Completed Barefoot Sandals & Wednesday Gratitude

Oh, how I am already missing relaxing in Jamaica! I couldn't be more thankful that we have the means to travel like we do. This hammock was outside our room on our veranda at the resort, I'm really wishing I had one at home! It was just perfect for the two of us.

We would wake up and have breakfast delivered to our veranda. So peaceful and everything just tastes better when you have all the time in the world to enjoy it.

I promised I would take pics of the completed barefoot sandals I made for our Jamaica trip.

So here they are. Very easy to make and fun to wear!

Linking to Gratitude Wednesday.

Braces put on today

I think someday my son will appreciate having braces... They were just put on today. I think it may be a while before the day of appreciation comes!

I hate my braces, yes I do.

If you had braces, you would too.

I can’t eat my favorite sweets,

Like sticky gum and tasty treats.

At Halloween, I must forfeit

Every chewy candy bit;
My gummy bears, my Milk Duds, too,

And all that yummy candy goo.

I watch the others with dislike,

Munching on their Mike & Ikes,

While I must feast on healthy foods,

Like cut-up apples, nasty prunes.

I hate my braces, yes I do.

If you had braces, you would too.

- Unknown author

Garden planted!

Today was a beautiful day without rain! However, the rain should be picking back up tomorrow, so I took the opportunity to start planting our garden.

So far I've planted several varieties of tomatoes and peppers.

A bunch of herbs!

And lots of strawberries!

Who said gardening had to be hard? So far, with this square foot garden method, it's a breeze! By the way, my garden is 16 square feet. If all goes well this year I will add another 16 square foot garden next year.

12th Birthday Party Planning- Candy theme

I finished invitations for my son's upcoming 12th birthday party. We decided to go with a candy theme, so for the invitations I made giant lollipop invitations for him to hand deliver to his friends. I figured with the end of the school year approaching and all that paperwork coming home they would be less likely to get lost.Now on to the rest of the planning. The overall idea of the party is to have a bunch of candy related games and have the guests earn pretend money and at the end each guest will be able to spend his/her pretend money at the candy shop we set up. Also thinking maybe a viewing of The Chocolate Factory, and possibly a chocolate fountain? Any ideas are appreciated! My son has a serious sweet tooth, so this is the PERFECT theme for him!

The beginning of my garden...

I've been wanting so badly to start a vegetable garden in our backyard, but with everything going on this spring I didn't think I would find the time to get one started. After much motivation from fellow bloggers, encouragment from friends and family, and a devoted husband that was willing to help me out.... behold...the beginning of my vegetable garden.

What? I'm missing something? Oh that's right, the plants. Well, unfortunately it's supposed to rain for the next 4 days so I can't plant them until it dries up a bit. But I do have a plan to have them in by the end of the week.

And yes, I realize my garden doesn't look like the typical garden. But I am excited to say I am trying the 'square foot garden' method. I read Mel Bartholomew's book and decided it seemed to be the most practical garden for the needs of my family. If you haven't heard of it and are interested in gardening you really should pick up a copy.

If you have pics of your garden on your blog, be sure to leave me a comment so I can come check it out! I love to admire people's gardens!

Our Wedding Reception

The day after returning to the U.S. from Jamaica (where we were married), we had a wonderful reception party. The party was hosted by my husband's aunt and uncle and our closest friends and family attended. Here are a few photos of the occasion... Our photographer did a fantastic job! I wish I could share more photos but I also want to honor the privacy of our guests, not everyone is an open blog like myself! ;)

We waited in an upstairs room until our guests arrived and Chris's uncle introduced the new Mr. and Mrs.... Yes, I pulled the dress right out of my luggage the morning of. It had traveled a total of 6,600 miles, been married in, even got a little ocean water on it.. but it survived for yet another appearance.

Here is the sand castle cake I was so excited to see! The cake lady made my dream come true!

And some other beautiful beach theme touches...Oh how I LOVE orchids!

The food was catered by our favorite BBQ restaurant. You can't be from Kansas and not appreciate BBQ!

Here are the pinapple trees I really wanted, and my awesome friends helped me make them (they did all the work)!

A wonderful friend of mine hired a magician to help entertain our guests, isn't that sweet? He was a hoot, and everyone loved him!

And now we live... happily ever after!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Our family of 4 celebrated Cinco de Mayo yesterday!

The menu consisted of....
Chicken cheese enchiladas
Corn and chili rice
Chips and Guacamole
Strawberry Cheesecake Sopapillas
Strawberry Daquaris (no alcohol for the boys of course)

We followed dinner up with our family game night.

I even did a little tablescaping for the occasion.

Linking to Tablescape Thursday!

Wedding Pictures!

I have a lot of photos to share! Here are some from our wedding on the beach in Jamaica...