Service!!!

Gerron and I, and my little sister Alicia and her husband Jake, used to play tennis all the time.  It had been a while, so we finally went out one night when it was slightly cooler to play!  Nothing like a little exercise, lots of laughing, good tunes, and hanging out for an evening!  Once it got too dark to play... we had a little photoshoot :)

We take tennis very seriously...

Baby it's HOT outside!

Last weekend we had a house guest... my father-in-law Kelly!  We love having him over and he is practically the only one who gets use out of our guest bedroom. (Other than Gerron's massive amount of clothes) :) He had a golf tournament in Norman on Saturday, so he came up Friday to stay with us.  We went out to A&E with my family as well.  Afterwards we headed home... and things weren't quite right.  And by that, I mean... hotter.  The vents were blowing out air, just not cold air.  We then went outside and our unit wasn't running.  (Of course, the one night we have a house guest).  So Gerron called our friend from church Royce.  He works at the A/C company in town that sales our type of unit.  (Remember, this is at 9 o'clock on a Friday night).  We narrowed it down to the motor for the fan.  Royce left his house that late at night, met Gerron and his dad down at the shop to get the part.  He volunteered to come to our house to install it, but since Kelly was here, Gerron figured he could handle it, plus we felt bad for calling him out that late.  About 30 minutes later... we had cold air!

I captured the twinkies in their victory!  A special thanks to Royce!  If it weren't for him, we would have most likely been forced to wait until Monday to get a part.  Praise Jesus for good friends and air conditioning!

First day of School!

Today is a big day in the Smith household... Gerron's first day of college!  I cannot imagine taking a 7 year break and going back, but I know he can do it!  I was so excited this morning that I gathered all of his supplies and had them all ready on the kitchen counter for him. :)  I'm speaking for our entire family when I say how proud we are of him!  Knock 'em dead babe!

High School Flashback...

This movie was on TV this morning and it gave me a high school flashback.  Our group of girls jammed out to this song many many times!  I would say it was our anthem :) 

All people have different takes on high school.  I'm not saying I would want to go back to high school... one time through is enough!  But, I will have to say that I really had an ideal high school experience.  I had the same group of friends from basically K-12.  I was really lucky.  And I am still pretty close to most of them today as well.  My class in general was pretty awesome if I say so myself!
I don't have many pictures digitally of us girls in high school that would smile like I did as I watched this scene in the movie, but I did find a few pictures that are out of high school of those girls!

I might just have to whip out the old high school yearbooks and listen to some "You Don't Own Me"
I thank God for the friends He has blessed me with.

3 years of Toby!!!

3 years ago this evening, Gerron and I were a couple of newlyweds (we were only married a month).  We both knew we wanted a dog.  Gerron came in contact with a lady in Ninnekah who had a litter of yorkie puppies.  We decided to go take a look.  They were the sweetest things ever.  At that point they were 8 weeks old (his birthday is June 6th).  We both immediately fell in love with one in particular.  They called him "Porky" because he was the biggest of the litter.  His coloring was perfect and he was so cute.  We decided to think about it.  I called our vet and asked his opinion of yorkies and what to expect.  His wife, Karen, told me they had a yorkie for many years and she was a wonderful dog.  So we called the lady and said we wanted Porky!  We bought him some essentials and went that evening to pick up our new baby and chose the name Toby!  I remember him shaking in my lap in the car ride home.  That evening we played and played with him.  He instantly reminded me of why I love puppies, but even more why I love when they grow out of the puppy stage.  Puppy teeth hurt!  We decided to crate train him.  His first night we kept him in the bathroom.  He cried and cried and cried.  Finally he stopped.  Gerron was soooo concerned that the little guy had stressed himself out that he had to go check on him.  So let the crying continue...

At his first vet appointment, he weighed a whopping 2.8 lbs!  (And your probably thinking... Porky?)  He instantly became a momma's boy!  I call him my shadow because he just follows me around the house.  I took pictures of our first walk to my parents house. 

We discovered quickly that this dog loves water!  Not very typical for a yorkie... but he loves to stand at the bottom of the tub during a shower.  He loves to swim.  We took him to the lake and he took off like crazy.  Because of his size I wouldn't let him go very far!  Toby is a little OCD as well.  He has certain paths in our backyard.  If he is outside and I call for him to come in, he will go completely out of his way to get on the path, which might take twice as long, to come inside.  He prefers to be inside, but also likes to check on things outside as well.  He is the best walker.  He keeps a good pace and will just walk beside me without a leash on as well (and hike his leg on every mail box).

Now Toby is 3 years old and weighs 6lbs.  One of his funniest qualities is that he smiles with his teeth!

He is quite the poser.  He knows to cuddle with me and play rough with Gerron.  Anytime I try to pick a fight with him, he just stares at me like "Mom, you and I don't do that... let me just lay on your lap".  He is actually pretty possessive of me.  Whenever Gerron gets close to me on the couch, there is Toby to get in between us.  He will keep a paw on me just to show Gerron who is boss.  If we are play fighting, Toby will growl and attack Gerron. :)  He is content being cradled like a baby in my arms.  Gerron says I created this monster, but I think he is perfect!   His favorite spot in the house (other than my lap) is on top of the couch looking out the window into our culdesac.  He will growl and bark at anyone he sees!  He is such a good car rider.  The Braum's ladies love him in the drive thru.  I took him with me to Gerron's first time running in the Memorial Marathon.  It was so cold that morning that I stuffed him in my jacket with his head popped out underneath my chin.  He was content like that the whole morning.

Our favorite time of day with him is the morning.  He is so playful and that puppy side comes back out of him.  Whoever gets out of bed first will let him outside to potty.  Whenever you let him back in, he immediately takes off to the bedroom and jumps all over the person left in bed.  He is refreshing.  But then there is old man Toby at night who you have to drag to bed because he is so worn out from the day.

 
Toby has been a part of our marriage from day one.  We have spoiled him and he enjoys living the good life.  I am so thankful 3 years ago that we brought home this little guy!

Couponing

Last Monday, my sister Alicia and I went to a coupon class in Chickasha.  We both went in a little skeptical about the whole process.  Carrie from www.couponcloset.net taught the class.  Here is a little background on her.  She lives in OKC and has 5 children.  They used to spend $1000 a month on groceries and household items.  Once she started couponing, she cut down her monthly spending to under $200 a month for a household of 7!  So she saves $800 a month.  Since beginning a year ago, she has become debt free other than her house and also paid for her adoption of her daughter.
She began her blog to pay it forward.  She goes around the metro area teaching classes for free.  She broke it down for us and gave lots of tips.  I decided to try it out.  I know I'm not going to become extreme or anything, but every little bit helps.
Gerron and I went to Homeland tonight to try out our first trip.  We ended up with a total savings of $26.38!  And our total bill was half of what we normally pay due to the sales we strategically picked.  Every little bit helps!  We gave each other a big high five walking to our car!  I really didn't just buy an item because it was on sale or because I had a coupon.  I bought what we normally bought, just had coupons for some of them.  I hope to stock up my coupons more and get a little more organized before our next trip.
Check out www.couponcloset.net for more details and for a class near you!

B&BW

The tornado that hit Chickasha in May damaged the shopping center that Bath & Body Works was located in.  The company decided to not reopen afterwards.  I had worked there during college and have met some of my closest friends through that place.  We decided to all get together at A&E to remember the good times.

We realized at the end of the night in the parking lot that we never took a picture.  Some of the girls had already left, but we managed to get a picture of a few of us.  We all started out as unmarried college girls, and now we are graduates, wives, and mothers (well except for me... I'm a little behind on that trend) :)

I got to see them again a few weeks later at a cookout at Stephanie's new house in Winter Creek!

I'm sad that the store is closing... but am thankful for the friendships we created there.

Look who's coming this weekend!!!

My most favorite person in the world is coming to Oklahoma this weekend and I'm so excited!!!

My Grandpa!

2 months ago...

2 months ago on this day was our last day in Grand Cayman Island.  We got to go for 8 days in June and loved it!  Man it is so beautiful and the people are so nice!  We got to go with our dear friends the Thomas family!  I will make a full blog post about our trip soon...

You know you're getting old when...

The big excitement around the Smith household this week was a new toilet in the hall bathroom!  I know right... kinda lame  :)

The old toilet needed a new part, and I suggested to Gerron to get a new one instead of spending $15 fixing the old one.  You see, whoever lived here before did not take very good care of the toilet, so even though it was clean, it didn't look that clean.  And because of my OCDness and wanting my house to reflect cleanly on me... I had enough!  We even upgrade.  It's the handicap height so it sits higher up, and it is water efficient!  Saving money I tell ya!  It's the little things that make me happy I guess!
Side note... now I have the urge to give the boarding on the walls a new fresh coat of white paint.  Oh... and eventually retile!  Gerron is going to love that idea ;)

Grand Lake 2011

I can't tell you how many times I have been to Grand Lake with the Posey family!  I still remember the first summer they had the lake house.  We went the last weekend of July, but this time was different...
This was the picture I took last year of the final time at the lake house that we made so many memories in all of those years!

(For some reason... I didn't get a picture of the outside of the new house, but it is awesome!)  The Posey family out grew the old one, so it was time to increase the square footage.  The new house has tons of space for that growing family and all of their friends to enjoy.
Here are some pictures of around the house:

This was the bedroom that Gerron and I stayed in!  Isn't it dreamy?  It has inspired me for a room in our house in the future!

There were 4 couples that went this time and we all had a blast!  I have noticed over the past few summers of going that the recovery time seems to get longer and longer after each weekend!  Extreme tubing isn't for sissy's!

The Girls!

The guys!

I also got up on the wake board which I was excited about!  I was taught how to 11 summers ago on this very lake whenever Travis and his college buddies took Elise and I out for an early morning lesson.  We were go go go all weekend long!  When we all got settled at the lake house Friday evening, there was no sitting around!  We went searching for the new addition's sand volleyball court.  The only problem was... it was dark outside and there was hardly any light.  Let's just say I had to be yelled at when the ball was coming my way!  Night vision without glasses... worthless!  Then we went swimming in the pool afterward.  Next morning the ladies cooked breakfast, then we headed out for the lake.  Saturday was filled with tubing!  Our first outing we aired up the new 4 person tube and took turns.  After a couple of hours, we headed inside for lunch.  Again... no relaxing for this bunch.  We headed out to the lawn in the middle of the addition for some BOCCE BALL!

We played a game of couples, and then a game of battle of the sexes!  I had the winning toss for the ladies!  We dubbed ourselves the Jamaican team since we used green and yellow.  :) After that, it was back to the boat.  This time we brought along the other tube and hooked them up side by side.  Our husbands went first with two on each.  The boy in them came out and they proceeded in jump across from one to the other while going in and out of the wake!  Our skilled driver Elise took care of business though.  The girls went out and tried it with a little more grace.  Then it was time to mix and match.  There were some battle wounds after this day that is for sure!  After dinner, it was out to the volleyball court again where it was still daylight!  We played 4 games, switching up the teams each time.  Then it was back to the pool.  Sunday morning, let's just say it was harder to get out of bed!  We cooked breakfast again, and then headed out for some wake boarding.

Everyone got up!  Some might be for a few seconds, but it happened!  Afterwards, we had lunch and packed up to head home.
We are so grateful for our dear friends Elise and Angelo!  We also enjoyed getting to hang out with Chelsea, Blake, Michael, and Kinzie!  Another successful weekend at Grand Lake!

Back in the saddle again...

Ever since we started dating, Gerron has always talked about going back and finishing his degree.  We even got his transcripts and everything a couple of years ago.  One thing always lead to another... and nothing ever came of it.  One day in the spring, it was laid on my heart to bring it up again.  So I casually asked him one night if he was ever going back to school?  After he said yes, then I bombarded him with all this research I had done on programs and had him (made him... sorta) apply online that night.  A few weeks later he found out he was accepted!  I was so proud.  Well, after that it was put to the side.  I had decided to lay off of the topic and not push... after all, it needed to be something he wanted to do.  Well he finally went up to the school on Thursday and enrolled!  So the official is now official!  I decided I wanted to do something fun for when he got home, so I made this little sign for the door.  (Don't judge... it was last minute so it doesn't look my best).

He is attending OCCC to get his associates degree first.  (Baby steps!)  He should be done with it next year about this time.  At that point, he can decide whether to apply to an university to go for his bachelor's degree.  He will be the first of his family to have a degree and I'm so excited for him!
Side note:  is it bad that I'm really excited because he will be punished with studying like I am? :)

New Start... New Blog!

My old blog had been giving me the fits... well not sure if you can call it a blog since it would sit untouched for a looooong time!  I wanted a new name for the blog, and for some reason it wasn't changing correctly.  So I decided to just start over with a clean slate!  Ahhh... new blog, new name, new background.  Let's see if I can keep this one somewhat current!  Fingers crossed...