Weekend trip to San Antonio

This weekend we took a short trip to San Antonio for Adam's birthday. We had great food, saw the Alamo, toured some museums and walked the Riverwalk. Nice relaxing weekend before the busyness of the holidays.

Adam being serenaded by the mariachi band on his birthday

Thanksgiving recap

So I'm a little late on this post, but we have been busy! We had a great Thanksgiving by ourselves here in Texas. Since we were in Indiana in mid-November, we just couldn't do the trip again. Adam was off most of the week as was I so we got a lot of things done around the house. Mainly, the nursery :) We have finished it except for any final touches, wall hangings, etc. We cooked a big meal with deep fried turkey...yummm! And we finished off Thanksgiving night by watching "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Sunday we were lucky enough to get tickets through Adam's office to the Texans/Colts football game. I was sporting a very nice Peyton Manning jersey. We had a great time.

Adam and I have both had a long work week and tonight are going to his work Christmas party. There is even a forecast for snow today! As much as I like snow, not looking forward to it in Texas. These people just aren't able to handle this Indiana-style weather which means driving anywhere is going to be a chore.

We are so thankful for the many blessings in our lives, especially the new baby boy on the way!

In the nursery at 22 weeks

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Last week I had my 20 week appointment and we found out the sex:) All along Adam has said that he did not want to find out, but once we were in the doctor's office seeing the little guy move around, he just couldn't wait! We are thrilled that everything looks perfect on the ultrasound. Now for finishing the nursery...

17 weeks and counting

I am now over 17 weeks into my pregnancy and according to my cool iPhone application, the baby is about the size of a sweet potato :) I have been feeling great and slowly growing. I know many of you are requesting belly pictures, but it just isn't camera worthy yet. We are still not planning on finding out the sex, but we go back to the doctor in 3 weeks for the big 20-week ultrasound. Maybe Adam will change his mind while we are in there...

This past weekend my mom and Brian came to TX for a visit. We had a great time relaxing and starting on the nursery. We needed her expert painting help for what we wanted in the nursery. Here are a few pics of the started project:

We painted all the diamonds on the bottom half of the room. The top is still the same color as what it was before. We are planning to do aqua and yellow to match the bedding we bought - unless we happen to find out it is a girl...





@ the pumpkin patch

West Point and NYC vacation

We are spending our last day in NYC today. We flew here last week on Friday, and whew! what a trip it's been! (That was Adam's input) After arriving in NYC, we went to Grand Central Station and caught a train up to West Point to visit with our good friends Jeff and Holly and their twins Collin and Annalynn. We had a great time with them - we went to the Army vs. Tulane football game, had some good food, sat around the fire pit every night and toured the campus of the greatest school in the world (more of Adam's input). It is a beautiful campus just on the Hudson River. Adam showed me where he had to eat every meal, his old dorm, and some of the history of West Point. It was a great time! Thanks to Jeff & Holly for letting us stay :)

Parade on the Plain before the football game

View of the Hudson River from campus





Michie Stadium

Adam reading to Collin

Monday afternoon we went back to the train station and headed back down to the city. We checked into the hotel and did a quick tour of NBC Studios. We got to see the sets of several different shows, including Saturday Night Live.

Tuesday we visited Ground Zero and then took a ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We got to go up into the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (the crown tours were sold out). We also saw our first celebrity (well, I guess you could call it that) Robert Irvine from the Food Network's DINNER IMPOSSIBLE. We snapped a few photos and then walked through Chinatown and ate dinner in Little Italy.

Wednesday we walked around Central Park, went in FAO Schwartz and Tiffany & Co. Took a little nap at the hotel and then went to my first Broadway play: "Wicked." It was AWESOME!!! It is the prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" and it explains all the details like how the Scarecrow became a Scarecrow and things like that. It was so awesome, we decided we had to see another show before we left, so tonight we are going to see "The Lion King."


Central Park

On top of the Empire State Building

New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street

Thursday we went up in the Empire State Building. Amazing views of all of Manhattan. While we were up there, security closed down one corner of the railing because "someone" was coming up. So, we stayed right there for 30 minutes while we waited for this celebrity. Turns out it was some kid we didn't even recognize. There were tons of photographers and security that came up with him, but I have no idea who he was. Afterwards we walked about 45 blocks to the Museum of Natural History. We toured the museum and saw an iMax movie. Then for dinner: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The greatest shrimp I have ever had!!!!!

Friday we went to breakfast at the Clinton Street Baking Co. We had seen this restaurant recognized on Food Network for their blueberry pancakes. It was yummy! The rest of the day we were kind of lazy. We figured it is vacation, we better relax a little. For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant to make Adam happy. It was pretty good.

Today we are just waiting for Jeff and Holly to get to the city so we can go to the Central Park Zoo. Then "The Lion King" tonight and so long NYC!

Baby Hess

Yep - I'm pregnant! I know some of you ( Cheryl) thought this day would never come :) Well it has and we are very excited! We had our first doctor's appointment yesterday and got to see and hear the baby's heartbeat. So amazing. It looks like I'm about 6 weeks along which gives us a due date of April 1, 2010. Perfect date for Adam's child to be born, right??? I've been feeling really good, a little nausea over the weekend, but that's it. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for another ultrasound to get a better idea of a due date based on the baby's size. We'll keep you posted. I promise to be a better blogger again :)

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe it has been 2 months since I last blogged! Lots of things have happened since then...most importantly, Adam came home from Singapore. It didn't take long for him to get settled back in and started on some home improvement projects. We started by ripping out all the flower beds and starting from scratch. It looks great and we even got a post card from our Homeowner's Association saying how beautiful it is. Then we started tiling and tiling...and tiling. We have completed the guest bath, laundry room and kitchen and I love it! Now we just have the master bath to go. Last week we had hardwood floors installed in the dining and living rooms and it is gorgeous. We are now in the process of installing new baseboards in all those areas. Should be done soon :)


Other exciting news...my sister Alicia got engaged in June to Matt. We are all super excited about their wedding in the winter of 2010.

I was able to make it home to Indiana for a short trip over the 4th of July. Unfortunately after booking our flights, Adam found out he had to go to South Africa for work. While at home I got to see friends and family and meet my new nephew, Silas!

We are looking forward to Adam's mom coming to stay with us next week. Here are some photos of our recent renovations/adventures:

new landscaping in the front yard

dress shopping with Lish and Jenn




me & Silas

new tile in the kitchen

new hardwood

One more month...

Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged! In that time I have moved home from Singapore, spent a week in Indiana, and settled back into our home in TX. Everything is unpacked and back to normal and I'm even back to work. I have to say I did miss it and my co-workers (and the paychecks!) I've mostly been working and catching up with friends. Other than a possible leak in our roof (which the repair man is coming on Wednesday to look at), we weren't really affected by all the rain and flooding. Schools in Katy did close one day last week because of high water, but I haven't encountered any on the road. However, a trip to the dog park yesterday revealed a lake where the park once was.

I've now been home and away from my husband for a whole month now. Honestly time has gone by quickly with me staying busy at work, but that means we have another whole month to go before he comes home for good. I'm praying that it continues to go quickly and he makes it home safely the first week of June.

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary last week. We have yet to be in the same country on any of our anniversaries. Here are the beautiful flowers Adam sent me.

Here is a picture of me with some of my friends out celebrating Elizabeth's birthday:

So Long Singapore

Well, I have spent the last 2 days sorting through our junk (i mean belongings), trying to get it organized for the movers on Wednesday. It's amazing how much stuff we really have. I never seem to notice it until it has to fit into boxes. As I am spending my last week in my Singapore home, I have constantly been thinking of how blessed we have been to experience life in Asia. From the amazing friends we have made, to all the interesting places we have visited, the past 10 months have been a truly awesome experience!
While there are lots of things I'll miss (the carefree lifestyle, not working, tropical climate), I won't think twice about leaving some things here (walking 10 mins to the grocery store, then carting all my groceries the 10 min walk back in the sweltering heat!). Looking forward to getting home, but sad that Adam will still be here for another 2 months until the rig is complete. Hopefully those 2 months pass quickly with me going back to work and catching up with friends and family!

Travels to the Land Down Under

I finally made it to Australia! I've been wanting to go there since we moved over here, and I managed to fit it in just as time was running out. Adam was unable to take off work, but my cousin Laura was able to get away from the US awhile and meet me in Sydney. We spent a week there and the weather was a pleasant surprise. It was so nice...warm during the day, and cool at night! Oh what a relief from the steamy humidity in Singapore.
We did everything we could think to do in the week we were there. Monday we walked around town, went up in the Sydney Tower, took pictures by the Opera House, and had dinner at a little cafe. Tuesday we went in the Hunter Valley region and visited 2 wineries. We learned about the wine-making process and tasted A LOT of different wines!

touring the vineyard and winery

Wednesday we climbed the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. 1400 stairs to be exact. I would have to say it was the highlight of my trip. We had to change into these lovely gray jumpsuits and put on safety harnesses. The entire climb took about 3 hours and the views from the top were amazing!

our cute jumpsuits

not us, but this is what we were doing about an hour before

Thursday we took a trip into the Blue Mountains. We visited a wildlife park and got to pet/take pictures with a koala. After multiple stops to enjoy the views in the mountains, we stopped for mimosas in a park and got to see some wild kangaroos. So cool! That night for dinner I had kangaroo filets. It was surprisingly delicious :)

wild kangaroo

dinner - yum

Friday we took a cruise around Sydney Harbour for lunch and went to the opera in the Sydney Opera House at night. Great experience.

Opera night

Saturday we went to the local weekend markets and bought some souvenirs and then headed to Bondi Beach.

Sadly, Sunday was our last day. We ate breakfast at a pancake place where I had pancakes with strawberries and ice cream on top. YUM! Then we visited the Sydney Aquarium and headed for the airport.
I believe this will be the end of our travels for awhile. In about a week I'll be moving back home! Hard to believe how time flies. I'll miss my carefree lifestyle, but will be so happy to be in my own home again!

Bintan Island, Indonesia

This weekend we took the ferry over to Bintan Island, Indonesia. We went with some friends and their 2 kids and had a blast! We stayed in a beach-front villa and packed the weekend with as many activities as humanly possible. Highlights of the trip were watching the elephant show and volunteering during the show. We all had our turn to make the show even more fun. Shirley and I volunteered without knowing what we were up for. Scary idea...we were told to lie down with a little space between each of us (this is where I really got scared). Then we were told not to move. (ok, I'm terrified now) Here comes the elephant. He literally walked over the top of us; stepping between us. You can tell from the look on my face that I was praying this elephant knew what he was doing and was a good judge of distance. Luckily we made it out unharmed, and now I can say it was pretty cool!





Then we rented jet skis for an hour. Not my favorite activity. The water was so rough! Adam was driving and I think we were airborne more than on the surface of the water. Next, we rented dune buggies (after the downpour of rain). I think it was my favorite part of the weekend. We went through giant mud puddles and water and mud covered every inch of us...including shooting up our noses.





On our last day we rode the banana boat, which was a blast. I managed to hold on, but today I'm really sore. Then we lounged at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Great weekend!

Shirley giving the monkey a drink

pool overlooking the ocean

NEW NEPHEW!!!!

So we got the call early this morning from Adam's sister, Amber...they got their referral to adopt! We are so excited for them! I know it has been a long road, and they have been so patient. Congratulations Amber & Troy! We've seen pics of the little guy - absolutely adorable! Now, I'm sure the hard part for them will be waiting to go and bring their baby home.

Development Driller III

This weekend we attended the celebration of the naming of the Development Driller III. For those of you who don't know, this is the rig that Adam is working on here in Singapore. Friday night we had dinner at a Cantonese restaurant and tasted some new things. We were served a 5 course meal which included abalone, roasted suckling pig, foie gras, and sticky rice rolls. It was definitely interesting! Saturday was the actual ceremony rig-side. After hearing from CEOs and the breaking of the champagne bottle on the side of the rig, I finally got to go onto the rig. We were all decked out in gloves and hard hats. It was so impressive that this massive structure has been built from the water up. Adam was a great tour guide; teaching me what things are and how they work. I have a new respect for the men that make their living on the rig for weeks at a time. We ended the weekend with a post-naming dinner at the St. Regis hotel (the only 6 star hotel in Singapore). We got all dressed up for the occasion. Dinner was much better this night...still some new food. We tried salmon sushi and caviar. Personally I think I will stick with foods that are cooked! All in all a great weekend!

Safety first!

we clean up pretty nicely

the wives (& Darrell)