Volleyball National Tournament

Every year our volleyball team competes in a National tournament. This year we made history! We got second place in Gold division, and that is something that our team has never achieved before. Nationals was held in Omaha, Nebraska. It was the best year ever. Our goal was to make it to the Championship game. We succeeded. Our next goal was to glorify the Lord in everything we do, we succeeded. We made His name known, in our wins and loses. The beginning of our long 15 hour trip.

Most of our team has been playing together since 6th grade. We have grown very found of each other. These girls are my best friends. We are all extremely close.

My roomies for the next 5 days! (:

"Team stretching!"

I will miss the seniors on this team. I love them all! These girls made my high school experience very memorable, and I loved every second I spent with them. This year we became Champions!

Homecoming '10

This post is a little late, but better late then never. Homecoming was in October. I always enjoy dressing up and being with my closest friends!
Volleyball girls at the Homecoming football game

Beau and I at the Pep Rally

My corsage was beautiful!

I love dressing up! I bought my dress from White House, Black Market. Its a dress that can be worn many more times (this was one of the reasons I decided to buy it). It was modest, elegant, and classy.

Let's Party

Homecoming is coming up soon! Beau (My best friend) and I have been talking about going with each other. He got the nerve to ask my dad, and then surprise me at practice. I was speechless, which is really rare for me. One of our coaches walked up with a Balloon/candy bouquet. I was quite confused, since it wasn't near anyone's birthday. I was especially confused when he handed it to me.

Then I realized, I was being asked to homecoming.

Football Player + Volleyball Player = Homecoming??? I think Yes! (:

Busy, busy, busy!

My summer has been busy, busy, busy! I can't believe it's almost over.

I got my license!!!!! I have been working on it for a while. I took the driving test and passed with flying colors, so now I am a legit driver! (:

My best friend/sister Taylor, left for college last Friday. So sad, I miss her so much! She is only 4 hours away so that is not too far, so that makes it easier. Also knowing that she is in the place where God wants her to be is very reassuring. (Please note the deer head in the background.. "you might be a redneck!")

Volleyball, volleyball, and yes, more volleyball! I got a month off in May, but since then I have been going like crazy. So far our season is great! We have a tournament almost every weekend and a game or practice almost every day. Busy? I think yes! Do I love my life? Yes!!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance for the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Col.3:23-24

My MUST haves for Summer

Summers coming! I think it's the BEST season of the whole year. Not only because schools out but also because you get to hang with friends, go on vacation and lay by the pool! I think your wardrobe should be bright, fun and fabulous! Thought I'd show you some of my "must haves!"

Everyone must have at least 1 or 2... or 6-7 sundresses! It should be comfy and it shows how girly you are!

Yellow is my favorite color for Summer. This dress is perfect for a casual day. I love it!

Bright nail polish shouts summer. I usually go with Hott Pink or a french look is also nice!

This is a MUST have for sure, a yellow hobo bag or purse is perfect for any occasion!

Last but not least, Flip flops and sandals pulls your outfit together with the slightest of ease!

Let this Summer be best it can be... make lots of memories and enjoy! :)

The Best Peach Crisp EVER!

The other night I was really craving sweet.....something like a cobbler or a pie.

I made this yummy peach crisp from what we had around the house. It turned out delish!!!!


Ingredients

1 pie crust
3 cans of peach filling
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1t. cinnamon
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2t salt
1/4t. nutmeg
1 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lay pie crust in a pan. Pour peach filling into the pan. Mix together the dry ingredients with butter, lay crumple on top of peaches. Cover with foil, bake for 15 minutes, uncover and bake for another 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and serve with ice cream! Enjoy! :)

Another Burlap Pillow

The other day I was getting a little restless on my Spring Break.. so I decided to make another burlap pillow! I think it turned out pretty cute! :)


**I'm linking up with Feature Yourself Friday@ Fingerprints on the Fridge.

Me and Volleyball

Volleyball....is what consumes most of my time, weekdays and weekends! I'm not complaining, because I LOVE VOLLEYBALL! It is my favorite sport, which says a lot, because I love sports!


One thing you may not know about me, is when I play volleyball, I have to wear a knee brace...ugh! Why, you may ask??? Eleven months ago, I was playing a friendly game of flag football with boys. One boy, who shall remain nameless, tackled me (in other words, took a cheap shot, when I wasn't looking!) My knee was knocked out of socket and my ACL snapped. I immediately knew something was wrong. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. After reconstructive surgery, I couldn't play sports for 6 loooooong months, which was really hard. You see, my freshman year of high school, I made the Varsity volleyball team, and I couldn't wait to return.

Two days after surgery, I started rehab. I went to rehab 3 times a week and hit the gym the rest of the time. At first, I cried through my entire exercises. The tears eventually stopped and I continue to get stronger. I also had a heart issue. I had a lot of anger towards the nameless boy. That was probably the hardest to get over.

After 6 months, I returned to volleyball, but now I wear a brace. I don't really mind, I'm getting use to it. It is a reminder to me, that things happen that we don't plan, or want, but you make it through, with lots of prayer and hard work. I'm so glad that I'm a work in progress.

(This is a picture of me, right when I returned to play. I was still figuring out how to bend my knee. )

Old Pictures

I went to visit my grandma the other day and she gave me two amazing pictures! One was a very large picture of my great-great grandma from when she was a little girl, and the other was a cross-stitch flower that my great-great grandma made! It has been in the family for a while! Lucky me!!! I decided to redo the frames to go with my room and make them look antique white. All I did was sand them down and lightly paint over them!
(I don't have a before pic, I deleted it on accident.)
Wasn't she a cute little girl?

This picture was her embroidery work. She was very talented!

Now it matches my room perfectly. I love it!

Flower Headband

Here is an easy way to turn a simple headband into a cute accessory to complete any outfit! All you need to do is trace and cut circles out of felt, then sew them together and then sew or glue them on the headband. It only took 5 minutes. :) This is my little sister, Tristyn! My auntie Kendra took the cutest pictures of her. If you can see on her head is the little headband I made, it completed her look!

Aww she is a cutie! :)

Snuggie for my Dog

Oh yes! I bought a snuggie for my dog! My mom has a snuggie and my dog just loves staying warm and cozy! I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond...its as cute as can be! Landry (my dog) absolutely loves it!

Playing Bridge

My Great-Gramma and I are very close with each other. One of our hobbies we share is Bridge. She started along time ago, and now I am joining in on the fun! They meet twice a week at a community center. The ages are between 70-95 (I am the youngest). Most people think bridge is only for "older people", but if the younger generation doesn't learn how to play, then it will be gone! I love how the ladies talk about their grandsons, about how wonderful they are and how I need to meet them....:) I'm so thankful my great-gramma and I have this time together.

A Good Book

This is a book I strongly recommend. I usually don't like to read, but I couldn't put it down. For all you Christians out there, this is a great book for you!

My Room

I love my room! I have two sisters and we all have very different personalities and so each one of our bedrooms look very different. My mom and I have worked really hard to create my room into a place I love and one that reflects my personality. Here are a few things we have done to make my room vintage/shabby chic style.

This may be hard to see, but it is a wire bird rack that was originally used in the garden. I hang pictures with little clothes pins (see below) and it really personalizes my room.

These are the cute little clothes pins that can be used anywhere... I think they are so cute!!

My mom and I found this vintage window frame at a store that was going out of business, it was only $25, a deal we could not pass up. I had some plates that matched my room perfectly and so I placed them on the frame.

This originally was a towel rack for a bathroom, but one of the handles broke and so I used it as a jewelry holder. Hope you enjoyed a peak at a few things!

Burlap Bulletin Board

Today, I made a burlap bulletin board. I used an old frame we had around the house and spray painted it to match my room. I stapled burlap to the backing of it. Its great to put pictures, jewelry and notes. Another thing I did, was to put jewels on straight pins and bedazzle it right up! :)

Easiest Kettle Corn EVER

Kettle Corn is a family favorite! I found a recipe a while back from the Rachael Ray magazine and it is divine!



Ingredients

1/4 cup of oil

popcorn kernels (enough to cover the bottom of pan)

1/2 cup sugar

salt

1. Pour oil and kernels in pan, cover and then heat.


2. After you hear the first pop, pour sugar in.


3. Then Shake, Shake, Shake!


4. When you hear the pops slowing down, take it off the heat and pour in a bowl.


5. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy!!

Babysitting Fun

If you are trying to count how many kids there are, there is a grand total of 14. Yes, 14 children my sister and I babysit every Monday night. Each week, we try to plan out a fun theme for the whole night. If you can't tell what they are sitting under... it's a tent! We went camping. :) We made these s'more treats for the kids (and us) to go along with the themed night. S'mores are good, but these are delicious! I first melted butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan, then spread it on graham crackers and bake in the oven on 350 until bubbly. Next, place either mini marshmallows or cut up regular marshmallows and lay them on the graham crackers and then sprinkle crunched up Hershey's chocolate bar. Put them in the oven for another 2 minutes or until golden brown. Take them out, let them cool and enjoy! :P

Oh my word, they were so good!

Key picture frame

I found an old gold frame that I sanded lightly and painted beige. Then I cut a piece of scrapbook paper and glued a key which I found at Hobby Lobby. I really love the way this project turned out, it looks antique and vintage. :)

Blackberry Cobbler

One night this week I decided to make Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler from The Pioneer Woman Cookbook. It was the first recipe I have made from that cookbook. It was very easy and simple, using just 5 ingredients.

An Eventful day!

Yesterday, I went to a surprise party for my dear friend, Emma. Her sweet mother, planned for us to ride in a limo where we would go and surprise her, from there we would go out to eat, and enjoy our afternoon in the limo. This was a total shock for Emma because she was taking the SAT. As she was leaving the school, she saw a limo door fly open and some of her closest friends jump out, screaming, waving signs and almost tackling her from all the excitement! Emma didn't have a clue, which is what made it so great!

After we calmed down, we went back to Emma's house so she could freshen up. After Emma was beautified, we went back in the limo, but first.. I had to meet our chauffeur! His name was Robert, and I liked him immediately. So after our brief greeting, we started our way to BJ's restaurant(great pizza). But as we were in the limo, I got curious... did you know that the driver can still hear you when the divider is up, well at least if you shout!

I talked to Robert throughout the entire trip to BJ's. I find other people lives very interesting. As soon as we arrived, I invited Robert to dine with us. He accepted so we had our wonderful driver join us! As I always say, "The More, the Merrier!" We finished the pizza, and the cookie with loads of ice cream came out. Our Waitress, Farah, said, " they usually don't sing, but that she would if we would sing along! " We sang happy birthday to Emma (who was bright red with embarrassment and being mortified.) Emma's mother made sure to tell me to embarrass Emma as much as possible, this I took very seriously and I succeeded!

After our lunch, we headed home. We said our farewells to Robert and thanked him for putting up with me. But I knew this was much of a great day to me as it was to him! The rest of the day was spent playing rockband, karoke and wii. The party was great success! So that is just a quick look into one day of my life! Happy Birthday Emma! You are a precious friend!

Dream Banner!

I fell in love with the idea of making a banner from another blog! So I took the idea and ran with it, making it my own using scrapbook paper instead of fabric and by using the word Dream (which is something that I LOVE to do!)