everything really is bigger and better in texas

 first time i saw my man in over 8 weeks. i was so thrilled. 

last weekend i was lucky enough to visit my future home! 

it was such a blast. 

i got to travel with dylan's lovely mother, charlotte. she was great company and always keeps things fun and interesting. 

i brought two, 50 pound boxes full of goods. (summer clothes, dishes, a quilt, etc) 

i got to see dylan's room for the first time. i like what he's done with the place ;)

while dylan was taking his test on friday, charlotte and i browsed around galveston island and grabbed a bite to eat. 

i have always dreamed of being a cowgirl...

Dylan got a nice little trim at the beauty salon. 

blue bell ice cream really is all that it's wrapped up to be. my favorite: mocha almond fudge, of course. 

we took an nice ferry ride and walked along the beach on another island. 

date night at a mexican joint called salsas and stumbled in to an anime convention afterwards. we saw some pretty amazing costumes and sword fighting. i think dylan is probably going to get involved in anime with all of his spare time ;)

after saying goodbye to dylan on sunday night, charlotte and i drove to his uncle duffy and aunt yanzi's home in houston to spend the night. 

here i am with yanzi. she is from china and has been living in the US for about 20 years. she was so sweet to me and made me feel so great about myself. told me i have big beautiful american eyes. 

then we came back to salt lake...

unfortunately, i didn't take enough pictures of all that we did. 

on saturday, we watched dylan play soccer. he scored the only goal that game and of course, i missed it because i was immersed in conversation with stephanie. her husband, scott also plays soccer with dylan and is also a med student. they are in our ward and are living in the same complex that we will be living at once i arrive. 

we attended church on sunday and i really liked the galveston ward. everyone was extremely friendly and it is comforting to know that there are so many other people out there in our shoes. 

i overall feel very happy and excited about our life in galveston. we checked out some apartments and i really love the place we decided on. i am excited to set up home there. i'm a little nervous about finding work, but that will come. 

dylan is doing great and enjoying school. i am really happy for him and proud of his hard work! 

can't wait to see him again over thanksgiving break.