Sister's Big Day

Sister had a birthday this week. We had a belated celebration last night with the fam. 

These two helped me cook dinner and bake a cake. However, Fulton did stick his finger in the side of the chocolate icing on the cake when I wasn't looking. He thought it was pretty good, so I considered him my taste tester. 

It was a gluten free cake so Pops could participate in the sugar indulgence. Happy Birthday Sister!!

As you know, Fulton doesn't get sweets often. We let him have a piece and well, I guess you can tell by this picture that he enjoyed it. 

He enjoyed his Pops playing with him. They even had a rousing game of bowling and bean bag toss. 

Aunt Kiki had a little helper when it was time to open gifts. 

Happy Birthday Aunt Kiki!! We love you!!

Weekend in the Mountains

It's Spring Break. We are pumped. Matt and I actually have the same Spring Break this year, so we took advantage of the time off and just returned from a long weekend in Gatlinburg. The fam came along too. Friday at lunch mom and dad picked Fulton up at school and headed on up. The rest of us 

came after work. 

Saturday morning we headed to our favorite place...Dollywood. Gotta get some use out of those season passes my sweet Mema buys us every year. KK, Pops, Fulton and I had some good bonding time waiting for the other three while they road every roller coaster there was to offer. I am just getting so not adventurous in my old age. Poor Matt had to single ride it again. 

We had a good lunch at Ms. Lillian's chicken house. Fulton patiently waited and then we headed to his area for a little fun. 

First up, the carousel. This is right before I got in trouble for doubling up on the horse. No mam, can't ride two on that horsey. 

Fulton rode every kiddie ride there was in his size. I think he is going to be a little more of a thrill seeker like his daddy... although the piggy parade wasn't too wild and crazy. 

Thankfully the train was running full force that day and Fulton absolutely loved it. These three had a pretty good time too. Dad took a nap, so I guess he enjoyed it as well. 

We overheard some of the regulars talking about a parade. That's Matt asleep in the background, the one with this knee in the air. Fulton was less than excited too. Mom, sister, and I were not losing our front row seat.

Did I mention Dolly herself was going to be in the parade? All these years of going to Dollywood and I have never seen her, live and in the flesh. Now, my dream has been fulfilled. 

By the way, it was the worlds shortest parade ever. I think it started at 4:30 and was over by 4:34. 

Sunday we woke up to a chilly and rainy morning. We wasted some money at the arcade and won Fulton a few pieces of junk. 

We had lunch and then the weather cleared up. We headed to a little park in downtown Gatlinburg and let Fulton burn off some energy. 

It was right next to the creek. This guy and his daddy threw rocks in until we had to drag

 him off screaming. Fulton, not Matt. 

The guys played shuffle board with a rock instead of the shuffle board thingy that you should play with. 

We came back to the house and relaxed a bit. These two snuggled up together and 

laughed the whole time.

We headed downtown and had dinner at this fun Mexican place that has a rooftop patio. If only it had actually been Spring weather we could have sat up there. 

Monday morning we took our time getting our things together and tried to stay warm by the fire. We had such a fun and relaxing weekend with our family.

Feeding Others

Last weekend was jam packed and I haven't had a chance to blog about it. 

But first... this little stinker was caught with his hand in the chips and dip last week. He gets it from his momma. This is a weakness of mine for sure. 

Remember how I mentioned once that he loves to line things up. Well, he's still at it. 

And proud of himself too. 

Now, to the weekend. Friday night we were at church for a "Feeding Hungry Children" event. Our church packed over 100,000 meals for hungry families and we got to be a part of it. 

Here's our table with a few couples from our class. I didn't get to do it last year, so I didn't really know what to expect. It's fast paced and organized, but we had so much fun. 

Saturday morning I was up bright and early at 4:00 am to meet my sweet friend Ryan Lee so we could sell some things at a consignment sale. The earlier you get there, the better number you get, which means you can shop earlier. We signed in at 5:10 and our call back number wasn't until 7:45. So we had to sit in the car for a while. But we had a blast. We got to chat and catch up, uninterrupted. 

No more pictures of Saturday but I rushed home to get changed and head to a baby shower. From there it was off to a fellowship with our small group to listen to the missionaries speak. I was pretty worn out by the time we finally made it home. Sunday we had a great morning at church  and then I had to head to a bridal tea from there. Daddy and this little guy had some fun while I was gone.

 No luck on catching anything though.  

And in other news, it was St. Patrick's Day this week and we were sure to sport our green 

so we wouldn't get pinched. 

And to end this in complete random fashion like it started, this was the sunset on the way home last night. How beautiful. God's creation is just amazing. Here's to Spring Break right around the corner. Woohoo. 

Picasso and Parks

Despite the sad news around our house this weekend, we have managed to 

squeeze in some happy moments. 

Last week we had another cold week and decided to pull out our paints. This guy had a blast. I have to admit, I made a little piece of artwork myself. 

We finally got a much needed hair cut. I really need to learn to do this myself, but I don't want him to end up needing to have his head shaved after I mess it up. 

Saturday afternoon we went to the park with the Ness family. This is sweet little Ellie and Will. Will and Fulton are only a couple of months apart. 

We grilled hotdogs and even made smores. We closed the place down and packed the car in the dark. It was a refreshing time with friends and much needed. 

This guy (or both of these guys) have been itching for shorts weather and they may be pushing it a little, but it was pretty warm Sunday afternoon. We created some great artwork on the driveway. 

Kiki and Pete came over and brought dinner. We ate a delicious meal and played until dark. 

Our Harley Man

Yesterday was tough day for our family. We lost our little Harley. Two days ago he was perfectly fine. Thursday morning we went to take him out and he had a seizure in the floor. It was simply awful seeing him like that. Thursday and Friday morning he just wasn't the same. We had decided to take him to the vet Saturday morning if he hadn't improved. Friday afternoon Fulton and I got home from school and found him. He didn't make it through the day. I knew when we walked in and he didn't greet us at the door, that something was wrong. My heart just fell apart right there. 

This was taken just a few days ago. When we would change the sheets on the bed, he loved to pile in the middle of the pillows. He was always looking for the softest, warmest spot. He was from Mexico after all. 

We had Harley 10 years. I got him right before we got married and it's all Matt and I have known as a married couple. He was a rescue dog and they estimated he was about 4 when we got him, so he lived a good life. And these two bonded instantly. Fulton loved "my Harley" as he called him and Harley tolerated Fulton. Which says a lot, because he usually hid from most children because he was abused by little kids before we got him. 

 He loved to go on vacation. There wasn't a family vacation that he missed. He has been everywhere. He had the best temperament. He was so gentle, loving, and just wanted to be cuddled with. He was never aggressive, angry, or ill in any way. He was such a unique little guy.

This sums up their relationship. Fulton always after him, Harley enduring it. I remember when we got him. This lady I worked with said she had a little dog come up to her house. He had lived across the street from her for a few years and that is the family that abused him. He finally ran away from them (good boy) and lived on the streets for about a month. I guess he wandered back home and they had moved, so he went to her house because she had always loved on him. I offered to take him and I remember Matt meeting me that afternoon and I said, look what I got? We fell in love instantly. 

He probably had two favorite places... the lake and the beach. He loved the sand. We would let him run and run out there and he had a ball. He had many summers at the lake and loved to swim in the water with his life jacket on. Mom and Dad came over last night and kept Fulton busy while we buried him in the backyard. There is a piece of our hearts that is missing today, but we have many good memories to reflect on. We love you Harley man!!

Weekend Recap

We just had a full weekend, but it was filled with fun stuff. 

Friday night Fulton spent the night with KK and Pops and we had Date Night at church. It was filled with laughs with good friends, encouragement for our marriage, and lots of fortune cookies. Enjoyed the night with man. 

Even though our little alarm clock was spending the night away, we were still up early because I was hosting a bridal shower at my house Saturday morning. 

Here's the bride-to-be Caroline, with her sweet mom, Karen. Karen and her husband Vance are our small group teachers and we love them!! Aren't they just the cutest?

We had a good turnout of ladies from our class come to shower her with love. We enjoyed the food, fellowship, and good company. But, the fun wasn't over yet. 

Matt helped me quickly put the house back together because we had a birthday party to attend. I didn't get a picture of the birthday boy, but it was Colt's first birthday. I tell you, Fulton is going to have quite the selection of girlfriends to choose from one day. He seems pretty content sitting at a table full of cute little girls. Don't judge... we are in desperate need of a haircut. Long overdue. 

Fulton loves Brynna. She is so sweet to him. They are about a year apart. We left the celebration to get home and cleaned up for the next event. 

Fulton spent the evening playing with Ms. Katie, the sweetest babysitter ever, and Matt and I got all fancied up to attend FCA's 50th Anniversary dinner for the University of Alabama. 

The whole fam was in attendance. Our table was on the front row, no sneaking out early unnoticed. We enjoyed good speakers and a delicious meal. It's not often we get cleaned up and act like fancy people, even though we really aren't. It was another fun night with my man. Two in one weekend, that is unheard of. So, needless to say, after church today we were worn out. We relaxed a little, but couldn't stay in long, it was just too pretty.