Weekend Update: Twice as Nice!

Another fabulous weekend is behind us. Jay and I woke up early Saturday morning to meet Joe, Kiera and Kate for breakfast at Joe's Farm Grill. We have wanted to go for a while now & since it was over on the Blech's side of town, we figured why not? It was really cute - kinda reminded me of The Farm at South Mountain being that you almost forget you are in Phoenix when you're there with all the trees. The food was tasty (even though they didn't have real maple syrup - next time I need to remember to bring my own) and the company was great as usual.

After breakfast, we all headed to a one-day "boutique" craft show in Gilbert that Kiera's friend had a table at. It was called Le Chic Polka Dot Boutique and was really cute! Lots of great crafters all together in one spot - just in time for Christmas shopping! I especially like craft shows because it gives me great ideas of things I can make myself! Someday I will participate in one - just need the time to build up some inventory!!

Timmy & Benny Burlend's First Birthday was next. Kathy and Matt have a beautiful yard that was the perfect place to celebrate on this fall day. There was a bounce house for the kids and lots of food for the adults! The boys loved their cake and did a great job of entertaining us with fists full of frosting! I think it was the first 1st birthday party that Jay & I have attended that didn't end in tears! :)
Kiera, Kathy & I had a very nice visit. Kathy was the Hostess with the Mostess and put on a great party!
Jay had a great time too. He's with Timmy in this picture. Timmy just started walking and was showing Jay his new moves.

After the party, we went right to church and then got home just in time to watch Nebraska win against Kansas State!! This, I tell you, is very exciting news because now they're playing in the Big 12 Championship on Jay's birthday!! I think I know what he's going to want to do all day :) Go Big Red!

Sunday Jay woke up early & went to work for a bit. I woke up just in time for him to come home with Dunkin Donuts just for me! What a man I have!! We had a nice lazy morning together before grabbing some lunch at our favorite pizza joint. Sadly, I had to drop him off at the airport afterwards so he could head to Salt Lake City for a few days.

That's pretty much our weekend in a nutshell. Only 2 more days of work before we head up to Colorado to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. We're looking forward to seeing everyone, especially Xander and Liam who grow so much in between our visits!! I apologize in advance for what's sure to be a long, photo-heavy post in the near future!! xoxox

Home on the Range...

...well, sort of. I spent most of last week visiting my company's ranches in Wyoming.

The weather was beautiful - warmer than usual, with patches of snow where the sun doesn't quite reach.
Jay was flying all over the east coast, but he didn't have the camera.
We're both back home this week and are glad the weekend is upon us!

Weekend Update: Lots of Fun

We had a great weekend!!

Girls night kicked it off with Tara and I getting pedicures. We had decided last month that we'd like to get each other pedis for our birthdays, so we went to Cloud 9 Spa and got pampered! It was fantastic & I think we both needed a little relaxation. Next, we met up with Kiera, Kathy and Krista for an introductory to Dream Dinners. We each made a dinner that we took home & froze for a night that we want something easy and tasty to cook without much fuss. It was a great time & really easy! We liked it so much that we set a date to go back in December to make more meals :)

Saturday, Jay worked in the morning while I slept in (aaaaahhhh) and did a little fabric shopping. After our mid-afternoon naps, we went to the World's Toughest Rodeo - a division of the Toughest Cowboy series that I worked on earlier this year. We took Shane & Erin to the event at Jobing.com arena and enjoyed the VIP treatment as well as some tough competition. As you can see, Jay and I also sported our Halloween "costumes" so as to fit in as much as possible.
Soon after we got up Sunday morning, we headed to Jay's work for a little bit before hitting Ikea for breakfast & desk shopping. I had to get the Swedish Meatball deal - it was on sale this week for only 99 cents! 10 meatballs, mashed potatoes, and some lingonberries on the side. Delish! Jay had bacon, eggs, french toast sticks, and potatoes for $1.99 - gotta love a good deal!
Here is what we picked up. It's nothing fancy, but we just wanted something that will work until we move to a new place (hopefully in the next year or so). It fits perfectly in the corner and we now have our coffee table back!!
That afternoon we got a call from Shane saying that he & Erin snagged some free tickets (and parking passes!) to the Arizona State Fair. It was the last night of the 3+ week event, and the big Demolition Derby was going on, so how could we resist? But seriously, who am I kidding here? We really went for the food. Fried food & lots of it! Some new options this year were Fried Tiramisu, Fried Cookie Dough, and Fried Butter (though we couldn't find the latter - probably a blessing in disguise):

The Fried Cookie Dough was ok, but the Fried Oreos didn't fail us:
Shane and Erin got a Texas Donut - Erin & I were quick to grab the first bites:
And now here's the kicker. Chocolate covered scorpions. People pay for them. To eat.
Guess who wanted to try??
Shane & Jay chewed up every tiny bite. They both agreed that it tasted like they might have "pickled" them in some sort of alcohol before coating them in chocolate. Kinda like some sick sort of chocolate cordial. I say no thank you.
And finally, before heading to the Derby, we got the required turkey leg, some frilly fries, and grabbed our seats.
The Derby didn't disappoint. Car #7 took home the bounty.

Until next year, State Fair. Our bodies are thankful you are only once a year. I don't think I could handle Fried Oreos available at the local drive-thru.

Weekend Update: Alistair's 1st Birthday and Happy Halloween!

Saturday was a very busy day for us! We carpooled with Kiera, Joe and Kate up to Glendale around 11 for Alistair's first birthday party. Since his actual birthday is November 4, Halloween was a perfect day to celebrate and have everyone dress up. The food was Halloween themed too, so I made these spider web cupcakes:

I must say, I'm proud at how they came out! Here is where I got the idea.

Jeff and Tara had a photo backdrop set up in the backyard for pictures of everyone in their costumes. Here is the birthday boy trying to figure out who the crazy blue man is (Jeff):
Kiera and Kate!
Alistair and Tara:
Me and the birthday boy!
Alistair and Jay:
We were all cowboy'd up:
Kate & Alistair are best friends!
Tara made a beautiful pumpkin-shaped cake for him to dig into, but he wasn't sure what to do. He poked it a few times with his comb, a fork, and finally his fingers, but wasn't really thrilled with the whole thing.
Opening presents:
After the party, we went home for about an hour before heading over to Kiera & Joe's house for more Halloween fun. Their neighborhood goes all out & everyone had tables & chairs outside. It was nice to feel the energy of the kids running around trick-or-treating while the adults chatted and ate good food.

Kathy, Matt and their 4 boys don't live far, so they came over to celebrate with us! It was so nice to see them and their pirates & pumpkins!

Joe finally got dressed up later in the night...check out those short shorts!!

Once all the kids were in bed, some of us headed to a local bar that has a huge costume contest! It was great seeing all the ideas that people came up with! Jay's favorite was Beaker (remember the muppet?) and my favorite was probably the garbage can guy. I wish I took a picture because it was so creative! We had a great time, pretended we were "young" again, and got home around 1am!

Today we've enjoyed staying home in our pajamas, watching football, and sewing (Amie) while there is a pork roast in the crock pot. Mmmmm the house is smelling G-O-O-D! :)