It's been a little while since I've written a post of any value so I'll try to catch you guys up on what's going on, although I'll say that there still isn't much of value to write about.
We bought our first house yesterday... so that's pretty cool. It'll likely be mid-August before we're able to move in (we're "leasing" it back to the family we bought it from until they're able to move into their new house next month), but we'll start working on some things around the exterior of the house next week so I'm hoping that will make it feel like it is actually ours. The house has a detached garage that needs to be re-painted, a fence that needs to be repaired, an old A/C unit that needs to be removed, and some wiring that hangs too low across the backyard and needs to be lifted. Also, there is a wooden gate that used to go across the driveway that we'll need to re-attach so the backyard is fully enclosed and ready for Maya. Then we'll install a gate opener that will allow us to open the gate with a remote, just like a garage door opener.
We're going to the house on Thursday evening to take a closer look at a lot of stuff so we can soon make a trip to Lowe's/Home Depot and buy things we need since I have some coupons that expire at the end of the month. The house is in really great shape as is, but there are a few things we going to update to make it our own. We like all the current paint colors except in the kitchen, which is a salmon color. Most of our kitchen stuff is red, which would most certainly fight with the salmon--- so we're planning on repainting it a light taupe. We're going to sand and repaint all of the interior trim and doors so they'll be nice and white instead of 50-years-worth of layers of off-white paint. We'll also change out the doorknobs--- from ones that are shiny brass to ones that are oil-rubbed bronze. Last, there are two light fixtures and one fan that we'll want to replace with something we like better. All in all, it's not too much work or too much expense... which is great.
In non-house news, we are in the midst of a wedding frenzy. Our good friends Tyler & Erin got married two weekends ago, my college roommate Griff (Emily Griffin) got married last weekend in her hometown of Memphis, and a great college friend of mine, Brittany, is getting married this weekend. Kolby was a groomsmen in Tyler's wedding and I was/am a bridesmaid in Griff and Brittany's weddings. Busy, busy! I wasn't good about taking pictures at any of these events, but hopefully I can round up a few from others to post once everything settles down a bit.
July 4th was the 1-month mark for our stay here at my parents' house. We are SO, SO very grateful for their hospitality and have had the best time living here and getting to spend so much time with them and with Russell, who is also living here for the summer, and Brad & Remy, who live just a few minutes away. We are spoiled here--- a pool, a stocked pantry, unlimited Coca-Cola AND bottled water (both are luxury goods for us!), TiVo, central A/C, and free rent! Our lives will never be the same again! Since I start my new job next Wednesday (gasp), we're actually planning to move out of here and in with Kolby's parents early next week. Moving there will cut my commute down by over 30 minutes each way. It's looking like after all is said and done we will have lived with each set of parents for just over a month. We weren't planning on it being such an extended stay, but we know that we'll never regret getting to spend this time with them. I was frustrated when we found out that we won't get to move into our new house as soon as we were planning to, but it is certainly a blessing in disguise. We love our parents so much and it's so great to have the opportunity to see them every day and hang out with them so often.
The ranch house my parents are building is almost finished! My mom is supposed to upload new pictures to a website that I made for her so she could document the progress. I'll post a link once she puts the new pictures up. Also, the cabin that is on the land that Kolby's parents have in Wimberley is now fully renovated and vacation-ready! We're super excited to have both places to gather with family and spend time away from the city life.
That's all for now!
Kolby is LOVING the summer residency for his grad program! He took this picture with his cell phone from the balcony of one of the buildings where they have classes. 
The Baylor group (plus Kolby) at my college roommate's wedding in Memphis, TN on July 3. Her name is Emily but we know her as Griffin because 3 of the 5 girls in our apartment were named Emily so we resorted to last names. 
It was A LOT of wedding festivities but we survived it all and enjoyed spending good time with great friends!
