A Weekend Home

Hey y’all!

This weekend, I had a rare Saturday off, so I made a quick trip home to see the family. Two weeks ago, my Grandaddy fell and broke his hip in two places, so he’s been in the hospital. On Friday he was moved to a hospital for rehab, so I wanted to go spend the day helping out and giving my Mom-mom a break. I got up SUPER early on Saturday and headed home.

Because no roadtrip is complete without a mix CD

IMG_6927
It felt so good to be home! I quickly got ready, and Momma and I headed to the hospital, But first, Sonic!

IMG_6935
We spent the whole day with Grandaddy. It was hard to see him in pain, but I’m glad I got to spend some time with him. He’s getting a little better and a little stronger every day, so we are hopeful that very soon he’ll be back to his old self and will be home.

Some friends from church came to visit. Jason brought his guitar and sang a few songs. His “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road” song was too funny not to share :)

Before we left town, we went to eat at Ta Molly’s, my absolute favorite restaurant in the whole world! I had my favorite chicken quesadilla, and it was just perfect.

IMG_6948
Sunday morning, I had a little bit of playtime with the cats before church. This little fella was being cute and snuggly before he decided to play a little rough. He grabbed my arm and pinned it down, nipping at my fingers every time I tried to free my arm! He’s a funny little thing!

IMG_6949
I helped Momma in bible class again. We talked about the story of Jesus calling his disciples to follow him. We made cute fish to help reinforce the story, and they turned out so cute!

IMG_6959
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”-Matthew 4:19

Before I headed back to OKC, we went to lunch with a group from church. Jessica and Sweet P came with us too! They’ve been meeting us for lunch the last few times I’ve been home, and it’s been so nice to have some time with them. I love having best friend time, and I love having Aunt Ashley time with Sweet P!

IMG_6965
It was a great trip home! As always, it wasn’t long enough, but it is probably the last time I’ll get to go home before Christmas, so I’m glad I had some time. I would appreciate prayers for my Grandaddy for strength and healing, and prayers for the rest of the family as they help take care of him!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays 2013

Hey y’all!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
I had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off work, so I got to spend a couple of days home with my family! I hadn’t been home since July, so it was so nice to get to be with my people.
Colby and I drove home early Tuesday morning, and after running errands with Momma and meeting the boys for lunch, I had my Christmas with Jessica and her family!
I miss living close to Jessica so much!!
Christmas Eve night, we had Christmas at home, just the four of us.
Duck Dynasty DVDs and cups for Momma and Daddy

Colby got a Nike Fuel Band

Have y’all played Ellen’s Heads Up game? We played the iPad version at a TVP girls night, but I didn’t know there was a board game! Can’t wait to try it!

I got a gift certificate to my favorite online boutique Hazel and Olive!

LOVE my new rain boots from Joules! I’ve never wished for rain before, but I can’t wait for yucky weather so I can wear them :)

Colby’s hunting…thing. He. Looks. Ridiculous.

On Christmas Day, we went to my grandparents’ house to celebrate together! My mom’s brothers and their families came too.
The bro and me!

All of the cousins with Mom-mom and Grandaddy!

Daddy was having such a great time :)

Me and my peeps
I have no words…

All of the girls got new scarves!

My Mom-mom and me

I think I get my sillies from her!

My momma and me
Y’all. I got to use the grownup glasses for the first time ever! I felt so big! Haha! And no, it wasn’t wine! Only Dr. Pepper for me, folks!

C and I took a few fun pictures! He’s such a cute little guy!
I had such a wonderful Christmas! As always, it went by way too quickly. I already can’t wait for my next trip home!
Have a great Friday, y’all!

“Haoooo, Play Somethin’ Country”

Finally, here are the pictures from the Brooks & Dunn concert!

concert11

concert12

concert13
Advertising Carrie’s show!!

bathroom
Sprint Center bathroom

concert15

concert16
Opening act Tyler Dickerson-he was highly annoying

concert18
Gary Allan was FANTASTIC! I just love him!

concert4
Brooks & Dunn!

concert5
concert25
concert8
During “Only in America” they had several military servicemen come out on stage! Very moving…I wanted to cry!

concert6
I really hoped that Reba would make a surprise appearance since she sings several songs with them and is great friends with them. Their “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” video was the closest I got to seeing her :(concert24
They did a great show, and I’m really glad that we went to see them!

concert9
Toyota sponsored the tour, and before the concert, they took free pictures and superimposed B&D in them! Kinda fun! It was definitely a great way to end a great trip! Can’t wait for next summer’s adventure!

My Italian Brother

I need to vent for just a moment. I had my first Kansas City post all ready to go, then Blogger LOST IT!! Ugh, I am really really hating Blogger right now. I use Windows Live Writer on my laptop, so I’ll try to post with that tonight.
Anyway, the night before Momma and I left for KC, we had dinner with Colby’s old roommate Stefano. He is from Italy and is in the states for school. His mother and brother were in town for a visit, so we were all able to get together. Stefano has become practically a member of our family! He is adorable and has the cutest accent!
the boys-Francesco, Colby, & Stefano

The mommas and their boys
Stefano’s mom doesn’t speak English, so Stefano was having to translate for her all night. Even with the language barrier, we had an awesome time!

Finally, the 4th of July Post

I have been wanting to get this 4th of July post up since Monday, but this week has just been so busy.

I had such an awesome 4th of July weekend. It was crazy busy, but lots of fun. The fun really started Thursday night when I hung out with my adoptive family from church. Their cousins from Japan were in for a visit, and some other church friends came out for fireworks. Because of work on Friday, I ended up having to leave before the fireworks :( . I was such a bad blogger that night because I took ZERO PICTURES!

Saturday morning I headed home to southeast Oklahoma. I ran into HORRIBLE weather and had to pull over three times because it was so bad! I made it home early enough to make part of my sweet little N’s birthday party.

N_fence

Once again, I didn’t take any pictures. I know, terrible.

After the party, I went with the family out to my grandparents house for dinner. My uncle, aunt, and cousin came in for the evening.

100_4487

100_4493

100_4498

100_4513

I left before fireworks, but shortly after they got started, there was a huge downpour! They were down around the garden, so they had to run back up to the house!

100_4516

While my family was getting soaked, Jessica and I took K to see Eclipse!

eclipse

eclipse ticket

Jessica had already seen it, but it was my first time. It was soooo much better than the other two. K insisted on sitting between us, and Jess and I can’t see a movie together without talking about it, so we had to text through the movie. We were both VERY happy with the Taylor Lautner scenes! :)

Sunday, I went to morning church, lunch with the family, then evening church, followed by an ice cream dinner at church. There was lots of homemade ice cream and other desserts. I had chocolate and peach ice cream! So, so good! Again, no pics…

After ice cream at church, I went to Jessica’s parents house for their annual 4th of July party. There, I had more ice cream, and this time, it was shredded wheat ice cream! I know, it doesn’t sound good, and it took me YEARS before finally trying it, but it is A-MAZING! While I was with Jessica and family, my parents, the bro, and his best friend Marcel went to my grandparents house to shoot the rest of the fireworks that got interrupted the night before.

A few pics…

kn fireworks
K and N with their sparklers
ash jess 4th
Me and my bestie!
ash kam 4th
My precious K!
My eyes freaked out and wouldn’t let me put contacts in, so I had to wear glasses. Forgot to take them off for the picture. I just can’t pull off glasses.
100_4540
100_4535
100_4542

Ok, now, let’s talk about the food for a minute. I seem to always notice a change in my clothes when I come back from a trip home. Now, I definitely know why. Aside from all the ice cream, this is what the rest of the weekend looked like.

saturday food
Saturday evening
molinas
Sunday noon
100_4484
Sneaking chips before dinner when I thought no one was looking! Definitely no skinnies for me if I keep this up! :)

I had Monday off work, so after sleeping in a bit, I just laid around the house until time to make the drive back to OKC. I always look forward to the 4th of July holiday because it means lots of fun and time with my family and friends. I hope all of you had great holiday weekends too!

Two of my awesome blogger buddies gave me blog awards this week! Lindsay and Stephanie are so sweet, and I have really enjoyed reading their blogs. I’m working on a post about that, and I will hopefully have that up sometime tomorrow!

Favorite Friday Five

favorite fridaybeth_button

Today’s Favorite Friday and Friday Five are both about 4th of July activities, so I decided to combine them into one post!

I have 4th of July traditions that I have done every year for…ever! My holiday weekend plans are brought to you by the letter ‘F’!

Family

memorial day

Friends

fireworks at church
Last year’s 4th of July picture
Jessica’s church has a big firework
display, and we go together every
year!

Food

ice cream maker
Jessica’s mom and Gran make homemade ice cream!

Fireworks

sparklers
At my grandparents house

fireworks
Jessica’s church

And this year’s addition…

Fangs

twilight_eclipse_poster_2

We will also be celebrating this little cutie’s birthday this weekend!

N_fence
What are your 4th of July plans? Head on over to Jen and Beth’s blogs for more!

Father’s Day Weekend, Just a Little Late

Hello ladies! I have been such a terrible blogger this week. Work has been CRA-ZY this week. I finally had some time to breathe, so I need to share some pictures from Father’s Day weekend!

I took Friday off of work, and went to spend the weekend with my parents. Friday evening, I got a much-needed hair makeover. Here are before and after shots for ya!

Before

before

After

after

I have been wanting to go dark again for awhile, and I was finally able to fit it in! I love it!

Saturday afternoon, my Mom-mom and Grandaddy came over to eat and celebrate Father’s Day a little early.

fathers day4
Colby, Daddy, Me

fathers day 3
Me and Colby with our Grandaddy

fathers day
Marcel, our next-door neighbor/Colby’s best friend jumped into the picture. He’s pretty much family too!

After our grandparents left, we played some Wii bowling and guitar hero!

fathers day6
I have no idea why my foot looks so weird…

fathers day8
My wrist surgery has left me unable to play as well as I used to. I used to be able to beat the boys!

fathers day9

fathers day10
I guess standing up helps.

Saturday night, Jessica and I took her boys to see Toy Story 3! It was such a good movie, and Jess and I cried like babies!

100_2103
Love her so much!

100_2102
My sweet K…I just adore him!

100_2104
Jess and N…he’s so stinkin’ cute!

Sunday morning, we went to church and then out to eat at our Mexican restaurant. Then, we had the traditional front yard holiday pictures! :)

fathers day11

fathers day12
Me and my Daddy. I am so lucky to have the best daddy in the whole world!

fathers day13
fathers day14
My adorable parents!

fathers day16

It was such a great weekend, and so nice to get away from work for awhile. Hope you ladies have had a great weekend so far!

Memorial Day and The Bro is 21!

My Daddy had Friday before Memorial Day off work, so he and my Momma came up to see me and the bro. Colby’s 21st birthday was yesterday, so we celebrated while Momma and Daddy were here. Here are a few pictures from the weekend!

pops
Friday night dinner at Pops

siblingsMe and Colby at Pops

parents
the parents

After dinner, we went to my grandparents’ house. My Daddy and Colby went through my great-uncle’s collection of knives, so we had a little fun with them!

ash knives
Pretty scary, huh?

Momma and I worked around my apartment on Saturday while the boys went to look at a new truck for Colby. He’s been looking for a new truck for about a year, and finally found one! Here he is with it!

colby truck

Saturday night we went to Outback Steakhouse with our grandparents and adoptive parents from church, then hung out at the grandparents’ house for awhile.

colby birthday
The birthday boy! Grammy made a
strawberry cake-his favorite!

wade colby joyce
Colby with Wade and Joyce-our awesome adoptive parents

family
The family

kids grandparents
Me and Colby with our grandparents…and Sadie

siblings grammys2

siblings grammys
Brothers…always trying to mess up the pictures

mom and dad
My cute parents!

Also, to celebrate Colby’s birthday, I got…

iphone
an iPhone!

After reading everyone’s comments and playing around with a few more friends’ phones, I finally decided on an iPhone. With the money my Momma found in my dresser, I was able to get one, and I love love love it! I seriously think it is the most amazing thing ever invented!

Momma and Daddy had to go home after Sunday morning church and lunch, so after evening church, we hung out with our adoptive family and some friends and watched this awesome movie!

the-blind-side-poster

I had Monday off, so I spent the majority of the day laying in my bed watching Glee. I should’ve done something productive, but after these last couple of crazy work weeks, I needed a day to just do nothing. It was amazing!

glee-promos

Monday night, I went to my adoptive family’s house and watched Princess and the Frog with Joyce and Whitley. Great, great movie! I love Disney movies anyway, and this one was really great! If you haven’t seen it, you must!

The-Princess-And-The-Frog-Poster

Colby went out with some of his friends Tuesday night for a birthday dinner, and it got me thinking about my 21st birthday. After cheesecake with the family, I went to dinner with Jessica. Her birthday is three days after mine. Now, we don’t drink anyway, but it is kinda funny telling people that for your 21st birthday, you had dinner with your bestie (who was about 4 1/2 months pregnant) and her two year old son, and you had virgin strawberry daiquiris!

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. I’ll leave you with a little flashback to 2007 and my 21st birthday (back when I was really blonde)!

21st21st221st3

I Think I’m a Hoarder

My parents came up to visit over Memorial Day weekend, and they brought me my dresser from home. A couple of days before, my Momma cleaned out all of the drawers. She started texting me pictures of things she was finding, and, to be honest, as funny as it was, I can’t believe the stuff that was in there! Here are a few pictures of Momma’s findings.

pez Pez Dispensers

tigger
A few more Tigger items

dear diary
Dear Diary-anyone else own one of these in middle school?

candy
Jelly Bellys, Powerpuff Girl suckers, and *NSYNC conversation hearts

nsync
I had a pretty big *NSYNC obsession

pin
Municipal Government Works

straw
A straw?

tickets
Concert tickets:
Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert,
& Kenny Chesney

money
$200!

stuff
A few more random things

mom
Momma modeling a few things

mom3

mom4
The cigar is from when Jessica’s
oldest son was born!

There were also a bunch of balloons and birthday cards and get-well cards from my surgeries, among other things. Momma sure had a great time!

Maybe…

Maybe letting the little bro move in wasn’t such a bad idea.
He cooked dinner for us, cleaned up the kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher, and organized my cabinets. I might like this!