Past Weekend

Well . . . . still really bummed about our house. I start to cry everytime I think about it, so I am not going to say much except another realtor is coming over tonight to look at our house and tell us the speal . . . after tonight we will discuss what we are going to do . . . .

Anyways life goes on (thank goodness). . . . . Shane's mom (Rita) and step-diddy (Don) and their pup (Majr) came to visit us this past weekend! It was a nice, fun weekend!

We went to the ChiliRib Fest in Fredericksburg! They had lots of vendors and a flea market. . some live music. They had a chili taste contest, but we got there too late. It was all gone! We did get to try some chili. . and we should've known why there was still some left . . . it wasn't bad. . . but it was sooooooooooooooooooo hot!! I took one little taste and my mouth was burnin up!

We went to this place called Ten Thousand Villages . . a fair trade place .. . we didn't really find anything. I had fun playing with everything though. And they had some free dessert & iced coffee that was yummy!!

We saw a beautiful rainbow on our way home!!

I usually try to make cupcakes or some kind of dessert when anyone comes to visit, and unfortunately, I didn't have enough time, so I bought this yummy cake for us to eat. I did feel terrrible though. . even Sommer (my sister-in-law) called and asked Rita what kind of cupcakes I made . . . Next time!! I promise!

Don is a big history buff, and loves Fredericksburg because of that reason, so we had to go on some history walks for him! It was such a beautiful day! Here are some pictures from our adventures:

Shane wandering around the field . . .

Don, Rita, Majr, and Shane watching the trains go by

Pretty fields!

Me shooting a canon! Watch out!

Rita, Majr, & Shane at one of our stops (sorry I don't remember any of the history stuff . . ooh except we saw the trenches that the confederate army laid in . . . so crazy).

Nice little path with canopy trees!

Ewe! A snake we found! Thank goodness it wasn't alive.

Shane on the tracks

Also, I have been wanting to paint the outside of our house for some time, but kinda put it on the back burner . . . well Don also thought it would be a good idea, especially if we are going to sell our house, so we made a little pitstop to Lowe's and picked up some outdoor satin paint! Poor Shaney was NOT happy. (He hates painting). You can't really tell in these pictures, but it looks A LOT better! It only took us 3 1/2 hours too!! I do have a couple spots I need to touch up, and we need to figure out how we are going to get the sides where it's very high, but other than that it looks great and we couldn't thank Don & Rita enough for all the help!!

This is my last week of work here! Yikes! I am sad, but also excited to be able to relax for two weeks.

Looking forward to this weekend! Dan & Marissa (brother and sissy-in-law) are coming to visit I think!! Gonna watch the Penn State game, hang out, maybe go for a walk or two, maybe I'll make them some brownies! .

But until then . . . trying to get everything wrapped up at work and figure out our housing situation!

My Historic Weekend!

*thanks to kt for my awesome header! she is a graphic designer at giant ideas and one of my best friends!

and thanks to my wonderful hubby for all the html coding!

please try to put up with my blog design construction as i am in need of a change. . . . to make it more "me".


This Weekend . . . . .

shane's mom & don (& majr, their dog) visited us! it was so great to see them all!

i made these awesome cookie dough cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting for them!! i got the recipe from my friend mase who got it from 52 cupcakes. yum! there are only 3 cupcakes left out of like 30! definitely recommend these cupcakes . . they might even be the best i've ever had. . . i mean . . cookie dough, cupcakes, and frosting in one!!?! you can't beat that.












it was all going well and the recipe even said "they may sink a little" . . .
















but what the heck?! i think this was a LOT more than a little . . . . .
















so anyways . . . i couldn't put THAT much frosting on one cupcake to cover the sinkhole . . . so i made "Sommer Cupcakes" and put a mini (baby) cupcake inside the regualr cupcake! i also added a little frosting before i put the mini cupcake in. they were definitely loaded but delicious!













ok stay with me . . . i know this is a longer post than normal but i have a lot to tell!

so the fam got here friday night and we just relaxed. saturday was a history excursion that started around 10am and ended around 3pm. don didn't even let us get lunch! but it was fun! we went on the fredericksburg trolley tour and saw this awesome tattoo parlor with the best name ever . . .
















we saw many historical things on the tour and heard a lot of history, but the only thing i can remember is that back in the day they only bathed in the summertime because they were scared that if they did in the winter they would catch pnemonia and die. and . . . . ick . . . this is the worst part . . . they only changed the bath water every 3 people. so if you were the first person you were ok, but the 2nd and the 3rd person had to bathe in the peoples filth! gross!! the tour guide said that's how southern hospitality got its name . . . . if someone was in line to go 2nd or 3rd they would say "oh by all means . . you can go ahead of me." ha!

ok so the rest of the day we went to other historic sites including the chatham manor, where most of these pics were taken:







this was taken on our trolley tour! it was called rocky lane! don't ask me what the history behind it is though . . .







at Chatham Manor . . . Rita & Shane resting while Don read every plaque in there. . .



















still at Chatham Manor with the beautiful arches and trim work . . .


















Don loving his history and loving his wife . . . . .












the beautiful outside gazebo and the weirdest trees i have ever seen in my life . . .


















dan & marissa (brother & sissy) stopped by on sunday on their way through from a friends house . . . we had some steaks, potatoes, and corn on the cob for lunch! although the corn we got had bugs in it and wasn't that good (got it from the farmer's market at hurkamp park in downtown fredericksburg). . . but the steak & potatoes were yummy!! we all bumped, set, and spiked the volleyball (soooo miss this!! but starting in a league this sunday!) around for a while and then threw the football around. we were all drenched in sweat by the end because it was 100 degrees here, but it was fun and well worth it!







dan & marissa (2 month newlyweds!)! i love my brothers and sisters!







dan and marissa left around 3 then rita and don and shane and majr and i took a nice relaxing road trip to lake anna. they charge you $5 just to park which is ridiculous . . . so we just "rode through" and they said we didn't have to pay. you also have to pay to go on the "beach" which is crazy! but overall it is a VERY beautiful lake. shane and i went camping there with some of our friends a while back and rode on their boat on lake anna and it was so peaceful, so gorgeous, and so fun.






here is a pic of majr wishing he was on the beach with all those other people . . .












overall it was a GREAT weekend! we love when our friends and family visit us and always hate to see them go!