Where have we been?

To start, let us apologize to all of those who have checked our blog periodically over the past six months only to be disappointed. We are officially the worst bloggers in the world, and you know what, we are okay with that.

A lot has happened since we last blogged so instead of overwhelling you with every detail, I am going to give you a quick time line. From February to June we have celebrated Camryn's 1st birthday, spent a month working in Sulpher Springs, spent two weeks in working Mt. Pleasant, traveled back and forth working in Longview for two months, went to Nashville for Justin's wedding, went to college station to recruit, bought a house, went to Dallas to visit Tyson & Sarah, and made the journey out to Abilene for a quick trip.

Wait a second did he say "bought a house"? That's right, for those of you who haven't heard, Katie and I are moving. We move into our new house on July 1st and have already started to draw up plans for remodeling/renovating if you can believe that.



The house was built in 1951 and if you have been to our current home, you might notice this house isn't a whole lot different. The new house has the same hardwood floors through out, wood windows, and the exact same trim and baseboards that are in our current home. The only major difference is the new place sits on almost 1 acre, and is a bit larger with a second living area and a formal dinning room which we are lacking currently.

I mentioned earlier that we have already started making plans to remodel and this probably doesn't come as a huge surprise to some of you. I won't go into a lot of detail at this time, we have plans to blog about the remodel every step of the way with plenty of pictures, so for now I will just tell you that the kitchen is getting some major attention and the master bath for a lack of a better word will be "gutted". We did however make a first purchase today that will go towards the remodel.


We picked up this piece of marble at a remnant sale that will be the top of our 6x4 foot kitchen island. Hope you enjoyed the pics and catching up on what has been going on with us over the last few months. We promise to be better about blogging from here on out. Look forward to some good remodel blogs coming soon and feel free to come see the new place after we move in.

We've Been Lazy

I just wanted to say sorry blogworld. We have been lazy in our posting. Every couple of days we say to each other "we should blog", but then we decide that we have nothing interesting to blog about. Not to worry though, we'll be back soon. I just need to charge my camera battery, then I can show you our snow dog from a couple of weeks ago. Until then....

Flamingos & Sewing

On Monday I came home to these in the front yard.


They are part of a fundraiser for the youth group at church. They are going to the Dominican Republic in February. When the flamingos arrive in your yard, you pay to have them remove and then you get the pleasure of choosing who they go to next. So thank you Beth & Matt, we enjoyed them, but are glad they are gone.

They are pretty cute though.

While Kevan is gone working, I have been finding ways to occupy my time. I have always loved sewing and have made several quilts and bags. I had never tried making clothes though, just always altering ones I bought. I thought I would give it a shot since I have plenty of time on my hands.
I tried a dress because, it didn't require a zipper or buttons. Hopefully I will learn to do those soon so that I can do more styles. My presser foot died in the middle of my project, so a special thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law who let me borrow her machine. Thanks Janice!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Katie GOT A CAR!

I just wanted to share with the blog world my new car. I have wanted a 4Runner for a long time and we found the perfect one for me.

So now we are one happy Toyota family, and if you see me driving around I probably have a big smile on my face.

In other news school started back today. It was not as crazy as I thought it would be, which I was really thankful for. I heard a lot about all the cool presents they got (I sounded lame telling them about my clothes, running shoes and house stuff).

Kev will start his busy season in a few weeks so we are enjoying the free time while we can. Since it is basketball season we have spent some of that time watching Kevan's beloved Rockets. I know what your thinking, they shouldn't be very good this year, they are missing two of their high profile players. They have been so much fun to watch and I have been sucked in to the Kirksey family love of Houston sports teams. So here are my favorite players at the moment.

I know all this sounds a little crazy coming from me, but watch a game. You'll see.

That pretty much sums up what we have been doing the last couple of weeks. I hope everyone had a great New Years!

Kevan Got A DEER!!!

Today is going to be a busy day but before it starts I just wanted to share my husbands exciting news. He went hunting Monday and Tuesday with my Dad and shot his first buck. Apparently he is quite the dead eye, but you will have to ask him all about it. I just wanted to share the pictures!Yup thats a 10 point!

In other news, I thought it was time for a blog change. It will be winter on the blog, whether it feels like it outside or not.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and gets to spend some great time with family.

Christmas time is here

Being our first Christmas together as a married couple Katie and I have had the opportunity to learn a few let's call them quirks about one another. First instance, in my opinion Christmas is not Christmas without a real tree...real in the sense that it grew out of the ground and once lived. I will be the first to admit a real tree is a hassle. For one they are not cheap, not easily transported, you must find a stand that fits it, then hurry to find another stand that fits it after the first stand you thought would fit it doesn't and you are taking turns holding the tree up in the living room while help is on the way (it's nice to have parents two minutes away sometimes), string the lights yourself, water it three times a day, and after all of this it dies and you toss it to the curb only to do it all again the following year.

After typing out that list I hesitated a moment and thought to myself, why do we get a real tree...and then it hit me, it literally hit me, it's the smell! The very smell of Christmas that you can't ignore every time you walk into the house after a long day.

(it's an 8 foot noble fir purchased from the Whitehouse High School band fundraiser)

(hard to take a clear picture of the lights without the flash)

What I have learned about Katie through out this process is that Katie doesn't like Christmas. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true, and yes it is sad. Working retail ruined her on Christmas music all together which next to the tree is one of the best aspects of the holiday season. She could care less about the tree real or fake at this point, claims that Christmas colors do not "go" with our house decor, and is already tired of fighting the holiday traffic that appears in Tyler every Friday after Thanksgiving and continues non stop until Christmas. So none the less I was given the duty of blogging about Christmas for this year, and until her heart grows three sizes, every year in the years to come.

As much as I have given Katie a hard time she did put together our tree skit after giving up on finding one anywhere in town which is my opinion came out looking awesome.

Our stockings which were purchased at eleven thirty on a Tuesday night. We almost didn't get to have stockings this year.

Finally a plate of holiday cookies from Beth Hopkins annual cookie party. Thanks Lola!

Cake Balls

A few weeks ago Kevan came home telling me how much he loved Cake Balls. He had tried them at work and thought they were great (he does not usually like cake). So of course I had to make them if they were so good. You start with a box of cake mix, frosting and chocolate bark.


Then you bake the cake by the box directions. Once cooled combine with frosting and mix well. (I know, this doesn't look appetizing)


Next, melt the chocolate, and dip the balls (or roll them around) in the chocolate. I used tooth picks to help move them.
Then refrigerate til they harden.
I learned a couple of trick along the way.
-Keep them small, it makes them easier to work with.
- Use white cake if you want white on the outside. It is a much cleaner look.

I was told about this website and I just thought it was too cute not to share.
Bakerella

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!