Orders

To those who didn't know and may be reading our blog and not writing comments or reading for the first time, we are headed over to 

Fort Polk, Louisiana. 

It was definitely are last pick, twice actually.  Bryan reports on June 14, 2012. He will be going to Officer's Basic Training starting the 5 July. It lasts two months down in San Antonio, Texas. This actually is perfect, because I will finish up my time with the Army and begin my outprocess at the end of August.

The positives: We will be living together. The army can only get better after this post. Super outdoors and family oriented. Finally get to visit New Orleans. Close to Houston (so we can keep an eye on our property). Close to the beach? Cajun food. Never lived in a town of 6,000 people. Our new kayaks are perfect for the flood season.

Truck

The day we found out Bryan was getting a state side assignment we bought this.

Bryan sold his Chevy S10 back in January when the transmission went out. We had just put about the trucks worth of money into it the month before and I have been a little fed up with the stupid money pit. So I told Bryan to just get rid of it. Bryan was carless for the next 5 months. Not really. His parents lent him one of their cars while he was in Oklahoma during his internship. Very nice of them.

Anyways, its a new addition to our little family.

Dr. Pepper Museum and Cameron Park Zoo

We went up to Waco to visit with Bryan's grandma and aunt. On the first day, we toured the Dr. Pepper Museum. The museum has a scavenger hunt set up to guide you through the tour. It was actually pretty tough.

 Bryan and his grandma looking at the old soda machine mixer.

 Bryan's Aunt Julie at the artesian spring water well- supposedly the purest of all waters and the perfect ingredient for the soda.

 At the end of the tour, we got root beer floats from the soda fountain. Yum!

 On the second day, we went to the zoo. It was raining on the drive to the zoo, but made for a great day alone in the park. Unfortunately some of the animals were kept in their holdings due to the weather, which is odd, they are animals! It was mostly the larger animals- elephants, tigers, bears.

 This guy swam over to greet us.

Grandma enjoyed the park from her wheelchair. Her late husband (Bryan's grandpa) was a veterinarian and she enjoyed being escorted around the park. It was nice to visit family. We will have to come up again.

Pedernalas Falls State Park

Now that we have a lot more spare time (with Bryan being out of school and permanently living together), we are trying to explore Texas.So we decided to go camping at Pedernalas Falls State Park. We haven't camped in a while, and let me just say that next time we go, we need an air mattress. Both of us did not sleep so well with the crickets, birds, and hard surface. The park is beautiful. Unfortunately, the area pictured below is not opened to swimming. We were able to hike it though.

 We hiked a good 12-15 miles while we were there. Lots of wild life. On the first hike, I was alarmed by a snake and practically jumped into Bryan's arms. On the second hike, we saw this tarantula walking across the path. I have never seen one here in Texas, crazy enough. We also saw a lot of fish, mostly the skeletons from the birds eating them on the rocks.

We stopped by some bird watching station. 

Bryan swimming up stream- the Pedernalas River.

 The water was perfect temperature.

We still don't know where we are headed, but it won't be Texas. We will be sad to leave here. It has treated us well.

Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory

Have you ever had this ice cream? It virtually is the best out there. We are really going to miss it when we leave Texas. Who doesn't like Blue Bell Ice Cream? Bryan's favorite is cookies and cream. I like all, but if I had to choose one, it would be their holiday flavor called carmel pumpkin spice. 

 We took a tour of the factory in Brenham, on our way back from Houston. The tour ends with a free bowl of ice cream. Seconds were just $1. And these are not little scoops, these are 3 big scoops! The workers are even sampling the flavors with you as you pick out a flavor. In fact, the factory workers eat all the free ice cream they want! Lucky.

 Yes, I am squeezing the logos utters and eating a bowl of ice cream. 

We would go again just for the free ice cream and refill. Love it!

Conroe

For Bryan's graduation we rented some condos up at Lake Conroe which is about one hour north of Houston. We decided it would be fun to be out of the big city away from the crowds of graduations, proms, and mother's day weekend; plus, our house is being rented out to a family from our ward in Houston. The condo is right on the waters edge. We were able to see snakes, ducks, and fish from the balcony. Our neighbors were lazy and fished from their balcony. 

 My parents on the balcony with Lake Conroe behind. The weather was perfect for my mother (70-80 degrees) and not warm enough for my dad (he likes 90-100 degrees).

 Unfortunately, the Southern Empress Cruise was grounded until June time frame due to low water levels from last summer breaking the rotor. It would have been fun to have a dinner date on the lake.

 Left to Right: Sue, Debbie, Robert, and Mike hanging out at the pool. The water was a little on the cooler side, but once you got in, it was just fine.

 Early in the morning, Bryan and I took our kayaks to a island in the middle of the lake. It seemed a lot closer than it actually was. You can see the condos in the background (microscopic). The island had a dock, some grass, toys, and old beer bottles. Nothing too exciting. 

 This is my dad kayaking. The houses are so cool with boating docks and decks in the back yard. I wouldn't mind having a lake in my back yard. So fun! We didn't see any alligators- everyone told us to be careful because there are alligators in the lake. Strange how people are water skiing and tubing in alligator infested water.

 Bryan's parents left on Sunday night after two beautiful mother's days meals. We made whole wheat pancakes with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream for breakfast and lasagna, green salad, and fruit salad for dinner. On Monday, we took my parents to hiking at Huntsville State Park. My mother did very well, even with her hurt knee. We still didn't see any alligators!

This is a 77 foot statue of Sam Houston, one of the many heroes of Texas. I think this is the largest statue of a historical person? I could be wrong. Our weekend was fun filled with tennis, swimming, hiking, kayaking, graduating, celebrating graduation, and eating! Thanks mom and dad and Debbie and Robert for joining our little party in Texas because we won't be here much longer!

Dr. Ahlborn

I am so proud of my husband! He is finally done with school... 4 years of books and tests and driving and separation! It has been long and rough for the both of us. We have gone through some hard times, but the end is here and we have been blessed throughout the journey and now we are ready to party!

 The Class of 2012 had a banquet at the downtown Houston's Aquarium on Thursday May 10, 2012. We had steak and fish for dinner. We had great entertainment and danced until midnight!

 Bryan's friends through the years. Left to Right: Casey, Kassie, Ruby, Ruba, Amanda, Bryan, Ben.

 Graduation was on May 12, 2012 at the Cullen Hall on the University of Houston's campus. The program was great; we kind of felt like we were at a Catholic church service with the music and flags. The speakers were especially well spoken.

Here Bryan is receiving his diploma on the left of the stage. Its a good thing we paid for a professional photograph because this picture sucks!

My mom and I decorated posters to embarrass Bryan when his name was called out. They were bright and obnoxious...perfect!  Bryan secretly liked it.

 My parents and Bryan's parents came out to celebrate this joyous occasion. Bryan couldn't wait to take off his cloak... it was really humid in Houston that day. I wanted more pictures in his Hogwarts gown though:)

Doctor Ahlborn

 One of the graduates was a graphic arts minor in her undergraduate and donated this picture to the college. It is an eye with the city of Houston's skyline. I like it.

 I decorated our car. I wanted to surprise him, but of course I couldn't keep a secret from him- he caught me in the act.

 We ate at Red Lobster and then celebrated the after graduation party with an Oreo Ice Cream Cake from Dairy Queen.

I love you Bryan and I am so very, very pleased with all your hard work and dedication to your studies. I cannot wait for the next phase in our journey!