Del Rio Dinosaurs and 7 Can Soup

As you know, I live in Del Rio, TX which is 3 miles from our neighbors to the south, Mexico. Home to all sorts of what would be normal insects and creatures, but we have the pleasure of enjoying them in sizes 3 times larger than the rest of the world. I might be exaggerating, but probably not. This week alone I have encountered the following in my house: large cockroach in kitchen, ridiculously enormous, thick, and fuzzy spider in my entryway, and a fatter than usual gecko on my kitchen window. There is an almost iguana sized lizard that lives in the bushes in front of our living room window.....sometimes he likes to walk me to my car which I do not appreciate. At all, whatsoever. Anyway, just a small glimpse into our lives here in the desert of almost Mexico! In other new, my parents and Heather & James came to see us last weekend and it was awesome! Everyone else should come visit too. :) Also, Chelsea is coming home in approximately 40 days! Yippeeee!

Wow, lots has happened since I posted last. Two weekends ago I went to Abilene for a reunion with my college roommates! It was so much fun to catch up and laugh about old times. ACU has changed so much since we went there. I can't believe next year is our 5 year reunion!! eeeeek!

And finally, here is Doug and I's favorite fall dinner recipe. And it's made in the crock pot which automatically makes it awesome!

7 Can Soup

1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)

3 cans Minestrone Soup (Campbell's is the way to go)

2 cans Corn

1 can Ranch Beans

1 can Rotel

Don't drain any of the cans. Brown the beef and throw all of it into the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours. We eat it with corn bread, and it is seriously the best! Try it.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of pwer, of love, and of self-discipline."

2 Timothy 1:7

Cousin Reunion and The Centrifuge

Last weekend Doug's cousins had a reunion in Boerne, TX. It's about 30 minutes outside of San Antonio, which worked out really great because Doug had to be in SA for work on Monday. We had a good time with his sisters/cousins looking at old family photos and eating lots of yummy food! We only took a few pictures, but here they are:

Luallin/McCurley Cousins

On Sunday afternoon, we headed into SA and did a little shopping and got to eat at a real restaurant.....it was fantastic! We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse. Doug had to be up early on Monday to do the Centrifuge, so I dropped him off and shopped until he was done later that afternoon. They had to pull 6G's for 30 seconds, 7.5G's for 15 seconds, and a couple others as well. 7.5G's was the most they did. It sounds pretty intense.....I'm glad that's not a requirement for my job. No one in Doug's flight passed out, so that was awesome! Here is a quick video of Doug doing 6 G's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B1XAn2_rdc

In other news, Chels is coming home on November 19!!! I cannot wait! She will be in Swaziland again this month. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

California here we come

Can I just say that CA is amazing and I have the best family ever?!? We (and by we I mean my sisters minus Chels, Deven, and my parents......sorry Doug) just got back from a week long trip to CA to visit my sweet grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. We had a really great time. We spent a few days in Fresno and then headed back up to Sacramento for the rest of the week. Here are a few pictures:

Me and Heather on the plane.

Deven was not a fan of Aunt Gail's pool....he much preferred to run around it. =)

Grandpa and Deven

All the Jenkins cousins minus Ben! Flat Chelsea even made it in the pic!

Grandma and Grandpa with their 8 great grandchildren!

Sisters and I with Grandma & Grandpa

Back in Sacramento, we got to Skype with Chels from Johannesburg, South Africa! (It was early in the morning....don't judge) If you look really close you can seen Chels on Skype on my phone! :)

The family with Grandpa and Norma

It was so nice to escape from the 100 degree weather for a few days! The Friday before I left was the day that Doug found out the plane he we fly for the remainder of pilot training. He got the T-38 which means he will be able to fly fighters/bombers when he graduates! Please keep him in your prayers if you think of it! There's still six more months to go. I'm pretty proud of him. :)

I have another couple of days off until school preparations start. I have loved summer, but I'm

excited to go back to work! Happy Weekend!!

Fourth of July

Wow, I am a terrible blogger. To catch you up a bit, I am still teaching preschool (although we are off for the summer, hooray!) and Doug has just finished his second phase of Pilot Training! Only one phase left.....although this phase will last until February, but progress is progress. He will find out on July 22 which track he will be on for the rest of training. You can either track "heavies" (cargo/transports/etc.) and fly the T-1, or "jets" (fighters/bombers) and fly the T-38 for the remainder of training. I will try my best to keep you updated!

This is us next to the T-6, which is the plane he flew in the 2nd phase of training. This was taken right after his initial solo.

We just got back from a quick visit to my parents in Bossier City, LA. My sister Heather and her husband James, and Doug's sister Aimee all came as well and we had a good time exploring their new city.....and a few casinos!! =) I only lost $1. I forgot which one we were in, but this one had a million dollars glued to the wall in $100 bills.

America and I basically share a birthday (although mine is the 2nd), so we also headed to dinner at my very favorite place, The Olive Garden, and were able to squeeze in plenty of shopping for this mall/Target/Starbucks-deprived Del Rio-an. It was good times! I always love spending time with my family! They are the greatest. (We missed you Cami and Chelsea!!)

We got back to Del Rio in time to watch the city fireworks, and I have to say I was very impressed! Hope you and yours had a blessed Fourth of July weekend!

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:103

Doug's First Day of "School"

Today was Doug's first day of Pilot Training! Hallelujah! The first six weeks is all in the classroom and he received his box filled with TONS of packets on things like Aerospace Physiology, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics.....and lots of other stuff with words I can't even pronounce. haha It will be a very long/stressful/crazy year, but it will be worth it in the end. Say a little prayer for him if you think about it!

I just had to take the nerdy first day of school picture!

The stack of junk he has to know.......jealous?!?

I have been doing lots and lots of redecorating and rearranging these days so I will have to post pics when I'm all done! Hope your new year is off to a great start!

Chelsea!

My littlest sister, Chelsea, left for her World Race trip on Tuesday. It is an eleven month mission trip, and they will be in a different country every month. The countries she will be going are Thailand, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Romania, Ukraine, and Ireland. I heard from her last night, and they have arrived safely in Phuket, Thailand. They will be doing brothel/bar ministry while they are there this month. Please say lots of prayers for her as she will be in a dangerous area. You can keep up with her journey at:

chelseabrunts.theworldrace.org

I have a link to it on the side. Here are a few pictures we took the day she left. My parents, sisters, and Deven all met up in Dallas to see her off at the airport:

We were all very sad to see her go, but know that she will be doing great things! We miss you so much already Chels and love you very much!