The Big Surprise

In July, my family rented a cabin in Ponca, AR on the Buffalo River. Since the whole family was there, we decided we would use this time to take family photos. Here's the picture of the whole crazy bunch!

At the end, we were doing individual families..so Grayson and I decided that would be the perfect time to share our exciting news! Our immediate families already knew..it was just a matter of telling the WHOLE family. I wanted to figure out a way to tell everyone at once..so this is how we did it. Grayson and I took a regular pic of just the two of us..Shelby walked up and handed me these 2 picture frames that said +1..she moved out of the way..then Tara started snapping reaction pictures. It couldn't have been better!!

The first picture she took.

Nana's reaction

Uncle Mark's reaction...

Uncle Mark is really, really, really happy. These are happy tears. :)

I love this one..everyone's facial expression is priceless.

Love my Nana!

She's so sweet. :)

This went better than expected. Everyone was screaming, crying..so happy for us. It definitely made the trip even more memorable.

Birthday Celebrations

I had an amazing birthday!! First, we're out for the summer..so that's always good! My sister Shelby made it an extra-special day by treating me to all sorts of goodies all day!! Not to brag, but I will go through the list of activities..First..lunch at McAllister's..YUM! Then we headed to the Fayetteville Square..we did some shopping at RiffRaff. I love that store!! They have lots of cute stuff...clothes..jewelry..all I walked away with was cute earrings and a cute ring..you'll see it in a picture coming up. Then we went to Orange Leaf and had frozen yogurt..delicious. I wish I had some now. :)

Mine is on the left..hers is on the right. You can see the cute flower ring I had just bought..

Then we went to get manicures and pedicures!! So relaxing! I want one of the chairs so that I can get a back massage anytime. :)

My nails are pink, hers are purple

We both liked the same polish for our toes..electric purple..strange name since the color is hot pink.

Then we went to a surprise location...Pack rat! Tara and Shelby bought me Chacos for my birthday..so we went and I was able to pick them out! What a great birthday!! Thanks seesters!!! :)

The birthday celebrations didn't stop on my birthday..Grayson took me out that night to Red Lobster..but Tara was out of town, so we didn't go out with my family until this week. We always takes LOTS of pictures..mostly posed. We went to Monte Ne Chicken and then back to Mom and Dad's for ice cream!!

Shelby and I

Grayson and I

Tara and I

Dad and I

Mom and I..like I said, we take lots of posed pics. :)

My CUTE birthday cake from Shelby Lynn's!! Not only is there a Hog on top, but there are several hog heads sticking out around the cake. Cute idea!!

Go Hogs!!

Thanks everyone for making my birthday week amazing!!!!

New Recipes

Since I have the summer off, I usually use this time to try new recipes since I have lots of time on my hands. The first one is from Pioneer Woman.. I. Love. Her. Every recipe we have tried of hers is amazing! This one is no exception! It tastes a lot like lasagna, but it takes a LOT less time!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Ingredients:

~1 1/4 pound ground beef

~1 can 15 oz. tomato sauce

~1/2 teaspoon salt

~Freshly ground black pepper

~8 oz. egg noodles

~1/2 cup sour cream

~1 1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese

~1/2 cup sliced onions- I hate onions, so I left this out :)

~1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Prep:

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees

~Cook beef..drain..add the tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. I also added cumin and chili powder to this mixture to make it more flavorful. Cook for about 10 minutes.

~Cook noodles, drain them, and pour them into a 13 x 9 baking dish.

~Combine the cottage cheese and sour cream..pour them on top of the noodles and mix them up.

~Pour meat mixture on top of creamy noodles..then top with cheese.

~Cook for 20 minutes.

~She layered it more like a lasagna..I thought this way was a lot easier and faster.

The next recipe I made for my husband. Everytime we go out to eat, he gets annoyed because nobody has broccoli cheese soup anymore. Chilis..Marketplace..nowhere. The only places that do have them, he doesn't care much more..the sandwich/ soup places. He keeps bringing it up, so I decided I would find a recipe and make it. I'm not a broccoli fan myself, but after Shelby and I made this...I actually ate it!! It was good...really good! I found it on pinterest. I changed it a little bit from the website I found it on.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

~4 Tbsp. butter

~4 cups frozen, chopped broccoli

~1/2 cup flour

~3 14 oz. cans chicken broth

~2 cups heavy cream

~12 oz. Velveeta

~1/2 teaspoon salt

~Pepper

Prep:

~Melt butter in saucepan and add broccoli.

~Heat on high for 3-5 minutes, then stir in flour.

~Gradually add chicken broth while stirring, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

~Stir in heavy cream.

~Carefully (hold lid on blender, heat will pop it off) blend soup and pour back in saucepan. We didn't blend all of it..we blended about half, then half we left in chunks.

~Heat and add Velveeta

~Add Salt and pepper to taste.

What we've been doing

Since it's been a while...I have some more pics of what we've been doing lately. Last Friday night, we had tickets to the Poultry Festival. Grayson had got two bronze tickets through work..Tara got gold tickets, so we traded up! :) We ended up sitting on the fourth row to the Little Big Town concert!! It was awesome!! They put on a really good show.

Shelby and Tara

Grayson, me, and Shelby

We found a new BBQ place in Fayetteville. It's where Ryan's used to be down from the NWA mall. It's called "Buck Nekkid BBQ"..hahahaha!! It is SO good! It's pit BBQ. Come to find out, some of the owners are from a small town in Texas where my family is from..small world! Anyway..it is delicious! I have been twice in the past week. Once with my Dad for Father's Day..then another day with my Father-in-Law for Father's Day supper. Needless to say, we love it!

BIG NEWS!! For our 4 year anniversary, Grayson bought me an above-ground pool. I love swimming. It's my favorite thing to do in the summer. Anyway..it's 4" by 18"..perfect size for me. All I want to do is lay out anyway! This picture is when he was filling it..he's working on landscaping around it, so it'll look better than the picture. :)

Besides swimming, I have been doing some crafting. This time, it's stuff for my house instead of everyone else's house! I have a wall in my hallway that is really long, and I haven't put anything on it because I've been indecisive about what I want. After living there for four years, I finally made a decision. I bought a canvas..covered it with burlap and painted it with our name and year we got married. On either side of the canvas, we are hanging up two old windows that were in our barn. I had my dad add chicken wire to them, so I can attach the pictures to it. I'm going to hang up black and white, old pictures of our families. One window will be my family and one will be his. I'll post pictures when they're up and looking good.

One of the windows with the chicken wire.

Today, Shelby and I are busy doing some more crafty things for our sister Tara's house..those pictures will hopefully come soon!!

So many things..

I have no good excuse or reason why I haven't blogged in FOREVER. I just haven't felt like it. haha. And..there hasn't been a whole lot going on.

The first bit of randomness..I found some new fingernail polish that I LoVe!! The brand is Zoya. I like it because it lasts a while and it doesn't hardly chip!! On Earth Day, they had a special..they were 50% off if you agreed to send back to them your old nail polishes..they would dispose of them properly. My sisters and I went a little crazy..if you go to their website..www.zoya.com..you'll see that they have a ridiculous amount of colors to choose from. I think all 3 of us got 6 colors each..ridiculous..I know. The pictures I took were on my phone, so it's not the best quality..but trust me, they are beautiful colors. :) One is named Lindsay..spelled wrong, but I couldn't not buy a nail polish with my name..haha.. it's a beautiful pink with sparkles. That's perfect for me!!

Lindsay is on the far right in the above picture..

Lately, all we've been doing is eating ice cream!! The other night we went to TCBY..the next night we went back to The Buss Stop..then last night for Father's Day, we had homemade ice cream at my Grandma's house..YUM!! Who needs food in the summer when you can eat ice cream instead? That's my new motto!!

Buss Stop..about halfway done...mmm it was good.

Homemade ice cream and fresh strawberries!!

The most important event that has happened lately..my baby sister graduated from high school!!! I still can't believe she is old enough. haha. It seems like she should still be in kindergarten..or at least elementary. I am so proud of her! She graduated with awesome grades and is planning on going to college to get her Master's and also be a teacher. Yay!! She will be awesome with those little, stinky, snotty-nosed kindergarteners!! haha!

Shelby and I after graduation

Grayson and Shelby
I am currently obsessed with Pinterest. If you don't know what this is..you need to look it up! It's amazing!! I have so many ideas b/c of it!! You can get the app if you have an iPhone...it's literally all I do. Sad. It is pictures of everything! Food..crafts..clothes..hair..people..fitness.. Anyway..I've been doing lots of crafty things, so I'll post some more soon and show you what I've been doing.
I found this picture on Pinterest..I just made one of these in the Spring (with Grayson's help). Mason jar soap dispenser.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mom!! She is the sweetest person I know..she is very giving and is always there when we need her. She is a true example of what a Godly woman should be. Love you Mom..I hope you have a fantabulous birthday!!!

Also... Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother-in-law!! She has accepted me into the Taylor family with open arms!! She is a great role model for me, and is the best MIL a girl could ever ask for!! Love you Elaine!!


Last....9 years ago today, I went on my first date with Grayson. WOW!! I can't believe it has been NINE YEARS!! Where has the time gone?? Love you Grayson!!!

Bring on the Snow!!!

It is snowing HUGE snowflakes outside right now. I love snow!! Last year, we got a ridiculous amount of snow and a ridiculous amount of snow days..I was afraid we'd be in school until my birthday- June 23. We weren't..but it was definitely a fear of mine.

I would love to wake up in the morning and see this outside..I took this picture last January during all the snow we were having.

I would rather not have any ice though.
I'd love to play in the snow again!!

And hopefully not have this scary incident happen...

Don't worry..my insane husband did NOT get injured.

Of course..now that I've said all this, it will all be melted by morning and I'll be at school. Nonetheless, here's wishing for a snow day!!!

New Crafty Blog

Shelby and I have been busy painting LOTS of canvases. Some for other people and some for ourselves. We created a blog for our new crafty business. Check it out and let me know what you think!!!

http://birdsbloomsandbubbles.blogspot.com/