St. John here we come!

We are leaving today for St. John, and promise to take tons of pictures to share with you all! I had hoped to be really prepared and have posts continuing while we are gone... but lets be serious I am not THAT organized.

So, I thought this would be a perfect time for you guys to ask questions to Kyle and I! They can be absolutely random or just about something you've seen us post on. Sara and Tara have both done this on their blogs, and the questions that people have asked were always so interesting so I wanted to give it a go!

So how do you comment and let us know your questions? It is so easy!

1) Click on the link "comments" at the bottom of this post.
2) In the "Leave a Comment" box, write any questions you have for us.
3) You can then choose a blogger ID (if you have a blog), anonymous, or a name.
4) Then click "Publish Comment".

Alright so here goes nothing.... ask away! Promise to get back with the answers next week!!

Matt's 30th birthday weekend at Lake Lure!

This past weekend we headed up to Lake Lure, NC to celebrate Matt's 30th birthday. Lauren (my best friend since 1st grade!) and her husband Matt live in Shelby, NC so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. We were so excited to meet at Matt's parents lake house and spend the entire weekend together.
Lauren had the house completely decorated, with streamers and signs everywhere. Lake Lure is only about 3.5 hours away from our house so it was awesome to get there on Friday night and still have time to catch up and laugh a lot before heading to bed.
On Saturday we woke up at 6 am so the guys could go skiing while the water was calm. Lauren and I were like zombies that early, but we did get some great pictures of the guys doing their thing.
Lake Lure is absolutely beautiful. Filled with character and nestled in the mountains, we just loved it.
After skiing we came back to make breakfast... creme brulee french toast. AMAZING. I will post the recipe soon!
We then headed to CHIMNEY ROCK to go hiking! It is a huge tourist trap, but the views are amazing and we had fun climbing the 5 billion stairs to the top.
Well let me correct myself.... Matt, Kyle and I had fun... Lauren on the other hand doesn't love hiking but she did it for us :) hahah
We headed back to the lake to float all day in their cove. It was so relaxing. We also took a boat ride later on too.
Lauren had made reservations at 7:30 to their favorite restaurant up there called Water Oak. It was just as delicious as they said. We had calamari, crab cakes, grilled ceaser salads, filet mignon and shrimp and grits. Man it was so good!
Sunday morning we woke up and celebrated Matt's birthday! Kyle made breakfast and then we opened presents. Lauren and I even sang our special birthday song which had the guys laughing so hard. The dogs enjoyed wearing the birthday hats too :)
We floated out on the lake some more before heading back to Atlanta. Lauren and Matt thank you SO MUCH for such an amazing, relaxing weekend. We enjoyed hanging out more then you know and can't wait to do it again soon! Love you guys!

My dad!

My sister, Tara, wrote a wonderful blog post this morning, updating everyone with the latest on dad. We got some wonderful news last week, as he has been officially accepted as a candidate for a bone marrow transplant! I know so many of you have been asking for an update, so CLICK HERE to read her blog.

Thanks so much Tara for writing this, and thank you all in advance for your prayers and support over these next couple months!

It'll be here before we know it!

Kyle and I have not had one second to think about our vacation, but oh my gosh it's coming so soon. It will truly be Wednesday before we know it!!

This weekend we are driving here:
To spend lots of quality time on the lake with these people:
Monday night we are going to one of these:
With these family members from FL:
Tuesday night I am going to the midnight showing of this:
And yes Lacey and I will probably be wearing these:
And Wednesday Kyle and I fly out to spend an entire week here:
CAN'T WAIT!!!

Top 3 Thursday: Purchases!

This Top 3 Thursday is on our favorite purchases!
(Yes I am a day late doing this ahh!)

1) BIG DOG DRINKWELL. We discovered this amazing water machine about 4 years ago. It holds 2 gallons of water, and works so well for us. We probably refill it every other day compared to every 10 minutes like it would be.

2) DYSON ANIMAL VACUUM. We ended up buying this after we got married and we both just love it. It's amazing how much hair/dirt is laying around our house. I feel so much better that this vacuum is MADE for animal hair and picks up so much more then other vacuums.

And the last one is a tie between two products that we were given as gifts, but we LOVE them!

3-A) FURMINATOR. This was given to us by Cory & Mada for Tyson and it's unbelievable.

We 'furminated' all 3 animals last week... Can you tell which pile is which animal? eugh disgusting...

3- B) EAGLES NEST OUTFITTERS HAMMOCK. This was given to Kyle from Molly & Marshal and he never goes anywhere without it. We love taking it on all of our trips, and luckily Kyle shares it with me :) They also make double hammocks!

(I decided to center ours around the animals to help narrow them down haha)
What would your Top 3 Purchases be??

Father's Day 2010

We had wonderful Fathers Day celebrations with our dads! We started with Kyle's family on Saturday night with steak and potatoes. Unfortunately I didn't even get one picture to document it! Either way we had a lot of fun, and he got some gifts that were PERFECT for him. I think the best one was a do-it-yourself screen printing machine. He has been coming up with t-shirt sayings for years now, and cannot wait to print them all.

Sunday morning we headed over to my family's house. Since dad can't go to church right now (sitting is still not an option), we all decided to stay home and spend time with him. Mom had prepared every food that dad had wanted... it was delicious! (Ribs, Potatoes, Corn, Watermelon, and 2 pies!)

We took lots of family photos to document the special day for Dad!

After lunch we headed back to Mom and Dad's room so Dad could open all of his presents in bed. The Nats have no problem getting right up there with him.
We really enjoyed spending time with both of our families, but it always goes by too fast. We are so blessed to have such wonderful dads who we admire, respect and love more than life. Happy Fathers Day!!

Santa Fe Chicken Wraps with Fresh Pico de Gallo and Guacamole!

My friend, Jen, literally just posted this recipe on her blog, but I cannot help it I HAVE GOT to re-post it! Kyle and I made this Santa Fe Chicken last night, and I am debating eating it for breakfast tomorrow... seriously it is that good. It is without a doubt the perfect combination of flavors and SO easy. So without further ado...

Santa Fe Chicken Wraps
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. chicken breasts (I used 3)
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz. frozen corn (or the kernels from 3 ears)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped (whites and a little bit of the green)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
tortillas to wrap it all in or this amazing rice

Directions:
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, Rotel, cilantro, scallion, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and salt and pepper in the crock pot. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and nestle down in the juices. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6 hours. 30 minutes before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust seasoning if needed. You can serve this over rice and top with desired toppings, or wrapped in a tortilla.

You know it wouldn't be in our house without a little cheese and pico de gallo on top!
Which brings me to the next 2 recipes! Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo and Guacamole! Man they were SO good!!

For the Pico De Gallo:
• 5 whole Plum (roma) tomatoes
•1/2 whole Large (or 1 small) onion
• 3 whole Jalapeno Peppers (we only used 2 and make sure you don't put the seeds or core in unless you like your mouth to be on fire!)
• Cilantro
• Lime Juice
• Salt to Taste

For the Guacamole:
• 3 whole avocados
• Pico de Gallo
• Lime Juice
• Salt to Taste

Preparation Instructions
Pico de Gallo:
Chop jalapenos, tomatoes and onions into a very small dice. (Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico). Adjust amount of jalapenos to your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Just remove and discard the long leafless stems before chopping. No need to remove the leaves from the stems completely. Place all of these ingredients together in a bowl and give it a good stir. Squeeze the juice of half of one lime into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir again.
Guacamole:
Start with buttery-soft avocados. Halve them lengthwise and remove the pits. Next, with a spoon scrape the “meat” out onto a large plate. Next, with the bottom of a clean cup (or with a fork) mash the avocados, making sure to leave it relatively chunky. Add just a couple of shakes of salt to taste. Next, add a generous helping of Pico de Gallo. Fold together. Lastly squeeze the juice of half of a lime over the top. Give it one last stir.

I hope y'all enjoy these as much as we do. Let us know if you try them!

Rachel's Baby Shower

This past weekend Kyle and I headed up to Raleigh for Fathers Day! Kyle's sister Rachel was also having a shower that weekend so it just worked out perfectly that I was able to attend!
The shower was hosted by Kyle's mom and other sister, Kerry, and they did an amazing job with the decorations and food!!
Rachel got so much stuff, we really think she opened presents for almost 2 hours! Everyone gave her such great things-- but the cutest one was Mike's moms present... it was Mike's clothes that he wore home from the hospital!

Sisters shot! (Mike's sister, Kerry, Rachel, me and Tara)

So great to hang out with Tara again... I miss her so much. Love my sis!

Overall I think it was a group of 25 or so... I thought it was so nice of them to invite my whole family too.

We had a wonderful time, congratulations again Rachel!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day!
Kyle and I are so blessed to have such wonderful dads! They show more love, commitment and strength then we could ever imagine and are so thankful for them. We love you guys!!!

Top 3 Thursday: Stores

This week's Top 3 Thursday is PLACES TO SHOP. Most of you should know by now, I am NOT what you call "a shopper". Seriously I would probably say Kroger, Target and Walmart... sad I know.... I am so boring...

SO since Kyle is the real "spender" in our house we'll post on his Top 3 stores!

1) REI. I'm actually surprised he doesn't have a part time job here on the weekends. He visits that store probably once a week, but luckily doesn't buy anything unless he gets approval from ME ;)
2) BACKCOUNTRY.COM. This is a website that sells every single piece of equipment that you could ever need for any outdoor sport.

3) STEEPANDCHEAP.COM. One outdoor gear deal at a time. A great place to pick up sunglasses, snowboards, clothes, shoes, etc.

What would your favorite stores be?

Wordless Wednesday: Look at where we are going!!!

Our Vacation to St. John starts in 13 days!!

Overnight Cinnamon Buns from scratch!!

I have been eying this recipe for a year now, and I finally mustered up the courage to try it! It was my first time making dough from scratch, and it turned out perfectly. We'll definitely do this one again, not to mention our entire house smelled like "Cinnabon"... YUM!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls by Our Best Bites
Dough
1 T active dry yeast
1/2 C warm water (105 degr F/ 40 deg C)
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour (22 1/2 oz 700g)
4 large eggs
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp

Filling
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 T cinnamon

Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T butter, melted
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.
Add the eggs, sugar, butter, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes. Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed.

Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
While dough is rising, prepare filling. Take 2 T of the stick of butter and set aside. Beat remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle about 15x10 in. Spread filling onto dough and roll up length-wise.
Use string or dental floss to score and cut the dough into rolls. You can make 12 small rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large. Place cut side up in baking dish. Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
The next morning remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour. While rising mix glaze ingredients until combined. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Spread the glaze over warm rolls and serve.