Country Weekend

Im on a roll! Ok, let's see. This past weekend I went East to visit my grandparents. They live in Sulphur Springs. I had a really good visit. It was definately a laid back weekend full of all things country! Friday evening we went to see my cousin's oldest daughter play Tball. Which was precious. She is 5 and adorable! Saturday we went to the town Farmers Market and then drove to Pittsburg, Texas to go to this huge Farmers Market/peach orchard/strawberry orchard. So much fun!

Pittsburg, Texas is also home to Bo Pilgrim...the chicken guy. His house is amazing!

It is hard to see his house...because we were driving and that was the best I could do as a drive by! 

Tractor fountain

I had so much fun picking strawberries.  The people working there could tell I had never done it before because I was little too excited!  But, it was much  cheaper than  buying them already picked, plus I got the experience!  They were some of the best strawberries I have ever eaten.  While we were there we got to have fresh strawberry ice cream which was super wonderful on such a hot day.  I bought some black eyed peas to put in the freezer for this fall and some Pumpkin Butter for the fall as well.  I usually go here once a year to stock up! 

My Poppa has this recipe that he makes for pickles.  I LOVE THEM!  I have always loved pickles.  These pickles are spicy/garlicy/sweet/yummy goodness.  So when I was there I brought all the stuff and asked Poppa to show me how to make his famous pickles.  You have to put it all together, and then it sits out on the counter for one week.  Every day you flip the pickles up and down.  After one week, they have to refrigerated for at least 24 hours before they are good to eat.  They are so awesome with sandwhiches, or for me, just in a bowl!  My pickles should be ready tomorrow...and I am super excited to eat them!

Being the nerd that I am...I of course took pics!

Day 1

first night

Day 2

Thankfully the pickles survived the trip home, but at some point the lid started leaking.  So I had to transfer them into a gallon bag and will have to find a plastic gallon jug at Target or something. 

I am gearing up for a four day weekend.  So excited.  Some plans have changed, but Saturday I get to spend the night with Monica!  Then Sunday I am going to see SATC2 with my sisters and cousin.  I am beyond excited about that!  We are going to a swanky theater in Allen called Gold Class Cinemas.  Gonna be a blast! 

Ok...well this post pretty much summed up how utterly boring my life is.  Strawberry pickin' and pickles. Hold on boys..it's a wild ride! 

:)

ONE YEAR-This one's for Nikki!

So, it has been one YEAR since my last post. After reading that last post--it is just a reminder of what a wild ride the past year has been. A few people have asked ( or begged--Nikki!) :) for me to update. I insist that I have nothing to update on...you have no idea how boring my life is! So, here is my best effort at updating on the past year. I will try and do it in categories. Update first, then I will post various May 2009-May 2010 picsBecause I am just that special....So---since May 19, 2009...

Family:

My world is my nieces and nephews. I love them more than I could ever imagine! I love going to GP/Wylie and spending the weekend with my sisters so that I can see those babies! I also have a slight addiction to Target because I love spoiling them! My heart melts when I walk in the door and Gracie says "Do you have a surprise for me?" My answer is always--you bet! And usually more than one! In August I will be a blessed Auntie again--Libby is due in August and having a boy. I am super excited and he has a little Target stash of his own collecting at Auntie's house! Libby won't tell anyone his name--which of course is killing me! Reguardless of what they call him, I just can't wait to love on him and spoil him rotten!

We have had several family events since May 2009. My sweet MeeMaw turned 90 in June of 09. The "babies" turned 1 in July... my Poppa turned 80 that same month, the holidays came and went, and since then we have had get togethers at Easter, graduation, Mother's Day...and life goes on! I am blessed beyond measure--that's for certain. People at work are always amazed at how often my family does things, how "big" the events are...it is normal to me, as we have always been this way. But, as I grow older, and meet more people, I realize how rare it is...and how special it is.



On Barry's family--We placed his dad in an Alzheimer's Unit on July 22, 2009. One of the hardest days of my life. Barry was unable to take off work because he had used all of his time off when his dad was living with us. I was the one who had to go up there, explain to Buddy what was going on, fill out all of the paper work and make sure he was ok. I will never forget that day. I took him to Walmart to get a few things and then I took him to eat at Cracker Barrell.

He is such a special man to me, and though I get overwhelmed alot with my responsibility for him, I just remind myself that 'in sickness and in health' doesnt always mean your spouse--you marry the family too. Since July '09 Buddy has continued to decline. Right now we are just trying to keep weight on him. I call every Monday to see what his current weight is--never have I been so excited for someone to GAIN weight! Right now all I can do is make sure Buddy is taken care of, is comfortable and knows that we love him. I take him peanut M&M's and orange soda once a week. Barry visits when he can, but it is really hard on him. Sometimes Buddy knows us, sometimes he doesn't. That is the hardest on Barry. He is grieving the loss of his dad.

Barry's mom is retiring in December--and I am so excited because that means she will visit more often! Hopefully alot more once we get pregnant ;) My mom certainly will have her hands full with SEVEN grandbabies by then and will need some back up!

Here are a few family pics:

Jamie and Lila at Jack's birthday party in April 2010

Barry surprised me with a new car in January!  Isn't she lovely?

Ok, I am officially frusterated because I just spent the last 45 min going through all the pics from 2009 trying to pick out "highlights" and when I went to upload them, the only one that took was the pic of my car.


For the two people who may read this, I will try again tomorrow....

Here you go Nikki----it's the best I can do today! 
Thanks for encouraging me to blog more!