Be It Ever So Humble

There really is no place like home. And since we live hours away from some of you, I thought I would give you a little glimpse of our home. So here it is. This is our first home. Now give us a little credit, we have only lived there since December and have been RUNNING since we got there, but it is really turning out to be quite the little place. We are about 20 miles outside of town and we are only 1/4 mile from Dan's job, which he absolutely loves. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being in the country. I have no neighbors that I can see, it is so quiet, and if we let our grass get just a little too tall no one cares. I do have to say that we are very fortunate to have this nice of a house to make our first home in.

As far as improvements go, there haven't been any major ones completed (or started for that matter). But we do have lots in mind. We've done a few small things. Dan put up this hitching post. He found the wheel somewhere and had to take some parts off of it but he is pretty proud and I do have to say, not too bad for our first little landscape project. I planted mums in front of it and I am hoping they will be big and beautiful when everyone is here in September......good thinking huh!! We've got some other things in mind, but you'll just have to keep watching for those.

My little Garden! This is about the only other thing we have done outside, other than mow :). I wanted a garden for two reasons, tomatoes and cucumbers. The tomatoes have done really well. They have grown a ton since I brought them home from Orschelns. However, I think we have 1 cucmber plant that made it. This is one very not happy person as far as that goes, so I've got some more started in jiffy cups. They better make it. We did plant a few other things, remember we are rookies, but we have a row of carrots, 2 bell pepper plants, a jalapeno plant, and a row of onions. If every thing keeps doing so well I think we should have some pretty tasty salsa and a good start to a roast in the future!

Well it wouldn't be right if I didn't include a picture of the bosses.When I took this picture, Dan and I were laughing because we think Cinch was trying to smile at us. Missy was to busy being a spaz to even think about smiling.

What a Wonderful Weekend

I was right. It was a great weekend! Sara and I had a blast at garage sales. Sometimes it's not buying it's watching that proves to be a pretty darn good time. And at garage sales in Dodge City.....there is plenty to watch. We did end up finding a couple sweet deals though! Sara found some great picture frames. I bought more mason jars for the wedding (Yes, I'm cheap). We found a few more treasures and then decided to check out the Flea Market. We both found some good buys, or at least we think they are. We each got a camel back trunk and they are AWESOME!

I know it needs some work, but I started last night and I really think it has some potential. I also think it has about 80 layers of paint and 40 layers of wallpaper or something on the inside. But don't worry I'm determined to make it look better. Sara and I also figured out why men don't want their wives to drive trucks, it's too easy to load furniture....or in our case, 2 loads of furniture!! Thanks for letting us take the truck Dan!

Well we couldn't stop at the flea market. We were doing way too good at shopping and having a fantastic time! So it was on to the antique shop. What a great idea! More good buys. Sara hollered at me and showed me this table, which I couldn't leave. Good find, Sara! I just knew it would fit way to well in my dining room, and guess what, it does. Sara also found a BEAUTIFUL rocking chair too. I wasn't kidding when I said we do good work shopping! We both agreed that a trip to the antique store in Kinsley is in the near future. Just hope we can steal Dan's truck again! It was a great day. We found some good buys, got to see each other's houses, were helping each other come up with decorating ideas, and decided the men in our life probably wouldn't want us hanging out very often! Oh well, I think we can keep them quiet with Coors Light!

And the fun didn't stop there. Timing was excellent and Sara and I pulled in the mall parking lot about 30 seconds ahead of Ashley and Amanda! I was so happy to see them. And they were so happy to get out of the car. We did a little shopping at the mall. (Like we hadn't had enough). Then I took Ashley and Amanda out to our place. Showed them the house, and started getting ready for a great night! All dolled up and we were headed into Dodge, got a few good laughs at the local businesses, and added a little culture to Ashley and Amanda's trip. We met up at Central Station with Sara, and then hit up some of the bars in town. And guess what, this is the only picture I took! Way to go Kels! We did have a great time and I am so happy the girls came down. It was great to see them!

Sunday morning came and nobody was feeling overly energetic! So biscuits and gravy it was. There is something magic in a good breakfast that will always cure my hangovers, and it worked again! The girls packed up and headed back north. Dan and I decided a quick cat nap was in store! Then we were off to register. We got registered at Gibson's Pharmacy and Walmart, and then decided that I could do Target by myself.

Dan and I are truly blessed to have the most wonderful friends in the world. We met a couple at Cattlemans that we absolutely love, Ben & Jean. They have been so great to us, and we love their company. I was complaining about not having a kitchen table. I hated making nice meals and eating in the living room. Ben & Jean had an extra one in their basement so they gave us a table! But they didn't stop there. Those two are the neatest couple ever. We truly truly love our time with them. Jean cans, crochets, quilts, knits, paints, sews, you name it, she does it. And Ben is equally as crafty. He makes a lot of beautiful things in his shop. Spurs, fireplace sets with horseshoes and deer antlers, anything out of wood, all kinds of things. We got to their house Sunday night and he had made this napkin & salt & pepper holder for us. Isn't it gorgeous? And the picture does it no justice. I can't tell you how truly thankful we are for Ben & Jean. Not only are they great friends, but they have a great marriage and we hope we can be like them someday!

So, like I said, I was right and it was a great weekend. I had so much fun all weekend long. How wonderful it is to live a life surrounded by amazing people!!

Hello Weekend

Don't you love when great things happen with no planning at all?!?! I sure do. And that's exactly how this weekend has worked itself out. My friend Sara's birthday was Tuesday and after a few quick back and forth texts, I have a garage sale date! WHOO HOOO!!

I LOVE garage sales. And I usually don't buy much but this weekend, I AM ON A MISSION. I really really need a dresser and after a quick trip to the furniture outlet, realized these soon to be newlyweds aren't quite ready to shell out that kind of cash for furniture yet. So, I've already called dibs on Dan's truck and got ads circled. I think we might just have to start out the morning with Mimosa's so that way we are really in a good shopping set of mind!!

Then Wednesday night I got another fantastic phone call. ASHLEY AND AMANDA are coming to visit!! I am so very excited for some quality girls time. I see lots of laughs, lots of pictures, maybe a few drinks, and a good time!! Not much planned, maybe hit up the casino, definitely hit up the bars, and then take the girls to experience their first taco truck experience!! Hope you ladies are ready.

So this weekend is in the process of becoming a very good one. Probably won't be blogging much but I'm sure there will be stories for Monday!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ready, Set, GO!

This is one of my favorite engagement pictures (THANKS STEPH!). To me, this is what best friends look like, this is what love looks like,

This is what makes me smile.

I'm pretty excited to start this blog. Maybe it's because I'm a blog junkie myself. I love reading up on what's going on in peoples lives.

What are you going to find in this blog? That's really quite hard to tell. It might be a place for me to vent, for me to share joys, for me to share part of our wedding plans, for you to keep up with what's going on in our lives, you might find yourself included in this blog. It really has no specific purpose except for US!

So as far as US, right now, here's whats going on! We are still working hard on making our house a home. Our dear friends, Ben & Jean, are letting us use one of their tables (Thank God for them! I was starting to get VERY tired of eating in the living room). My mom came down and left LOTS and LOTS of house magazines, so everyone feel very sorry for Dan because his Honey-Do list might get quite lengthy. I decided on colors for painting most of the rooms (still can't figure out what color will go with the ORANGE carpet in our bedroom) so i'm very excited to start painting. We've got our garden going and we both love it. It's been fun to watch things grow, has been a great project, and will be even more fun to eat it all! The rest of the yard is slowly looking better. My rose bush is doing quite well and I'm pretty proud of it. Dan put up a hitching post in the front corner and I'll give him lots of credit, it looks great! We put up a bird feeder and i'm still not quite sure about that little ordeal. Usually all that's in our yard is ugly black birds, however, Saturday we spotted a pretty little finch. Hopefully, those black birds keep eating at the feedyard and only pretty birds are in my feeder. Also, hopefully I don't CATCH Dan shooting at the pretty birds (I know he's gonna do it, just hope I don't catch him in the act).

As for Dan, he is now officially a farmer! He is so excited! He found a small little pasture to rent and can't hardly contain himself. He's got everything worked out and is ready to start working on the fence. I've never met anyone who works harder or can't stand to be inside more. It should be a good deal for him and a nice little revenue earning hobby.

WEDDING PLANS! are going very very well! I have loved a lot of this planning. Almost everything has just kinda fallen into place for us. There have been a few things and a few moments where it hasn't gone well, but such is life. We've got so many things done already and I've had some great help! Dresses are picked out, ordered, and everyone's fits (just waiting on Sharon's to get here)! HUGE RELIEF Decorations are coming together well. Flowers are almost done, just a few more boutonnieres left. We've got centerpieces all worked out and done. Thanks Meagan for letting us use your left overs! Our bouquets are absolutely gorgeous and wouldn't have turned out half as well if it wasn't for my mom spending her Mother's Day weekend helping me. Isn't she the best? We have incorporated pheasant feathers into alot of the decorations and all of the flowers and I love it. The feathers even worked to get Dan interested in our flowers (not whole heartedly but at least he looked at them). There won't be any pictures until after the wedding because some things have to be a surprise!! :)

That'll pretty much catch you up to today but we have so many wonderful things to look forward to this summer/fall!

• Babies and lots of them! Baby Mac, A new niece, Lil Red, Shae's Little Brother, Gavin Schreiner.......so excited to meet all these new wonderful little people!


• Weddings! We just had Kristin's, now we have my best friend Jessie's wedding (Can't Wait!), then Jeff Schawe's, and last but certainly not least.....OURS!!


• More work on the house.....


• SADIE COMES HOME IN AUGUST


• Dodge City Days


• and lots more exciting stuff.........Can't hardly wait, seems like life gets better every step of the way!