Not All Superheroes Wear Capes

Happy Memorial Day! We hope all of you have enjoyed this 3 day weekend with family, friends and loved ones. Hopefully this was a weekend to relax, celebrate and remember. 

Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are holidays that are near and dear to our hearts as I'm sure they are to you all as well. We have many friends, family members, grandparents and loved ones who have served and are serving in the armed forces. As I've grown older, I have come to realize what the true meaning of Memorial Day is and how important it is to honor and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

This picture of Old Glory is so beautiful to me. I snapped this picture on a gorgeous day at Pearl Harbor.

While many of us celebrate with BBQ's, going swimming out on the lake, or taking advantage of all the Memorial Day sales, please don't forget to take a moment to honor our fallen heroes. Men and women we will never meet who have laid down their lives for each of us. How can we ever repay and show gratitude to the men and women who courageously gave their lives? I think a start would be to live our lives to the fullest and be the best person we can be each and every day. 

A few years ago, my best friend, Coree and I flew out to Hawaii for a summer of adventure. While we were there we went to visit Pearl Harbor in Oahu. Words cannot explain how incredible this experience was. We arrived at Pearl Harbor early in the morning just as the sun was coming up. It was so quiet and serene. I will never forget how being there made me feel. Sad, thankful, grateful, heartbroken, relieved... and most of all, proud. Proud to live in this great country and proud to be an American. 

Visiting the Pearl Harbor museum was amazing because we were able to see a glimpse back into the past. We saw things that are in history books! (I happen to be a huge history buff so this was exciting stuff to me!)

After the museum, we toured the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial was built to commemorate the lives of all the American men who died at the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7, 1941. This memorial was built above the USS Arizona battleship that was sunk during WWII and where many servicemen lost their lives. Many of these men were trapped inside the battleship and are still down there to this day. 

 There were so many people there that day and yet it was extremely quiet and peaceful. We spent the morning reading all the names of the fallen and honoring them. It is a moment I will never forget. 

You can still see parts of the battleship in the ocean. 

Here is what we saw inside the memorial. So many names, so many fallen heroes. 

This really touched my heart. Some of the surviving soldiers from that day asked to be inferred with their shipmates. It reminds me of the bible verse: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for his friends." -John 15:13

I feel so thankful and blessed to be able to visit this memorial. It will be a day that I always cherish. 

On this Memorial Day, join us in remembering and honoring all our superheroes who do not wear capes. The men and women in our armed forces who paid for our freedom. 

I am proud to be an American, 

where at least I know I'm free. 

And I won't forget the ones who died

who gave that right to me. 

Thank you to all our fallen heroes, to our veterans and to those who bravely fight today! 

God Bless the U.S.A.

Winner, Winner, Stuffed Shells Dinner!

Happy Sunday! I can't believe that tomorrow starts our LAST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL! I mean, really, where did the school year go??? The summer countdown has started and we only have 8 days left of school! I plan on soaking up and enjoying every second I have left with my 22 little darlings. Time is fleeting and I want to make the most of it! 

So, I stumbled across this recipe on Instagram and immediately wanted to try it. It looked delicious and the directions seemed simple enough. My mom and sisters are such outstanding cooks. Somehow, I am the only one who came out not knowing my way around the kitchen. When Colt and I got married, I knew nothing of cooking or recipes and barely knew how to use a stove. Over these past 2 years I've slowly started trying out recipes and trying to become somewhat of a decent cook. (Thanks to Pinterest!)  I'm still the kind of girl who loves to go out to eat, or would rather have my mom's home cooking, but I give myself a pat on the back for attempting to cook 3-4 nights a week! Woot! 

When I found this recipe I went straight after work to pick up the ingredients I needed. Stuffed shells... or carbs in general are my favorite! I couldn't wait to get started! I cooked up this skillet meal on Thursday evening. I took the afternoon off work for a Dr. appointment which meant I was home early. The recipe said I could make homemade sauce but to cut down on time, I just picked up a jar of ready made sauce. Homemade sauce sounds like a perfect summer idea...maybe! 

I boiled the shells and made the stuffing. Adding veggies to this recipe makes it healthier right?! The recipe called for shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, & onions, and then I added mushrooms and spinach as well as the good stuff... Risotto, Mozzarella and Parmesan! Yum! Colt loved the way this made our house smell! 

After the shells were finished boiling, I mixed the stuffing and then began to stuff the shells. Afterwards, I added them to the skillet and put a lid on it and let it simmer.  

This recipe was definitely a win! I am going to put this recipe away to be used again. This was way too much for us to eat and we had lots of leftovers. I think this would make a great dinner for when you have guests over for a dinner party. It's simple and makes a generous amount. I look forward to making it again! 

If you are interested in trying out the Skillet Veggie and Cheese Stuffed Shells recipe, you can find it here! 

We hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Now time for us to enjoy some home cooking Taco Casa and binge watch "Fixer Upper" on Netflix. 

We love you all! 

Happiest at Home

Happy Saturday, friends! We woke up this morning to the sound of rain pitter-pattering outside our window. The weather has been mostly overcast and chilly on our side of town... which makes for perfect staying home and lounging weather. It's that time in the school year when schedules are hectic, we have tons of meetings, end of the year assessments are being given and we are trying to meet deadlines. We are basically running around & scrambling to get everything done as the school year comes to an end. We are working long days and while I absolutely love my job, let's face it... by Friday, us teachers are wiped! Our social calendar is pretty busy as well. Colt and I love visiting friends and family and being on the go but sometimes it's nice to not have anywhere to be but in our cozy home. 

Last night, I came home to Colt cooking dinner. We had no alarms that had to be set for this morning and we stayed up watching a series on Netflix called, "Grace & Frankie". Has anyone else seen it? It's hilarious and now we are addicted! Today, we don't have anywhere to be, we don't have a schedule to be on, there are no plans to attend to, no need for putting real pants on. It's nice. We have a day all to ourselves to hang out, relax and spend some much needed quality time together. Days like these we do not take for granted! 

Shortly after we woke up this morning, Colt left for a haircut and I stayed in bed catching up on some shows I had recorded this week on our DVR. Colt wasn't gone too long and when he returned, he surprised me with a few of our favorites: chocolate milk and donuts. (We are kids at heart.) We toasted to us, the weekend and to midday naps. :) 

Cheers to the weekend! 

We are happiest in our home spending down time with each other before the start of a new week. I pray these moments pass slow. 

We've also spent some of our morning/early afternoon laying around watching hedgehog videos on youtube. We stumbled across a pet hedgehog farm link online. They are too adorable! I am begging Colt for a pet hedgie!!! I.Need.One.

How cute is this little fella?!

We hope each of you are getting to spend time with loved ones or maybe spend time rejuvenating yourself. You have to take time out and take care of yourself first before you can take care of others! Here's to a relaxing weekend! 

We love you all! 

Our Favorite F Words: Food, Friends & Family

Happy Mother's Day! I hope all you mothers out there have been pampered, spoiled and loved on today. Mothers are some of the most important people on Earth. I am blessed to not only have been raised by an amazing one, but to grow up knowing so many and now, have friends who are/have become mothers throughout our friendship. 

As I write this, the tv is off, we are disconnected from our phones (at this moment lol), Colt is snoozing next to me and I can hear the rumble of thunder outside my bedroom window. This makes for a very perfect and relaxing evening before a fast and furious work week. Here's what our lives have been up to as of late! 

Last Friday night, we were invited to our very first Crawfish Boil! I have been wanting to go to one for years!!! One of Colt's classmates, Chris, had his parents driving in from New Orleans and his parents brought with them some very alive and fresh crawfish. 

Side note: Funny story about our friend, Chris. We met Chris a year ago at the TCU MBA Gala last spring. While at the gala, Colt and I were mingling and meeting new people.  I introduced myself to Chris and vice versa. Well, the music and commotion of the night were rather loud and it was difficult to hear, so when Chris was introducing himself I heard him say, "My name is Christmas!" I yelled out, "Your name is Christmas?!" I figured it was a nick name or something. That's when Chris chuckled and said, "No, no, no, my name is CHRIS METZ!" Ever since then the name stuck and to this day I call him "Christmas". Love! He's seriously the most humble, reserved, sweet and sincerest guy you'll ever meet! Yes, he's single, ladies! ;) 

We arrived at the crawfish boil at Chris's bachelor pad that he shares with a couple of fellow business school chaps. The crawfish were so tasty! We had such a fun time. I loved seeing how the crawfish get prepped and cooked. Fascinating! Luckily, the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the crawfish boil with friends! What a fun night had by all! 

Chris doing his thing!

John and Trevor! 

Mitch, Taylor, Colt and Roberto

Saturday night, I got to get dressed up for the theater! An old friend from high school, Laura, had an extra ticket to go see the musical, Wicked. I've been wanting to see Wicked for a few years now and when Laura reached out to me I didn't deny! I drove out to Frisco to meet at Laura's house. She drove us to Dallas for dinner and the show. We ate dinner at this delicious, upscale pizza place where we wined and dined. We booked it out of there and headed off to the show because we were running short on time. We valeted and ran inside. We had to beg one of the ushers to let us in because she had literally closed the theater doors a second before we walked up. We had fantastic seats and I was enthralled the whole time. The show, the music, the singing, the actors did not disappoint. At intermission we grabbed some champagne and toasted to our girls night! It was so wonderful getting to have girl time, talk and catch up about everything going on in our lives, laugh and just enjoy the moment. I treasure times like these. 

Heading in to see the show! 

Intermission

The entire cast 

Sunday, Colt and I were up bright and early for my cousin Carson's 3rd birthday party! Not going to lie, it was tough getting up and dressed for the party because of how late I got home the night before. Driving home from Frisco + I-35 and 820 shut down for construction late at night is no bueno. I'm sure glad we made it to the party though! It's always fun when you're spending time with family! 

Paw Patrol! How cute are these decorations? The goody bags...swoon! 

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week and boy were we spoiled rotten. We seriously have THE BEST PTA on the planet. They went all out and decorated our "teacher's lounge" in a Dr. Seuss theme. We had breakfast and lunch catered. We had a popcorn and hot dog bar this week. I mean we had "the works"! Needless to say, I'm pretty sure I gained 6548796 pounds from this week!!! It was well worth it though, everything was absolutely scrumptious! My kiddos and parents were so thoughtful as well. They provided with me with fresh flowers, homemade cards, my favorite snacks, gift cards/gifts and even had my students wear my favorite color. How sweet is that?! I am truly one lucky gal to be able to teach and touch 22 special little lives each and every day. Thank you to every single person who made last week so special. 

So glad I had this giant vase in my classroom closet for all the flowers brought in! 

Oh my gosh! And how nifty is this? I won a cooking class in our PTA drawing this past week as well. Believe or not, Colt and I have been talking about taking a cooking class for quite some time now. We cannot WAIT to use it! Anywhere with my guy is fun! Can't wait to schedule some cooking time. Woot! 

Yesterday, we kicked off Mother's Day weekend by going to see our nephew, Logan's, baseball game. The weather couldn't be more perfect for being outdoors. The sun was setting, the wind was breezy and hearing the crack of the baseball bat and cheers coming from the crowd made it feel like summer is definitely on it's way! Colt's brother and sister in law, his parents and some of his in-laws were at the game too. It was a grand time. After the game, our niece, Izabel, asked to ride with us in our car to dinner. She was making us laugh by telling us stories about her school, friends and even told me that having to share a bed like her parents do, seems like the most awful idea in the world! Her and I agreed it's much more fun not having to share a bed with anyone! ;) She is a hoot I tell ya! Izabel talked all about her pet caterpillar she found and even tried to get us to pull over for ice cream. I was for it, but Uncle Colt was a goody-goody and insisted we meet everyone for dinner. We tried to convince Uncle Colt that no one had to know we had stopped for a quick ice cream treat. To no avail, he drove us straight to the restaurant. Boo. 

Dinner was lovely. We had dinner with Colt's parents and his brother's family. We visited, caught up and talked the night away. We ate dinner at Mesquite Pit in Weatherford and the brisket there is to die for! 

Girls just wanna have fun! 

Izzy and Uncle Colt

Colt and his sweet mama, Annette 

This morning, Colt picked up breakfast and brought it back to our house. We had breakfast in bed, watched a movie and relaxed before celebrating a low-key Mother's Day Round 2 at my parents house.

 A little after noon, we headed to see my family. My sister called in and picked up all our food and brought it back to mom and dad's house. Lately, we pick up the food to go and eat it at the house. It's so much better than waiting in long lines, being surrounded by tons of people and what's better... we get to wear comfy clothes! We ate lunch, told stories and had a Mother's Day dessert. A few hours later, everyone kind of went their separate ways while mom and I headed off to the mall! We bought a few new things to start our week. Shopping is always so fun and one of our most favorite hobbies! ;) 

Me and the world's #1 Mom

Colt and I arrived back home this evening and we did a little back porch sitting while talking and smelling the scent of rain on it's way. 

This sweet man is ready for an early bed time! 

Afterwards, I went upstairs to remove my makeup, shower and put pajamas on. If being in my pajamas at 7:30 is wrong... I don't want to be right! 

Now we are going to hang out and share this delicious Lemon Tart from La Madeleine! 

I can't think of a more perfect way to spend the weekend than surrounded by so much family.  

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. I hope each and every one of you know how special and loved you are. You have the most difficult and rewarding job in the world. We admire you.

We love you all!