Life, upside down!

We have come upon a time when the house is a little bit quieter, fewer mouths have to be fed, the yard work gets done by yours truly, & we're overall just a little bit lonely together. Yes, Chad has deployed again. I've been asked by several of the other spouses who are going through their first deployments right now if it ever gets any easier. My honest answer is 'no', though that's usually not a good enough answer for me seeing as how I'm a 'glass half full' kind of gal & don't like negativity. I usually follow my 'no' up with, it doesn't get easier, it just gets different. Different meaning that the missing your husband part never goes away, but at least after the first time, you know what to expect. Like, how lonely you will feel late at night when your bed is half-empty, how best to keep in touch while he's gone, how to fill your four+ months with activity that keeps you occupied to make the time fly faster, & how much stronger of a woman you can become each time.

I, at one point in my life, was intimidated by mowing the lawn, maintaining the hot tub, building fires on cold days & hanging things on the walls, etc. Those slightly tedious jobs that are most often reserved for the man of the house are now on my shoulders when he is gone. I have to admit, it's kind of empowering knowing that I can still hold down the fort when daddy is gone because I'm not scared of any of that anymore. I've grown a whole lot as a woman through these past 6 deployments & I think Chad is impressed by my fortitude. Heck, I am too. ha.

This time is also different in that Kennady is old & smart enough to understand his absence a lot more. Both good and bad, I have to say. She asks about daddy & his whereabouts several times a day & will usually be satisfied when I answer, "he's on his trip still, remember?". We made a sweet paper chain as a family that is about 75 links long & we have been removing one every night after bath time to signify we've made it one more day without daddy & get to see him that much sooner. We feel so blessed that this deployment is a half-deployment & he is only going to be gone for about 2 1/2 months. It's never worked out that way for us, so we are taking full advantage & keeping our heads up because to us, 10 weeks is doable. We have withstood quite a few challenging separations throughout our marriage & this one is not much different. We've both decided that we're going to take this time apart to focus on ourselves, both in growing and physical improvement. Our goals for May are exciting & we have a whole lot to look forward to this summer. I don't think I'll lump pulling weeds or uprooting trees into that same category, but we do have plans to travel this year so we are stoked!

If you have some extra praying time, please keep us in them as we continue this current deployment journey. He has officially arrived at his final destination in Kandahar, Afghanistan & the amenities are much better than he had expected. The most important prayer would obviously be for their continued safety, but another good one to pray for is mission completion. When the mission is successful, that means all who are involved, both air crew & ground troops who are in need, have been served & are able to carry on with their important and dangerous missions. He is excited to fly some complex missions & be a part of Operation Enduring Freedom while he is there. The world really needs peace to return to the land, so that's always a good prayer too. Thanks for your thoughts & prayers!

Bullets 'O Fun!

I'm lazy when it comes to this thing, so if there's anybody out there still even considering reading this post because I finally wrote another one since 6 weeks ago, I'd love to know it. It feels weird to 'write for no one' but myself. So if you feel like it, please leave a comment so I know what I write isn't just echoing off of a distant canyon. Thanks!
 
Here are some bullets to catch you up:
*We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Chad had been gone for a whole week prior so he was rewarded with a day off & it conveniently landed on V-day...awesome! We had pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, ate a yummy lunch at Bonsai, went to swing at the park as the sun was setting, opened our gifts to each other, grabbed a pizza on the way home & made mini-pink cupcakes while reading K's favorite book, Pinkalicious! It was a fun-filled day in which I received a multi-colored bouquet of roses, my favorite Raspberry candies, & chocolate. I got Chad an electric sander to add to his tool collection and we collectively got Kennady a couple of Pinkalicious reading books, a puzzle, a new Leap Frog movie for the car & her favorite, M&M's. We topped off our night with a couple of episodes of our faves and a good night's sleep. I hope everyone else had a Happy V-Day too!
*Kennady is 3 full days into being such a BIG GIRL when it comes to the potty. She hasn't tee-teed in a diaper (except for one at nap time and one at nighttime) AT ALL during the day. It all of a sudden hit her that she loves wearing panties and that taking the time to sit on the potty and get her business done isn't all that bad. She does get rewarded with a mini-candy every time she's successful, but hey...don't judge me, it's working and that's all that this mama really cares about at this point! :) We are so proud of her. We were in Kohl's the other day where they have a super cute mini-potty in the 'family' bathroom and we can officially mark that down as our first ever successful tee-tee in public! Again today, she used the BIG potty at Wing Stop & I was ecstatic! So.Big. & I love her.
*It's official. The movie "The Letter Factory" by Leap Frog is the bomb-diggity. It has (along with mucho repetition from her mommy) almost single-handedly taught my 2 year old every letter of the alphabet, both how to identify them & their phonetic sound. It's awesome & she is so smart. I have to get it all on video soon so we can prove to her one day that she was not just a singing star but SO SMART! :)
*We have plans to go to San Angelo for the annual stock show and rodeo here in a couple of weekends & I'm super excited. It's a tradition of my family & it's always fun to go out to the fairgrounds to smell the undisguisable FRIED everything. Kinda disgusting, but yummy all the same. Kennady had such a good time at the carnival last time it came to Abilene that I am looking forward to a similar experience on the rides and such. Should be fun!
*We have been enjoying the hot tub a lot this winter season. Since it hasn't been frigid like last winter, it's been really nice to get in (including Kennady) & swim around. Nothing beats a hot water massage every now and again. K's in heaven getting to swim year round! Spoiled...;-)
*We are involved with an awesome small group through the church that we've really enjoyed for the past year. It's a group of other 'newly married' couples (though we're 4 1/2 years into this thing so I'm not real sure we should still qualify, ha) & we have a great time with them. Next week we are going to begin exploring (re-exploring for Chad & I) the financial peace studies of Dave Ramsey. It'll be fun to do the material in a group & to see other people's strategies & methods. Not to mention getting the refresher on money-management that both Chad & I are in desperate need of right now. We just have sooo many wants & travel desires, haha. Trouble...;-)
*I am about to go buck wild on a new fitness regimen. I haven't completely figured out my whole strategy, but I've been self-sabotaging myself with bad-for-me foods & a really high intake of sugar this past 4 months or so & I'm tired of it. I have a weight-loss/tone-up goal that I'm REALLY determined to make happen by Mid-May, so it's about that time to START MY ENGINES!! :-) It's about to happen, ya'll.
*It's Tax season...yay.
*Chad is scheduled to deploy in about 3 weeks, give or take. We got really lucky this time around and he's only going halftime. Thank God it came down that way. It's our 6th round of deployments together, not including all of the time we've spent apart for schools & upgrades, so it's a huge blessing to only have to miss him half as much this time. It's going to be a whole new deployment situation now that Kennady is old enough to realize something is up & will no doubt, ask about him Every.Single.Day. I'll just have to rack my brain to keep us both busy & hopefully the time will fly by with fun!
* We officially have tickets to visit my family in Alaska this summer & we are sooooo stoked!! We have wanted to go up there since we got married, but Chad has been gone for the past 4 summers (which is the only sane time to go up there), so we're making it happen NOW! The timing works out perfectly for us to be able to attend my cousin Amanda's wedding! We are so excited and happy for her...PLUS, Kennady is going to be the flower girl too! It's going to be so.much.fun.

Well, I think that's it for now. Consider yourself filled in. ;-)
P.S. Is there anybody out there? ha.

Adele, through a 2 year old...

So, a couple of days ago we were driving along when Kennady decided to break out in song. What song you might ask? Adele's song, "Someone Like You" is the answer. For your viewing pleasure & for video proof that she's always wanted to be a singer when she auditions for American Idol in 13 years, I just so happened to catch a bit of it on video. Ignore the horrible key changes & riffs & appreciate with another mother (who knows this too well) that this little lady proves that nothing is missed in the midst of a 2-year-old. 

They.Hear.Everything. :) 

The REAL words:

Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
Don't forget me, I beg
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."

Now, Kennady's version:

P.S. Prior to this episode, I knew that she knew a couple of the words, but didn't know she had it in her to nail her solo so well.  Ohhh, how I love her so.

Cookie Exchange Goodness

After we returned from our trip to Vegas, the spouses of our squadron had a big ornament & cookie exchange Christmas party. It was my first ever cookie exchange to be a part of & I had such a good time. There were at least 30 women in attendance that all brought at least 2 dozen homemade cookies each. That makes a total of 600+ cookies, ya'll! Nothing about that could be a bad thing, right?! Well, okay...if we're really going to answer that question, the answer would be yes...there is everything wrong with a collection of 14,000 calories (pure guesstimation of course) sitting on a table for all in attendance to collect whatever their gluttonous hearts desired. We were all given a cute Christmas bag to fill up with at least one of every cookie presented. There were still quite a few leftover after we all finished grab-bagging & man were there some YUMMY cookies! Amazingly enough, not even ONE set of cookies was the same as the others. We had 30 completely different cookies and recipes presented which made it even cooler.

 

Can we say a little OVERKILL, but beautiful all the same? :)

I made Peanut Butter Blossoms & have to admit, I thought they were the BEST peanut butter cookie I have ever had. It may have helped that instead of the regular chocolate kiss, I use the white/milk chocolate swirl Kisses instead or that they were rolled in pure sugar previous to baking. Still, they were SOOO good. I actually made twice as much dough as I needed (accidentally on purpose ;)) & still have the other half calling my name in the freezer. I have put off making them yet seeing as how they are the total opposite of what I NEED right now, as I'm trying to recover from this cookie exchange party & all of the other calories I took in over the Holidays. I thought I would share the recipe with you because it was just.that.good.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (Cookie Exchange Quantity...7 Dozen...eek!)

1/2

cup granulated sugar

1

cup packed brown sugar

1

cup creamy peanut butter

1

cup butter or margarine, softened

2

eggs

3

cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 1/2

teaspoons baking soda

1

teaspoon baking powder

Additional granulated sugar (about 2 tablespoons)

About 7 dozen Hershey's® Kisses® Brand milk chocolates

• 1Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder.
• 2Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• 3Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Here they are in all of their beauty: MMMM, MMMMM, MMMMMMMM...

 Have you had these or are you willing to try to make them? I wouldn't blame you if you did. They're pretty irresistible.  :) Sidenote: the amount can be adjusted via the Betty Crocker website to fit your needs. Happy Baking!

Feelin' Lucky...

Whew! I have a bit of posting to do to catch you all up on our crazy adventures this past month. Chad & I heard through the air force base grapevine that there was a plane flying to Las Vegas for a 4-day trip. It just so happened to be conveniently scheduled for the same weekend that our friends from Little Rock, the Webbs, would be there for a graduation celebration. It was perfect timing, really spontaneous, quite cheap for a Vegas trip, & we had a babysitter (my momma) all set up; so off we went & it was a blast! We stayed at the Flamingo again & still love it's location. It's perfectly situated for easy access to everything we like to do and see.

We had a wonderful dinner before the Jabbawockeez show at Cabo Wabo near the entrance of Planet Hollywood. Our friend Laura was our waitress, so that was an extra-cool bonus. She was also the awesome photographer who snapped this photo for us!

 Cassandra & I stopped getting our groove on for a second at Rok to snap a pic. So fun hanging out with her again!

Chad & I had a lot of alone time, got to eat some good food, see some fun shows, & spend some quality time with our friends in the city of lights! We saw the Vegas! Variety Show at Planet Hollywood & the Jabbawockeez, winners of America's Best Dance Crew, at the Monte Carlo. Both were fun and exciting shows with music and dancing. We also got to meet up with Chad's best friend from college, Joey, & his wife Laura who are temporarily (6 months) living there. We had a couple of late-night Blueberry Hill Cafe snacks with them & it was so great to catch up on each other's lives.  We walked A LOT, shopped through the awesome shoppes at Caesars Palace, explored the new City Center hotels & shops, gambled at Bill's Gambling Hall, went to the Rok club at New York, New York & really enjoyed our trip. It was a great getaway & we can now say that we have traveled 'Space A' on a C-130. It was a very laid back experience & one that I would definitely do again...especially since it's FREE! :)

More to come on how we have spent the last 3 weeks of December 2011!

I Scream, You Scream!

My sweet girl turned 2 this weekend & we celebrated in the best way possible...with an ICE CREAM BIRTHDAY PARTY! She was so excited about this party, she was talking about it for 3 weeks before it even happened. It was definitely a successful evening with friends & family, paint, presents & sweets. I realized later in the weekend that all of her special birthday treats all had sprinkles involved. Lucky girl! ha.

Her real birthday was on Friday the 2nd, so we started out the morning by surprising her with a room full of helium balloons. She LOVED that. I heard her say over the monitor, "ooooooh, pretty balloons!" before I even got to her room. As I went in & started talking to her she was all revved up & knew that it was her birthday. The excitement was too cute! We went to get her a birthday donut, chocolate covered with sprinkles of course, & it was delicious & hot off the rack. Yumm-Y! She liked the topping best...if that's not obvious. :)

We then went and met daddy for lunch at Red Robin. She had her favorite food for lunch...Mac-y Cheese! She thought it was great, especially when we topped it off with some frozen yogurt at Nikki's Swirl Shop. You pay by the ounce and can have endless toppings, so we loaded it up with her favorites (all of which she calls Nim-a-nims...Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, M&M's, & a little toffee for mommy. It was very tasty & once again, she was a happy girl! 

When she woke up from her nap, daddy got home. Mimi showed up from out of town soon after & we all went out to eat at Szechuan, an awesome family-style Chinese restaurant. It was so yummy & Kennady sang the Birthday Song to our waitress every time she came to the table. The old lady was getting a  kick out of it. Right before we left, the waiting staff gathered around to sing her their special Birthday song & she ate it up. It was so cute. When we got back to the house, she got to eat some chocolate & practiced blowing out her candles. She did it like a pro!

When Saturday rolled around, we had a whole slew of people coming in town for the big event! Her party was from 5:00-7:00pm so that everyone could have time to get here. Car by car, everyone showed up & was ready to watch some football & party. We started out with a pow-wow in the living room, then headed out to the garage where the kids got to go nuts sponge-painting our BuildADreamPlayhouse Ice Cream Truck. They had a blast getting all dirty (with washable paint of course!) & decorating it to their own delights. It was fun, a bit messy, & super entertaining for the little (& big) ones. We then came in to wash up, light the candles, & build ice cream sundaes. It was all delicious, homemade goodness. Present opening followed once we had indulged & she really enjoyed getting all kinds of new toys (implied?, ha). What a great evening of celebrating our little angel & her first two years. She is so special to us & makes our lives more fun every day. 

Happy Birthday Kenna-Bug!

My Baby Turned Toddler...

December 2nd, 2009 was the most wonderful & joyous day of our lives. That's the day that God decided to give our angel Kennady to us. From that day on, our lives have been so rich. The beauty of motherhood has been everything I expected it to be, because of her. She has taught me a new level of patience, to be a super-multitasker, to be more thoughtful, to love with my whole heart, to smile all day long, to forgive quickly, to laugh with everything in me & to always, always be prepared for anything...oh yea, and to dance like no one is watching! 

The most fun I've had has been watching this little mind take on such big things. From learning to cry for things to bossing mommy around these days, the growth is phenomenal. I can't believe she is old enough to speak in full sentences, use logic & reason, & memorize most anything I throw at her. Their brains really are like sponges that never get completely soaked. It's so cool & she has such a bright future ahead of her.

Kennady is the sweetest little girl who packs quite a 'knuckle sandwich' (thank you, daddy, for that). I remember when she first got here & she loved on me by nestling up to my chest. After her first birthday, she laid on my shoulder but sweetly picked it up- kissed my forehead for no other reason but to show me she loves me back- & laid her head back down again. Now as she turns two, she can say "I love you, Mommy"- give me endless eskimo & butterfly kisses- and deliver the best smooches & loving hugs I've ever had. She is my sweet little genius & I am so proud of her. We cannot wait to experience the rest of our lives watching her grow into a generous, loving, & mature little lady someday. What a blessing this little face has been to the lives of all who have met her. 

 Her one year after a cake induced comatose...ha.

An eager heart & mind...

 Ready to spread cheer to all who will let her...

 Touching lives with that tender heart...

We love you Kenna-Bug! Happy, Happy 2nd Birthday, my sweet baby girl!

She's Alive!!

Whew! So sorry for the absence, as usual. It's been a whirlwind of fun and excitement around these parts lately. Starting with the ending of September, we had a birthday party for my bestie, Elya. Two weeks later, it was my birthday weekend & I threw a Couples Pampered Chef party for my closest friends & family. It was the first time I've ever hosted such a party and we had so much fun. It was quite a success too! We now have many of the fun products that I've wanted to have for my kitchen & have already broken them in! I would definitely encourage you to throw own if you never have. My family came in for the party & to celebrate my birthday. It was great, though I don't know how excited I am about being 27....eeek! :-)

Since then, I have been working feverishly on Halloween costumes for my little family. For the 2nd year in a row, we have thrown a big Halloween party for our family & friends. We had it last night and it was sooo much fun! For the first time ever, I went all out on my costume (so did the hubs) with full face makeup, a crazy persona, & a nutty outfit. Some of our friends didn't even recognize me at first glance. I guess that's how you know if your costume was a success or not! Ha. So.Much.Fun. Here is a picture reel of some of the fun & goodies:

Our crazy Alice in Wonderland family:

 Witch's hats & Cake Eyeballs

 Pretzel & Marshmallow Bones & 'Eat Me' Cupcakes:

 Our fun 'Drink Me' potion votives:

 Fun pic with the besties, Elya & Crystal:

A couple of weeks ago, we had our family pictures taken by our friends at Cozart Photography. We have used them for all of our professional pictures since we first took our maternity pictures (technically they took my big family pictures before that too!). We have so much fun during shoots with them because they play along with us, put up with our crazy ideas, & always capture just what we want. They're awesome & I would recommend them to anyone in San Angelo's vicinity. You can see our photo sneak peek here. 

Now, I have several other things to look forward to. My father is turning 70 this coming weekend & my brother is turning 30 the weekend after that, so my family has decided to throw a huge combined party for the both of them in my hometown. It's going to be a big dance with food & family & friends...we can't wait! 

For the month of November, Chad & I are hosting for our weekly Married Couples Bible Study. It's a group of our best church friends & so much fun to share in the joys & challenges of marriage with others who completely understand what it's all about. We're so happy & excited to have them over every week this month. Definitely keeps my homemaker self in check too...at least every Wednesday! haha. 

In the beginning of December, the spouses of Dyess are hosting a Holiday Bazaar that features all at-home businesses & crafts. I have decided to have a booth selling fun tutu dresses, wreaths, & bows for little girls. I am sharing the booth with my best friend from Lubbock, Nicole, & it's going to be a blast. I'm really hoping to make a little moo-lah in the process too, so fingers crossed! I have SOOO much work ahead of me this next month to get ready for it, so bring on some time management & organizational skills because I'm gonna need them. And maybe even a little patience too. Ha. If you do any kind of cool crafting, feel free to contact me for more information. You don't have to be a Dyess spouse to feature your work & run a booth. There are still a few openings! 

That same weekend is going to be Kennady's 2nd birthday & I can't believe it. My little girl isn't little anymore. She's a mini-human that can speak in full sentences, puts things together, use logic, ask for things she wants with charm, & play for hours on end without tiring. What a joy she is. She seriously makes me laugh ALL DAY LONG & I would never want to do anything but what I'm doing & that's raising my baby girl. I got a small jumpstart on her birthday party plans this summer, but I still have a little more to do for it in this next couple of weeks. It's going to have an ice cream theme & be so fun!

Well, that's all I have for now. I'll try my best to not be such a bad blogger. I told you we've been busy!! :-)

Jewelry Hanger

I took inspiration for a jewelry hanger from something I saw on Pinterest (surprise, surprise!) & ended up making one for $4. I couldn't believe how lucky I got finding what I needed, but that's what the wonderful store of Ikea will do for you! I found the towel rack for $1.99 & 20 'S' hooks for $2. So cheap and easy & I love that I can actually see all of them as I'm leaving my closet. I have found myself accessorizing even more than before. LOVE that Ikea! 

 Hung so pretty...

 After I got the rod hung, I couldn't help but figure out a way to display my earrings too, so I added some jute yarn to the wall with push tacks & hung them all side by side. 

Here's the finished product! You should try making one yourself! 

Have you found any new and fun storage solutions lately?

'Thankful' Banner

Last week as part of my bestie's birthday gift, I made a banner that reads 'Thankful' for her mantle this Thanksgiving season. She really liked it and said as soon as she got home that she had it hung. I have to admit, it turned out super cute and I have another one on my to-do list for my own mantle. I just cut equal rectangles out of burlap, printed fun letters with black ink onto colored card stock, stacked those onto festive scrapbook paper, and went to work on them with my squiggly scissors. After adding a little hot glue to build the layers, the letters were done and ready for stringing with my leather twine. I can't wait to get all of the Fall decorations out, but because we are throwing our annual Halloween party, first thing's first & it's all ghouls and ghosts around here. I hope you like it!

What are your Fall plans...skip straight to Fall decor or take your time & set-up a little fun with Halloween first? I'd love to hear!

Blog Vomit

I have really slacked again, so here we go with bullets since most of you reading don't care too much for the details...am I right? I probably am, so here we go!

*We had an absolute BLAST at the Great Wolf Lodge. I have never seen so many smiles, splashes, & happy slide rides in my life. This little girl WORE the slides OUT!! She was SOOO big and surprised us with her tenacity. We will definitely be returning for future family trips because it was totally worth it! We got to finish out our trip visiting the outlets & spending several fun hours looking around Ikea. It was a fabulous weekend.

*Last weekend we went to Lake LBJ with my best friend Nicole to visit her dad at his lake house. My mom volunteered to take care of Kennady so we have a little more free reign and it was glorious. We didn't do much but swim, sea-doo, rope swing, watch football, sit on the dock, & ride the boat. It was such a fun, laid-back weekend and we really needed it. When we got back Sunday afternoon, we started prepping for a surprise birthday party at our house for my best friend Elya. I made some cake balls that were delicious. Here's a quick recipe for you to add to your collection:

1 cup dry cake mix of any flavor
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tbsp. vanilla

1. Mix the ingredients together; put in freezer for about 5 minutes; pull them out; roll into 1" balls; refreeze for 5 minutes.
2. Heat 3 blocks of Vanilla or Chocolate almond bark in a small bowl; dip the balls to coat; place on wax paper until they harden.
3. CONSUME!!! They are soooo easy and you (not your hips) will be glad you made them. :-)

The Coffee & Sweets birthday party was a success & I think she really enjoyed herself. Happy Birthday again Elya!

*I never updated you on the fence, but it is UP & beautiful! We are so happy to have a little more privacy, pretty trees to look at, & a beautiful yard of grass coming in more every day. I thought I would be at least 60 before I was happy about watching the grass grow, but no...it happened at a young 26 (for at least 10 more days at least :-)).

*Yes, that's right. My 27th birthday is coming up on October 9th & I'll be honest...I'm indifferent about this one. I know I'm getting older, but I'd appreciate it if that number would just quit going up so quickly. Seriously, it's getting out of hand and WAY too close, too fast to the big 3-0. I guess time flies while you're having fun because my last 15 years sure passed in a hurry!! I don't know what my plans are for celebrating this year, but I'm sure something will come about sooner or later.

*I'm throwing my first Pampered Chef party the Saturday of my birthday weekend and I'm really excited about it. It's going to be a couples party with grilling & some fun kitchen prep, so it will be a fun change up to have men around during one of these parties. We're looking forward to it. Feel free to visit this site to browse the newest catalog & place an order or let me know what you're interested in  & we will get you anything you need.

*Besides all of this, my house is slowly being taken over by all things Halloween. Ghosts, mice, glitter, banners, spider webs, wreaths...they're all over the place. We have our 2nd annual Halloween Party coming up & I'm soooo excited to host again. It was a blast last year and this year should be even better. I have a lot of work ahead of me though, both in getting our costumes together & going all out on decorations, so just call me crafty Kelly for the next couple of weeks! I'll be becoming best friends with my hot glue gun & scissors if you need to find me. :)

*I think that's enough 'catch-up the blog' vomit for now. Hope you feel better now...I know I do.

BOO! Candy

I was inspired by this on Pinterest the other day, & decided to do my own version...for $6!!

I saw these candle holders at the Dollar Tree & paired them with the votive candleholders with a little hot glue & voila! New candy dishes were born. It was super easy & only took about 10 minutes.

 I added some jute around the groove in the glass & cut B-O-O letters out of cardstock & tied them on. It turned out cute, I think.

Plus, the candy is practically gone already, 4 days later. Ha. I put Reese's Pieces, the Autumn Mix, & original Candy Corn in the dishes & let me tell ya, they are delicious together! So hard to stop eating them once you start. Can't wait for Fall!

West Texas Fair & Rodeo

Tonight was the last opportunity that our little family had to experience the stock show, rodeo, & fair that is in town. As a result, we randomly decided that we would go munch on some nasty-for-us food & jump in some rain puddles at the fairgrounds. Kennady ate up the whole experience. She had belly laughs while petting the donkeys at the petting zoo, huge smiles on the rides, giggles as she ate her first bite of funnel cake, & so much FUN overall!! She was taking in all of the lights, activity, stuffed animals, kiddos, & noise & hung in there until almost 10 o'clock tonight. We rode the Bear Affair as a family, the Jumbo Elephants, the mini-train (which she repeatedly referred to as 'the dinosaur train' from PBS), & she rode The Doodle Bug all by herself!

At the Petting Zoo:

Walking the fairgrounds with daddy:

 On her first ride ALL BY HERSELF!:

Spinning in the Bear Affair ride with mommy & daddy:

Arms up & WHEEEEE on the Jumbo Elephants:

Aboard the 'Dinosaur Train'....Choo-Choo!!

As you can see through the pictures, we had such a great time! After a fresh-squeezed lemonade, a fatty delicious funnel cake, & Chad's favorite candied apple, we are officially over our allowed family calorie count by oh, maybe 3000. Ha. Oh well, life only happens once & calories will be burned through nonstop swimming for 2 consecutive days at the Great Wolf Lodge (read below).

I LOVE my little family. The End.