Dallas

Last weekend Darren and I decided to head to Dallas to see Marnie and the kids. We planned on heading out of town after getting off of work on Friday and after we dropped off the dogs at my parents house. Well...that was the plan at least. Marnie text Friday morning and told me that Presley REALLY wanted me to bring the dogs. Who could turn down such a precious 6 year old. So after work I went and packed up the dogs and we headed out of town. Normally when the dogs go on car rides they sit in my lap, I was not sure that I could handle 3 hours of that so I put them in their crate in the back.

We were honestly SHOCKED by how good they were. Gidget whined for a little bit but then the both fell asleep and stayed back there the entire time! Such good babies!

When we got to the house Marnie had to give us the tour! They just moved into their house in January and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I am so happy that they found such a wonderful home that is so perfect for them. After the tour we all settled into be to get a good nights rest for the long day of playing that we would have ahead of us.

This is what I walked out of the shower to Saturday morning... (a little blurry)

We all got ready Saturday morning and hit the town. Their house is so perfect because it is WALKING DISTANCE from everything. So we walked over to the plaza and had some lunch. After of course we had to hit up the ice cream shop. Here are the kids playing on the chalk board.

Later that afternoon we went home and got ready for a night on the patio. Everyone got their swim gear on and we prepared some pizza. Their house has and AMAZING brick oven on the patio so we had HOMEMADE pizza...basically like the Italians do it :)

I started by kneading the dough...

Then Darren tossed it...

The kids put on the toppings...

We put it in the oven...

And PRESTO...an absolutely DELICIOUS brick oven pizza!

After pizza we swam and played and relaxed!

T and Cashie

Ringo testing out the water...

And trying to make his escape!

We had such a wonderful weekend and can't wait to return! We love you Marnie, Presley, Jett, and Cash!

Gardening

Last summer Darren and I got into gardening. We planted some flowers and the front flower beds and did our mailbox planters and a few pots. This year we decided to go about and beyond and tackle the flower beds in the back. Since we got all new patio furniture I LOVE being in the back yard. I wanted to make the scenery a little better so Darren took on the feat of clearing out the flower beds and we ventured off to TLC for some flowers! It is almost sickening how much you can spent on flowers. The upside is that HOPEFULLY they will all come back next year so you only have to spend the large amount once!

Here are some pictures of the front. I love how the flowers get bigger and bigger each year! There is actually a plant in the middle that get HUGEEEEEE with flowers but it blooms a little later.

Here is the back!

Unfortunately the flower bed on the bottom was completely destroyed by the dogs. At first we thought that they were eating them then Darren discovered that that is where they go to fight so they just trample all over the flowers. Sad day :(

The guilty culprits...

Doxie Dash

The title says it all...

I am obsessed with the Dachshund Dash and every year I want to go and have never been. Well this year I had the perfect companions to drag with me! I started warning Darren from the moment the Gazette started advertising that we were going. He acted resistant but I knew he would pull through.

Well the day of the race it was a little rainy but I was determined! We decide to leave Ringo behind since he is so little and let Gidget be the princess for the day! Boy does she LOVE BEING THE PRINCESS!!!

In the car ride on the way to the race I could tell that Gidget had to potty...she had a little gas :) This totally freaked me out because I did NOT want her to potty in the middle of the crowd...I didn't want her to be THAT dog. When we got there I think she was in total shock. There were dogs EVERYWHERE! She was so good...she didn't bark once!

We all got situated in the stands and waited for the races. Here is a picture of Gidget ready for the show!



Gidget and Mommy (excuse my crazy eyebrows...)


The races were HYSTERICAL!!!!! OMG! Darren was not real happy about being there but once he saw a race I think he kind of liked it! (he would probably say that was a stretch) After 2 races we decide to go and check out what the vendors had to offer. I LOVE buying things for my dogs...it is sick. I can only imagine how I will be with children. Well, I got tired of holding Gidget while I was looking so I made Darren hold her. All of the sudden he starts FREAKING OUT and tells me that she is trying to poop WHILE HE WAS HOLDING HER!!!!! So I grab her and we make a mad dash for the exit outside. Of course it is still raining and of course Gidget refuses to poop, she finally peed and I knew that was all I was going to get.

We went back inside and decide to head for the car. We parked at the Chase building so we took the Sky walk back to the parking garage. It was so fun to see all the little Doxies headed for the show. Gidget wanted to stop and greet all of them! Darren was walking Gidget on her leash and she stopped and started pooping! Darren starts FREAKING OUT AGAIN and tells me to CATCH IT! Catch it??!?!?! REALLLLLY?!?!?!?! But I obeyed. I seriously got the plastic bag and tried to catch her poop as it was coming out. I was MORTIFIED. Oh...and don't you worry...we had an AUDIENCE! Ugh. So needless to say Gidget was THAT DOG that pooped in public. LAME.

We had so much fun and I hope we can go next year and bring Ringo along.

I will leave you with a picture of my sweet little babies sleeping...

It's been a while...

you ever feel like you are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO behind on your blogging that you are to overwhelmed to put together a post? That is exactly how I have been feeling! There have been so many events lately and I feel like I am so behind that I can't even get up the energy to post about them...well here we go!

First thing we have missed is my BIRTHDAY! I am astonished that I haven't dedicated an enter post to this...but oh well! This year I turned 24 (on April 5th) and it was wonderful! My parents, Jessica and Eric, Suzanne and Noah, and Darren and I all made our way to Eischens for my birthday dinner! It was AMAZING! I think Darren and I liked it more than everyone else! Let me rephrase that...I think Darren liked it more than everyone else...he at an ENTIRE CHICKEN! Who is he?! I continue to wonder where he stores all of this food.

For my birthday my wonderful sweet husband bought me these. http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2915149?Category=&Search=True&SearchType=guidednav&keyword=tory+%3e+Women%27s+Shoes&origin=searchresults
(I still don't know how people post the link without making it look like the above)

I am so excited about my new shoes. I actually already had this pair but I have had them for 2 years and they have had ENOUGH! I could not wear them ONE MORE TIME!

I had the most wonderful birthday ever and am so glad I got to spend it with the people I love.

I swear I will post more this week...this one just wore me out ;)

Yummmmy

To fight off cabin fever during our heavy snow Darren and I got productive in the kitchen! I have been dying to try out our brand new kitchen aid mixer and Saturday was the perfect opportunity.

I decided that I would get really creative (well by my standards) and make Banana Nut Bread from scratch! I have never made anything like this unless it comes in a box...I was very nervous! Well let me tell you that this mixer is AMAZING! I am not even kidding, I feel like it made the banana bread by itself! I was amazed by the power of this thing...it is my new favorite toy! Darren decided to take a nap while I made the bread which got me nervous. What if I didn't do something right? He is normally right behind me making sure I am doing everything correctly (annoying, but often useful). Well, IT WAS A SUCCESS!

Since I made the yummy bread Darren made us some DELICIOUS stew! OMG! It was probably the best stew I have ever tasted! Good job babe!

I would say we had a very successful weekend of cooking/baking! It was really fun and a change from what we normally do. I think I am going to make a habit out of baking but I need to make sure to not make a habit out of eating! I think I will try carrot cookies out next! Stay tuned!

I have to leave you with a sweet picture of precious Ringo napping!

Happy Birthday Darren

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear DARRENNNNNNNNN!!!!!! Happy Birthday to you!

Today was Darren's birthday and we have been celebrating all weekend. Friday after work we went to our favorite burger place DAN'S OL TIME DINER with Tim, Amy, and Carson. IT WAS SOOOOOO GOOD! Darren and I felt like pigs because we completely demolished all of our burger and and entire basket of fried. Tim, Amy, and Carson had 1/2 a basket of fries left...needless to say...I was embarrassed by the amount of food we ate! Oh well!

After dinner we headed back to Tim and Amy's to play the Wii. Ok, the boys played the Wii. Amy and I chatted and looked for puppies online :) It was a very fun night!

Saturday we went to get the pup and just stayed home and hung out with our own little fam (me, D, and the dogs!).

Sunday we went to church then headed to my parents. They took us all to BJ's to celebrate. It was sooooo good. They got Darren and I (joint b-day gift) a Wii fit! I can't wait to use it but it was on back order until April 3rd. After lunch we came home and I made Darren some lemon cupcakes for his birthday. I was actually really proud of myself because I even made HOMEMADE icing! (Darren's mom told me how.) I am so sad because I didn't take any pictures of them. Boo.

Today I sent Darren to work with the cupcakes to share with everyone at work. I laughed because I felt like he was my child and I was sending him with birthday treats for his class! Bahaha!

After work on Monday Darren's parents came down and took us to Texas Road House. Wow...I ate a LOT of food. You would think that I NEVER get to go out to dinner...I just inhale everything that is put in front of me...NOT GOOD! After dinner we came back to the house and sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes. Darren's parents got us a Kitchen Aid Mixer for our birthdays!!!! Omg we are so excited! We are going to make banana bread this weekend. I am going to turn us in to little bakers :)

The only present Darren got from me was lots of love and Ringo. Ok, so maybe Ringo was more of a gift for me :) I want to get him some new Sanuk shoes but the ones he wants are sold out EVERYWHERE! So I will continue my search for them and get them for him when they become available. Bummer :(

It was a wonderful weekend and a great way to start of the week. I love you Darren! Happy Birthday!

Ringo Lasley: We Must Be Crazy!

So I am sure all of you know I have an obsession with my dog Gidget, and weenie dogs in general. Well Friday night we went over to Tim and Amy's house and brought Gidget along to play. She has so much fun when she is around other dogs and their lab and maltese are no exception. So I decided she MUST have a friend at home to play with. Darren and I have talked about this before but I though he would never let me get another dog. He hates that I am so attached to Gidget and never want to leave her, I think he thought I would be worse with two! But, in my head, I wouldn't feel AS bad leaving them if they had each other to play with. Well, I think Amy was a big help because she was working on him with me and he said "well let's go get one tomorrow!" YAYAYAYAYAYA! Then he gave me the conditions. Booo. He said if we get another one we have to get a Jack Russell or a Boston Terrier. Blah. Ok well this was a baby step. I think Jack Russells are SUPER cute so we looked some up online and Amy even called on them. I kind of dropped it after that since we were with our friends and were playing games.

Then next morning when we woke up Darren asked me what I wanted to do for the day. I just said "uhhhhhhhhhhh...I dunno". So then we started talking about getting a puppy again. I just told him that I had heard Jack Russells were super hyper and that made me nervous since Gidget is literally the laziest dog in the world. What would I do with a dog with so much energy? So we decided to do some research. After reading a couple of sites on Jack Russells we decided that although they are the cutest little dogs, they may not be for us. Besides being know for acting SUPER HYPER they are also not the most tolerant around kids. That was the kicker. Gidget is AMAZING around kids! My niece tries to pull her head off and she just lays there. So then Darren said the words I thought I would NEVER hear "well maybe we could look at the weenie dogs they have listed." This was a complete SHOCK to me because Darren thinks that weenie dogs are so stupid! Hahaha! So I jumped all over this and we started calling places IMMEDIATELY. I was scared he was going to change his mind! The even funnier part of this story is that I wanted a boy and Darren wanted a girl. I wanted a red one and Darren really just wanted to stick with black like Gidget. We ended up with a red male :) This is not because I am a brat...but that really was what they had! I just got lucky!

When we talked to the lady that we decided to buy from she had 2 red males so we told her to bring both so we could pick. We packed Gidget up (we thought she could help us decide) and headed to Ada.

When we got there and the lady pulled out both of the puppies I immediately knew which one I wanted. He was so stinking cute I couldn't take my eyes off of him! But I did feel sad for the other puppy. I know they will find him a good home though!

Riding home

Gidget wouldn't even look at me on the way home!

Checking out my new crate

It took Gidget a while to come around...but I think she is starting to like Ringo! They started playing which is super cute. Gidget gets a little rough with him but he will learn to take her down soon enough.

Sleepy babies

I am so glad my sweet husband likes to let me have my way because I love both of my babies!