Sunday, August 30, 2009

General Jackson Pics











My 25th...

That's right, I can now officially rent a car... I'm older than alot of NFL players (too weird!!!), And I feel OLD. But that's alright, Cause I've felt 16 for the past 9 years... it's kinda nice to feel a little bit grown up.

Anyways... Here's our crazy weekend!

Friday evening we went to the Fish Fry almost as soon as Chris got home from work. It was great food, great friends, great fun. We didn't camp with the ward, cause we can't even make it a whole night in a tent in the back yard. Maybe next time. After the fish fry we went shopping for food for my party on Saturday. We got home, cranked up some tunes on the IPOD, and danced and cooked and cleaned and partied, all by ourselves. Taylor and Maddie were getting down, shaking their little behinds... it was cute.

Saturday we woke up early to get the house ready for the party, make more food, and get ready to go on the General Jackson (my b-day present from Chris!) It was SO much fun. The girls both LOVED it and so did me and Chris. Taylor had been talking about it ALL week. The food was Delicious, and were able to get the tickets 1/2 price (search online for coupons!) The entertainment was entertaining... though Chris isn't a huge fan of country... actually - he's not a fan at all! Regardless, it was fun. We went for lunch and the views along the river were gorgeous, but I'd like to try it at night too, to be able to see all the lights downtown... That one I think would be more romantic, so I think if we did it, we'd go sans kids!

When we got back from the river, we finished getting everything set up and then started the party! A ton of great friends came, and family too. Thank you so much to those of you who came, and for my cards and gifts. :) I loved them all. We had great food, great birthday cookie, and great fun playing Rock Band and chattin. I think we finally went to bed a little after midnight last night.

Then this morning, we woke up early, had breakfast, got ready and went up to church at my parents ward with some friends of ours. It was fun to see people I've missed so much. By the way devrie, your daughter is gorgeous... and we need to hang out... call me! Anywho - then back home we came, chris finished preparing for his talk and then we headed out to our ward. Chris gave a great talk about how pretty I am :) J/K. It was on revelation. And he did wonderful... It's a bit weird to see him being serious though... he's usually crackin all sorts of jokes. :) it was refreshing too though. He's got such a great testimony and understanding of the gospel... anyways. After some interviews and such, we came home, I took a nap, and then we had dinner with our family.

I feel like this is the first time (besides my nap) that I can relax since thursday night. And I'm ready to go to bed like 30 minutes ago! Anyways... It was a great birthday and one I'll remember forever!

Oh, and by the way... I just want to let everyone know that I will be turning 25 for the next 20 years... Every Aug 29th! Just thought I'd give y'all the heads up before you ask! ::wink,wink::

Friday, August 28, 2009

My Girls, My Girls, My Girls

These two little girls are the most gorgeous little girls I've ever seen in my life!!!
Just wanted to post some pictures. I haven't in a while. :)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Miracles Happen...

I'm just going to go on and warn everyone that this post may feel a bit like testimony meeting... atleast I'm not up in front of everyone crying with mascara all down my face, feeling like a goof ball. I'm going to start with Monday...

Monday was my Orientation for my job. That's right... For some reason lots of people still don't know, but I have a Job now working at the YMCA in the childcare department. The girls can go with me for free, we get a free membership... overall, I'm way super excited and I consider it a miracle in and of itself that I was able to get it. Anyways, on my way there I was turning left at a traffic light onto a VERY busy street (5 lanes!) My light turned green (arrow and all!) but I couldn't make myself go. I sat there for a few seconds, long enough to think, it's weird that I'm telling my leg to press on the gas, and I'm not doing it! I was getting ready to hear people honking behind me, when 2 cars came FLYING by in front me, one going in each direction! I swear they were doing about 50 or 60 mph. Everyone else at the red light had stopped, so I"m sure it wasn't the lights fault. Not to get all churchy or anything, but I KNOW that it was divine intervention that kept me from pulling into that intersection, where I'm sure I would have been hit by atleast one, if not both of those cars. Someone in Heaven was definately looking out for me on Monday and I'm so greatful for that!

Yesterday, Chris had the day off from work, cause they've been real slow. We had a Great day at the zoo with the girls. It's only the 2nd time we've gone as a family, and it was so much fun. Maddie's really starting to enjoy the animals, and Taylor loves them all. Just being able to do something like that in the middle of the week is a little miracle to me, and I'm thankful chris didn't mind spending his time off pushing a stroller around for 2 hours in the hot sun!

And Today! A few weeks ago, we had a bit of a disappointment when we learned that Chris wouldn't be able to get his financial aid for school in time for him to go this semester. We would have had to pay up front and then "HOPE" that at some point in the semester, we'd be reimbursed. Now, I understand that we should have had a back up plan, like savings, but at this time, we don't! We panicked trying to get it worked out, and couldn't find a way. I wondered why Heavenly Father would inspire chris as to what our future should be, only to not let it work out for us. We talked and prayed and I just figured we'd be able to get it all done some other way, after all, he could still go next spring and hopefully have all his classes done by spring 11, to start at Pharm school that fall. Well... Chris got on his laptop today when he got home (at 11, still no work for them to do, so he came home early!) His financial aid had gone through. Too bad, he thought, cause he had already been purged from his classes and it was probably too late to sign up for them, they'd all be filled even if he was able to sign up. Atleast, he knew he could get the financial aid in time for spring. After looking around on the school website, he realized he was still enrolled in all his classes, and they were all paid for! Heck, he is even getting some money back, which he can use to buy his books!!! So chris is starting school on Monday! It's a bit of an adjustment going back to thinking he'll be in school this semester, but we're so excited we can hardly contain it! This is seriously one of the biggest miracles that has happened to us (is that silly?) And I'm so greatful to have this work out. Heavenly Father meant for Chris to be in school this semester and he made it possible for him to go.

I'm so greatful for a wonderful husband so motivated, dedicated, and hard working. I'm greatful to him for being a great provider and supporter. I'm greatful for him being such a great father. I'm greatful to him for being righteous and willing to listen to the spirit when it tells him what he needs to do. I'm greatful to my Heavenly Father for watching out for us, for answering our prayers, and helping us find a way to achieve our goals and desires. When we had done all we could, and it wasn't going to work, he found a way to make it happen. I know that the gospel is true, and I'm so greatful to have it in my life.

Okay, there, That's my testimony, well part of it. I hope it isn't too mushy. :) You all probably think I'm nuts getting so spiritual and emotional over Chris going to school... but I don't care. :) I'm so excited for the rest of this year and the next step in our lives. I just thought I'd remind you all, that Miracles can and do still happen all the time!

Monday, August 24, 2009

You know you've been facebooking too much...

when your blog post is only a sentence long.

But I'm excited to be going to my first night of work in just a few minutes. Excited to be earning some moola. Excited to be going out alone for alittle bit. Excited. It's just orientation, paperwork, tour, talking. The easy part. Wish me luck!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

I lost 5 lbs....

Instantly yesterday when I cut my hair off.

I know the pic doesn't show it all off, but it's enough... oh yeah, I dyed it too. But yeah, back to the pic, I took it myself in mirror, so it was kinda hard. Anyways. I like it. It freaked me out just a bit when I woke up this morning, cause I had forgotten I'd done it. But that's okay. I'm excited to fix it today and look nice at church. It's like playing dress up when you're a little girl. Fun!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Cheeseburger Pie


Tuesday nights are my night to cook dinner here at the Neely's. I enjoy cooking for the most part, but it's hard when you've got little ones that want to help, and are tugging on your legs and such. Not to mention that I usually have NO idea what to cook. But I like trying new things. So I've been looking for some good (and cheap) recipes. I've found a good one. Pat said I should call it Krystal's Cheeseburger pie, cause it tastes alot like one! Anyways... Here is the recipe I found...
Cheeseburger Pie
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Makes: 6 servings
Cost Per Serving: $1.10
Ingredients
1 can crescent rolls
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion OR 1 teaspoon onion powder
1/3 cup chopped dill pickle slices
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons dill pickle juice
2 Tablespoons milk
2 cups shredded American cheese, divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.
Unroll crescent rolls and press into the bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch pie pan.
Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned. Drain well.
Stir in onion, chopped pickle, ketchup and mustard.
Sprinkle with flour and add pickle juice and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat and add 1 cup of shredded cheese.
Pour into the prepared crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown.
Remove from oven and top with remaining cup of cheese. Let stand until cheese melts.
Garnish with extra ketchup, mustard and pickle slices.

***I should tell everyone that I use recipes as guidelines (hence why I don't care for baking - that has to be exact usually!) and simply add or subtract whatever I feel like from the recipe. I think I get that from my mama who can take all sorts of random things that are left over from the last grocery trip and make them work for dinner! She's the best at that. It comes from having 7 kids I think. Anyways... Here's what I did different with this recipe. I think it gave it more of that Krystal's flavor.

I added about 3/4 to a whole cup of chopped onions... not finely chopped... just chopped. We like onion here though!
I didn't add as much pickles as it said too, cause we didn't have them.
I added 3 tablespoons of pickle juice instead of two since I didn't have as many actual pickles.
I think I added about 1 1/2 cups of cheese to the mixture right after I took it off the heat.
After I poured the mixture into the crust, I sliced a tomatoe and put that on top of it. Didn't help with that Krystals flavor, but I liked it. I also didn't add any more cheese after it was done. I figured it had PLENTY in the dish already... and we were having cheesy potatoes with it, so I figured we'd had enough cheese.

It is very cheap and easy to do. And it's pretty good and filling! Let me know if you try it.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Blah blog...

So I've been feeling blah, hence a lack of posts lately (especially ones with pictures...)

But lots has been going on... so here's an update

  • Chris won't be going to school this semester. We've decided to wait til the spring.
  • I've got a job! Working at the YMCA in Donelson/Hermitage. It's in the daycare, and the girls can go with me. It's not great pay, but the benefits make up for it!
  • Taylor is completely potty trained... or was, until she got an UTI - atleast I think that's what it is... we'll find out tonight when she goes to the doc.
  • Maddie is pretty much done nursing. She's on whole milk. She also turned 11 months on Sunday, has taken up to 4 steps on her own, and is all around her usual happy self.
  • Chris's truck needs a bit of work on the transmission, so I"m stuck at home while he's at work with my car... BOO!!! Why is it that when I'm here with a car and the ability to go out, I don't want to, and when my car is taken away, I want to go out!
  • My little bro KYLE turns 17 today! Skiddamer - winkie - dinkie dink, I LOVE YOU!
  • We're looking at apartments. I think we've found the one we want and chris's reasoning behind not leaving the ward is crazy! SERIOUSLY, but we'll probably be staying, if it all works out.
  • My awesome birthday party is coming up! YOU BETTER COME... i don't care who you are, but come! Let me know if you want details!

So that's about it! Again, sorry no pics. I promise I'll post something fun soon.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Date Night

Me and Chris had a date night (the first real one since may I think... maybe june... regardless, it'd been too long!) We went to the $1.50 theatre at Hickory Hollow mall... It was stinky. The theater was literally one of the smelliest places I've ever been! That includes EVERY public bathroom I've ever been in. It was making me sick to my stomach. But you don't notice it after like 20 minutes. And, it was only 1.50!!! I really didn't expect much better.

We saw Star Trek. Many, many cute guys in that movie. Atleast one pretty lady for chris to look at (she was sitting beside him the whole time:) ) The bad guy looks just like an old friend of mine if you shaved his head and tattooed his face. We both walked out of there LOVING it. It was SO good. One of my favorite parts was when the Title came on at the beginning. Chris said "If I was a nerd, I'd totally have goosebumps right now." No offense to anyone who actually got goosebumps. I'm a bit of a nerd too, cause I've seen the older movies and watched the show a few times with my dad, he loves sci-fi stuff. So I had some idea of who people were... Chris knew Spock, Kirk, and Scottie.

My only dilema is I don't know who I think is cuter... spock or kirk. I love Sylar on Heros, but kirk is a pretty good lookin guy too. NO where near CHRIS by anymeans... but cute. Anyways - we will definately be buying that one when it comes out on DVD. And I kinda hope they make more.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Taylor's First Knock Knock Joke!!!

This is a big deal for me, cause I had a GREAT knock knock joke when I was her age... anyways... here it is... Taylor's first knock knock joke!

Knock, Knock
(Who's there?)
Taylor
(Taylor who?)
TAYLOR BRYNN NEELY!

She's hilarious!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Taylor's Version is...

"The Itsy Bitsy Spider
What's it all about?
Down came the rain
And watched the spider out.
Dried up the sun and
Dried up all the rain,
and the Itsy Bitsy Spider
What's it all about?"

Too cute.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

What's New

Taylor is pretty much potty trained. She hasn't gone in a diaper in over 24 hours... :) We're still putting them on her at bed time instead of training pants, cause they're cheaper and we have them for maddie anyways... but she isn't using them anymore. She "makes brown" and "makes peepee" just fine in either her potty or the toilet. She'll even go by herself if she can get to her little potty. Otherwise, I help her get on the toilet. I'm so excited. This was SUPER easy compared to the horror stories I've heard from others. I feel very lucky.

My next goal for the girls is to quit nursing maddie. She'll take a bottle or sippy cup just fine from chris, but she refuses to take one from me. She screamed for 30 minutes straight today til she finally caved in and drank from the bottle. I'm hoping she won't fight me to hard tonight before bed... but my chest is sore... so I may take some tylenol or something for the pain.

Maddie isn't quite walking yet, but she's taken a couple steps on her own... I think pretty much any day now she'll just take off running after taylor. She'll be 11 months old on Sunday... and she's as cute as can be.

I'm excited for my girls to be learning and growing. It's fun to watch them change so much in such a short time. More to come later!

Monday, August 3, 2009

new shop item, growth chart


Check it out here... http://theyarnyanker.blogspot.com or click on the photo
I think it turned out really cute. I'm going to make a boy one next for Isaac and Cole. I think it'll be a sports theme, but who knows... maybe like a football field for the background, and differnt balls on it. LIke i said, who knows, but i have some other ideas too, like a ice cream cone, butterflies, trains and cars and planes...

any other suggestions?