happy birthday bubbs...

i'd like to take a post here and wish my brother a happy birthday. today, the little kid i used to give such a hard time to, turns 26 - wait am i old enough for him to be 26? here are just a few things i appreciate and love about my brother.

he is patient. his ability to sit and tinker with and fix things is incredible. he's that guy that you call to put things together for you when there are like a million parts or something isn't working just right. but he is also patient with people seeing the best in them and their potential.

he is compassionate. he is intune to what people are feeling or might be feeling and considers them above himself. his ability to love and care for others far exceeds mine. he is way more thoughtful and considerate.

he is optimistic. he sees the best in people. he hopes for the best situation and has the ability to help others (like a pessimistic sister) feel the same.

he can cook! and he loves to! this is a huge bonus when we get together!

he is great with kids (it is like we inherited a gene or something). we have both always loved playing with kids and been kid magnets.

he forgives easily. i have seen jon forgive people so quickly when they have wronged him. he sees the best in them and does not hold grudges. some people have taken advantage of this, and his older sister who has a little trouble forgiving has wanted to fight a few people.

he is honorable. he fights for and defends our country.

i love you bubbs! happy 26th birthday from your proud big sister!

family tradition: the state fair of texas...

since my parents moved back to texas about 5 years ago (i think) it has become a new tradition to go to the state fair. and i love it!  my brother was not able to fly in from san diego this year, but my parents and i went for my dad's 50th birthday.  and boy was it fun.  when we do this, we make it an all day affair.  i think this year we were out there from 11am until 7pm.  we hit just about every exhibit and try as many fried foods as possible.  here are a few pics of our adventure...

excited to try the fried beer.

highly disappointed. fried beer... so gross. gagging thinking it.

the rents and big tex!

me and my mama with big tex.

hoping this is better than the beer.

and it was! much better.

testing out the tempur pedic beds.

checking out the livestock. rooster.

duck with afro.

LOTS of bacon.

john deere.

frozen pickle juice. the salty popsicle.

my dream truck. ahhhh...

bumper cars with mom and dad.

fried peanut butter and jelly. my favorite! so good!

rambo mom...

so i got this email from my mom this morning. if you know my parents at all then you are going to laugh at out loud at this! before you read the email there might be a few details you need to know.

• whenever i adopt, i fully plan on having my kid call my mom grambo.  why? because of things like this story.  my mom is the sweetest, most compassionate woman, that is until you mess with one of her kids.  in fact she even says, "hell hath no fury like a mama when you mess with her children." plus gayla has some spunk to her too (where did you think i got it from?) so rather than just calling her something plain like grandma, she will be called grambo! hence the rambo references in the email...
• dolly is my parents 8 pound miniature dachshund.  she is cute as can be and is treated like a child, no i may say better than a child, at least better than jon or i. perhaps an exaggeration, but hey, i never got to go to day camp twice a week. i am not jealous or anything, even though she has taken over my nicknames (princess and angel).

enjoy this email! and by the way, my mom knows i posted this on here...

Becca,

So I must confess to being Rambo mama last night.  We have cats in our neighborhood that actually stalk Dolly.  They are mean.  We have to run them off.  Anyway last night she was outside in her yard minding her own business when all of a sudden she began to bark horribly.  I went to the back door and her little hiney was backed up to the door and she was terrified.  I brought her in knowing it was those stupid cats.  Dad said "oh no, we are gonna go get them."  So he and Dolly went out armed with a cup of water.  I heard Dolly go crazy so I went out and they had treed the cats.  Dad had thrown water at them and then threw the cup to me and said get more.  Well at that point I snapped.  Seriously.  I ran, got the water hose and attached the sprayer nozzle I use to power wash the patio (all in my jammies) and I went after those cats.  I mean I was all over that yard spraying them down like a crazy woman.  I showed no mercy.  I hit them pretty hard.  I was so pumped it took hours to calm down.  You know you just don't mess with my babies.  I was ready for the shotgun.  Dad was laughing at me.  So...poor Dolly was so scared this morning that she would not even get off the patio.  I had to go out with her this morning.  I think I was ready for another fight.  Lucky those stupid cats were not out there.  In fact as I am writing this my heart is racing. 

Well, guess I best get back to work. 

Love you my sweet girl!

Mom ( aka Rambo)

my great-grandmother turned 90, so we decided to party...

over the 4th of july weekend, my dad's side of the family all got together for the first time in years to celebrate my great-grandmother's 90th birthday. portage, indiana did not know what hit it when the harris clan arrived. we set off over $800 of fireworks, laughed, retold old stories, and celebrated mama edna. most of is are getting together again down here in austin in august. could be trouble...

jon comes to dallas...

that is right! my brother is officially back in the states and he came to dallas a few weekends ago to visit and be united with his love, fiona. she has only been waiting to see him since november. here are some pictures.

jon and fiona. united at last!

fiona. isn't she pretty?

mom and jon while bowling.
me and pops.our cousin mike and his wife kelly down from kansas city too!we spent a lot of time in friendly competition over mario kart.
then we moved on to rock band. here is our lead guitarist.
and the drummer and vocalist.
a pic of the whole band.the cousins.

it was great to see jon! thanks to all of you who have been faithfully praying for him while he was in Iraq.

he's now a sergeant...

jon on his helicopter.

Mom heard from Jon again last night. He got promoted to Sergeant on Saturday, which is exciting! Way to go brother. He placed an order for some yummy goodies. He has also requested some Christmas decorations to put up in his room.

Thanks guys for praying for him and sending him stuff. It means a lot.

cruise...

here are pictures from the cruise i took with my family. it was SO relaxing, i just wish my brother could have been there.

me and my roommate...nana.me and mom on formal night.

pops and i all dressed up.

nana and i catching one of the shows.

alberto and i...our kayak tour guide.

dad and i enjoying cerveza after our kayaking excursion... it was fun until the tide went out and we got stuck in the mud. we had to push our way out.

our ship...the ecstasy.

mom and i.

chaunkanaab...cozumel's state park. beautiful.

dad and i in our matching hats at senior frogs...

black and white night.

last day at sea. laying out on the uper deck catching some rays.

hopefully i will get back on here and post some more funny stories.

my brother the marine...

a pic of jon and i last year when he came home.

so my brother is back in iraq (he is a marine) and has been there for about a month now. he will be there for 8-14 months total. we have heard from him via facebook and he even called us this week. i however, missed the call, but my mom got to talk to him. it sounds like he is doing well. he can't really tell us specifics of what he is doing, but he said he is flying a lot and that things in this part of iraq are getting much better. he said it is very different from last time. mom said it sounded like he was in good spirits. i am putting a package together today for him. i am actually going to walk to target (because that is how close it is to my house now) and pick up some goodies. if you ever want to encourage him or send him a package i am sure he would love it! especially as it gets closer to the holidays. this will be his first time in iraq for the holidays and his birthday (feb 28). below is his address. and if you send a package, the post office has special priority mail boxes for soldiers that are free to get and cheaper to ship. you can just pick one up there. what does he like? any kind of cookies or homemade goods. he says chocolate doesn't usually make it, so that it no good. but he LOVES rockstar energy drinks, crest pro health toothpaste, axe body wash, caribou coffee granola bars, and fun kinds of gum. he is more of a salty snack person than sweets. but i am sure he will be grateful for anything he gets.

CPL Jonathan Harris
HMM 161
Unit 41066
FPO AP 96426-1066

thanks for loving on him and encouraging him. it means a lot to his big sister.