crawfish and a patio

Saturday we hosted a Crawfish Boil with Husband's offices (which was a first for most of these Iowans!) and it was oh-so-fun!!  But before I get there, I wanted to show you the big patio reveal!  I mentioned a few posts back that Husband was adding a patio at the bottom of our balcony and somehow he pulled it off!  I don't say 'somehow' because he wasn't capable (we know he is very capable!!), but it was A. TON. OF. WORK.  He knew it would be work, but he literally worked his tail off!!  Remember this picture (Phase 1 - I forgot to take a picture before he started, but it was all grass down there)?



Phase 2 - He called in some help on this particular night.  It's amazing.....you provide some food and drinks and people are more than willing to help! Ha!  Between you and me, I'm not sure how much work actually got done on this night......there was a lot of standing around! ;)



I stand corrected, they got a few rows in!!  I took this picture the next morning!



Oh, I felt SO bad for him on this day.......just not bad enough to get up and help him.  Hey, he said all he wanted was some company, so I did my part and sat in the peanut gallery section (again)!  But the last row was the hardest to get done.....one more piece of stone!







I think this picture was taken on our 14th trip to Lowe's....



Phase 3 - The patio has been laid....now it's time for some landscaping!



The work done in Phase 3 was on Mother's Day, so I wasn't much help keeping him company.....I was inside doing some editing (which was so relaxing because everyone left me alone - nothing better than some uninterrupted work)!!

So, after a couple (more) days of work, we he is almost there.....



And while he was out there doing his thing, I was inside adding a few very last additions to the inside.  I found these letters at Micheal's for $1 a piece....I love 'em!  I put them above the door going into my craft room!



Saturday morning (the day of the party!!) was here and Husband was still hard at work outside!  He strung these cool lights over the patio....L♥VE!



I had to take a picture of the 'before' party, because I knew once everyone started arriving it wouldn't stay like that long....





When we lived in Texas, every spring the offices would get together for a giant crawfish boil!  If you've been reading for a while, then you know how much WE. LOVE. US. SOME. CRAWFISH.  I've personally been having some withdrawals without my crawfish, so after some research, Husband found a company that would FLY the crawfish to us!!!!!!  Literally, FedEx delivered it to our doorstep!  I became the happiest girl in Iowa around 10:30 AM when my doorbell rang with someone standing there with this in hand (there were actually two of them)!!!



It's go time, folks!!



This was the first batch out!  There were even some peeps that tried it (even after they said they never would) - AND liked it!





We are blessed with some great neighbors!!



Yup, we had a lot to clean up the next day.....so worth it, though!



The girly-girls found the perfect place to break it down to the music....they were so stinking cute!



This is my super-duper-excited face, because Crystal was one of the ones who said she would NOT try it.  Well, she did and she really liked it!  And don't judge the paper towel placement.....after the wind blew away my first 4, I had to get resourceful!



More peeps that said they wouldn't try it (look at the girl's face on the very far right - CLASSIC!!).



The lights are one of my favorite things out there now....



Hmmm, hmmmmm, hmmmmmmmmm!



BUSTED!!  I caught him getting more crawfish out to eat!
HOMEBOY. WAS. IN. HOG. HEAVEN.







WOW, that was a lot of pictures, but such a fun day to look back on!  I can't wait to do it again.....we WILL do it again!

Happy first day of summer (for us, anyway)!!!

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!

And you're going to L♥VE this one!!



PrintRunner is an online printing company that offers business card services, and they are offering one of YOU lucky readers 250 free business cards!! The winner of this giveaway will receive the following....

250 business cards (size and style business cards - standard size, 2x3.5)
Colors - 4/4 Color both sides
Paper - 14 pt. UV Coating on Front, 14 pt. UV Coating on both sides
Proof - NONE, Rounded Corners - NO
*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above.

The only mandatory thing you need to do to enter this awesome giveaway is to follow this blog (click the blue link that says 'join this site' at the top ride side of my blog)!! Once you do that, just leave me a comment so I know you are now following (and if you are already a follower, just let me know that in the comments!).

You may also get additional entries by doing the following:
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The deadline for this giveaway is Monday, May 28th at NOON (CST)!  I will announce the winner on Tuesday!
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Thank you to PrintRunner for providing us this giveaway
(I will also receive a set of business cards for hosting!!).

Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful, hard working Mama's out there!!  Today has been a great one....I am truly blessed with these three lovely babes!



It's been a little hard to be away from my amazing Mama on this day.  I realized yesterday that I have never NOT been with her on Mother's Day.....harder than I thought it would be.  BUT, my precious family has taken very good care of me.  I actually got a ton of pictures edited this afternoon without anyone coming in asking me a gazillion questions!!

Husband made us reservations for brunch, which I was really excited about!  And while I was in the shower, he decided he would make them breakfast.  After putting some thought into it, he was going to do something easy (there was no point in making them a big breakfast with our reservations being so close).  I go downstairs and they are eating puppy chow for breakfast - LAWD have mercy!  The kiddos thought it was a great idea!



We all got ready and we were off to a very yummy brunch!



Three happy babes with very full tummies!!  Gosh, I love them so much!



My boys!



Well, that was fun while it lasted.....I just finished adding the pictures to this post and Kylie came in saying she threw up.  A mom's job never ends....and I am totally great with that! Throw up and all, I am blessed!

♥Happy Mother's Day♥

my two little gymnast

The girls had their Spring Rec meet a little over a week ago and they had been counting down the days to show off all they have been working on!

Looking back, I'm not sure one thing went right.....and I'm surprised I didn't have more anxiety than I did.  Side note - I have this image of the way things should unfold (ya know, like if you have a day planned.....I expect it to go just as I planned), and if there is a decent size hiccup in how it all plays out.....you will probably know by my anxiety level (just being real - and YES, I realize He is in control of every situation - but there are just sometimes that it doesn't change my anxiety level).  

Disclaimer:  I'm not trying to be negative, so I hope it doesn't come across that way..........too terribly bad, anyway!  I just have to list out the details of our day.......looking back, it makes me laugh.  We had a great day, and most importantly the girls had a blast!!  But you can imagine how crazy our morning was trying to get everyone's hair braided, leotards picked out/put on, and everything else all in order.  Did I mention that Husband was out of town the entire week leading up to the meet?  Well, he was.  So after a week of no adult interaction and trying to get everyone to/from their activities, I was kind of at my breaking point come Saturday night.  That was until Kylie walks up to me and says, 'Mama, I love you more than I can even PRONOUNCE.......and that's a lot!''.  Well, just go ahead and melt my heart in two!

I can do this!!  I can do this!!



Sunday comes and we manage to get everyone to the gym and checked in. Kylie's meet was first at 9 o'clock and Alexie's was at 2.  Husband was trying to catch a 7AM flight back home so he could at least see some of Kylie's meet (he ended up getting there in time to see the last half).

Another side note - Husband is amazing at showing our girls how they should be treated!  He always picks them up for dates with flowers in hand or comes to a gymnastics meet with flowers, but he was SO stressed about missing all of Kylie's meet that I told him to forget the flowers and just get to the gym.  When we got there, I found out they were selling carnations in the lobby, so I called him to say he could pick some up here.....his response, 'carnations?!'.  If you know him you also know that he wants the girls to know that he put some thought and effort into it, so picking carnations up in the lobby would be too easy in his mind.  He ended up doing it though because he would have missed most of Kylie if he didn't.  And the funny part, Kylie kept saying, 'Thanks for the roses, Dad!!'.....do it while you can get away with it, huh?! 

Kylie warming up........



OK, here's the part that gave me so much anxiety at the time......but then it became really funny (!!!)...........

You (meaning ME) only have one shot at video taping your kids performances....that don't last very long (especially Kylie's) to begin with.  So, you've (me) got to be paying attention!  And remember, I have strict orders from family members in Texas to get this recorded and posted on the blog asap!  No biggie, I can pay attention to when my daughter is up.............um, NO.

First of all, at Kylie's meet, they didn't go in the same order on every event, so you never knew when you child was coming up.  Well, that still shouldn't be too hard to pay attention to, right?!?! Well, here is the kicker.........they have wanted to move Kylie up for a few months now, but there were no available spots in that class.  But a week before this meet, I get a call telling me there is now a spot and they want her in it - YAY!!  The confusion came when nobody knew if she was performing at the meet with her old pre-school class (where she knew exactly what to do!!) or her new Kindergarten class (that she has had ONE class with her coach and doesn't know the routines).

(Again, this isn't a really big deal.........but no one being able to tell her/me what is going on, is the frustrating part.  I realize she is 5 and this isn't the end of the world!!  I was more stressed about HER not having fun because she didn't know what to do!)

So, for beam she did the Kindergarten routine (remember, been to ONE class), floor they had her do the pre-school routine (but then, pulled her away from vault to go perform the Kindergarten floor routine {I mean, I'm paying attention to the vault.....that's where her group is, and I happen to look over my shoulder and see her ON THE FLOOR doing the Kindergarten routine........huh?!?????}), and on vault and bars she did the Kindergarten routine (doesn't know).  Best part about it all.........she LOVED being able to do the 'big kid' routines even though she didn't know them..........that's what is so stinking funny about it all!!!!

My only frustration was because I didn't know what was going on, or where to film.  YOU are about to see why I have mentioned ALL of these details!!  When you see the video of Kylie performing and you walk away from your computer with a slight concussion and headache (because I was constantly hopping place to place trying to get her on video at the very last possible moment!!!!!!!), you will maybe see my small frustration with not knowing what was going on.  I just wanted some good video.  Seriously, I'm dizzy watching it..............but I did it all in the name of LOVE for our sweet family that I know wanted to be there for the girls! (wink, wink)

Ky getting her ribbons and medal (excuse the very blurry picture.....again, I wasn't ready - I really stunk at documenting this entire event!!!!)........



Sweet girl!!  I was so proud of how she just rolled with the punches.....while I sat on the side really confused - HA!  She really had so much fun!  She kept her leotard on for the entire day.  When we got home that night after eating, I told them it was time for baths, etc., and Ky said, 'Mama, can I at least wear my medal while I take my bath?'............I'd say that's a very successful day!


_________________________________________________________________________

SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOO, it's Alexie's turn now and things have to go smoother, right?!  RIGHT?

Well, after Ky's meet (while eating lunch) Alexie just kept talking about how nervous she was.  We had a few casual conversations just to let her know this was supposed to be FUN and she shouldn't be nervous at all........but my pep talks didn't change her mind at all.


We get to the gym (which isn't exactly close) and brilliant Me, left my camera battery in the charger at home.  Yep, I thought I would charge my battery for the 30 minutes we were at home in between meets and went right off and left it.  And (poor, very tired, been-up-since-4-AM) Husband turned around and headed back home to get it without saying one word.

I. FELT. TERRIBLE.

{Insert major anxiety here} Not only can I not manage to record my 5 year old's meet, I'm going to miss the 8 year old's because of my stupid mistake.  This really can't be that difficult!  Fast forward, Husband saves the day and walks back into the gym as they are walking to their first event!

Looking back at all these pictures, I have a ton of Ky smiling for the camera before her meet started, looking all excited.  And this was Alexie in every picture I took of her.......



I promise, she LOVES gymnastics!!  It broils down to this......no matter how much I told her not to be nervous - SHE WAS.  Two things you will learn about my kids - (1) Kole & Alexie are VERY competitive people.  Period.  Alexie was going to be nervous no matter what.  (2) Kylie goes with the flow - such your typical third child!!!  Which would explain Kylie being able to do her meet with a smile on her face even though she was really clueless!  While all along, Alexie being SO confident in her routines, was second guessing herself!

Alexie started on beam and there was no doubt she was so nervous (you'll see on the video), but after doing great on floor, you can see her confidence picking up after each event.....then I started seeing that sweet smile!

I have to say, her being so nervous was an eye-opener to me of how different kids handle situations.  I truly pray that God shows me how I can be sensitive to this, and ways I can help each of my children through these different situations/events.



Minus the head trauma (from a shaky camera), anxiety, nerves and a missing battery, it was a really fun day!  Both of the girls talked non-stop (for a few days) about how much fun they had.

While I'm at it, huge props to their brother for sitting through over FOUR hours of girls doing the same routines......over and over again!!  AND, he actually cheered them on along the way.........it was really sweet to watch!



I am one proud Mama......learning as we go......praying along the way!

finally and still

I've finally decided that I need to have my camera more handy....I used to never leave home without it.  So, that's that, I'm taking more pictures (and YES, my kids are scared....they have gotten too used to it not being on my hip that they finally stopped dodging me and my camera!)

I'm still trying to decorate the house.....10 months later!  And we finally (a few months ago) got a dining room set that seats all of us!



It's still a work in progress....but getting there!



I've finally decided it's time to get this photography thing going again!  I have three photo shoots scheduled before we leave for Texas......and three more will be waiting for me in Texas!!  Super excited!

Husband is still very handy!  One day he decided we needed some new shelves in the garage....but he went way beyond that!  He constructed an entire unit complete with shelves AND two bars to hold winter jackets/clothing!  He's also decided to add a patio area at the bottom of our balcony.  So, while he worked his tail off on Sunday, the kids played outside in the water while I read (something I never get to do!).  I didn't think to take a before picture until he was already a couple of hours into it (again, working on the picture thing!).  And Kole was a really good helper!



Did y'all see that big moon this weekend?!  Husband finally shared his new honk'in binoculars/telescope (that he got for deer hunting! I'm really not sure of the correct technical term....but they are honk'in!) so the kids could see the moon up close!  Those suckers zoomed in so close we could see some major detail.....and look, I remembered to take a picture (see Alexie looking through them on the balcony?)!



My girls still sleep the same way.  Yes they have their own beds.......and 85% of the time when I walk into their room in the morning, they are in the same bed/same position.



I'm finally AND still trying to get the videos together from the girls gymnastics meet.  Believe it or not, I started it over a week ago....but have had a few minor hiccups!
So, have no fear Family, it will be posted very soon!

Happy Tuesday!

2012 Olympic gymnast hopeful

I'm working on a few different posts, but I wanted to post some pictures before I forget!

A couple of weeks ago I did a photo shoot with one precious young lady, Gabrielle Douglas, who is following her dreams to the 2012 Olympics!! 



Not only is she crazy talented, but her contagious smile and sweet personality will light up any room......I am blessed to know her!



Her mom has had many requests from fans for a poster of Gabby, so that was our goal with this photo shoot (some of these aren't necessarily for the poster, but I thought I'd post a few extras)!





We love you, sweet Gabby!!! Praying for you constantly!