We're Not in AR-Kansas anymore

The past month or so I've been coming down with a bad case of homesickness. I mean. Real bad. So I started begging my family to come visit, but they all had excuses of how busy they were back home.

Two weeks ago Cash asked me what time my friend's baby shower would be over that weekend, becaue he had a surprise for me. Oh, I was ELATED! I love surprises!! I immediately called my family to see if they were the surprise, but they weren't. Even my 6 year old niece said she was too busy to come see me. So naturally I thought I was getting a new Land Rover.

Fast forward to Friday at lunch: Cash 100% promised me he lied about a surprise, and we were actuallly going to work in the garage to get ready for a yard sale. Rude. He learned in 2 hott seconds how rude it really was, because that was not the best night of his life. I promise.

The next morning I got ready for Melissa's shower (still steaming mad at my husband about lying about a surprise) and headed over to Barb's. P.S. I have the cutest little friends...


Melissa's Baby Shower
(photo credit: Hidden Key Design photo booth)

Told you. 

Anyway, I was griping to my girlfriends how mean Cash was to pretend surprise me, but I finally decided I should get home to help him.

Then...then...THEN...I got in my car to go home and had a picture from my mom. It was my niece and nephew...IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE!!!!!

at noon--they had been driving since 1:30 that morning

I tried to go the speed limit and not run over people my whole way home. By the time I got out of my car, tears were just streaming as I hugged my big sis for the first time since Christmas. The next 48 hours were amazingly insane.

It started when they had Rivertowne BBQ sitting on the counter ready for lunch.

Then we drove around looking at new houses, stopped for candy at Susie's, and checked out the bank where I work.



my precious little love

We made our usual pitstop at ClayDesta to see Uncle Cash's office. The kids love running around the water fountain and animals. Dad loves learning geology.



Mom and the kids posing with Clayton's latest African addition

Dad always wants to learn a little rock knowledge from my hubs.
(Only at an oil company can you have mounts all over the walls like this, I know.)

making faces at the alligator

Saturday night we went to eat at a new cafe in town: Back in the Day Cafe. Then we just enjoyed the company and let the kids rest from driving since 1:30 in the morning (all to surprise me by noon!!) and swimming all day. Yes. March. And the kids were in the pool all afternoon. It was 92 beautiful degrees!

On a side note my super amazing brother-in-law came the whole way sicker than a dog. It was just a blessing to see everyone!

Sunday we went to church where my nephew asked if Uncle Cash and I were Christian since we didn't hold service the same way he did at his church. Ha. Then we took them to our club for a nice little brunch and for some entertainment from the most enthusiastic omelet maker in West Texas.

And that night we went to my in-laws house for a crawfish boil! It had been 2 years on my first spring break to Midland since we had had a crawfish boil. Sweet memories. Our good friends Thea and Toby from church came over too, and it was perfect weather to suck the heads of some crawlers.

Plus, it was the first crawfish boil my parents had ever been to, so it was fun to watch them take their first few bites. I also claim my brother-in-law only came down to see my mother-in-law. lol. They hit it off the first time they ever met, and ever since I laugh that he likes her more than he does me! It's pretty cool, though, to have my family and Cash's family get along so well.

That night the kids and I played on the iPad and came up with some pretty strange outcomes.

Brae's goofy pic with the quirky settings

being dorks--they loved it! Maybe I did too.

my loves, including the dogs!

I hated so much to see them leave Monday morning. They had a long 10 hour drive ahead of them, and we had to go to work. However, I knew it'd only be a few more weeks until we were back in Arkansas celebrating the marriage of two sweet people: my Hub brother Tony and his bride Kit!

For the record Cash is out of the dog house. He's all right after all! :)

In the meantime I do have to share I went out on a limb with my hair. Y'all. I straight up did an ombre.

I have never been so out there, and that's not really even that out there. ha.

 And...I learned how to do a fishtail braid. Sorta.

I spent hours on YouTube and the couch trying to figure this out.
(And yes, that's a big lobster pillow. We are Maine honeymooners. What can I say?)

In other random news I got a phone call at work yesterday that I get to go to the Junior League's Shotguns and Stilettos with Clay Walker as entertainment on behalf of the bank. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job?!

Okay, I hear Abby Lee in there screaming at me to go watch Dance Moms. Don't judge.

Be blessed. Be loved...

Avery Jane