Sunshine rocks.

Just sayin'.

There is nothing like a beautiful, warm, sunny, albeit a little windy day to boost your motivation! After church, hubs and I did the grocery shopping for the week, visited with my amazing lovely gal pal Megan, and then got down to work.

It is the truth that manual labor really does give you one of the greatest senses of accomplishment. Yesterday, we cleaned house and I did laundry. (... although I didn't say I folded the laundry.. *cough*) Today, I planted another plant, pulled some weeds, and then cleaned/detailed the inside of my car. Outside can wait because we have storms this week!

As we speak (type), hubs is detailing his car as well!

Admittedly, his car needed the detail far more than mine. ;)

To finish the lovely day, I get to grill and relax with my sweet hubs.

Sunday, please don't leave yet. You've been most productive, and fun!

The Great Cajun Crawfish Boil: Cavalier Style

For the third year running (and for my third year with them) , the Cavaliers celebrated Memorial Day with a kick butt crawfish boil.

Every year, without fail, is fabulous and this year was no exception. All of the Cajun bases were covered- we had crawfish, shrimp, new potatoes, sausage, corn, lemons.... and watermelon. Chase's dad's side of the family is from Southern Louisiana, and we take pride in the Cavalier name. My favorite part every year is watching the guys drain the big pot and carry it over to the table covered in a slicky table cloth... and pour them directly onto the table cloth!! From there, we all stand/sit around the edge of the table and peel and eat the little guys. It's so tasty and so much fun!

2008

2009 (missed the photo op this year)

2010

Unfortunately this year, while I was snapping away at the little guys, one snapped the spicy juice right into my eye. For about thirty seconds it felt like I was jabbing a thousand tiny little needles into my eye.

Cajun Crawfish juice + eye = really bad.

I don't suggest that you try it at home.

All of the our immediate family from the Cavalier side was there + one from the Butler clan. :) So that means: Chase's parents Angie and Roy, my father Grover, Chase and me, his brother Corey and his wife Beaura and their two girls Abby and Rose, and Chase's brother Chad and his wife Victoria and their sons Nick and Cody. We had a full house with lots of kids playing in the water... and of course we took B with us as well. (no trip is complete without our Super Awesome-Cute Pup).

13 1/2 total. The 1/2 is Bailey... don't get any funny ideas there about that 1/2. No baby bumps hiding around here!

At one point during the day on Monday, we feared it was going to rain like last year:

[2009 Crawfish Boil]

(...not like that stops us from eating our crawfish...)

But we survivied with only a few small rain drops!

Here's a photo re-cap of the event!

Preparations

Well isn't he just adorable? (and delicious)  /snort

Super cute pup, ftw!

Yum! So colorful, too.

Favorite part!!!!

Handsome Hubs caught pre-mid-smile/eat.

Sweet niece.

Me!

Sweet nephew!

Sweet other niece. :) Love this photo btw.

Sweet (sometimes) dad ;)

Cotton candy goodness! We made it ourselves. Beaura (sister-in-law) has a cotton candy machine. It's stellar neat!

Even though we don't get to see our family all that much, it is traditions like these that keep us close and connected. 

Loving them is surely easy... especially when they frantically run to get cold cloths to wipe the crawfish juice from your eyes because they know it hurt like a beast.

Now that's true love.

What's Happening:

So during the midsts of the below mentioned activites, Chase and I have been pretty busy with things here at home! Chase bought a metal lathe and has been working hard trying to learn all about making neat things like... stuff. I got a treadmill and am loving it (recently too cold to run outside) and we have been staying busy with various extra musical performances and holiday plans!

Chase's Lathe.. that he makes stuff with :)

He's so cute..

My treadmill- that I run on!

Yummy turkey sausage, bell pepper, and onion for my rigatoni.

....

Tonight's dinner. Rigatoni and salad!

I cook and he cleans... sometimes. :-D

Love my hubs.

Every Christmas we have been together we have made an ornament. This makes our third ornament!

I'll try to get pictures of all of the past ones we have made. They're pretty cute. The first one Chase made as a gift to me. It's the Empire State Building + 2007 made out of the little melty beads. Last year I made a Santa hat wit our initials and the date 2008 and this year is Mr. Gingerbread man.

That's all folks! I'll keep my extreme list updated! Stay tuned.

Weekend Freedom

Hubs and I totally live for the weekend. Today started out with a great trip to the Farmer's Market, which was cut short due to rain, but it was snazzy none-the-less. Even though I LOVE the rain- some days I would prefer sunshine. Today was one of those days! So on days like today I have to remind myself that it is for the good of the flowers! Speaking of flowers, last weekend we found some beautiful flowers to grace our Easter brunch table. (cheesy white table cloth courtesy of my g-ma, but it's beautiful!)

Anyhoodle, this weekend was far less formal than Easter weekend. We grilled kebabs and some wicked great Cajun grilled catfish, (Chase's secret special rub), and enjoyed a few glasses of wine. My husband is definitely goofy, but I love it when he's a goof- I find myself giggling more often than not when we have a weekend to ourselves.

Last week for my CIED Classroom Learning Theory class, I had a group presentation to present with a few fellow music majors. We were teaching a song by rote called "Six Little Ducks" and I was the "teacher" so I was warming up in our nice steamy bathroom before I left for class. Well, as I walked out of the bathroom, Chase (lying in bed half asleep) rolled over and said:

"I must have been dreaming because I just heard an angel singing!"

I definitely left the house with a case of the giggles. He's just so darn sweet/goofy sometimes and I love it.

Speaking of Chase, I just need to say how much I love him and appreciate him! I feel like I hit the proverbial "jackpot" because not only do I love my husband and find him extremely sexy....but he is 100% supportive of me and my decisions. I cannot express how important that support is to me. He helps around the house daily by sweeping or vacuuming, folding laundry, doing the dishes, feeding the animals or just picking up his stuff...

He is the "complete package" and I feel so blessed to have him in my life. Thank you Hubby for winning the "best husband ever" award. Love you!

This was the sunset I drove home to last night- breathtaking!