i think i have renovation ADD

it's true.  there are still things that i need to decide on for the actual structure of the house (lights, faucets, etc.) and i can't help but wonder off around the blog world looking at decorating ideas.  

so i'm justifying the topic of this post by stating that one of the first things we will need once we move in are window treatments.  right?  i mean, we can't walk around in our skivvies knowing that we are completely exposed to our next door neighbors.  not that we do that much, but it does happen.  

so i need to be looking at this stuff, right?  ok.  thanks for making me feel better.

i really like the look of cloth drapes layered over bamboo blinds.  i feel that the blinds add texture and warmth to the space.  and i love that they can go either way - dressy or casual.  

Source: bhg.com via Becky on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Becky on Pinterest

Source: verdigrisvie.blogspot.com via Becky on Pinterest

my only experience with bamboo blinds was in my sisters home.  we did a quickie "while you were out" project while she was at md anderson and used the blinds on a door between her laundry room and mud room.  i love the way it looked.  i got the blinds from home depot and they were super cheap (an added bonus).  i've also heard that you can get some at an awesome price from overstock and jc penny.  

has anyone else had luck with bamboo blinds?

~becky 

kevyn's 4th birthday

first let me start by saying that i can not believe that my baby is now 4!!!  i have kids people!  not babies or toddlers, KIDS!  i can't get over it!

kevyn is such a fun kid.  as an infant she was pretty shy.  she has definitely gotten over that.  she has a great imagination and loves role playing.  she loves singing and dancing.  in fact, she is known for her "moves" at her dayschool.  she loves performing.  i love her "quirkiness."  she is completely an outside the box thinker.  i lovingly refer to her as "my little weirdo" often.  i'm kinda a weirdo too.  heck, i named my daughter kevyn.  i was worried when she was born if as a child if she would be able to handle her unique name.  i am no longer worried.  it fits her perfectly.  i pray that my little weirdo always stays true to herself.

for kevyn's party, i contacted elise from sweet scarlet designs.  shortly after i placed my order through her etsy shop, she emailed me pdf's of everything i needed.  awesome customer service!  i then emailed kinkos with my order and later picked it up.  the whole thing was way too easy.  

i just love elise's designs and have already contacted her about doing something for kelby's party too.  not sure if it will work out though...  we have too many questionables right now; mainly kelby's choice of venue.

here is the invitation she created:  

kevyn chose to have her party at giggle n jump which is pretty much a large warehouse with several bouncy houses and other play areas.  this was her first party that she was allowed to invite friends to which made it extra special.  i am always a little worried about what kind of turnout we will have when we ask our guests to travel out of town to a party, but thankfully kevyn has some really awesome friends (with really awesome parents) that made the trip.  i'm sure the enticing bouncy houses played a small part too.  ;)

jeff's mom is an amazing baker.  she makes all of the girls birthday cakes.  this year we requested a rainbow cake for kevyn.  i'm sure you have seen images online.  pinterest is flooded with them.  unfortunately i did not get a picture of all of the colors inside.  as most of you mom's know, when the cake is ready to be cut, things can get a little crazy.

jeff's mom made a white chocolate icing.  it. was. to. die. for!  thanks again grandma for the delicious cake!

these three insisted they were not part of the party.  they even sat at their own table.  as kevyn would say, they are "those five year olds."  they referred to themselves as the "helpers."  and boy did they help!  they might have even been too helpful when it came time to open presents.  

thank you to everyone who helped make kevyn's party a success!  

and happy birthday kevyn!  i hope you had a great time at your party my little weirdo!

busy weekend

this past weekend was a crazy, fun, whirlwind for us.  i enjoyed every second of the weekend, but sunday evening i was pooped.  

friday evening jeff volunteered at a fundraiser while i prepped for the madness that was about to begin.

saturday jeff and i got up early for a local 5K/10K.  our company was a sponsor and we had a few employees participate in the race as well.  jeff and i both did the 10K and we both got 2nd in our age groups.  oh, and if you can't read our t-shirts they say "we don't sweat, we sparkle."  love.  

i opted for no make-up that morning, but i'm thinking i should have re-thought that for picture purposes.  sorry  ;)

immediately after i crossed the finish line (jeff was already done) we headed to kelby's soccer game.  (thanks mom & dad for getting her there!)  i know she is my kid and i might be partial, but she played awesome!  it was like something clicked.  aggressiveness is a hard thing to teach kids.  i am constantly telling kelby to share and be nice, but when it comes time to play sports, the rules kinda change.  it's ok to steal the ball.  

like i said, she played awesome and scored two goals!  yay kelby!  in fact, the entire team had a good game.  maybe it was because they had gotten the first game jitters out of the way.  needless to say they won the game.  their very cool coach let them dump the water cooler on her head!  

on a side note, their coach also ran the 10K, spanked my time, and was headed to dallas after the soccer game to run a half-marathon on sunday.  hardcore.

after soccer we then rushed home to shower up and change for the a&m football game.  we got there a few hours before game time so we took the kids to the "kid zone."

i'm pretty sure they were looking for reveille in this picture.  geez...  it's all about the "puppy in the cute dress."  i'm sure dad was proud hearing his girls talk about reveille like that.  

there was absolutely nothing healthy about anything the kids ate once we got to kyle field.  nearing half-time we could tell they were coming off their sugar high and as soon as the band was done we headed home.  both the girls crashed about 5 miles down the road.

sunday was also busy for us.  we had church in the morning and kevyn's 4th birthday party that afternoon.  hopefully i will get party pictures up tomorrow.

happy wednesday everyone!

white house

the exterior of our house has been painted!  yay!  and i love the way it turned out.

please excuse the toilet & sink on the porch as well as the handrail by the steps.  they are all to be removed. 

 i'm itching to go put some pumpkins on the steps.  we are nowhere close to being finished, but i'm super envious of all the fall decorating that is going on over the internet.  my contractor (and husband) would die if they showed up to pumpkins on the steps one morning!  i might just do it for fun ;-P

if you would like to read more about the story behind my house you can click here.

soccer is a blast

soccer season is upon us.  which means every saturday morning for the next month and a half will be dedicated to soccer games.  i don't mind though.  i enjoy watching kelby play.  this is her second season and i think she might actually have a clue this year as to what is going on.  

kelby started strong and scored the first goal.  immediately jeff exclaimed, "well heck, we had to wait all season for that last year!"  click here.

i just love how she holds her tongue when she gets in to the game.

these girls were cracking me up.  there are only five on the team and they play three on three.  so there are always two sitting the bench.  these two were making up cheers.  there was a lot of booty shaking going on.

it was a pretty high scoring game and to be honest, i'm not sure who won.  i thought kelby's team did, but she and her friend ruby both told me they lost.  regardless, kelby had a great time.  and if you ask her she will tell you she did great. ;)

house renovation week 18?!?!

yes.  week 18.  i have no words.

if you would like to read more about the story behind my house you can click here.

reunion time

it's that time of year again that all the crazies travel from far and wide and meet up in the middle of no where at a place called camp allen.  this annual event is also known as our family reunion.  you can view pictures from last years reunion here.  

this year our theme for our meal was "dream your own theme."  hey, give us a break...  we've been kinda busy.  other than making our sign, mom just pulled out random costume parts and we let everyone use their imagination.

in addition to our GENIUS theme, we also had a birthday party dinner, a jungle dinner, and a dots breakfast.  

the girls loved that they got to go to a birthday party and i'm thankful we got to celebrate with baby gwen her first birthday.

the jungle themed dinner was a hit!  they had a face painting booth and several crafts for the kids to do.

roar!

this picture makes me laugh.  kevyn would not take her eyes off my uncle who had just had his whole face painted.  she wasn't too sure about him.  i made several attempts to get her to look at the camera with no luck.  

they also had paper and stickers out on the tables for the kids to get crafty.  the kids and the dad's that is.  this is what our daddies came up with...

jeff:

uncle darren:

not sure if you noticed but that tiger ate the head off of the other animal and left blood pouring out.  and i'm pretty sure that is poop under the bottom animal.  nice darren.

and my dad:

here joseph is showing me what cheetahs do.  i think i saw one do that at the zoo once ;-)

in addition to the themed meals, there was plenty of swimming...

...pine cone picking, 

 ...random craft time,

...lots of dirt playing, 

  ...and many memories made.

 to say that our kids were exhausted at the end of the day would be an understatement.  we had a few meltdowns before the kids crashed.

and just for kicks i thought i would share the only picture i got of myself.  :)