Star Wars, NEEDTOBREATHE, and Sister...Oh MY!

This past weekend was a lot of fun!

My sister came to spend the weekend with us.  Nick & I got NEEDTOBREATHE tickets for her birthday and the concert was Saturday.  So, she decided to make a weekend of it. :)

Friday night, my parents also came down and we had dinner and visited lots.  Nick smoked leg quarters and sausage, and I made the sides.  Nick's parents came over after we finished eating and brough along Cubby so my family could meet him. :)  He was super cute, and Satchel was jealous.  Ha!  Then the seven of us went to eat dessert at Diddy's in Mt. Pleasant.  My parents and Nick's parents headed to their homes and Sister went back to the house with us.  We stayed up late talking and visiting some more. :)

This was actually taken Thursday night, but you see the way Satch is acting.

Saturday, Sister and I had a Star Wars marathon.  I'm ashamed to say that up until this weekend, I've never seen Star Wars.  I know, I'm an awful person.  Whatever.  I tried once, but I made the mistake of starting with Episode I.  My sister said the new ones are awful, and the original ones are the only ones worth watching.  She said the new ones were only good for background information.  SO, with that being said, we watched Episodes IV and V on Saturday.  Then we got ready and headed to Longview.  We ate at Cheddar's then headed to the Belcher Center for an AWESOME NEEDTOBREATHE concert.  This is my third, Sister's fourth, and Nick's second NEEDTOBREATHE concert.  There were pluses and minuses for this one.  The other two concerts I've been too were at The House of Blues in Dallas.  The feel there is completely different.  However, Bear seemed to be more in his element at this one.  He spoke more freely about God and what He's done in their lives.  So, it was still a great concert, but just different from the other ones I've been too.  They did do "Girl Named Tennessee" which is probably my favorite song from The Outsiders album.  I was giddy with excitement when it started. :)

NEEDTOBREATHE!  Sister took more pictures, but hasn't posted any of them...

Sunday, we all went to church, then Sister, Nick & I had lunch with Joe & Melanie.  Then Sister and I watched Episode VI.  So completes my first experience with Star Wars.  It was good... not as good as LOTR, but still very good.  Nick had to work all day (office work).  Once Sister left, I put in LOTR: Return of the King and took a nap.  Then Nick & I ate dinner and made an early night of it.  Good weekend, and excited for this upcoming weekend.  Should be hanging out with lots of family and friends. :)

Football, Cleaning, and Columbus...Oh My!

I've been rather boring this weekend.

Nick & I went to dinner with the Mayben's before the football game Friday night.  Casey told me a story of something Kenlie asked her.  Kenlie was wanting to know who all her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. were.  After Casey went through all the family members, Kenlie asked, "Well, what is DeAnna?  I want her to be something."  I thought that was so cute!  Love that kid.  She also asked, "Is DeAnna my 'Nana?'"  Keyton calls me "Nana" because "DeAnna" won't quite work for him yet.  Casey had to tell her I'm just a friend, not an aunt or a "Nana," but I thought it was just too precious. :)  Anyways, back to the evening.  We ate dinner then went to the football game.  It got SUPER cold while we were there (okay only 65 but it was windy and we weren't dressed for cold).  We all thought the cold front wasn't supposed to come through until midnight, but we were wrong.  We ended up leaving after half time because none of us could handle the chills any longer.  We all headed over to the Fink's house to watch the kids play and just visit for a while in the warmth. :)  Kelley & David skipped the football game because the Rangers were playing. and David was NOT going to miss that.  But we were able to hang out with the Finks, Maybens, and Jernigans for about an hour before we all headed home.

Kenlie and I at the football game.

Saturday morning, Nick & I met the Mayben's and the entire Goldsmith clan (minus Aaron Daniel) at the Hot Link Joint for breakfast.  We got to visit with Kat & Cole a lot.  We played with Kenlie and Keyton, and talked with everyone we knew there.  Always nice to go there for breakfast.

After we left the Hot Link Joint, Nick & I went to look at some of the jobs he's bidding and currently working on, then we went home and tackled our out of control garage situation.  I want to have a garage sale in two weeks, but our stuff was EVERYWHERE!  So, we worked for the better part of the afternoon, now my car fits in the garage, and most of our things are well organized.  That makes me happy. :)  We went and ate dinner with Joe & Melanie at Pete's.  We split a pizza and squealer appetizer.  It was delicious!  Then we all headed home.

See!  It fits!

Sunday, we went to church, went and ate lunch at Two Senioritas, then headed home.  Nick had to work on billing and bids for his business, and I needed to take a NAP!  :)  It was glorious.  I put in The Killers but only watched about 30 minutes of it before I was out like a light.  Nick woke me up, I made dinner then cleaned house.  My sister is coming over this weekend, and I needed to work on getting clean linens on the bed and the guest bathroom usable. :)  OH, and Nick's business website is up and running!  Check out www.easttexasproscapes.com when you get a chance!

Monday was Columbus Day, and the bank was closed so I was off.  I went to a funeral for my great Uncle Carl.  I don't really remember much of Uncle Carl, but I do know his daughters and granddaughters and love them very much!  So I headed to Clarksville for the visitation and graveside service.  About 40 of the Patriot Guard were also there for the processional out to the graveside which was very neat.  Uncle Carl was in the navy during WWII.  It was a beautiful ceremony, and I know Carl Roberts, Jr., Master Electrician, will be missed.  A fun memory pertaining to Uncle Carl.  His daughters, Carlene and Sheila, threw me a graduation party at Carlene's lake house for some of my good friends when I graduated high school.  Carlene and Sheila both refer to their father a lot during conversation, and most times it's something like this, "Carl Roberts taught me how to ski when I was little."  Or, "Carl Roberts showed me how to park this boat." Or, "Carl Roberts always used to tell this story..."  One of my friends, Danielle, asked me, "DeAnna, am I supposed to know who Carl Roberts is?  Is he famous or something?"  I laughed and said, "No, that's my great uncle, their dad."  :)  They loved their father, and you could most definitely tell.

I'll be cleaning house this week, then my Sister is coming to spend the weekend with us.  We're going to the NEEDTOBREATHE concert in Longview on Saturday.  I'm super duper excited!

Football, Pups, and Parties... OH MY!

So, to start, I have a fun job and was able to design a pair of boots for the "Awareness is the First Step" event that Mount Pleasant had today.  I decorated the boots on Friday.  I should have taken before and after photos, but I didn't.  They were originally red.  I bought them at a thrift store in Mt. Pleasant, and I bought all the craft supplies at Wal-Mart.  It was a super fun project, but we didn't win.  No biggie though, it was still fun. :)

Our theme was "Kick Down Cancer!  Schedule your mammogram today!"

Friday night, we attended the football game.  We lost, but we had fun all the same.  Nick & I ate with the Mayben's before the game at Cactus (best fajitas in town).  A lady that sits behind us in the stands each week gave Keyton a glowing bouncy ball (not the best idea for a very active two-year-old boy in metal stands), but he had a blast playing with it, and we only had to go on one rescue mission beneath the bleachers. :)

Hard to get a photo of this little one. :)

Make it glow Keyton! 

Saturday, Nick & I headed to Longview to give Melanie her Mother's Day present (finally).  After many orders, cancelled orders, and reorders, we finally got Melanie's Kendall Wright jersey in.  We all decided to get together for lunch to give Melanie her gift.  She was excited and didn't know what the heck was going on. :)  She thought we were all just getting together to admire the newest addition to the Robertson clan, a very cute, chocolate, brindle Dachsund named Cubby.  I was voting for the name Bear, but Melanie felt he was too tiny to be a bear, so she decided on a bear cub, hence Cubby.  He's super sweet and cuddly, and all of 4 pounds.  Let's hope he can hold his weight in our family. :)

Melanie opening her gift.

Yay!  Go Kendall!

Let's go Titans!

Nick snuggling with Cubby.  Satchel went NUTS sniffing Nick's shirt when we got home.

Owen checking out Cubby's kennel.

Saturday evening, Nick & I headed out with Mitchell & Casey to the winery for dinner then to the celebrate Lindsey's birthday.  We had a blast, as always!  It was raining and we sat on the covered porch.  It was so nice (and even slightly chilly).

Mitchell & Casey (sorry for the darkness).

Husband and I at the winery.

The birthday girl!  She was holding a very sleepy Trey. :)

Sunday, I took a GLORIOUS nap (haven't done that in a while) while Nick worked.  Then, I made chili and cornbread, and we watched the return of Once Upon a Time.  YAY!!  I've missed that show.  Nick also hung my chandelier on the back porch which I was so excited about.  Background on this chandelier...  I had received an ABC Distributing catalog back two months ago.  I saw this wine bottle chandelier and thought it would be cool on our back porch since we have wine bottle tiki torches.  So, I ordered the chandelier.  Well, it needs 16 wine bottles to fill it up.  Now, neither of us are big wine drinkers, but we do like to go out to the winery with friends.  We were out there a few weeks ago, and I asked our waitress for any empty wine bottles they might have in the back.  I didn't know if she'd actually give them to me, but she (and our table and the surrounding tables) provided me with 16 all in one night.  I was excited and we finally got it hung last night.  It looks great and will provide ample lighting on our back porch at dark now. :)

We ate on the back porch tonight. :)

Close up.

I couldn't remember if I've posted pics of the wine bottle tiki torches...

Another tiki.