Happy Turkey Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Thanksgiving! We are in Fort Smith for today and tomorrow and head to Lake Tenkiller tomorrow evening. I love this time of year with family and friends and welcome the extended weekend to reflect on my thankfulness for them. We hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving to the fullest!

I'm Thankful for Being Thanked!

One of my parents sent me these flowers today. Aren't they beautiful? I never receive flowers and was very pleasantly surprised! It completely uplifted my spirit and put a smile on my face. It's so nice to be thanked for what you do, even if it is your job. 

Weatherford Thanksgiving

We finally were able to make the Weatherford Thanksgiving...I think it's been like 5 years since we've made it because Dustin and I had not been dating for too long when he first made the trip to Missouri. My aunt and uncle now live outside of Lake of the Ozarks and have a beautiful "rock ranch", as they call it, out it the sticks, literally. It took about 15 minutes of dirt and gravel roads to get there. It is absolutely beautiful though! It was great to see everyone, but its also kind of depressing to realize how little I know about all of their lives. I'm one of the youngest cousins out of 10 of us, and when you add all of the husbands, wives, and multiple children, it's hard to remember who belongs to who! My grandma's brother's family was there, so that includes all of my dad's cousins, their kids, and their husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. It was a packed house of 40+.

These are the only pics I got of the weekend. I so wish I would've sucked it up and taken more. I'm not much of a picture taker, especially in front of people I a) can't remember and b) haven't seen in a long while. I hate being THAT person who always whips out the camera, but looking back on it now, I wish I hadn't cared so much. I got a couple of pics of my grandma and me at our wedding, but would like to have another. She's turning 85 years young in May, so we hope to make her birthday bash and get a picture then! 

Oh you know I got a picture of the dog. His name is Rufus and we are best buds. He likes the words squirrel and raccoon and he loves, loves, loves to have his ears rubbed and give kisses!

He was very widdle at the end of the day.

Up next....our two family Thanksgivings! We're headed to the Fort Wednesday and then over to Mom and Johnny's at the lake on Friday! Can't wait to have a relaxing weekend with family and spend time with the nieces and nephews. I bet Emilee has grown so much since we've seen her!

I'm Gonna Keep On Lovin You...Cause Its the Only Thing I Wanna Doooo...

We got to see R.E.O. Speedwagon, Rick Springfield, AND world champion figure skaters ALL IN ONE NIGHT! I know you're super jealous....its okay. You'll get to see it on NBC on Nov. 29th. 

Our neighbor works for 3M, the sponsor of the event, Holiday Celebration on Ice, so she hooked us up with some V.I.P. tickets. We took our friends Matt and Jessica. The boys were pretty relieved they served beer so they could feel a little more heterosexual while watching figure skating and middle aged women having hot flashes over Rick Springfield. Their constant sarcasm and the drunk guy sitting next to us representing Arkansas to the fullest helped them get through the night laughing as well. 

Rick Springfield himself rockin' some "Jessie's Girl". The show was all downhill after that.

These two were partners and they did some pretty cool tricks, I'm not gonna lie.

All together now...

Rockin' Christmas

Three for the Price of One

Welcome Emilee Katherine! 

Our 3rd niece was born Oct. 28, weighing 8 lb. 1 oz of pure preciousness. Nicole had what seems like the perfect childbirth and is doing really well. Drew has dubbed his baby sister with the nickname "Peaches", so FYI...Emilee and Peaches may be used interchangeably. 

Here is Uncle D with Miss Emilee

Peaches was curled up like a little ball. 

Uncle D almost covers her whole body with one hand!

Would you check this face out?

All together now..."Awww!"

Aunt Carly getting in some cuddle time. 

She was so warm and snuggly, I just wanted to squeeze hers up!

I don't think I'm the only one who she's got wrapped around the finger.

The proud Aunts and Uncles!

We just passed her down the couch.

Check out those feet-sies!

Our cute little punkin!

(Throwing up the westside).

We got to see Momo, too!

Woo, Pig!

Dustin and I headed to Fay-town for the game Saturday night. It was SO exciting!...NOT! I started cheering for the other team I felt so bad. 

We got some Addilyn lovin', too!

Mary Addily, would you look at all of those people behind you who love you?

What a lucky girl to have 5 adults go to the park with her!

What a sweet, sweet girl!

I hope you all had as joyous of a weekend as we did!

Lazy Weekend

Since Baby Brasuell decided not to make her arrival this weekend, Dustin and I stayed home to get ahead on a few things since we know we'll be out of town next weekend for sure (we hope, Nicole really hopes).  Dustin fertilized the yard, and I ran a bajillion errands on Saturday. I wanted to show you my buy of the weekend. I found these while shopping for a birthday present for somebody else, go figure. I only bought one, then went back and got the other. They were only $20! I thought that was a pretty good deal! They add the pop of color I needed and look great!

My errands included the biggest Wal-Mart shopping trip EVER. Our fridge and pantry were pretty much depleted (especially since we gave away every can good and boxed dinner we owned to our teenage neighbors who came and ransacked our home for a food drive). Plus, I have been wanting to branch out and try a few new recipes, so there were things we didn't have that I had to purchase. Speaking of, I hate not knowing where things are in the grocery store. In fact, it has scared me away from trying new recipes for quite some time. I decided to be brave this Saturday and go for it. Two hours and $200 later....success! 

I made...

Bone Chillin' Breadsticks and a Cheesy Haalloween Dip

It was good football eatin! You just buy regular breadsticks (I used Pillsbury original breadsticks), roll them in the middle leaving the ends larger and round, and cut a slit about 1 inch down the middle of each end to make the bone shape. To season, melt 1/4 cup of butter and brush on the breadsticks, adding sprinkled parmesan and poppy seeds. 

To make the dip you need:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 lb. Mexican Style Velvetta

10 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

4 oz. can diced green chilies, undrained

In a frying pan, brown ground beef until completely cooked. Drain and set aside. Cut cheese into 1 inch cubes and melt on low heat. Add tomatoes and green chilies and mix well. Combine cooked ground beef with cheese mixture and serve warm.

Orange Chicken

The breadsticks and dip were delicious. The orange chicken was pretty good. Dustin loved it. I thought it was good, but I don't know if it's something I will crave to cook again. I also made cheesy chicken enchiladas one night, but didn't take a picture. It was a recipe I found in the coupon section attached to the Campbell's ad. Again, Dustin loved them, but I guess I'm just a sucker for my 3 regularly rotated favorites: spaghetti, chicken spaghetti, and cheesy chicken noodles. Can we say pasta lover? : ) I'm trying to branch out. I have a couple more recipes I hope to try soon. I'll let you know if they were worth eating.

Hope you had a great fall weekend!

 

It's Officially Fall Ya'll!

This was my front door fall decor inspiration from Pottery Barn. It's very full, over-the-top, and would've cost me about $400-500 out of the catalog.

Sooo.....here is my bare bones, cheap version. I plan on building it up every year, but I still love it just the way it is.

I got the lighted pumpkins and garland from Hobby Lobby, 50% off of course. These are lanterns we already had, although they are getting pretty banged up so may need replacing next year. I couldn't decide if I wanted to door the garland around the door....maybe next year.

It officially looked and felt like fall at Tenkiller this weekend. My Uncle David and his girlfriend came into town from Missouri. We went out for a ride on mom and Johnny's new mule. The trees are starting to turn and there was definitely a chill in the air. We watched the Hogs out on the deck with a REAL fire, crackling wood and all! It was very relaxing. We had a great time. Thanks, Mama!

We stopped in Van Buren on our way back home to see the Nicole and Jerry. Dustin's sister is about to pop any day now, even though she isn't due til the 22nd. She started having contractions this weekend, so we may have our 3rd niece by the end of the week! Everybody pray for a strong, healthy baby and easy birth!

Hope ya'll had a great fall weekend.