Goodbye and Hello

Dustin left for beach week with the youth group from our church last week, and I left him this little goodbye surprise.  This Angry Bird is made out of Baby Bel cheese, and I left it with a little note, in honor of the hours of Angry Birds he'd be playing on the trip to Florida.

I planned to get up at about 5:00 a.m. to give this to him, but I'll give you one guess if that happened or not... 

Daryl or Dustin?  Dustin or Daryl?  The twinkies kept everyone guessing and confused when they showed up in matching shirts, "accidentally".

I was honored to be praying for these guys and the rest of the campers this week, and was so blessed to hear about the work God did in everyone's lives.  We truly serve an awesome God.

So, I had this all ready for Dustin to see right when he came home and walked in the door.  Of course, it ended up being the one time in his life that he came through the front door instead of the garage.   At least I tried, right?

I know I was just on my own for a week, but I can definitely tell you that I do not enjoy my husband being gone!  Life is much better when I get to be around this man. :)  I'm very thankful that he went and served for an awesome week though!  Marlow is glad to have him back, too.

Dresser Inspiration

So, I've been on the look out for a large dresser, since the tiny closet Dustin and I share has reached its maximum capacity,  and then some.  The room above is probably one of my favorite rooms of all time, and it sent me on the hunt for a wallet-friendly, used dresser that I could refinish.  

Since our bed is traditional, I really wanted a  modern dresser like the one above.  I'm not a match-matchy kind of girl.

When I found this 80's sensation at a great furniture consignment store, I knew it fit the bill!  (Well, hopefully it will once I'm finished with it!)  Dustin was even happy with it because it's solid wood, great quality....and it was a bargain :)

I really want to paint it white and add some cute hardware like these...however, our bed is black...  (Pictured:  west elm, ikea)

Luckily, I found these rooms that have incorporated black and white furniture flawlessly.

Exhibit B

I'm particularly pumped to add some furniture sparkle, like these from anthropologie.  I'm thinking the option on the right might be best, but how's a girl to chose?

I can't wait to get started!  After all the sanding, priming, painting, and sealing, I'll let you know how it turns out!

Parades, Senators, and Fireworks: Happy Fourth!

I love this man!  This really has nothing to do with the 4th, but I just had to say it.  Anyone who can put up with my questions like, "Is this shirt a true red, or more of an orange red, and does that mean I can still wear it on the 4th of July?"  is a keeper in my book.

Our friend (and state senator), Clark Jolley, asked me if I wanted to drive his convertible in the parade.  I said, "heck no, I'm not driving it (too much pressure), but Dustin will!" Pretty sure the Loehrs would never turn down a chance to escort important people in a parade.  I was pretty pumped!  

Congressman James Lankford and his cute family were in the truck in front of us.

I just love our town.  Edmond is such a great place to live.  There were tons of people lining the 3 mile area of the parade.  It almost seemed like something out of a movie, and just made me happy.

Those Kershs are pretty great!  They had a sign that said We heart James Lankford, and when we drove by, they flipped it by and saw this!  It cracked me up that we were included on a sign with Clark.  Love it! :)

Dustin's favorite part of the parade was: a) the war re-enactors  b)  Shriners driving around in tiny cars  c) Uncle Sam picking his nose or  d) the OKC Jedis

Preparing to watch some of the top-rated fireworks in the nation!  Little did we know that sprinklers would suddenly pop up from the ground in the middle of the show...  Slight setback. 

So proud to be an American!
Hope you had a great 4th!

Girls, Girls, Girls

(Hopefully, Motley Crue went through your head when you read that title.  If not, click here.)  Epic girls' night!  We had three requirements:  P.J.s, junk food, and a chick flick.  

...Yes, all this junk food goodness was for 4 girls.  We know how to eat!!!

Breakfast at Tiffany's was the perfect movie for the night!  I'd like to live a day as Holly Golightly.

...and have this great bathtub couch and eye mask!


What a great night!

Orange Campfire Cakes

If you have a camping trip in the near future, these are essential to your tummy's survival!  I first heard about these on Today's Letters, and we had to try them on our last lake adventure.  They are super easy, and a nice addition to s'mores!

Ingredients:
1 box of Pillsbury Classic Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup of water
1/3 cup of oil
3 eggs
10-12 oranges (of course, you can just use as many as you need, and discard the rest!)

1.  Slice off the top of each orange, about a half an inch from the top.



 2.  Scoop out the inside of each orange, like a pumpkin.  A spoon or an ice cream scoop will work.



 3.  Stir yo' batter.



 4.  Pour the batter inside, and place the orange top back on the orange.



 5.  Wrap those puppies in heavy duty foil.



 6.  Build a campfire (and look strikingly similar to the devil...)  Place oranges directly into the fire for 10-15 minutes, rotating 1 or 2 times to evenly cook.

7.  Stick a fork in 'em, 'cause they're done!  Don't forget to blow on them first!

Shenanigans

Loading up and heading to Arkansas for a Wehunt-Fite-Loehrs weekend-palooza! (Did you like that?)  Troy was there too, hence the finger...  I'm pretty sure I could be stuck on a desert island with these people.  They make road trips a blast.

Some people like roughing it at the lake, we like having it made in the shade.  Loved. This. Cabin.

The recipe for an excellent weekend?  Plenty of good food.  We started it off right with eggs, bacon, chocolate chip pancakes, and biscuits.  Heavenly.  We know how to eat well!

The weather was absolutely purrrrfect.  (This was the beginning of May...)  There's nothing I like more than doing a whole lot of nothing, and that's exactly what we did!   I loved spending hours on the dock with these girls and watching Kelly jump into the frigid water like a champ. :)

No kids, that's not bait on the end of those poles, it's the catch!  I bet the boys were exhausted after reeling in those prize catches. :)

Did I mention I love these two?

Of course, the weekend wouldn't have been complete without all the boys bringing their guns.  We felt very protected. :)

Thundering it up after we got plenty of sun.  Some people cross their fingers for good luck, but the Fites use the highly effective triple fetus (that would be Troy, Jacie, and Baby Kal of course).

 Aren't these two the cutest preggers you've ever seen?  I can't wait to meet their bundles of joy!

Family photo!

Yeah. This is what happens when you combine Wehunt and an automatic camera timer.... Don't act surprised.

Music to my ears:  All You Can Eat Crab Legs!  It was a feeding frenzy with this group at Across the Creek.  Sooooo good!  I had no idea my husband was a crab leg expert.  He taught me the "correct way" to crack them. :)  I'd have to agree that it worked pretty well!

  

And what lake trip is complete without a campfire?  We amazingly still had room for s'mores and orange campfire cakes after dinner.  (Campfire cake recipe post coming soon!)

I'm pretty sure I hadn't laughed that much or that often in a loooong time.   That's always a guarantee when you get this group together.  In the words of Forest Gump, we go together like peas and carrots.

T-H-A-N-K-S Pam!  We loooooved the cabin! Gotta love Dustin's wise formation of an 'N' for the picture :)

Troy revealing the total for the weekend: 756.

Loved our weekend!