Fourth of July Weekend

Friday, I worked a wedding in Azle. Everything ran smoothly! The ceremony was outside and the lighting was gorgeous. The entire time I was at the venue, so I didn't have to run around from one location to another, which is normally the case. It was pretty laid back. I can't wait to edit it, I got some pretty footage.

Saturday morning, we went to movies and watched Inside Out. I'm such a baby. I cried the entire time!!!! What Inside Out emotion are you? There is not an emo character, but if there was one, that would be me. Actually, I'd be a mix of Joy and Emo. The movie was insanely entertaining, even if you don't have kids - you should watch it.

Later that afternoon, we went over to a friends house. Brian from our Sunday school class threw a pool party and he had a pretty good turn out.

Sunday, we went out for lunch.


Sunday afternoon, we hiked. It was about a mile hike. We stopped along the trail, took pictures and played. It was a great holiday weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

Today, I woke up around 6 am and went for a 6 mile run. The neighborhood where I live, is kind of hilly, so I was moving slower than usually. I guess, it felt harder because here lately, the majority of my runs have been on a track or treadmill. However, I have to say - running slower is kind of nice.

Trey had the day off, today and we wanted to do something fun, as a family, so we decided to go to Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Hudson Oaks. The park is relatively small, it's not like a Hurricane Harbor or anything. This was my first time to go and it was really family friendly. It was also really clean! There wasn't a ton of people either, if we wanted to go down the slides, we only had to wait maybe a minute - if that! We had a great time playing in the sun. We were thankful we didn't have to pay for admission, thanks to Trey's friend/customer.

Now, it's 8 pm and we are all exhausted. We weren't planning on going out to watch fireworks, but if we had planned on doing that, I doubt we'd be able to. I'm about to call it a night. Happy Fourth! I hope you had a nice relaxing day with your family too!

Here's a screenshot pic from Splash Kindgom's site.

P.S. The other day, when I was out in the garden, minding my own business, picking tomatoes. I remember being so happy because this is the first season that I have ever successfully grown tomatoes. Next thing I know, I realize that I just got stung by a wasp. I remember I read that lavender oil helps diminish the pain insect bites. Sure enough, I applied it to my neck and it immediately help reduce the stinging sensation.

Fourth of July, 2013

How was your fourth of July? We had an exhaustingly fun day.

Thanks to Trey I have pool fever! For now, I will enjoy neighborhood pools. Our friends (who live around the block from us), were pool sitting, so we went over and played in the pool. I prefer a rectangle stye versus a kidney shape. There was nothing extravagant about this pool and I think that's why I like it so much.

During my run, I took a photo of the latest pool being built in the neighborhood.

After swimming, we drove to Glen Rose to visit with Aunt Jari, Uncle John and Trey's cousin and the rest of the family. They were staying at an RV park. This is their massive RV. FUN, right? I didn't get a chance to take a photo, while we were there, yesterday, but here is one from the archives....
Photo taken Oct. 2011

We had a wonderful day playing. Too bad I had to work today. I could've requested the day off, but I (always) have to reserve my vacation days for emergencies and days when I have to work doing freelance.

This sums up how I felt waking up this morning.

4th of July Short Order Chef

I almost tore the house apart looking for our American Flag and when I finally asked Trey, he was like, oh yeah, it's in the garage under the cabinet. Great.

Does your neighborhood get festive for the 4th of July? It seems like every year more and more people wave flags in their front yard. Look, we have a house next to us, FINALLY! It only took 3 years. The home is vacant. I'm going to make sure this house stays on the market, long enough for Linda and Steve to make an offer. BTW, Linda found out she's having a baby boy.

So, this year, I made a pricey investment on flags, 50 cents a pop. I even lined the side of house. Maybe next year, I'll go ALL OUT and spend some BIG money (1. dollar) on the big flags.

Recently, I've been drinking white wines. I love Riesling and Moscato. We all know, Red Wines are healthier, but I have never been crazy about red wine. The problem may be that I've never given it a chance. So, in the next few weeks, I'm on the quest to find the perfect Red Wine. Wine TASTING! Who wants to join me? This week, I'm tasting Malbec.

Malbec Bottle Label:
Malbec has aromas of blackberries and chocolate, the taste is of black cherries and the finish is dry and tart to the pallette. ...can be paired with a salad and cream dressing, pastas with a red sauce or even fish. It can be paired with almost any dish, even pizza.


Trey had to help me take the cork off.

I'm corkscrewed challenged. See, my last attempt. I butchered it.

Trey, showing me how to get it done.

I honestly had so much trouble, last time trying to open the corkscrew, I utilized an online how-to-video. It helped. Apparently, Trey knows what he's doing and doesn't need elementary videos, like I do. Show-off!

Mom's, I know you tell your family, "You're going to eat what I make because I'm not a short order cook." I know. I know. I say it too. Well, have you meet my family? Monday, I made an exception and for the first time in possibly years(?) I made Trey hot dogs. I think hot dogs are beyond gross. Really, have you read the back of a hot dog label? Trey really likes them, so I guess I can't hate them forever.

The second item on the menu was baked ziti for Cheyenne. She is my daughter. We love our carbs.

The last item on the menu was for me. I had grilled salmon with gilled veggies and sweet grilled apples. FISH! For some reason anytime I eat fish, I feel like I have to tell the world or in my case twitter-verse. It's like I'm a little kid, LOOK MOM, I ate all my fish and veggies!

4th of July Festivities

This morning we didn't let the heat keep us in. While Trey and Brandon, drove to Mineral Wells, Cheyenne and I drove to Arlington to watch the Let's Roll....America - 4th of July Parade.

We enjoyed the sights and sounds of America. I liked how close it was to UTA. I knew the area! I always joke about how every time I venture outside of my Arlington commute I get lost. It's true! Arlington roads throw me off. One moment you're in a business area and before you know it, you're in a residential neighborhood. What's up with that?

Mamma forgot the sunblock, so we found a group of people and squatted down, so we were sitting in their shadow(s).

The heat made us sleepy. Why is that? We eventually got out of the road and parked our bodies under a tree. I met an outspoken local. She had an opinion about everyone she saw. She was like the comedian commentary for the parade. It was great.

If you didn't get a chance to go to a parade, don't worry, just cue some American music and scroll down this webpage.







WE have race cars, yeah, because UTA is cool like that.

This is so Texas.

Oh, and this is so creepy!



Happy Fourth, everyone! The day is not over. More to come on our 4th of July Festivities...

Happy Red, White, & Blue

We spent the fourth of July with family and friends. Pool, food, and lots of fireworks.

They had a blast!

Kicking back and taking it in...

What's the Fourth of July without some sparklers?


Leaving the party at 10 pm...way past bedtime.