Texas Rangers

2 weekends ago… back on September 12th, my Grandma was honored at the Ranger Game for having season seats since 1972. They gave her a certificate for being a “Quarter Century Fan” even though it’s closer to 40 years! She was so excited! We both were really excited!

When we got there, they immediately put her into a wheel chair and we were on our way to the field.

 

Gma waiting to go on the field:

me and Gma:

it’s about that time:

here we go:

she’s so cute:

The Yankee’s were warming up:

Mr. Chuck Greenberg:

shaking hands with Greenberg:

Telling him her life story, it’s just what she does:

almost there:

standing on the field:

We were in the Yankee’s way…

Ranger’s warming up on the other side of the field:

more Yankees:

Grandma with the Captain:

 

Ok, say what you want about him, but he is really pretty & has nice form. Derek Jeter. And to quote Gma, “Better Jeter than A-fraud.”:

Everyone else being honored:

Gma and me on the field!!!!!

inside the Yankees dugout:

our seats (well, the one on the left is our seat, the other one is behind the man in kakis, he was in the way).

Gma getting the special treatment she deserves:

It was really hot that day, and Gma walking all the way down to the front row was just not in the cards for us that day, so we sat in the Gold Club to watch the game. We sat at the table they have reserved for the handicapped. Gma says they reserve it just for her. Great view of the game and air conditioned:

Cliff Lee was pitching!!!!!

:)

Threw over 100 pitches and the Rangers beat the Yankees!!!!

Gma and I had a great time! Made memories I will never forget!

Then, yesterday, the Rangers won their division and are now headed to the playoffs. It’s been a long time coming and I hope I get to take Gma to a playoff game. She is so much fun!

Thanks for taking me Grandma! I love you!!!

Boykin’s visit

Jack Hunting Tigers...

Jordan, Brad and Jack are in town this week for the birth of their new nephew! Brad’s sister had a little boy last Thursday! So excited for them and also SO excited that they are staying with us. We always have such a fun time. Kev’s team was off this week, so it was a great time for them to be here.

Jack has grown so much since we last saw him in July. IT’S CRAZY! He amazes me. His imagination. He can spend hours pretending to: hunt tigers (notice the video above), bring you grapes, be a cat, or be a dragon. And when this kid plays pretend… he totally commits.

Jack in his “Jungle Hat”:

 

I first held this hand when he was 4 weeks old. And it melts my heart when he takes my hand to lead me on an “adventure” . :)

Jordan asked him what a dragon sounds like:

My house was also a bakery on Friday night. Kevin’s friend and fellow coach’s daughter’s 6th birthday party was today and their family love my cakes. His wife asked me to provide the cake for the party and I happily agreed. I was going to give it to her as a gift, but she wouldn’t have it. So, I was a paid baker!! :) And I am really grateful because I also had a volleyball tournament today so all the work was worth it knowing I was being paid for my time.

It was a Hawaii themed party and she wanted a cake for the adults and cupcakes for the kids. I was so nervous. Thank God my seasoned baker best friend was here with me. Jordan kept me sane when the cake wraps kept falling off. She also smoothed the icing for me when I was about to throw in the towel.

Also, It would have been SO much easier if I had double ovens… I could have made a double batch of the batter and baked everything at once. But instead I had to make a single batch, bake the cupcakes, then rinse out all the bowls and tools and start all over for the cake. Maybe I can continue this venture and make enough to buy another oven. But I am really proud of the end result. Super moist, very yummy and so cute! (I was told the Grandfather of the birthday girl ate 3 pieces!!!) :)

chocolate devil’s food cake with cream cheese frosting:

(I think this cake looked really cool cut open with the light blue frosting and the dark chocolate cake!) :)

white chocolate molded seashells around the sides:

The cupcakes were sooo much easier!

White chocolate molded seashells. So glad  that Jordan brought her molds with her!

THANK YOU JORDAN FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!!!

HP7! This one too!!!

:):):):):):):) :P :):):):):):):):):)!!!!! HAPPINESS!

HP7!!!

Seriously! HP7-part 1 is so close I can taste it!!! Can't wait to see it! CAN.NOT.WAIT! Giddy with excitement over here!!

DIY-Cabinet knobs & pulls!

I was at Lowes (don’t do it, BTW!) with my Mom and Grandmother and we were looking at knobs for a dresser my Gma just purchased. The dresser is gorgeous but the knobs are really modern and she wanted something more her style.

While we were there, I started looking at the knobs and I thought I could outfit my kitchen for about $40. I texted Kev this and he told me to go for it! Then I started doing the math and realized I under quoted… so after a little kidding around, Kev gave me a budget of $75! Totally doable! That means I could spend $2.50 a piece. That seemed pretty expensive to me! So I started looking more closely & I fell in love with the ones pictured below. I have black appliances, black counter tops & rod iron in my house. And I thought these would really look great in my kitchen:

       Too bad they were too expensive.

$2.98 each          &          $3.47 each

So, I bought 1 of each and I bought 1 (pictured below) that was in the budget. Decided to get them both home and see if I could make a case for spending more money….

 

I also needed to a tool to complete this, regardless of which knob we went with. It’s template for measuring where the knob should be. It makes this process a breeze & when I FINALLY found someone to help me at Lowes, the lady had NO CLUE what I was talking about! So frustrating. She ended up selling me a ruler with a level on it with the advice that I could, “ya know, measure things with it".” Great. Thanks. (They also messed up my return. If you can, go to Home Depot!)

So, in the end, we decided to do the black pulls (thanks to my facebook friends that helped me choose). Kevin wasn’t completely sold at first but I was so excited about them that he agreed.

I went to Ace Hardware to purchase the template. They had it and the guy knew exactly what I was talking about! It even came with a drill bit. AWESOME. Made the job really easy!

 

So below is a picture of my first two knobs installed! They took me about 45 minutes. I was so nervous! I didn’t want to mess it up. It was really difficult at first, but once Kev got home and showed me that I was using the drill in reverse instead of forward, it got a lot easier. hee. I feel really stupid. It took so much effort to get that first hole drilled. LOL Thank GOD for Kevin! I went around and marked all the cabinets and he finished the drilling and installed the knobs.

It doesn’t get more level than that:

Jessi came over and helped me do the drawers! THANKS JESS:

I’ve got a drill and I (now) know how to use it:

seriously! PERFECTION:

Everytime it was level, I did a happy dance. Jessi tried to take a picture of it and said I wasn’t happy enough. So I cheesed it up a bit.

The Level Dance & The Wow It’s Done Dance:

Before:

After:

       Before:                                            drawers to go:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

    

After:

        

I am SUCH a happy girl!

Next project (in the kitchen anyway): stain the cabinets! :)