love story

the infamous laundry room

Most of you know that Josh and I were college sweethearts. We met in February of 2006 in the Traditions dorm laundry room. I knew right away he was the one. I even went upstairs "to get something" and brought a good friend downstairs to meet him and see what she thought. I should write a post about that night sometime.

Fast forward about 2 and a half years later to July 11, 2008. I had just started the second summer session at A&M and was recovering from a tonsillectomy. (Yes, I had my tonsils removed at 21...it's no fun, I definitely don't recommend it) Josh called me while I was walking to class that morning and said we should go on a date. He told me he would pick me up at my apartment at 5:45 pm. In true Ashley fashion I lost track of time and hopped in the shower a 5 pm. When he got to my apartment to pick me up, he was pretty upset that I wasn't ready. We never went to dinner that early, so I didn't see what the problem was. He said he was really hungry and sat on my bed pouting. I felt bad about it and got ready as quickly as possible.

He chose La Bodega for dinner, which was one of our favorite restaurants in College Station. Of course there was a 30 minute wait. (I later found out this was messing with his time line.) We decided to sit in the bar area until our table was ready, and once I sat down a waitress spilled a shaker right under my feet. (which somehow didn't get on me.) Looking back, I realized that Josh wasn't acting like himself during dinner. He ate his food super fast, went to the bathroom a few times, and he wasn't talking much. As we were walking back to his truck, he said he made a "friend at football camp" and wanted me to meet him. This guy was staying at the Traditions dorm and it would just be a quick trip. Josh is always making friends so I didn't really think anything of it. I was kind of excited to go inside since it had been 2 years since we lived there. 

As we were walking up to the side entrance I said, "how are we going to get in? We don't have an access card." Josh said, "Well maybe someone will open it for us." We got to the door and there was a water bottle keeping it open. This is when I started to get suspicious. We walked down the hall towards the laundry room and I could see rose petals. Once we got to the door, Josh had to pull me in the room and I kept saying "oh my gosh! What are you doing? I can't believe this!" I think I also said "holy sh**" but let's pretend that didn't happen. 

check out the candle holders that Josh found at Michaels, so fun! (everyone knows I love bling)

Right before he got down on one knee, I remember saying "hang on" so I could set my purse down. (really, Ashley?) He proposed with my great-grandmothers diamond that was set in a solitaire. (so special to me) I said yes and the rest is history.

What just happened!? Josh had a huge smile that night :)

He thought through every detail, down to having my favorite colors and flowers. I love that he had Caleb and 3 of his football buddies set it all up exactly to his specifications. I have proof :) They had to turn people away from doing their laundry. I can only imagine what those people thought.

Caleb was a huge help that night

setting out the marbles

waiting, waiting and more waiting since I wasn't ready on time

Congrats on making it to the end of my novella. I can't believe it's been 5 years since this special day. I remember that my face hurt from smiling so much. I still get giddy when I think about it.

seen around our house...

Here's a little Math teacher fun for wordless Wednesday. Just go with it ;)

one tired new intern

plus two new ID's...noooooo

plus three dentists in the family?

let's take a looksie

no cavities!

my Dad used this pic as his dental cleaning reminder cards (photo by Modern Bebe Designs)

equals fun times in the Russell corner. The hubs is post call and has the next day off, plus my Mom gets here tomorrow...happy dance!

weekly menu

Everyone knows that Josh loves to cook way more than me. When he's in the kitchen, he's in his happy place! In the past 4 years of marriage, I've joked that I'm the sou chef who does the cleaning, puts things away while Josh cooks, and does the grocery shopping. Now that he works crazy hours, I'm flying solo in the kitchen! I'm a total amateur when it comes to cooking, but I'm learning quickly to keep us on a budget. We're ok with this since we haven't been blown away by the food up here...and they definitely don't have Tex-Mex. So I've decided to post our menu from the previous week on Mondays. I've linked the recipes if you're interested in trying them.

P.S. sorry, I'm not a food photographer. Just saying.

Bone-in pork chops with apple walnut relish with crash hot sweet potatoes

This one was a little challenging for me! I juggled both dishes at one time plus a curious toddler, which I don't recommend. (until I get better at cooking) The pork was so tender and we loved that the recipe was paleo. The sweet potatoes were great too. Definitely a keeper!

Lemon garlic tilapia with crispy gnocchi with tomatoes and goat cheese

The tilapia was ok. I followed the reviews and sautéed the garlic and used fresh parsley. The top reviewer also said to bake at 400 for around 10 minutes. I think next time I would try foil packets because the sauce didn't really stay on the fish well. The gnocchi was amazing! I bought the whole wheat version at our grocery store. Josh kept saying how much he loved it after each bite. Score!

Ultimate baked chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce

We will definitely make these chicken tenders again! SO delicious. I made the honey mustard sauce from another recipe for us to dip them in and to use as a salad dressing. It was super easy to make and so flavorful! It's got a great kick to it.

butter breast of chicken with summertime spaghetti squash

We made this last night. I loved that Josh was able to cook with me. I followed another blogger's advice when breading the chicken. She says to dredge one side of the cutlet in the flour, put the same side in the egg bowl, and place it in the panko dish. Then you press down so the crumbs will stick and put the piece of butter on the "naked side" and roll the chicken up. The chicken stays put without needing a toothpick. (For some reason we had a lot of panko left over. We will use less next time.) Three awesome end results: the chicken is moist, we loved the lemon, and the outer crunch is fun. YUM!

The spaghetti squash was great too! Especially since it's so much better for you than real spaghetti. We already had a jar of pesto from the gnocchi so I just used that.

Peyton refused to try either dish. BOO. I tried to stand firm and play the tough love card. But ended up making him a PB&J later on.

Jell-O Zoo Jigglers...what? How'd this get on here ;)

We picked this kit up at Wal-Mart last week. The kid loves it. It's now our new bribery tool to get him to eat his dinner. You get desperate when you have a picky eater.

Fishin' at the lake

On one of our first days here as a family, we decided to go for a walk and explore the lake behind our town home. At the last minute Josh grabbed this fishing pole that Grandi & Papaw gave Peyton for his birthday. He was so excited to be "fishing" that we decided he needed a big boy pole. We went to Menard's to find some inexpensive ones and tried them out a few days later. I didn't get many pictures, but instead I have to videos to share :) Peyton can't wait to go fishing with his family back in Texas!

waiting so patiently while Daddy starts the line

Rochester Honkers game

On Wednesday night we met some of Josh's friends from work at a Rochester Honkers game. It was a real treat! The stadium isn't huge so it's easy to manage with a toddler. There also wasn't much traffic before or after the game. We paid a little extra for "deck" tickets that came with all you can eat food and drink. It's perfect for kids! They have room to explore, but it's fenced in. (So I don't have to worry about Mr. Peyton running on the field...wouldn't put it past him!) 

One of my favorite memories was the bar tender yelling "last call!" and Peyton repeating it over and over. Everyone was laughing and he loved the attention. There was also a stand where you could get cookies. I finally realized that the teenager working it kept giving the kids cookies. I shut that down real quick. You don't want to see my sugared-out kid have a meltdown. mmmkay? Thanks. We had already had an "I WANT BALL!" fit. Once I bought him one his response was "I want bat!" (well, duh Mom!)

a pre-game photo session with the honker...cuteness overload!

the team mascot...Peyton wasn't a fan so I had to be in the pic

the kiddos didn't watch too much of the game ("no more pics, mom!")

Peyton and his new buddy Kason loved sitting under the camera man's stand

The Honkers won at bottom of the ninth with a walk-off grand slam. The crowd went wild! Peyton wasn't sure what was going on but he decided to start running in circles. After the game, everyone got to go out on the field for a fireworks display. It was a great show. Peyton clung to us since he hasn't been around them much. But he still had fun.

on the field waiting for the fireworks to start

Josh snapped this shot. It's a little blurry, but I still love it!

4th of July in Rochester

Happy 237th birthday, America! We were so happy for the 4th to finally get here. It was Josh's first day off in 10 days. He starts night tomorrow which should be interesting. Thankfully, we were able to sleep in until after 9 am. Then we made banana walnut pancakes and got ready to go swimming. I just joined the Rochester Athletic Club and they have an awesome outdoor pool area. There's a zero depth entry for younger kiddos and a huge water slide. Right next to the pool is a huge playground that's fenced in. So you can lay out and watch your child play. Peyton had a blast. (Today's high temp was 86. Wow Toto we are definitely not in Texas.)

After swimming at the RAC, Peyton ate lunch and went down for a nap. Josh grabbed a few things from the store while I worked on our first flag cake! Some neighbors invited us over to grill and we had fun. We also made our favorite corn dip (thanks Aunt Lynn for the recipe! see below) and pan de queso (Josh's favorite bread from his trip to Brazil in 2002). 

Corn dip:

2 cans mexicorn (drained)

1 can Rotel (drained)

1 cup shredded mexican style cheese

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

Mix all ingredients and serve! We usually make in advance and chill in the fridge. Josh likes it when I add paprika and garlic salt or powder. We serve it with the Fritos scoops and it's always a huge hit.

We enjoyed hanging out with the people in our neighborhood. Colin and Christina were so kind to host it at their house. They both love kids and Peyton treats them like family. There's a new couple that just moved in with 3 and 4.5 year old boys who also came over. Peyton had a hay day :) We were able to watch a firework display from our house along with a few fireworks in the street.

"Look, Daddy fireworks! Loud!"

4th of July, 2011

4th of July, 2012 (first popsicle!)

4th of July, 2013 (we made this shirt at a playdate last week!)

I love looking back on how our big boy has grown. What's your favorite 4th of July memory?

med school graduation

After four long years, Josh became Dr. Russell on May 26. We were so ready for this day to come! His last rotation ended on April 5...you couldn't wipe the smile off his face that day. It was such a relief to be done. During this time he was able to do research and enjoy some time off before becoming a resident. He also packed the house, cooked some culinary masterpieces, and spent tons of time with Peyton. We were spoiled :)

happiness on the last day of med school

Graduation weekend started off crazy with a torrential downpour on Saturday. It was the second wettest day in San Antonio's history with almost 10 inches of rain. We advised my Mee Mee & Paw Paw not to make the trip because the storm was heading there way all along I10. It was pretty scary weather!

Mee Mee & Paw Paw were there in spirit!

me and my little man (check out his shoes!)

Russell family after graduation

total framer...love my boys!

our little family

my family was there, but had to leave graduation early to let the dog out before brunch (I hate missing pictures...boo!)

We had brunch at Max's Wine Dive after graduation and what a treat! They had delicious mimosas and very unique breakfast items. I got the Elvis which was two peanut butter and bacon pancakes served with banana maple syrup. Josh got the drunken bread with a side of fried chicken. (Max's fried chicken is amazing!)

Congratulations, Dr. Daddy. You handled these four years with patience and dedication, all while being there for us as a husband and father. You always made us your number one priority, despite how busy you were. We are so proud and love you to pieces.