Today's Treat

Today we got cupcakes from The Sweetest Batch Cupcakery near our house. Oh, wow!!! They were so good!

 I got two cupcakes - of course. Wedding Cake - just because it's about that time - and Starry Night (strawberry flavored cake with strawberry buttercream icing).

Sammy chose "Minted Perfection" - a chocolate mint cupcake with mint frosting. I actually got her to share some of hers and I liked it even better than mine! Such a yummy combination of flavors.

Jon chose "Campfire Delight" - a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow filling topped with marshmallow buttercream icing and a mini chocolate bar and piece of a graham cracker. Whew! He was so nice and shared it with his friend, Hannah.

 

The only reason we even went there was because I had a coupon from school, but now I am afraid that I am hooked on them!

A Day Out on the Lake

Today April and Pete treated us to a day out at the lake. We rented a small pontoon boat and spent a couple hours in the sunshine. The weather was perfect and the company was excellent. The only part that wasn't wonderful was the speed (or lack thereof) of the boat...

Granted, we know it wasn't a speed boat, but seriously? Pete had the boat at full speed and it barely made a wave. He actually ended up calling to see what the deal was, and the boat rental people laughed at him because the boat had a tiny motor and that was as fast as it could possible go. It became the joke of the day. At least we had a nice time visiting and laughing without kids for the afternoon.

"Katie Bug"

She is a doll.
An absolute doll!
When we went ot visit April and Pete, Katie was so darn cute! She talks all the time and wants lots and lots of attention.

She was so fun to watch when she was playing - such an imagination! Here she is acting like a puppy dog... 

And driving a car at the grocery store...

And playing with her buddy, Maddie...

And pretending to take a nap with her new "Luncle Lamar".

I can't believe I actually posted that last picture with Lamar wearing that ridiculous shirt - he's "so fresh" huh?

Family Stickers

It's a little thing, but something that we were both so excited to do...
Get those silly family stick figures for the back of the Pacifica.
I found a website that let me pick from a bunch of different styles for each of our family members.

Isn't Lamar a cheeseball? One of the reasons I love him...

Trip to Atlanta

One of the trips that Lamar and I took this summer was to visit family in Atlanta, Georgia. We spent the fourth of July with Lamar's father and step-mother as well as his brother and his fiancee. Aaron might be much smaller than Lamar, but his attitude is just as big!

While we were there, we went out to eat at this great little diner. The breakfasts were HUGE and delicious!!!

It was so wonderful spending time with my new family. They made me feel welcome - and that is exactly what I needed. Can't wait to see everyone again really soon!

Cheap Thrills

After spending an absolute fortune on groceries at Giant over many months, Lamar and I decided to cash in our fuel points for money off our gasoline. The way it works is similar to Kroger...for every $100 spent on groceries, you earn $0.10 off per gallon of gasoline. You can even save up your discounts and use them all at once.

When we pulled in and tried to access our fuel points, something wasn't working properly on the machines so Lamar went ot get the attendant for help. He came out and helped us and his jaw dropped when he saw that we had earned $1.80 off per gallon. That meant we only had to pay $1.69 a gallon!!! I can't remember the last time I paid such a low price for gas!

We seriously laughed and took pictures while we filled up our cars with super cheap gas. In all we spent $50.97 to fill up two cars, but we got a whopping 30 gallons of gas!!!

I have to admit, I feel a little silly getting so thrilled over saving money. Luckily Lamar was just as excited....

My birthday celebration...

This is the first time I have really had a big party for my birthday.
And when I say big, I mean BIG!!!

Let's start with listing some of the ways that the celebration was so big:
(1) BIG menu - ribs, chicken, pork chops, steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, spicy hot links, potato salad, baked beans, pasta salad, chips, drinks, and chocolate chip cookies
(2) BIG guest list - People dropped in all day long starting around 11:00 in the morning! Lamar invited everyone he knew - brothers, sisters, cousins, parents, nieces, nephews, other assorted random relatives, friends, workout buddies, missionaries, the bishop, neighbors, and even the guy who cut up the ribs for us at Giant (seriously).
(3) BIG cake - a chocolate one that said "Happy 30th Birthday - again!" (Gee, thanks babe!)
(4) BIG cook - Lamar stood outside in the ridiculous heat for hours cooking meat on two charcoal grills so that there would be enough food for everyone.

The truth is, even though it was primarily a birthday celebration, it was also an engagement party and a farewell party since Lamar is moving to Tennessee tomorrow. Everyone is going to miss having him in Virginia. I'm lucky he thinks I'm worth moving for!

I wish I had taken more pictures during the day, but I really spent most of my time relaxing, visiting, and eating lots of food. Luckily some of our guests took some...

Here is a cute one of Lamar and his cousin, Moe, on the back deck in front of the grills. If you look closely you can see the BIG silver pot that was literally filled with ribs at the beginning of the day.

Another example of BIG things at my party...
Some of the men in Lamar's family. My new relatives.
Left to right: Stephen (the "little" brother), Lamar (The big brother who is actually the smaller one), Moe (cousin), Joshua (the littlest brother who is actually still little - for now - he's only in fifth grade so far), Anthony (another cousin), and Ramon (a friend from when Lamar was in the Navy).
I feel so small around them!

This picture includes the assorted women and children of the group.

I have to admit that one of the best moments of the day was earlier when we were getting things ready for the barbecue: Lamar said to me, "Woman, know your place!" Then I looked around and realized that of the four people in the house (three men and me) I was the only one NOT doing any cooking or cleaning. Jamar was ironing, Lamar was grilling, and Stephen was doing dishes. I sure love being the birthday girl!