Spanxs

Though I have enjoyed working out again, I haven’t enjoyed the weight gain that seemed to follow. I understand that muscle weighs more than fat but suddenly I was getting slimmer and weighing more and I didn’t like this at all. I still knew that I had weight to lose and was constantly whining to Marc about how much I weighed and how I looked fat in this outfit or another. He finally recommended that if it bothered me this bad that I could look into wearing spanxs. I went to Dillards to even see what they were. I bought a trial pair and have fallen absolutely in love with them! They are my new best friend. I feel so much smaller when wearing them and it makes me less self conscience. I still have the weight to loose and I am working on it but this is my favorite solution while I do that.

Date Night

I love that Marc and I still take the time to have date nights. It was a piece of advice we received before we got married and we took it. Our date nights aren’t usually glamorous or anything out of this world but it is fun to have a special night with just us and to enjoy each other’s company. This last date night was a little bit out of the ordinary as we decided to have a picnic dinner at the dog park. This would have been a great idea if the dogs had cooperated but they were not very friendly this time at the dog park and so Marc and I took them home. We needed to do some grocery shopping and so we went and did that. We walked around the gardening area and talked about solar lights along the walkway and different things and at one point we just sat and swung on a porch swing. It was so nice to just sit and talk to Marc in the middle of the gardening section as we pretended that we were swinging in our backyard. Then we came home and watched a movie together. My favorite part of that night though was buying a shaved ice maker, also super discounted. We have loved making shaved ice and are looking forward to more memories from more date nights.

Too Many Broken Dishes

Marc and I have cleaned up the glass from several broken dishes this last week and finally we decided enough was enough. We went to Wal-Mart and found some dishes that were super discounted and got a set of plastic dishes. I think for 24 cups, 24 plates, 24 bowls, and 2 serving platters our total was under $15. Our dishes are now super colorful but at least if the cats knock them over, they won’t break!

Cleaning Up A Mess

One night Marc and I were sitting and cuddling on the couch when we heard a large bang. This was the bang that meant that the cats had knocked something off of a counter and it was broken. Marc jumped up to clean it up and after several moments of trying to clean it up while trying to keep the cats out I grabbed the camera. I know, a good wife would have helped but I felt this moment needed to be documented. Here is how the insanity went.

Marc captures the culprits:


The culprits try to escape:


(At this point Mr. Carmel gets put away because Marc can't juggle two cats)
Kiara waits until Marc is far enough away putting Mr. Carmel away:


Kiara goes to check out the mess one more time:


Marc is coming so Kiara jumps to the chair so he won't know she was in the mess again:


Kiara makes sure that Marc has really left the area again:


Jumps down to inspect what is left of the mess:




Kiara then "helps" to clean up the mess: (this is her catching a rock)


Kiara does a quick walkthrough to make sure Marc really didn't miss any pieces: (looks like he missed a leaf)


Kiara very sad that the mess is cleaned up: (don't mind the creepy colorful eye!)

Applications

The last week or so has been spent filling out applications for the police force. There was an opening in our town and this would be Marc’s dream job. It has been so nice to see Marc so excited for something and to see him work so hard to achieve his goals. Marc has always been a hard worker but on top of everything else he was doing, he is working out constantly and filling out the application on his break at both jobs and still finding time to make me feel super special and loved. We are hoping and praying to get the job and will find out soon. Wish us luck!

What Marc Was Doing on My Girl’s Night Out

So while I was being pampered with Megan doing my hair and going out to eat, Marc stayed at home. While I was on my girl’s night he vacuumed the floors and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen. The house looked so good when I got home that night and I really appreciate him working so hard all the time, even when I am out playing. He better be careful though... if he keeps this up I might have LOTS more girl's nights!

Girls Night Out

I love to have girl’s nights out. I think they are super fun and a great way to get to know your friends better. My friend’s husband was away at scout camp and so we decided to have a girl’s night. We were going to get all dressed up and pick a restaurant at random and hit the town but the best part about girl’s nights is they are always subject to change. After Megan had fought with my hair for a while, we decided to throw it up and we both were twinners. But we did forget to take pictures of us together…. Oh well there is always next time. Then we were on our way out the door when we met her sister and brother-in-law on the road. We quickly invited them with us and off we went to Garcia’s. It was a fun night and we all ate WAY too much. I am so glad that I got a night out and can’t wait for our next adventure!

Washing the Dogs in the Rain

So one night during our walk we got caught out in the rain. It started pouring and so we all ran back to the house. I had wanted to give the dogs a bath that night and with the rain coming down it seemed like the perfect time to do it. So perfect in fact that we started to wash them in the rain. This worked for about 3 minutes until the rain started to let up. Thankfully we had a hose near us and we finished the job that way. It was such a fun night and we were ALL drenched by the time it was over. Next time, I don’t think I will be washing them in the rain.

New Walking Habits

Since we have the two dogs, they have had to be walked every morning and every night. This is such a great thing for us because we can’t decide we don’t want to take them for a walk and just sleep in, which would happen when it was just for our health that we were walking. As we have gotten more in shape and they have gotten more in shape we have started running and jogging with them. They definitely are a handful but we love them and I love that I am getting back in shape again.

Hair

One thing that I wasn’t so keen about with Max is that he was shedding like a beast and because of how big he is… that is a LOT of hair. We decided, after several suggestions, to invest in the Fur-inator. It is my new best friend and I don’t know what I would do without it. This is a kitchen sized trash can that is at least half full with Max’s hair. We have since filled it up several times and he is finally starting to shed yet. But isn’t that much hair just GROSS?

Mr. Max

Though I love that Mr. Max is in our family, I needed something a little bigger and a little bit more intimidating than our new little friend. I started to look around and found the perfect dog for me on craigslist. I know that seems like an odd place to find a dog but there was a family in Williams that needed to find a new home for their dog and we were that home. He is a GIANT, white dog and the biggest sweetheart. He is great with the other animals and super protective of me. The only thing that I don’t like about him is that he smiles. I can’t explain it and I haven’t been able to catch it on film yet but one of these days I will and will have to post it. It is really a creepy thing though…

Mr. Kovu

The day after the 4th Marc went to the pound to see if we could find a dog. He instantly fell in love with Kovu. Kovu is a lab mix but really is just the biggest mutt. He is a 6 month old puppy and really enjoys going on runs with Marc twice a day. He has been great for getting Marc in shape for the academy. He definitely knows what he wants all the time. He is definitely going to need some training but he is a great new addition to our little family. He will definitely be an outside dog as he can’t stop trying to chase the cats but he is happy to run and play all day long.

4th of July

I love the 4th of July and the fireworks and all the barbecues and all that comes with it. This year Marc had to work on the 4th and I spent the day trying to adopt a dog. We had decided that with Marc going to the Police Academy, hopefully, this fall that I wanted more security at the house. My attempts were fruitless though because everywhere was closed because of the holiday. When Marc got off, we made dinner and decided to go watch the fireworks from the hill behind our house. We hiked up there in the dark and found a spot and started our picnic dinner. We could see a storm rolling in and I chickened out and decided I wanted to be home and inside when the storm hit. It worked out alright though because the fireworks never even cleared the trees and so we couldn’t have seen them anyway. It was a fun night though and I really enjoyed being able to spend it with Marc.