South Bound 45

Ok, I know that's not how the song goes, but I had to improvise. Michael and I drove down to Houston a few weeks ago to spend some time with Michael's family. Not only has it been a while since we've seen his parents and sisters (yes, all 3 were in town!), but his Uncle David and 3 cousins were also in town. Cousin Josh is a student at Penn State and is interning with Exxon this summer and will be living in Houston. Cousin Courtney is also a student at Penn State and is moving back home for the summer (North Apollo, PA) and helping run the family business with Uncle David and Cousin Lexi. I wish we had a picture of all 16 of us at dinner! The highlight of the night was definitely finding out that there will be a new addition to the Orlowski family coming in December! Congrats Amy and Chris!!

We also had a chance to have lunch with our college friends Phil and Amber. I like to credit Phil for introducing Michael and I in college. Phil and Amber introduced us to this great place, called Little Bigs, with sliders (lil' burgers) and the best sangria slushy drink. So good! Afterwards, we headed to a bar for some drinks before dinner with the family.

A huge thank you to my mom and dad for watching Maximus over the weekend. For those of you that do not know, Max has been sick lately and my poor parents had to shove pills down his throat and clean up multiple messes all over their new house. We are going to see a specialist soon and hopefully Max won't need surgery.

Michael and I got Lexi a gift. I love watching kids open gifts up! By the way, the third picture in the series is Lexi's new way of saying "stinky".

Does she love it?

Tamra & Michael at dinner

Amy & Chris (Lexi's parents)

We took about 6 pictures and this was the best one.

Lexi is asking "Who is this lady and will she steal my milk?"

The Orlowski Family

All the cousins together!

5 New Posts!

Whew! We've been busy!

Check out the 5 new posts:

Mother's Day
Crawfish Boil
Spring Cleaning
Date Night
Kiley's Baptism

Mother's Day

We had a great Mother's Day! My mom and dad came into town and met Michael, me, Jared and Alicia at P.F. Changs for an early dinner. We had a great meal and some tasty drinks. My favorite part were the mini-desserts served in shot glasses. I'm embarassed to say, I tried two of them (s'mores and red velvet). Three of us tried the red velvet and it definitely won over the others.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there!

Back row: Alicia, Tamra & Mom

Front row: Jared, Michael & Dad

Mom, Dad and Tamra (their favorite child)

Michael and Tamra

Alicia and Michael felt left out of the family pictures

so we took a shot of them too!

Crawfish Boil

Michael and I went to Subba's house for a crawfish boil. Subba is the project manager for the HP UTA job. He invited the us and the UTA crew over to his house for some delicious crawfish. I know what you're thinking...Michael and Tamra don't like fish...well, you are right! We grabbed dinner before (a burger of course!), but I did learn how to peel crawfish and I even tried some! I applaud the chef (great job Steve)!

You have a beautiful home Subba. Thank you for having us over!

The meat eaters

Stephanie, Angela & Tamra

Hard at work!

Michael chillin'

Spring Cleaning

I have no idea what got into me, but about two weeks ago, I decided to clean out a few things in my closet. After going through some old work clothes, I moved onto another section and then another and another. I must have filled at least 12 large bags full of clothes and shoes. The closet feels so empty now. An excuse to go shopping...I think so!

Whoa!

Date Night!

Michael surprised me and took me on a "date" Saturday night. I didn't know where we were going...only to be ready at 7:00 pm. In order to be a complete surprise, I kept my eyes closed the entire way (warning: this can cause nausea). When we arrived, we were at Bob's Steakhouse at The Shops at Legacy! The food was delicious. Thank you honey!

The happy couple

Kiley's Baptism

Michael and I had the honor of attending our good friend's daughter's baptism. Lacey and Mikey invited us to join them for Sunday Mass (Michael is Catholic) and then we witnessed Kiley's baptism. Kiley did such a good job and she did not cry once, not even when the water got in her eyes. Afterwards, we all headed over to Mikey and Lacey's house for some food and drinks. Lacey, her mom and her grandmother really outdid themselves. Everything was wonderful! Thank you for letting us be small part of Kiley's special day.

May the Lord give His angels charge over you, to guide you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11

Kiley & her godparents

This the same gown Kiley's mom (Lacey) was baptized in.

Lacey's grandmother made the gown.

Kiley being baptized.

Lacey, Kiley and Mikey

Tamra, Lacey, Kiley, Courtney & Shawna

Courtney and Kiley in her "party" outfit.

Tamra & Kiley

What a princess!

The girls!

Tiki Party

Our good friend, Courtney, recently celebrated her birthday with a Tiki Party! Courtney definitley outdid herself on all the decorations, food and drinks. Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day Courtney and thank you to KC for hosting at her house! Everyone had a great time and the proof is in the slideshow below. Enjoy!

Note: For some reason, some of the pics in the slideshow are repeating themselves and others are not showing up at all. I'll work on fixing the problem tonight...

Like Mike, If I Could Be Like Mike...

It's been too long since I've posted any pictures of my adorable niece Lexi. Michael and I didn't get to see her for Easter in Austin and her mom (Amy) just sent a bunch of new pictures out. It makes me realize that she is growing up so fast and we are missing it! We can't wait to see her in Houston in a few weeks.

I found some pictures that I think show the traits Lexi and her Uncle Mike share...

Both are handy...

...and like to build things.

Both have teeth and make funny faces!

Both know how to change a tire...

Both can put things together or maybe they just take things apart...

Both play basketball...

...and both love watermelon.

We can't wait to see you soon Lexi! We love you!!