August 2010

Marty's actual birthday was two weeks after his suprise party. Another reason, he said he didn't suspect that I was up to something. We ended up having a small group of his close guy friends from "up here" out to my parents' ranch for the weekend. We shot skeet, fished, rode horses and enjoyed the country.

The Boys.
After the boys locked him in one of the skeet towers (behind him).

Beautiful Texas Panhandle Afternoon.

The boys decided to "chap" (beat him with a pair of chaps, typically worn when riding horseback) Marty 30 times instead of birthday spankings. We "lured" him in by telling him I wanted a group shot in front of the water tower. It took all of them to take him down.

He was so unsuspecting...

The banner made multiple appearances.

I think everyone enjoyed themselves! Hopefully, the birthday boy even though he suffered a little abuse over the weekend.

I'll get caught up one of these days...

July 2010

I'd been waiting to move forward with my regular posts until I got some more pictures from Marty's suprise party. Unfortunately, some of the pictures I just printed off my sister-in-laws camera and don't have pictures on my computer. I promise I took more of the birthday boy...Here's a recap of July...

I volunteered to organize and implement our church's VBS all in a month. It was a bit stressful right at the beginning, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and we had a great turn out! I should learn to shut my mouth and know that God's going to take care of me.

The weekend after VBS, we drove out to a cabin on a friend's ranch and went for a horse back ride. We watched the sunset and rode home by the full moon. It was a bit of "outdoor experience". The cabin was really nice, but it's ran by generator. I convinced the boys to start the generator before we left for our ride that evening. In order to do this, though, we needed jumper cables which had been forgotten and left back at civilization so we had to go borrow some from a nearby oilfield hand that didn't speak English. When we got back to the cabin after our ride, all was well. They left me at the cabin while they left to tend to the horses. In the meantime, I discovered the largest centipede I have ever seen. (see picture below-YUCK!!!)

Shortly after, the generator went off. Thirty minutes later the boys show up. We had to drive out to the generator and restart it. It took until at least 2 a.m. before the house really cooled off.

We rode the next morning and it was absolutely beautiful! Then we came back to town and go around and headed to Amarillo for dinner dancing. I also ran around trying to tie up loose ends for Marty's suprise party.

Me and Kinsey before we left to go dancing.

The following week we left for East Texas after work on Wednesday and pulled in to my in-laws' about 2 a.m.

Here's Marty dad with Lily. They are quite the pair. Yes, we brought the dogs. And East Texas in July is too hot for anyone, but especially our furry little friends.

The next few days were an absolute whirlwind. My mother-in-law, mom and I ran to Longview on Friday to run a few errands. Then Mom and I went and stayed the night in Canton so we could put all the finishing touches together. The next day we all met up at First Monday to shop. Meanwhile the ENTIRE back of our car was full of Marty's birthday stuff. We drove back to G-town for the night and got up the next morning EARLY to go pick up all the cakes, pies and goodies for M's suprise party.

We got everything set up just in time. Everyone was amazed that I fit ALL the decorations in one huge suitcase. I purchased plastic table cloths in brown, blue in green. And bought rolls of burlap to use as table runners.

Here's the dessert table. Instead of doing a fancy, themed birthday cake, I had Gina of Creative Cakes in Winnsboro make several of Marty's favorites including Lemon Ice Box Pie, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Pie, Southern Pecan Pound Cake and a Missippi Mud Cake. They were truly decadent.

Marty's mom, Aunt Scarlett and Aunt Luana.

Me with Marty's cousin, Morgan.

Robin, aka one of the cutest pregnant people ever, my mom, me and Jerrye, my MIL. Robin and Justin were such troopers. They stayed 'til the VERY end! Poor thing! I appreciated it, though!

Caden, Adam and Marty. Adam had to leave early because they were leaving for an Alaskan vacation the next day! But, we're so glad they came!

The birthday banner was made by Bekah Jennings. She has fabulous banners for every season. I want several for my mantel! And I had little name cards made for each of the pies and little stickers to go on the party favors. The ones on the gumballs said, "Hope You Had a Ball!" and the ones I had made for the bread from our local sourdough bread bakery, The Bucket, said, "Thanks for Coming!" and "Marty is 30!!!".

Thanks to Design Girl 16 for all your hard work on those. I wish I would have gotten more detailed pictures, but I just didn't have a chance. That's my #1 regret, along with not getting a group picture of everyone that was there.

Marty had NO CLUE. Even after he walked in and we were all standing there, I just knew he had figured it out, but he just thought his friends were all having a get together and I didn't tell him because I was afraid he wouldn't go. Silly boy! There were so many little kids! It was great! They loved this one corner that had several sofas. Then most of them went swimming. Those pictures are already printed, dangit!

Here's a picture of the the centerpieces. I used pictures of M from birth until now on brown, blue and green cardstock and also had smaller tags that had his monogram and "Marty is 30!!!" on them.

Here's a picture of the banner. There's also part of a centerpiece. Marty's cousins, Houston, Mark and Mark's girlfriend are also in the picture.

The goody table. The cinammon raisin bread and cattle bread is on the right and the gumballs in the center. I had everyone bring a picture of Marty or of them and Marty along with a note and we put them all in an album. It's there on the left.

We feel truly blessed and touched by everyone that came to Marty's suprise party. I had no idea how it would turn out planning something from a remote location, especially since I'd only been out to camp once before. We are so fortunate to have such amazing friends and family in our lives. Thanks again to you all!

If you made it to the end of the LONG post, you're quite a trooper!

A Worthy Cause...

A dear friend of mine and her husband are true fitness buffs. They've done several half marathons together and numerous races individually. Smith, is raising money this fall for a very awesome charity. I stole the following from his site...

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48On December 5th, Kristin and I will run the White Rock Half Marathon in Dallas, Texas and as if that wasn't challenging enough, God has laid it on my heart to do what I can to change the world before I cross the finish line.So, what's all of this about? Every week, millions of women and their children walk more than 14 miles (or about 10 hours a day) just to get water for their families. Most of this water is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They are forced to take the chance of getting diseases because there are no other options. More than 45,000 people die every year due to waterborne illnesses. With this information in hand, God has made my goal pretty simple: Go 13.1 so they don't have to go 14.I've made it my mission to raise $1310 to provide clean, safe drinking water to those that need it. If my goal is hit, 65 people will get clean water for 20 years. Your donation, be it $5 or $50, will literally change someone's life.Because of charity: water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to water projects, and each donation is "proved" using Google Earth when projects are complete. It's a pretty awesome operation.Please, do what you can. Help me change the world."Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthian 9:6-7

Watch the video by clicking on the link below.

http://vimeo.com/14176808

You can visit his site to donate here.

I applaud you in your efforts, Smith! This is definitely a worthy cause.

Happy Anniversary!!!

I can't believe four years ago today I married my best friend! It just doesn't seem possible! It's been a big year with me celebrating my 25th, Marty about to turn 30 and us embarking on the journey of starting our own family (other than our 'fur baby,' Tyke, of course). The page below is from our wedding album. If you click on the image you can read our vows. I personally think they were the best vows ever written, but I could be a little prejudice!

A picture from our Christmas card session last Fall.

I love you, Hon! God definately knew what He was doing when He brought us together! It's like your sister says all the time, "it's like we were made for each other". I am so grateful for you Muah!

We're looking forward to the weekend as one of Marty's good friend's from college, Craig, and his wife are coming to spend Friday night with us. Then we're headed to my parents' ranch to celebrate our anniversary and Marty's 30th (his actual birthday is Sunday). Sunday evening one of my besties from college is coming to spend a couple of days with us. My house is a complete mess since they just wrapped up laying tile in the entry way, kitchen and laundry rooms on Tuesday. Oh well! There's just been too much going on lately!

Stay tuned for a July Re-Cap that includes VBS (organized and implemented by yours truly-and I only had one break-down), a night of dinner and dancing with friends, Marty's 30th suprise party in East Texas (he had no clue!) and a family reunion at our house.

Have a beautiful, blessed day!!!

Kicking it Off...

I had my car detailed yesterday...it had been FOREVER since my little Edge had a good bath. But, of course, it sprinkled yesterday and there are chances of rain through the weekend! So, I took a few pictures of it this morning to document it's shiny-ness before it's gone!

This will be the first cool to mild 4th of July I can remember. It's usually blazing hot! I even got a bit cold last night wearing a dress!

I LOVE the 4th of July and all of the festivities that our small town offers! We kicked off the weekend last night and celebrated our friend, John's, 24th birthday with about 40 people. I'm pretty sure a great time was had by all!

Here are a few pictures...

My cousin, Cory, and me before leaving the house. He LOVES pictures!

Jocelyn and Me-Take One.

Me and Jocelyn again. Love this girl!

Me and Josh, cousin of the birthday boy.

My sexy hubs and me at the end of the night.

I hope you all have a safe, Happy 4th of July holiday! I'd like to thank all the troops and their families for the sacrifices they make for us and our country! Let Freedom Ring and God Bless!!!

A Birthday to Remember...and Quotable Friday

This past Saturday I celebrated my 25th birthday with a few of my closest friends.

I had a bit of celebrating prior to that. Tuesday evening after work I ran to Amarillo to get my hair done before the weekend. Marty teased me unmercifully and asked if I thought I was some kind of rockstar since I was driving two hours one way for a hair appointment. Granted, my hair hadn't been cut or colored in about three months, so it was in desperate need of some attention. Kristen met me at Chick-fil-a after. I could eat there EVERY DAY! We hadn't seen each other in awhile and crammed about three weeks worth of conversation into an hour and a half!

The next day I received a sweet package from my dear friend, Kristin. It was a gift card for a Road ID of my choosing and some precious stationary cards with my monogram on them. When I went to visit her several months ago we went on a run and she asked me if I had one and I told her no. It took me FOREVER to decide, but I chose the Ankle ID because I already wear a watch and a Garmin on my wrists. I got an e-mail saying it shipped today and I can't wait to get it in the mail! They also sent me the following coupon for any of you to use who might be interested.

Coupon Number: ThanksCassi772125
This coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days. Feel free to send this coupon via email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, town crier, or good ole fashion smoke signal.

Thursday night I went out to Kinsey's and we watched The Real Housewives of New York Reunion special and had a lovely spread that she had made earlier that day. I stuffed my face royally!

Friday I picked Mom up and we headed to OKC. We met Becky at BJ's Brewhouse for a yummy meal and then went back to Becky's for the evening.

Saturday started with a trip to Celeste Day Spa for some pampering. I don't know that mine was as much "pampering", but more maintenance. I was really nervous, but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. We went to a few stores and little boutiques where I snagged this handbag (that matched my shoes for the evening) at White House Black Market at almost half off!

Then met up with Tamara and Tara at Put a Cork in It Winery down in Bricktown for a little wine tasting. It was SO much fun! Red Dirt Road and Sweet Crude were our favorites. Some us used numbering systems to rank the wine, others used stars or check marks and Tara who had never done a wine tasting before wrote things like, "alright at first, then leaves a soapy aftertaste," "if I liked beer, this would be ok," "yuck". HaHaHa

We finished there and went back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. I ran across the street to the Renaissance to have my hair and make-up done and Mom followed shortly after. I was impressed. The stylist washed, blow-dried and curled my hair and did my make-up in one hour.

My favorite cousin, T.C.D. and me.

My beautiful mom and me before leaving the room. She's the one responsible for planning this amazing weekend and I can't thank her enough. It was absolutely wonderful! I am one very lucky girl!

We all met up downstairs in the lobby of the Sheraton and went to Nonna's for dinner.

This was compliments from the chef. Although, I always appreciate such gestures...really??? Cade was like, "Can we eat that?" It was a piece of celery with a pinapple, bacon, maple spread. Tasty, but tiny!

Here's a shot of the ladies at Nonna's.

Do I have some beautiful women in my life or what?! They are all equally as beautiful on the inside. I feel so very blessed to have these girls in my life. They make me a better person, push me athletically and spiritually and enrich my life. (This is true of a lot of my friends who couldn't make it this past weekend as well!)

The food was delicious, but the atmosphere was a bit stuffy for my taste. I LOVE a nice restaurant, but I want to feel comfortable as well. To Nonna's credit we split dessert which included Avis' Chocolate Cake with almonds, Chocolate Rum Sauce, whipped cream and edible flower and Nonna's A-MAZING Strawberry Shortcake on a heavy cream biscuit with whipped cream-both were unbelievable! We took a cab to Edna's, my favorite little hole in the wall place and got a table on the patio. While we were there, Becky and Whitney went in to order drinks and these three girls were like, "OMG, Cade Davis is out on the patio." HaHa He's kind of local celebrity since he's plays basketball for OU.

My running buddies, Tamara and Tara.

My OSU roomies, Whitney and Becky. I miss you girls, terribly, but always have a great time when we get together!

I don't know what I did to deserve all of these amazing people in my life, but I am everso grateful for each and every one of them. To all of you who sent cards, sweet gifts, texts or posted on my Facebook, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I love you all and hope I make you all feel as special as I did on your next birthday!

Quotable Friday

Q: What is your definition of a rich life?
"A: Kathy - Richness to me, is me being fully present for those experiences in life that being me real joy. If I can truly be in the moment and present for the joy of this adventure - not worrying about financial responsibilities, obligations and a “to-do” list. THAT is my ultimate freedom and that is the richest possible life for me. I don't want to just be on a path, I want to be defining and owning my own journey.
Rich for me, doesn't mean having stuff, it means having the experience. Well OK, some “stuff”, like being able to buy a different flavor of ice cream I've never tried in a country I've never been to. I guess ice cream is “stuff”, but again, its more about the experience!"

Happy Friday Y'all!!!

Memorial Weekend Re-Cap

I just can't get excited about blogging for some reason. I feel like there is too much to do I guess.

We had a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend, although, I didn't take many pictures to document. My friend, Megs was in town and we went for a lovely run Friday evening. Saturday we did a little fishing and attempted to float the river. I think the girls and I could have floated the entire thing, but the boys made it more difficult by bringing along a canoe. Five hours later we were all a little grumpy and hungry.

Please ignore my paleness. Maybe my skin will thank me in 10 or 15 years...

Here's Russell with the catch that made his day!

Megs making it look easy...Sunday after church we ran the 5k route for the race in July. It was a beautiful day with some great running partners. Later that afternoon our friends, Alan and Marie rolled into town (for good) and I went over to help them unload their Uhaul. We went and saw Robin Hood that evening and I LOVED it!

Yesterday was fairly low-key. It was so nice to have the day off!

We're gearing up to run the Cow Calling 5k this weekend. It should be fun!

I'll leave you with a quote from a book that I received from my grandmother earlier this month.

"Dance While You Can...I will celebrate the sheer joy of being alive...the joy of being created in the image of God. I will not be cheated out of enjoying life's pleasures-the people I meet, the food I eat, the sunshine in the trees, the company of a friend."

Here's hoping I get back in the blogging mood soon!