Josh and I just got back from Frisco where we stayed with my parents, ate some delicious food, and did laundry. I'm so grateful for them letting us crash their pad every Sunday night and Monday.

This past week was eventful for us (which doesn't mean much!) amid our never-ending summer laziness....rather...MY summer laziness. Over the 4th of July weekend, we went to Horseshoe Bay to stay with Josh's mom, step-dad, and grandparents. We saw Ben, his brother, who is just recovering from knee surgery, and Taylor, his step-brother. On Friday we grilled out, and I contributed by making my Blue Mesa Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salad. It was a big hit! On Saturday, we drove an hour west to the fabulous town of Brady, TX. Josh's dad's side of the family was having a reunion, which meant lots of people we didn't know that brought tons of amazing food. Mamaw's green enchiladas were gone in no time! It was very nostalgic-Dad playing the guitar with Cousin and his fiddle on the patio, beer-in-hand brothers pitching Washers in the front yard, and wet kids in swimsuits running through the house playing tag. No exaggeration there at all. So, we stayed in Brady on Saturday night, and drove home to Fort Worth on Sunday morning. Underwoods tempted us, but we said no.

This past Thursday, I had a workshop at the admin. building. PDAS. Woohoo. I have one this Wednesday (morning only) on Eduphoria, which is our lesson plan builder, organizer, and workshop register-er. Should be fun. After that, all I have are 3 music workshops and New Teacher Week! I'm excited!

I've caught the house bug (I'm right there with ya, Savanna!) and it's bad. Josh and I have really been examining more and more this whole house-buying thing. The market is prime for buyers right now. We visited with a realtor in Southlake on Friday. She put together a Complete Home Buyer's Guide for us (my name on the front and everything!) and talked us through it. We told her it would probably be a few more months before we get really serious about it, and she completely understood. On the way back, we drove to my school so I could practice, and then drove on into Keller, which is a place we've talked about moving. It's about 10-15 minutes, which is much better than the 40-minute drive I get to look forward to in August. We stumbled upon a new development in our price range with model homes, so we went in just to look around. We loved the models! Of course, they are decorated professionally and are the nicest houses they can build there, but they were still "within our reach," if you will. The guy inside said that he had some other floorplans represented in houses that were almost finished. He had the keys and said we could drive to them and go look around and get a feel for other types of floorplans. Well, we did, and still liked what we saw. The builder is offering a 3% incentive, which he said a lot of people use that for a down payment to start building. Essentially, aside from reserving the land, we could start building a home for virtually nothing out-of-pocket. We plan on being in a home for at least 3 years, no matter if we build a new one or buy an existing one.

So...are there any homeowners that read this that have any insight? Is it better to buy an established house, or build a brand new one? Any advice about the home-buying thing would be amazing. I know pretty much nothing (until I read my buyer's book, that is!).

Alright...have a fantastic week!