too close.
  

What we like about Texas:

• Gas is cheaper than just about everywhere else
• No state income tax
• Sweet tea (guess which one of us likes it more)
  
• Wearing shorts year-round (well, almost)
  

Some of the most Texas-y things we've done in the last year:

• Gone horseback riding
• Eaten deer meat
• Gone to a rodeo
• Said "howdy" instead of "hello"
• Said "y'all"
• Become best friends with our air conditioner
• Gone to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library
• Gone to an Astros game

Mel recommends a book or two

Hello all,
Just wanted to call your attention to a new feature of the blog - Mel's Book Pics. You'll find it if you scroll down and look to the right. Keep in mind these are books that I personally found enjoyable and worthwhile but I do recognize that everyone has different tastes and I won't be hurt (much) if you don't share my opinion. They are simply suggestions for anyone who has ever asked me/wondered what to read (aka Mom and Tina). :)

-Mel

Fourth of July Vacation!

For the weekend of July 4, Jason and I hopped on a plane (after getting up at 2:30am to drive to the airport) for a get-together with his family at Clear Lake, IN. We had a great time eating way too much food, going swimming-tubing-wakeboarding-skiing-etc., playing hillbilly golf, and hanging out with the fam. We also spent a lot of time shivering, as the weather was way cooler than we anticipated/are used to. Perhaps the most notable event of our little vacation occurred on Saturday morning, when we all got up early to participate in the 2nd annual Yoder Triathlon. That's right, a triathlon. I am married to a man whose family thinks it is fun to get up early on vacation and run 2.4 miles, bike 6.6 miles, and swim 1/2 mile. I think they're all insane. We did get a chance to see my family on Saturday night after attending a wedding in Goshen (which is just over an hour away from where we were on the lake). Then after a delayed flight on the way home, we got back to our apartment at 3am Monday morning. Needless to say, we were exhausted. You can see more pictures from the weekend here.