The Bobo Buzz

Tic Toc on the Clock..

2010-12-31T18:43:00.000-06:00

.. if I’m keeping up with this whole blog thing, I got T-3 days to sum up 2010, for the good ole’ blog book!! So, here goes!

November continued, and before I knew it, we were snap dab in the middle of the holidays! We stuck with our annual traditions, and made our first T-day stop at Big Poppa’s, for The Ferguson Family Thanksgiving!

The boys played football, until cousin Brad told Brennan to “go long..”

..and Brennan ran STRAIGHT INTO A TREE!!..

awesome.

Mattie checkin football scores!

Brent-O..eating alone, after he went to my dad’s OLD house for Thanksgiving..and WALKED in!!

Our second stop was to The Bobo’s, where we chatted, watched some football, and dug into this

YUM-O! :)

We left Tyler around 9pm, and headed straight for The Young’s, to attend our third annual after T-day Bonfire! :) This year’s festivities got moved up a day, so we missed out on a couple of hours, but we still had a blast!

Philip manning the Pit!!

Our long Thanksgiving weekend, was busy as ever, with something every single day. Black Friday came, and I tried to stay as FAR away from stores, as I possibly could!! I headed over to Mel’s around noon, to work on some projects, and watch the kids decorate their tree.

the semi-finished tree..

By late afternoon, Mel needed to get out, so we braved the crowds and ran around town for a bit. Colleen got here that evening, so we headed to dinner, and back to the house for some recuperation and relaxation!

Saturday was all about babies, with Colleen and baby Tatum’s baby shower up first!

Roseville Bed & Breakfast

Momma and the hostesses.. Auntie Em, Me, Kendrah, Katie, & Jen (there in spirit!)

FAVORS! ..and my sweet handmade tags! :)

Auntie Em’s beautiful centerpieces!! :)

Tatum’s awesome and yummy cake!

Tatum Lynn’s Loot!

Momma :)

hostess gift, her swing!

the giving “advice” tree..

Only a couple of more weeks, till Tatum is here!! I can’t wait to meet her, and see what Colleen’s future has in store!

Our second stop was to The Green’s, where Matt, Colleen and I met up with Blaine, Mark & Cameron, Beth & Jacob, The Tennison’s, Richardson’s & Venables, for a hot dog grillin, girly talking, baby watching, grand ole time! :)

We rang in December with a surprise 60th birthday party for PawPaw Sammy at The Country Tavern! He was so surprised, and we all enjoyed a great evening together, with YUM-O ribs!!

MeeMaw & PawPaw, and Mattie & I, tried our best to follow the Lobos straight to STATE almost every weekend in December, but sadly they lost in the final round! We did however, get to see Henderson win state, where they played at the AH-MAZING Cowboy’s Stadium!

At Independence Stadium, in Shreveport (Superior first, of course!)

@ SMU

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful??!! ;)

PawPaw and some of his fellow former superstar Henderson lions.. Joel, Darrel, Joe

December was also FULL of Christmas parties! Apartment parties, family parties, church parties/programs, Mel’s wine exchange, and Ashley initiated our first annual girls cookie exchange!

our goody bags!

Lottie & Lindsay

Ginger & Kendrah

Megan, Jennifer, Ashley & Addie

newly engaged Christi, Ginger, & Jen

headed home with a FULL bag!

..again, with my sweet handmade tags!! :)

Addi had her LAST ever Christmas program at OHBC, always a treat. Luckily, Talan still has one more year, so we’re not quite done with them just yet.

another tooth lost

Karsyn & Addi

Addi & her BFF Lauren

On the 22nd, we celebrated our Bobo Christmas! Mike & Casey and the boys, headed this way to “tryout” Fayetteville, Arkansas, as there is a possibility, The Yankee Bobo’s might soon become some Redneck Bobo’s, so.. we made the most of their visit, and we’re able to start Christmas a little early this year! They headed back North the next day, but the couple of hours we got with them all, were fabulous!

MeeMaw & PawPaw got all the kids these authentic World Series Ranger T’s, when we were there! :)

Mike & Casey

MoMo & Jerry

PawPaw setting the rules for our 1st (and prob last, ha!) white elephant Christmas

Jakey & MeeMaw

ain’t no telling with these two!

I’ll have to set this pic up. Since we did white elephant, Clara wanted to “open” all the presents. This one was from me, and I knew it could be trouble. As soon as she opened and saw what it was, she screamed, “I DON’T LIKE PICTURES!’ It was Hi-larious!! God love her! :)

looking at my FANtastico Calendar!! :)

tryin to get a pic, and looky who pops in! ;)

The lovely Bobo girls: MeeMaw, Me, Mik & Case

Here’s to hopin’ for a lot more holidays, with ALL the Bobo’s!

Finishing out the Christmas work week was busy, busy, and oh procrastinator me, of course waited till THE last second, and Christmas Eve was all about running around, wrapping, and getting ready for The Ferguson Christmas!

sweet sweet babies: Talan, Brennan, Demi & Addi

Christmas was a whole lot of good, but a whole lot of different this year. Since we had our Bobo Christmas on that Wednesday, we decided to spend the night with Cody & Mel Christmas Eve night, instead of at MeeMaw & PawPaw’s like we do every other year. It actually worked out, because Brennan got a combine gift from his grandpa’s, so we couldn’t do our regular Christmas at Dad’s, this year either. Usually we go to dad’s, then to Teresa’s, then to Cody & Mel’s, THEN to MeeMaw & PawPaw’s , all on Christmas Eve. So, after Teresa’s, Matt & I headed to Cody & Mel’s to call it a night, and have Christmas with Missy.

Brennan with his horses Missy gave him for Christmas

opening gifts from Caca & Uncle Mattie

Addi’s Orbeez & Brennan’s Just Dance Wii Game! :)

Addi’s princess talking kitchen!!

Bubba’s PaperJamz!!

Growing Addi’s Orbeez

Our blueray player from Missy

Momma tryin to rock it out

Missy and another one of my fantastic calendar's! :)

Setting out the milk & cookies

the kids finding their trampoline!!

Addi & her sicky sick baby

Addi’s karaoke machine, which Matt vowed, we would NEVER purchase for our children! :) *Note to Self*

Bubba’s gift from the PawPaw’s..

NOT wanting to take sister for a ride!!

PawPaw’s rag quilt Mel MADE for him!! :)

one of Sammy & Jennifer’s treasures they brought back from Africa!!

Bubba all camo’d out!!

Addi’s new kicks!

After a long Christmas morning, and a big yummy breakfast, Matt and I headed to Tyler, to spend the remainder of the holiday with his parents and Mikki & Clay. We spent the evening hanging out, eating some more, and playing games, our favorite!! :)

Clara’s fiber optic fairy! :)

Whew! Well, that about sums up our 2010! Minus about 10,000 more not shown pics! ;) As I type, trying to cram this into 2010, we’re sitting at Ash & Philips, gearing up for our NYE! Here’s to a lot of fabulous changes in the new year! Wishing you and yours nothing but the BEST for 2011!!

Until Next Decade!! :)

I’m Sorry, Sooo Sorry!

2010-11-06T14:28:00.001-05:00

September 8th, Seriously??!! Ashamed, I truly am. How did I skip through the entire month of October?? Quite a lot to catch up on, so here’s the highlights..

**Hit the hyperlinks throughout, for years past!**

Way back on Sept. 15th, Cody & Mel, celebrated their 9th year wedding anniversary!!!

On the 17th, Matt & I met up with Cody & Mel & the kids, PawPaw & BeBe, and Demi & Talan, at the good ole’ Gregg County Fair! (2008 & 2009)

I decided to be a little more active this year, and Brennan and I rode almost everything! Even this, from last year..

That same weekend, I attended not one, but two baby showers.. The first, Matt’s childhood pal, Josh’s wife Ashley..

baby Ella’s “Saints bow”, burp cloths, and wiper case!

Matt’s other childhood pal, Buddy’s, baby boy Jacob!

Second, I met up with Ginger and sweet baby Reese, to attend a friend from high school, Kassidy’s..

loved the set-up..

and Kass’ sweet baby girl, Sydney!

We sold Matt’s car, and bought this…

CRAZINESS= NO car payment!! ha, he loves it!

Mel’s 35th bday, was October 9th, and Matt and I went over for dinner to celebrate. That next week, Addi was VIP at school, ~~so I helped her~~, let her help me, make her poster! ;)

October also brought us Texas Ranger playoff games, and football..

oh, and if you haven’t heard.. Cowboys are 1 & 6!!!!!!!!!!!

We started getting ready for Fall..

Matt picked up a ball and bat, for the first time in YEARS.. I think he actually STRUCK out here, hehe.. so much for that “draft” ;)

Matt and I celebrated our 2 year Anniversary! On the 25th, we headed East to Shreveport, and made a b-line to the Horseshoe! We had a couples massage scheduled @ 2!! Matt had never gotten one before, and I had never done a “couples”.. it was wonderful, but so darn expensive! Afterwards, we checked into our room for the night, got ready, and headed to dinner at Superior Steakhouse, making it our annual anniversary dining destination!! so. good. Oh, the mac & cheese!! (2008 & 2009)

our room

our view

our gifts

If you’ll remember, Matt and I decided to stick to “traditional gifts” every year, and this year was cotton.. I got Mattie..

to celebrate their AH-MAZING season..

and I got..

the new iphone cover, I’d been dying to have.. surely it has some cotton in it, right??..

Our complimentary cheesecake from Superior..

After dinner, we retired back to our hotel, for the first half of the Cowboys game, that was until our QB BROKE HIS COLLAR BONE!!! Seriously Cowboys, what has happened! Every week somehow gets worse! It was gambling time after that, so we went downstairs.. where I won $200 bucks! :)

It seems crazy that Matt and I have already and only been married for 2 years!! Seeing as we’ve been together for 16!! Here’s to many more though, Mattie! It was a great anniversary day!

That following week, I heard Mattie on the phone one night. Usually when his phone rings at night, it’s either his brother in law, Clay, or his parents. I heard him say, “Heck Yeah, I’ll go.” ..and with only those words, I just had a feeling it was his parents, and screamed.. “Do I get to go too?” To the WORLD SERIES, that was!! To Game 3 of the World Series, Texas Ranger’s very first time! WoooHoooo! That Friday after work, Matt and I headed over to his parents for the night. We had dinner in town, followed by ice cream, some good ole’ visiting, and called it a night. The next morning, we were up and at em’, heading to the Big D! By lunch, we arrived at The Chessecake Factory (quite possibly my favorite place on earth!), checked into our hotel room, met up with Clay & Cullen, and headed to The Ballpark in Arlington!!

tickets in hand.. on our way!

“cheating on my first love!” ;)

heading in..

warming up

Tim Linsicome

Cruz!

Oooooo the people!!

hometown boy, Chris Davis!

Josh Hamilton!

Kelly Clarkson sang The National Anthem!

The Fly-Over, nothing quite like it!

Pudge Rodriguez, catching the first pitch, from..

The MAN, Nolan Ryan!

GAME ON!! Colby Lewis!

Elvis Andrus!

Josh Hamilton!

Giants..

bullpin..

Michael Young!

Ian Kinsler!

Bengie Molina!

JOSH!

HOMERUN!!!!

Cullen & Clay

Nolan, Laura, & George!! Love me some Bush’s!! :)

Darren O’Day!! O’Day, O’ Day, O’Day, O’Day!

Largest crowd in Ranger’s Ballpark HISTORY!

Neftali Feliz!!

RANGERS WIN!!

all the pitchers walking over after the win!

It was by far, one of the GREATEST experiences EVER!! Not only can we say we went to the FIRST ever Ranger’s World Series game, but we've witnessed the ONLY ever Rangers WIN in the World Series!! The crowd was fantastic, the music was intoxicating, memories that will last a lifetime!!

One last pic, I stole off my photographer MJ’s facebook page..

pretty cool..

The following day was Halloween, and after we all awoke in our hotel room, we got ready to head home, but decided to stop and take a stroll down memory lane first, for realzz!! As we made our way through Dallas, PawPaw asked, if we’d like to drive by his and MeeMaw’s old houses..umm, yes please! Matt’s parents actually went to the same elementary school, and lived just blocks from each other, until PawPaw and his family moved to Henderson!!! MeeMaw had a crush on PawPaw, but never said anything.. after all, they were in FIRST grade!! Yeeears passed, and one day, MeeMaw saw PawPaw on TV! It was a televised game, when he was the quarterback for SMU! She ended up stalking him down, and CALLING him! The rest they say, is history!! :)

Here’s the school where they first met!! :)

MeeMaw’s childhood home, where all SIX of her brother & sisters lived!! The house was actually vacant, so we got to get out and look inside the windows!! The NEATEST! MeeMaw was like a kid again, the memories came flooding back..

PawPaw’s house We spent hours driving around looking at their old stomping grounds! Another awesome thing to experience, I was sooo glad to be able to hear and see all that..

We decided to stop at Saltgrass, for a quick bite to eat, before heading back. Matt and I headed on home after getting our stuff at his parents, we rested a bit, then I was off again to meet up with the kids for a little Trick or Treating!! (2008 & 2009)

Princess Barbie & Romo!!

Demi Nicole, the cutest little kitty I’ve ever seen!!!

I just had to take a picture of the insane amount of golf carts lining the streets, trick or treating! Granted, we were in Fairway Oaks, a neighborhood located on a golf course, but STILL.. trick or treating has sure changed from back in the day!!!

Seriously?!

after quite a little trek, we all decided to hop on for a little ride, all NINE of us!! :)

one of the houses we stopped at, had a full fledge carnival going on..

look at that tiny little booty..all he needed was a sling on his “non-throwing” arm!!!!!!

Showing all their loot!!

Halloween, was just as enjoyable as ever. Love me some Halloween!!

In November happenings, Mikki sent me this picture yesterday, that I just had to share..

Clara, in her “I was worth the wait” onesie I got her!!

In only a couple of days, she’ll be THREE.. WHERE has the time gone??!!

Today, we attended Brennan’s last Flag Football game of the season. They made it to the playoff’s, but their run ended today.. better luck next year Eagles, yall played a great season!

In other football news, I’ll close with this.. a little tacky, alot hilarious, but sadly true!

Next week, marks my ONE year anniversary with my new job. This past week, I’ve been interviewing leasing agents, as our second phase is almost complete. The next several weeks are going to get VERY busy for moi!! Wish me luck! Pray for patience!! :)

Until Next Time!!

Happy November!! I think I’m ready for the Holiday’s!! :)

Water

2010-09-08T20:37:00.001-05:00

This past Labor day weekend, our time was spent most, in water! :)

Friday evening, as you’ve read.. Matt and I attended the Longview/JT game. On Saturday, Matt and I loaded up and headed over to Tyler, for a quick lunch at one of our faves, Julian’s! After lunch, we met up with Cody and Mel and the kids, and headed to my mom’s boyfriend, Bubba’s, house on lake Palestine. H&W (where my mom works) was hosting their annual “Poker Run” on the lake. The event benefits MDA, and all the proceeds go to help Jerry’s Kids! The idea, is you start out at a check point on the lake, head to five different spots on the lake, and get a card. At the end, everyone meets back up to show their cards (which are hidden in envelopes) and whoever has the best hand, wins! This was our first year to attend, and I have to say we all enjoyed it!

At Bubba’s, we joined my mom and bubba, as well as bubba’s son Taylor, his wife Coral, and their boy’s Hunter, Caleb, & Eli.

Heading out..

Mi Madre

The Twins: Hunter & Caleb..or Caleb & Hunter ;)

My Pirate baby boy, Brennan

Missy & the princess

Matty

Our Captain

Coral

Mel & Hollywood

Here’s Brennan, breaking it down like his daddy!! ;)

..and, Eli-Missy & Addi (with her bag of makeup of course!)

The weather was PERFECT, temperature phenomenal, so we decided to stop and take a dip..

waiting to see how our hands faired.. they didn’t! ;)

here’s the best pic I could snag of bubba..

Mel & her baby boy!

After we lost, we all headed back to bubba’s house for dinner and visiting. Sunday, sticking with our water theme.. Matt and I awoke, got ready, and headed to the big city of Diana, to witness my brother, Cody, get baptized!! Oh how proud I am, of the man and father he’s become! Love you Cody! After church, Matt and I headed back over to Tyler, this time to his parents, on Lake Tyler. We met up with MeeMaw & PawPaw, Jerry & GiGi, The Funder5, and Mikki’s best friend from high school, Kirsten and her son Hayden, for some good ole’ holiday fun. Yummy burgers, PawPaw’s FAMOUS homemade ice cream, and fun in the sun! Late that evening, PawPaw hooked up the tube, and Clara and Hayden enjoyed their first ever tube ride!!

Mikki & Kirsten decided to take a spin around the lake, and they had SO much fun!! It looked like a blast, and I was quite envious! Matt’s back had been hurting that day, and it was getting dark, so I didn’t speak up, but man, I can’t wait for my turn!

Monday I spent much of the day just hanging out, enjoying my day off from work. I cleaned while Matt played golf, and hey..caught up on my bloggin! :) I’m really going to try to do better! :)

Until Next Time!

Boys of Fall!!

2010-09-06T22:57:00.002-05:00

Fortunately, Fall finally feels like it’s here, and I can’t even put in to words how happy this makes me! Fall=FOOTBALL, and there’s nothing better than, The Boys of Fall!!! :) September has brought down temperatures, pre-season football, and the beginning of Brennan’s flag football days!! Yep, that’s right, Brennan is on his first ever flag football team! Last weekend, was his first game, and I couldn’t wait to attend!!

Have you seen anything cuter, than that sweet skinny thing??!!

BRENNAN’S FIRST TOUCHDOWN EVER!!!!!

Sweet Sister cheering him on..

Demi’s first cheerleading Gig!! Oh..can’t you just see this for the next 12 years!

Talan & Addi..just waiting their turns..

..and even better, here’s a video of ONE of Brennan’s FOUR touchdowns of the game! :)

Can we say Superstar??!! Oh how fun the next 11 years are going to be!!

Concluding with more football, Matt and I attended our first Longview home game of the season this past weekend. Let’s just say the Bo’s have a looonng way to go, if were making it to State this season! Longview lost to John Tyler 28-14, and it was just poor pitiful sad.

This week also marks the FIRST week of the official 2010-11 NFL Season, and Matt and I’s, 4th year of fantasy football! Wish Brennan luck, wish the Lobos luck, ME luck, and wish these guys’ luck!!

Until Next Time! :)

It’s getting Hot in Here!!

2010-08-29T18:10:00.000-05:00

I vaguely remember a post, not so long ago.. some nonsense like, “Hello Summer – Sweet Sun Shiny Goodness”.. well those days have come, and come, and this chick, will be OH so happy to see them leave! I can only blame my lack of blogging on heat exhaustion! This Summer has been SOO H-O-T!! Just plain miserable HOT! Too hot to go outside, too hot to lay out, too hot to cook out, too hot to swim, too hot to take pictures, and too hot to BLOG!

Matt and I have tried to come up with anything and everything, to entertain ourselves in-doors this Summer. We’ve seen more movies than I can count on two hands, ate a lot, worked a lot, slept a lot, paid off my car, and spent time with wonderful family & friends. I for one though, am dreaming of cooler temperatures, falling leaves, Sunday roasts, and FOOTBALL!!

I’ll start the post off, with a recap of this Summer’s festivities:

MeeMaw’s side of the family (The Crawford’s) had their family reunion in Dallas, here’s all the brothers & sisters + spouses {minus one brother, Eddie!}

Mel attempted an impromptu photo shoot of the kids one morning. Here are a couple shots of my cuties!

A few of us girls were able to catch some chat time one night, when Meredith came back home from the Dominican Republic, where’s she’s been teaching for the last year. I haven’t seen Mertah in several years, so it was great to catch up!

Matt and I headed to Tyler, to celebrate mi Madre's birthday, and got to meet her boyfriend’s daughter-in-law Coral, and boys, Hunter, Caleb, & Eli.

We had our annual back to school bash at the complex where I manage. It was my first one, and it was so much fun! We had a great turn out, lots of yummy food, and gave away a TON of school supplies and backpacks to the kids!

Made-Rite donated all the drinks!

We dined on hot dogs with all the fixins’, chips, cookies & cake, and snow cones!

We even had a gigantic bounce house!

My resident sisters, Juanita & Pauline

Cody & Mel took the kids on a family trip to Destin!

Brennan even went parasailing!

We had some major excitement in the complex, with two cars catching fire!

Demi & Addi had a night of dress-up!

School started back, so Matt & I took Brennan his annual Good luck balloons! Demi started kindergarten this year too, so we brought her flowers!

First day of First Grade!

First day of Kindergarten!

Andy & Casey, the new skinny little hotties, took a trip to Vegas, and I had to include a pic to remember how awesome they look, for the blog! :)

Despite the heat, one more thing that couldn’t slip by, was our princesses’ fourth birthday! Addi turned the big 4 on August 29th, and we had her party the day before. Since she’s an August baby, just about the only thing you can do to beat the heat, is have a swim party..and that’s what we’ve done, for the fourth year in a row now! :)

princess, receiving her “princess bow” from Missy..

Addi fell and hurt her knee, RIGHT when her party started, here she is milking it to her BFF Lauren!

..to cheer her up, Mel bribed Addi with opening presents first! :)

I LOVE Brennan’s “this sucks it’s not my bday look!”

THE Perfect Blackmale Photo!! ;)

Some pretty great memories, this hot Summer.. Looking forward to many more!

Until Next Time!

Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue..

2010-07-13T23:08:00.003-05:00

Oh, who’s the worst holiday photographer you ask? Yeah… that’d be ME!! Almost Nada..so won’t this be the shortest post in Bobo Buzz history?!

After work Friday, Matt & I met up with the Green’s, Party of 4, @ Chili’s for a quaint dinner. Afterwards, we retired to Ashley’s brother Chase’s house, for chatting, jolly ranchers, and taekwondo! :) Matt had to work Saturday morning, so we called it a fairly early night. I chillaxed most of the morning, and tried to make plans for the evening. Cherokee or no Cherokee..that was the question. Once the rain came, the decision was no Cherokee, and Matt and I set out on a date night. We headed out to an uncharacteristically scarce Shogun’s, and were out in a flash..just in time to catch the 8:30 showing of the highly anticipated..

did. NOT. disappoint! Now, the excruciating wait for Breaking Dawn!! Wait on Team Edward Fans, wait on.

Sunday was the 4th, and I was ready for some SUN! Matt and I drove over to his parents pretty early, and I made a b-line for the lake. Soon after, came the rain. and the rain. Here’s where the trusty ole’ camera would have come in handy, because we stayed! In the lake. In the rain. It was THE coolest! {literally!} Later in the afternoon, Cody/Mel & the kids, and Andy/Casey & the kids made a surprise visit, so we along with the Funder5 and MeeMaw & PawPaw enjoyed a tub riding, hot dog grillin, watermelon eating, firework watchin’ good ole’ day! :) {ALL the following pics, were taken from my iphone.. so deal!}

The fireworks were super good this year. We anchored right next to Cody, so listening to the kids was SO CUTE! After EVERY pop, the kids would ooo and ahh..so neat to experience the often taken for granted 4th, through a “kids view!” Which leads me to such a random thought: today while driving to work..through the ghetto..I saw two white girls, who were surely prostitution whores (shout out to the NJ Housewives!) or drugies looking to score their next “hit” walking across the street. Shame on me to judge {I dont want to hear it!} but, in that moment I thought to myself how blessed I truly am. Blessed that I have had a wonderful upbringing by two loving parents who would sacrifice anything for me to be happy, and live the life that God intended me to. Blessed that I am healthy, have an education, a job, a roof over my head, wheels to drive (granted AC-less), food to eat, and a wonderful hubby to come home to. Friends and Family that love me, and a mighty God that leads me everyday! I can’t imagine walking in their shoes for 1 feet, less than 1 mile. Geez how sad. What a life! ok, I’m done.

On Monday.. LOVE me some holiday Monday’s.. Matt and I slept in, grabbed some lunch, then headed to see this..

pretty cute, pretty funny. I was shocked to find the theatre full, and since we don’t {pay} we sit where we can, which was the FRONT row. Let’s just say I lasted about 15 minutes, and the remainder of the movie I saw from the floor, by the door! wow.

This past weekend, I had Addi. Really I got her on Thursday, because her travelling fool parents were in Mexico. Brennan stayed with PawPaw Sammy. That Thursday after school, Matt and Addi & I, went to dinner, then Matt went to a friend from work’s house to play poker with the boys. Addi & I decided to go swimming here. We had sooo much fun. Princess can now swim without a life jacket, and better yet, she could TOUCH at this pool, so double score! We swam for around 2 hours, before bath & bed.

Friday, I took Addi on to school, and went to work for a couple of hours..Addi had to be picked up before 3 that day, so around 2 I went and got her. We swung by the new cupcake place in town for a treat, and then headed back to my work till I got off. Keeping a 3 year old entertained is quite a task! ;) After work, we met up with Matty and headed to Red Lobster for dinner, we tried to do another swim afterwards, but not 2 minutes into our swim, we heard thunder and saw some lightening, so we retreated back to the apartment and called it a night. Saturday, Matt had to work, so Addi and I headed to her house, so we could swim and be more in “her element!” We were so excited to see bubba, and for the REST of the afternoon until Missy arrived, we swam..in the rain..again. Only an aunt CaCa would let them do that, but they were having SO much fun! :)

Next is a video, that sadly I had to edit to get it from my iphone to my computer.. The full thing is really hilarious, but you’ll get the drift with this lil clip:

After I was kidless, Matt and I headed to dinner, then to rent me a few movies. Matt was having a guys night with Philip, Mark, & Boo, so I settled in bed with with my flicks..

They were both pretty good, extremely sad for a chick alone in bed, but good none-the-less. Sunday was another low key day, Matt had to work, and I was SUPRISINGLY burnt from the rainy day before, so I decided to stay indoors.

This all leads to this week.. Monday was Matty’s 33rd Birthday, and The Funder4 (minus Christian) and MeeMaw & PawPaw surprised Matt for dinner at Osaka. It was a lovely evening, great food, better company, and an all in all good day for the birthday boy! :) Tonight we had dinner with the Green’s, a quick visit to the pet store later, and we were back at home, just in time for me to hop on the crazy train that is..

and finish up with the series finale of..

and that should just about do it for now! Have a great rest of the week!!

Until Next ~~Month~~ Time! :)

Girls Night(s) Out..

2010-06-23T21:23:00.001-05:00

Miss Me?? The blog slacker that I am.

We continue to stay busy..and sadly, as bad a blogger as I have been, equally is, as bad of a picture taker as I have been! ;) LOTS and LOTS of Girls Night Outs have occurred over the last couple of weeks.. (and how fun is that? As Ashley put it so well..good for the heart & soul!)

First, Matt and I attended a good ole’ gathering at The Green’s, with The Richardson’s and The Tennison’s. (sadly, minus Brad!) Yummy pizza king and hours of glorious girl talk, and baby lovin’ were had by all. That same weekend, Matt and I attended Brennan’s first All-Stars T-ball tournament! It was held in Spring Hill {cheaters!} and to say it was H-O-T would be an understatement, to say the least! We played a game that Friday night (won) and THREE games on Saturday! (won one, lost two..double elimination)

Next I got to spend a couple of days with Holly and the kiddos, as they came to visit for the first time in over SIX months! Man has that Ainsley grown, and Parker continues to be a mess..love those little angels! On Holly’s last night, we met Ash & Gin at Starbucks, and talked and laughed over a bunch of randomness for hours, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way~

Last weekend, Matt and I headed off to yet another T-ball game held in Diana, where the boys lost to Gilmer..the heat was down right oppressive. I don’t know how those babies do it!

After the game, we hurried home so I could ditch Matt and head to Kendrah’s, where Ashley, Ginger, Colleen, Jen, and I spent the next 8 hours laughing, crying, eating, and drinking ours troubles away!! We had THE BEST time, and called it a “morning” around 4AM!!

The following day, (which I spent much of recuperating) Matt and I did a little shopping, and then waited on our ride (The Richardson’s) to pick us up, so we could head to Tyler, Villa Montez to be exact, to celebrate Amber’s 30th birthday! Amber, Gin’s BFF or Ambo as I like to call her, had not a clue and was oh so surprised to see us all there!

“Hiding!”

oh so surprised! :)

Villa Montez is sort-of a Mediterranean Seafood & Steakhouse, but I’d say it was more Mexican! The food was very good, and it’s a beautiful place, but who in their right mind sits a party OUTside in Texas in the middle of June?! Thank goodness for fans & frozen drinks, or this fat chick wouldn’t have made it!

Clay & Kayln

Gin & Seane

Mattie & I

Ambo and her {YUMMY} too cute cake!

love the lights!

So glad we could celebrate with you Amber, Happy 30th! That night Brennan also played his 2nd game of the tournament, which they WON, and Matt and I MISSED it! (I missed a T-ball game!!!) :)

Sunday was Father’s day, and after completing this masterpiece..

check out those LAYERS people! :)

Matt and I headed to Cody & Mel’s to celebrate Poppa’s day with Big Poppa, Sammy & Jennifer, Andy & fam, and Aaron & his friend Tanya. We dined on hamburgers and hotdogs, chili, casey’s famous mac & cheese, nannar pudding, 5 layer delight, and homemade blackberry ice cream!! :)

The Dad’s!

Brennan & Addi were ALL about their CaCa and Uncle Matt this day, and let’s face it folk’s..now a days, this is a RARE occasion..so, photo-op! :)

Next is the kids father’s day cards to Cody..all he wanted was a full day of uninterrupted naps and golf..I think he got his wish, but the cards were too cute not to share!

This was Brennan’s 5th attempt at making a card, he wanted it perfect (hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!) unfortunately for him, his momma was having nothing more to do with it at 10pm, so this is what Cody got! Translation: Things I love about dad: He plays the wii with me. Dad loves me and I love him! :)

This was Addi’s, Mel asked her what she loved about dad, and these were her exact words- Things I love about Dad: 1. He gets donuts for me. 2. He takes me to school. 3. He loves me really really much. {love that one!} 4. He lays down with me (to which Mel replied, “once a month”, ha!) and again with 5. He takes me to school. :)

..and CHECK OUT this little FISH..

what a difference a little fall, winter, and Spring can do!!! Who knew?!

A little after 4ish, Matt and I packed up and moved to Mikki’s to spend the remainder of the evening with the Funder5, Jerry & Gigi, and MeeMaw & PawPaw to celebrate PawPaw’s father’s day!

Mattie & his daddy watching Tiger lose!

After The Open, we all headed out to the pool to play a little pool volleyball.. talk about some fun!! Can’t wait for many a more games, I need to get my practice on before though!! :)

This week has slowed down a little, and I’ve got alot accomplished, seeing as how I’ve been solo! Monday I attended Brennan’s LAST T-ball game, oh how bitter sweet! Pittsburg handed it to them, and alas ended the season, better luck next year Diana..on to coach pitch! :)

Wondering why I’m solo? Well.. my wonderful, sweet, loving, caring hubby (can you tell I’m buttering him up) decided once again, to give the “2nd job thing” another try. So it’s back to waiting tables and cutting out some debt, furthering the American Dream of home ownership and family expansion! :) Good luck Mattie, I’m so proud of you for sucking it up! I promise to uphold my end of the “housewife” bargain!! xoxo

Until Next Time!!

I Wanna Soak Up The Sun..

2010-06-03T19:32:00.001-05:00

Hello Summer- Sweet Sun-Shiny Goodness!! All I wanna do is lay out, grill out, and eat snow- cones!! :)

Life in our neck-of-the-woods continues to be busy, and like I said before, unless I take actual pictures of events, it’s usually all a blur, so lucky for you- here’s what I got!! Way back in May, on the 20th to be exact, Addi had her end of the year school program, as she has every other year. The only difference this year, was that bubba was an attendee instead of a participant. Man, was that weird!!

Princess and Talan were up first! We all enjoyed seeing the program in action, as we’ve had to listen to her “songs” for months now. Things like Ho-Ho-Ho-Hosanna! Ha-Ha-Ha-Hallelujah! He-He-He-He Saved Us!! :)

Addi & Her “boyfriend” Evan!! :)

Talan

Demi was up next!

even had a solo!!

Pictures from the slideshow:

Looking forward to next year.. Addi’s LAST year before Kindergarten!! {wow!}

The following Friday was T-ball of course, but afterwards we headed to Philip & Ashley’s to celebrate Smashley’s 30th Birthday!!!

A brief look back, at our imperfect PERFECT friendship..

Technically her 30th wasn’t until Sunday the 23rd, but when she gave us the “ok” to celebrate, we celebrated - Fiesta Style!! Shredded pork & beef tacos, guacamole, and margarita’s..STRONG margarita’s!! :)

The boys: Philip, Buck, Mattie & BooBoo

Matthew & the birthday girl

Laurie & Angela

Cader, Ash, & Boo

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH, You’re finally 30!! Love you Dearly! :)

The next morning, bright & early, Matt and I had to be in Harleton for The Rangers final tournament of the season.

We won one and lost one, and were soon on our way to Cody & Mel’s for their end of the season swim party!!

waiting on their guests to arrive..

Earlier in that week, Brennan continuously fought a high fever off and on, and on that Thursday he broke out in Roseola!!

God Love Him.. Is that not just the worst?! Thankfully, it only lasted a couple of days!!

This is just before Mel got POUNDED with some H2O, courtesy of her husband! :)

Coach Cody giving his team appreciation speech..

RANGERS!!

Brennan {of course} made All-Stars, so luckily were not quite finished with T-ball just yet. His first game is next Friday, and he’s already started a rigorous practice schedule {yes, he’s 6!} Diana’s serious about their T-ball!! (ha, as is his CaCa!!)

On Sunday, we spent the day moving the Funder5 into their new house..well, really Matt helped move.. I.. soaked up the sun!! :) But geez.. check out their pool, who could blame me?!

and their backyard view…

pretty. super. nice.

The next week’s a blur (hence no pictures) I’m sure we ate alot, we went to Athens to visit pop and pick up a boat one night, hung out @ The Funder5’s and tried out the hot tub one night, ate some more, and on Sunday, Matt and I headed to lake Fork to meet up with Cody & Mel!

This day was very important to Brennan.. it would be his FIRST tubing experience!! :)

..and they were off..

Brennan LOVED it, as we knew he would!! Sadly the tub (one handed down from Cody & I’s lake days) had a slow leak in it, so Cody made a “single-rider-rule” for the remainder of the afternoon!!

Mattie, soakin up some MUCH needed sun of his own..

Cody on the other hand, a little too much..

Brennan’s solo run

HA! not quite got the hang of it yet..

Dad, swimming out to help..

Got it, left dad in the dust!! :)

Getting ready for the real show to begin..

Cody WORN out!! :)

Our Captains..and useless Matt..

We headed back to shore to rest, drop off a few passengers and pick up a few more. While we were out tubing, Missy & Addi had arrived, and were anxious to come aboard, but before we went out for another round, bubba just HAD to show Addi his new “trails” he had found on the golf cart. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this next picture, it’s to a tee, that old saying.. a picture’s worth a 1000 words..

Mel & Missy and I were waiting in the boat for the boys to come back, and I just happened to snap this picture, at the perfect timing, because little did we know what had just occurred…

Cody: a little pissed, but calm, has the “smirk”..

Addi: The WORLD has come to an end, and it’s all bubba’s fault! Cry before someone blames ME!

Brennan: I’m not saying a word.

Matt: LOVIN life, basking in the children’s “secret” and can hardly contain himself to keep it!

The reality: Brennan wrecked the golf cart with his 3 year old sister aboard! wrecked into a fence, locked up the wheels, the golf cart will not run, wrecked! {thankfully, they were ok} wowzers..

Missy & the pleasant princess

I swear, if we have no children, she’s payback enough!! ;)

sometimes it’s just best to just.. go to sleep! Look at that baby’s “injury”..

All in all, it was a wonderful day at the lake! Cody & Mel are now in the process of buying Pop’s boat, so I see many a more tubing weekends for us all in the future! Good Times, Good Times..

Monday was Memorial Day, and Matt, Clay, his dad, and Seaney boy Richardson, woke up to play golf in the wee hours of the morning. (craziness) Mik picked me up that afternoon, and we all headed over to MeeMaw & PawPaw’s to spend the day on the lake..soaking up some more sun!! :) Sadly I got not a one picture!

This week has been crazy busy in the apartment world, and I’m sooo happy it’s a short week, and that tomorrow’s Friday!! No plans for this weekend as of yet, {This means make some, Ash & Gin!!} but you can bet, I’ll Wanna Soak Up The Sun!! :)

Until Next Time! Have a good one!!

All for You!

2010-05-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

Here ya go, Smalls..just for you! After THREE very long months {and many trys and formats!!}, here's finally your 30th birthday slideshow and videos, hope you enjoy!! :) A huge shout out to all you wonderful peeps out there, that contributed photos and video, to help complete this masterpiece!

Part One:

Part Two:

Lauren:

Jenny:

{Sorry Jen: your video was too large for blogger to upload, so this is the only way I could post!}

Stephen, Jody, & Anna:

The Nelson's & Martin's:

Happy 30th Smalls!!
We ALL love you!! xoxo

Until Next Time!

Drive In, Drive Out.

2010-05-18T14:06:00.002-05:00

As previously mentioned, Matt and I took a quick trip up North, Hot Springs Village to be exact..with the Funder5, Matt’s parents, his brother Mike, Uncle Jerry, & GG in celebration of GG’s 80th birthday!! We had a nice but quick little getaway!

After our miserable loss to the Harleton Astros Friday evening, Matt and I were on the road by 7. One quick stop at On the Border in Texarkana, and a few rain showers later, we arrived at our destination just after 11. Half of the crew had already gone to bed, so after a few hellos and goodbye’s, Matt and I did the same.

The next morning, we awoke, and headed out for some yummy breakfast. When we returned, I headed out solo, GPS in hand, on my way to my much anticipated Hot Springs Village massage! What a LET-DOWN! Even though the trip’s sole-purpose was to celebrate GG, that wasn’t going to stop the guys from playing a little golf, so when Matt’s uncle Jerry said he was planning on a massage, I was more than willing to join him. Jerry made his appointment for 3 on Friday, and mine at 12:15 on Saturday. That morning, Jerry raved and raved about his masseuse “Joan”, so naturally I was a little excited about my turn. After arriving safely, and waiting just a bit, I heard a lady approach me, and say.. “My momma sick. I do you” What’s that you say?? To complicate things even more, God bless her soul, she was handicap and deaf!! Oh the predicament. The 97% not so nice Candy would have been out like a light, but the 3% Candy was too mortified to tell the little handicap girl, uh no! So I laid in distress the entire hour of my massage. Never could I get comfortable, and to spare you all the horrific details, was oh so thankful when she was done. $57 later, and I was out.

you’ve got to be kidding me.

I arrived back at the house, a little before 2, and spent the remainder of the evening sitting on the back porch relaxing with MeeMaw, Mik & the boys.

Our 48 hour, Home away from Home!

Our balcony view

Christian Bo, 15, and bored out of his mind! ;)

Some of our mid-afternoon finds:

Alvin the chipmunk

MeeMaw & Mik, decided to go for a little swim, but it was much too cold for the 97% Candy! :)

The guys soon returned, and around 7ish, we all cleaned up and loaded up, and headed to Tranquillos’s, are usual dining destination, while in the Village. A filet, some cheesecake, and happy birthday singing to GG, and we were back at the house. That evening, we talked and listened to childhood stories of GG’s for hours, before hitting the sack.

The next morning, we all visited some more, did a little sightseeing around The Village, grabbed a thunderstorm packed lunch, and headed back South. So thankful we got to spend GG’s 80th with her! What a wonderful blessing!

That same weekend, my mom travelled South and attended a Pine Tree Girls of 73 class reunion. They rented a beach house in Kemah, and talked and laughed the weekend away. I was so excited mom went, and got to enjoy a fantastic girls getaway trip of her own, here’s to many more of them, for her and I!!

Mom & Lola!! :)

Until Next Time!

So much to say..

2010-05-14T13:20:00.002-05:00

So much to do! Man, I can really tell we’re fixing to be in the full swing of summer, can’t you?! ..busy weeknights, busy weekends, busy holidays, just busy! Since I left off, Matt and I have done birthday’s, T-ball games, soccer games, races, dance recitals, oh, and Mother’s day!! :)

Back on April 27th, we celebrated MeeMaw’s 59th birthday, and the whole gang met up for dinner that night at Outback, before heading back over to the Funder5’s for some yummy cupcakes!

Happy Birthday MeeMaw!!

I believe the next weekend, was full of T-ball tournaments and movie marathons, but unless I take pictures of actual events, it’s usually all a blur, so moving on.. the following weekend, Saturday May 8th, Melanie & Mom and I, attended our 2nd Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in Tyler!!

This year, we graciously picked up a few new racers, and we also rose to the challenge, and committed to the 5K!! These three ladies,

Gynger, Mel, & Sally

actually RAN the entire 3.2 miles, while me-mom-ashley & dylan- casey- casey’s mom & step-mom- and casey’s friend audrey, walked..at a semi-fast pace!! :)

Dylan, all decked out in her pink! :)

We had an amazing walk, perfect weather, fought for a great cause, all while honoring MawMaw, {Melanie’s Mom}, as we quickly approach May 15th, the day that marks 3 years since we lost MawMaw in her courageous battle against breast cancer! I love that this race is always on Mother’s Day weekend, such an awesome event!

After the race, we rushed back to Longview, to make Brennan’s last soccer game of the season.

Later that afternoon, we headed off to Demi’s last dance recital of the season. Man was this an event. It was held at Kilgore College’s main auditorium, so you can imagine the amount of people that attended this recital, when Matt and I got there, it was already standing room only, and for an hour in a half, I stood, sweating, for Demi to perform one song people, ONE song! Girl better know I love her!! ;)

After the recital, we all headed West on 31, and met up for some dinner at The Country Tavern {Yum-O}

We’ve got another busy one planned this weekend as well. This time, heading North.

Until Next Time!

Georgia

2010-05-02T16:25:00.003-05:00

Last Friday, April 23rd, was my grandmother Georgia Nin or “Nini” as we affectionately call her, 80th Birthday!! 80, can you believe it?! She is exactly 50 years older than I..crazy to imagine all she’s seen and been through. I think I developed a LOT of Nin’s characteristics.. she’s a feisty one, so you can only imagine how excited she was about turning the big 8-0! She made it very clear, that she did NOT want a party {ha, is what I said to that!} ..and a party’s just what she got! ;)

On Friday morning, I called to wish the bday girl, a very happy 80th birthday, and she about took my head off when I said..the number. “Don’t say that out loud,” she barked! :) That evening, My dad and his wife Donna, My uncle Mike and his wife Becky, and my aunt Teresa and her husband Robert, all took Nini and her husband Bob, out to dinner at Roadhouse. Little did she know, that wasn’t even the beginning of her celebration. We let the weekend go by pretty quietly, and on Sunday, we headed over to Mike & Becky’s for her birthday lunch (a traditional lunch we usually do every Sunday after someone’s birthday..it’s just immediate family, so she thought nothing of it) I had sent out “formal invitations” the month before, and during lunch, all her guests were secretly arriving next door at her sisters! The day progressed, until she heard a knock on the door..

to say she was shocked, would be an understatement, and she welcomed in 40 of her nearest and dearest! :) Teresa and I quickly went over to do a “How pissed are you” check, and to our delight, she was good!!

The Cake!

The kids..enjoying her birthday balloons!!

.. a few of her guests..

Nin, and her sisters: Snookie, Patsy, & Shirley

The girls, with one of their brothers, Sunny

For Nin’s gift, and everyone’s enjoyment, I created a slideshow of her last 80 years.. I spent an INSANE amount of time on it, and come Showtime, the video wouldn’t play!! (Sound familiar, Smalls?!..don’t worry yours is next!) I was almost in tears, when after several attempts, my step-brother lil’ cody, came through! He thought he might have a cord to connect my computer to the TV so he ran home to grab it, moment’s later..

SUCCESS!!

I think everyone {esp. Nini} really enjoyed it, and that made me very happy..so here it is, for your viewing pleasure as well! ;)

some of my favorites..

doesn’t this look like a freakin post card??! She’s the oldest one..

This is my Nini, and my grandfather Papa, My Uncle Mike, Dad, and aunt Teresa!!!

Nin’s parents and brothers & Sisters

Dad, Teresa, Mike {Is that not Aaron?!}, Nini & Papa

Nini & Mom, I suppose SHORT shorts were in!!

@ my 30th birthday!

Happy HAPPY Birthday, Nin!! Love you so much..here’s to the NEXT 80 years!! :)

Until Next Time!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!

2010-04-19T22:41:00.001-05:00

Cheerful, Elated, Blissful, Euphoric, Joyful..all synonyms for happy, my favorite..Blessed. What do these all mean? They all describe the unbelievable emotions, I experienced this past weekend, when I spent 48 glorious hours with some of my favorite ladies in the world!!

A couple of months ago, I sent out an email to some of my besties from the class of 98’ to start up an annual tradition of a true girls weekend! I always had heard of groups of girls, going and doing, and travelling and sightseeing, and thought, why cant we do that?! We always had talked about it, but never took action, so I decided to start the ball rolling. Man, am I sooo happy I did!

On Friday, Ashley picked me up around 4, and we were off to Dallas to meet Holly- Addie- Beth-Lauren & Kim at The Cheesecake Factory in Frisco!

We had such a wonderful dinner, such a yummy dinner, and spent the evening chatting it up..

Kimmy, Holly, & Lauren

Several hours, and full bellies later, we decided to call it a night, and us 7 headed back to the hotel

We spent the remainder of the evening, talking and laughing, joking and story-telling, before LC headed home, and Addie met back up with her sweet precious family that were staying in the same hotel with us.

The next morning, we all met back up (minus Lauren), and headed downstairs to enjoy our {cooked to order}, FREE breakfast! :) Soon after, Ginger & Amanda arrived, to complete our girls group of nine! After more chatting, and showers and such, we headed out for lunch at The Corner Bakery!

Ashley, Kimmy, Smalls, Beth, Amanda, Ginger, & Addie

After lunch, we decided to have a little spa day, met up with Lauren, and headed to Hollywood Nails in Frisco! This place was well…interesting. ha! :)

Have you ever??!! I mean, this is a nail salon for goodness sake..wow!

picking out colors..

“What do you think about this one..”

“Not so much!” Love. Addie’s. Face! :)

{Not pictured: Holly, Addie & I}

Holly did take a pic of Addie & I, but I deemed it “un-blogable!”

After our pedi’s, we headed over to The Stonebriar Mall, for a little shopping.. and by that I mean, a little shopping, and a lot of looking! We then ended back up at our hotel, just in time for Happy Hour!! :)

After more visiting, we had to have more food, so we hit up Christina’s for dinner. At dinner, Amanda’s mother, brother, sister, and sweet baby Colson, met up for a lil’ visit!

After dinner, we sadly said our goodbye’s to Amanda & Lauren, and the remaining 7 of us headed back to our room, for even more girl talk (yes, even more was possible) and a couple of rounds of..

So hilarious. I hated the game though {I lost!} ;)

We decided to call it a night, just after midnight, and bright and early the next morning, we started packing up, grabbed another quick bite to eat for breakfast, cleaned up, checked out, and headed off to church. Lauren’s husband Matt, is the pastor of The Village Church, a congregation of over 8000 members, with multiple campuses in and around the Dallas Area! AH-MAZING I tell ya! It was the most moving service I have ever been to..and I’m not just saying that because it was Lauren & Matt.. witty, emotional, relevant, thought provoking.. Amazing! If you are EVER in the DFW area, I urge you to check it out, it felt more like a revival then a Sunday service, I just kept thinking to myself, these people get to witness this every week! Matt preaches strictly from the word, but relates it to everyday life, using today’s terminology, it’s just so relatable, and honest. Lauren also sings, and she’s got just about the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard. So natural and pure. So uplifting and emotional all at the same time. It’s what church is supposed to be about, it’s the way I’m supposed to feel about it. It also doesn’t hurt that a certain famous QUARTERBACK, just may or may not attend there, sadly I didn’t see “him” though!! :)

Addie (and her girls, Allie & Mabry), Beth, LC, Gin, Me, Kimmy, Ash, & Smalls

After church, we again had to say our goodbye’s to Lauren & Ginger, and the rest of us stopped at Schlotzsky’s, before calling it an end to our weekend, and heading back home our separate ways.

What a fantastic weekend! I can’t wait for many, many more. Truly an annual tradition! A HUGE shout out to all the hubbies, who took care of all the kiddos, and gave up their wives for the weekend, so that we could all spend some good ole’, much needed, quality time together. Mucho Appreciated! ..and to all my girls, I can’t tell you how much you all mean to me, and how thankful I am, that after so many years, we’ve stayed so close. I can truly count on each and every one of you for anything. I love you all, and miss you already!! :)

To all you other gals that couldn’t make it, you were missed and just have to join us all next year!

Until Next Time!

Happy HAPPY Birthday to Brennan & PawPaw!!

2010-04-14T21:47:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, we celebrated Brennan’s 6th birthday, and PawPaw’s 59th birthday!! Wow, what a vast difference in ages!! ;)

Friday night, we attended Brennan’s second T-ball game, in which they won, and Matt and I headed to dinner afterwards. The next morning, while Matt was off to golf, I attended a funeral of the girl whose place I took at Magnolia Ridge. Denise was only 52, and sadly was taken from us on Good Friday. She was a diabetic, and went into a diabetic coma that morning, and then cardiac arrest once they reached the hospital. It is such a reminder, that none of us are promised tomorrow, and we must take advantage of each and every day. After the funeral, I had to completely change gears, and head off to Brennan’s 6th birthday party, at none other than..

This year, Brennan decided to partner up with one of his “girl” friends, Ella, and have a joint party!

There were a TON of kids in attendance, and it was nearly impossible to get some decent shots, but here’s the ones I did get..

this one didn’t look very pretty..

The Mom’s {Mel & Amy..and brennan’s hand!}

After pump it up, I met up with Matt, and we headed to Johnny Carino’s to celebrate PawPaw’s day!

After a yummy dinner {my one cheat day a week!} we headed over to Mikki’s for cake and cards

The boy’s enjoyed some boyish fun, while we got the cakes ready for PawPaw!

Clara and her “mean face”.. :)

Mik made these YUMMY, {VEGAN} Key Lime Cupcakes, a true hit!!

After a long night of card playing, we called it a night. So happy to be able to celebrate these two great guy’s birthday’s!! Happy Birthday Brennan & PawPaw!! Can’t believe my baby’s SIX, and PawPaw’s the big 6-0 next year!!!

Until Next Time!

Here comes Peter Cottontail..

2010-04-05T21:54:00.001-05:00

Easter was this past weekend, and as usual, Matt and I enjoyed a lovely-family-fun-filled weekend! Friday was Brennan’s first T-ball game of the season, and along with Coach Cody, Uncle Matt agreed to help get these 5/6 year olds in tip top shape. Oh. How. FUNNY. it is watching these boys play ball! Brennan moved up to pitcher this year, and unbiasly of course, is the superstar of the team! :)

Getting warmed up:

Game Time:

H. O. – H. O. M. – H. O. M. E. R. U. N. – HOMERUN, Hit It, Hit It..and he DID!!! :)

..and this is what Addi was doing, while her bubba was hitting a homerun.. oh princess..

Matt..the Coach.. :)

The Rangers won their first game 18-13!! Way to go boys! Must be that good coaching!! ;) Matt has really enjoyed helping Cody coach this year, he’s taken to the boys well, and feels he’s got a knack for this coaching thing. ;) He did catch himself giving one kid some “crazy eyes” during the game, until he quickly remembered..oh, he’s five, and his momma’s watching me!! :)

After the game, Matt & I had dinner, and called it a night.

The next morning, we enjoyed a nice relaxing morning, before hitting the trail for a walk. Yes, I said A WALK, on a SATURDAY!! Last Monday, I decided to start back that ole’ relationship with my frenemy, diet, and try this again. Every day after work, I hit the “workout room” for a walk on the treadmill and biking on the stationary bike. Usually 2 miles. I’ve had NO cokes, and eating much healthier!! So, Matt wanted to continue my good deed, and mentioned hitting the trail for a mile and a half trek. {ugh!} After successfully completing it, we grabbed some lunch, stopped by the pet store {just for kicks, folks} and went back home. That evening, we headed to Ginger & Seane’s for some catch-up, and quality time with baby Reese! {yay!} LOVE us some Richardson’s!!

Easter Sunday, we awoke and headed to church. After the service, our first stop was my aunt Teresa’s for the Ferguson side holiday. After a yummy yummy lunch, we headed out for the kids’ egg hung~

genius hiding spot dad!

..and they were off..

Cody, completely cheating, and calling the princess over to eggs!!

After the hunt, and some good family time bonding, we headed over to Matt’s parents house for the Bobo side holiday. After some visiting with his parents, the Funder5, Jerry, GG, Morgan & her boyfriend Derek, we had a late lunch, and geared up for our traditional game of NAKED {the funnest game EVER!} which the girls won!! :) Afterwards, we headed out for Clara’s hunt.

Sadly, it was getting late, so Matt & I headed home, just after 9. Today was absolutely beautiful outside, which only gives me the Summer Time Blues even more. Can’t wait for cookouts by the pool, and lots and lots of late nights!! Hope you and yours had a wonderful Easter holiday. So thankful to remember the true meaning of this holiday. He arose, we are forgiven! What a wonderful day to be a Christian!

Until Next Time..

Happy Spring!!

Amarillo by Morning..

2010-03-24T23:41:00.001-05:00

Ahh, Spring Break! Ugh, Spring Break! Which means, Ahh: loved the break, but Ugh: the PEOPLE! :) Thursday the 16th, Matt and I, along with Andy & Casey & the kids, Cody & Melanie & the kids, and Mel’s dad’s girlfriend’s daughter, Sunny, all headed out for a little snow skiing, courtesy of Red River, NM!! As I kid, my entire dad’s side of the family, always went snow skiing, so I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the lifts ever since. It’s been several years, since we’ve all gone, and since the kiddos are getting older, Cody & Andy, thought it’d be a great time to start up an ole’ tradition, and Matt and I decided to tag along. Matt’s never been skiing before, or even seen “real snow” for that matter, so he was actually excited about this trip.

We loaded up and headed out right after work that Thursday evening in hopes of making it to, Amarillo by Morning!! :)

Sunny & Addi

Mattie & Brennan

Cody & Mel (you can see Mel’s already looking forward to the 13+ hour roadtrip!)

A quick bite to eat in Denton, and a couple of pit stops later, and we arrived at our destination, got checked into our room for the night, and grabbed what few zzzzz’s we could get, to set out for the next day. Friday morning, was much of the same, but a more scenic drive. A couple of hours into it, we were already seeing the mountains in the distance and some snow on the ground, and that made everyone excited!

We arrived in Red River a little early, so that gave us all plenty of time to check-in to our condo, (the SAME condo we spent much of our childhood in)..{awww, memories}, enjoy some lunch, and get our first day of vaca started!!

First on the agenda, snowmobiling!! Always a favorite!

getting ready!!

On our snowmobiling excursion, they offered “free time”, which included sledding.. EVERYONE, except me and this one..

participated in the fun! I so wish I would have, what a wuss I am!! looked like a blast!

There were a couple of spills, and after about an hour, everyone was pretty worn out!

We had a fantastic time on the snowmobiles, got a little wind-burned, but were pumped to head to the ski shop and get fitted for our boots & skis!! That night we stayed in and ordered pizza, and were in bed by 9!! :)

The next morning, bright and early, we all headed out to the slopes for a FULL day of..ski school! :( Cody convinced me I needed it, seeing as I was at least 15 years and a good 100 pounds, since my last run down the mountain. I obliged, and attended with Matt & Mel.

Princess ready for Day One!

Mel & Cody

Sunny, boarding for the first time..

Ski. School. SUCKS. I knew how to wedge, I knew how to turn, I was getting better at stopping with skill, but if I had to side step ONE more time up that darn mountain, I was going to scream!! E.V.E.R.Y. bone in my body hurt by day’s end, what a work-out!! :)

That night no one could move, so we stayed in and had burgers, enjoyed alot of adult company after the kiddos went to bed, laughed for hours, and hit the sack around 11. The next morning, Matt and I dreaded getting out of bed. I remember thinking to myself numerous times that morning, “I know people do not really enjoy skiing. How is this fun?!” We decided to get going, and went out around 11, just in time to catch the gang getting the kids out of ski school for their lunch break.

the kiddos waiting to get back in to ski school..

Mattie and his favorite girl, Demi!

princess is soooo excited!! ;)

Matt and I bought a 1/2 day pass that afternoon, and set out on our own, to see if we could enjoy Day 2 a little better..

Mattie being the good Samaritan..ha!

Soon after lunch, came a BLIZARD, but we were all having WAY too much fun, to call it a day!!

Day 2 was a success! I know we ALL really enjoyed it, and looked forward to Day 3!

That evening, if we had to eat “in” one more time on vacation, I think my husband was going to lose it, so we all decided to hit up the local Mexican joint, Sundance, and it did NOT disappoint!!

kids..check!

Mattie & I..check!

The next day was all about skiing. Everyone was pumped, our mission.. to the top! A little different skiing experience this time around for Cody with kids!! :)

Cody had boarded the first two days, but traded in his board for ski’s the third day, and was ready to go..with a 5 & 3 year old!! :)

After a few practice rounds, we were on our way UP!!

yes, that’s a THREE year old, going to the TOP! :)

Everyone did SO good, I fell once the entire time, and I was standing still..go figure!! :) It was unbelievable watching Cody just pick up Addi and fly down a BLACK with her.. I can’t imagine what other skiers were thinking! Brennan rocked it out himself!! No help, by himself, all the way down. Demi & Talan stayed in ski school, but I have no doubt, they’ll be right there beside us next year.

After a long three days, we decided to call it a trip, and handed in our boots and skis!

That night, we visited Texas Red’s steakhouse, it’s a BIG deal in Red River, and my $30 filet, was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E! A burnt peice of dry charcoal!! :( After dinner, we packed up, and set in for our wee early morning drive the next day.

Tuesday began at 7am, and ended around 10pm, when we safely arrived back in The View!! It was a loooonnnnggg day of driving, and despite one incident of Cody BACKING INTO A BOAT at a gas station, the day was pretty uneventful. {did you hear me people, BACKED into a BOAT! Shattered the back window, put a hole in the back door of the expedition..sadly I didn’t get a picture, for fear of my LIFE..exciting times, exciting times}

What a fantastic, fun-filled, family bonding, memory lasting, spectacular good ole’ time. Matt LOVED snow skiing, and vows he’s trading in his golf clubs for a set of skis!! {yeah right!}

Our hopes are that this group..

can once again be reunited year after year with THIS group…

and the traditions we had way back when can live again!!

Until Next Time!! :)

No Surprise!!

2010-03-04T18:40:00.001-06:00

Talk about a blog slacker!! –Shameful, I know-

So.. rewinding a bit..Ya’ll really didn’t think I was just going to leave you with that one lousy pic of Small’s turning the big 3-0, did ya??!! Ya’ll KNOW I’m a better blogger than that!! So, the Saturday after her actual birthday, Ashley, Dylan, & I headed down to the big ole’ town of Waco!! Holly’s husband Jered and I, had previously planned a, as my blog title suggests, “No Surprise” get-together to celebrate Smalls’ monumental birth year, and the day was finally here! It took Ash and I right about three hours of glorious girl talk and belting out Beyonce’s Halo with Dylan, to arrive, and just in the knick of time to catch a quick dinner at Chuy’s with Kimmy, Beth, Addie & Allie!! {YAY!} Such a wonderful dinner later, and we rushed over to Holly’s to decorate and setup for the big event, while Holly and Jered were having dinner themselves.

The Arrival:

The Cakes:

The Birthday Girl!:

The Guests: Some of Holly’s oh so sweet Waco Gals, Nicki, Sally & Genny! Jered’s Parents, J-Pa & T-MaHolly’s Mom Belinda & AinsleyJered’s twin brother, Judd, & Ainsley Holly, Beth (and baby boy #2) Addie (and Allie) Me, Kimmy, & Ashley Dylan & Parker, after a long night, and longer day with NO naps!! :) **Do you see Parkers hand on Dylan’s leg?? How CUTE is that??!!**

Ash and I headed out just after 11, and arrived safely in The View a little after 2!! I think Holly had a wonderful evening with family & friends!! Here’s to our thirty’s girl!! How old are we?! :)

What else.. last weekend, Matt and I spent the weekend with his parents. On Friday, we headed over for game night with Mikki & Christian, and Jerry & GiGi; and on Saturday, we went to Dallas to visit an old friend of his parents, and hit up the PGA Golf Superstore (just what I wanted to do {ha!}) and the Apple store at NorthPark! After our stops, we ended with Saltgrass for dinner before heading home.

Speaking of Matt’s family..I think I mentioned for Christmas, Matt and I, had MJ (our wedding photographer) come out and do family photos as a Christmas present. We did it the day after Christmas, and it was bitterly cold, but I thought they turned out great! Here’s a few:

Next..

I can’t believe this next topic hasn’t even been addressed on the blog yet, but Monday was the season finale of the latest installment of:

The Bachelor!!

What a let-down?! Vienna, really Jake??!! The most disgusting immature, trashy, drunken, boobalicious, pick of all! Sooo disappointing, for this self-proclaimed “Good-Ole” boy from Texas!!

Keeping with all things reality..How about Idol this year??!! We’ve started with the top 24, and of those, here are my fave’s! ..few and far between!!

For the Girls:

Crystal Bowersox

Didi Benami

Katelyn Epperly

these are some that are growing on me, so they get smaller pics!! :)

Lilly Scott

Paige Miles

For the boys:

Andrew Garcia

Hottie Casey James

Lee Dewyze

..those growing on me..

Todrick Hall

Alex Lambert

Any of your favorites?? We’ll have to see how these fair in the next coming weeks. Well, looks like that’s about it for now folks!

Until Next Time!!

Let It Snow – Let It Snow – Let It Snow

2010-02-17T22:44:00.001-06:00

My husband keeps reminding me that I have a blog, so I felt the need to update finally, AND, to show you all, the INCREDIBLE snow pictures East Texas got!!! I honestly cant remember the last time it snowed this much around here.. Everyone keeps saying, “Oh back in the 80’s..” I do remember one NYE while in College, we got a pretty good snow, but NOTHING like last weeks!! It began last Thursday morning, Feb 11th. I usually check my email and facebook from my iphone, before even getting out of the bed in the mornings, (I know!) and on facebook, people were saying, “It’s Snowing, It’s Snowing”..and I thought, yea right, so I got up and looked outside, only to find this..

SNOW!! I couldn’t believe it, and I was in NO way prepared for what we eventually got!! I proceeded on to work that morning, and loved every second of watching it continue to snow ALL. DAY. LONG.

After work, I went to pick up Addi from school, and we had so much fun, watching it snow together!!

That night, the snow began to die down a little, but the meteorologist had promised more to come overnight.

And, in true “Mark said it would” form, we awoke to THIS:

HOLY MOLY, Look at all that SNOW!!!

This was at 6:45am, so you know it had to be good, for me to be up that early!! I got up with Matt as he contemplated on whether or not to drive on to work..

This is what happened when he attempted to use his windshield wipers to get the snow off..

Do you see how deep that snow is?!?

Around 10ish, I decided to head on in to work, and my gosh, what an absolute beauuuutiful drive it was! I felt like I was in Colorado for sure!! The prettiest thing God created..amazing!

at work:

Here’s a few I snagged from Mikki, from over at their house! {Man, what I would have given to be able to play in it that day, instead of having to WORK!}

sooo pretty!!

..and finally, the kids snowman they were working on..

..and one from MeeMaw & PawPaw’s!!

looks like it came straight out of a magazine, huh?? :)

Sadly, that afternoon, most of the snow began to melt and by the next afternoon, all that was left was snowless snowman’s standing in the grass. That night, Matt and I went over to Philip & Ashley’s, and so enjoyed ourselves hanging out and eating some pizza king! The next day, Valentine’s Day, Matt and I did… absolutely nothing! {ha!} We laid in bed until 6 or so, before heading to Casa Ole’ for dinner..yes, Casa Ole’. for. dinner. on. Valentine’s Day. :) Matt was embarrassed to take me, at the thought of what people would think of him, for taking me to Casa Ole’ for Valentine’s day! Despite the uneventful “holiday”, we had a wonderful day, and afterall, isn’t that what Valentine’s is all about?!

All of that leads us to today.. Feb. 17th, which happens to be my bestie’s 30th BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy HAPPY Birthday Smalls!! I hope you had the bestest day!! :)

Until Next Time!!

In My Next Thirty Years..

2010-01-31T19:51:00.001-06:00

Yep, that’s right, I’m 30. The Big 3-0!! My actual birthday was Thursday the 21st, and after work, Matt and I, along with my dad and Donna, and Melanie and Brennan left for Tyler to meet Cody, my mom, and Matt’s parents @ Bernard’s, one of my favorite local restaurants. We all enjoyed a yummy dinner, and finished it off with a cookie cake and marble slab’s cheesecake ice cream, my FAVORITE!! {thanks mom!}

Brennan, trying to blow out some of my “trick” candles!!

Big Poppa!

Poppa paid for Matt and I’s dinner, after telling me, it was THE most expensive meal he had paid for in 55 years!! He’s 55, ha :)

The next night, Matt and I went over to Ginger and Seane’s to FINALLY spend some time with them and baby Reese! Like previously mentioned, I had been SO sick, and I couldn’t go see Reese for weeks, so we took full advantage of lost time while we were there! Here’s a few pics I was able to snag of this sweet, tiny, precious, baby girl!! :)

While we were there, Seane mentioned how they hadn’t been out to eat, just them, since Reese was born, and that they’d like to go to Papacita’s the following night, and asked if we’d like to go too. Well of course we said yes, and I didn’t think much more about it, until we got in the car to leave that night. As we were driving home, I mentioned to Matt, “I’m surprised they want to go to Papacita’s, they usually go to Posado’s” .. little did I know then! :)

The next day, Matt went to play golf, and I caught up on my Tivo. Once he got home, he kept continuously asking me about dinner with The Richardson’s. “Are we going, You need to go get ready. I told Seane we were going!” The whole thing didn’t seem much like Matt, so I began to wonder. Before I got in the the shower, I caught him sneaking on the phone.. and thought again, Hmmm.. Also, earlier in the week, on my actual birth day, while eating lunch with Mel, Ashley called Mel, to which Mel looked at her phone, and read the number aloud..and I said, that’s Ash. Hmmm.. So I played along, hopped in the shower, and we were on our way. We arrived to Papacita’s around 7ish, and I quickly began to scan the parking lot. And.. there it was, PawPaw’s Surburban..with SMU license plates! ;) We walked up stairs with Ginger and Seane, and arrived at my “Semi-Surprise” Party!! :)

I was pretty surprised to find fifty of my nearest and dearest, there to celebrate ME!! :) I just want to take a second now, and tell everyone that worked SO hard putting this party together, how much it’s means, and how much I appreciate everything yall did for me!! I felt loved!

Chris, Donna, Bob & Nini

Becky & Mike

Me, Ash & Kendrah

My Sweet LC even made the trip up, and it meant SO much to have her there!!

Smalls & Lauren

Mel & Gin

The Funder 5, doing their “mean faces” ha! :)

Me, Holly, Lauren, & Ashley

My Cake!!

Who is he looking at??!!

If you look close at this pic of Addi & I, you can see an old cheerleading pic of me on the table. Each table had various pics of me through the years, as well as “30 Reasons We love Candy”..here’s a couple of the pics, “through the years”..

Mattie & I.. WOW!

Smalls & I

..and here’s the 30 List!!..

1. She's simply loveable -- a loyal friend whose love never seems to wear out.
2. She takes after her father so much.
3. Always gives us a reason for a good laugh when we're together, even if it's not on purpose.
4. She is a blessing to our family.
5. Because she is honest, trustworthy, and more often than not, speaks from her heart rather than just a quick-witted response.
6. She always makes all occasions special for us!
7. We are her babies because CaCa always tells us we are!
8. She can put up with Matt! AND she always wants to win when we play NAKED!!
9. She can even love the loser Cowgirls!
10. Because she gave me a chance at our friendship.
11. She can always either make me laugh, or send me into a state of disbelief at what just came out of her mouth -- "I mean seriously", "C'mon people", U love ME!"
12. Because she loves ME so much!
13. She makes me laugh without even trying.
14. She is my bestie!
15. Her facial expressions, especially the one where her bottom lip goes far left and down, teeth clenched, and eyes wide and looking down.
16. Because she is a 49ers fan!
17. She's been there, right by my side, for every monumental occasion in my life!
18. She is a great aunt!
19. Because if you are lucky enough to be a friend, it will be permanent.
20. CaCa plays with me and gives fun presents!
21. Always makes me laugh, usually without even trying.
22. She's fun to be around -- always funny and good-natured.
23. Because she is like a live action, reality tv show on ice all the time. Very entertaining and way too much drama.
24. She's like another granddaughter to us.
25. She kept her maiden name so law enforcement officials would know she was a sheriff's daughter.
26. There is no one else quite like her!
27. She is like an aunt to my babies.
28. No matter how long the time or how far the distance, it's always like we just talked yesterday.
29. I don't have to read trashy magazines to know what's going on with celebs -- just read her blog.
30. She is my baby girl.

How sweet is that??!! :) My BFF Holly, also made me a Shutterfly book, and dedicated pages for family and friends to go on and make a special page of their own to me.. I LOVED the idea, and canNOT wait to receive it!! Thanks Again folks, you’re the best!! :)

So here’s to my next thirty years.. hope this set is just as good to me as the previous ones!

Until Next Time!! :)

I’ll tell you my dirty little secret..

2010-01-10T16:32:00.001-06:00

..and if you haven’t heard, it’s a juicy one!! ;) Fellow Bloggers, this post’s for you!! With a new year upon us, I felt it my duty, to let all of you in on a little secret, I’ve enjoyed for much of last year. It’s called Windows Live Writer, and it will change the way you blog FOREVER!! No more waiting FOREVER to upload photos, No more rearranging your text and photos, this program does it all! Upload pics in seconds, add neat borders, edit your pics, create photo albums, the possibilities are endless!

DON’T let your blog fall by the waste side this year, no more excuses!! Simplify your blogging life, and download Windows Live Writer Now!! Enjoy!!

Happy Blogging!

Until Next Time!! :)