top five friday.

happy friday folks! aren't you glad it's the weekend? i sure am. here are my favorite things from the week:

#1 - the mr. and i officially bought our first piece of racquetball gear!

we were sick of the goggles at the gym either falling off or squeezing our heads too tight, not to mention that everyone and their dog has worn them and sweated (swat?) in them also. sick. you've gotta start somewhere right? i love them already. they really do protect you too! the mr. {accidentally} nailed me in the face with the ball on our very first night wearing these. i was numb for an hour. thank goodness for goggles!

#2 - the usaf thunderbirds. i didn't actually go see them perform because 1. i'm lazy and didn't want to change out of my pajamas. and 2. the mr. had to work and if i was going to go to my very first thunderbirds show, i wanted it to be with him. the good news is that we live kind of by the airport though, so they flew right over our house! it was awesome.

#3 - speaking in church. i know - this isn't something i ever imagined to be on top five friday either, but it is. with it being pioneer day last week and all, we were given to topic of "heritage". i'm pretty sure i moaned and complained the entire week about this topic. how are you supposed to speak on that for a half an hour?? zachary and i rounded up all of our resources and got the job done though. i'm not sure how good it was, but i did get some serious validation, when the 10 year old behind me in primary tapped my shoulder and quietly said, "i really liked your talk today." *commence heart melting*

#4 - blogging. as i said in my last post, i'm starting a new blog. and even though it can be stressful in trying to decide what to cook/bake and making sure the pictures look decent, i have found a sincere passion for it already and it's only been a few days! i'm extremely grateful for the support of my friends and family because really, i couldn't do it without them. i feel way more vulnerable in trying to get it going than i am comfortable with, so it's nice to know that people have my back - especially my handsome husband. every time i begin to freak out and want to quit because i'm so afraid of failure, he's quick to calm me down and build me back up again. i really got a good one. now, i'm going to give you a preview of what you're missing on our little blog, in hopes that you'll check it out and follow it yourself. yes, that's how i roll. ;) thanks!

#5 - my best friend and her husband came to visit!! i can't believe it either. they were actually the second people to visit this week. zachary's cousin and aunt were driving through from back east the other day and stopped by to see us. who would've thought that little cheyenne would be such a popular place?! i can't tell you how good it was to see all of them. it made me wish that i could go back to the good ol' days of watching movies and hanging out in kaitlyn's basement and not having a worry in the world! gosh i miss that girl.

hope you have a great weekend!

-the mrs.

i need your help.

hello blogging buddies, i need your help. the mr. and i have been talking for a while now and we have decided to start a food blog. we've found a passion for cooking in the last year and a half of our marriage and we want to share that passion with others! that is where you come in. we would greatly appreciate it if you could do us a huge favor and follow us! the blog is titled high heels and grills and we would love your support: www.highheelsanudgrills.blogspot.com. also, feel free to try out our recipes and let us know how you like them! we'd love to hear from you as well. :) thanks a billion! it's so nice to have friends like you to count on!

-the mrs.

guest posting.

guess what friends? i'm guest posting over at busy as a honey bee today! and i think that you should got pay that lovely blog a visit. not only to see yours truly, but because simone is one fantastic girl and it would be well worth your time to go meet her. hope you're enjoying your monday!

-the mrs.

top five friday.

#1 - mini golfing. how many times has this activity made it to top five friday? i can remember at least two different occasions - it just doesn't get old, i guess.

it was the cutest little golf course i ever did see. this was our first date since we've had copper and boy, was it a much needed one.

#2 - speaking of copper, guess who made it the entire night in his crate without whining once? hooray! which means that the mister and i finally got longer than a four-hour streak of sleep. that definitely deserves a spot in the top five. i know it's nothing like it'll be one day when we have to get up in the night for a baby, but it's been quite the adjustment for a sleep lover like me. to celebrate, here's a cute video of him playing with a pig that my mom bought him. enjoy!

#3 - this text:

it brought on all sorts of confusion and then all sorts of downright laughter. thank you autocorrect.

#4 - new church callings. the mister and i just got put in as the 9 and 10 year old teachers at church and i can already tell that i'm going to love it. i taught the 4 years olds in california and as cute as they were, it was a little hard to relate. i feel like the 9 and 10 years old are the perfect age - young enough to not want to cross you, but old enough to understand when you're trying to be funny. they're actually pretty funny themselves. we overheard a couple of the boys talking in between classes. they were playing with some bible hero cards and one of them pulled out david. he looked at it and then disgustedly announced, "david isn't a hero! he was cool when he was younger, but then he turned into an idiot!" haha! it's amazing to me how much they know. i think this calling is going to bring us some pretty fun times.

#5 - r-days. i'm not really sure what the r stands for. rest? relaxation? whatever it is, it basically equates to free days off for the mister. he has had 3 r-days this week and i can't even tell you how glorious it has been! we've slept in and done a whole lot of nothing {aka lots of blogging and video games} i'm so glad we have had some time together before he gets into the nitty gritty at work. {his first alert is next sunday. ca-razy!}

hope you have a wonderful friday my friends! feel free to grab my button and link up with me below to share your favorite things from the week too!

-the mrs.

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caramel popcorn

looking back, i don't know how my mom survived sometimes. my dad had various duties in our church growing up, making it impossible to always sit with us on sundays. so, that left my mom trying to take six kids {all within eight years of each other} to church on her own - which i'm sure was more of a chore than most people can handle. if one kid wasn't pulling another one's hair because he stole their crayons, then she had three kids begging and whining and pleading for her to tickle their backs - that was tough to do with only two hands. i can't help but laugh out of pure shame for what we put her through at times. my parents are smart though. they had some tricks of their own. cue "the reverence award". that sounds pretty self-explanatory right? if we were reverent during church, we got an award. simple enough. it was always a sad day when we weren't reverent though and we were banned from the goodies that would be enjoyed by the rest of the family that night. we had all kinds of stuff - dad's famous strawberry shortcake, ice cream sundaes, apple crisp, white chocolate chip cookies, but my most favorite of all was caramel popcorn.

             

the best part about helping to make this delicious treat was getting to lick the spatula after using it to pour in the sweetened condensed milk. we would fight over that thing like cats and dogs. then, after all was said and done, we would about die in anticipation, when having to wait for it all to cool, so we didn't burn our tongues. i made a batch of this the other day and boy does it take me back. now, i'm here to share this favorite recipe with you!

ingredients:

• 1 cup popcorn kernels {more or less, depending on how caramely you want it}
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup karo syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 extra strong prayer for continued health after eating this {added by the mr.}

directions:

• pop popcorn in an air popper. divide into two large bowl and set aside.
• in a medium saucepan, combine sugar and syrup. stir until sugar is dissolved and let boil one minute.
• add butter. once butter is completely melted, let boil for one minute again.
• add sweetened condensed milk and stir well. bring to boil and let boil for one minute.
• divide and pour caramel evenly between the two bowls of popcorn and stir well to lightly coat each kernel.
• enjoy your yummy, delicious treat! {after it cools, of course ;)}

i hope you fall in love with this just as much as i did. maybe if you're lucky, it will become a family favorite of your own!

-the mrs.

blushing bride

i've mentioned a few times that i was lucky enough to help throw a shower for a friend last week. now i'm here to tell you just how fantastic it all went!

first off, the lovely bride to be:

{lacey jean bradley. isn't she just adorable??}

the guests:

the decor:

the food:

the gifts:

including a very special gift from the bestie and i: a panty parfait.

i got this idea from holly at eight six eleven. i've been following her blog for a while now and i absolutely adore her! this gift is suppose to supply the bride with some fun and sexy undies for different occasions and years to come along with a clever little poem - the perfect gift if you ask me!

{the cherry on top}

 {to last all the way from old age,

to your wedding day,

panties for every occasion,

a sexy underwear parfait}

 {this pair is for your honeymoon,

so sexy, black, and lace.

we hope you leave the hotel room,

to enjoy the gorgeous place}

 {for your first knock-down, drag out fight,

as a married couple,

when justin sees you in this little number,

he'll forgive you on the double}

{a pretty white pair for your first anniversary,

you may be feeling a little naughty.

justin still won't be able to believe,

he married such a hottie}

 {when the time is right for you and justin,

and don't be saying maybe,

you'll wear a little pink or blue,

in honor of your baby}

 {after five or ten married years,

you'll still be going strong,

but if you need a little boost,

just put this beauty on}

 {when your years of wedded bliss,

become the old 2-5,

just slip this little number on,

to keep the spark alive}

{and finally when you're old and gray,

with these you can't go wrong,

but sorry justin at that age,

you just can't wear a thong}

it really was quite the hoot watching her open and read these. it's an easy way to get lingerie to the party and still be classy at the same time. i'm so glad i was able to help out with this. i had the time of my life! i can't wait for lacey and justin to be able to experience the pure joy and happiness that comes with marriage.

-the mrs.