Fear the Beard!

As part of Kenny's valentines present I got him two tickets to the Kansas State vs. OU basketball game. I tried to get some closer seats as a special treat and boy, we were so excited to go!

I have to admit, I've been completely converted to a Kansas fan when it comes to basketball. Maybe because we watch so many of the games, or because I know all the players on the K-State team, or because of the intensity of their coach, Frank Martin, but those guys sure do play with heart and I like that!
One of their star players, Jacob Pullen (above) grew a beard at the start of the season this year and since they have had such a great season the fans have attributed it to the facial hair *laughs*...

There is even an awesome slogan "fear the beard", so you just know I begged Kenny to not shave until after the game *grins* His fear the beard beard growth was only for about six days, but still, we were supporting the idea right!?

Just kidding *winks* Here's his real "beard"
We had such a grand time, even the drive down to Norman was a fun time to just talk and get excited about some college basketball!
Here is the warm up, I was giddy with glee recognising the players and pointing them out to Kenny..."oh look! There's Clemente, and Pullen! Oh, oh...there's McGruder...MCGRUDER!" Kenny just smiled and nodded, enjoying my excitement.

Our seats ended up being really great, we could see the players and hear them yelling out there on the court.

Boy, the OU crowd is sure loud and they were playing strong for the entire first half but we out played them in the second half and won the game!

Way to go Wildcats! I can't wait to see you play again soon! *grins*

Lunch with the ladies

On most weekdays I get to spend my lunch breaks at my sweet Mom and Dad's house. It is such a special time and I am so thankful that I get the chance to see them and relax and talk about my day and life. An added bonus is that I get to see my precious nephews several times a week when they are at Grandma and Grandpa's house *grins*

Well, just as a fun surprise I decided to invite my Mom and Lisa over to my house for lunch! I wanted them to have the chance to see our updates on the house and for Lisa to get to try out the Wii and play Rock Band with me because she rocks! *laughs*

We're all trying to eat healthier so Lisa suggested a gianormous salad! Look at these beautiful ladies chopping up all the delectable vegetables...We even had crispy, crunchy, smoky, bacon as a fun topper on our salad! Is your mouth watering yet? Lisa brought tomatoes and cabbage, hard boiled eggs, sweet baby bell peppers and all sorts of salad fixins.Look who I got to snuggle while Mom and Lisa fixed me lunch *winks* Griffin is such a sweetie!
We spent most of my lunch break preparing our glorious salad, but it was worth it!
We finished off our food and Lisa got to try out about three moves on the Wii fit *laughs* and then I had to head back to work. What fun, I think we'll have to have lunch at my house again soon!

My new do

I had a wonderful, pampering, relaxing treat during my lunch break today. I had an appointment to go and get my hair cut *grins* I usually schedule those for Saturday's, but it turned out to be a great pick me up for the middle of the day!
It just feels so nice to have some one dote on you and pamper you and wash, blow-dry and style your hair, and then you leave the salon feeling all fresh and stylish! I could get used to this! *winks*
Can you imagine being a celebrity and having a personal stylist pick out your clothes, apply your makeup "just right" and style your hair every day!?! Wow! Or someone who rubs your shoulders any moment you might need it throughout the day... that would be auh.may.zing! *laughs*
Well, I just wanted to share some pictures of my fun new do *winks* I think I'll schedule my next hair cut on a Wednesday again!

You can be a winner at the game of Life

Saturday afternoon Neil, Julie and Lori all came over to our house to see our new wood floors, our remodeled bathroom, have lunch and just hang out for a while before Neil and Julie had to head back to Missouri.

We sent the boys out to pick up Chili's to-go and Julie, Lori and I got to play Rock Band for a little bit *grins* Lori is a rock star on the drums and Julie plays the guitar in real life, so I got stuck with the singing part *laughs* I think I brought the band down a few notches, but it sure was fun!

The boys returned with our scrumptious lunch and we enjoyed watching some of the winter Olympics while we chowed down on chips and queso!

After lunch we had just enough time for a intense game of "Life"....
Kenny and I had the original old game of Life from the 1940's that we have played a couple of times, but Kenny bought me this new game of Life for Christmas last year and it was such fun! It is really updated, for example you have to take out a student loan to "go to college", you get raises on your job along the path of life, or you can lose your job and if you are the policeman you can catch players "speeding". We really had fun!Judging from this picture you might think Lori was the big winner, but no! Kenny and Neil, the Doctor and Lawyer were battling it out until the last turn and Neil was the supreme champion *grins*Thanks for coming over to play with us! We love you guys!!

Lori, Lori howdy to ya!

My sweet baby sister Lori turned twenty two on February 9th! We postponed the get-to-gether just long enough so that Neil and Julie got to come down the following weekend and celebrate with all of us. We had a fun Friday night of party festivities *grins*
I love the way we all get along so well, we have such fun just sitting around talking to each other. Talking about everything, stories of when we were kiddo's, sports, current events, politics, life. It's my favorite! *grins*

We ate a delicious dinner of three different kinds of pizza, I really like the meat lovers with sausage, pepperoni and bacon (oh how I love bacon *laughs*). There were ten adults and two little boys, there's almost so many of us that we need an extra table, wow!

After dinner we went straight to the gifts. Lori's such a selfless person, she "couldn't think of a thing that she needed", but she got a bunch of fun gifts anyway *winks*

Bryce is always such a helper with gifts. He gets so excited and can't wait to see what's inside, oh I love that little guy!

Bryce will be joining a soccer team in the springtime that is sponsored through our church. His Uncle Kenny is a soccer pro and great soccer coach, so we bought him a soccer ball that is just his size to practice with.

I think he really liked it. He sat it right on the ground and started dribbling away, zooming all over the place. I was amazed how quickly he just knew what to do. Not touching it with his hands, and not punting it across the room.
He was sure excited to show his little brother Griffin too *winks*

After gifts we were ready for some Hawaiian wedding birthday cake. Ooooh yum!
and a rousing chorus of "Lori, Lori, howdy to ya".... now, to understand this song you have to understand just how very much my sisters and I wanted a little baby sister. I can remember specifically, on a family vacation to Colorado, sitting in the hot tub begging my Mom and Dad to pleeeeaassee have another baby, we'll take care of it and feed it, and change it's diapers and you won't have to do anything! *laughs* I'm not sure how much influence my four year old self had on that decision, but about a year later we had our precious new baby sister Lori.

Often in the evenings of our childhood days Lisa, myself and Julie would have the time of our lives singing along to our Dad playing the guitar. Good old classic songs that I can still remember to this day. Well one night shortly after our sweet baby sister arrived Dad re-wrote the chorus to The Battle Hymn of The Republic and this song was born...

Lori, Lori howdy to ya

Lori, Lori howdy to ya

Lori, Lori howdy to ya..

We're sure glad you're here!

(to the tune of "glory glory hallelujah")

So this year, in lieu of the traditional Happy Birthday to you, we all sang Lori's song. Our sweet brother in laws even chimed right in and caught the lyrics like champs!
We dove right into the cake and wrapped up the evening with lots of laughter and more tales of the good old days. *grins*

Superbowl Sunday

Have I ever told you that I have the greatest husband ever!!! Just let me tell you what we did on Superbowl Sunday....we.went.grocery.shopping.....

That's right, on the one day of the year when a lot of guys just want to veg out on the couch and watch the big game, my sweetie pie went to not only one, but two grocery stores with me! I love that sweet guy more than words could tell you.

We were planning to pop in Wal Mart and get the essentials, then dash over to Sam's Club to stock up on some bigger items. I was somehow under the impression that the grocery stores would be deserted because of all the people watching football, but I was sadly mistaken.

Apparently hundreds of thousands of people waited until the last minute to pick up their snacks and food for the big game. The store was overrun by mad men dashing up and down the aisles, frantically grabbing chips and dips, cheeses and meats. Food was flying through the air like a frenzied hurricane with absolutely no regard for proper shopping cart etiquette *laughs*

We somehow managed to dart up and down the aisles and gather up the bare essentials and then head for the check out.....oh the check out lines.....it's all a blur now, but we somehow survived.

Luckily Sam's club was a little more laid back. No maniacs screeching around the corners with their shopping carts hopped up on two wheels, children hanging on for dear life. We breathed a sigh of relief and finished our shopping.

We made it home about fifteen minutes into the game. I think Kenny deserves the Vince Lombardi trophy for putting up with all that! *laughs*

We watched the remainder of the first half and then I felt the urge to do some great snack cooking. I made my favorite, chewy chocolate chip cookies... Next I whipped up a gigantic heap of chex mix. Kenny's Grandma always makes a yummy batch for Christmas eve and Kenny loves it!
And last but not least I was dying to try out this new recipe for Jalapeno popper dip. The recipe was posted on one of my favorite blogs, ourbestbites. If you're ever looking for a fun new recipe you should check them out!! They have the best recipes!
This dip was heaven on a plate, creamy jalapeno goodness. Oh, I'm drooling just thinking about it.Here's the recipe in case any one wants to share in my joy *grins*

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Recipe from Our Best Bites
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese (light works great)
1 c. mayonnaise (light also works here, but DON'T use Miracle Whip!)
1 c. Parmesan cheese
1 4-oz. can fire roasted green chilies
1/2 4-oz. can diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1-2 sourdough baguettes, sliced, and/or crackers

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients and spread into a 9" pie plate or a small baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until dip is bubbly and golden brown.

I actually halved this recipe, since it was just me and Kenny and it worked out great. Try it, if you like cheesy spicy goodness you won't be sorry!

The whole while I was cooking away in the kitchen Kenny was calling out the play by play to me *laughs* I was finished up in time to watch the last quarter and we enjoyed watching Drew Brees celebrate the Saints victory with his little son. So sweet...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Wow! I think this has been the snowiest winter of my adult life and I'm loving every moment *grins* Ever since Christmas we've had snow just about every other week. It just makes our home feel so snug and warm when you look outside and see those enormous flakes falling down onto a deep field of white.
This is outside on our back patio looking over towards the pool.
And our sweet little vegetable garden covered in snow. Poor things, I'm amazed those basil plants come back strong every year!

We really had a great time during the snow storm. Kenny's school was closed for FOUR days and I got to stay home from work Thursday afternoon and all day Friday making for a nice looong weekend. *smiles*

We decided to spend a couple nights camping in the living room. It's such a treat. Kenny gets a huge fire roaring in the fire place and we bring our mattress out into the living room and spend the evening snacking and watching a movie or playing a board game. Such fun! It feels like we're on vacation in a snowy cabin in Colorado, waking up to the crackling fire keeping us warm.

One night we decided to bundle up and go for a snowy walk around our neighborhood. It was so quiet and peacefully still. No cars on the streets and all the people tucked safe and warm in their beds.
We had a specific mission in mind for our walk.... Every year when a winter storm comes blowing through, as I drive up our street in the twilight after work, I notice an enchanted tree. There is a street light behind it that casts a beautiful glow through the icy cold fog and the branches dance in the light like elegant crystalline fingers.
We just had to go and take a picture to share with you guys!

The next morning we were amazed to see how deep the snow was, even on the street!
This is looking East down the road right in front of our house. I love the way the snow collects on top of the tree branches giving them a pretty dusting of bright white.
Here is a photo of our house. I'm so thankful we've got a warm comfortable place to enjoy during the blizzard. Hope you guys all had as much fun as we did!