May the Bosch's be with you

Branson 2011

2012-01-31T11:20:00.000-06:00

In December we went to Branson with Chris's whole family. Chris's mom rented a beautiful cabin that overlooked a creek. We had a great time together the only bad thing was that it rained most of the weekend.

Our room

Thankfully it didn't rain the morning that we decided to go zip lining. It was so much fun and I'd love to do it again.

We all had to sign waivers before we went.

Someone looks nervous!

Bacon Lovin' Tailgate Windup

2012-01-31T07:00:00.003-06:00

The guys went all out for the last couple of tailgates of the year. Greg bought another tent with sidewalls and we had some really good BBQ. Chris's mother bought them a sign at the War Eagle craft fair to put up every tailgate. I can't wait to see what they do for this years tailgate.

Halloween Party 2011 Winners

2012-01-30T11:07:00.000-06:00

I decided to break up the Halloween party photos into two seperate posts since there are so many pics. Here are the award winners for 2011:

Funniest costume

Most Original Costume

Scariest Costume

Prettiest Costume

Best Men's Costume

Best Women's Costume

Funniest Costume

Group Winners

Halloween Party 2011

2012-01-30T10:56:00.000-06:00

Our 6th annual Halloween Spooktacular was a huge success like normal. I love getting to see everyone's Halloween costumes and of course I love getting to dress up as well. This year I decided to do something totally different for Halloween. Every year I dress up in a costume that doesn't require that much makeup or hair. This year I went as a Day of the Dead girl. Thankfully my good friend Dwight is a hairdresser and he does AMAZING makeup as well. It took him almost three hours to my hair and makeup and it turned out wonderful!! He not only had to do my hair and makeup but he also had to do James, and himself as well. I can't wait for Halloween this year. Warning there are a TON of photos.

Wolfpack!!

October blur

2012-01-30T10:21:00.000-06:00

The last few months of 2011 went by in a blur of activity from spending time with friends and family to football games and holidays. October was a really fun month. Chris's parents came up to visit and of course go to all of the craft fairs. All of Chris's football friends make fun of him for going to the craft fairs and they call him a craft fairy. One of our friends even made him an apron with it on there. It's always interesting to see all of the people who go to craft fairs. For some strange reason people always have to dress alike with the same shirts or even witches hats!

We didn't buy a whole lot at the craft fairs but we did get a few things. I bought some Halloween decorations and Chris's mom bought me a hat that I've always wanted. Chris was also invited by our marriage enrichment counsel at church to be a Bob Eubanks for the oldie newlywed came. It was really fun to go to and Chris did a great job!

Of course October wouldn't be complete without our annual Halloween party. I'll do a separate post with all of the photos from the party but here are our pumpkins that we craved.

Raining cats and dogs

2011-09-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

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

2011-09-29T22:21:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-09T08:13:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-08T20:11:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-23T06:21:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-22T06:19:00.003-05:00

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

2011-08-21T16:11:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-09T08:45:00.002-05:00

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. :)

30 years ago

2011-08-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

July 11th was Chris's 30th birthday. For his actually birthday we didn't do anything big except for go out to dinner with our closest friends. But you guys all know that I couldn't just do nothing for his milestone birthday. For months I had been planning a surprise birthday party on July 16th. Chris was playing in his first disc golf tournament that day so it worked out perfect for a surprise birthday.

If anyone remembers I had another surprise birthday party for Chris when he turned 25. I had kept the secret for months only to leave a check list in the car for him to found out about the party. This year I went to great lengths to keep the surprise party a secret. I used my work email account to send out all of the evites and every text message I sent to people I deleted just in case Chris wanted to use my phone. I made everyone park at the middle school which is blocks away from our house and shuttled everyone back to our house.

The party went off great expect for the tournament got over at 3:30 and the party didn't start until 5:30. Thankfully our friend Greg was in the tournament as well and picked up Chris that morning so Chris wouldn't come home early. Greg did a great job keeping him out until the party started and Chris was really surprised to see everyone especially his parents who drove up from Mena. Thanks to everyone who was involved in helping me keep this secret from Chris, he had a wonderful birthday!

Surprise!!!!

My parent's made homemade chocolate ice cream and I was eating from the container.

Chris looked for this hat at every craft fair last year. Chris's Mom finally found it and bought it for his birthday present.

You can't have a birthday party without some Razorback decorations.

My parents! I tried getting a family photo with Chris's parents but I could never get one. Sorry the photo is blurry to but it was the only one of my parents.

Thanks Wolfpack for all your help decorating and for the emotional support!!

Chris and his dad.

Chris's Mom and Vaden.

Sarah and Frank drove all the way up from Mena too!

Thanks Greg & Becky for everything!

Independence Day

2011-08-03T19:48:00.001-05:00

Where on Earth did the month of July go? It went by so fast that I didn't have any time at all to do any posts on the blog. So over the next couple of days you'll get a recap of what we did during the month of July. I sometimes wonder if we will ever have any down time. Normally our summer months are slower because we don't have baseball or football to deal with but that just isn't the case anymore.

This year for 4th of July we celebrated it with my parents and we went to watch the Naturals play some baseball. After the game finished we got to watch some wonderful fireworks. Thankfully it wasn't as hot during the first part of July so we got to really enjoy them.

Tulsa Fun

2011-06-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday we headed over to Tulsa to watch the Tulsa Talons play against the Dallas Vigilantes. We actually went to celebrate our friend Greg's birthday. Last year we went and I guess it seems like we started a new tradition.

We love going to Tulsa because it's a really easy drive and there are so many cool things to do there. It always seems like if we go for the day that we have to eat there twice. This time we decided to try a different place that we normally go to. We decided to eat at an Irish Pub in downtown Tulsa. It was really close to the stadium and it got really good reviews as one of the best restaurants in Tulsa. The food was awesome and I actually drank my first beer. That's a miracle for me because I don't drink that much and if I don't I never drink beer.

The pub was located in a pretty cool part of downtown Tulsa.

Chris and Greg are always acting up in photos!

My first beer.

After we got down stuffing ourselves full we headed over to the BOK center to watch some arena league football. For a person who hates football I can watch about half of arena league football. By the second half I was totally bored but at least they have a cute mascot. After the game got finished we all drove over to the Cheesecake Factory for a late night snack and for some cheesecake.

The birthday boy!

Tulsa Talon was cute but I still love Ribby better!

Waterfalls and Weddings

2011-06-21T17:41:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago Chris and I got to take pictures of a wedding at Natural Falls State Park in Oklahoma. It is located right past Siloam Springs. This is the 6th wedding Chris has taken wedding pictures for. Chris gets to do all the hard work and I get to be the assistant and help pose the bride and groom and the rest of the bridal party. I always make sure that we get plenty of pictures because we didn't get all of the photos that we wanted at our own wedding. The park was a beautiful setting for a wedding and lots of people got to see them get married who were visiting the park.

Chris was using me as a test subject.

Enhanced with the Intstagram App.

This was one of my favorite pictures from the day.

Dreaming

2011-06-15T06:24:00.005-05:00

I have been wanting to redecorate the spare bedroom for awhile now. It's our catch all room for everything right now. Chris keeps all of his boxes for his job there, the unused treadmill, and of course the guest bed are in there too. I want to turn it into my girly room since Chris has his office which he gets to decorate I want my own room.

I've already picked out the bedding and wall color for it. I didn't take a picture of the paint color for the wall but it's called Bermuda Bay and it's by Glidden Paint. It's a blue gray color and I want to paint the bed a soft white and get some cheap end tables from Craigslist and paint them black. Here is my idea for the room maybe one day soon in the near future I'll be able to start working on it.

Chris doesn't want me to remove the ceiling fan in there but I don't ever use it. Plus this looks a ton better!

I am in LOVE with this bedding. Once I saw it I had to design the whole room around it.

Confession

2011-06-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

I've never been one to jump on the bandwagon when things are popular when it comes to books and movies. I never read any of the Harry Potter books, watched Titanic or read any of the Left Behind Series. But when I went to listen to my next audiobook in the Sunrise series by Karen Kingsbury and found out that it was checked out, I needed something to listen to. If you don't have time to read I would highly recommend audiobooks. They are a great way to still be able to read books but it does take awhile to get use to listening to them. So I was looking on the Lib2Go website and I came across Twilight. I decided to see what all of the fuss was about and I started listening to it. I had watched the movie about a year ago and I wasn't that impressed with it. After listening to the whole unabridged book I have to say that I loved it. I was hooked from the very beginning and now I am half way through listening to New Moon. I won't say that I'm obsessed like some of the people who have read the books and watched the movies but they really are pretty good. So when people ask what I'm reading I have to admit that I'm listening to the Twilight series, at least I'm not the only one!

9 Years ago

2011-06-08T18:38:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that 9 years ago I married my best friend. Chris has been the best husband to me and I love him more everyday. I thank God everyday for blessing me with such a wonderful and caring husband. Thanks Chris for making the last 9 years the best, I love you!! Here are some pictures of us from the last 10 years or so.

Our first date, which was 10 years ago.

Our engagement photo

Nashville Trip 2002

Our one year anniversary

College graduation 2004. I blinked in every photo of just us.

Our first house!

Meeting Coach Dave Van Horn

2010

Baseball Wrap Up

2011-06-07T18:38:00.001-05:00

Razorback baseball is officially done for the season. We didn't host a regional at home this year so our actual last game we attended was a few weeks ago. It was a good way to end the season with a double header. It started pouring during the Friday night game so Michelle and I headed over to the Mexican restaurant across the street before it started raining.

That Saturday we woke up really early and headed to the Fayetteville Farmer's Market before the double headers. The games were great and the weather was perfect. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the last home games of the year. The only bad thing is I got pretty sunburned. But it has turned into a nice tan! :) Here's hoping next year we make it back to the College World Series.

Cinco De Mayo and an Auction

2011-05-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

Last week we had 5 straight days of baseball! An absolute joy to any Razorback baseball fan. We had to sit through some rain and we had a little bit of a rain delay for one game. One of the games also fell on Cinco De Mayo and my favorite mascot Ribby got to have a little fun! On Friday's game they wore my favorite uniforms of the year so far!!! We don't have any baseball games this weekend which works out for me since I have to work all weekend all but there will be plenty of baseball for next weekend! :)

Scary looking weather coming in!

Don't you love rain delays?

Ribby I love you!!

I wish they would wear there socks up all of the time!

Last Saturday Chris and I got up really early and went to all of the craft fairs at the convention centers. When we got finished there he went to go play disc golf and I went to see Dwight to get my new feathers put in. My first feathers fell out and Dwight put in some new red and blue feathers just in time for the New School auction that night. We got asked to attend by our friends Kathleen and Vaden who work there. We won a gift card to Feltner Brothers for $11 and it's worth $15. There were all kinds of things up for auction. Kathleen won a brand new Coach bag and James and Dwight won a HuHot gift card. All in all it was a great night and it was followed by a wonderful Mother's day with my family!!

Dwight curled my feathers so you could see them.

James striking his best model pose.

Waiting for the auction to get finished.

We finally had to find a place to sit because it was so hot!

April Recap

2011-05-13T13:52:00.001-05:00

The month of April for us was absolutely crazy! We were so busy with baseball games and events with friends that we hardly spent anytime at home. The month of April also had some big things that happened. We attended Greg and Becky's annual baseball brunch and Chris's family got to come up for that.

Have you ever heard the express when Murphy comes knocking at your door? Well Murphy has been hitting us pretty hard lately. First the brand new iPad2 fell on the floor and the screen was completely shattered in one corner. I'm taking complete blame for this but if you want the real story send me a text or email and I might tell you what really happened, just as long as you don't tell Chris!! :) Thankfully when we went to Tulsa for the Razorback vs. ORU baseball game we stopped by the Apple store and they ordered us a brand iPad2 for free. We just had to drive back to Tulsa to get the new one. Which all we had to do was pay for gas and food.

Then the dishwasher broke with some help from Chris. So we got a brand new one which I absolutely LOVE! It is so quiet that I forgot that it's even on and the dishes have never been so clean before!! I also had all four of my wisdom teeth removed which was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. When I had my appendix out I wasn't in that much pain. Apparently one of my nerves was exposed so I had to go back to the oral surgeon for them to pack it full of some nasty stuff that tasted like cloves. But needless to say I'm back to my normal self and I'm glad that it's all over with!

While I was having my wisdom teeth removed we had a hail storm and our Saturn was at the car dealership getting new door locks so it got hail damage while it was there. So we have an appointment to have it looked at tomorrow to see how much the damage will cost.

The weather around here has been absolutely crazy!! We have had tons of rain that has caused flooding and it's been really hot. We turned the air conditioner on last week and we started to hear a strange noise coming from the vent. Today the air guy came out and told us that a piece of paper was stuck in the vent. So needless to say we had to pay someone to come out and remove a little piece of paper!!

I'm hoping that nothing else breaks or anything else goes wrong in the next month or so. We are going back on the Dave Ramsey budget until we get our emergency fund fully funded again!! Which means no more eating out, which we have been doing a lot lately anyways. Sorry for my ranting today. I promise the next post will be more positive! :)

It's elementary, my dear Watson

2011-03-19T22:24:00.001-05:00

If you remember in one of my previous posts I said that we went and test drove a couple of SUVs for my birthday. Well we eventually did buy one and it finally came in last Friday! We've been debating for awhile with what we should do with Chris's Xterra. I'm pretty much the sole driver of both cars that we have since Chris works all week and takes his work car. I never liked driving the Xterra because it got horrible gas mileage and it didn't have a sunroof. So it pretty much sat in the garage collecting dust until Chris needed it for tailgating. It was two and a half years old and it only had 7,000 miles on it. We thought about keeping it but with gas prices going up we decided it keep the thought of getting rid of it on the back burner.

Well for the past year or so GM has been sending out Saturn loyalty offers trying to get Saturn owners to purchase another GM vehicle. Most of the offers have been for a couple of hundred dollars off certain cars. When we received an email for 2,000 off any GM vehicle we thought that it might be a good time to start shopping around.

The two vehicles that we were looking at were the GMC Terrain and the Chevy Equinox. Both SUVs are sister cars to each other and the only real difference between the two is their body styles. Although if I could have picked any vehicle that I wanted I would have picked the Chevy Volt! But sadly they are still way to expensive for us to own. Since both SUVs get better gas millage than my own car it really didn't matter which one that we got. After driving both SUVs we decided to go with the Chevy Equinox. Once we signed all of the necessary paperwork and we just had to wait a week for it to come in.

Apparently the Equinox is a really high demand SUV according to the place that we bought it from. I'll be nice and I won't post about the horrible experience we had with them! I'm just glad that the nice talk Chris had with their general manager finally got us our SUV in a timely manner! It's been nice being able to have two cars that get good gas mileage. Since most everyone knows that I name my cars, I've decided to name this one Watson. Hopefully Watson will be with us for many more years to come!

Watson has lots of technical things like a backup camera.

A year ago

2011-03-16T18:12:00.001-05:00

This time last year Baxter was having laser disc ablation surgery at OSU. I am so glad that we decided to go ahead and have the surgery for him. Expect for one scare that we had in August which might not even be related to his back you can hardly even tell that he has back problems. Now he jumps off the back of the couch and I don't worry that he is going to rupture a disc. He has to take fish oil everyday for his hips and joints but other than that he is just like another other normal dog. So if anyone has a dog that has disc degeneration disorder I would highly recommend this surgery. The people at OSU Vet Clinic are great and they take great care of pets!

The ABCs of Mel

2011-03-10T07:00:00.002-06:00

I've seen this on several blogs on the internet so I thought that I would share with you guys the ABCs of me. Maybe some of followers who don't know me very well will get some insight into my crazy world!

A. Age: 29
B. Bed size: Queen. Sometimes I wish we had a King though!!
C. Chore you hate: Cleaning the toilet but I also hate getting gas in my car.
D. Dogs: Baxter, Morgan and Newton
E. Essential start to your day: Chocolate milk
F. Favorite color: Red and Purple
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’2
I. Instruments you play: Sadly none
J. Job title: Information Assistant
K. Kids: Our dogs are our children for right now
L. Live: Northwest Arkansas
M. Mom’s name: Marietta
N. Nicknames: Mel, MelMel, Mellie, Melon, Magoo
O. Overnight hospital stays: Yes, when I had to have an emergency appendectomy.
P. Pet peeve: When people spit in front of me or when people are late and they don't call.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Not you, fat Jesus" - The Hangover
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: Half sister Kristine and younger sister Mayline
T. Time you wake up: 6:45
U. Underwear: I'm assuming this means what brand is your favorite, Victoria Secret
V. Vegetables you dislike: Green peppers
W. What makes you run late: Other people. I can't stand being late!!
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Left arm, neck, and teeth
Y. Yummy food you make: Considering I can't cook there isn't much that would be good. But I can cook mashed potatoes okay.
Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Anything at an aquarium.

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T07:00:00.022-06:00

As many of you know Chris has his own personal blog and one of this entries was on Lent. It was so good that I thought that I would share his post on here:

As we enter the season of lent we start to think of what we will give up. Each year I contemplate something that I can easily do without. I think in the past I have given something up because it’s what you are supposed to do. I don’t think I’ve ever truly embraced the idea of lent. Lent is to be a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I’ve always just given up sweets, tea, and junk food.

2010 was a very interesting year for me. I had changes in my life good, bad, and indifferent. I lost great friends and made great new friends. We had deaths and births. It wasn’t really different than any other year, it just felt more monumental. I guess as I get older things mean more to me, that has been weighing on me as I have thought about lent this year.

It was Easter of 2007 when our Pastor Britt gave one of the most influential sermons I have ever heard. He made me realize what I was running from and what I wasn’t wanting to hear. Since that day I have tried to be a better husband, brother, son, and friend. I have had good times and I have had bad. Here we are again just a few shorts days from Lent 2011, the Lenten study groups have started forming, flyers are up in the halls at church. Again I’m forced to think about how this year will be different.
As most of you know I am a very picky eater. I eat cow, pig, chicken and pizza. I come by this honestly, it’s all my moms fault. Ask her about the breakfast sausage and she will accept the blame for my poor eating habits. I don’t eat salads, mushrooms, peppers, or just about anything else that doesn’t walk or fly. That’s why I’ve decided to give up meat for lent. I can’t think of a bigger sacrifice for me than the food group that sustains me. Every time I eat during lent I will be reminded of why I’m eating what I eat. I will think of Jesus, who came to earth to free us of our sins. I will be thankful to Jesus for everything that has been provided for us.

This year as you are thinking about what you will give up make sure it’s something you will miss. Remember why you are doing it. Remember who you are doing it for. Remember the real reason you are able to give anything up.

Happy 29th

2011-03-08T08:11:00.001-06:00

This past Sunday was my 29th birthday and it was a really great birthday. I took Thursday through today off from work to relax and enjoy my birthday this year. Thursday James and I spent all day test driving SUVs because Chris and I want to trade our Xtrerra which gets 12 miles to the gallon off on something that gets better gas mileage. I'll post more on what happened with that later.

Then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we spent at Baum stadium. Thankfully the Hogs swept against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The only thing bad about it was I wish that Saturday was a little bit warmer. I drank some much hot chocolate that day to stay warm but at least the weather was much better for my birthday.

This was Kathleen's first Razorback baseball game!

Yesterday we drove up to Branson to spend all day shopping and of course eating at yummy places! We had a great time and we did some serious shopping. The trunk of the car was loaded with shopping purchases. All in all this has been a great birthday but next year will be the dreaded 30!

Krispy Kreme Donuts!

Ride 'em cowboy!

Wait don't hurt me!!

Who doesn't love the massage chairs at Brookstone?

Kathleen found an AWESOME outfit to try on! :)

Drum roll please...

2011-03-08T07:40:00.001-06:00

And the new name for the blog will be May The Bosch's be with you!! It took be a long time to decide what I was going to change the name to and I still might change it a few more times later on in the near future. There were so many good ones to choose from that it was really hard to pick. I liked this one because it had our name in it and we are Star Wars fans. The other two that I was really leaning towards was Live Long and Blogsper and Hitting the Bases with the Bosch's. Thanks Greg for coming up with the winning name but don't be surprised if I change it again! ;)

Adventures with the Wolfpack

2011-03-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

Every Saturday night we get together with our small group from church. We absolutely love our small group to death. They are some of the best people that we know and we are so blessed to have them as our friends. When we get together we play games, watch movies, or just hang out. This past Saturday we went to Fast Lanes and played cosmo bowling, which is black light bowling. Sorry some of the pictures are dark I forgot to turn the flash on!


I had my highest score ever at 119!! You can't really see it but Kathleen and I dominated the guys!

After we got done at Fast Lanes we walked across the street to play some mini-golf. We were actually closed the place down! Right after we left they turned the lights off!!

They had these rocks all over the place with signs that said "Keep off rocks." Of course that meant that we all had to get on them. :)

Morgan and the 3 beds

2011-03-01T17:19:00.002-06:00

Newton has been with us for two weeks now and the dogs have finally adjusted to him. I won't say that they get along completely yet because they still get into the occasional fight over toys and food. I think that the biggest adjustment has been for Morgan because he doesn't stink up for himself. We bought Morgan a new pillow for the living room but it seems like every time he looks up someone is sleeping in his bed! We have several pillows in the house for the dogs to sleep on ranging from big to small. It seems like Morgan never gets the big bed!

Morgan left to watch tv and Baxter took his new pillow!

Newton stole Morgan's bed in the bedroom.

Morgan sleeping in Baxter's baby bed!

After Morgan tried sleeping in Baxter's baby bed we had to go get a new pillow for the smaller dogs to sleep on. Hopefully now Morgan will have the big pillow to sleep on all to himself! Baxter is starting to really like Newton because Newton likes to play with toys. They play tug of war all day and it's just so cute to see! It's nice to have someone else play with Baxter for a change because he would love with his toys all day long!!

Polling

2011-02-22T18:21:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago I asked for opinions of what I should change the name of our blog to. I got several responses to that question many of them very interesting! Here are some of name ideas that I got:

The Topher and his Melon
Our Little Mulberry Batch
Life on Mulberry Lane
Live Long and Blogsper
Three Black Dogs
Who Let the Dogs Out
Animal House
3 Dogs and Counting
Baseball and Hot Dogs
Hitting the Bases with the Bosch's
Bosch's HomeRuns
Bacon Bytes
May the Bosch's be with you
Boschalicious
Wired in with the Bosch family
I don't drive well in reverse
Bacon Blog
Boschialize
Bosch in Motion

I loved how creative everyone was with coming up with names. I think that I have narrowed it down to six names that I really like. Our Little Mulberry Batch and Life on Mulberry Lane are great neutral names. I also like Live Long and Blosper and May the Bosch's be with you because we're HUGE Star Trek and Star Wars fans. My last two that I like are Wired in with the Bosch family and Hitting the Bases with the Bosch's. I plan on changing the name of the blog within the next week so if you come up with any other suggestions or if you want to vote for your favorite leave me a comment or send me an email!

Mac World

2011-02-22T17:51:00.001-06:00

After 8 years with our Dell computer we finally got a new computer!! Thankfully the old computer lasted long enough for us to get a new one. We had many conversations about what computer to get and we finally choose an iMac. My first computer that my parents bought me was a purple iMac that I absolutely loved. When I went to college they bought me a Gateway laptop and then when we got married we moved onto the Dell. I have always missed my iMac and I'm so glad to finally have a Mac computer again. It's going to be an adjustment getting back into the Mac world especially for Chris since he has never used one before.

After several days of transferring our iTunes and all of our photos the new computer is finally set up! I want to send out a HUGE thank you to our friends Greg and Vaden for helping Chris sent up the new computer and with all of the troubleshooting. Hopefully the new Mac lasts just as long as the Dell did. Although Chris already has money set aside for when the new iPad when it comes out!! I guess we are officially an all Mac family now!

This is Baseball!!

2011-02-21T08:53:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was the start of Razorback baseball! I can't believe that it is already time for baseball. We had absolutely gorgeous weather this weekend in the 60s and we had a record opening weekend crowd with over 20,000 people attending. We swept Delaware State and I think that it is going to be another good baseball season. They changed the bats this year but we still did get to see one home run.

Coach Dave Van Horn

Ribby rocks!!

Opening Day 2011. Notice the new glasses?

All you need is love

2011-02-21T08:34:00.001-06:00

Last Monday was Valentine's day and I'm sorry that this post is a little late but we've had some exciting things that have happened in the last week. It all started the Wednesday of the snow storm. We were locked in the house and weren't able to leave. So in my boredom I logged onto the Petfinder application on my iPhone. I've been wanting another dog for a while now and Chris just ignores it when I bring it up. Well there happened to be a Boston Terrier named Newton at the local animal shelter up for adoption. I've always wanted one and since Baxter is part Boston I just had to have him. So when the roads started to thaw I called the animal shelter and asked about Newton. The lady that I spoke with on the phone said that he had been adopted. I was crushed because I really wanted him. Well that Saturday I noticed that he was still up for adoption so I sent them an email. I had totally forgotten about him until Monday afternoon when I received a phone call saying that he was still able for adoption. So I went down and met him and it was love at first sight. I had to go to work so I couldn't do anything about him. Chris was nice enough to bring Baxter down to meet him. Chris adopted little Newton into our home and that plus some beautiful flowers was my Valentine's Day present.

It's been an adjustment having three dogs but then in a way it hasn't been that bad. Newton is a sweet natured dog who gets along with everyone. Morgan has pretty much adapted to him but Baxter still not sure about him. Baxter doesn't like it when Newton takes his toys away from him and he doesn't want Newton sleeping in the bed. I think that once they all settle down they will all make good playmates together.

My beautiful flowers that my wonderful hubby sent me

The newest addition to the Bosch family, Newton!

Snowy Days

2011-02-11T09:17:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we ventured out of the house to go to the grocery store because we didn't have milk, butter, or eggs. Plus, we were going stir crazy in the house. I'm all for having 3 days off from work but I would prefer it if I was able to leave the house. I'm a person who isn't a homebody to begin with. If I'm at home I have to be cleaning, doing laundry, or keeping busy. We have watched so much television in the past few days and I'm really sick of it! At least it's suppose to be in the 60s this weekend and most of next week too. I snapped some pictures of what the roads looked like and I've heard that the roads in town aren't any better this morning.

We did go out and play in the snow for a little bit yesterday. It wasn't for very long but Baxter got to take his frisbee outside. I took a video of him and it looks like he is swimming in snow!


Snow Angels

Ch-ch-changes

2011-02-09T17:29:00.001-06:00

Okay everyone I need some help with changing the name of our blog. I've been debating it for the last couple of months but I can't come up with any good names. I want it to be short and sweet but something that is memorable all at the same time. I follow all of these blogs with such cute names like Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes and The View From Five Two but I just can't think of one for our own. I thought of Our life with 2 dogs but I wasn't sure about that one and Living on Mulberry Lane. As you guys know I blog a lot about our life, dogs, and baseball. If anyone has any good ideas for a new name leave me a comment and let me know!

Snowmageddon!!

2011-02-09T17:13:00.001-06:00

The last couple of weeks in Northwest Arkansas haven't been the best for winter weather. Last week we got a couple of inches of snow. Today we had 24 inches of snow, a record in Northwest Arkansas! It looks like the planet Hoth.from the movie Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back. I've never seen so much snow in my life before. I'm thankful that they closed my place of work today and for tomorrow as well. So I plan on sitting in the house with Chris and the dogs for the next 2 days. I think I have figured out what is causing all of the snow storms. Every time Chris leaves town we get a snow storm. He's scheduled to leave next week so let's hope we don't get anymore!

Blizzard like conditions.

The snow comes up to the knees!

This is how Morgan spent his snow day.

We lost Baxter twice in the snow!!

Running in between the snow wall.

On a positive note Razorback baseball starts in 9 days. Let's hope that the weather is a little nicer than what we've been having!

I LOVE Ribby!!

First snow 2011

2011-01-23T19:22:00.001-06:00

Thursday we got our first snow fall of the new year. Unfortunately we were unable to play in the snow that day because I had to work and Chris was in Phoenix for work. We only got a couple of inches of snow but it's always fun to play out in it. We didn't get a chance to enjoy the snow until Friday. Chris's flight didn't get back until 8:30 Thursday night and since the roads were bad he didn't get home until late. When Chris left Phoenix it was 81 and sunny and when he landed in Northwest Arkansas it was in the teens with snow and ice on the ground! Thankfully I was off Friday and Chris didn't have to go to work right away that morning. So we got to play with the dogs out in the snow. Morgan absolutely HATES the snow. He runs out to go to the bathroom and runs right back in. Baxter on the other hold LOVES the snow. The last snow fall that we got last year was when he had his back surgery and he was unable to play in the snow. But he took full opportunity to play on Friday. He's favorite thing to do is eat the snow. He wants to go outside every few minutes to play and eat snow. I'm hoping that we don't get anymore snow for the rest of the year but I really don't care for snow or cold weather at all!

Snow falling Thursday morning

Tired after playing all day in the snow!

Goals

2011-01-19T19:57:00.001-06:00

Chris and I set some goals for 2011 rather than deciding to do a New Year's resolution. I'm not really one for doing resolutions because I rarely ever stick with them. I made 2 personal goals for this year not to eat out as much and to pay down our student loans. As many of you know we took financial peace university at our church a few years ago and we made some big progress in our debt. We payed off our last credit card last year and now all we have left are our student loans and car payments. So my goal this year is to stop eating out as much and apply some of that money towards our student loans.

Chris's personal goals are to lose some weight and get in better shape. We have been doing a fitness program called P90X. We started it last week and it's pretty hard. I'm trying my hardest to do everything but it's going to take me awhile to do everything they can do. I've been really proud of Chris for sticking with this because it's really hard. His other goal is to read one book a week. He spends a lot of time on the road and will have plenty of time to do this one! He has also started his own blog where it will be filled with random thoughts, wanderings, and rants. You guys can check it out here: http://chrisbosch.wordpress.com/

New Year's Eve 2010

2011-01-19T19:40:00.002-06:00

We decided to do something different for New Years eve this year. For the past couple of years we have gone to Willy D's with friends to start the new year. This year we wanted a quieter evening so we decided to go to Shogun and then head back to the house to play board games. The food at Shogun was excellent and the company was even better!

Part of our wolfpack missing a few members though.

FIRE!!!

It's vegetable island.

Chris and Dwight beat us after they confessed to cheating 6 times!!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-19T18:06:00.001-06:00

Sorry this post is so late but January hasn't been the best month for illness for me. I'm a person who is rarely ever sick but I have been sick with a really bad cold and some stomach thing. Let's hope that the rest of the month goes by more smoothly for me! We split our Christmas up into 3 parts that way we are able to see all of our families. We do our Christmas really early in the morning and then go to my parents house. Then we drive down to Mena to see Chris's family.

I love this Razorback Columbia jacket Chris got me!

Chris plans on spending a lot of time playing disc golf.

Baxter's new toy only lasted a few minutes!!

My parent's Christmas tree.

I love this hat!

Daddy can balance presents.

We've been spending a lot of time doing P90X.

I didn't take any pictures at Chris's parents house this year because Chris's mom got a new camera for Christmas and took most of the pictures this year.

I love wood burning fireplaces!!

My wonderful in-laws and my fabulous parents got me a Coach handbag for Christmas. I know that it is probably materialistic to want something like this. But I plan on using this purse for YEARS to come!! Thank you guys so much for this!!

Silver Dollar City

2010-12-20T09:20:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Branson and spent the afternoon with Chris's family at Silver Dollar City. We had a great time except that it was very cold!! The lights were beautiful and so was the rest of the park. Here are some pictures and a video from the day.

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-20T08:46:00.001-06:00

As you guys know we don't mail out our Christmas card photos anymore in an effort to save on Christmas costs. I know that some of you just throw them away anyways. So here is the actual photo that we used in our Christmas cards this year. If you want a copy just save the image and take it to a photo place to print it off. :)

Rock Band Halloween

2010-11-20T07:37:00.001-06:00

I want to say a huge thanks to our friends Greg & Becky for bringing over their new Rock Band 4 so we could all play with the keytar! Who knew playing video games could be so much fun!!

Just Dance Halloween

2010-11-13T22:41:00.001-06:00

This year for our Halloween party we added a new video game into the mix. We normally play Rock Band and Guitar Hero but for added entertainment we played Just Dance. It's a really good video game that's not only good for exercise but great for entertainment purposes! Here are some pics and videos for your amusement!

Halloween Party 2010

2010-11-13T18:49:00.001-06:00

I know many of you guys have been waiting to see all of the Halloween pictures of our 5th annual Halloween Spooktacular. I have so many pictures that I'll break them up into 2 more blog entries! This year we had more people attend and it turned out great. We actually converted our garage into another place to hang out. Chris said that next year we'll have to rent out a place if it gets any bigger!!

Best Original Costume: Old Dirty Bastard

Best Costume: Zombie

Funniest Costume: Chris the Penguin

Happy Birthday Baxter

2010-11-03T07:14:00.005-05:00

Four years ago our little dog Baxter was born to a Boston Terrier that was being fostered by my co-worker. His mother had 8 other puppies and Baxter was the precious one that we brought home. We were lucky enough to see him just hours after he was born and he looked like a little mole! We waited 6 weeks before we were able to bring him home forever. Baxter has been through a lot in a short about of time. Moving to a new home, getting a new brother, and going through back surgery. But we love him all the same! To many more birthdays spent together!!

Pumpkin Time

2010-11-02T18:20:00.006-05:00

Every year for Halloween we carve our pumpkins. It's part of our Halloween tradition and watching the Nightmare Before Christmas several times! I spend several hours deciding on what I am going to carve and this year I decided to go with a Tin Man design that would go with my Halloween costume. Chris wanted to do Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly but when he started his pumpkin he realized that it was to difficult and decided to do his own design.

Here is a sneak peek from our 5th annual Halloween Spooktacular!

China Cabinet Redo

2010-10-21T20:17:00.009-05:00

A couple of months ago our fish Jack passed away and there has been an empty spot where his fish tank and stand use to be. Chris and I have been looking for something to put there to fill the space but we could never agree on anything. When we went down to Mena to visit Chris's family I looked over and told Chris that his grandmother's china cabinet was the perfect size piece of furniture that we had been looking for. Chris's parents were nice enough to give it to us to refinish.

Chris and I had long debates on how we should refinish it. He wanted to strip it completely and restore it back to what it use to look like before Chris's grandmother "antiqued" it back in the 1970s. It's actually from the 1940s and it use to have a cherry finish and beautiful glass lattice doors. But I wanted to paint it black and make it look more modern. Plus Chris really wanted to have it finished before his parents came up to see it. After great debate we decided to paint it black. We got a lot of grief from some of our male friends but I think that it turned out great! I've been following a blog called Just a Girl who gave us a step by step guide on how to paint furniture and I think that it turned out great!! Considering this was our first furniture restoration I'm very proud of how it turned out. Sorry some of the pictures aren't that great I took them with my iPhone.

Bikes Blues BBQ 2010

2010-10-13T20:48:00.008-05:00

A couple of weeks ago was the annual Bikes, Blues, & BBQ. We try to go every year to look at the motorcycles and of course people watch! I think that that is really my favorite part of the whole event. I am totally shocked at what people wear and do at these things!! We went down Friday night with our friends Kathleen & Vaden and then again on Saturday during the day to take some pictures. Our friends have been trying to convince us that Chris really needs a motorcycle. But after witnessing a motorcycle accident Friday night I don't think that it going to be happening for awhile!! These were my favorite bikes of the year:

Okay I'll let Chris have this one!!

B.L.T.

2010-10-06T20:29:00.010-05:00

This post is a little late but I figured that I needed to update our blog. In the past month we have spent hardly anytime at home. Last week we were only home one night all week. It seems like our social calendars keep getting more and more packed. Most of our time has been spent with our smALL group (The Wolfpack) or with family and friends. One of the things that we have been doing the past month has been going to Razorback football games and tailgating.

This year Chris and our friends, Greg & Becky, decided to start tailgating on their own. There was a lot of drama involved in the place where they use to tailgate at so this year Greg got a parking pass and we are doing true tailgating. I actually went to the first game this year and did my first ever real football tailgate! It was a lot of fun and I managed to make it through the whole game. Although I can promise you that this will be my last game to attend for 3 years. I'll hang out at tailgate but I won't go the game. The only bad thing about tailgating is that the Xterra is completely packed when we leave!!If you are wondering why I titled this post B.L.T. the name for our tailgate is Bacon Loving Tailgate! We just need to make sure and have plenty of bacon on hand!!

Living Room Change

2010-08-17T21:44:00.007-05:00

Chris and I have been looking for a sectional for the past several years. It was our last major furniture purchase that we had to make. We could never really decide on what we wanted. Chris wanted to purchase a couch and two chairs and I wanted another sectional. But every time we went to look for living room furniture the sectionals were so over priced or when we did have the money a little dog named Baxter always needed it!! So back in July a local furniture sent me an email that said they were having a huge 4th of July sale. We decided to check it out and we finally found and purchased a new sectional!! Since we got a new sectional we thought that it would be a good time to redesign the living room. So we bought new curtains, lamps, and pillows. We still need 2 more curtain panels but the room is pretty much complete. I think that the finished room looks more sophisticated and classy!

Here is what the living room looked like when we first moved in with the old sectional:
The near completed room now:

Gute Reise

2010-08-16T15:30:00.007-05:00

Saying goodbye to someone is the hardest thing to do. A couple of weeks ago we had to say goodbye to our friends Jonathan & Valerie who are going to be serving as missionaries at Black Forest Academy in Germany. Our smALL group, which is known as the Wolf Pack, said our goodbyes at our favorite restaurant in Springdale. We are truly going to miss them but we are excited to see how God is shaping their lives.

Patfest 2010

2010-07-30T09:28:00.011-05:00

This years Patfest had a fiesta style theme to it and kickball was added to the mix this year. It was another great year with good friends and great firework display by the DePew's!! Can't wait till next years Patfest!!

Naturals Celebration

2010-07-30T08:56:00.007-05:00

This year for the 4th of July we went to the Naturals baseball game with my family to watch the game and of course the firework display. Two years ago Chris's family and my family went to the first Naturals 4th of July display. Last year the Naturals were out of town for the 4th and we watched fireworks at Patfest. The game was great as usual and the fireworks show was better than the first one!! Every time I watch fireworks it brings an smile to my face and they make me feel like a kid again.

Staycation

2010-07-30T08:22:00.007-05:00

I know that you all have probably thought that we died but these past couple of months have been the craziest months that we have ever had. Every weekend we have had something planned and we haven't had a lot of time for ourselves!! But at the end of June and beginning of July we decided to take some time off. We took the time off in hopes of going to the College World Series. Sadly we didn't make it so we just decided to hang around town and go to some places that we have never been before.

One of those places was Terra Studios which is located just outside of Fayetteville. They are known for making the bluebird of happiness. My parents had taken me as a child but Chris had never been there before. It's an interesting little place where they make pottery and other types of artistic things. There is a place to eat and walk around. If you are ever looking for an eclectic place to visit for the afternoon then I would suggest this one.

Making the bluebird of happiness:

Tulsa Fun

2010-07-01T15:14:00.013-05:00

This past weekend we all piled into our Xterra and headed over to Tulsa for the night. Our friend Greg got tickets to see the Tulsa Talons play at the BOK center and since it was his birthday we thought we would have a celebration in Tulsa. We started our night out eating at Pei Wei and after we stuffed ourselves we headed over to the BOK center to watch the game. I've never been to the BOK center before but it was really nice. I normally don't like watching football but arena league football isn't so bad especially since you get to sit inside!!

After the game we all decided that we needed to go somewhere for dessert. Every time we go to Tulsa we talk about eating at the Melting Pot but we always end of going to the Cheesecake Factory. So this time we decided to change our normal eating place and go to the Melting Pot. Becky always talks about how great the Melting Pot is and she was right. We ate so much cheese fondue and chocolate fondue that we made ourselves sick. It's definitely one place that we'll be going back to when we head back to Tulsa.

Missionary Kids

2010-06-10T20:22:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to take a minute or two and talk about our friends Jonathan and Valerie Griesse. They are leaving in July to become missionaries in Kandern, Germany. They will be working with the kids of missionaries who are in the field. I love their story and what they have meant to us.

I first met Jonathan a little over 2 years ago. I was wanting to get more involved in the men's ministry at church and he had just taken over as the adult discipleship minister. We sat down at Pontiac Church for lunch and it turned into a 3 hour conversation. I had no idea what a friend and mentor Jonathan would become. He has led me deeper into my relationship with Christ than I ever thought I would become. He has introduced me to so many things and people. I sat down that day wanting to join a Bible study and it has led me to so many more places. We have had some great days doing simple things like having wings and watching a game. We have also had some great discussions about things I never thought I would be able to discuss at church. I can honestly say that Griesse is one of the greatest men of Christ I will ever meet. His wife Valerie is just as great. She has been a wonderful mentor and friend to Melonie, because of Valerie I have been able to watch Melonie grow and become a stronger woman in Christ. Valerie has helped Melonie in Bible studies and women's group. We have had the pleasure of helping in their transition to the new phase of their lives in going to Germany to work for the Black Forrest Academy.

There have been good days and there have been bad days. I think that is to be expected from a move like this. All I can pray for everyday is that they are able to find the right people at the right time to put them in the right place. Their mission from God is to lead these children and help them grow as Christians. Melonie and I are so blessed to be able to help them in any way we can. One way we can help is to get their story out to the people that need to hear it. Here is the link to their site In the Forest you can read their story and donate to their cause. I can honestly say the last 4 months have been some of the most interesting times in my life. Watching them go through the process of putting their entire lives as they knew them on hold to do what God was calling them to do. I have enjoyed every moment I have gotten to spend with them just to hear them tell their story. There have been moments that were rough indeed but those are the moments one day you will look back on and realize why God made you go through it.

Matt Chandler of the Village Church in Dallas said in a sermon recently that doing what God wants leads to joy, it may be a long daunting process but joy is the end result. I rephrased it like this Joy is all the heartbreak God puts on you. It sucks but the ultimate result is Gods joy. My reason for sharing this is to hopefully help the Griesse's out in whatever way we can. If you feel inclined check out their website and read their story for yourself. If you are inspired or moved by the site do whatever God puts on your heart. All I can tell you is that this is one of the greatest couples I have ever met. Their love for God is massive and real. Their drive and desire to serve is unlike any other I have ever met. Please pray for them as they continue on the journey that God has laid out for them.
Love and Peace
Chris

8 years ago

2010-06-09T17:37:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was our 8 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by!! It's been a wonderful 8 years and I look forward to spending many more years together. Chris you are my best friend and you are always there for me when I need you. Thanks for being a wonderful husband to me. God truly has blessed me with you.

I always keep everything that Chris gives me from cards to tickets. This is the first flower that Chris ever got me back on 12/3/2000. It was an e-flower that he sent me when we were still getting to know each other.These are the flowers that he sent me yesterday for our anniversary, 8 roses for 8 years. I'm so looking forward to adding many more roses to that every year!!

Backyard nightmare

2010-05-03T13:40:00.008-05:00

Chris and I have really been working on getting the backyard flowerbeds redone and putting down weed block. We've been so busy though with home baseball games that we really haven't had a lot of time to work in the backyard. I will say that since we had our front flowerbeds redone that we have caused all of our neighbors to start taking care of their yards as well. Everyone gets their yards sprayed for weeds and they have all started working on their yards more. I think that we have one of the nicest streets in the subdivision now!!

Hosta beds:
Daylilies, Hollyhocks, & Stargazer Lily:
Trumpet vine and plants I don't know:
Chris redid this flowerbed completely. He planted some boxwood shrubs and there are daffodil and gladiolus bulbs that will come up.
There are two flowerbeds that we still haven't touched yet and I wish that we could pay someone to take care of them because they have become so overgrown!
When the flowers in the front yard start blooming I'll post pictures of the completed flowerbeds. We bought a few new flowering plants and added new solar lights, so it's starting to look really good!!

Back to normal

2010-04-23T08:47:00.003-05:00

It's been over a month now since Baxter had his surgery. He is pretty much back to normal. We've been waiting to get his hair cut though because we wanted his hair to be a little longer before they shaved the rest of his hair off to match. So last Friday we took both dogs to the groomer. Baxter was extremely upset about going to another strange place because he was afraid he was going to get hurt. But thankfully he settled down and let the groomers do their work. He looks a little weird with short hair but it will grow out soon!

Official start to Spring

2010-03-22T07:40:00.005-05:00

Friday was the most beautiful Spring day. It was in the high 60s and I was able to wear flip flops. All of our daffodils were blooming in the backyard and I was able to cut a ton of them and put them around the house. We went from being able to do this...to almost a foot of snow! Saturday was the official start to Spring, but it definitely doesn't look like that around here! When we checked the weather channel it should that the average temperature for this time of year is suppose to be in the high 60s. Hurry back Spring because I'm so tired of winter!!

On the mend

2010-03-21T14:08:00.003-05:00

Last Monday we took Baxter to OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Stillwater to see if he qualified for Laser Disc Ablation surgery. They are one of the top veterinary clinics in the nation to take your pet and they were the ones that came up with this procedure. We were really worried that he wouldn't qualify for the surgery. For dogs to even be considered for this procedure they have to be completely pain free 2 weeks prior to the surgery and they can't have any pain medications during that time. Thankfully Baxter meant all of their requirements and they did the surgery Tuesday.

We got to pick him up Wednesday and he is now on crate rest for 2 weeks. The doctors at OSU were excellent and the resident that was assigned to Baxter's case was superb! She called us numerous times with updates on Baxter. She got there early and stayed extremely late taking care of him. Hopefully this surgery will help him with his back problems and he won't be in any pain. They have a 97% success rate with this surgery so we are optimistic that he'll be back to his normal self soon!

2 years away

2010-03-08T21:23:00.004-06:00

This Saturday I turned 28, that means that I'm just 2 years away from 30! I just can't believe how old I'm getting!! Although for some reason I went most of last year already thinking that I was 28, so it wasn't that hard of a transition for me. I don't think that I'm going to be doing that this year! I decided that this year I was going to take some time off for my birthday and just relax. I had a manicure and a pedicure, got my hair cut, and the most unrelaxing thing I had to do was renew my driver's license. My parents took me out to lunch for my birthday and we went and watched the Razorback Basketball team lose their last home game. I made Chris do lots of shopping with me and it turned out to be a wonderful birthday celebration. Here's hoping that the rest of the year turns out great!

Out with the old

2010-03-08T20:33:00.009-06:00

When we bought our house we didn't pay attention to all of the stuff outside. We just concentrated on what it looked like inside and the outside was just an added bonus. After we moved in we realized that we have a TON of flower beds. We have flower beds that go around the house completely and flower beds that line the back of the privacy fence. It's not easy to weed these flower beds and when they aren't maintained they turn into a HUGE mess!!

Since I'm allergic to grass we decided that I would weed the flower beds and Chris would do all of the mowing and yard work. Well I didn't do a very good job and they ended up looking bad! So this year we decided to hire a landscaping company to weed the front beds, put in new shrubs, and put down weed blocker. Since there are a lot more beds in the backyard they'll have to wait until the summer time to have them done! Hopefully the weed blocker will help cut down on the weeds. I'm excited to see what it all looks like once all of the flowers come up!

Opening Day

2010-03-04T08:33:00.007-06:00

Are you ready for some....Baseball? A couple of weeks ago the Razorbacks finally started baseball season. I wait all year for baseball to start. It's the only game that I really enjoy and the only one that I will attend on a regular basis. Although I have been going to some basketball games this year but don't think I'm going to start going to football games. Thankfully opening day wasn't miserably cold or raining. It actually turned out to be a beautiful day and an almost beautiful weekend for baseball. Sunday's game was rain delayed but it stopped raining and we were able to play and win the series against Ball State. I'm hoping for a great baseball season this year with a return to the College World Series. I'm so praying for warmer weather and not as much rain this year!!

One of a Kind

2010-02-15T07:47:00.003-06:00

I have one of the sweetest husbands on the face of this Earth. He may not be able to buy me expensive jewelry and take me to fancy restaurants but he always manages to surprise me. For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to guess what my Valentine's Day present was. He refused to tell me anything about it and he told me that if I asked anyone that he would call and cancel it! Since I hate surprises it was killing me to know what it was. I knew something was up when he kept asking me what days that I worked and who was working with me.

Saturday I was scheduled to work the front desk at work. It was completely crazy and I look up and see a big Sasquatch heading my way with flowers and chocolates! Chris sent Strike from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals to deliver flowers, chocolates, and tickets from him. To make matters worse I look up and co-worker was already ready to take pictures. Apparently some of my coworkers have known about this for weeks. Thanks Chris for being a wonderful husband, you are so thoughtful and I love you more everyday!

Patches

2010-02-06T11:49:00.003-06:00

A few days ago our guinea pig Patches passed away. We noticed last Sunday that he was sneezing and wasn't feeling well. Tuesday morning Chris said that when he went to feed him he was all fluffed up and didn't want to be messed with. When I came home for lunch that day I went over to check on him. I noticed that he was very lethargic and decided to call the vet to make an appointment to get him in. When I went back over to him, he had moved over to his food dish and passed away shortly after that. He died in his favorite place.

We had him for 5 years and he lived 2 years without his friend Smokey. Patches loved Chris and loved sitting on Chris's shoulder and watching TV and eating carrots. It is always so hard to lose a pet. Patches will be greatly missed by us. May you rest in peace!

Let it snow

2010-01-29T18:57:00.005-06:00

This week was the one year anniversary of the ice storm where we lost power for a couple of days. I was so not looking forward to a repeat of last year any time soon. But last night we started having freezing rain that turned over into sleet. Thankfully it stopped sleeting early this morning and has been snowing ever since. We probably have about an inch of ice and about 5 inches of snow. We've had more snow this year alone than in the past couple of years. It's not suppose to stop snowing until late tonight. Thankfully my place of employment decided to close all weekend so I don't have to get out in it. It's so nice to have a snow day!

Baxter loves to eat ANYTHING and he loves it when it snows. He has his head to the ground and acts like a vacuum cleaner sucking up as much snow as possible.

Coupon Happy

2010-01-21T17:31:00.005-06:00

I have a confession to make, I am a coupon junkie. I've been seriously clipping coupons for about a year now. I really do have an obsession starting from it. I don't see why I have to pay for anything full price at the stores and I love getting things for free! I subscribe to several blogs that tell me how to save money and get things for free. There is a blog that is based out of Northwest Arkansas that is great it's called Passion for Savings. But if you don't live here there is a Frugal Map that lists all of the blogs by state to help you find the best blog to follow.

I have been organizing my coupons with an accordion filing system that someone gave me when we first got married. I love the according file system expect when they fall out and go all over the isles of Walmart or Target! After this happened twice to me, Chris suggested that I needed to come up with a better system. After doing lots of research, I decided that I would go with the coupon binder. It took me awhile to transfer all of the coupons over but I'm one happy coupon clipper! I think that my obsession might develop into an addiction!

Old System: I should have taken a before picture

New System:

Urban Pups

2010-01-14T19:51:00.006-06:00

Today is National Dress Up Your Pet Day, so in honor of that I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the dog's outfits for today. Of course they normally participate in this holiday everyday. I know that most people think that animals who wear clothes are treated horribly but clothes for dogs is great not only to provide warmth but is a great deterrent for pets that have severe skin allergies and scratch and bite nonstop like Baxter!

Winter Chill

2010-01-07T12:52:00.004-06:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything seems to go wrong? Well that's how it's been for us this week! Sunday we woke up to a wonderful 2inches of snow. It seemed like the week was going to start off great but then later on that afternoon I got a phone call from my best friend's husband letting me know that she was in the hospital for kidney stones. Thankfully she is doing better but another one of our really good friends sister is not. She left to go to Atlanta because her sister had a stage 5 brain aneurysm and is still in a medical induced coma. So please keep her in your prayers!

Monday morning we woke up to more snow and I had to go take Baxter to the vet. because he was in so much pain. Back in May he was diagnosed with Intervertebral Disc Disorder and he hasn't had a major episode of it since then. When I took him in the vet. suggested that he would be a good candidate for laser disc ablation surgery at OSU. The surgery is extremely expensive but they have a 97% recovery rate. After a lot of research and debate we have decided that when Chris gets his bonus Baxter will get his surgery.

After we came home from the vet I noticed that the garage door was still up. When I tried to close it the door made a horrible grinding sound and the cable came loose. Chris tried to close it but it came off the tracks so we decided to leave it open. Tuesday morning we woke up to a frozen pipe since the garage door was left open. Thankfully Chris got it fixed and the garage door man repaired the door without having it get a new one!

Today we woke up to more frozen stuff on the ground and thankfully my place of work decided to close today. I plan on spending the rest of the day indoors since it is so cold outside right now. Tomorrow we are only suppose to have a high of 5 and wind chills as low as -20. I'm really wishing that I lived somewhere off the beach right now. We'll be spending the rest of the day drinking plenty of hot chocolate and getting caught up on reading. Stay warm everyone!

Ringing in 2010

2010-01-05T17:35:00.007-06:00

We spent our New Year's Eve this year at Willy D's Dueling Piano Bar with a group of our friends. We've all gone there two years ago for New Year's Eve and had so much fun that we thought that we would do it again this year. Although this year Mayline was invited to come on stage and do the hand motions for Joy to the World. At first she didn't want to go and she actually refused to tell the guy her name, so he just referred to her as Peaches. One of the guys that we went with has the full video of the performance so when he emails it to me I will post the full video. But for now the little video and pictures that Chris took will have to do.

I hope that everyone is still sticking to their New Years resolutions. The only New Years resolution that we made was to get out of debt. Last year Chris and I took Financial Peace University with our church. We learned so much about debt and managing our money. If you're interested in taking this class our church is offering it again here in a couple of weeks. Just leave me a comment if you're interested and I can get you the info. It's a great class and it will change the way you look at money and your finances!

It's gone to the Dogs

2010-01-02T08:45:00.008-06:00

It's our first post of the new year and I thought I'd post some pictures of the dogs Christmas. We've been so busy the last couple of weeks that I am having to play catch up on a lot of stuff. We actually got to have a white Christmas this year, unfortunately since we had to travel that afternoon we didn't get to go outside in play in the snow. Hopefully we'll get some more snow soon so we can build a snowman!

We did get to take a few pictures of our snow covered yard before we left.

Don't feel sorry for my dogs my parent's dogs got in on the action this Christmas as well.

Christmas Card 2009

2009-12-06T20:25:00.003-06:00

Tonight by sister came over and took our Christmas card picture for this year. If you don't get one in person or through e-mail here is the photo that we used. We don't print many of them off and we don't send them out anymore so if you want one print it off yourself!!

Happy Holidays from Chris, Mel, Baxter & Morgan

Christmas with the Bosch's

2009-12-06T20:15:00.008-06:00

After a full day of decorating both inside and outside we are finally finished decorating for Christmas. I really can't say that though because we're always adding more ornaments or little decorations, but for the most part we are done. We are also almost done shopping for Christmas as well. We just have one more person to buy for and she just wants sugar free candy! Here are some pictures of some of our decorations. Chris already has grand plans for next years outside decor.

Happy Advent

2009-11-29T18:18:00.004-06:00

Today is the first day of Advent and in honor of that I thought that I would show you all the Christmas tree that we put up in the dining room. This year we are going to have two Christmas trees. The one in the living room will be the one that has all of the pretty ornaments and the one in the dining room will have all of the whimsical ones. We were going to put up the living room tree today put we weren't motivated to do it. I'll post pictures of the pretty tree when it goes up.

I hate fluffing the tree so I made my sister help this year!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T20:24:00.003-06:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great Thanksgiving and we are so blessed to have all of our families over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. I know that it can be very hard to get everyone together for holidays but we are so lucky that we get to see everyone during Thanksgiving. Enjoy the leftovers everyone!

Razorback Football Adventure

2009-11-27T17:03:00.007-06:00

November has whizzed past at record speed for us. It seems like every weekend we have parties to go to and football or basketball games to attend. A couple of weeks ago my sister and I got to tailgate and go through walk through before the Razorback vs. South Carolina football game. We didn't want to go to the actual game so we stayed down at tailgate and watched the game from there. It's always fun to watch people who are going to the game.

Can't people watch without an Elvis sighting!

Chasing Balloons

2009-11-02T13:56:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Chris and I took down all of the Halloween decorations and finished cleaning up from the party. We had about 20 balloons to pop and we found a new way of popping them. If you receive this in an e-mail you might have to go to our actual blog for the video to work. I think that we need to sign Baxter up for volleyball lessons!

Who knew that a balloon could be so much fun!

Halloween Bash Part 2

2009-11-02T13:38:00.011-06:00

Here are some more pictures from the party. If you want to see all of the pictures from the party, which are a lot, you can view them all on Facebook.

Grim Reaper

Vampire

Billy Mays

Razorback Hammer

60's Dancer

Cleopatra

Group Photos

Halloween Bash Part 1

2009-11-02T10:34:00.012-06:00

Here are some photos from our Halloween party a few days ago. We had a really good turn out this year with lots of really good costumes. It's getting harder and harder every year to decide which costumes are the best because they are all so good.

Funniest Costumes

Most Original Costumes

1st Place Costumes

Scary Clown

Black Angel

Super Razorback Fan

Bacon

80's child

Sumo Wrestler

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T21:35:00.005-05:00

I hope that everyone is having a spooktacular Halloween this year. I just can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. It seems like we just celebrated Halloween a couple of months ago. Here are some pictures of the pumpkins that we carved this year. Pictures from the Halloween party will be posted in the next few days. Leave us a comment with which pumpkin is your favorite.

Jumping in

2009-10-26T08:11:00.007-05:00

This weekend was a beautiful fall weekend in Northwest Arkansas. Sadly yesterday it was cloudy and we aren't able to go take fall foliage pictures. Hopefully this weekend the trees still have their leaves. So since we couldn't take pictures yesterday we decided we better rake up our leaves in the front yard. This is the first year that we have lived here that we have actually had to rake leaves. Normally the leaves fall so quickly that we don't get a chance to rake them up because they blow into the neighbor's yards. Baxter had a great time running and jumping into the piles of leaves. I wish that the fall leaves would stick around a little bit longer but it looks like we aren't going to get that chance.

Falling into fall

2009-10-12T13:59:00.005-05:00

I have never been one who really likes fall because I don't like cooler weather. But the fall season brings lots of enjoyable things like fall foliage, coats, jackets, hoodies, pumpkins, hot chocolate, apple cider, bon fires, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and I guess the football season! I love decorating for fall and especially Halloween. A couple of weekends ago I went to the Apple Festival with my family while Chris went to Dallas for the football game. I love the Apple Festival because you get fresh apples, cider, and you get to look at all of the crafts, although this year I was disappointed in the craft selection that they had. This coming weekend is the biggest craft fair weekend in our area. Chris's parents are coming up this weekend to go to them. I'm hoping to get some more fall decorations and it looks like the weather is going to be a cool fall day. Here are my top five favorite autumn things:

1. Fall Foliage- I love it when the trees start changing color, it is my favorite time of year to take pictures

2. Pansies- They are my absolute favorite flower to plant. I wish that they could survive in summer!

3. Halloween- I love almost everything about Halloween. From decorating to having parties, dressing up, and I love the candy!!

4. Fall clothes- I absolutely love coats and jackets, anything that is warm and cozy. I wish that I could wear them all year.

5. Pumpkins- Especially pumpkin pie concretes from Andy's Frozen Custard! Although I love being able to carve them as well.