Officially Official

After over two years, I am completely, officially Deborah Reynolds!

I finally submitted my passport application this summer and got it in the mail today!  That was the last of any remaining maiden name business. 

(Ground) Breaking News

We have a sprinkler system!!

We have been waiting for this moment for 2 years!

Kevin has a new toy!

Hopefully one of the last bare yard pictures in a while

Benton is not convinced this is a good idea!

Kevin's new hobby

Kevin has been interested in wine making for several years.  After some research, he began the process a few months ago with a Riesling kit.  After much TLC and a good sized investment, we have about 30 gorgeous cobalt blue bottles "settling" for a month or so.

Stay tuned as we design labels!  By far the part I'm most excited about!

Yard work, take two

When we bought our house two years ago, the yard looked like this:

We seeded the front and back yard shortly after closing on our home, and the front yard started to look decent.  The back yard?  Well, let me just say I'm glad we have a fence.  Here is a photo that, when zoomed, gives you an idea of what we were dealing with.  The fence is all the way stained now, by the way. :)

It has gotten a little better, but Kevin and I knew we were going to have an uphill battle (pun intended!).

As of this weekend, the backyard looks like this:

We rototilled the back yard.  The grass to weeds ratio was not great, so we thought it would be helpful to start over since we are getting sprinklers.  We will verticut the front and back yard prior to the sprinklers being installed (the end of August), and we are hopeful this will work much better.  The first time we planted, and the subsequent overseedings, we had to use hoses and regular sprinklers.  Oh, the muddy shoe nightmares!

The downside of starting the backyard all over again?

Benton is not happy with us.  

Yes, I cook, too! :)

While it is quite true that Kevin is an excellent cook, I recently realized that many  people assume that I do not cook. Not true :)  Kevin and I actually both enjoy spending time in the kitchen.  I am so happy that we can split the job when it gets busy for one of us, though.

Just to prove my worth in the kitchen, here is something I whipped up last night:

Homemade meatballs with gluten-free fettuccine and marinara

Alisha's Babies Shower

My graduate school friend Alisha had a babies shower (she is having twins - a boy and a girl!) this weekend in Kearney, NE on Saturday morning.  The grad girls were all about making this awesome for her!  Mandy and I decided to totally surprise her by making the trip (Mandy is from Fort Worth, and I of course live in Wichita).  I took Friday off from work, and my parents went with me to help with the driving. We stayed overnight in a hotel on Friday night to make sure I got there on time on Saturday.  Mandy came via Minnesota (her sister just had a baby, too!) and surprised Alisha Friday night, and I came over for the babies shower Saturday morning!  She was so shocked!  All the grad girls went together to get Alisha a gift, and I brought it with me.

Benton saying goodbye

Mom and I at the hotel

Plenty of presents for twins!

Alisha received a great amount of diapers and wipes!

Gifts for Baby Boy Hanshaw

Gifts for Baby Girl Hanshaw

Me reading to Ellie, Mandy's daughter

The grad girl present!

A pack-and-play!

Alisha's niece

Ellie being super cute!

Mandy, Alisha, and Me

Love the grad girls!

There are five people in this photo!!!  Mandy Gramkow, Baby Gramkow, Alisha Hanshaw, Baby Boy Hanshaw, and Baby Girl Hanshaw!

I had lunch with Mandy and Alisha, which was great to have more time to catch up!  My parents (who went to Cabelas and sightseeing during the shower and lunch) and I left for Kansas shortly after lunch.  It was great to see Kevin when I got back to Wichita!

Congratulations Alisha and Mandy!

Bedroom updates

I realized in horror recently that I hadn't blogged pictures of our bedroom after we painted LAST YEAR!  I quickly took pictures of a few of my favorite accents, but I promise I will give the entire room its due soon.  

Photos in black and white from Spain: We traveled to Valencia, Spain together in 2008, so it's fun to see reminders of our time there.  

 

Ivory curtains I recently added to give more contrast to our room.  I love the way they look with the wood blinds!