Tyson

This post is two days late...but that's okay. I still had to post about it. Monday was a very special day. It was my nephew Tyson's 7th birthday! I reminsced alot on Monday. I really can't believe he is already SEVEN. Wholly molly.....this makes me feel old! So naturally I had to pull out all the pictures I have of him through the years. Tyson made me a first-time aunt. I was so excited for him to be born. I have loved watching him grow up to a smart, personable, leggo-loving little boy.

Now here are the pictures to take you down memory lane...

 

I love you Tyson and I am so glad you are my nephew! I hope you had an amazing birthday!

Birthday Post

I am having an off day...mostly because it is the first day back at work after a 4 day weekend. So of course things are a little crazy. Work has just been really, really busy since last week was the first week of school. So even though I am not really in the mood to write, I did want to post about my birthday weekend that last weekend because it (unlike this past week) was wonderful.

My parents came in town for the weekend so they could spend my birthday with me. I love when they come in town and was especially happy that they were coming this weekend. They are so thoughtful! We really didn't do much, just hung out. But honestly thats all I ever want to do. My mom and I got pedicures in the afternoon at Pura Vida (the new salon at ACU). It is so nice there! We loved it. Then went to the country club with all of Shane's side of the family and swam and had my b-day dinner there. We ate amazing food an enjoyed some cookie cake..my personal favorite. Sunday we drove to Dallas for the day so my Dad and Shane could go to a Rangers game. While they sat in the rain at the ballpark, my mom and I went to Sprinkles Cupcakes with my Marci, Kate and Joshua. It was a nice little day trip! And of course the Sprinkles Cupcakes were amazing....So good! I am blessed to have lived another amazing year of life. Can't wait for what this year of 23 holds!

 

Weekend of Celebrations

This weekend was a busy one...but a busy one for good reasons. It started on Friday with Shane's graduation from Firefighter School. My parents, my sister Clarissa and my nephews Tyson and Tucker all came for it. I am so excited for Shane and for what his future holds. He has worked so hard the last year on this Firefighter Academy. Studying way more than I have ever seen him do ;-) I knew he did well in his classes, but little did I know how good he really did. There are two awards that they give at the graduation. One is an academic award for the student with the highest average and the other is an Espirit De Corps award that is voted on by all of the students. They vote for the person they feel has been the best leader. Someone they would want to someday work beside in the Fire Department. I knew Shane had a great shot at the Academic award because he had worked so hard, but I was so excited when they announced he had recieved BOTH awards! Man, I was one proud wife. Now we wait for them to start hiring here in Abilene. Hopefully he can get a spot here!

 

Right after graduation and a celebratory dinner we headed to Coppell for my nephew Joshua's 2nd birthday party that was taking place the next day. We got in around 11 pm. It had been one long day! The party was adorable, just like all the rest of the parties my sister Marci plans. She seriously needs to go into the party planning business! I would post all the pictures from the party on here but there are tons! So if you are interested in taking a peek look this blog post my sister put up about it. Here is a few of my favorite pictures though..

 

 

As soon as the party ended I hit the road and headed back to Abilene. Yeah, that drive was no fun when you are exhausted and driving alone! Right as I got home I was in cleaning/setting up mode for our own little party at our house. Shane invited over all the Firefighter Academy guys to have a little celebration dinner. Even though I felt rushed and somewhat out of it, the dinner went well and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the guys!

We ended the weekend with another birthday party. It was our good friend Eric's birthday so a few of us met at Abuelos to celebrate. Abuelos never lets me down. Side note... is it just me or is there TONS of August birthdays? I feel like I know so many people that are having birthdays this month and lots of people that are having babies this month. I guess it's just a special month...I mean I am an August baby as well :)

It was a busy weekend and come Monday morning I was pretty worn out, but it was so nice to see all my family and get to celebrate such special times!

Mini Vacay to Fredericksburg

You know those days when you desperately need a vacation but you don't have the money nor enough vacation days to take a long fancy trip? Well, that was my predictament not too long ago. So, I did the next best thing to taking a beach trip to the bahamas :)

I took a mini vacation to Fredericksburg! My mom had been talking about how she very much needed a vacation as well. I didn't have enough vacation days to take off and head to San Antonio for a few days, so instead I took off one day and me, my mother in law Jackie and her close friend Kim met my mom in Fredericksburg for a day trip.

We ate lunch at the amazing Herb Farm. I highly recommend it! And also recommend the Summer Sangria and Chicken Pot Pie...mm soo good. After lunch we headed to Grape Creek Vineyards. We did a wine tasting and had a wonderful tour of their vineyard and winery and learned so much about making wine. We ended the day with some shopping, of course. It was such a nice mini vacation and I absolutely loved getting to spend time with my two mamas and bascially my third mom Kim :) Love those ladies so much!

Had to share this...at the end of the day we went into a candy/fudge shop. They had chocolate covered everything bascially. These four things grossed me out the most though...chocolate covered bacon, jalepenos, pickles and chips. I know some people actually like this stuff, but I just.don't.understand... EW!

Greek Isle Salad Recipe

I have fallen in love with a salad. Yeah, you read that right. Sorry Shane :) This salad is one that they make at the Abilene Country Club and it has become a weekly staple for me. I literally want it all the time. So I decided, why not make it at my house? It seemed like it would be pretty easy. And good news, it is! And it tasted just as good. I just had to share it with you all..

-Spinach Lettuce

-Sliced Cucumbers

-Sliced Red Onions

-Feta Cheese (my favorite part of it)

-Kalamata Olives

-Sliced Sirloin or any type of beef 

And then top it off when some type of Balsamic Vinaigrette. 

Yep, it's amazing. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!