I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Jennifer at Becoming A Mrs


The rules are simple:

1)  Go to your photo files, select the 8th photo folder


2) Select the 8th photo in that folder


3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.


4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same.

Left to right: Zack (younger brother), Mataya (his girlfriend) Sam, Me, Dad, Mom, Gavin (my nephew) Justin (older brother) Phaedra (sister-in-law/Justin's wife), Austin (nephew) Bill (youngest brother) Kym (Bill's fiancee)

Okay, this is kind of funny.  It's one of our family photos that we had taken last May.  The photographer told us to all make funny faces.  My dad was actually really disturbed by the thought of getting our photo taken with all of us making funny faces. 

Boy do I miss them all! 

I'm not going to tag anyone, as I know this is going around the blog world.  If you haven't already done it, let me know-I'd love to see your photo!

Vegas Baby!

Woo hoo!  I'm going to Vegas!!  I'm so incredibly excited!  Seriously.  It's a little ridiculous how excited I am!  Sam will not be going.  I'm flying in Wednesday 6/2 in the morning.  Mom is going to pick me up, we'll hang out all day, until Rachael flies in around 11pm that night.  We have no plans at all, other than laying by the pool and having some much needed girl time. 

I think it'll be good to see my Mom too.  I haven't seen her since our big family reunion last July.  There's definitely been a lot of distance between us, as I feel like she's made some pretty selfish choices, putting her friends before any of her family.  Growing up we were always taught that family comes first.  And she's definitely not been following that at all.  It makes me kind of sad.  At any rate, I'm looking forward to seeing her. 

I frequent a message board on The Nest, and there has been a lot of talk lately about a program called Bountiful Baskets.  I thought it sounded interesting, and looked like a great deal, so I decided to do it last weekend.  What it is, is they get the best/freshest produce at a really low price, and pass the savings on to you.  It's all run by volunteers.  Anyway, we got SO much stuff!  Here's just a few photos of our bounty. 

We got 1 package of blackberries, bananas, a bag of apples, pineapple, cantaloupe, tomatoes, spinach, swiss chard, green leaf lettuce, 2 bags of red potatoes, celery, and baby carrots.  I had also added on the tortilla pack.  I think we'll be set on tortillas for awhile!  We got 2 dozen HUGE flour tortillas (probably bigger than the ones they use at QDoba or Chipotle.  2 dozen soft taco sized flour tortillas, and 2 dozen corn tortillas.  And they're delicious!  Pretty darn close to homemade tasting.  For all that, we payed $28.50.  The fruits & veggies were $15, a $3 first time fee, and $10 for the tortillas.  We'll definitely be doing that again!  Such a great deal!

Last night we went to dinner with Monica & Shawn, and Michelle & Ty.  It was SO much fun.  I really don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time.  My cheeks hurt from laughing so much.  It was a good mix, and everyone got along great.  It was my first time meeting Ty, and I've only met Shawn a few times when he'd come see Monica at work. 

Sam's parents will be here in just under two weeks.  I think I'm equally excited & nervous.  I love my in-laws, really I do.  They are so good to us.  They love me like their own daughter, and have always welcomed me into their little family.  However, they can be a little exhausting.  Sam's mom is always making suggestions (I get it, she's trying to be helpful, but after awhile, they're rather irritating), and she's one of those people that can't handle quiet.  Every minute we're together has to be filled with conversation.  And if I don't have something to say, and I'm having an "off" day?  Then something is wrong, and she thinks I don't like them.  Nevermind the past 5 years, suddenly because I'm a little withdrawn it's because I don't like them.  Now, normally it's okay, because we would see them for little spurts of time... No more than one overnight trip.  But now?  They'll be here for nearly a week.  That's a lot of time for me to be "on".  And that's exhausting.  But, at the same time, I am looking forward to seeing them, spending time with them.  It'll be nice to have them around.  I'm excited to show them around, so they can see where our new life is.  And see how much we love it here.  I'm excited to have family visiting, as I've really been missing my family.  So, there you have the equally excited & nervousness.  Luckily, they will be staying at a hotel, and not with us, so I do have a slight reprieve.  Thank goodness!  I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share after the visit.