simple & fun :)

I've been attempting to get these up here for days, as part of my morning routine before I go to work. It's kinda difficult! I had this vision of me posting a little update once a week and being totally insufferable... but honestly, this October has been kinda hard. Lots of stinky stuff, long days, bleh feelings and MOSQUITO BITES (assholes!). But I just try to take pictures of the fun stuff, the simple pleasures. Because at the end of the day, that's all we want to remember anyway, right? Plus, the simple and fun seems harder to remember, don't you think?

Anywho, some fun stuff... and alot of it! :)

The kittens' pumpkins, thanks to Meg & Da. :) (Note: these were subsequently destroyed 4 days later because I read rubbing vaseline on the inside would help preserve the pumpkin carvings... not so! It only expedited the molding process to the extreme! But at least there's pictures. ;P)

Dresses with pockets! Perfect for a Nelson/Moore double-date night. ;P We ate at Bambu, and it was ridiculously yum. I don't know why Thai food always scared me (peanuts and coconut... together?!) but I knew I would be infinitely more bold with Tonya by my side. ;)

Monkeys!

A fun little Bosses' Day at work.

Eating out at Ino - NO FOOD WAS LEFT BEHIND. #sosogood

Meggie, wearing 90% step-mom hand-me-downs and making me giggle excessively.

This little dumpling, eating a hard-earned caramel apple reward (or just the caramel ;P) after cleaning the kittens' room, bathroom and washing all the towels (girlfriend was earning brownie points to get an online game subscription... achieved!). She asked for me to write her a list of exactly what she had to do, and was so pleasant crossing them off one by one. She didn't complain once!

Blogging outside on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. :)

A beautiful pineapple/coconut parfait a la Bia! She brought the dessert (and Bob!) for a little pasta dinner one night.

The girls LOOOVED the dessert. :D

Little Macy Jane! I love you! *heart eyes*

Getting texts, audio samples and videos of Emily's saxaphoning one afternoon. #RIPme

This wine is so stinky (seriously, it smells like feet!) but so yummy (and pretty, let's be real #whyIbuythings).

Mood after sitting in a traffic for 2.5 hours to NOT see Amy Schumer and Aziz Ansari at the Comedy Oddball Festival (which happened to be the last day of the State Fair - SUPER OBNOXIOUS). R and I gave up and bought sweets on the way home. I ate alot of cookies and cookie dough when I got home... quelle disappointment.

Curing the sugar hangover the next day. ;)

And getting back at it the day after that with Janine (prepping for our United Way luncheon!!). ;P

Lunch with mommy at Manny's! Our favorite! Fun side note: as mom was pulling up, I asked R, "Do I look cute?" (oversized button-downs and baseball hats aren't my usual choices) and before he could answer, we hear mom "OH MY GOD, YOU LOOK SO CUTE. THIS IS THE CUTEST I'VE EVER SEEN YOU EVER." as she's getting out of her car. ;P

Late-night bowling with Meggie. :D This picture does not do her justice, because her hair & make-up were SO GREAT, but we were in some "dark, strobe-lighty" bowling alley and did our best. ;)

One of my former Whole Foods co-workers, KILLING ME SLOWLY with her Facebook.

A bag-less produce bounty! (I know, I'm insufferable)

Jane the Virgin, taking over my evenings - thanks to Tonya! ;P

Other memories, not to be forgotten:

- Stopping by Nancy & Nery's for Nery Jr.'s birthday and seeing our favorites. :)

- Scallop dinners! All the time! :D

- Sweet morning commutes taking R3 to Richard's work so they can go to the eye doctor right afterwards. R3 loves his old rock-n-roll music station (Journey! Styx!) and it kills me. He is also the sweetest thing that ever happened to anyone.

- Our new favorite Indian buffet! Cheap + great + close by = YES YES YES.

- Hotline Bling? I'm so sorry, I love this. 

- Laughing hysterically with R thanks to Billy on the Street. #favorite

- R and Stephen having a boys' night eating burgers and watching super hero movies.

- Emily, officially leaving us all behind for FaceTime and computer games with her friends, all while under-appreciating how fly her natural wavy hair is. We knew the teenager-ness would turn on full-blast one day... and it's here. ;)

- The beautiful autumn air and the perfect temperatures (no matter how many mosquitos are still hanging around!)

- Meggie doing our Wal-Mart runs for us. :D

meghan's first drag show!

With Ky, Da, Darrah at S4! We went as a family for Meghan's (belated) birthday date. :)

life lately this fall...

Our family... Peanutized! :D

Oldies of my husband, thanks to Facebook and good friends. ;)

The end of an era.

And the beginning of a new one (my new office 😁).

Short hurr!

A beautiful weekend morning with Mindy & BLUE IVY WEARING THE SAME DRESS I BOUGHT SADIE. 😱

A hilarious and darling present from groom (Clif) to bride (Cameron).

Molly & Bill at the wedding.

Scott, Sandra and me and the wedding!

Sadie's hilarious desktop background. ;D

Emily: "Why is that your background?"

Sadie: "BECAUSE I WANT TO!"

R3, or "King Baby" as the kiddos called him in the "little kid swing," R and Sadie at the park one afternoon.

King Baby pretty much owned the park that day. ;P

TRISTAN!

AND SHAUNDA AND SHALEAH! (At Blue Charcoal, as per usual)

Lunchies at Lekka with my girl, Yesenia. :D

Savory work noms - homemade (!) pho and the best sushi salad.

Meg + B = girls on the hammock!

Another band concert for Emmy - she's in honors band, hollah!

Richard and Olana... the sweetest work duo ever.

And finally... this. :D

meggie's big fat 18th birthday!

Our sweet Meggie turned the big 1-8 this year! We are so incredibly proud of all the things our little stinker has accomplished this year. Getting her driver's license, helping plan our Oklahoma vacation, her first job, her second job! ;P She's grown up so much and we just couldn't be more obsessed with her. ;)

For her birthday this year (and Juju's!), we had our favorite bowling + pizza combo in Ennis with the family. It was such a blast! (Literally - we blew up stuff.)

All the boys! (Bowling alley lighting isn't really the best lighting... I do my best! ;P)

A SMILE FROM NICK. (I act like that's a big deal, but I really say, "I'm not taking the picture until you BOTH smile!" because I'm 100% mom.) 

Emily brought her drawing stuff - you know, just in case!

This picture is AMAZING because Tonya was doing an impression of Sadie in an earlier picture (that didn't make the cut... bowling alley lighting! :X) where Sadie was holding a kissy-face for as long as she needed to pose for the picture. ;P Plus, Tonya is adorable. ;D

Sisters!

After a few rounds of bowling, we went back to the hill for pizza, cake and games! Tonya made this amazing fruity cake, which was almost like a bread. It was as yummy as it was beautiful!

(We didn't have candles -- oops! -- but the cake was too purdy to put candles in anyway!)

Meghan got the best present from Stephen (of course!) - her own arrow holder and more arrows!

After dinner, the grown-ups took a little break to Skype with Auntie Marion and Donna! It's always so fun to see them. Technology is amazing! :D

Emily (forever drawing), Richard (playing with Legos, a late birthday gift from Stephen - the Grand Master Uncle, if you ask me) and Sadie (playing with a... coconut?) -- (She went to the grocery store with Dana and Brenda, who were kind enough to indulge her "I wanna coconut!" ;PPP)

With his finished product!

Then everyone moved outside for archery and... blowing up stuff! (See video below... ;P)

I don't know what exactly was going on, but there was a thing with gas (?) against a brick wall, and then the boys shot at it. I'm a girl! (For explosion, jump to the 1:55 mark. ;P)

Another smiling picture!

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

Happy birthday, Meggie!