Turning two!!

Somebody (okay, something) is turning two years old today!  WHOA!!  It's my marriage!!  Wowza!

That's right.  My 2nd anniversary to my BFF is today.  Couldn't be more pumped about that, and couldn't feel more blessed than I do getting to go through life with her.  She's the coolest person I know!

Love your face, Sweetness!!  Happy anniversary!!

Slowly Catching Up - April Updates

I have not been good about keeping up with the blog.  I have several posts drafted and am working to get pictures uploaded.  I am slowly catching up.  I still have to do the May posts and finish the posts about our vacation back in April, but I have finished the other April posts.  Click the links below to see the new posts!

Dallas Arboretum Field Trip

Baby Avance Reveal Party

Ranger Game

The Gift that Keeps on Giving - April (Lobster)

Good Things in 2012 - April

Growing, Growing, Gone!

Yep!  It was time...

My hair has been driving me crazy for a while now, and I finally got it cut last night...almost two feet of it!

Starting late last summer, I would periodically have friends and family ask if I was growing my hair out to donate it.  At that point, I definitely wasn't.  I thought that colored hair wouldn't be accepted as a donation, so I hadn't even considered it as an option.  Then, in November, I went to get my hair cut and highlighted with the plan to have it cut just past my shoulders.  As we were talking, my sweet hairdresser, Sarah Bryan, asked if I had ever considered donating it.  When I told her that I hadn't because it was colored, she said that you could donate colored hair as long as it was healthy!  At that point, I decided to have her add some long layers to give it a little change, but I opted not to have her cut it too much so that I could get all the info and cut it for donation at my next appointment.

When Sarah sent the information to me, we were both disappointed after looking at the details and learning that they (Locks of Love) will accept colored hair but not bleached hair (most highlights, including some of mine, are bleach).  At that point, I had made up my mind that I wanted to donate, so I was really disappointed.  I started doing some research of my own and found several organizations that accept hair donations (if interested, see more details below).  Each one has different length, color, cut date and other donation requirements.  Exactly ONE of those organizations accepted bleached hair.  I was thrilled to email Sarah with the results of my research!

It was a long time coming, but I finally got an appointment scheduled for "donation day."  Stephanie went with me to take pictures and also got her hair done.  It was a fun evening with Stephanie and Sarah.  It was wonderful to finally get a lot of my hair cut off, but it made it even more exciting that I was going to be able to donate it.  Sarah was thrilled and made it that much more fun as she chopped it all off!

Plus, how can you not be excited about helping improve the self-esteem of a child who does not have hair of his/her own?

Photo Credit

Before

Braided and ready to go

Cutting

Feels so much better!

After

When Sarah got ready to cut and style, we talked about it more and ended up deciding to cut it shorter than we had initially planned.  We probably could have cut more for donation.  :o(  Oh well...the braided pony tails were 14.5 inches, which means the actual hair donated was even longer.  One hair pulled from a braid was 20 inches long!  Sarah also thinned out my thick hair quite a bit.  Even after cutting off all those pony tails, there was a lot of hair on the floor when she was finished!

It has been a long time coming, and I love it!  Michael was so excited to see it!

Sarah, thanks for the great cut and color.  I have gotten several compliments today, and you have gotten some as well!  :o)

If you are looking for a new place to get your hair done, I highly recommend Sarah's Salon.  Sarah is super sweet and has very reasonable prices.  If you schedule an appointment, let her know that I sent you to get a discount on your first appointment!

*****

Organizations that accept hair donations (Click organization name to go to donation requirement page.)

1. Children with Hair Loss:  Hair must be at least 8 inches long.  They do accept gray hair and chemically treated hair!
2. Locks of Love:  Hair must be at least 10 inches long.  They do accept gray hair and  colored and/or permed hair but not bleached hair.
3. Childhood Leukemia Foundation:  Hair must be at least 10 inches long.  They do not accept colored or chemically damaged hair.
4. Wigs for Kids:  Hair must be at least 12 inches long.  They do accept gray hair, but they do not accept hair that has been chemically processed (perms, color-treated, or highlights).
5. Wigs 4 Kids:  Hair must be at least 10 inches long.  They do not accept hair that has been colored or  chemically damaged.
6. Pantene Beautiful Lengths:  Hair must be at least 8 inches long.  They do not accept hair with permanent color, bleach, or other chemical treatments, and it must be <5% gray.

Meet Sophie!

Sophie is the newest 3-pound addition to our family.  We were so excited to pick her up tonight and bring her home!  She was born on April 2, 2012, so she will be eight weeks old on Monday.

Here are a few pictures from when we first met her when she was almost five weeks old.  How could we say no to that little face?

The last three weeks have gone by slowly, and we are so excited that she is finally home with us!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving – May (BBQ Sauce)

Michael received his May shipment tonight to round out our year long celebration of his 30th birthday.  It was kind of fun that he got the last shipment on his actual birthday!

This was our Michael's last shipment, and we're he's sad that we he won't be expecting these each month.  We may have to join again sometime in the future.  It's been fun.  Michael, I hope you enjoyed celebrating all year with the "gift that keeps on giving the whole year!"  Happy 30th birthday!  I guess now, we better move on to celebrating 31.

Twelve down, zero to go.

June – Hot Sauce ü
July – Ice Cream ü
August – Beer ü
September – Sirloin ü
October – Pizza ü
November – Peanut Butter & Jelly ü
December – Coffee ü
January – Jerky ü
February – Tea ü
March – Salsa ü
April – Lobster ü
May – BBQ Sauce ü

Chihuly Nights at the Arboretum

When I went to the Arboretum with Mom and MaMa a few weeks ago, they were starting to set up a new exhibit - Chihuly.  We saw one of the displays that had been completed, and they were in the process of working on a couple of others.  I knew that I wanted to go back when the exhibit was complete.

Not long after that trip, Michael and I were presented with the opportunity to go...for FREE!  Yes please!  We went tonight and had a wonderful time.  We were able to stay for the concert and the night exhibit.  The weather was great, and the exhibit met my expectations.  It was so pretty!

This display was made of over 1,200 individual pieces of glass, and we were told that it took them over four days to assemble it.  Incredible!

While impressive during the day, the entire exhibit was even more spectacular at night!

You should definitely go check out this exhibit if you can.  If you get a chance, go at night!

Good Things in 2012 - April

April 1 - 4-mile walk at the lake followed by TCBY.  Great afternoon!
April 2 - I love my chiropractor appointments.  I wish I could go every day!
April 3 - It is amazing how quickly antibiotics start working.  Michael picked up my prescription today, and I took it when I got home from work.  I was already feeling better by bed time.  Amazing!
April 4 - Michael got to go fishing with my dad today.  I'm glad he is getting to enjoy this week off playing golf and fishing...and of course getting good stuff done around the house too!
April 5 - Last day of work before vacation!
April 6 - I love getting my nails done.  It's been a long time!
April 7 - We had a fun day hanging out with Michael and Jessica and got to end the evening at Salt Lick!
April 8 - Happy Easter!  We enjoyed church with the Hixons before heading on to Fredericksburg for our vacation.
April 9 - We saw lots of wildflowers today and visted Luckenbach.  "Everybody is Somebody in Luckenbach!"
April 10 - Today we climbed Enchanted Rock.  Gorgeous Day!  We had a beautiful drive to Llano to eat Cooper's Bar-B-Que for dinner.
April 11 - We enjoyed a laid back morning of browsing in Fredericksburg, and finally saw the Hunger Games movie today.  We were disappointed in the movie but followed it up with an AMAZING dinner at Navajo Grill!
April 12 - We were sad to leave Barons Creekside, but it was nice to get home.  Michael could barely stand the wait to check on his garden.  Everything has gotten bigger, and we're starting to see some fruit!
April 13 - Estate sale and running errands with my love.  I wish I could have Fridays like this every week!
April 14 - Great food day - donuts for breakfast, Jack in the Box tacos for lunch, and Spring Creek BBQ for dinner!
April 15 - I enjoyed the relaxing Sunday afternoon/evening while Michael got everything ready for his first day at his new job.
April 16 - After 10 days off work, my first day back went pretty smoothly.  Michael also had a good first day at his new job!
April 17 - The other team didn't show up for our first volleyball game of the season, but that meant I was able to get home a little earlier and enjoy a nice walk with a friend before it got dark.
April 18 - Arboretum Day with Mom and MaMa!  Michael also had a surprise to search for when he got home from work.  Big Binks is 2 pounds of chocolate!

April 19 - First vegetable harvest from the garden.
April 20 - Camping weekend is here!
April 21 - Although it was cold last night, we had amazing camping weather today!  It was great to be outside, away from the busyness of home.  Alaina, Katie, and I went on a five-mile hike this afternoon.  Fun times!
April 22 - I love camping, but it's always nice to get home and take a shower.  I can't wait to sleep in my bed tonight!
April 23 - Dinner with Mom and Dad at Potbelly...YUMMY!
April 24 - Baby Avance Reveal Party!  It was so fun to have friends share this special moment with us!
April 25 - Great time catching up and sharing with the FG girls at accountability.
April 26 - We picked and sauteed squash and zucchini from our garden to go with our dinner tonight.  It was delicious!
April 27 - Rangers' game with Jenni, Rod, and Kristin.  Fun times!
April 28 - Michael and I went fishing with Dad this morning.  It was windy, but we had fun!

April 29 - Surf and Turf (Lobster and Steak) dinner with friends.  We had fresh broccoli from the garden to go with it!

April 30 - Pizza and nacho night for the Mavs' game!

Ranger Game

We enjoyed the fabulous weather at the Ranger game last night.

Even though the Rangers didn't win, we got to see some Josh Hamilton greatness.

We also got to see a great firework show after the game!

Jenni had invited us to a fund raising dinner put on by Great Cities Missions at the Hall of Fame prior to the game.  We had a great time at the dinner, visiting with Jenni and Rod, Kristin, and Mike and Judi.  Michael also came away from the auction with an autographed ball signed by Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving – April (Lobster)

Eleven down, one to go!  L We're not ready for the shipments to stop.

June – Hot Sauce ü
July – Ice Cream ü
August – Beer ü
September – Sirloin ü
October – Pizza ü
November – Peanut Butter & Jelly ü
December – Coffee ü
January – Jerky ü
February – Tea ü
March – Salsa ü
April – Lobster ü
May – BBQ Sauce

Baby Avance Reveal Party

Tonight was the big moment for Tim and Stephanie (and family and friends) to find out what baby Avance's gender is.  Is baby Avance a boy or a girl?

Stephanie had yummy food for everyone, and the table was very cute with touches of pink and blue.

It was so special that Tim and Stephanie shared this moment with friends and family.  I am excited that we were able to be there to share this with them.  Everyone was anxious to find out if they are having a boy or a girl.

I wanted to take something, but since I didn't know what to buy, we played it safe and got both.  Which gift will Tim and Stephanie get to open...pink or blue?

Stephanie's friend Celia had made delicious cupcakes for dessert.  One of them was filled with either blue or pink frosting.  Finally, it was time for the big reveal.  Tim and Stephanie led the line to get a cupcake.  Tim tried to cheat and pull the toothpick out of a few to see if he could get  a sneak peak.

Once everyone had a cupcake, it was time to dig in.  Stephanie could hardly stand it and looked around expectantly waiting to see who had THE cupcake.

I had been waiting to catch their reaction, but when no one spoke up, I decided I'd better bite into mine.  Meanwhile, Stephanie was instructing parents to make sure their kids bit all the way into the cupcake!

Low and behold, I was holding it in my hand.  Once Stephanie realized I had it, I had to get a picture before I turned it around.

It's a GIRL!!!

Here are some pictures of the reactions at the front of the room.  Lots of excitement!

Gayland and Brenda had brought a gift that was quickly transferred into a cute pink bag.  It was a precious Willow Tree Musical Figurine.

A little later, Tim and Stephanie got to open the pink gift that Michael and I took.  I love the monkeys!

Stephanie's brother and SIL bought their niece a pretty silver piggy bank.  It was engraved with a quote that Chris and Stephanie's Nanny used to always say, "Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." - Nanny

How sweet and thoughtful!

Congratulations Tim, Stephanie, and Baby Avance!  You're halfway there.  We can't wait to meet your precious pink bundle of joy!