Kelly B's Boys

Product of the week

2012-02-02T13:24:00.003-06:00

I am linking up with Aly and Tiffanie again for Product of the Week. This is more of my newest FAVS!!! I have always worn some type of makeup primer, I've tried Smashbox, Arbonne, etc. I recently watched a makeup tutorial on YouTube and this was one of her favorite products and I decided to give it a try. I picked it up at Sephora and it is GREAT!!! It is the Hourglass Veil, mineral primer.

It is* SPF 15

*oil free

*paraben free

*fragrance free

*sulfate free

*water resistant, etc.

I love it because it feel great going on, the texture is not like a gel like most primers. It doesn't feel heavy. Best of all it works fabulously!! I use to use a separate eye primer as well and now I just swipe this over my lids and my eye shadow and liner last all day, that NEVER happens. I think is around $50, not bad for a primer. I LURVE it!!! If you are in the market for a new primer give it a try!!

Maniac Monday

2012-01-30T17:55:00.003-06:00

WHEW!! Today has been just one MESS after the other!!! Seriously, I was so ready to get to bed tonight and start a new day. It all started at nap time. I put Jack down and he immediately got up and started playing in the playroom. I put him back in his room and told him to take his nap, and then we would play. I heard a little commotion in his room, but he didn't come out, so I just let him play in there until he fell asleep.

When I went in to wake him up to go get Barrett, the smell hit me. Sorry this will be SO gross, so stop here if needed........... POO!! We have been in the potty training mode for a while now, and Jack has proved much more difficult than Barrett was. Barrett was potty trained before he was three, Jack on the other hand is NOT. We are trying, it's just not fully happening. So.....like I was saying, the smell hit me and then I saw the dirty pull up and wipes everywhere!!! AHHHH!!! I then see the mess ground into my carpet. Mind you, we had to leave to go pick up Barrett and I was already running late. I cleaned Jack up and then put stain remover on the carpet and left! UGH! I won't gross you out with the rest of the story, but you can see how that might ruin your day.

When we got home from school the boys were being so good playing outside together. I checked on them a few times and they were digging in the dirt pile. All of the sudden Barrett blows in the back door to come inside like he was in trouble. Next....my doorbell rings and it's my neighbor handing me a lighter, telling me there was smoke coming from the backyard and I should probably check it out. LOVELY!!!! I told Barrett to head to his room and wait on my return!! I went outside to assess the damage and found a very small campfire. I mean seriously?!? He had put it out, it was literally barely smoking, but STILL!!! Not to mention he had done it correctly, dug a hole in his dirt area and contained it so to speak. I added some more dirt to put it out fully. Here is the dead fire................

I had a discussion with him about the reasons this was wrong, and the reasons we can't burn here like we do at Rough Creek. He was totally in shock that he was in trouble. My neighbors were CLEARLY disturbed by the situation, I can understand, but our children are just raised different than most. Most 7 year olds wouldn't know how to safely build a fire (I say that lightly, as I am aware safe, fire and 7 year olds don't belong together), but really he can handle more "outdoorsy" situations better than most children his age. Needless to say there will be NO more fires in our backyard. Anyhoo, one more MESS for the day.

Next I found Jack Jumping from coffee table to couch to couch!!! I mean really, I didn't think 8:00 would ever come!!! At least he was being safe also, wearing his helmet and all.

Like I said MANIACS!!!!

Don't mess with my BOYS

2012-01-30T09:42:00.004-06:00

The boys were SUPER excited to try out the new automatic 22 gun that Ryan brought home not to long ago. (I won't lie....I was to) So we spent the weekend at Rough Creek enjoying the beautiful weather and shooting.

Jack was a little hesitant about the gun.....at first. But he soon warmed up and was shooting also.

This boy LOVES him some guns!! He though he was really something with this gun.

Jack couldn't find his gun muffs, but he did find another form of protection. HA!!We all had a great time shooting the new gun. It was a beautiful weekend at the cabin. We also enjoyed watching the Winter X games. Seriously those athletes are amazing!! I just can't imagine the worry their family and friends endure, AHHH!!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

P.S. I found this gun in pink.....and Ryan, you need to get on that!!

Product of the week

2012-01-26T16:33:00.005-06:00

Hey Everyone! Today I am linking up with my friend Tiffanie for a product of the week post. I have had this product for a few years now, but never talked about it on my blog. This is the Contigo Autoseal travel mug. This is seriously THE best mug ever!! I use it everyday!!! Why is it so great you ask?? Well......It keeps your beverage hot FORever!!! You do have to press a button on the back to drink from it, but it's really not weird or uncomfortable. Best of all it does NOT leak or spill!!!

You can buy this baby at Tarjay or online at QVC. Seriously I love this thing!! Head over to Tiffanie's blog to see all the other great finds! Have a great Thursday!!

January iPhone catch up

2012-01-25T13:56:00.007-06:00

Well guys.....It's January 25th and I am just going to play catch up with my iPhone for this month I guess. I hate getting behind like this, I always tell myself I won't let it happen, but then life happens and ya know!! So here is what we have been up to this month through phone pics and maybe a few from the camera, HA!!

After the first basketball game from the previous post we headed to Rough Creek with a fun surprise for the boys...New Rangers!! Ryan bought an electric ranger or Ranger EV and a regular Ranger. They are both BRIGHT blue, Lindale blue! The boys love the EV ranger it is quiet and easy for them to drive! Boys and their toys!
The gate at Rough Creek is now FULLY finished, YEA!! I can pull up and it opens for me! THAT is a wonderful thing!!
Barrett couldn't wait to take me on a ride on the new EV ranger and "teach" me how to drive it!
When we left RC on Sunday we headed to Tyler for our buddy Logan's 4th birthday at Chuckie Cheese. The boys had a ball!!!! Chelsey did a great job on his party, it was Angry Birds theme, I had some more pics but they have somehow disappeared from my phone :( The cake was SO cute!! Happy bday Logie!!
Just a cute pic of my boys! (Who can remember when it was at this point, HA)
We had a fun girls night on Jan. 11th for Chelsey's birthday! The night ALMOST didn't happen. Julie and I were waiting at Posado's for Chelsey and her sister Ashten and I got a text from Chelsey that she was on her way. The next text I got from her was "Kelly, I just had a wreck!" AHHHH!! Thankfully she was ok, her car on the other hand was NOT, she totaled it!!! The birthday girl showed up, and needless to say we had some LARGE margaritas!!!! Happy Bday Chelsey!!
Jack and I attended "Muffins with Mom" at his MDO. Love special time with my sweet baby boy!!
Daddy brought home another fun ~~toy~~ GUN. Yes....this is real gun and not a toy, my boys don't quite grasp the difference. Fun times.... if your a boy I guess:)

The weekend of Jan. 13th we were back at Rough Creek and SuSu and Big B came to spend the weekend with us! It was great to see them, we watched some football and had some good times by the fire. The boys were busy "working" as usual!!

My Mom and I had planned on going to Dallas on Monday since they boys were out of school and could hang at RC with Ryan and Big B. We were sitting there Sunday afternoon and I said Mom we should have gone and spent the night in Dallas. She said, "Let's GO!" So we loaded up and headed there! It was so fun to have a girls night with Mom, we stayed at Hotel Zaza and had dinner at Truluck's. (sound familiar, it is our favorite) On Monday we shopped and we both got a little something from the Louis Vuitton store, it was a great day!! It would have been perfect if Christie had been with us, but she does have a new baby and JUST moved in to her new house, so I'll let her slide!

This past weekend on Friday night we decided to head over to the Country Tavern with some friends, the Medders and the Johnsons. We had 6 crazy boys who had a great time dancing to the jukebox and eating BBQ ribs!!

After dinner all but 1 came home to spend the night at our house, it was a FUN night!! The boys were packed in the playroom and had SO much fun!! We had some donuts and piggies the next morning and then headed to our basketball games.
After basketball my SWEET husband went to work at the ballpark, he was taking down the old scoreboards so we can install NEW ones that are desperately needed!!! I LOVE that I have such a hardworking, handy & giving husband!!
He so scares me sometimes!
The boys have been all about some dress up lately, meet the OUTLAWS!
This happy boy on his new bike, complete with helmet and the cardboard package it came in. So silly!!
My latest obsession/time suck has been makeup tutorials on YouTube. I have become OBsessed!! That could be why my blog has been suffering!!! I have gotten some great tips and makeup suggestions from them. Now that I am as caught up on my blog as I'm gonna be, maybe I can share some of my new tips and products. I am going to do my best to stay caught up on here!! That has been our month so far.....hope y'alls has been great!!!

Barrett's first Basketball Game

2012-01-25T12:50:00.005-06:00

This year Barrett decided he wanted to play upwards basketball. I was glad he chose to play, this was our first time playing b-ball. A couple of weekends ago he had his first game!

Practicing before the game.

Prayer before the game.

Ready to play!! Go Aggies!!

The first game was pretty funny, a lot of confused little boys running around! HA! I know they will get better in time, and Barrett had FUN and that's what it's all about!!

New Years 2012 at the Beach!

2012-01-25T12:44:00.002-06:00

Well....I am FINALLY posting our NY for 2012. I can't even begin to describe how I feel getting this behind, but TERRIBLE pretty much sums it up!!!!!!! So anyhoo, here was our last week of Christmas break and New Year's.

My parents recently bought a new beach house after selling our last one a couple of years ago. I think that saying we were all excited to be back a the beach is a HUGE understatement!! The new house is front row on the beach in our same neighborhood and we are just THRILLED to be back at the beach!!

This was my first morning sunrise....gorgeous!!!!!

We had a couple of nights with my parents in the new place before they headed to Palm Springs for a wedding. Then we had some friends and family come down to stay with us to celebrate the New Year.

I caught this sweet moment between two of my sweet boys on the deck.

Jack and I enjoying a day on the beach. It was cold and windy, but beautiful!!
B-doodle the master shell hunter!!
Our friends the Medders arrived on Friday, and we were so glad to have them! All the littles before dinner at the Stingeree!!

Yummy seafood and Stingaritas!!

The boys with their shell finds!!

Sand Angels?!?

The fog on New Year's eve day was SO terrible! It didn't seem to bother these boys, they had a ball driving the cart, playing in the sand and even getting in the frigid water!!

Buddies!! Poor Jack was conked out napping, he missed some fun.

Kiddie firework time, my boys love those little poppers that make a huge mess!! UGH!! They had fun doing all the "kiddie fireworks".

I love this idea, I saw it on Pintrest and luckily I was at the beach and able to do it!! Farewell 2011, Hello 2012!

Next up was the real show! It was time to PARTY!!

Our beach bonfire! The boys just love doing these!!

Aaron and Ryan, relaxing by the fire.

They New Year's Queens!!

Happy New Year's from the Hopson family!!!

We had such a great time at the beach house!! It was a great week and I SO did NOT want to come home and go back to reality!! Summer where are you?!?

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-12T17:06:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Hopsons!! We were very happy to wake up at home on Christmas day to see that Santa was very good to two little boys at our house. My sleepy heads ready to go look at their presents!

The note that Santa left the boys.....

Barrett checking out the goods.....

I think Jack was still half asleep......

The best Christmas gifts ever!!!!

My boys, the loves of my life.......
~~Chef~~ Cowboy/Chef Jack!

Guns were a big thing this year, well really every year in our house.

I even got in on the gun action, Ryan got my pink gun! Thanks Babe!! (thanks Jamie for the idea)

I admit, I was a little nervous about it just being "our" little family on Christmas Day. This was the first time we haven't been ALL together with my fam. Ryan and I just really wanted our boys to wake up at OUR house on Christmas morning and since all the other family was in Lufkin this year, that's just how it had to be. It wasn't as bad as I thought, it's just really hard for me to change, I like the tradition of things. I just had to look at it like we are making new traditions. We had our yummy Christmas breakfast and just enjoyed the day together!

We had loads of fun watching to boys with their toys, and we may or may not have stayed in our pj's ALL day!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-11T11:50:00.007-06:00

Christmas Eve we spent in Lufkin at my parents house and my Aunt Kathy & Uncle Jim's house. It was truly the "Griswold's" in Lufkin, because Ryan and I took the motorhome for us to stay in. Since Christie and her fam have been living with my parents while they build their house it was to crowded for us to stay there to. I was laughing so hard at this BIG HONKIN' motorhome parked in the country club parking lot, HA!!!! I BEGGED Ryan to let me take his picture out front like Cousin Eddy. It worked out well though, my parents house is just right down the street and let's face it we are the traveling family!

We all met at my parents house to open gifts with the kiddos. We usually do this Christmas morning, but since we were going back to Lindale Christmas eve night we had to do it then. Here is our little family.....

Big B and SuSu with their grandbabies, so cute! THE best grandparents and parents EVA!!

The Big Kids....

The kids were super excited for present time, although you couldn't tell it from this face. That's my Jack!

For dinner we headed down the street to Kathy and Jim's house. The kids were so excited to see this HUGE dancing Santa. They danced around with him ALL night!! We had a great dinner and a great time visiting with the family. After dinner the kids had some more gifst to open. The highlight of the evening had to be Julie's cat that was hiding under the tree attacking everyone who walked by or tried to pick up a gift for under the tree!! It was Hi-larious I tell ya!!

After dinner we had some other visitors, our cousins Jake & Cate came down to play!! What a great looking group of kiddos!!

When the weather started getting bad, Ryan and I decided that we should head home. We still had a LONG night ahead, HA!! It was a great Christmas Eve with family and friends!!

Christmas at Nana & PawPaw's

2012-01-11T11:14:00.005-06:00

On December 23rd we had Christmas at Nana and PawPaw's house. Ryan and I picked up one of our favorite Mexican food stops "Del Rio". We had enough for an army, but it was a good thing we had a FULL house!! The crowd included Nana, PawPaw and Kolby, My little family, Dori, Eric, and their SIX boys, and Grandma Joan & Aunt Caryn.

I was terrible with the camera for some reason that night, but here are a few snapshots of the madness!!

All of the CRAZY boys opening their gifts!!

Nana and PawPaw got all the big boys airsoft guns complete with face masks! They were all SO excited! Jack got some spurs and "cowboy gwobes" aka, gloves. HA!! He also got a face mask and toy gun. The boys immediately ran outside to shot their guns!

After some play time we decided to load up and look at Christmas lights. We ended up going to a local church that had a light show to music. It was pretty neat!! It was so great to get together with the family and celebrate the season.

Baking Day

2012-01-10T06:24:00.004-06:00

During the first week of Christmas break we decided it was time to make our gingerbread house. It was also the day that I made The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls for neighborhood Christmas treats. It was a big messy baking day in our house!

Yep.....that would be the terrible knot finally getting ~~worse~~ better. Jack had more fun eating the candy. We were lucky we had something to decorate with!

Hard at work!
Handsome little chefs.....

The finished product! Not bad boys!!

For the past few years I have made the neighbors The Pioneer Woman's fabulous Cinnamon Rolls. They are SO, SO yummy!! They are quite messy to undertake, but the end result is well worth it!

Ready for delivery! It was a great day with my little men.

Christmas Party, Knothead & Deer

2012-01-09T14:00:00.009-06:00

December 16th was the last day of school before Christmas Break and it was an eventful day! I had Anna{our sitter/B.F.F} come over to keep Jack while I went to the school for the party.

My sweet boy and I....he looks positively thrilled, huh??

The boys of the class, and Barrett running to try and get it in, procrastinator!!

Barrett making his "Christmas tree" I thought these would be a fun project. They were fun but SO very messy!!

Busy making trees!!

Barrett and his awesome teacher Mrs. Cantrell!!

Anna text me during the party, but I didn't get it until I left. The message scared the daylights out of me!! She said that Jack had fallen off of the island and hit his head on the tile. He had a huge knot, but seemed to be ok. Barrett and I were leaving the school when I got the text, so I ~~sped~~ rushed home!! His head FREAKED me out!!! It was HUGE!! He was asleep and I woke him up to look and check him out. His eyes were fine and since he didn't get sick or pass out, I didn't take him to the Doctor.

His head seemed to be going down a little. I was busy getting Barrett packed to go hunting with Ryan and I heard him start screaming and crying. I walked in to see his knot turning reddish-blue and swelling up quickly. Apparently the boys were "playing" and he fell or something. I didn't know if he hit his head again but it was really scaring me so I rushed to the Dr. office. They got us right in, looked him over and said he would be fine. Just a crazy worried Mom. SO glad he was Ok, better safe than sorry!! Here are some pics of the "knothead" and this believe it or not, were after it was better!!

Poor baby!!!

Since Barrett and Ryan were hunting, Jack and I decided to meet my parents at Rough Creek for the weekend. We had a very relaxing time. We watched some football by the fire and just enjoyed little Jack.
Jack and I did a little nature walk exploring, we found lots of animal tracks. How cute are these raccoon hand prints.

Ryan and Barrett were not having the best weather in North Texas which in turn makes for a bad hunt. They didn't see much the first day or two, and then what they did see was way to far for Barrett to shoot. Finally on Sunday, I got a call that Barrett shot his first deer!!!!! I was so excited for him, but a little sad that I wasn't there with him.

Such a big boy!! He shot this doe at 100 yards, made a great shot!! Way to go B!!!!!
On Monday morning I got another call, it was the sweetest little voice that said, "Mom, I did it again!" I couldn't believe it, another deer and it was a buck! He said "Mom, I killed a 7 point and I'm 7 years old!" How cute!!! He killed this one at about 110 yards and made another perfect shot! I couldn't be more happy for him!!!

So proud of my B-man!!! We were also SO happy that it was Christmas holidays!!!

Polar Express Day

2011-12-21T09:59:00.002-06:00

Thursday the 15th was Polar Express day at Barrett's school, they got to wear their P.J.'s and watch the movie. I was a little worried to send my BIG boy in smocked pajama's, but hey that's just who I am. Thankfully, Barrett didn't seem to care. {I have been lucky with him, he doesn't say to much about the clothes I lay out} YET!!!!

Jack had to jump in for a picture too. NOW.....He on the other hand must be wearing a cowboy hat and boots at ALL times. Yep! Fun times!!

Weekend in Dallas

2011-12-21T09:57:00.012-06:00

On December 9th we loaded up in the motorhome and headed to Dallas for a fun filled day! Every year for the past 4 years or so we have gone to the Gaylord Texan to see ICE. We almost decided not to go this year, just because things have been so busy during the holidays, but the boys REALLY wanted to go. We invited Ryan's sister Dori, Eric, and her boys to come with us. Our first stop of the day was Bass Pro shop to have the boys picture with Santa and do some of the activities there.

Bass Pro had some great decorations......I NEED this tree for Rough Creek!!!!!!!!

Here are the boys with Santa, Barrett looks silly and Jack well, not amused! Thank goodness we got there early for that, some people that got there after us were not going to have their pics taken until 6:00 that evening!!! Crazy! We only waited about 30 minutes, Thankfully!!

Next we moved on to the carousel of Santa's reindeer. It was so cute and the boys loved it!

Sweet Brothers!!!

Boys and toys that they will NOT be given :)

Next was lunch at one of our Fav's, P.F. Chang's!!! Yummy fun with Chopsticks!

We met up with our cousins and were ready for ICE, Shrek the Halls!! All of our BOYS!!!!

Our family waiting for ICE.

The main event......

The boys had SO much fun on the ice slides, they were just REALLY cold!! Barrett ended up stuck and had to be pushed down, HAHA!

After the awesome ICE exhibit we were on to the Kung Fu Panda snow tubing. I was excited about this, I won't lie. We ALL headed up to try the snow hill out. Jack was SO mad because he wanted to ride by himself but he was to small :( Barrett on the other hand, wouldn't go down with out one of us with him. HA, kids are so funny!!

Daddy and Jack racing down!!

Barrett and Aunt Dori zipping down the hill, SO fun!!

We had so much fun but the Gaylord was very, very crowded. We looked around the hotel for a few minutes and decided the crowds were to much. We left and headed out to have some dinner at Uncle Julio's. I knew there would be a wait, on a Friday in Dallas, but 2HOURS?? REALLY?!? We had 6 hungry, rowdy boys with us, yeah just imagine that please! We endured and waited outside by the fire while the boys played and it wasn't terrible. Our dinner was yummy and we had such fun catching up with Dori and Eric!!

It was a was a great day full of fun and family!!! So glad we kept the tradition alive!!

CSE Staff Christmas Party

2011-12-21T09:56:00.003-06:00

The beginning of December was SO super busy(one of the reasons I am SO behind on the blog)! My friend Leslie, generously hosted our CSE staff Christmas party and I was honored that she asked me to help her. Leslie's house was beautiful as always, and we had a HUGE spread for the teachers and staff.

Dr. Neal, the fearless leader! Love her to pieces, she is one of the sweetest people ever!!! Such a blessing. She is giving the teachers their instructions for their "project".

The teacher were divided into groups and had to dress up with their given supplies and make up a song. I have to say they were very creative and funny!

The staff ate, drank and had a GREAT time! We are so blessed to have such a great group of teacher and staff. I was HAPPY to serve them and be able to say THANKS for all that they do!

Dr. Neal had a cute little thank you gift for Leslie and I.

Merry Christmas CSE staff!!!

Skippy and his Games

2011-12-21T09:56:00.002-06:00

Our Elf, Skippy made his annual appearance the first of December. He has since been up to a lot of mischief and even had a health scare when the Jack threw him off of HIS backhoe! Here are a few places Skippy was found this Christmas season.

Riding a backhoe, even if it ended unfortunately!

Fishing!!
Turning the toilet water green!
Making snow angels in the flour!
We enjoyed our special Christmas visitor, see ya next year Skippy!!

Barrett's Christmas Program

2011-12-10T10:03:00.001-06:00

On December 6th Barrett had his school Christmas program, "A Holly Jolly Christmas". Here are my boys before heading to the program.

We were so excited to have Big B and SuSu with us for the evening, they came to see B's program. I had asked Barrett earlier in the week what songs he was singing in the program and he couldn't remember?? That is never a good sign, HA!

Here is my my little songbird before the program, talking as usual!!

Barrett was SO excited that HE got to hold the bells during Jingle Bells. Two kids from each class were chosen to do it. I was so worried he was going to BONK the kids in front of him with the bells!!!

The program was very cute, our teachers did a great job!! After the program we headed to Posados for a yummy dinner. It was a great night!!

Reindeer Shirts at School

2011-12-09T13:45:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday I headed to Barrett's school for a fun project!! I brought lunch and ate with him before we got started.

The teachers had a fun reindeer t -shirt planned.

We had a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed it! I was only a little covered in paint:) We made a lot of little reindeer shirts and a few messes, but it was worth it!

I took Barrett home early with me, which he loved. We then went to pick up Jack from MDO, he was so excited to see B come in to get him!

Yes, Jack wore his hat ALL day! Daddy dressed him obviously!! It was a busy day! I am so blessed to be able to stay home and do things like this for my boys!

Raccoon fights....in my house

2011-12-09T13:26:00.001-06:00

My silly boys were in quite a mood bright & early on Monday morning. They decided to start the day of with raccoon fights?!?!Really?!?! I might add this took place before I had even had my coffee!

Yes, raccoon fighting. Apparently, it's a great way to start your week!

Fun times Friday

2011-12-09T13:20:00.001-06:00

Last weekend Ryan & Barrett were hunting again, Jack & I opted to stay home. We may have been home, but Jack provided plenty of entertainment!

Yep! That happened! Just a boring Friday evening at home. Never dull!!

Canton Thursday...again!

2011-12-09T13:07:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday Leslie, Jennifer & I headed to Canton first Monday...again!! We always have such fun shopping and visiting. It was a gorgeous day, a little cool but I'm not complaining!! We shopped and had our usual yummy lunch of baked potatoes and pie (don't judge):)!!

While at one of our favorite stores, {Brassy Blueberries} a girl approached me. She told me she didn't want to sound like a stalker, but she read my blog & wanted to say HI. I was so flattered, that was the first time I have had that happen!! Haha! Famous in a small town:). It was so nice to meet a sweet reader!!

Another fun day with great girls!!!

A Meaningful Christmas

2011-12-08T05:25:00.012-06:00

Last week my sweet friend Leslie organized an ornament party for a "Meaningful Christmas". It is a great way to remember the REAL reason for the season, you get 24 people to make an ornament that goes with a verse for Advent. Leslie did such a great job my ornament was day 20 for "The Vine", I would post a picture but it really was nothing special (not surprising with my crafting skills)!! Leslie's house on the other hand was fabulous, I would expect nothing less!!

Leslie, the fabulous hostess and I.

This is the table of ornaments. Each girl made 24 of the same ornament, so that way we each had 24, a different one for each day and verse.

Leslie giving us a great example of the fullness of every ones lives and how God should come first and then there will be room for everything else to fall into place!

Sweet Friends!!

Leslie had a box for us to put our ornament in and take home. She did a wonderful job with the party! The food was so yummy and the fellowship was so much fun!! The boys were so excited about starting the ornament tradition. Thanks Leslie for a wonderful night, I feel so blessed to have you in my life!!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

2011-11-30T09:35:00.006-06:00

Our Thanksgiving Day started out on a foggy note. That however didn't stop Barrett from getting up ~~bright~~ foggy and early, to shoot his gun. No, he wasn't shooting turkey, just some diet coke cans.

Ryan and I were so excited to host all of our families for the first Thanksgiving at Rough Creek!
Our little turkeys!!

Our family.....SO much to be thankful for!!!!

We had a total of 26 people at our dinner so we had to eat in shifts, ha!! First up were the kiddos. We decided to put the kiddos outside, less mess!!!!

It's more fun at the kids table!!

The "Barrett" girls!!

Some of the Thanksgiving guests, the other kids table ;)

It was a great day of fellowship and family. We enjoyed having the Barrett, Hopson, Lair, and Todd families. I think the first turkey day at Rough Creek was a success and we look forward to many more!! The boys ALL loaded up for a ride before we all headed our separate ways.

My boys and Kolby headed to North Texas for some hunting. I decided against hunting and went to Lufkin with my MIL and SIL for some black Friday shopping. Last year was my first experience doing it. I didn't really buy much, but I had fun spending time with Dori and Teresa. After studying all the ads we were ready to shop. We left the house at 8:45 pm on Thursday, our first stop was Walmart. There are really NO WORDS!! If you haven't ever experienced Black Friday, well frankly your missing out on some pretty hilarious behavior!!!

Yes, this would be ADULT people riding in buggies. I told you NO WORDS!!!!!!

We got some good deals at Walmart, we each got 40" T.Vs for cheap!! I also got a few toys checked off the list! After Walmart we headed to Belk to wait in line. Teresa and Dori read that the first 250 people to get in Belk when it opened at 3 a.m. would get gift cards worth anywhere from $5 to one with $1000. I was skeptical to say the least. I didn't really need anything in Belk so the thought of waiting outside, in line, in the cold was less than desirable. We got in line at 1 a.m. We did have fun eating Whataburger and talking with the girls around us. We were all just hoping to get a card PERIOD!! As the time grew closer to opening, people were trying to cut in line and sneak in. Everyone in line was getting antsy!! I was afraid of being trampled all for a $5 dollar gift card, AHHHHH!!!!!! So finally the time came and we were let inside to shop. Teresa and Dori made there way in, I seriously just held on to Teresa's purse strap and followed. Thankfully we all got gift cards!!! We all scratched them off, Teresa got $10, Dori got $5, and when I scratched mine off I got $100!!! I was excited and said WOO HOO, I got $100!!! Some girl heard me and asked what I said. I told her I got $100 and she explained to me that there were 3 cards with $100 on them, but one of those was actually the $1000 and I had to take it to a register to have it checked. I somehow in all the craziness outside missed that part of the bullhorn speech, ha!! Teresa and Dori were freaking out, I was like, Y'all I did not win it, I'm sure!!!!! So I headed up to the register and people were following me so they could watch and see if I won, it was so hilarious!! The cashier took my card and slid it through and low and behold......... I WON the $1000!!!!! I couldn't believe it!! So funny!!! It made the whole Black Friday craziness worth while!!

After Belk we were worn OUT. We headed home to sleep for a bit! Later that day Jack and I headed over to visit Mary Michael and Mille at SuSu's house. Blurry picture, but SuSu with the kiddos!!

The boys were having a blast hunting in North Texas, but could have done without the 30 MPH winds. Barrett at one point asked Ryan if the stand was going to blow over!! Barrett has been shooting his BB gun, and shot gun for a while. He had been apprehensive about shooting his rifle, this weekend he finally practiced shooting with it. This was his first 2 shots, not bad. Takes after his Mommy!!!!
Kolby shot a 9 point, his first buck! Great deer Kolby!!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break, now it's time to get those decorations out!!! YEA for Christmas time!!!

Wrap up

2011-11-30T09:33:00.003-06:00

This post covers our short week before Thanksgiving. The boys both had Thanksgiving feasts at school on Tuesday, here are my little Indians.

Jack LOVED his outfit, I had a hard time getting it off of him. I actually had to hide it!!
Tuesday evening we attended our friend Will's 7th birthday party. He had a cookout and then a hayride through SantaLand!

Barrett and the birthday boy, Will!
All the BOYS.....ready to go on the hayride!!

My sweet boys and I bundled up on the trailer for the hayride!!
On Wednesday we had our Thanksgiving lunch at the Dealerships. I cooked (by overwhelming request) green bean bundles and pumpkin dump cake. The boys were so excited to go to the dealerships, it's like a huge amusement park for them! HA!!

Yes.....this is Barrett's idea of fun. After he and Ryan fried up a TON of venison he thought it would be fun to mop the shop. Really?!? For some reason he loves to work in the shop, but if I asked him to help at home I would get a totally different reaction.
We have so much to be Thankful for this year. We have wonderful employees that work so hard and we are SO grateful for each and everyone of them!! After a wonderful, HUGE assortment of great food it was time to head to Rough Creek to get ready for the BIG day on Thursday. More food....if that's possible.

Fun Friday

2011-11-19T01:59:00.003-06:00

We had a very fun Friday. Jack and I took Ashley and Asher out to Posodos for lunch, her bday was this week. After lunch we all headed to Starbucks for the BOGO holiday drinks, I tried the Carmel Brulee Latte. YUM!!! We then headed back to Lindale to do school pick ups. Before we grabbed Barrett from school Jack and I had to run by the High School to pick a ticket and shirt. I totally forgot about the football teams send off and I had to pull through the WHOLE thing, I felt like a huge dork. People were looking at me and waving, HA!! The dealerships do a lot for the Athletic department so when people saw my car with the football stickers, I think they thought I was supposed to be there. OH MY!! I did snap a picture as the boys were heading to the buses, GO EAGLES!!

After school we came home and got Barrett ready to go to the playoff game. Some friends asked him to go with them to Forney, and he really wanted to go. I was worn out and didn't want to take the boys by myself since Ryan was hunting so it worked out great! My sweet B-man all ready to go!
Liz, Ryder's mom send me pics from the game. Here are the boys ready for the action to start!
Unfortunately, the Eagles were terribly defeated, I know they played hard. Barrett must have been tired, because Ryder game him a piggy back ride out of the stadium. HA!!
Barrett had a great time and spent the night with the Johnsons!! Proud of you B!! Liz text me and said they got along great and that Barrett was one of the best behaved kids that they had over. WHAT?!? Don't get me wrong, great news, just a little unexpected. Just kidding!! I know all kids act better away from their parents!

Breaking Dawn

2011-11-19T01:57:00.004-06:00

Yes, finally the time arrived for my completely inappropriate obsession with Twilight to continue! I am only a little embarrassed to say that I had been looking forward to November 17th for quite a while now. Ashley, Anna, Chelsey and I all braved the crowd and headed to Tyler for the midnight showing of BREAKING DAWN!! (Sorry for the blurry Iphone pics)

The LINE.... CRAZY!
Waiting for the show to start.

I was so worn out after a day of shopping at Mistletoe and Magic, but there was NO way I was missing this movie. The movie was the best one yet!! Yes, I am aware how old I am, and no I don't care. What a great time, with some wonderful girls!! Now seriously, we have to wait a full year for the second part?!?

Boys Birthday Party at Rough Creek

2011-11-18T06:25:00.000-06:00

Saturday November 12th was the boys birthday party at Rough Creek. I was up bright and early and couldn't resist this beautiful sunrise. We had all been looking so forward to this day for so long. It was also the first time most of our friends came to Rough Creek, so it was technically a bday party/housewarming.

I could not believe it was finally "finished", well I'm not sure it will ever be truly finished there always seems to be some project. Ryan's Mom brought us a few housewarming gifts. This sign is just perfect, we love it Nana!!

Nana also made they boys some precious name plates, the were perfect for the playhouse!

Here is sweet B-man all camo painted up, ready to party! How are you 7 years old Dude?!?

Jack ready for the festivities too!! My sweet 3 year old boy!!

It was a beautiful day, the only problem was that the wind was blowing literally about 20 MPH. I mean seriously!! My tables and decorations were being beat down with storm grade winds, but we made it work.

We had hotdogs and a bunch of snacky appetizers. I made these cute cookies from pintrest, they were originally Rudolph cookies, but I made them just plain deer.

The boys cake turned out cute, it was what else, CAMO!!

My birthday boys! They look just beside themselves huh?? HA!! Thanks for the smiles boys.

As soon as the kiddos arrived they hit the pond. I could see the fear in the Mom's faces, ha!! I assured them that the red dirt would come out and they relaxed, a little. The kids were running around like crazy, exploring everything.

Time for a Hayride!!

All the Mom's enjoying some girl time during the extra long hayride.

Next was the birthday cake. Now nevermind that I forgot the candles, a sparkler worked just fine!! No those kids are not the birthday boys, I some how managed to NOT get them in the picture??

Finally....it was present time! It was a frenzy of tissue paper!! Christie and I did our best to keep the gifts straight. Let me just say, doing gifts for two kids at a time is challenging to say the least. AHHH!!!

Shi' Shi' and I. So we were both feeling Missoni that evening, not planned, HA!

Next up.... Smores time! What a mess, there was stickiness everywhere!!!! I just noticed that B is roasting like 20 marshmallows in this picture. WHO knows?!?

The kiddos ended the night in the giant bounce house. It was such a fun night!! The kids had a blast and were completly filthy by the end of the night. I would say the party was a HUGE success!! Thanks to everyone who made the long drive out to Rough Creek!

My sweet B and I, he was worn out!

I also need to say a HUGE thanks to my sweet husband who made all of this possible! He worked SO hard to get Rough Creek ready for the party. It was such an awesome night!!

Let me also add that after reviewing my pictures from that night I will be hiring a photographer next time. That is all! HA!!

Veteran's Program

2011-11-16T06:44:00.004-06:00

On Friday Barrett's school had a Veteran's Day Program at the new Performing Arts Center. The facility is so nice, it is a wonderful addition to LISD. Here is my sweet boy all ready for school.

Will and Barrett ready to sing!

Cute boys singing their songs. The program was short and sweet :) I enjoyed hearing all the songs B learned.

Barrett and Ryder after the program. I love this picture, they both look scared, HA!! Maybe overwhelmed is more like it, they are SO funny!!

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Lindale Playoffs

2011-11-11T06:43:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday was Lindale's first playoff game of the season. We played Kaufman at Rose Stadium in Tyler. Luckily it was close to us because it was on a school night:) Chelsea and her boys Braden and Logan rode with us. We decided to go grab some dinner before the game. Our husbands were both working and were going to meet us at the game.

Sweet friends!!Jack LOVES dancing to the band music. He was dancing around playing his "horn", ha ha!!

We sat next to a group of our friends and their kiddos, it was a lot of fun!! The kiddos were all a little crazy and they only got in trouble for being to close to the fence 1 million times, the poor security guard had her hands full!

Sweet Jack. He took a tumble down the concrete stairs and people were gasping, he got right up and kept going. He is such a second child.

The Eagle came to see all the kids, they LOVED that! I think each kiddo also caught a football, it was such a fun game.

The Eagles won 28-38 not quite the blowout we predicted, but a WIN none the less. Friends and football, it doesn't get much better!

Barrett's 7th Birthday!

2011-11-10T05:22:00.008-06:00

Tuesday November 8th was Barrett's 7th birthday!! I can't believe my sweet B is 7!! Please someone slow time down, how do I have a 7 year old?!? We started off his day with a yummy breakfast.

My BIG boy and I!!
Next it was present time. Daddy was in charge of this gift, so it wasn't wrapped. Gotta love a big cardboard box. HA!!

Love this face!! It's what inside that counts!

Barrett got a new bow! He was super excited, it's just like Mom and Dad's. He is ready to bow hunt now.

Barrett was very excited for me to bring his cookie cake to school!

Here is his cookie cake, complete with deer and gun. Yes, I'm sure our teacher appreciated that.

Barrett with some of his friends. It was a quick, but fun birthday party. I loved it when his class sang Happy Birthday to him, they add a little "cha cha cha" in after each verse, it was so cute.

We got some much needed rain on Tuesday, thankfully! The boys took full advantage of the the mud in the backyard. Oh yes, right before dinner they decided to get completely filthy!!

For his Birthday day dinner Barrett chose Shogun for Hibachi. Anna joined us for dinner, we had a great time. Jack didn't care for the fire at the beginning, but other than that the boys loved it. Barrett caught flying food in his mouth and got to throw eggs at the chef!

Happy birthday to my sweet B-man!! I can't believe that you are 7 and such a smart, handsome boy!! We love you so much and you are a blessing to us all each and every day!!!

Opening Weekend in North Texas

2011-11-08T02:30:00.003-06:00

On Friday we headed to our Deer Lease in North Texas for opening weekend there. The boys were very excited. Our NTX lease is very different from Rough Creek. At Rough Creek I feel like I'm at home, I have all the luxuries of home. In NTX we are really camping! We have no power or water, we have to take our trailer and rely on generators. Yeah, that part is not my fav, but the boys don't seem to mind! HA!

The drive is pretty long, so we arrived fairly late. We got set up and tried to get to sleep, we had an early day ahead!
It always amazes me how fast these boys can get up and get dressed when it's for "hunting". On a normal day at home, we have wining, crying, etc.!! Here are the boys up before the CRACK of dawn ready to go.
My Boys!!
Opening morning one of our friends killed this buck with his bow. Barrett and Jack helped him find the deer. Barrett was so happy to help him bring the buck back to camp. He wanted his picture with the deer.
Here are my boys and I in the stand. Barrett hunted with me one evening, Barrett is such a talker, he has really come a long way in the stand. Don't get me wrong I do a lot of SHHHHing, but he is doing better and we had such fun watching the deer and visiting.
Jack hunted with me on Sunday morning and he is so good in the stand, he really surprised me. He does get a little loud when the deer come out. HA! "MOMMY, MOMMY wook! DEER!"
The boys just love being out in the middle of NO WHERE camping and having a camp fire. I agree it is nice, when we are there the rest of the world just disappears. It is very calming and a break from reality. I love this picture Barrett was "posing" by the fire he built.

My hunting boys!! They had a ball and I enjoyed it too! We saw a TON of deer, just not the trophies we were looking for. I so enjoyed a weekend with all my boys doing what we love!!

Fun Day in Canton

2011-11-08T02:27:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday some sweet friends and I headed to Canton for some girl time and SHOPPING!!

Me, Leslie and Jennifer! How cute does Leslie look? It is so funny because to me, her outfit is just her, nothing out of the ordinary. I kept noticing people walking past and commenting on her outfit, like "oh look at her" and "how cute is she". One lady even came up to Leslie and said "Do you you feel cute today Honey?" HAHA!! Love Leslie and her ALWAYS cute outfits!

We had such a fun day!! The weather finally felt like fall and it was beautiful!! Here are a few of my purchases from the day. OK! When I saw these antlers I was like SO ME!!! These are just perfect for Rough Creek!! I mean if you have antlers why not make them fun and girly!!! Love, love, love them!!!!
Paul Michael one of my FAVORITE stores was making these wreaths, you picked out all the materials and then they made it while you shopped. Such a great idea, I loved being able to pick out my ribbon and colors!
I smelled something just heavenly and noticed a booth being swarmed with women, I looked over to see a sign that said caramel, MOVE OVER!! I love caramel!! This is a local Texas company that hand makes small batches of caramel. Neiman's sells this same caramel in their stores. OH MY! It is soooo good!!! I got salted caramel almond and caramel walnut, they are both wonderful!!
I really enjoyed our girls day! So thankful for sweet friends and great shopping!!

Jack on the mend

2011-11-01T20:22:00.004-05:00

WOW, it's November 1st, seriously this year is flying by!! New month means new decor, this morning I put Halloween away and brought out the Thanksgiving stuff. I always feel like Thanksgiving gets no respect. After Halloween most places are putting up the trees and playing Christmas tunes. That's not really fair, Thanksgiving is a great holiday!! HA!!

Jack had no fever this morning and seemed to be on the mend, thankfully!! He acted like he felt tons better, but I decided to keep him home with me to be sure. We ran some errands in Tyler and he fell asleep on the drive home. He has been so tired lately, I thought I could sneak in and get a pedi and I could hold him while he slept. Well he slept for like the first 5 minutes, ha!! He was really good thought he just sat in my lap and watched a movie on my phone. He looks thrilled huh?!?

Ryan was busy down at Rough Creek tonight so it was just the boys and I. Barrett said he wanted Chili's for dinner and he wanted what his Daddy orders. Here are my little men eating their chicken fajitas, just like Daddy.
So we are on the mend around here, hope y'all had a great Tuesday!!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:19:00.003-05:00

Halloween on a school day, BOO!! Or more like Boo to you! Barrett was so excited to take his Halloween treats to school to his friends. I thought his Erin Condren labels turned out super cute!

Poor Jack was not feeling well, he had been running fever and saying his head and mouth hurt. I was so confused as to what was really hurting, I assumed throat? So Jack and I just hung out at the house while Barrett was at school. After school, I thought we should take Jack to the Dr. so we headed to Tyler to have him checked out. They tested him for strep, but it was negative thank goodness! Dr. said it must be just viral and would have to run its course, I always loathe that diagnoses. Anyhoo, I was craving pumpkin yogurt from TCBY and Barrett said that sounded YUM! I grabbed the boys and headed in to grab our yogurt. Jack started whining as we walked in, but I didn't think much since he felt bad. I was getting Barrett's bowl when all the sudden Jack threw up everywhere!!!!!! I almost died, I was in such shock I picked him up and when I did BLECH, he threw up ALL OVER ME!!!! Face, hair, everywhere!!!!!!! I was in a panic, I was grabbing napkins trying to clean us up and the mess.....it was TERRIBLE!!!! So needless to say we quickly left the mess to a NOT so happy college kid to clean up, YUCK!! I apologized and RAN out!!!!!! So, we had one sick boy, a mad one who didn't get his yogurt, and one dirty embarrassed Mom!

We got home and cleaned up, then it was time to get ready for Halloween!! Our candy was ready and so were the boys, well one of them at least.

Sheriff Barrett and a sick Jack. Jack really wanted to wear his costume too, but I talked him into the skeleton p.j.'s.

Of course Barrett had to have his gun with his costume, no surprise there. When we were picking out costumes we picked strictly based on which ones have guns or weapons.

Jack fell asleep early and not even the doorbell from the trick or treaters bothered him!

Here is our Halloween crew! These kiddos have been going together for years, can't believe they are all so big now!! Just missing little Jack:(

We usually leave our candy at the door, because we are all out with our group in the neighborhood, but not this year. I have to say I enjoyed hanging at the door and seeing all the cute kiddos, but I sure wish Jack would have been able to go. All of our sweet neighbors didn't forget Jack they all sent him special bags of candy, so sweet!! Happy Halloween!!!!

Rough Creek weekend...again

2011-10-30T19:47:00.002-05:00

We spent another wonderful weekend at Rough Creek. The weather was wonderful, we are trying to finish up a few projects before the boys party in a couple of weeks. We took full advantage of the cool weather and burned our first fire in the fire place.

The boys had tons of fun working..........
A working football player, who knows???

This is thing of beauty, Ryan had our well set up and it's finally pumping water to our VERY dry pond! The water is clear and cold!!
This is the water traveling down from the rock river to the pond, it will take a long while to fill up, but it's definitely better than waiting for the rain to do it!!

My husband has created a monster, this boy is no longer satisfied by power wheel toys, he prefers the REAL THING!!
My sweet Jack, the man loves a hat.... it doesn't matter what the type, he wears them all!
On Saturday night we decided to have an outside fire, so Barrett built us the first fire in our fire pit.
We had dinner outside by the fire, followed by roasting some marshmallows!! It was a great weekend with my boys!

Trunk or Treat!

2011-10-27T17:41:00.006-05:00

Tuesday was Trunk or Treat at Jack's school, it's always so fun to see all the little one's in their costumes! Here is my little cowboy before we left.

These were the little treats I literally threw together in about 5 seconds. I was worn out from being at the World Series game the night before, we didn't get home till like 1 a.m. So when I got home ALL I thought about was bed. When I got up the next morning, way to early, I realized I hadn't made the goodie bags yet!! AHHHHH!! So I quickly threw them together, thank goodness he only has 10 kids in his class :)

Here is my trunk all ready for the treaters!!

This is Jack's class coming out, now notice I couldn't get close because if he saw me he would have melted down EVEN MORE!! Poor thing he is just such a Mommy's boy, I could hear him saying "I want my MOMMY"!! So pitiful!!

Well he was just so upset, I decided to leave the candy on the ground by my car and go walk around with him. I hated for him to be upset while trick or treating. He perked up and got the hang of it pretty quick!

Here is Jack with his favorite friend Cade, is her costume not so funny?!? She was like a pink fuzzy monster, she had these precious pink furry boots too!

After school the boys found the extra vampire teeth from the goodie bags, they thought they were VERY scary!!!

Later that evening they boys were out playing, when Ryan and I heard Jack say "Get my Gun!!" We asked him what he needed it for and he said fwogs!! HA HA!! After Barrett straightened him out and explained that frogs were nice, Jack still wasn't convinced and wanted NOTHING to do with them! Barrett on the other hand was loving them. All I could do was say WASH your hands and pray that he wouldn't get any warts. Just kidding, but not really!

World Series Game 5

2011-10-27T16:53:00.005-05:00

On Monday we were lucky enough to have tickets to Game 5 of the World Series!! Anna, Judson, Ryan and I all loaded up in the motor home for a little tailgating and baseball! Tailgating is all about the food, I made bacon wrapped little smokies, corn dip, and flank steak fajitas.

It was so fun to eat, drink and party before the big game!! We have never tailgated before a baseball game, but let me just say it was really fun. We were all super excited about the game, it was really a make it or break it for the Rangers. We made our way to the stadium for some shopping for the boys which took FORever!!! There were lines just to get in to the stores, not to mention the check out lines!!! Crazy!!!!! Finally it was game time!! Let's go Rangers!

Here is Roger Staubach throwing the first pitch to Kenny Rogers, and Demi Lovoto sang the national anthem.

Then came the boys! C.J. was the starting pitcher and there is the man of the series NAPOLI!!!

The stadium was absolutely packed! It was such and awesome atmosphere, Ranger fans decked out in their gear and everyone waving their towels!

The dugout with some line dancing going on. The boys would have loved this part.

It was an AWEsome game, I will never forget it!! The game was tied for a while, but the Rangers pulled it out with a 4-2 WIN!!! Here is the team congratulating each other! The whole experience was so great I am so glad we were able to go!! One game away boys!!!

Work at Rough Creek

2011-10-24T10:41:00.005-05:00

On Saturday we headed to Rough Creek for a little work. What's new? These boys always have a project!! The guys have started digging another small little pond that will run under the bridge. I think it will be cute......when it's finished, HA!! Barrett as most of you know is CRAZY about tractors and equipment. A while ago Ryan showed him how to operate this track hoe. HE LOVES IT!!!! It's really amazing that he can operate it, most grown men wouldn't know how!!

A boy in his element!! These two just love being out at Rough Creek! If we miss a weekend it's just unacceptable!!

We grilled sliders and sausage, and watched, err, tried to watch the Ranger game. The game was terrible but I had great company.

Lola even got in on some food. We found her with this chip bag stuck on her head, haha!!!

Hope y'alls weekend was great!!

Our week in review

2011-10-22T11:19:00.006-05:00

So I am finally trying to catch back up after a week of not blogging, so this is a little catch up on our week. I posted a few from last week below this post. To be honest I don't really remember what we did on Monday. On Tuesday I started back with my trainer for personal training sessions again. Let me just say, when my legs started hurting while I was still training I knew it was gonna be BAD!! HA!! After school I caught the boys trying to make some homemade stilts?? Who knows, I looked outside to find them like this.........

Crazy boys!!! I guess the get and A+ for imagination! These little cones were stuck on Jack's feet, it to me a while to get them off!! Poor Jack was sick all day on Tuesday he had to miss school and it was not a pretty day around here if you know what I mean.

Anna brought the boys back these Rangers "antlers" from a game and they have had a ball wearing them around watching the World Series games!
By Thursday morning the sick bug had hit me. I woke up and felt terrible! Ryan took the boys to school for me and let me rest. I had to get better because I had Jack's early bday celebration at MDO and Barrett's open house later that evening. Luckily, I had picked up Jack's cake pops on Wednesday so I literally slept all day Thursday until 2 o'clock when I went to Jack's school. Here are his precious Camo cake pops!!

They turned out so cute and they were Delicious too!! Jack was so excited to see me come in to his classroom with his "take pop", HA!!

The cake pops were a hit, much easier clean up than cupcakes or cake and just the right size for these little ones. We then headed home and got ready for Barrett's open house. It was so fun to see how excited Barrett was to show us around his school, he is doing great and really enjoying school. I should have taken some pics, but to be honest, it's all I could do to get through the hour or so I was there. Ugh, being sick and sore from the trainer is a BAD combo!!

On Friday, thankfully Jack and I were feeling better! It was a good thing because on Friday my baby boy turned 3!!!! Ahh, seriously, someone stop the clock!! Jack is such a blessing to us, he is a true second child. Fearless, smart, funny, handsome, I could go on and on!!! Love that boy so much!! While Barrett was at school Jack and I had a Mommy son day. We ran some errands and had a birthday lunch.
We headed to Cavender's, Jack's favorite store these days, so he could pick out his birthday present. It's so funny because most three year olds would prefer to go to the toy store for their birthday gifts, not my boys. They are OB-sessed with hats, boots, tools and tractors. Oh wait, and GUNS!! Anyhoo, they do have some toys guns and tractors at the store and I thought he might want to pick out something.

Oh NO, not my boy! He picked out a new hat, some "football boots", and as we were headed to the checkout he spotted these fashionable camo chaps!! Seriously!?!? HAHA!!! I asked him why he called them football boots and he simply answered, "bwue"! Actually Jack, you are correct, they are Lindale blue on the top, so he associated them with football. So funny!!

We were all looking forward to the friday night football game against Van, it was PINK OUT night! Pink Out against breast cancer, so everyone wore pink to the game. The boys loved getting the train horns all ready for the game!

Even my sweet husband had on pink!

It was a great game, full of excitement and great plays! Both teams were scoring like crazy!! In the end the Eagles were victorious!! Go Eagles!!!!
Since I didn't blog all week, I missed my "Friday Favs" (which I missed a lot lately, but who's counting). I do have one fav, my new camo hats! Ryan got me some girlie hunting hats, with our logo's. If your going to hunt why not look cute doing it I say!!

Cattle Baron's 2011

2011-10-17T08:42:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, we dropped the boys off at Rough Creek to stay with Nana and PawPaw while Ryan and I went to Lufkin for the Cattle Barron's Gala. I love Cattle Barron's it is always tons of fun. I love Lufkin's Cattle Barron's a little more for one major reason, unlike Tyler's which is in the terrible Texas summer heat, Lufkin's is in October. Perfect Weather, most of the time:) The whole family went, Mom & Dad, Ryan & I and Christie and Cragg. We had a great time, Thompson's Square was the featured entertainment and the food and drinks were great!! Ok, so shocker, I have been a terrible photographer these days and I didn't take my camera, or even my phone! The only pictures I have are from my cousin Jules, thanks Julie!

Christie, Mom and I.......

Mom and I:)

And Christie and I....

Yeah, so that's it for pics, but we had a blast!! Can't wait until next year!! P.S. I have NO idea what was up with my hair, the Lufkin humidity is just relentless!!!

Pumpkin Patch field trip

2011-10-15T08:40:00.001-05:00

Ryan and I had to leave Dallas bright and early Friday morning, but I didn't leave before I made one last stop, Panera! We are finally getting a Panera in Tyler, it's being built now, but I hadn't had it in forever!! We headed to Canton to meet Barrett's class for a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Ryan had a friend bring him a car and most importantly Jack, so Ryan drove back to work and Jack and I enjoyed to field trip with Barrett. I asked Ryan to ask our friend Robert how Jack did on the ride with him. Robert said he was great they "talked about hunting" and enjoyed the ride, ha!! The first graders from CSE and VPE were all together at Yesterland Farms in Canton. It is a Christmas tree farm/ pumpkin patch/ carnival!! It is a really cute place!!

Jack and I waiting for B's class to arrive......

Barrett's class was THE last class of the buses, I thought for a while there that they weren't coming!! They finally arrived and the fun began!!

Mrs. Cantrell's First grade class!!

Sack races were first up!! Go B!!!

Some views from around the farm......

The first ride of the day! Army trucks complete with guns, how fitting! They LOVED it!!

Next ups old fashioned water pump duck races.

Barrett was tired of "having to ride with his brother", so sweet Will gladly rode with Jack!! So cute!!

We had a hayride where we toured the whole farm, there was a great corn maze. We didn't get to do it that day, maybe next time!

Next up, Santa's sleigh ride roller coaster, so we are a little ahead of the season, kids didn't seem to mind. HA!! Barrett opted out on this ride, he is not a huge fan of "roller coasters", Jack on the other hand was READY!! He rode with Ryder and Thomas in the very front!!! The kid never fails to surprise me!!

Wheeeee!!!! He loved it!! I asked Ryder is he was scared and he said, NO!! HA!! Love his sense of adventure!!

The kiddos had a few more activities, like a GIANT bouncy slide which Jack also did, and a petting zoo. To end the day the kids got to choose a pumpkin and decorate it.

It was a very busy, but FUN day!! I So enjoyed spending a beautiful day with my sweet boys!!!

10 Year Anniversary!

2011-10-14T08:40:00.000-05:00

On Thursday October 13th Ryan and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. WOW!! That is hard to believe! What a WONDERFUL 10 years it has been, I am so truly blessed!! Our day started out like any other Thursday, Ryan took the boys to school for me, while he was gone these beautiful roses were delivered to me. Who knew florists delivered that early?!?

Ryan and I headed to Dallas for a mini trip. Ryan had a little business to take care of first so we made a quick stop at the Ford Auction in Ft. Worth. Now, most of you girls are thinking, hmm, that doesn't sound very fun. Well, let me tell you! As any true shopaholic knows most ANY shopping can be fun. This is most ALWAYS true for me, I love going to the auction to buy cars, it's fast paced and tons of fun! HA!! After our business was taken care of, we headed to North Park for some lunch and shopping.

Yes, this is seriously the only picture I took of us together?!? I guess I was enjoying our time together and not concerned with pictures, who knows!! We had lunch at our FAV P.F. Changs, not very original but we love it! After lunch my AH-mazing husband took in into the L.V. store and told me to pick out whatever I wanted!! MISTAKE, HA!! I choose the "Artsy", I have been eyeing it for a while now. THANKS Babe!!!

Ryan even did a little shopping for himself, which is completely out of the ordinary, but much deserved!! After we were shopped out, we headed to check into our room at Hotel Zaza! I was so excited to stay here, we had never been and it did not disappoint!! We stayed in one of the concept suites and it was amazing!! I tried to snap a few shots of the room, but like I said my picture taking was lax on this trip:)

We had a wonderful dinner at Truluck's another one of our favorites it was so close to Zaza that we just walked over. The only problems was that we were like ONE day early for stone crab at Truluck's!! It was arriving like THE next day, UGH! HA!! Oh well, just an excuse to go back really soon!! It was such a fun night we reminisced about all the has happened in our 1o years together. We are so blessed to have found each other at such a young age and to still be SO in love and happy!!! I am such a lucky girl!!!! Happy 10 years BABE, looking forward to many, MANY more!!!!

Country Fest Weekend 2011

2011-10-10T15:52:00.014-05:00

It was a big weekend here in our little town, it was Country Fest Weekend! We started off on Friday with the homecoming football game. Ryan accessorized a new Lindale Football jeep complete with Lindale stickers.

The" football rig" all ready for the game!!

We headed up to Barrett's school for a hamburger supper with the Nance family. Barrett and his "girl friend" Karah.
The homecoming game was great. I got to see a friend that had moved a few years ago, she was in to see her son's last homecoming in Lindale. So great to see her!! The Eagles played great, we WON!!!

We started our Saturday early, about 7 am for the pancake breakfast at the Methodist Church. The pancakes were yummy, and the kids were sticky. HA!! Sweet kiddos!!

Next up was the parade. We had several cars that were in the parade pulling the football team, city officials, etc. Ryan and I tried to get the boys to ride on the football float, but NO! Barrett insisted he wanted to watch from the street and get CANDY!! No surprise there. HA!!

Daddy pulling the football team! The boys were excited to see him, but still glad they were catching candy.

A few of our other vehicles on parade.

Like I said, CANDY time!!!! HA!!

After the parade we headed over for the main event the Country Fest carnival/fair. The kids love the games, and booths. Barrett and his friend Keatyn riding the train.

The boys wanted to do the face painting booth, I wasn't quite sure if Jack would sit still long enough. The face painting booth was put on by the drill team, and the girls did a really good job!

Jack totally surprised me! He sat still the whole time. Here are my "batboys"!

Another plus of Country Fest, all the great food, fried everything!!

After a long day at Country Fest we headed home to get ready for our last event of the day, the Bull Fest. The dealerships are a big sponsor of the Bull Fest, it's a fun event because it's like a rodeo with just bull riding. The boys love it, they also love getting all "cowboyed" up.

Anna and I

Barrett and his friend Hunter enjoying the bull riding.

They were offering "mutton busting" which is riding sheep. I asked Barrett is he wanted to do it, and he said no, he had just done it at the rodeo. So then I decided to ask Jack if he wanted to, he said "Yes, I ride bull." HA!! NO, but I guess you can ride a sheep.

So here is my baby ON A SHEEP!! He was not the least bit scared, but as I watched all the other kids go and and then get up crying I was rethinking it. I begged Ryan to take him out! I thought, he's 2, what am I doing? What if he gets stepped on?!? PANIC!!!!

My sweet Jack rode that sheep for like a second, I don't think he really understood how to hold on. HA!! I was dying, he got right up, NO tears!!! The announcer even made the comment that he was the youngest rider and in Texas we start them young. So funny!! I don't know what I was thinking, I'm SO glad he is okay!! More proof that he is living up to his second child personality. Love that boy!!

All the boys had a ball riding out in the arena for a drawing for prizes. They thought they were so cool!

Famous in a Small Town, for sure!! It was a BUSY, but Fun weekend!! Hope yours was great!

Just a great Day!

2011-10-06T19:53:00.001-05:00

Today was just a great day!! It started off with this......

I delivered the muffins that our group of Mom's made for all the staff at Barrett's school. We have such great teachers and we do something each month to show our appreciation. I had a great lunch date with a friend. Then it was early release for the boys.

This sweet man had his best day yet at school, he didn't cry all day which is SO comforting!!

Barrett brought home a straight A report card!!

We had parent/teacher conference today and heard great things from Barrett's teacher, which makes me super proud!! While l was at the school waiting for his teacher, I found this......

Haha! Talk about a laugh, his name makes him feel "fancy"!! Love it!! Such a great day!!! Hope y'all's was blessed!!

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-10-06T09:50:00.002-05:00

I ordered this for myself for my bday, I have been eyeing it for a while and finally pulled the plug. Now I'm glad the iPhone isn't changing anytime soon! I ordered it from Three Hip Chicks, a cute online store.

I think it turned out super cute! Have a great Thursday Y'all!!

Opening Weekend Bow Season

2011-10-04T10:54:00.005-05:00

Tis' the season....for Hunting that is! This time of year is so wonderful! Cooler temps, pumpkin spice lattes, and for our family HUNTING!! We loaded up our camo and headed to Rough Creek. This years opening weekend for bow season was especially great, because this was going to be our first time hunting at RC. It has been our dream to have some land and a cabin for our family, something to pass down to our boys. That dream has become reality! Ryan and I are literally dumbfounded every time we look around RC. I think we have said about 1 million times to each other, "Can you believe this place is OURS!!" We are so blessed!!!

On to the weekend the boys were loving it, as usual!! We had a full house my parents, Ryan's Dad, and our friend Robert all joined us for a great weekend! My sweet Mom cooked way to much, but the food was wonderful as usual!

Love these little hunters!!

Barrett off hunting rabbits, birds or something!
On Saturday evening I killed a doe, this was my first deer to kill with my bow! Sorry for the dead animal pics, but that's just part of our life :) Barrett was super excited to see Mom's deer.
Here is my handsome hunter!! He worked so hard getting every ones stands ready. I love him so!!

Barrett had a ball shooting cans. No worries it's just a BB gun!

Ryan, Robert and PawPaw worked really hard on this next project and I was so excited to see it come together. Our gate is now hung!! Ryan was especially proud of this!!

A close up view of of the Rough Creek logo.

The boys had Friday and Monday off from school so we spent extra time at RC and it was so much fun. We have already made some unforgettable memories, with many more to come! You would think after a long weekend of hunting and working that my boys would be worn out, but you would be wrong! As soon as we got home the boys tore outside for more play, seriously!?!

With these two you never know what you will find!! Such CRAZY boys!!

It was a busy, wonderful weekend. I can't wait to do it again!!

Thursday lunch date & haircuts

2011-10-03T16:11:00.002-05:00

On Thursday, Jack was finally feeling better after his bout of the sick bug. We had a few errands to run in Tyler and then a belated birthday lunch date for me with Ashley. Jack just had to have a cookie at the mall, he saw the pumpkin and it was over, HAD to have it!! By over I meant his clothes, over for the day, ugh!! We had a fun lunch at Chuy's with Ashley!

When we picked Barrett up from school it was time for haircuts! Our last stylist is not working anymore and we had to find a new one. We went to see Amanda at Serendipity. Jack has only had his hair trimmed like once or twice, never really cut. I decided that it looked pretty dead and needed a good cut.

He did so great!! She said both boys were very well behaved!! Barrett was being as helpful as always by sweeping up all the hair. He loves to sweep, just not at home.

Here are the boys after their haircuts!!
Sweet Jack! OH, his sweet long curls are gone, it's gonna take a while, but I just might make it! HA!!