Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Snapseed

I love a great photo app and Snapseed is my new fave. It's slowly replacing Instagram! The options are endless. I'm not sure if it's still free, but you should check it out!!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Monday, August 20, 2012

5th Grade

Our sweet boy starts 5th grade today! I cannot believe he is this old. This is the first year that he's said he's excited to go back to school. I hope that excitement lasts more than 24 hours. He gets to switch classes this year, and I think he got really good teachers. Here's to a great year! 


Do red and neon blue go together??
Sooo excited :)
Me and my boy
Family Shot: Best I could get at 6 am :)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Neon

We've done lots of shopping this weekend and one big trend I've noticed? Neon! Everywhere!

My friend and I were making fun of all the neon colors and look what my boy picked out...at least I don't have to deal with neon leggings...

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Mike

***** I've held on to this post for a few days...debating whether or not to share it. We all miss Mike so much and I continue to pray for Jackie and the girls as they will be the ones who struggle most. I love you all!




On Saturday, August 4, 2012, we lost a dear friend, Mike Bonds. I first met Mike and Jackie through an ex boyfriend about 8 years ago. Their friendship outlasted that breakup and as I brought Gene into their family, they were just as accepting. I practically lived at their house weekends and summers during college and came to love Jackie as a sister and the girls as my own.

I have so many great memories with this family. Before their girls could even say my name, I was Jenner to them and he never let me forget that name. He also deemed me the Jennerator (and later Gene as the Gene-erator). Mike always loved to play jokes on everyone. Yes, he played a few on me too. I think he took great joy in showing me what a Long Island Iced Tea was on my 21st birthday. He once took a worm from the fridge and dropped it in my hand, laughing at my meltdown. You could tell when he got really tickled, he would just put his hands over his face and laugh and laugh until he was red. They taught me how to play poker and it became a weekly activity. Mike was always better at it than the rest of us, and we teased him about having the 'house' advantage. 

When I started bringing Gene to poker night, I'll never forget when Mike gave him a glass of sweet tea. He didn't know at the time that Gene was diabetic, so when Gene started feeling a little shaky, Mike felt awful. However, the next time we came over, Mike was quick to offer Gene some sweet tea. It became a little joke among the 4 of us. Mike, Jackie, Me and Gene went caving a couple years ago. I was nervous to go anyway, and the bats were kind of scaring me. At one point, we had to crawl down a small area. Little did I know, my ponytail had actually nudged a bat, and it was swinging from the ceiling. Gene told me it was everything him and Mike could do not to laugh. I was completely unaware until after we left the cave. Memories like these keep a smile on my face.

As much fun as Mike was to be around, he was also there for the hard stuff. I remember one night in particular, I was struggling with some issues, and Mike told me not to worry, better things would come. I could do better than my current situation. I never forgot that. He was always giving me advice when I didn't think I needed it. Mike was a great friend, wonderful husband, father, and teacher.

Mike and Jackie's love is like none other. I've heard several times the story of when Jackie was 14 and saw Mike working in her daddy's hayfield, she knew was going to marry that boy some day. Whether I knew it or not, I was looking for my own "Mike." I wanted to marry someone who took time each day to show his wife he loved her. Luckily, I found him and I'm glad I waited for the right man (my something better).





I loved to watch Mike with his girls. He loved them so much and was always teaching them something new or playing games with them. He taught them to hunt, fish, and most important, to stay away from boys :) 
Katy and Mike

Lily and Mike
Lindsey and Mike

He caught some trophies...
He was even proud of the small ones :)
Most recently, Mike became the shop teacher at the school. I remember hearing him tell us how he didn't know if he would get the job. There was another candidate that may have been more qualified, but they didn't have as much heart as Mike did. Eventually, the students petitioned for Mike and he was offered the job. He treated each of his students like his own child guiding them in life skills and matters of the heart.


Mike, you were loved by so, so many. You were like the big brother I never had. I knew I could count on your for anything. You taught me about life, more than you ever knew. We love you so much and I hope you continue to guide us from up above. 

Saturday, August 4, 2012

iPhone Catch Up

So, once again, I've let my blog slip away. I can say that I will promise to get better, but I really have to believe it for that to happen :) So, my last post was in June. Since then, we have been busy! We finished up baseball, finally! The boys won a few, lost a few more, but we are proud of them and are gearing up for football now!

We celebrated the 4th of July! Following family tradition, we watched the town's firework show from our back deck.


Everything was going great until our neighbors caught the grass on fire. We have been in an extreme drought, so it was a little scary. Luckily, the fire department came quickly and put out the fire.


We did a lot of fishing, which I think is safe to say is my boy's new favorite summertime tradition. We caught a lot of babies, but those are the most fun :)



Gene and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary! He brought home these beautiful flowers. We didn't go out to eat like we usually do, but I'm hoping we can make up for that soon. Happy Anniversary Baby! Love you!


We went mudding, in true county folk fashion. I didn't partake, since I forgot to bring extra clothes, but I gladly watched from the sidelines :)


My studly man driving the granny 4-wheeler {my personal fave}

James came to the realization that all mud is not mud in the country...oops! :)


I hit a deer! My little pop can spent 3 weeks in the shop! As a side note, I think the deer are a serious problem in our town. I actually hit this one about 2 minutes from my house, still in city limits. I know they must be starving to be stirring so much in this heat!


Lots of time pampering this mutt...you see what happens when she doesn't get her way?


I got my hair done, love it!


I pulled out the ole boots and went to the rodeo with my momma. Just me and her, loved it! We need more girl dates if you ask me!


We had an awesome lightning storm the other night. Not much rain, unfortunately! I took this with the iLightningLite app. It actually detects lightning and I think it's pretty cool, plus it's free!


Well, I think that just about sums up everything! I am off work for the next few days, so I plan to soak up lots of time with my boys and prepare for school to start. August 20th isn't far away!

Laters {Yes, I've read it}