Memorial Weekend - Part 2

Well here I am back again.  Two posts in one day is pretty impressive for me but I figure while I have my internet working I might as well get as much done as possible.  Sweet pea just woke up from her nap though, so I better make this one kinda short.

Memorial Day (Monday) my sister was off work so we got the chance to take our little ones to the zoo together.  We don't get that chance very often because sister works during the week and I work on Saturdays so that doesn't leave much time for sisterly bonding.  It was in the 90's that day so I put sweet pea in her bathing suit so we could visit the splash park while we were there to cool off a bit.

Sweet pea and I haven't gotten to the zoo in a few weeks so there are a bunch of animals that are back for the summer that we hadn't gotten the chance to see yet.  These large turtles were one of the things.  I don't know what it is but there is just something about turtles that fascinate me.  I guess I'm just weird, oh well!

We got through about half the zoo and then decided it was getting pretty hot so we needed to cool down.  This is the first time we had been to the splash park because last year sweet pea was just too little.  I am so glad they had an area for the smaller kids because the larger part of the park kinda scared her.  She wasn't as crazy about the water as some of the kids, but she still had fun.  Doesn't she look precious in her little fishy suit!!

Every time she would get water in her face she would say "good job Emma" and give me high five.  She likes self motivating!

Cooper didn't wear his swimmy suit but next time he will for sure.  I think he wouldn't mind getting his little feet wet.  We did soak his hat in the water though so it would keep him cool.  I just love this picture that sister captured of him!!

All in all it was a fun day and I can't wait until we can go back again.  Next weekend we will be celebrating sweet pea's 2nd birthday and that makes me so sad.  I can't believe my little baby is already turning 2 years old.  Boy does time fly!  We are also leaving next weekend for the beach and this will be sweet pea's first ever vacation.  I am beyond excited and hope that she loves the beach as much as I do.  Well there is a pile of clothes that need to be ironed that is calling my name so I better go, but until next time I hope you all have a wonderful day, BYE!

Memorial Weekend - Part 1

I feel like I have been absent from this blog for a while, but we have had a lot going on around these parts lately.  I have also been having internet issues since we switched providers, which has been a pain in the butt.  Anyway, this past memorial weekend was a blast!  Now that kids are out of school and the weather has become quite warm, summer has officially begun and I am pumped!  Last week I finally broke down and bought sweet pea a little pool to play in in the backyard, because it was just too hot for her to play outside without it, and she loves the outdoors.  I am not gonna lie, I kinda love this pool too, because if we do not feel like actually going to the pool at my grandmothers, we can just pop out into the backyard and have just as much fun.  She took a couple of her bath toys out with her and had a ball.

My mom watches her on the weekends while I work, so we also took the pool over there so she could play in it while mom worked in her yard.  My nephew was there too and got to dip his little toes in.

When it was time to get out sweet pea used the pool water to help Nana water her flowers.  My mom is so resourceful, because I have just been dumping the whole pool over into the grass, whoops! :)

If you look close you can see a little while butterfly in the purple flowers and sweet pea was trying so bad to catch it.  It was so sweet!

On Sunday I co-hosted a bridal shower for one of the girls at work who is getting married this summer.  She will be moving to Virginia once she gets married, so the party was kinda bittersweet because she will be missed TONS!  We had a tea party themed soiree complete with real china and everyone wore their best hats.  I was so glad I had the chance to use my china because most of the time it just sits in the cabinet collecting dust.  It's also special to me because it was my mom's first set that she collected herself when she was a little younger than I am right now.

We dined on chocolate covered strawberries, cupcakes, and mini chicken salad sandwiches.  It was all delicious!

This is the lovely bride-to-be Jessica.  Isn't she gorgeous!?  I am going to miss her so much when she leaves, but I hope to stay in touch via facebook.

We played a couple games including the toilet paper wedding dress game, which was really fun.  Watch out Vera Wang!!

I got some really cute goodies at the Target dollar spot for the game prizes.  This is one of the treats I put together.  I just love those little buckets.  I bought like 4 of them for my potting bench outside.

I am so glad that we have opportunities like this to get together with one another outside of work.  This group of girls is amazing and I couldn't ask for better people to work with.

Well that is all for this post, but I will be back with what we did on actual Memorial Day.  See ya!

Mother's Day Weekend

Hey ya'll!  I hope all the mothers out there had an awesome and relaxing weekend.  I know I really enjoyed my weekend, and I was so excited to celebrate with my sister for her very first mother's day.  It makes me so happy that we are getting to raise our kids at the same time, and will always be there for each other when we need it.

On Friday mom and I (with sweet pea and my nephew in tow) attended the Gardener's Fair at Locust Grove, which is a historic home in Louisville.  It is actually the place where hubby and I got married, and I love going back and remembering that day, because it makes me so happy.  This is the 4th year that mom and I have gone, so it has become our tradition for mother's day to go, since it is always held the same weekend.  Even if you don't purchase anything, it is just fun to walk around and see what the local vendors have brought to sell, and some of the displays are just beautiful to look at.  This year they had all kinds of things for sale, including jewelery, but I kept my wallet shut and just purchased veggies for our garden.  Below are some pictures from our afternoon.

I am always tempted by this ladies booth, because she has the best baskets, and they are always so cheap.  I am a sucker for baskets!

My mom however purchased a basket, and sweet pea used it to tote around her "friends".  She looks like a little shopper in training in this picture.

I thought this salad garden was the most genius idea and totally wanted to buy it, but it was $100! I just couldn't justify that.

Mom and I always purchase flowers from this booth, because they are just gorgeous.  I mean look at all those beautiful colors!  Sweet pea was infatuated with a basket full of fuschia, and I almost bought it just because she loved it so much. For those of you that don't know what fuschia is, it looks like little pnk/ppl ballerina dancers.

This is one of the buildings on the property.  I think it may have been some kind of workshop.

We told sweet pea that we saw a butterfly so that she would look at the camera, but instead she looked for it in the opposite direction, oh well!

Another building on the property, I think a slave house.

This is the main house and we actually got married in the lawn where I am standing taking the picture and then took our wedding pictures on the steps of the front porch.  It has been restored back to its original beauty and can be toured during the fair.  It's just gorgeous inside.

All in all we had a great time and didn't break the bank too bad.  Hubby and I planted the veggies I bought earlier this week, and I can't wait for them to start producing!

Sunday, my sister and I made brunch for everyone at mom and dad's house, and it was delish!  The weather that day was pretty miserable, but the company was great and it was awesome that all 3 of us got to spend our momma's day together.  I have the best mom in the world, and couldn't ask for a better role model or nana to my kids.  She has taught me more about being a wife and a mom than she will ever know, and I love her to the moon and back.  Thanks mom for everything that you have done, do and will continue to do for me and my family, I love you!

Well it's getting late and I will be getting a wake up call from a certain little person very soon, so I should probably hit the hay.  I hope you all have a lovely Friday, and I will see you next time, BYE!

Linking to Inspiration Fridays At the Picket Fence

Derby Party, Cinco De Mayo Style

I am a little late in getting this post up, but better late than never, right?  Hubby and I have hosted a Derby party for the past 5 years, and have always gone the traditional route with hot browns, mint juleps, etc, but since this year Derby fell on Cinco De Mayo, we decided to have a little fun with the day and host a Cinco De Derby party.  Instead of the traditional cuisine we decided to have a taco bar and margaritas in order to celebrate the double festivities.  The day was much more laid back and relaxing, especially for the host because I am normally stuck in the kitchen making sure everything stays replenished, but this year we just laid it all out on the table and people helped themselves whenever they wanted.  We made pork and beef and had all the toppings.  We did however top the meal off with traditional derby pie, bourbon barrel cake, and horse shaped cookies.  Below are some pics from the day.

I didn't do a whole lot of decor for the day, but what I did put out was mixed with a little "fiesta" decor as well.

I was really proud of the wreath that I made for my front door.  I had everything at home, except for the burlap ribbon which I purchased this year at Hobby Lobby.

These cookies were really fun to make.  My MIL gave us the cookie cutters for hubby's birthday, and I got the decorating idea from Carmel at Our Fifth House.  I think they turned out super cute!

I couldn't get sweet pea to sit still that day, so this was the best picture I got of her in her derby attire. (My MIL made her dress, and I purchased the hat at the dollar spot at Target and hot glued on the flowers)  Usually every year everyone dresses up in their cutest outfits and hats, but this year we were totally laid back and told everyone to come casual.

The weather ended up being perfect, so we were able to go outside and play games.  I think the guys played corn hole until like 1:00 in the morning!

Here is everyone watching the Derby race.  (Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, my nephew is sitting on a cow.  He rode it out to the living room from sweet peas room!)

We did a pool for the race and everyone put in $5 dollars to pick a horse from the hat.  Jenni who is pictured on the right, won and the pot was$100!!  The other two ladies on the left are my besties Maurie and Amanda.  So glad they got to come.

What better use for a bourbon bottle than as a flower vase.

I just LOVE the horse corks that come with these bottles of Blantons.  There is a series of 8 different horses and I hope to eventually collect all 8, but at about $80 a bottle it might take me a while.

These beautiful roses were sent to me by my friend Hannah.  They came in the prettiest silver mint julep cup.

She also sent the Bourbon barrel cake that we ate at the party.  Doesn't it look delicious!

Well now that I have talked your ear off, I am going to jump off here and take sweet pea outside to enjoy this beautiful day.  I'm sure my flowers would enjoy a drink of water as well.  Until next time, have a great day, BYE!!

Partying today at Savvy Southern Style

Happy Derby Day!

Good morning ya'll!  If you live in Kentucky or in a surrounding state, you know what the 1st Saturday in May means, it's Derby Day!  The 138th Run for the Roses will take place this evening at Churchill Downs.  Today just so happens to be Cinco De Mayo as well, so this years party is going to have a Mexican twist vs. the traditional derby cuisine.  We will be having a taco bar, margaritas and other Mexican goodies, but don't worry because we will still be indulging in the traditional derby pie for dessert as well as bourbon barrel cake and horse shaped cookies.

I am praying that the weather stays nice, so we are able to go outside and play games and stuff.  Well, I better jump off here, because I have a lot of cleaning and cooking to still do.  I will hopefully be back tomorrow with some pics of the day.  Until then, GO BABY GO!!

In Bloom

My yard has been just beautiful this year.  Since we have had a lot of rain and some really warm temps, things bloomed a little early this year.  I have to say though, that it was nice to have so many things blooming at Easter, because it made for some pretty pictures.  We have lived in our house for almost 4 years, so the things that we planted the summer after we moved in are finally starting to mature, and it's really nice to see all of our hard work pay off.  I have to give most of the props to my mom, because without her knowledge of flowers and plants, my yard wouldn't look half as good as it does.  She is just one of those people that has a green thumb, and she has learned most of what she knows from my grandmother's, so I hope she is able to pass on most of her knowledge to me.  I can definitely say that I have learned a lot since we moved in, Thanks Mom!

These first few pics are things that were blooming in late March early April, and have since bloomed out and won't be back til next year.

I just love these miniature daffodils that are planted around our dogwood.

Believe it or not, I planted these pansies back in the fall of last year, and they still look good to this day.  I guess they just really like their spot in the front of the house.

We moved into our house in August of 2008 and planted this dogwood the next spring.  The following spring it only had 4 blooms on it and this is what it looked like this year.  I just love that in a few short years things grow and mature so much.

These next pics were taken on Easter, they were the only ones I got of the front bed.  Doesn't sweet pea look thrilled to be getting her picture taken?!  That red azalea was the only one out of 3 that survived a couple years ago.  The other two got some kind of disease and died rather quickly.

We also planted the phlox the spring after we moved in and they were spectacular this year.  I am not usually a purple girl, but I love the color of these.  The white azalea was here when we moved in and it is gorgeous every year!

These next shots are what the yard currently looks like.  I got the ferns at Lowe's for like $10 and they are gorgeous.  The inpatients were also purchased at Lowe's and planted this year.  The daylillies were not blooming when I took this pic, but sprouted just after.

I planted this peony about 3 springs ago and I thought I had lost it, when my nephew mistook if for a stick and broke it off down to the ground.  I was so glad when the next year (last year I believe) it sprouted up and had 4 blooms.  This year it is full, and is so nice to look at out the back window.

Here are the daylillies in the back all bloomed out.  There are still plenty of blooms that haven't opened yet, so I hope these stick around for a few months.

This rose bush was originally planted in the middle of our backyard when we moved in which was rather strange, so hubby transplanted it a few years ago along the corner of the fence.  We weren't sure if it was going to live, but it did and hubby was real proud of himself.  The color of these are just so vibrant.  I love cutting them and bringing them into the house.

We finally got our vegetable beds all cleaned up and hubby mixed some new soil and pete moss in, so we are ready to plant.  We will probably start next week, once mom and I go to the Gardener's Fair we attend every year and buy some plants.

Mom gave me this cute little bird bath that she was no longer using and I just love it.  Isn't the little hummingbird on it adorable.  Ya'll know I have an obsession with birds!

I am looking forward to planted some more summer color once I pick up a few more pots to plant in.  I just love how happy flowers make you feel!  Well I better jump off here and get sweet pea to my mom's so I can  go to work.  Hubby usually watches her, but he is participating in the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade with Chick-fil-A today.  He is one of the handlers for the blimp that will be paraded down Broadway.  Derby is right around the corner, and this girl is EXCITED!!  Until next time, BYE!!

Partying with the ladies over At The Picket Fence