It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Reynolds Family!




I might add that I enhanced the wreath myself, and I also hung the Christmas lights by myself today!


Our stairs coming down from the deck

Lighting of the Advent Candle

This weekend, Kevin and I were asked to light the first Advent Candle at our church in Wichita. We were excited to do so for our first married Advent.
Sorry the picture turned out a bit blurry.

Benton's very good, amazing day

I just got back from the post office and came into the bedroom to let the pup out. Benton looked at me like, "see, I'm SUCH a good boy!!!" Why? Because I had forgotten to CLOSE THE DOOR on his crate! He stayed in his crate the entire time even with the door open because he knew he was supposed to stay. Oh, I love our little boy!

What a game!

Kevin and I attended the Chiefs vs. Steelers game on Sunday. Oh, boy, what a crazy atmosphere that was! I don't think very many people (I certainly didn't) expected the game to turn out the way it did. It appeared that there were more Steelers fans than Chiefs fans, or at least a similar number.

The stadium did fill up more as the game progressed. I think a lot of people were enjoying tailgating until the first quarter was almost up.


There was a LOT of yellow in the stands.



We really enjoyed it, although there were certainly moments when the fans of either team seemed to take things a little too far. Overall though, a great game!

Thanksgiving marathon...and no, I don't mean running :)

I'm almost done cooking. Our packing has started. The kitchen is almost put back together. Yes, it's the holidays. :)

We leave right after Kevin gets off work today for Overland Park, where we will eat lunch on Thanksgiving day. We will then head to Council Grove for dinner and stay with my family until Friday morning. I've certainly heard more intense schedules from fellow married friends, but the driving I think is the most intense part for us. I hope that Macy's will still have some of their cheap Black Friday items when we get back on Friday afternoon. Benton's doggy bed just might come from there (it's on sale from $50 to $17!!). Kevin is pretty busy at work, so he will probably go in for a few hours on Friday or Saturday. Maybe I'll start working on his Christmas present while he's gone. :)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

How the time flies

On Monday, Kevin and I will officially have been married for six months! This weekend, we're doing a bit of celebrating. First thing Saturday morning, we're packing up the pooch and heading to Overland Park to spend the weekend at Kevin's parents' house. We plan on doing a bit of Christmas shopping (although I may spare Kevin the majority of this, we'll see), and then on Sunday, we're going to the Chief's game. Monday, we plan on going to a restaurant for dinner, although we haven't quite decided where yet.


I could not be happier to spend the rest of our lives together!

Tropical Escape

This Saturday, Kevin surprised me while I was out doing errands and decided to make a fun themed dinner. We had teriyaki chicken with grilled pineapple, pineapple and hot red pepper flake rice, and a delicious pound cake, caramel, yogurt, and pineapple trifle. The pound cake and pineapple were also grilled for the trifle (although we held most of the cake back for later enjoyment!).



Teriyaki chicken is one of Kevin's specialties, and I love how the rice turned out. It was sweet and spicy.


The amazing pound cake. We've enjoyed it on its own also.

The trifle. Incredible. Sweet, tart, creamy, smooth.

Eyes bigger than his stomach

I'm a bit late posting this, but Kevin always likes to make chili for Halloween. While we were at a meat market getting the steak for the chili, Kevin saw this ham bone and thought it would be good for Benton's Halloween treat. You can probably tell he's pretty small for it!


He loved it, but he wasn't sure what to do with it. As you can see, we barricaded him in the kitchen so he wouldn't get the carpet messy. We originally put the bone on the deck for him, but he was too interested in what we were doing inside to care about the bone. Once he was inside, he just licked it and moved it around a lot. We ended up throwing it away soon after buying it, but I'm sure he felt super special.

Shake your tail feathers!

I mentioned in a previous post that Benton was really starting to feather out after having been shaved when he was turned into KS Humane Society. My favorite featherings of his? His behind! It is so cute...I know that probably seems odd, but the color of his fur on his backside is bright white. The fur is so long also that it blows in the wind outside, and he also kind of shakes it while he prances. It makes me laugh every time. Here is a bit of an example while we were walking this afternoon.

Shake what your Mama gave you! :)



Blowing in the wind!


Thankfully, Benton will never realize how much I embarrass him online.

The sweetest things...

...are sometimes the simple gestures!
Kevin completely surprised me this weekend!

Little Touches

I'm having fun finding the perfect places for some of our decorative items. Here are some examples:

Kevin's dresser (ok, to be honest, he's not super thrilled to have a crystal bowl and large flower arrangement on his dresser, but once I figure out where to put the hurricane on my dresser, it will be shifted over there) - the picture frame will have a wedding picture in it once we order them. The vase and arrangement were from my Council Grove bridal shower. Amanda (Young) McDiffett's mom, Betty, put it all together.

Our coffee table. I love this pottery bowl from a local artist Claire (Hemmendinger) Lindh's parents gave us. I've moved it several times, but I'm really liking it here. I'll add little ornaments to it for Christmas, and I'm sure I'll find some other seasonal items for it as well. :)

Fall flavors

Every morning, I make parfaits (non-fat vanilla yogurt with fruit) for Kevin and I for lunch. In the beginning of summer, we used blackberries and bananas. Then, we switched to strawberries and bananas until this week. Now, we are using cinnamon apples and bananas (the bananas are really a staple). Last night, I baked the apples, and it smelled so delicious in our kitchen!

We ate them in slices for dessert, but I cut them into little bites for the parfaits. Super yummy!

Upcoming Football Happenings

This Saturday, Kevin and his dad are going to the KSU vs. KU game. I'm excited because I'm having him drop me and Benton off at my parents' house in Council Grove on the way. Benton just can't get enough of the lake!

Then on November 22nd, we are going to the KC Chiefs game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kevin's parents have season tickets, and they will be busy preparing for Thanksgiving. Hmmm...I'm not sure if seeing the Chiefs against last year's Super Bowl champs will be as much fun for the Chiefs as Kevin and I will have just being at a game.

I think we'll have a great time! I know Kevin just can't get enough of football season!