To the Lake We Go!

   As you know we spent last weekend at the lake house.  It was an amazing 2 day mini vaca!  I am SO grateful for the family that we have because we truly have a great time together.  We filled the weekend up with lots of fun in the sun!  We rode around on the jet ski & the boat, floated around, played football, and did a lot of good eating!

It was a great trip, one that I will have lots of great memories of.  Here are just some of the great moments we were able to catch.

Chase "studying" on the way there ;)

Pretty much our favorite place to be!

2nd fav ;)

Ready for a fun day of water sports!

Brett workin' it on the skis 

Going out for another round

Cheesin' with Jake in the back, lol

Me & Kristen

Uh oh, she's ready...she's determined...

She's up!

Oh yeah...the old folks got out too ;)
jk, jk!!

Ms. Hollywood herself & Nana and Grandad

   After a long day we ate and then hung out for a bit while the sun set.

We were pretty whooped...

And sunburnt... 

But look at that sky!...so nice!

The next day wasn't much different...we were pretty worn out & sore so it took us awhile to get going.

Some longer than others...

But with a little sillyness....we made it happen

Ready for more!

lol

"The Audience" as I like to think of them ;)

loungin'

Oh Aunt Toni...lol, enjoying the water with the boys & Rosie!

 We finally made it out into the water after some much needed sunscreen application & stealing some dry fit shirts from our cousins (thanks guys!)

Nothing like warming up with some water football!

Or arm wrestling...lol

Back out on the boat!

Cody tubing!

Brett cruisin'!

     Since Sunday was a short day we all ate lunch pretty early then started to clean up.  We convinced the adults to let us take the boat out for some tubing before we headed home...best decision ever!

"I'm the king of the world!"

Keith is ready!

We're not ready to go back in! lol

 It was so much fun that we didn't want the weekend to come to an end!  I can't wait to do this again with everyone, we don't all get together enough!

Special thanks to the Beemans for hosting & allowing us to hang out in the house & play with their toys!!  We are so grateful to be a part of your lives & we enjoy getting to be part of the family!

   Look for more pictures to come of our family football game once I get more pictures from my sis.

XO-The Culpeppers

In Full Bloom

    I came home the other day to a nice surprise.  Our Crape Myrtle that was planted when we built the house 2 years ago is finally blooming!  The color is pink...who knew??

Not the biggest of news, but exciting none the less :)

Here's hoping for lots more blooms to come!

XO-The Culpeppers

Summer Lovin'

  Even with the heat it hasn't quite felt like summer.  This weekend that all changes!  Chase & I are only off for 2 days from work but we are treating it like a mini-vacation.  Tomorrow morning we will be voluntarily waking up early on our day off to make the trip to Lake Livingston with my sister & brother-in law.  Pretty much my entire family will spend the weekend on the lake!  We will be enjoying some time out on the boat, jet ski, & of course lounging on the floats!  I am so excited to spend a weekend out of the house away from the chores & studying and spend our time laughing & playing with family.

I was supposed to work today but due to an error with my alarm clock I, for the first time in my life, overslept!  Once I was awakened by my neighbors pounding on my door with Chase on the phone trying to make sure I was alive I found out that my work didn't need me so I took full advantage of the time off.  I spent my morning doing all the chores I would miss this weekend while we'll be away & I got started putting together some treats I bought for the lake-house getaway!

I was requested to bring chips & ranch dip, something that is a beloved staple at our family gatherings.  I also decided I wanted to make a cobbler to take, as selected by my aunt I went with peach.  It smelled amazing putting it all together & even better coming out of the oven.  It will be hard for Chase & I not to try it until tomorrow!  Here are some pictures of my first attempt at Peach Cobbler.

I may have licked that spoon...

Who needs a cook book when you have the internet?! 

All ready to be baked!

Voila!

Let the mouth watering begin...

This looks so good I am thinking about going to the store to make another...maybe a mixed berry??

Happy Weekend to everyone!  

Check back for a lake house post next week!

XO-The Culpeppers

Yard Work Has Become "My Thing"

   So I haven't posted much on here about the fact that my hubs is locked up in our study 24/7 studying for his big promotional exam for work.  My life has become working regardless of his schedule because it doesn't really matter if I'm home or not, and on days that our schedules are synced up I wake up offer to make breakfast & then kiss my hubby good bye as he walks down the hall & shuts the door.

  Now this is not to say that I have the short end of the stick, because I definitely would not want to be the one held up in a room all day with my nose in a book.  I have been so proud of him and I really do try and stay out of the way...but it is not my strong suit.  So I have taken to doing chores around the house & working in the yard.

I have not been known to have a green thumb, but I am forcing myself to learn.  In the past when I'm not good at something what works to my advantage is that I can be annoyingly persistent at it.  So with a kick start from Chase's wonderfully helpful Aunt Vicki a few months ago, I have been learning little by little ever since!  From the internet, to reading the little sticks that come with the plants like they are nursing school books that I will be tested over, to calling my mom a hundred times while staring at the rows & rows of plants at the store...I have been doing my best to suck up information.

So here are a few pictures of my accomplishments thus far.

(Warning: The word accomplishments is used loosely as I have not yet proved that I can keep these poor plants beautiful or...alive)

How can you start gardening without top notch gloves??...I wouldn't know ;)

The goods I scored.  BTW I definitely gravitate towards purple...

My trusty tools...yes the flip flops are key

It might not look like much now, but just you wait!
I planted the Mexican Heather in front of the tree with some
trailing fan flowers surrounding it, as well as the multi colored Angelonia.
(Notice my flower jargon, eh..eh??)

Okay so I don't remember what these are called but I bought them
purely because they are the flowers in the movie Bambi that the skunk "Flower" eats.
(Yes I am that big of a dork)

Not much to see, but just you wait!

A little pop of color there!
These will get much taller & should hopefully break up all the green we've got going on.

My favorite part of the yard, that is blocked by my neighbors car most of the time, lol

I realized that I never added pictures of the flower bed that my hubs & his Aunt designed & created.  So without further adieu...

Not the best picture, but in person it is beautiful & we really enjoy having
something pretty to look at while enjoying our pavilion.

The plants are struggling with the heat, & I am struggling to help them out!
Some will probably be changed out soon as they are clearly not cutting the Houston weather.

Also while I'm posting belated pictures; here are some pictures from a couple weeks ago.  I went to help my my mom and my aunt & family spruce up my uncle's backyard while my Nana & Grandad will be staying there.  We power washed, planted, & built patio furniture the day away!  I, of course, forgot to take pictures of the final product, but here are a few that I took from the day.

This was the start of the day:
My mom & aunt plotting out where things will go/what we will get,
and my uncle and cousin getting ready to read the
instructions for the patio furniture cover to cover....while I snicker at them ;)

My cousin Cody hard at work!

This is me sandwiched in the back of my mom's car.
It's a good thing they didn't like anything else or I probably
would have had to stay at the store!

Well that's all until next time, I hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of what keeps me sane whilst my adorable husband is chained to his books!
XO-The Culpeppers