Happy Father's Day

 I am so lucky because I get to celebrate two amazing fathers today!  I can't imagine what life would be like without either of them, and I am so thankful for everything they have shared with me and taught me.  

I absolutely love this picture of me and my dad on my wedding day.  I was his first little girl to get married and I'm sure it wasn't easy for him to let me go...luckily I didn't go too far!  I think this picture is such a sweet reminder of how much I look up to my dad.  Tyler still jokes about wondering when the time will come that I'll go to him first for advice instead of immediately calling my dad.  My dad is such a strong, confident, determined, loving, and dedicated man, and I have learned so much from him.  He has been such an incredible model of love, and there is rarely a dull moment in life because of him.  Whether we are installing a zip-line in the living room, racing as fast as we can up the stairs without bending our knees, or seeing who can get the measuring tape closest to the ceiling, my dad has taught me how to get the most out of any situation, and I am more than happy to call myself a daddy's girl!  I love you Daddy!  Sorry I can't be there to celebrate, but we'll fix that soon!  You know I can't stay away too long anyways!

I am also so happy to be celebrating my father-in-law today!  The more Tyler and I learn about our own marriage and the roles we play in our relationship, the more we realize I am just like Zac.  I love that about our relationship, because I think there's a really unique and mutual understanding of what the other thinks and feels!  This picture was at my friend Nikki's wedding, it was during the father/daughter dance and I loved getting to share this moment with him.  Zac is such a sweet, caring, loving, and generous father to me, and he takes such good care of his only (for now) daughter!  I'm so thankful for you Zac...I love you so much and I hope you feel loved and honored today!

Happy Father's Day to all of those AMAZING men in our lives, and the AMAZING men who will be dads in our lives!

Wedding Wishes for the Mr. and Mrs.

Dear Kayla and Aaron,

In just two days the two of you will embark on a new journey in life...blah blah blah...

I love you two! This day has been a long time coming, and I know you guys are ready to be married and celebrate the really weird relationship you guys tend to have.  Here's to...well, about 10 years!

 2...MORE...DAYS!!!!........

BowTylers

So I may or may not have started a new business...and when I say business, I mean I have a new hobby! 

I have officially started making BowTylers (or just bow-ties) and I'm excited to announce that my first big order is FINISHED!  BowTylers is the official sponsor of the Mize/Carpenter wedding this weekend. 

Here's the beginnings of this intense project:

And here is a small snapshot of the finished products!

Can't wait to see them in public on Saturday...hopefully more professional pictures are to come...they will be able to showcase their beauty in action!

HESA Cohort

I can't believe I'm about to finish my first year of grad school.  The time has gone by so fast and it's only going to get faster!  Only 3 more papers and I can officially say goodbye to reading and writing for 3 whole weeks!  And shoutout to my cohort!  There's no way I could have made it through these past two semesters without them...LOVE THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE!

Cohort Love!

Meet Maddox

So Tyler and I...if you haven't heard, or figured out yet...decided that our laundry room was missing something (not to mention our lives...okay, that was a bit dramatic).  And we decided (a little earlier than we thought) that we needed to fill that void with a water/food bowl and a stuffed bear...all of those things, of course, are for our sweet new puppy, MADDOX!!!

 Let me tell you a little about her/our story...

Tyler and I had started seriously talking/thinking about getting a puppy during spring break.  And when I say "seriously talking" I mean that I started tell him I wanted a puppy...a lot!  We actually went to a pet store over the break and looked at a couple of labradoodles and a golden retriever.  But, we had both really loved the idea of having an Australian Shepherd.  Not exactly sure why, but we think they are absolutely beautiful...so after a little (or a lot) of research we decided that if we got a dog it would probably be an Aussie. 

We Tyler was still on the fence about getting a puppy, but thanks to the babysitting skills of Aaron Mize and the babysat, Wrigley, Tyler fell in love with the idea of a dog.  So we officially decided that we would get a dog whenever the first weekend of May rolled around.  I know what you're thinking...it's not the first of May.  Here's what happened!

We had decided that we would start our search for an Aussie at the beginning of May because we would be done with our classes for the semester, and would basically have the month of May off to give all of our attention to the puppy.  So that was the plan...well, 2 weeks ago, I decided (not sure why) to check Craig's List to see what kinds of puppies were out there.  I came across an add for Aussie puppies here in Waco, and decided to check it out.  After I got a picture of the sweet little girl, I asked what the price was.  It was like everything was falling into place because she ended up being much cheaper than we were expecting to pay!  I sent her picture to Tyler and we decided to meet her...with cash in hand, we met our sweet girl less than 24 hours later. 

Once we saw her that was it...we were in love!  The owner actually agreed to hold onto her for a couple of weeks until we were done with class, but encouraged us to take her and play with her as much as we wanted before then.  We decided to have her all day after we purchased her, and the rest is history!  There was no way we could give her back.  So...we wanted everyone to know that we have a new family member..Maddox!  Want to know the story behind her name?  Let me tell you about it...

 Here she is on her first car ride with Aaron!

 She is one of the sweetest dogs we have every met!

 One of her favorite spots is underneath our chair...she's so cute when she peeks her little head out from underneath the chair!

 So, we decided to name our sweet girl Maddox because that was the name of our first home.  When Tyler and I got married we became the Hall Directors of an upper classman woman's residence hall.  That residence hall was called Maddox Hall.  It wasn't only our first home as husband and wife, it was where we spent the first 3 years of our marriage, and it's where our first community as husband and wife existed.  It's also the place that first introduced me to a career in higher education.  Maddox Hall is, and will always be, near and dear to our hearts.  We are so happy to have named our sweet puppy girl Maddox.  Her name holds a lot of weight and a lot of memories with it!

 Helping Tyler with his homework!

 Come on!

I'm sure there are more pictures of sweet Maddox to come...we love our little girl (and are definitely ready for her to stop having accidents in the house!)!

Bachelorette Party in the Big D

So...another post about sissy Kayla!  Last weekend we met up in the Big D to celebrate Kayla and Aaron (mostly Kayla though) at her Bachelorette Party!  We had so much fun and it was yet another reminder about how close it is to the wedding day!  HOORAY!!!

We stayed at a really fun place called the NYLO Southside (just south of downtown).  It had an incredible view of downtown Dallas...check it out:

We had so much fun hanging out, snacking, scavenger hunting, opening presents, and Chicken Scratching!  Here's the group before we set out in Dallas for our scavenger hunt.

 

And here are the Sissies!

We did this really cool thing called Urban Adventure.  It's a scavenger hunt around Dallas that you follow on your phone and it takes you to all sorts of really neat places in Dallas (some places I had no idea existed)!  After the scavenger hunt we ate lunch at a place in Deep Ellum called Uncle Uber's...YUM-O...then it was back to the hotel for snacks and showers before dinner!

Here's the group after we all cleaned up...not that you can tell a difference ;)

 

We ate at this great restaurant called Chicken Scratch!  It was a (mostly) outdoor restaurant that serves some of the best fried chicken!  It was such a beautiful night (little chilly) but the place was so much fun...definitely taking Tyler back sometime!

 After dinner it was back to the hotel for presents, cupcakes, and games!  Such a good weekend with some wonderful girls!  Can't wait to officially celebrate in 37 days!

View from the rooftop of the NYLO...one of the best rooftop views in Dallas!

I cannot tell you how much I love these women!  My sisters, the women I strive to be like!  So glad we get to spend weekends like this together...love you both!

Kayla's Wedding Shower

Only 46 days until Kayla and Aaron get married!

I am so excited for them, and I can't believe it's almost here.  A couple of weekends ago, we went to a shower for their wedding.  It was beautiful and so fun to catch up with friends and family.  The hostesses (all 9 of them!) did an incredible job of making this one of the best showers ever. 

Peanut butter and jelly tea sandwiches, baked Cheetos, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, red velvet cupcakes, and Kayla's favorite...Magic Juice (*recipe below*)!  While Kayla isn't very big on being the center of attention, she handled the spotlight well.

  The happy couple left with so many great things, and they are almost set for married life (you definitely need a bundt pan when you're married...if anyone would like to purchase me one, I didn't get that memo four years ago).  Here are some more pictures from the shower. 

 *Please excuse my red, puffy face and watery eyes...cat = I fall apart!

 All the Mize/Carpenter women

 Carpenter Seesters

 Carpenter and Mize Seesters

Congratulations Kayla and Aaron...I can't wait to play with all your new things when you live next door to us in LESS THAN A MONTH!!!  

* Magic Juice Recipe: Also, known as Apple Ginger Lemon Juice

2 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Water
1 Quart Apple Juice
3 Cups Lemon Juice
1 (6 oz.) can Cranberry Juice
3 Tablespoons fresh chopped ginger

In a saucepan, heat 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar and chopped ginger until the sugar has dissolved to make a simple syrup. While that is cooling, place the rest of the ingredients in a pitcher.  Once the simple syrup has cooled slightly strain the ginger while you add it to the pitcher and stir. Refrigerate and serve! Makes 3 quarts.

This stuff is the perfect summer beverage, and it's nice to have an alternative to regular lemonade!

^{On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:1-8}

 

 ^{Happy Easter Season}

¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord
    through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
    you have become my salvation.

²² The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵ Lord, save us!
    Lord, grant us success!

Psalm 118:19-25

Birthday Boy!!!

March 14th was Tyler's Birthday!!! It was wonderful that it fell over our spring break so we could actually enjoy the entire day!  So here's a list of things we did to celebrate!

Birthday breakfast at Cafe Cappuccino

 Opened birthday presents...new shirt and new book!

Trip to the Cameron Park Zoo!

Home to shower the zoo off, and then dinner at a fancy restaurant (yes, Waco has 2 or 3 of those)!

For birthday dessert...coconut cream pie!

Tyler Bradley, I love you so much, and I'm so happy to have gotten to celebrate your birthday with you! Here's to 27+ more years, more pie, more presents, and more and more fun together!  Thanks for being such a trooper when it comes to my weirdness, and thanks for being weird yourself!

Spring Break

It's time to blog tell you about our spring break this year! 

I don't know how many times I have mentioned this, but we are so lucky to be much closer to our families, and we will continue to be thankful for the this time in our lives!  That being said, we spent the first weekend of our spring break in Allen.  But before we got there, we made a one night pit stop to spend some quality time with our friends Kolby and Emily (and their adorable little boy - Beckett!).  So...there weren't a lot of pictures taken (I meant to take more, but you know...it happens) however, I did manage to snap this one before we packed up and hit the road again.

Oh come on!!!

Then it was through the Big D (and I mean Dallas) and on to Allen...

We had such a good time with our families...eating good food and having good conversation!  I was so happy that I even got to see my BFs Lindsey and Nikki (we missed you Lynley)!  Nikki's daughter (EEEK all my friends are having babies!) came too and we got to all have breakfast together.  I love those girls so much, and I'm so thankful for their friendships! It's always good to catch up, even if it's for a short breakfast.  

Another thing worth mentioning about our trip to Allen...we started watching The West Wing...and that's pretty much what the rest of our spring break looked like...kidding!  But we are definitely hooked!  Just started the third season, and going strong (if only school and work didn't get in the way).  

We came back to Waco on Tuesday, and spent the rest of our time enjoying Waco.  We washed the cars...

Ok...we drove the cars through a car wash.  Worked on schoolwork, went on a run by the river, took a trip to the zoo (more on that) and enjoyed some much needed relaxation!  

Pretty simple, pretty boring, but I have to blog about something!

Oscar Party

Last Sunday we had our Second Annual Oscar Party...

 Nope...not that Oscar...

That's the one! Anyways, Tyler and I have started to make it a tradition to see as many of the Oscar nominee movies as possible. Most of the time that doesn't happen, but we do at least see all of the Best Picture nominees, and this is the third year we've seen all of them...and the second year that we've seen all of them before the Oscars (by they way...they've apparently stopped calling them the Academy Awards...whatever). Last year we had a very successful watching party that included theme foods to represent each of the Best Picture nominees, so obviously we did it again! We also each filled out our own Oscar ballot to see who could predict the most winners...SPOILER ALERT: Aaron won...he correctly predicted fourteen out of twenty-four! Not sure that was a spoiler alert.

 

The following are pictures of all of our theme foods this year:

Amour - "French" Fries

Beasts of the Southern Wild - "Hushpuppies" (name of the main character)

Zero Dark Thirty - Middle Eastern Kebabs and Naan

 Silver Linings Playbook - "Crabby Snacks" (aka crab cakes)

Les Miserables - Chocolate Eclairs 

Django Unchained - Bloody Dentist Cupcakes

Lincoln - Honest Abe's Top Hats

Argo - Shredded Paper Brownies

Life of Pi - Life of Key Lime Pies

The food was a HUGE hit, and the night is definitely one we will repeat next year! We missed all of our friends that we started this tradition with, but we were thankful to have a new group of friends to carry on the tradition! Cheers!