This and that and cake

I had friends over last night for a fish fry since we came home from vacation with millions of fish.

It was good but the star of the night was this

A simple coconut cake like you would find at every church pot luck.  But.  It was good!
You'll need to try this and then try not to eat it all...

It falls apart and prevents you from putting pretty pieces on the plate.  That's what makes it so good...

Coconut Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1 package coconut pudding mix
1 can Sweetened cond. milk
1 tub Cool Whip
1/2 cup coconut toasted

Bake cake according to directions in 9x13 pan.  When it is done remove from oven and poke holes with the the end of a wooden spoon all over cake.  Mix can of sweetened cond. milk, 2 cups of milk and pudding mix till blended.  Pour over cake.  Refrigerate till cool.  Frost with tub of Cool whip. Sprinkle toasted coconut over the top.

I made a second one today since the first was gone in one night. 

Jennifer came to visit today and earned a big piece of cake by teaching Katie to parallel park!

Earlier this week Kellie made a trip to the mall with friends.  She called me to come get her and to show me what she wanted to buy.  She picked out a very nice kitten the human society had there. 

I explained that wasn't an option since my sister and Jennifer are allergic.  She pleaded, she offered to sleep outside with it, she tried everything.

She choose instead to replace the dead hamster with a new friend. 

Meet "Kitty" the guinea pig.

Kellie is in love, Ellie is jealous and  we found out Jennifer is even allergic to guinea pigs ...

Go make the cake

Ellie endorses it...

Pictures can be very, very painful

My family came to town this weekend...
There is always some drama getting everyone here...
They don't travel easily...
There is always debate over how many cars they need to bring, etc...
But they all made it.  Even the youngest niece....

I planned a family picture and that caused a bit of grumbling from the men and my sister.  My sister who usually likes family pictures was not happy that I told everyone to wear black or black and jeans.... she only heard the black and jeans part and even when we told her to wear what ever she wanted she wore black and jeans "like she was told" and even sported some nice white tennis shoes....
I also wanted all the girls to wear different colored scarves.  I had a picture in my mind, everyone liked the idea except the sister...

The guys got a little happier while we were taking pictures on the Tech campus and they visited with some guys who were still there tailgating.... I believe there might have been beer involved.

Part of the group went to the "worse Tech game ever played".... "during a dust storm" Jennifer thought... nope, just a breezy West Texas day...
The sister and I skipped out on the game...

We celebrated Mike's 49th birthday.
The brother in law assured him this is the last good birthday. 
I'm a little concerned about him being 50 next year....I can't be married to someone who is 50 cause I think I'm only about 34...

Jennifer brought Mike's favorite dog in the whole world and it made Ellie very very jealous...

She just sat and pouted

In the end everyone was getting along and forgot what they had been grumpy about... We ate a lot of good food and fit a lot of good visiting into a few hours!

How many school open houses should I have to go to?

I still am wondering where the summer went...

I am back at work and it seems that first week back is always crazy...

Three open houses, school clothes and supplies shopping, church meetings, a lot of fast food meals later....I'm ready for all of us to get back in the routine on Monday...

But today, I'm just glad it's Friday!  Katie is at her musical, Mike and I went to dinner and I'm spending some quality time with a magazine, the dog beside me and the t.v. for the first time in ages!

Here is the one creative change I've done at my school office...

The banner says 'blessed'... it didn't show up good in the picture.

As busy as we've been and as crazy as life has seemed the last few weeks, I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am...

tired... but very blessed!

This and that

My new photographer friend showed me an old abandoned hotel where she takes some pictures... a friend wanted to see it so we took Katie and her BFF along for models.

I had ordered the new lens I have been wanting...

Tracking was showing that it was on the truck for delivery...

We were meeting at 6:30.....

The lens still wasn't here....It came right after we left I heard...Darn.

But we still had fun and took a few pics

It was a pretty scary place....Katie went back to the car, the BFF was brave and let us get a few pics... this is one of the first ones where she is still debating how safe we are...

Then she loosened up....

We moved on pretty quickly... We discovered this little strip of trees, a meadow and a little creek...  Here in West Texas where there aren't many trees this is like a little oasis...I was amazed today when we went by there and there were several photographers there... Trees are really special here I guess.

I loved the light coming through the little trees... We were there at the perfect time...

I'm not quite sure what they are doing but I liked the picture...

But then it appears the BFF was turning on here and trying to stab her with a branch...

She might be going through the terrible teens but she's still a keeper...

I copied this idea from somewhere in blog land... loved the peeps in the jar.

I'm having trouble not eating the "Hawaiian punch" jelly beans.  They are really good...The edible grass on the other hand, isn't very flavorful...

Speaking of peeps... I love this little peep show... I need to do it at my house..

Ellie was in terrible need of a new spring hair cut...the only appointment I could get was at 7a.m. today.  On Saturday. 

after...

Elvis was a little jealous

I'm not sure why there was tiara wearing going on but I think she was more surprised I was standing there with a camera when she walked out than I was that she was wearing it... 

I think the attention she got at dinner last night has gone to her head...

We were waiting on a table at a restaurant and a little boy, maybe 6 or 7 kept winking at her and then told his mom "she's pretty"...mom was a little embarressed but dad, not so much... he was very proud of his son...

Never a dull moment with girls, friends and dogs... I love it all...

I think we are all allergic to Lubbock

I am ready for Spring Break!  I have big plans of doing very little except for dusting and dusting and dusting!
The blowing dirt here is killing me.
I have had a sinus infection almost constantly since Nov.  The dr. this week said maybe I've developed allergies since moving here...shot, med's, nasal sprays, etc. to help it...

Now, poor Elvis is having an allergy too.  He has had some red spots on his face and stomach off and on for a couple of months but they got really bad this week and last night he got big bumps on his sides that made his hair stick up.... 
so, off to the vet we went this morning....
to find out that Elvis has allergies, maybe a little skin infection... So Elvis got his own shot, steroids, antibiotics and an oatmeal bath shampoo....I was just glad he didn't need the nasal spays...

The vet tells me the that the oatmeal soap needs to stay on his skin for 15 minutes or so... and he says, "it would probably be easiest for you to get in the tub with him and sit in there to keep him in"...
Really?
Really?
I tried to talk both kids into doing it and had no takers...
I asked  Mike to do it and he said we could just go back and have him put down before he would get in the tub with him...
so, I put on my swimsuit, we hoisted him into the tub and the fun began.  Katie runs for a camera and takes pictures of him, all the while I'm trying to keep the soap on his body and keep me out of the pictures!

Ellie watches all the fun not realizing she is going to get a bath too while I'm already wet...

She wasn't happy when she found out...

and then the shaking began...

The after picture...
I went straight to the shower and now need to go clean the tub and mop the bathroom!
The allergies are going to be the death of me.
And reason number 417 I want to move back to Dallas...

I see your monkey

Elvis, I can see your monkey

Years ago when the girls were much smaller, we were shopping for Easter dresses...Kellie tried on  a sweet little yellow dress and Katie YELLS in the very busy dressing room "I can see your Monkey"... seems Kellie's undies had a picture of monkey right on the front... we did not purchase the very sheer dress.  But we did make everyone in dressing room laugh...

We now use that line frequently when we can see something we shouldn't...

This picture of Elvis reminded me...

She is "never going to get over it"!

Today the dogs had their yearly vet trip for shots and such. 

Katie went with me...

It is always a fun time but today... nothing will ever top this trip...

It's a given that Elvis will drool on me and he sheds like he will loose all his hair upon entering the vet... I don't quite understand this response but I know that I will come out wearing as much of his hair as he is...

Ellie shakes and cries like she is going to be killed...

So you can see how much fun this might be...

Well, today after we got into the exam room the vet picked Elvis up, which is no easy task...

And as he lifted him I guess it was way to exciting for Elvis and something liquid came flying out of him and onto Katie...

Katie, the high maintenance girly one...

And I assumed Elvis just had a little tee tee incident, but no, the vet explained that it was his "anal glands"...I don't even like typing that word...

Apparently, when dogs get excited it can happen... oops.

So, the vet, apologizing profusely, showed Katie to the rest room... where she had to "wait forever to even get in there and wash it off... and it really stinks... and I'm never going to get over this... "

And I really think she might not...

Even after a very long shower she still can't see the humor in all of this and every time we laugh about it she yells " BUT HIS BUTT HOLE JUICE CAME ON TO ME"....... she may be frazzled about this for some time...

Anyone know a good therapist?

Only one

So, the weekend has been crazy. 
Between the birthday party, dance rehersals, errends, etc. I have not been home at all.   You would think that since I haven't been home I would be using my little bit of time at home tonight wisely rather than on the computer... but, here I am.  I just can't get excited about the laundry and such I should be doing. 

Mike has been grumpy about how much he is working and how we didn't end up fishing a couple of weeks ago so today we all agreed to go fishing with him. 

He made me buy a fishing lisc.  The worst $30 I've ever spent...
Except for the $20 worth of minnows.  Minnows.  $20.00.  Really?  I thought they would be about a dollar. 

I could have had something way more fun for $50 than minnows and fishing liscense.  I'm sure of it.

He also wanted to bring the dogs. 

I didn't think it sounded like a great idea but it was his fishing trip....

 Katie worried that Ellie would fly out of the boat.  She didn't.  She did have some wind in her hair issues though.

last I heard the dogs won't be joining us on the next fishing trip

Elvis was admiring the fish

the fish that is "the biggest crappie" EVER

It was the also the only crappie of the day.  Kellie caught it the first time she put her hook in the water and it was all downhill from there...

And as I predicted, the girls wanted to swim instead of fish

Even if the water was 64 degrees

Only Kellie was brave enough to get all the way in

They were some tired fishing dogs on the ride home!

It was a fun filled weekend. 

A very Christmas evening

The girls danced at a local park in a very cute neighborhood. All the houses were decorated, two miniature horses pulled a lit up carriage, Santa was there but my girls informed me they were to big to sit on Santa's lap. I was so sad!! The dance was good, the atmosphere was so nice and winter like, I love it! We came home, warmed up and enjoyed the tree... even Elvis, he sat and stared at the tree for the longest time...he's quite the funny dog...