Raining cats and dogs

The last home football game for tailgating was interesting because it rained most of the day.  When we arrived it wasn't raining but by the time we put the tent up it started sprinkling.  So we headed down to Walmart to get some tarps to put up on either side of the tent.  We made it back and put the tarps up just in time before it started to downpour.  It rained most of the day and the tent sprang a few leaks but thankfully it wasn't over the tv.  It stopped raining at 3 so everyone could enjoy some nice cooked steak tacos before going to the game. Hopefully the next game doesn't rain!

I got to pet Bessy the cow.

Party like a rock star

The month of September for us has lots of birthdays.  My father's birthday and Chris's brothers birthday are both on the same day.  We also have close friends Cindy, Travis, and Dwight who also have birthdays during September.  We celebrated Dwight's birthday at Fast Lanes with a little bowling and some dancing around.  We also went out to dinner on his actual birthday.  Looks like we'll have more birthdays to celebrate next month with my Mom's and Chris's parents.

It's real

Our dog Morgan has a serious addiction to television.  He thinks that everything on tv is real and he will sit and watch tv for hours.  This past weekend Chris took a video of me vacuuming the sectional. Our newest dog Newton LOVES to attack the vacuum cleaner.  We played the video on the tv for Morgan to watch and he really thought that Newton was in the tv.  He watched it for a long time until we finally turned it off.  Poor Morgan maybe one day he'll get over his tv addiction.

Just because

Last week Chris sent me flowers at work just because he loves me.  He is such a wonderful amazing and caring husband.  I thank God for blessing me with him everyday.  Thanks babe I love them!  You're the best!!!

I also got 4 pairs of brand new shoes for $86 and the retailed for $360.  At first Chris was only going to let me get 3 pairs but when he realized how great a deal it was he told me to get the fourth pair.  So if anyone is looking for some nice shoes Nine West is having a huge sale right now.  Sizes are limited and if you wear a size 6 I bought the majority of what was left! :)

Tailgating it up

This past Saturday was the first Razorback football game of the new season.  The mark of football season means that we'll be spending time at Bacon Lovin' Tailgate (BLT).  This year the guys went all out for tailgating.  Greg bought a television and a generator and Chris got his parent's old DirectTV dish.  The more stuff they get means the SUV gets loaded down with stuff.  Thankfully everything arrived safely, although we almost lost the grill getting there and coming back.  But I think that they have figured a way to make sure it doesn't fall off for next time.

The grill was almost on the ground when we got there!

We made it!!!

I loved being able to wear my Razorback Toms to tailgate.

After everyone went to the game I stayed down at tailgate to make sure nothing got stolen.  Plus I don't like football so I got to watch whatever I wanted to once everyone left.  I was shocked at how many people approached me for things.  One lady wanted a water and some other people wanted cups and napkins.  Several guys tried dropping their wives off with me and there were a lot of guys who were upset because I wasn't watching the football game.  It was a little creepy sitting there by myself but thankfully Becky came back since she wasn't feeling good.  Next time I'm prepared to answer everyone with no leave me alone!  Other than that the day was great and we're ready for next weeks game.

Watching Star Wars is much better than going to the football game!!

Highs and lows

When we bought our house several years ago we thought that it was a little odd that the previous owner had installed a ceiling fan in the kitchen.  We said that we were going to eventually take it down.  But it came in handy when we have tons of people over or when Chris is making big meals.  It really keeps the kitchen cool when you're baking or cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving.  We leave all of the ceiling fans running all day and night during the summer to keep the house cool. 

Well on Saturday the ceiling fan in the kitchen finally burnt up.  The light still worked but the fan itself was dead and it started to smell.  So we headed down to our favorite neighborhood Home Depot to look for a new one.  I now know more than I ever wanted to know about ceiling fans!  We started off buying one that I really loved but it didn't produce enough air so we had to return it.  I found several that I wanted that either didn't provide enough air or enough light.  After several hours of looking we finally decided on one.  Let's hope that nothing else decides to break in the kitchen.  I've already had to replace the dishwasher this year!

The old ceiling fan, don't look to closely it's dusty!

The box claimed it would take 5 minutes to put up.  It took us an hour and a half!

The finished product looks pretty close to the old one but it puts out more light.

Good cause

I love shoes and I especially love buying shoes when I'm able to give back.  My favorite shoe company to buy from is Toms!  For every pair of shoes that you buy they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need.  I think that is a great cause and a good reason to buy new shoes! :)  I have six pairs of Toms shoes which two pairs are the wedges which are my FAVES.  I wear those more than any of them.  If I was able to buy all of them I would.  They are so comfortable to wear and they go great with all different types of outfits.

My parents bought these for my birthday this year.

A few weeks ago when we went down to Mena Chris's wonderful mother bought me my sixth pair of Toms and had them painted.  I have a feeling that they will be my new favorites to wear during Razorback games.  I plan on wearing them to the first football game in a few weeks.

I love them Vicki, that you so much!!

Community Block Party

Last Sunday at our church we held a Community Block Party where we handed out free backpacks with school supplies, free immunizations, free haircuts, dental consultations, and free food.  We were expecting around 500 people.  Over 2,000 people from the Springdale area showed up!  There were people who got in line at 3 and the party didn't start until 5.  People were lined up around the block for the party.  It was a great turn out and I'm so proud to see the work of Jesus being done at our church. 

Our small group helped out in big ways.  Dwight was one of six people who helped with haircuts and he didn't get finished until almost 9!  Chris helped with handing out food for hours.  Kathleen, James, and I helped out in the kitchen and doing various other tasks.  We are already planning the Community Block Party for next year and I bet that we'll have an even bigger turn out! Our church may be small but we are helping out in big ways in our community.

Dwight did TONS of haircuts.

James helping out in the kitchen.

Part of the line for haircuts.

Our pastor Stephen got a temporary tattoo.

Chris handing out beans and coleslaw.

Kathleen finally enjoying a break when it was all done!

Ready for fall

The temperature has been a lot cooler in our area and we have gotten a few inches of rain in the past couple of days.  One morning we had lows in the 60s!  It makes me ready for fall weather and that means it's almost time to start decorating for fall and Halloween.

Last Saturday at Yankee Candle was the debut of the 2011 Boney Bunch collection.  We were not in town because we went down to Mena to visit with Chris's family for the day.  So Sunday after church Kathleen and I went to the mall to look at the new collection.  Every year I add a new piece to my collection.  Boney Bunch is highly collectible and a lot of the pieces sell out within minutes of them being available.  Most people are like me and treasure their pieces but there are some who buy multiples and sell them for a huge profit on eBay.  Once they are sold out it is very rare for Yankee Candle to bring them back.  This years most coveted item was the Boney Bunch dog it sold for $9.99 in the store and you can find it on eBay anywhere from 30-100!  Here are some of the pieces I got this year.  Chris surprised me and got me a couple of extra pieces this year and he got me on the waiting list at two stores just in case they get anymore of the dogs in.

When Chris was out of town he also bought me a new accent pillow for the guest bedroom bedding.  I think that once the walls are painted to match it will all tie it in.  My question is what color should I paint the bed?  We don't like light colored furniture so it's between painting the bed black or attempting to stain it a darker color.  I'm worried with painting it black that the bedding will blend in with the bed.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you guys think.

Summer haircuts

We have been having record breaking heat in our area and it doesn't seem it is going to end anytime soon.  It's starting to feel and look like we live in Texas.  We haven't had much rain in the last two months either so everything is brown and dead here.  So we decided to take the dogs in for their summer haircuts to help them stay cool.  Newton didn't get a haircut because he already has short hair but he did get his nails trimmed.  They all seem to be much cooler now with their new summer do's.

Baxter loves his summer haircut but he looks naked without hair.

Morgan HATES his haircut!

Newton is just sleepy.

Here is a photo with Morgan watching television.  His addiction to television seems to be getting worse.  His favorite channels to watch are Animal Planet and the History channel.  If we have guests over all I have to do is put Morgan in our bedroom and turn the tv on and he is entertained for hours!

Tiling it up

Every since we have moved into our home 4 years ago we have had a checklist of things that we have wanted to do.  Get hardwood floors, granite countertops, and putting in a tile backsplash in the kitchen.  Well we finally got to check off one of those because a few weeks ago Chris and Greg put in a tile backplash in the kitchen.  We've been looking at them for years and we never thought that we could do it ourselves.  But after watching hundreds of home improvement shows over the years we finally decided to do it.  It was also nice that Lowe's had the tile backsplash that we wanted on sale!  It turned out really great and everyone seems to love it.  Chris also fixed our under cabinet lighting while he was at it.

Chris and Greg were pondering what to do next.

The finished product!

Up close photo of the tile.  I love the color of the tile, it goes with everything.

Remember when I posted about my dream of redesigning our spare room.  Well here is a sneak peak of the bedding.  I still have to get some accent pillows to finish the bedding.  But I still have TONS to do in this room.  I'll keep you guys posted with all the updates that are to come. :)