weddings galore

a few weeks ago (in fact, in the midst of youth camp) my beautiful friend Ashley got married! We've looked forward to this day for years and even more so during her engagement over the last months. She had the most beautiful wedding that perfectly reflected her at a new, local venue here in west texas. We had so much fun at her rehearsal dinner followed by staying up eating tons of junk food with about 11 of us college girlfriends. The wedding day was so relaxed and we all just enjoyed hanging out together and getting everyone together. it was the absolute perfect day!! 

here is the bride and I

and let's talk about how perfect our bridesmaid gifts are!! custom embroidered purses!

we were back at it again this past week for kate's big day! Cody and I left Lubbock Thursday morning and hit the road. Road trips from west texas are always so funny.... wind mills EVERYWHERE. We arrived to Kerrville about 4:00pm which was perfect timing, the girls were just arriving at the river to float it. 

 that evening we went to a family friend's ranch where we got ready and enjoyed dinner and dessert

 on friday we enjoyed a wonderful brunch and then wore our matching tank tops to get our nails done then relaxed at the site of the wedding

 ..and then the rehearsal dinner...

the wedding morning we started with coffee and donuts then got busy decorating and moving benches to prepare for the wedding. when we started getting ready, kate gave us these precious floral robes to wear! 

and then the actual wedding... kate looked gorgeous in her antique shop find and floral crown. it was a beautiful wedding! unfortunately, cody and I had to head back to Lubbock immediately after pictures because Sunday is his biggest work day. So glad we could be apart of the day though!

making an IMPACT

with my husband being a youth pastor, there's always things to plan, things to do, and so many opportunities for ministry. Cody titled the youth program, IMPACT. We've had a blast so far with our Wednesday and Sunday church services, DNOW, our hangouts, cookouts, movie nights, water wars and finally we reached CAMP WEEK! We went to a camp here in West Texas but had so.much.fun. I took a ton of pictures but won't show any of our kiddos, so here's a few of us and the camp itself!

Cody and I

 Cody jumping onto the blob.... 

 and blasting this kid in the air, ha!

 Cody and his best friend (who helped us be a chaperone)

 this is me showing off my archery skills, haha

and cody :)

We had a wonderful week, saw God move in huge ways, and left loathing camp food and a chaco tan line ;)

10 meals

this here, is my kitchen on "meal prep day"

I've been making a list of 6-7 meals on my grocery list and making the big run on a day off every two weeks. After I get home from the store, I make all the meals at one time, store them in ziploc bags or foil tins and pop them in the freezer for easy go-to meals for the next 2+ weeks! Yay! This has worked SO good for us... with me working at night and Cody working a full time schedule as well, it was getting hard to actually enjoy the 45 min/day we get to see each other instead of standing over the stove that whole time. Not to mention, if I slacked and didn't put the meat in the fridge the night before or whatever to prep for dinner, it was a Sonic night... again.. wah wah. So, this meal prepping business has 1) saved so much time cooking by doing it all one day then it.is.done 2) saved so much money! I went to the store once/2 weeks and was actually under our allotted grocery budget! 3) allowed us to eat  substantial meals at home instead of the constant out to eat nights

So, here's a list of the meals we've been eating for weeks now!

BBQ Chicken and Veggies

2 green peppers, 1 red pepper, 1 zuchini, 3 onions, 6 red potoatoes-all chopped

4 garlic cloves

4 chicken breasts (can be uncooked)

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

1 bottle BBQ sauce

southwestern 2 bean chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 15oz can pinto beans

1 15oz. can black beans

1 28oz. can diced tomatoes

1 lb. frozen corn

1 12oz. jar salsa

teriyaki chicken

1lb. bag baby carrotts

1 red onion, chunked

2 cans of pineapple chunks, undrained

4 garlic cloves

6 chicken breasts

1 cup teriyaki sauce

2 cups rice, uncooked

fajitas

1 large onion, 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper-all sliced

2 lbs. boneless sirlion steaks

3/4 cups water, 2 tbsp. vinegar, 1 tbsp. lime juice, 1 tbsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

**store the above meals in double-bagged ziploc baggies then freeze. throw in refrigerator the night before to thaw. place in crock pot on day of use and cook for 6-8 hours on low

baked ziti

1 lb. dry ziti pasta

1 onion, chopped

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 26oz. jars spaghetti sauce

6 oz. mozerella cheese

fajita bake

2 cups cooked rice

1 green pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 onion-all chopped

1 handful of tortilla chips-crushed up

1 cup shredded cheese

1 can Rotel

2 tbsp. sour cream

mix all together, top with cheese, store in foil casserole tin and freeze

brocoli beef bake

cook 1 lb. ground beef-then place in foil casserole tin and top with 1 bad frozen brocoli

add 1 bag frozen hashbrowns then top with shredded cheese

stuffed pasta shells

large pasta shells-cooked

at the same time, cook ground beef in skillet, add 1 pkg. cream cheese

once pasta is cooked, stuff shells with beef and cream cheese mixture

place close together in foil tin, top with 1 jar. red enchilada sauce and shredded cheese

chicken and rice

2 cups cooked rice, mix with 1 can cream of chicken soup

2 bags frozen peas and carrots

top with 4 uncooked chicken breasts

finish off with shredded cheese

tater tot casserole

cook 1lb. ground beef and season accordingly

add 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 bag frozen corn

add to foil casserole tin

top with 1 bag frozen tater tots

**store the above meals in foil casserole tins ($1/each) and place in freezer. place in refrigerator night before use. place in oven at 450 degrees for 1 hour when ready to cook

our picnic basket's first day out

We got a beautiful picnic basket for Christmas this past december and I've been soo excited to use it! I've always wanted a picnic basket and this one is perfect, came with 4 sets of plates/cups/silverware, and has a insulated section to store your food. We had a busy and bad weather spring so I was thrilled when Cody and I had a day off work together and we both were in the mood for a picnic. 

We headed to Lubbock first and made a stop by Market Street for our food then headed out to Ransom Canyon. We thought about going to the actual lake but didn't want to pay for admission, ha! Anddd about a year ago (the night before we got engaged, to be exact) we went on a picnic and drove around RC until we found a place we could lay down a blanket. We found an empty lot by this odd looking steel house, so now that's our "picnic spot". The house, turns out, is pretty famous. And was even part of a futuristic photoshoot so we think it's pretty neat.

 for our meal we had: a peach, cheese and crackers, a hard boiled egg, pasta salad and chicken salad. We had chia seed synergy drinks as the beverage :) anddd key lime pie slices for dessert! yum!

then we drove around to explore the community!

we got back to our little community in time to make some popcorn and put on a movie and hang out with our youth kids!

mid-June Jumble

Here's a look at our last week and a half or so! Lots of time at the workplace, bible studying, meal planning, and budget keeping going on in this house ;)

First, I've been trying a two-week frozen meal prep twice now. and I LOVE it! Since I work at night, when I work 3-4 nights in a row, my energy level is little to nothing when it comes to waking up to cook a meal. So, I spend one of my off days to go to the store and buy up everything and then make 6-7 meals then freeze them. This has allowed us to eat at home for every meal and save money! I'll post recipes I've been following later ;)

this is a look at my kitchen on my "prep day"

this last weekend we went home for a short little trip. We went to my parents house on Thursday night-Saturday afternoon and enjoyed too much sun, food and quality family time. 

 as much as Cody claims he hates my parents cats, I think they bonded ;)

 One of my favorite things about being home in the summer is cooking breakfast and eating outside :

  Saturday afternoon we drove to Cody's parents house and got to see his parents, siblings, grandparents and aunt/uncle/cousin. It was great to see everyone! including this cute little nephew of ours:

 We came home from our little weekend getaway just in time for Vacation Bible School at our church. Cody was volunteered to be Jeff Foxsworthy from America's Bible Challenge... meaning he had to make his facial hair into a mustache. It's definitely a different look on him, but anything for the thrill of the kids, right? ;)

Happy Monday!