Rodeo, Patio, & Concert...Oh My!

A lot has happened since the last post so I thought I'd update everyone with some fun things that we've done lately.  Chase & I have been working fools lately, but of course, we have managed to throw some fun in there!  

So to get things started, we went to Missouri to visit Kristen, Allan, & the boys unfortunately as I sit here searching through my files I cannot find any of the photos we took.  So those will be for a later date...

After a long 13 hours trip in a car that a deer ruined (story for another time) we made it home just in time for my birthday.   I spent my birthday with great family & great friends.  Chase & I stuck to my tradition of Hooters with friends &.....FRIED PICKLES!!  Here are a couple of pictures of Chase sucking up the embarrassment & hoola hooping for my birthday :)

Good Sport ;)

Maybe not that good of a sport...lol

  After my birthday the Rodeo rolls in to town & that means two things...great music & great food!

This year we took full advantage of both.

Oh yeah....turkey leg is a must

Cowboy Chase

Chase's get up he surprised me with for St. Patti's Day

Zac Brown Band

Lady Antebellum with MIL & KIL :)

Kid Rock!

Aside from all of the fun we've been working really hard at getting our beautiful back patio ready to enjoy for the summer.  We had Chase's Aunt Vicki over to help us master the art of having a green thumb.  We are doing pretty well so far.  We also finally got our amazing patio dining set, so we are ready for parties on the patio!

The Hubs working hard to put together our new table & chairs

My muscle man!...that table was no joke to get back there.

The beautiful finished product!

Lastly, we enjoyed a *free* concert in the park at Discovery Green the other weekend!  Something this awesome is rarely free & if you know Chase & I well you know we really love free ;)

We played some games, tested out some fun coke flavors, & enjoyed some great music.

Definitely one of our favorite games

We grabbed some great seats on the lawn

Ready to rock!

Watching Panic! at the Disco

And finally, Kings of Leon!!

Well those were some great times, & summer is just getting started!  I cannot wait to see what this summer has in store for us.  I hope you'll all be coming by to enjoy our back patio with us!  That's all for now, until next time :D

XO-The Culpeppers

The Culpepper Pavilion

We now have yet another part of our house to celebrate in!

Since we've moved into our home we've felt that it was missing something.  When Chase & I built this home we both went in with the idea that we wanted a fun home.  We wanted to have people over often & be able to entertain in as many ways possible.  So now we proudly present to you, what I like to call, The Culpepper Pavilion!

  My handy husband hung the fans & wired & installed the in-ceiling lights.  He also had the electrician wire for extra outlets in the eves in order to put a TV in the corner and to use for decorative lighting.  We are shopping around for furniture, but we plan to put a good sized dining table out there along with some lounge chairs & a fire pit.  Eventually we will stamp the concrete or install tile flooring & may consider putting an outdoor kitchen in.  We are so excited to have another entertaining space & just another reason to love the house we live in!  We expect company to enjoy our new patio with us!

XO-The Culpeppers

Happy New Year!

Well I know it's a little late, but Happy New Year everyone!

I hope the new year has treated everyone well thus far.  A lot of wonderful things have happened this last year & I for one am excited to see what 2011 has in store!  Here is a small recap from our Christmas & New Year celebrations.

*Christmas*

  Chase & I both worked Christmas day so we did our best to try and soak up as much holiday tradition as possible.  We wanted to do a proper Christmas morning together where we had a breakfast full of yummy traditions & could open presents with our girls & each other without being rushed off to work after.  So Christmas Eve, mid-day, we did just that.  Poor Chase also worked the day before & was hit hard with calls all night so after just a few hours of sleep I coerced him out of bed with biscuits & egg butter :)  For those of you who don't know that is a breakfast that Chase's mother has made for years & is a pretty big deal to Chase.  I do my best to make it,  but I have to admit I don't quite have it down.  Either way, I made it to the best of my ability along with the Drake tradition of sausage balls (yum!).  So just before we slipped into a food coma we sat down with the girls & opened our gifts to each other & from Santa ;)

The girls waiting for the "okay" to open their gifts

Bailey doing her best to get through the shrink wrapping.  Annie walking around, half scared & half excited.

Aw, sweet success!

Kristen & Allan's gift to Chase.  It makes a nice addition to our Game Room filled with treats :)

The aftermath. 

Of course since I was the picture taker I don't have any pictures of myself, but I can assure you that I looked adorable ;)

After we did "Christmas Morning" we cleaned up & headed to the candle light service at church & then to my Aunt's for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner & celebration with my mom's side of the family.

Nana & Grandad with all of their grandkids (and spouses)

Tracy & Shayne

This is the only picture that I have of them without a play station controller in their hands...

At this time, the future Mr. & Mrs. Keith Hernandez-Argueta 

The Culpeppers

We also had a Christmas dinner at our home a couple days after Christmas.  I prepared a lovely feast, if I do say so myself, and we sat around the dinner table chatting & ended the evening exchanging gifts.  It was a great night & a fun new tradition that we're excited to do again next year.

Enjoying apple pie & opening presents!

All the kids went in on an awesome camera for mom & pops!

Me with my amazing apron and bread board from none other than the best SIL!

For whatever reason Chase ended up showing off his new AR...
Let's just say the testosterone was swirling.

Oh the men in my life :)

*New Year's Eve*

 This will be a short post since I am the photographer & had to work New Year's Eve & Day I missed out on pretty much all of the celebrating.  I was lucky enough to get someone to come in a bit early to relieve me at work so that I could make it to our traditional New Year's Eve Rockets Game.  Chase & I have gone to the game for probably the last 5 years.  We went with Shannon & Keith & had a great time!  I had hoped to go with Chase to our neighbor's house after the game to ring in the new year but as soon as I got home I hit the bed hard.  So no midnight happy new year kiss for me, but I hear it was a fun time & I hope to make next year's awesome!  Here are a couple of pics from the game.

I hope you've enjoyed our holiday recap as much as we enjoyed the holidays.  We are looking forward to another amazing year full of many more celebrations!

XO-The Culpeppers

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'm a little delayed with this post, but as soon as we wrapped up Thanksgiving Chase & I got out the Christmas decor & got to work!  Being the bargain hunters that we are we have been on the hunt for discounted Christmas lights & a discounted pre-lit Christmas tree since last Christmas.  I watched some sales & researched online & we ended up with some great lights & a beautiful tree at a great price (true Culpepper fashion)!  

Here are a few pictures of us preparing for the holiday & the house completed, Enjoy!

Chase putting the tree together

I hated the clips for the lights...

Chase smiling because he was having so much fun...lol

I was a nervous wreck through out this part!

Team work!

The beautiful finished product!!

I think we did an awesome job for our first year!

The Culpeppers!

Our beautiful 9' pre-lit  rotating tree w/ white lights, colored lights,  & a dimmer mode!!
Oh did I mention for a good price? :)

Our stockings hung by our fish bowl fire place.

I hung Chase's lights from his child hood in our game room!

So adorable right?


I have to say a HUGE thank you to my wonderful husband who did such an amazing job making our home beautiful for the holidays.  Another big thank you goes out to my FIL for putting up with my OCD & helping put up our lights.
I am loving coming home to the beautiful lights & warm holiday decor each night!
I hope you all enjoy the pictures & that you can come by & enjoy it with us at some point!
XO-The Culpeppers