April Showers bring May Flowers....and mosquitoes!

Springtime has come and passed in Galveston. It's full steam ahead to summer as evidenced by the mosquito bites covering our legs and arms!

Spring was welcomed on the island with the blooming of thousands of wild flowers. I don't know if it was quite as bountiful last year or if I just didn't notice it as well, but it sure was a welcome sight as the area still recovering from the hurricane was blanketed in an array of colors while the temperatures heated up. Below is an image from the cemetary that I just thought was so beautiful. A place that serves a symbol of death, covered in life.

In April I (Sara) was lucky enough to get to go back to Virginia to attend my college reunion. I had not been back to Farmville in years and it was so nice to get to see the campus, walk through town, and especially to catch up with old friends and sorority sisters. The last part of my weekend was spent visiting with my family, unfortunately a short visit but it was so good to see everyone!

In early May it was back to Virginia for Jacqueline's bridal shower and girls weekend. We spent most of Saturday touring different vineyards in beautiful Charlottesville, VA. Sunday was her bridal shower and Mother's Day. Thankfully Mom & Dad Bassett were able to make a trip up to Richmond from NC (along with Aunt Connie) to spend Sunday afternoon and evening with me. It was such a nice visit and much needed because it had been 5 months since I had seen them!

The end of May was wrapped up with a Memorial Day Weekend trip to Lake Travis, Texas for the two of us. It was our first time in that part of Texas and we both absolutely fell in love. It's a shame there is no Coast Guard on the Lake because I think we would move their in a heartbeat! We treated this get-a-way as an early "anniversary trip" and spent most of our time relaxing by the pool! We even rented a small speedboat one day and explored the lake!

Speaking of our Anniversary; yesterday, June 2nd, was our second wedding anniversary! We've surived another year! haha.. I told Sim that I think this past year has been our best one yet :) Cheers to many many more! We celebrated by going to dinner at the Chart House at Kemah Boardwalk. We had a declicious dinner and walked around the boardwalk afterwards. I thought it was pretty cool that I actually was able to work the shoes from our wedding into my outfit last night! I think it was the first time since our wedding night that I have actually worn them too!

All caught up!

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in San Antonio

Springtime has been VERY hectic for the Zugers! I am taking a full-time grad school courseload while working our very busiest season at the office. Sim has managed to complete 3 classes this semester, along with working fulltime as well! Not only that but he was offered an invitation to be a member in the honor society at American Military University! His 3.8 GPA has not only impressed me but the school as well! I'm so proud of him and all of his hard work!

We've started off baseball season 2009 by attending opening day at Minute Maid Park. The Astros were a bit of a disappointment but the peanuts were great! haha..

Here's our Easter table from this weekend. We had food too! It was just still being cooked when we took this picture! Then there is me with my Easter basket. We surprised each other with Easter baskets and even hid them and made each other findtheir own!

Holidays with the Zugers

The evening of December 10th we were graced with our very first Texas snowfall. It rarely snows here, I believe the last time was in 2004. It was pretty for the few hours it lasted before the sun came up and melted it all away!

Chuckie in front of our little Christmas tree!

December 19th we left for North Carolina to spend a few days with my parents before heading up to Virginia for the holidays. As always, we had a wonderful visit! We were able to tour the Tryon Palace all decorated for Christmas. It was beautiful! Even though it was December and the weather was a little bit rainy we had a great time touring the homes and gardens and of spending time together over dinner!

On our way up to VA we spent the night with our friends Jacqueline & Bruce in Charlottesville. We went wine tasting and out for dinner. They were wonderful hosts! We were so excited to get to spend some time with them and we are even more excited to celebrate with them this coming June when they get married! Below are some pictures from Charlottesville.

After Charlottesville we headed up to Woodbridge for the remainder of our trip. We spent Christmas Eve with Sara's family and Christmas Day with Sim's parents. We are so blessed to be able to travel and spend the holidays with our friends & families! We miss them so much living in Texas but we cherish every opportunity we have to be together!

Once we got back to Houston it was almost 2009! We started the year off by going to the Houston Zoo together. It was a beautiful January day and the zoo was SO nice! Plus military gets free admission! Can't beat that!

We finished off the day by going to the Waterwall. It was actually the place I wanted to bring Sim to before for our anniversary (see post- http://sszuger.blogspot.com/2008/06/celebrating.html) but it was closed then. We went on a cool Saturday and the place was VERY crowded. Lots of couples were waiting to get a picture in front of the fountain! Here are ours.....

Fall 2008 Recap!

It has been a LONG time since my last post! My only excuse is time and the fact that lately we have had a lot less of it! At least it feels that way!

Sim had major double knee surgery in October. He spent most of Octobr on a walker and crutches recouperating. It's been quite a struggle for him with many hour spent in physical therapy but he is doing AMAZING and recovering quite well. While the pain in his knees is not completely gone, it has reduced significantly and he is working on building back his strength.

Halloween was spent at our house with some friends. It was our first time actually having trick-or-treaters! We sat outside and oohed and awwed over all of the adorable kids outfits! We definitely bought too much candy though!

Our Fall wrapped up with a wonderful visit from two of Sim's brothers. Luke came in from Hawaii to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us and Joel, who lives in Tennesse, was able to work a business trip to Houston around the same time. It was so nice to have our house full and I know Sim really enjoyed spending time catching up with his brothers. To top it off we were able to wach a Steelers game together!!

5 Super Bowl Championships?!?!? Who knew they'd actually do it this season!

Right before Thanksgiving I also went to Vegas for work. I am including some pictures below! I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at beautiful Desert Mountains!

Shortly after that it was time to head to NC and VA for Christmas! I'll post more in the next thread......

Life post-Ike

Well our sweet little island has been turned upside down thanks to a nasty Hurricane that stormed ashore over two months ago. So much has happened since then I feel sometimes like I don't recongize our life anymore.

First let me say that we were very fortunate, I'll even go as far to say blessed....even though there is very little that I would really consider a blessing about the storm as a whole. It truly is in times of hardship though that you can truly appreciate the good things. Sim and I evacuated on Thursday before the storm and went to stay at a friends' house in Dickinson, where we rode out the storm. Saturday morning when we woke up we faced the prospect of days without power and water and decided it was in our best interest to head out of town until things cleared up. We drove to San Antonio (our first time going!) and although the reasons for our trip were not good, we managed to fit in a little bit of sightseeing! Tuesday morning I was also fortunate enough to witness the birth of one of our good friends here's daughter at the Methodist Hosptital in San Antonio. Their family was evacuated from the area as well and thanks to Ike she had to give birth in a different hospital but everything worked out wonderfully and around noon on Tuesday Charlotte Ruth was born!

Us at the Alamo in San Antonio & Sim and Charlotte Ruth

Tuesday evening we then packed up and headed back to the area once we heard word that we could get onto the island and finally see the damage to our place. They had instituted a "Look & Leave" plan allowing residents to come onto the island for the day but they had to leave before nightfall. Unfortunately that plan was cancelled the day it started and we wondered if we had driven back for nothing. Luckily Sim and his Coast Guard connections came in handy and Wednesday we went onto the island for the first time. The devastation was heartbreaking. For those who have never been to Galveston before, it's just a teeny little city with a ton of history and even more pride. The buildings are old and weathered and actually so are most of the residents but it's a special place that we've grown to enjoy. It will be quite some time before Galveston is the same but I trust that it will happen because the residents would allow nothing less!

Boats all over the road & the Marina destroyed

In the hallway of our condo complex & debris along the Seawall

Over the past few weeks, so many changes have occurred it's overwhelming. First I have to say thanks to our wonderfuly generous friends, Sabrina & Brandon, for welcoming us into their home for the 2 weeks were were displaced. We appreciate their kindess so much. In the beginning of October, we were forunate enough to move into a beautiful new home on the mainland-far from threats of island living. We miss our little routine we had down in Galveston and I VERY MUCH miss my short commute but we are enjoying the heck out of our home.

Sim is being quite the trooper. In October he had double knee surgery to repair a previous baseball injury and further wear and tear from the Coast Guard. He has been going to rehab 3 times a week and is returning to work next Monday. We pray this surgeon was able to fix what other surgerys did not.

Sim's Bday at the Dallas vs. Redskin's game

I feel awful putting months worth of our life into just a few small paragraphs. It's been an overwhelming Fall of 2008 and we look forward to an enjoyable holiday season and a restful break from all of this change. As I type this my employer, The University of Texas Medical Branch, is in the midst of laying off 3800 employees. This is in part due to damage from Ike and the hospital's inability to reopen all of their floors and also a result of years of providing care to indigent and uninsured patients. It's a shame that something meant to do good is now going to harm so many innocent employees who already have enough to deal with. I can't wait for the next month or two to pass-to know that my job might be one of the lucky ones that is kept, and to be able to breath easy again. In the meantime we are doing our best to say our prayers and wait it out.