Tulips

They've all bloomed

and are just beautiful!

Weekend Recap

The Garretts spent nearly the entire weekend outdoors last weekend

and our tan lines prove it!!

We kicked off the weekend Friday night

with a delicious supper of

poppers:

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas:

And Margaritas:

Saturday morning we woke up

and headed over to the Red & Black Spring Football game

where we met up with Jake, Matt and some others.

It was a lot of fun

but I got entirely too much sun on the right side of my body;

like 2nd degree burns bad on my neck and shoulder,

ouch!

We were told at the game that our $5 ticket

would also get us in to that nights baseball game

against Oklahoma.

So after the football game was over

we all wandered over to watch some baseball.

In the top of the 9th inning

Blake and I left to go to our neighbor's bbq

they were having for their son who had back surgery on Monday.

We woke up Sunday morning

and headed to church.

We planned on hanging around the house

but the Sperry's called to see if we were interested in going to the baseball game at 1.

Of course we couldn't say no

since the weather was a beauty again!

So off we went to watch the Red Raiders.

This time we left in the top of the 8th

to go to Ruby Tequilas for some patio time.

It was a great weekend

spent with good friends,

beautiful weather

and lots of fun!!

Looking forward to many more!

The weather has been so beautiful around here lately

that we have been spending A LOT of time outside.

We have been grilling our meals

and enjoying each others company.

Watching his dad grill hoping he will drop something, anything

more interested in escaping to the neighbors yard than he is in the grilling

the Grillmaster

Our delicious meal

chicken and steak kabobs with grilled pineapple

Looking forward to many more nights outside!!

Yay for the spring.

March Madness

Good thing I'm not a betting gal

because this is my bracket:

3 of my picks made it to the Elite 8

and then lost

so I am officially

D O N E!

Until next year.....

Boot Camp - Halfway Point

So yesterday marked the beginning of

Week 4, the halfway point,

and I am still alive!!!!!

It has not been easy

but things are going well.

We weighed and measured again

and as I haven't lost any weight (no surprise)

I have lost a few inches all over

so this whole thing isn't for naut!

We were gone last Monday and Tuesday.

I was given make up sessions to do while at Big Bend.

For fun,

I thought I'd put BEG to work

just so he could get a taste of what I do 3 times a week.

He was dying and said that he would rather run, ha!!

Silly boys.

He was a trooper spending his spring break doing the workouts with me,

along with the daily homeworks,

but after spring break was over

so were his boot camp days!

3 more weeks left

and hopefully lots more inches shed!!

I'll keep you posted!

cmg

Happy Spring

Walked out the front door the other day

and was greeted by this beauty

Tulips are my absolute most favorite flower

so I was thrilled to see a flowerbed full of them.

We only have 1 that has bloomed

but there are multiple buds almost there!!

This was such a nice surprise

as we didn't plant these

and they didn't bloom last year.

Happy Spring!

St. Patrick's Day

We spent St. Patrick's Day at

The Range

with good friends

and had a great time!

The Range

is a great place that has

a driving range,

washer pits,

horseshoes,

lots of televisions

and good people.

It's very low key

and we like low key.

Last night they had a small band

and a guy set up in a trailor making brick oven pizzas,

which by the way were delicious!

Blake really wanted to wear his green polka dot tie

and I guess when you are a full time student

you don't really have a reason to wear ties

so there's no better time than St. Patrick's Day I guess!!

cmg

Spring Break 2012

This last week was Blake's spring break

so we hit the road!

We had heard that Big Bend was

something not to be missed.

We attempted to go last year

but when we called to make a reservation

for the following week,

we were told that they book a year in advance

(who knew)

so we booked last year for this year.

Our check engine light came on about 30 minutes into the drive

and then we saw this happen about 20 miles outside of Pecos!

We were headed South,

on a 2 lane highway mind you,

while these 2 were headed North.

The white truck decided to pass the green cabbed truck

which was fine until the truck being passed had a blowout!

Next thing we know there is a huge cloud of smoke,

both trucks veer off the road via our lane

and diesel gas is leaking everywhere.

Thankfully,

everyone came out okay

but boy was it scary!!

Our next stop....

for the Star Party

Sadly,

it looked like this up there

and was 8 degrees

so we didn't get to see any stars =(

We didn't stop at Fort Davis

but we did drive through it

so I took a picture to document!

We ended our night in Alpine

with a yummy supper at the original Reata.

The next morning we were up and on the road again

headed to our final destination....

We hiked our first trial

that afternoon "The Window"

and really enjoyed the hike.

It's hard to see "the window"

because of the sun

but we made it,

all 5 miles!

There were a couple of trailheads that

had these signs posted, ha!

Telling us to not purchase from these!!

A Big Bend sunset,

beautiful

800,000 acres of rocks

This is Blake standing in what is supposed

to be the Rio Grande

so so sad

how there is absolutely NO water

We had heard the Terlingua was not to be missed

and it definitely lived up to the hype!

On the way home,

we were forced to stop at the Border Patrol Booth!!

When Blake asked them if they ever catch anyone

I was expecting them to say "sometimes".

However,

all 3 of them repsonded at the same time,

"oh, all the time"

really!?!?

Havelinas keeping the guards company.

We enjoyed Big Bend

but will definitely do a bit more research before our next trip.

To make a long story short,

all that's there are rocks and camping,

fancy rocks but rocks non the less

and we don't really go crazy for rocks or camping

so we left 2 days early,

ha!

Since we were not supposed to get home until Wednesday

Lou Lou and Mikey asked if we would come to Abilene for a few days.

So we loaded back up

and headed south.

Blake worked on the fence at the farm,

Lou Lou and I ran errands,

we ate at some yummy restaurants,

and enjoyed just hanging out with family.

We got home Wednesday night

and have been enjoying eachothers company ever since.

We did some yardwork,

lots of laundry,

a little homework

(boot camp and real),

hung out with friends,

watched movies,

and just loved not having to study

or go to class!!

I loathe tomorrow

but for each day he goes to class

we are one day closer to graduating,

right?

cmg

Frackin' Rocks

Frackin' Rocks 2012 Team Photo

They lost their 1st game

but were tons better than last season

so we are hopeful,

fingers crossed!!

Boot Camp

I have come to terms with the fact that

I will NOT work out on my own.

(I grew up playing sports,

not in a gym running on treadmills and lifting weights.)

I mean,

I'll go for a walk

or on real good day run on the treadmill.

But as for a real workout,

not going to happen without someone pushing me.

So,

I signed up for boot camp at my gym.

I started going to this gym in January

and have really enjoyed.

Mainly because

there is no treadmill or elliptical in the entire building!

It's all about classes.

And they offer a ton.

My personal favorites

are shred, zumba and piloxing.

I caught wind that they were doing a

Spring Break Boot Camp

and just knew I had to sign up.

I've got a few weddings this spring

and need to get this body in presentable shape!

We are week 1 into boot camp

and it has been an extremely humbling experience,

I must say.

(i'm beginning to see why they always cry on the Biggest Loser...

this stuff is tough when you aren't in shape!)

The first night,

we weighed and got measurements,

yikes,

filled out some questionaires

and just talked the basics.

But Tuesday night,

we were all in

and it was tough!

For someone who "thought" they were in shape,

I was dead wrong.

We have homework everyday that consists

of different exercises we must compelte

on top of our weekly boot camp

which meets

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

We are also expected to keep a food log

(if you haven't ever done this it is quite an eye opening experience

and to be frank,

disgusting,

but much needed to really do well!)

and attend any Studio 57 class

(or workout on our own)

5 out of 7 days a week.

It's intense

but I think the reward will be well worth it.

We will do another measurement

and weigh in at week 3 to chart our progress

and again at week 6 when we finsih.

I've been doing excellent so far

but then again it's only the beginning.

Wish me luck!

cmg