2015 was a GOOD year!! {part 2}

 

If you missed when I shared some of my favorite memories from the first part of 2015, you can check it out here!

 

Today, I'm back to share some of my favorites from the second half of the year!

 

In late July & early August I set off on another girls trip! This time with my bestie Sarah (from Seattle), her sister (who lives in Chicago), & Amy (from Washington)!

First Sarah and I flew to Chicago and stayed with her sister!  We had so much fun exploring, shopping, eating and laughing!

 

On the train into the city!

Cocktails @ Dylan's Candy Bar. Best place ever!! Its an amazing candy store AND a bar where they use candy in the drinks. BEST!!

Chicago is an amazingly beautiful city! It definitely stole a piece of my heart!

Exploring!

After a couple days of exploring Chicago, we all flew to NYC and met our friend Amy! I LOVE love LOVE New York City!  I went twice last year and will be going again this year.  There is just something about that city that has me hooked!  This time, I was operating on an injured ankle and walking was painful.  My orthopedic doc did a steroid injection to try to help with the pain while on the trip but after Chicago I was in a lot of pain.  I barely made it thru our first day in NYC.  I was physically ill from the pain.  So I told the girls that I was going to stay at the hotel the next day and rest my foot but they weren't having it.  They found a wheelchair.  So.....I did NYC by wheelchair.   Sigh.  Not my idea of fun but we made the best of it!

 

Coney Island!!

The Plaza.{Lady M crepes are one of my FAVE things to have in NYC so we hit up the Plaza to indulge!} Carriage ride thru Central Park. Dylan's NYC. Bloomingdales.  This was a fun day!!

Freedom Tower. So beautiful. 

Y'all. I encourage you to click on this to enlarge it. And take in the progression of Naked Cowboy placing my hand on his rear end and my absolute embarrassment! Oh and? Sarah is getting out $$$ to give him in the last pic! Hilarious!

Our last night we went to 230 5th! A rooftop bar/restaurant with a super fun vibe and the BEST views!!

Now, to know me is to know my deep love for reality tv!  And at the top of my list of favorite shows is Big Brother.  For the second year in a row, I got to fly out to LA, stay with my girlfriend Erin (from Bringing Up Burns) and attend the wrap party hosted by the fabulous Ryan Carrillo & Rachel Reilly!!  It is the best time!  The first year I met SO many current & former cast members from Big Brother of course but also Survivor and Amazing Race!  We had so much fun the first year that we actually wondered if this party could live up but it absolutely did! So much fun!!

 

My Mom & Meemi came out and stayed with the boys while I was gone!  I'm so blessed with such a supportive family!

 

Me & Erin with Mike H.{winner of Survivor:Worlds Apart!!}
 

Me and the gorgeous Audrey M. {from BB17!} I love this girl!!

Me with the gorgeous Rachel Reilly{BB 12 & 13, Amazing Race 20 & 24!}

Me w/ Clay H. & Shelli P.{both from BB17!} Y'all....Shelli is just as gorgeous & sweet in person!

Me & Becky B.{BB 17}

Shortly after returning home from Los Angeles, I was incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to head to Atlanta and enjoy a girls night with Shelli & Audrey!!  We had dinner and went to a screening of the movie Free Held!  It was so much fun ~ these girls are both just the best!

 

At dinner!  The food was so good!

 

Heading into the movie!

Love them!!!

 

 
 
 
 
In addition to the travel & events in 2015, there were so many good times with friends that made it such a wonderful year!  Here's just a peek at some of the fun....

I had the privilege of seeing a long time dream of a ministry for military women come true last year and these girls were by my side and worked so hard to make it all happen! Love them!

kickball games at the park with our best friends easily make the list of fave memories!

best friends at the beach!

at dinner w/ my besties for my birthday!

 

Besties & dinner again, this time for Travis's birthday!
 

 

oh how I love and miss these girls!

Pumpkin Patch hayride with the whole crew

me and some of my girls at my going away dinner in Pensacola

when I was house hunting in Texas, thankfully I didn't have to do it alone! My friend Sarah from Seattle was with me and two of my high school besties came too! So we checked out a fun wine bar one night!

What a year!!  There were ups and downs, challenges, & struggles but that all pales in comparison to all of the fun, laughter, & blessings that my memories of 2015 are made of!  Hope you've had fun taking a stroll  down memory lane with me!!

xoxo,
Aubs

 



Menu Monday is Back!!!!

 

Menu planning is a life line for me!  It takes the guess work out of dinner time, helps me to grocery shop efficiently and just makes my life so much easier!

 

I used to share my family's weekly dinner menu here each week and link to and/or share some of the recipes!  I love finding new meals that my family enjoys and I like to keep dinner time a little mixed up so that we aren't eating the same things every week.  I have some of the pickiest eaters alive so finding meals they all like and will eat is a challenge but I keep on trying!! 

 

Here is what will fill our tummies this week!!

 

Monday: Crockpot Swiss Chicken w/ Broccoli

 

Tuesday: Skillet Sausage, Couscous, & Corn

 

Wednesday: Crockpot BBQ Chicken w/ Green Beans

 

Thursday: Beanie Weenies {boys}/ Community Group

 

Friday: Crockpot Beef Stew

 

Saturday: Eat Out! {mama needs a break sometimes!!}

 

Sunday: One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken & Veggies

 

Thursday night I go to community group and we do dinner as a group each week so I fix something super simple for the boys and I eat with my friends! =) 

One way that I like to keep dinner time interesting is trying at least one new recipe each week!  One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken & Crockpot Beef Stew are new to us this week so I'll be sure to let ya know what I think!  I hope you check out the linked recipes and be sure to let me know if you try any of them!!  Also?  Do you have a favorite recipe website??  Let me know!!  I'm always looking for new recipe sources!!

 

Hope everyone's week is off to a fabulous start!! 



2015 was a GOOD Year!! {part 1}

Even though I wasn't blogging last year, I want to take some time here to remember some of my favorite times of 2015! 

I'm not going to get into details here but because of his career, for the last couple of years our time with John has been very limited.  We cherish any time we have with him and make the best of the time we are apart!  Last year we were able to take a couple of vacations with him and we had the best time!!  The first of these was Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte, NC!!

All my favorite guys!!

 

Sweet boys!!



We love LOVE love Great Wolf Lodge!!  We've been to 3 different locations and my boys talk about going back regularly!!  If you haven't ever been, I highly recommend it!!

 

Next up was a girls trip to NYC for me!!  I went with a group of girls from church and we had the best time!!  We spent the first couple days sightseeing and then we attended a conference called She Is Free!

 

the 1st day we landed, dropped stuff at the hotel, & spent the whole day exploring! Such a super fun group!

The cutie in the middle of that group on the right is Kristin, our women's leader & pastor! She is such a strong, successful, beautiful friend and inspires & encourages me so much!!  And?  She was part of a panel at She Is Free!!

What to do when the subway is empty? Get crazy of course! ;)

There was so much laughter, fun, and so many memories made on this trip!  Some of these girls I barely knew before this trip and you wouldn't have known it!  She Is Free was such a powerful conference and I left there so on fire to seek God and to see God's daughters rise up, encourage one another and be a force for change in this world!

 

 

A couple months later it was birthday time for my boys and because of John's work schedule, he wasn't going to get to be home for them.  So we decided instead of parties, we would plan a trip when daddy could be with us!  We decided on St. Augustine, FL and had such an amazing time!!  We did some research and let the boys each choose one activity to do while there!

 

Colby is an animal/reptile lover so it was no surprise that he chose the alligator farm!

Brayden has a never ending sweet tooth and so by no surprise chose a tour at the Whetstone chocolate factory tour!

Dylan was so so excited about his choice to visit the carousel!!  I think he rode it atleast 10 times, each with the same enthusiasm & excitement as the first!

and what is a birthday without presents?! one night back at the condo we opened presents!

some good friends of ours that happened to live nearby came over one afternoon for swimming and then pizza & cupcakes! It was fun to see them and catch up!

and one of my favorite things about this trip was sunset walks on the beach as a family!
 

I absolutely loved St. Augustine!  The condos we stayed at were perfect, there was so much to do, and it was a such a sweet, enjoyable time with my family!!

 

One of my favorite holidays is the 4th of July, so I have to include it in my fave memories!!  Each year, our best friends and us would plan a party.  And every year it grew!  Last year it was an all day event and our whole block was invited! (and most showed up!! so fun!)  My best friends smoked pork butt all day and everyone brought sides, desserts, & fireworks!

 

just a few pictures from the day!

each year, the week before the party, we all head to Alabama to shop for the good fireworks! I love me some fireworks!!

 

There are a lot of things that I miss about Pensacola but at the top of that list is our friends and the beach!  And those two things combine to make up more of my favorite memories from 2015!  It doesn't get much better than beach days with friends!!

 

 

kiddos checking out a baby shark we caught!

beach football!!

my people. and the beach. LOVE.

the littlests rocking their boogie boards! =)

my lil blondie beach babe!

love these kiddos!

just some of the best kiddos in the world on one of the most beautiful beaches!



 

So much fun to think back and reminisce on such a great year!!  I'll be continuing with my favorite memories from the second half of the year next week!  And 'Menu Monday' will be back as well so be sure to check back!!  Hope everyone has a fun Superbowl weekend!!

 

XOXO

Aubs

Back in the Saddle

Its been a while!  And A LOT has changed for our family since the last time I wrote!!

The biggest of those changes is that we moved back to our home state of Texas!!!

when we became official residents of the greatest state again! ;)



It was quite the adventure!  Hubby is deployed so I was flying solo but I have the most amazing friends, and my girlfriend Sarah flew down and spent almost 3 weeks helping me with everything.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much it meant to me!  I would have been a total basket case without her!

We've been here in the Houston area for a few months now and I am finally beginning to feel like it is home.  It was not easy to say goodbye to Pensacola.  We spent 7 years there building a life full of friendships that became family, making memories, and we really thought we would retire there.  But God made it clear He had other plans and so here we are!  Trusting in His plans and excited to see what he has for us here!

One of my favorite things about being back in the lone star state is being so much closer to family!! While we missed John terribly, we were able to spend Thanksgiving with family for the first time in 11 years.  So special!  And it was the first time in 3 years that we were back home for Christmas.  John and I both grew up spending holidays with our grandparents and extended family so it is so special to us that our boys will have those memories now too!!

 

My boys sitting in the very same chair at my Meemi's that I grew up sitting in!

Meemi is the cutest! She still does stockings for all of us!!

The whole fam minus John! This year we will be able to have him in the pic too!!



I'm so excited to be back here writing ~ sharing my heart and journaling some of this amazing life I'm blessed to live!  And I'm looking forward to catching up with some of my blog friends that I've missed so much!! 

xoxo
Aubs

Menu Monday

Am I the only one still in a little shock that its already Thanksgiving?!!  This year has really flown by!  We are a little bummed because hubby doesn't get to be home with us this year but I'm determined to make it fun and special regardless!

 

Definitely taking it easy on the cooking this week but still trying a new recipe and have several recipes to link to for ya!!

 

**Monday**

Tacos

 

**Tuesday**

Hamburger Stroganoff over Pasta w/ Peas

 

**Wednesday**

Cereal or Salad or Leftovers (or whatever you can find to eat!)

 

**Thursday**

Thanksgiving!!!

 

**Friday**

Leftovers!!!

{this is probably the only time you'll ever see leftovers and exclamation marks together from me!}

 

**Saturday**

Enchiladas & Pinto Beans

 

**Sunday**

CP Chicken & Dumplings w/ Green Beans

 

I hope that everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving full of family, food, & football (Go Cowboys!!) and that you take some time to really count your blessings!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Menu Monday

Woah.  Winter came to visit the beach early this year and it kinda has me thrown off!  Seriously, y'all....it is COLD.  And for any readers that live in the north, feel free to laugh...;)  But it has been in the 30's.  And let me remind you that I live in Florida.  By the beach.  Sigh.  My boys are praying for snow and I'm praying the opposite ~ I guess we'll see who's prayers are stronger! 

{totally kidding! haha!}

 

This weather has me wanting all kinds of yummy comfort food but my nutrition log and desires are kind of duking it out right now!  I did my best to find some middle ground! ;)

 

**Monday**

Skillet Sausage, Cous Cous, and Corn

 

**Tuesday**

CP Potato Soup w/ French Bread

~see recipe below~

 

**Wednesday**

Teryiaki Chicken, Jasmine Rice, & Pineapple

 

**Thursday**

Chili & Cornbread

 

**Friday**

CP Beef Stew

 

**Saturday**

Meatloaf, Mash Potatoes, & Green Beans

 

**Sunday**

Breakfast for Dinner

 

I know I originally found the potato soup recipe online but its been a long time ago and I have no idea where I found it to be able to link.  So I figured I'd just share it here!!  Very easy, quick, and SO yummy!!

 

Crockpot Potato Soup

 

30oz bag frozen hashbrowns

3 - 14oz cans of chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pkg cream cheese, cubed

Combine everything in your crockpot except the cream cheese.  Cook on low for 4 -6 hours.  About 2 hours before serving, add in the cream cheese.  Cook until cheese is melted!!
Top with bacon pieces, cheese, crispy jalapenos or whatever else you think sounds good!!
*don't use reduced fat cream cheese because it doesn't melt well at all!*

Be sure to let me know what you think if you try it!! 

Last week, we tried Chicken Chili Verde tacos for the first time and it was a HUGE hit!  My super picky eater ate them.  My teenager ate and ate and ate them and then ate them for lunch the next day too!  And I made a salad with it instead of a taco and it was amazing!!  You should definitely give them a try!

Now I'm off to make a hot cup of coffee and try to get warm!!  Hope your week is off to a fabulous start!!
 

 

 



Recipes!

As promised in my Menu Monday post, here are the recipes for Crockpot BBQ Chicken and Honey Garlic Chicken!  Both of these are super quick and easy and super yummy!  They are also both on my very short list of things my RIDICULOUSLY picky eater will eat!

 

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

 

2-3 Chicken Breasts

1 bottle of bbq sauce

1/4 C vinegar

1/4 C brown sugar

1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder

 

Mix bbq sauce with vinegar, brown sugar & garlic powder.  Place chicken in the crockpot and pour sauce over it.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Enjoy!!

 

 

Honey Garlic Chicken

 

3 lg chicken breasts

1/2 C brown sugar

2 tsp dry mustard

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 C honey

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Lay chicken in 9x13 baking dish.  Spread each ingredient over the chicken in order and do NOT mix.  Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

**I only use about 1tsp of dry mustard cause my picky eater doesn't do spicy and the 2tsp is a little much for him.**

 

You'll have to let me know if you try either of these!!  They are definite hits for my family!

Happy Friday!!

Life Lately

When I think of life around here lately I think....

 

FuN. MemoRies. fRiends. LoTs O' sMiles.

faMily. CaNdy.  puZzLes.

LoVe. gAmeS. SocCer. HalloWeeN.

FirEwOrkS. BesTieS. CraZy.

BLESSED!!!

 

And the best way to share more in my opinion?!  Pictures!!  And lots of 'em!!

 

Meemi came for a visit....

 

Picking her up at the airport!!

 

the big boys love to play games with their Meemi!

and Dylan loves to do puzzles with her!

ice cream date!!

 

this is my abc book that Meemi made me when I was a little girl!  I haven't seen it in years and Meemi brought it to me!!  LOVE!  Brings back so many sweet memories!

one last hug and a tough goodbye.  it never gets easier but I'm so thankful for this time we had with her!

 

 

The day that Meemi left we were all kinda bummed and I know I didn't really feel like doing school work so instead we worked together on this 400 piece puzzle!  One of the things I love about homeschooling!  It took a couple of hours, a lot of patience and perseverance but we did it and the boys were super proud!!

 

all done and proud!!

 

 

Next up was Halloween!!  Brayden and Dylan dressed up and still enjoy trick or treating but Colby is "too cool" for trick or treating! ;)  My bestie's hubby LOVES Halloween, is always the scariest house in the neighborhood, and Colby has had so much fun helping him Halloween night for the last couple years.

 

Headed out w/ a duck hunter, spider man, and a soon to be creepy clown! ;)

 

Dylan and his "best fwend Ashwey"!  Cuties!

Our trick or treating crew!!

and here's Colby.  Creepy.

 

 Last weekend, we went to the Blue Angels Homecoming air show!  Our favorite is the night show!  The Blue Angels don't perform, but we are very fortunate that we get to see the Blues fly every time they practice (which is often! they fly RIGHT over our house!) so we like to go see the dark show!  They have all kinds of really neat stuff and lots of fireworks!!

 

the show kicks off with sky divers and the first one displays the flag while they play the national anthem!  Super cool!

 

the whole group!

 

the kiddos were captivated!!

 

me and my lil guys! and RIGHT after this pic my phone died. boo!  so no more air show pics!!

 

And I know I've posted about Dylan's soccer quite a bit but I was so proud of him after his game on Saturday!!  He scored 3 goals and did so well participating during the game.  Two of his goals were in the wrong goal but we'll take what we can get!  Haha!!  He was so proud of himself and we had lots of fun watching!

 

so proud of my crazy lil guy!

 

Life feels like its moving at warp speed!!  I cannot believe its already time for Thanksgiving and Christmas but I'm doing my best to enjoy these sweet boys of mine and the crazy, sometimes chaotic life that God has blessed us with!!

 



Menu Monday

Well....darn!  I missed posting last week mostly because I've been soooo sick.  I finally gave up and went to the doc last Monday and left with the most ridiculous bag of meds and strict orders from the doc to REST.  Sigh.  Thankfully, my Meemi had been in town and had a couple days til she left so I did my best to rest.  And then she left and I was exhausted and still sick and ugh!  But thankfully I am finally...as of today....feeling better!  3 weeks.  One of those weeks on antibiotics and FINALLY!!

 

isn't that a crazy big bag o' meds?!

 

All that to say that last week I was in survival mode!  But I'm back in the saddle again this week and here's what will fill our tummies!!

 

**Monday**

Homemade Pizzas

 

**Tuesday**

CP BBQ Chicken w/ Green Beans

 

**Wednesday**

Sausage & Veggie Bake

 

**Thursday**

Honey Garlic Chicken w/ Broccoli

 

**Friday**

CP Chicken Chili Verde Tacos & Guacamole

 

**Saturday**

Out to dinner w/ friends!

 

**Sunday**

Tacos

 

In my last Menu Monday post I shared links for recipes to two new recipes for us!  I am excited to report that both the Swedish Meatballs and the Southwest Eggrolls were HUGE hits!!  Its always fun to find recipes that the family enjoys!

 

This week, the Chicken Chili Verde tacos are new to us and I can't wait to try them!  Later this week I'll be posting my recipes for Honey Garlic Chicken and Crockpot BBQ chicken so be sure to check back!!  Both super simple and super tasty!  Hope everyone is staying warm and that your week is off to a great start!!