He wanted it.. so he got it....

... a muffin that was sitting on the top of our kitchen counter top, that is.

I was getting Gavin's breakfast ready and placed the banana nut muffin next to my coffee cup while I reached into the refrigerator to grab some milk. When I turned around Gavin was stuffing his face with the muffin that he reached up and got all by himself. I think he was hungry.

This one is our favorite... he's squeezing the muffin while biting into it.

Swine flu and Cakes... What a combination

It came.... It hit... It conquered. That's right.. the swine flu decided to come and visit our family last week and to say it wasn't fun would be an understatement. I noticed last Tuesday night as I was giving Gavin a bath that he felt extremely warm, and when I took his temperature it was a 103.5. That high of a temp really scared me. So I called Brooks, who was working late, and we agreed we'd call his doctor first thing in the morning to bring him. (We had just found out that my sister in law had gotten the swine flu, over the weekend, so we knew there was a chance he had come into contact with the "germs"-- Liz, glad you are feeling better now!) So, Wednesday morning comes around and I wake up feeling miserable. It literally felt like I had been hit by a large moving object, or that I had been run over. EVERY single part of my body ached. It was a really odd feeling. and then I spent the next hour in the bathroom welcoming more flu symptoms (need I be more discreet?!?!). At this point, I had gotten in touch with my best friend, whose husband works in the same cubicle as Brooks, for her to get in touch with her husband, who could then find Brooks, and pull him out of a very important meeting (sorry, babe), and have him rush home before Gavin woke up, to take care of both of us. What a blessing to have a husband willing and ready to come home and endure what he did (I just don't think he knew he was about to have 5 days of single parenting).

So, after a confirmed test for me (that nose swab thing they do to see if you have the swine flu is a weird test), three prescriptions, a steroid shot, and an episode of me passing out in the receptionist area of the doctors office (minus Brooks- because he walked Gavin to the car so we could get to his doctors appt on time), we arrived at Gavin's appt to hear the news he was infected as well.

Gavin handled the swine flu great. Other than high temperatures for two days, a lack of appetite, and a rare unwillingness to touch his apple juice, he was fine!!! You really never would have known he was sick. We were very thankful for this!! However, it made for a VERY active 14 month old, with only one parent in commission to tend to him. I must say, Sunday night, Brooks expressed his gratitude and appreciation for understanding how much I really do with Gavin on a daily basis at home. Brooks LOVED the time he got to spend with Gavin-- I LOVED hearing the giggles that came from the other room when I would wake up from a nap.

I, other than Gavin, had a rough week with the flu. I stayed in bed, literally, all day, everyday, from Wednesday to Sunday. I tried getting up every once in a while, but that lasted, maybe 5 minutes. I was very well taken care of and didn't mind spending several days in bed... the rest was great... but it was hard not getting to be with Brooks and Gavin.

Brooks' brother, Brandon came in Friday night and stayed til Sunday (he already had the swine flu so he was immuned). I think he helped Brooks survive the weekend. Brandon is always fun to have here and we love when he gets to come hang out with us. He chased Gavin around the house, played video games with Brooks, and even went and got us lunch one day.

Here's Gavin, on Thursday, he was sick... can you tell?

Once, I got over the symptoms of the swine flu, and completely disinfected my ENTIRE house, I stayed in the kitchen making my first "commissioned" cake. It was for a baby shower for a couple who go to our church, and the wife and I use to teach at the same school. I don't really feel that I'm ready to be "charging for my cakes", but my two best friends were hosting the shower and they insisted. I really had fun with this cake. I'm determined to be creative and not have the same look on every cake, so when they told me the theme was circus, and the colors were red and yellow, I immediately thought of the strips on a circus tent, and that kinda became my vision.

The bottom border is rolled up butter cream that I placed in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up. I saw this on a friends cake and thought it would be fun and give a cake a playful look.

Last night, I spent some time making a birthday cake for a friend of ours, in our bible study group, whose birthday is today. Since Halloween is this weekend, I really wanted to make a Halloween themed cake, but wasn't planning on making another cake for a while, so I put the Halloween theme onto his birthday cake. I really wanted to try chocolate butter cream icing, so I needed something that went with brown icing. I searched Bakerellas website and found she had lots of spider ideas so I went with that. I tinted the icing a few shades of darker brown, then found a picture of a webbed cake, and went from there. This cake was really fun to make.

Happy Halloween!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it seems like you can't go anywhere without seeing pink ribbons showcased or read words that bring awareness to this disease. I'm grateful that there is a HUGE awareness to this cause and I firmly believe that it's important to give when you are able to. I look forward to every October when I don't feel guilty for buying a $7.00 bag of pink and white M&M's that would normally cost $1.50. It doesn't matter what the cost, because I know how much that extra amount helps.

Years ago, Breast Cancer invaded our family and captured the life of my aunt, Beatrice Kay Williams Smith. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and fought a strong battle for years. She was a beautiful woman; a daughter, a wife, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a cousin, and a friend. We miss her tremendously and are so appreciative for the time we had with her!

It's fun to think about the memories we shared with her and how her smile would brighten up a room. I remember being in her wedding, I remember her wearing a denim dress while pregnant with Stefan hanging out at our camp in Big Lake. I remember just getting my driver's license and driving her and my mom back to my grandparents house and she laughed at me when I got in trouble for crossing a double white line. I remember watching Urban Cowboy and 8 Seconds with her, weeks before she passed. I will forever remember the last Christmas our family had with her, it was a memorable one.

We miss you Aunt Kay and Love you Dearly!!

Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

I can honestly say I don't know the words to that song, but I thought it was a good fit for the title of this blog. Brooks and I spent the weekend in Oklahoma, with our good friends Micah and Stephanie. They both graduated from Oklahoma State University and this weekend was the school's Homecoming game so we went with them.

While we were in Stillwater, we visited, the famous, Eskimo Joe's Restaurant! It was delicious. Since we were there, we couldn't leave without getting some t-shirts. Did you know Eskimo Joe's t-shirts are the 2nd most sold merchandise next to Hard Rock Cafe for a restaurant. Who knew??!?! As part of the school's Homecoming festivities they had a parade and closed down one of the streets in the town. We stood at a Sonic, which just so happened to be the very first Sonic ever! In the back left corner of this picture, you can see the original sign. It was neat just to say we've been there. So, lately we've been on a roll for seeing famous people in random places. First, we saw Shaq at the Galleria, then I met Paula Deen at our mall; last week we watched Cuba Gooding Jr dance at the LSU game, and this weekend, Garth Brooks was the parade Marshall. This was total luck that I caught this shot as he was riding in a convertible passed us. It was neat seeing him the week he announced he was coming out of retirement.

Did I mention it was cold this weekend in Oklahoma? I think the temperature got into the lower 40's. We loved the game. It was fun. The fans were very cheerful and everything was BRIGHT orange. Brooks and I were bundled up together to stay warm. We were wearing our winter coats, gloves, ear muffs, thermals, sweaters, scarves, everything! It really got us excited for Christmas!! and it made us miss Colorado (well, I can't say I miss THAT cold of weather, but we missed our time that we were there!)

To make the perfect ending to a fabulous weekend, I got to see and ride (in the car) on the Shannon Miller Parkway. Growing up, I was a HUGE gymnastics fan. Well, to say HUGE, would be an understatement. I was OBSESSED with the 1996 Women's Olympic Gymnastics Team. You know, the girls who won the gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia. The year Kerri Strugg got hurt and Bela Karoyli was known for yelling, "You can do it!" Anyways, I loved watching any gymnastics and went to several showcases where these girls would perform. I learned a lot about each gymnast and Shannon Miller was one of my favorites. I remember reading lots of books about her, including her autobiography and motivational book and just marveled over her. In the books, it always talked about how she was from Edmond, OK and that was where her gym was. Needless to say, in the back of my mind, I dreamed about going to Edmond, OK just to see where she lived and maybe even where she trained. So, Thursday night, I was sleeping when we drove past this and our friends weren't aware of my STRONG DESIRE to see this. I didn't even realize we were going to go through Edmond, OK otherwise, I don't think I would have gone to sleep. So, on the way back, I BEGGED the guys to let us pull over so I could take a picture with the sign. After many pleads and begging, they agreed! We were all on the look out for this sign and I was beyond words SUPER excited to get this opportunity. This was a childhood dream fulfilled.

Can't wait till we get to go back to Oklahoma!

Whistle Blowing

We were in the car driving to Baton Rouge and Gavin learned how to blow a whistle. He was so excited when he realized it would make a noise. Luckily, he wasn't obsessed with it, otherwise that would have been a really, really long ride. However, instead of blowing a whistle, he started blowing on his pacifer. Watch and Enjoy!

**Make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the music so you can hear the video.

LSU vs. Florida

This weekend we went to Baton Rouge to the LSU vs. Florida Game. We tailgated outside and dodged the rain. We had a great time and enjoyed being with friends and family. LSU was packed because it was the #1 team (Florida) vs. the #4 team (LSU) playing. The weather turned cool so we "bundled" up in jeans, jackets, and tennis shoes. Gavin was cheering his team on by representing a jersey he got from his 1st birthday. He looked precious. Brooks and I enjoyed the evening cheering on the tigers. We didn't win, but that's okay. Our friends, Mali and Mitchell, from Brookhill, were there with their little boy, Rivers. It was soooo good to see them. After the game we went and got beignets and coffee and got to visit.

This was before the game began when Florida's team decided they wanted to "pounce" on the eye of the tiger. The LSU team did not appreciate that AT ALL. Every official, coach, anyone on the field ran out to keep the two teams away from one another as well as to get Florida's team off of the tiger's eye that's in the center of the field. Of course, it caused EVERYONE in Death Valley to go CRAZY. Oh yea, Cuba Gooding, Jr was sitting right behind us. He's the guy in the middle. He WAS cheering for the Tigers so everyone around liked him.

GEAUX TIGERS!!

Izzo's Grand Opening

Last week, my brother Kyle, opened a restaurant in Lake Charles called Izzo's. It's a restaurant that allows you to create your own delicious burrito. They also have nachos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, chips and dip, etc. They have really good food.

Gavin and I drove to Lake Charles Tuesday night for a Friends and Family VIP dinner before Izzo's opened to the public on Wednesday. The place was packed. Everyone got to see Kyle and congratulate him as well as eat a yummy meal. Gavin tore up the kids quesadillas and cookie that came with his meal. He LOVED it. It was so exciting to see the restaurant finally opened and serving people. I think Lake Charles is going to love this place. It started in Baton Rouge and is a HUGE success over there. Such a success, there are 3 Izzo's in Baton Rouge alone. There's no doubt it will do just as great in LC. Here are some pics from that evening.

Here's Kyle talking to some people enjoying their meal.

All of our family was there to celebrate. Gavin was so excited to see David. He was trying to give him a hug!!

If you're ever in Lake Charles go grab a burrito and check out Izzo's.

Congratulations Kyle!

On Friday, Brooks and I went to Izzo's to grab some lunch before we left for Baton Rouge. We showed up at 11:15am (15 minutes after they opened) and the line was out the door. There were TONS of people there. Everyone was saying how good the food was, people were leaving with stuffed belly's saying they were going back for dinner. It was great to hear all the positive comments about the place. Our meal was DELICIOUS and we wanted more!

Bath Time Fun

Gavin has been growing up and finding new interests everyday. His latest enjoyment, besides brushing his teeth and being obsessed with toothbrushes, has become bath bubbles. Gavin started saying "Bubbles" all the time. It is his new favorite word. He points at everything and says "bub-ble". So, last week I picked up a bottle of bubble bath and we filled up the bathtub with bubbles. He loved it! He played with them, popped them, and even ate them. Brooks then covered his body in bubbles. Gavin laughed hysterically. This is a new favorite of his and one that has created lots of memories already.

This is Gavin in our bathtub. He was finished with his bath and I had drained the water, but he wanted to keep playing. Randomly, I had the camera in our bathroom and caught this cute shot of him.