A little overwhelmed....

Just so everyone knows Brandon and I are still alive! Since school has started we have both been going full blast! There are not enough hours in the day! I am up at 4AM every morning, work at 5:15 until 3 (on a good day) and then head home to try and fit in a work out,cook dinner, do homework, and do all the "house stuff" while trying to get to bed at a decent hour since I have to be up at 4AM! Poor Brandon has some 12-13 hour days! Along with his job as a biologist/chemist at the lab, he is also doing his diabetes research for grad school and thesis, and is also a biology instructor for the university! Looking back at the college years I don't see how I ever had time for school, full time job, and going out every night with friends! I just want to let everyone know that we still love you, and I am sorry if we make you schedule an appointment to hang out with us! :o) Brandon will see you in December 2010 and I will see you in December 2011!

Have a great rest of the week!

"Purvis: God, I am so tired."

"Johner: Sleep when you die, man."

~ From the movie Alien Resurrection ~

3 Posts in 1 :o)

Well gang this is probably the worlds longest post - but I had tons that I needed to blog about! It was a crazy July!!

WE SHALL CALL HIM....PJ!

A few Sundays back after a long day of doing yard work Brandon and I were relaxing in the living room when the dogs started going crazy at the front door. Brandon got up to see what the commotion was about and guess what we saw? A cat! We opened the door to check him out and see what his situation was and he marched right in our house and went and plopped down on the couch! RIDICULOUS!! So yeah we kept him! He has the best personality, he is so "whatever!" He reminds me of my cat growing up, he acts more like a dog rather than a cat. He LOVES to talk and is a shadow wherever you go! We watched around the neighborhood for signs and in the newspaper to see if anyone was looking for their pet, but there were none to be found - so he is officially part of the Hawkins!! We were going to the vet to get him fixed and de-clawed, but he has already had his man parts removed! Yeah one less thing! He is now scheduled to have his deadly sharp claws removed next week! Welcome to the fam PJ! :o)

I think I am going to officially make this couch mine :o)

Already rotten to the core!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I celebrated my 28th birthday a few weeks ago and got to have a 4 day celebration! Man, am I a lucky girl or what! Here is what events occurred over those 4days....

THURSDAY: My actual birthday! When I woke up that morning it was pouring rain! The streets were SUPER flooded so my hubby was nice enough to get out of bed at 4:45 AM to take me to work so I wouldn't have to wade across the Illinois river! When I walked into work I had the prettiest flowers from the girls I work with! For lunch we had Jason's Deli and then for dessert Morgan made this AWESOME cake! It was so yummy! Cameron, Rach, Morgan, Diane, Sally, Tammy, Maria, and Hali all got me great gifts and made my birthday work day super special! That evening we met my family at Luigi's (my fav) for my birthday dinner! The food was fantastic and I got some amazing gifts from my family! I am such a lucky girl! I am saving up for a new camera and I got lots of gift cards and cash to go towards the big purchase! Thanks guys! The highlight of the evening was my birthday cake that Nana and Terrie made me! It was pretty much AMAZING! They did an awesome job! If you know me the cake pretty much speaks for itself! This thing was HUGE and seriously probably weighed a good 30 pounds! It looked so real! Nana got kind of embarrassed about it, but everyone in Luigi's thought it was a hoot! It was an awesome cake that tasted yummy! You girls have ALOT to live up to next year! After Luigi's we headed to Sedona Grill to hang out on the patio before turning in for the night!

Pretty flowers!
My soggy gift from Cameron :o)
Mo with her yummy cake she made me!

The whole gang!
Life partners :o)
Some crazy ladies!
Butt cake - YUM!
MUAH!

All the fam!

Glitzy grapes!

This pic just seemed appropriate for the Butt Birthday Party!

FRIDAY: We went to Murray's for dinner with Rach, TJ, and my favorite muchcans - Fro-Mama and Muffin Man! They gave me the gift they "made!" Abby was so excited to give it to me! It was the best gift ever...a collage of pictures of the kiddos! It is so cute! It is hanging proudly in my hallway! I LOVE IT!

Best gift ever!

Not wanting to take a pic :o)

SATURDAY: It was MUMMERS time! I L-O-V-E Summer Mummers! We had a huge group of us going and we had a blast! We had lots of Mummers virgins so it made it even more fun! When you go home for the evening with popcorn in every crevice of you body - you know it was a good night! Brandon even got to go on stage for the finale! Such a fun night filled with lots of good memories! Can't wait till next year!

Eating some grub before popcorn / beer time!

My sweet cheeks - always makes my birthday memorable!
Bran mentally preparing himself for mummers!
My fav pic of Cam - such a hoot!
Brothers from the same mother...

Crazy Beelers!
Ran, Sam, Tana, and Jeremiah!

Sneaky! Sneaky!

Jess under fire!

2 crazy ladies!

The Gasser girls with me and Rach!
Friday - this pic just makes me laugh!

Emily showing off her new stach tat!

Whoa buddy!Yes....we are crazy :o)
My fav pic ever!
Trent where's your popcorn?!?
Don't be scared Michelle!
Tana & Jeremiah

Brandon on stage!
Working his program!

SUNDAY: My dads company always sponsors a theater production and so me and a bunch of our friends headed to the theater to see Footloose! They did a fantastic job! One of the best shows that I have seen! I love the theater! If you have never been to the theater in Midland you should definetly go - they do a great job!

Parentals

Bran & Wes

Hali & Karis

4 lovely ladies :o)

TROUBLE....just kidding!

Me & my handsome hubby!

By the time Sunday night came around we were all pretty pooped from the rowdy weekend! Thanks to all my family and friends for the best birthday ever! You guys rock my socks!

THE ADEVNTURES OF FRO-MAMA!!

Well one Friday in July while fro-mama was staying with us while her parents were out of town we decided to load the car up and take a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo! This was Abby's first big car ride, first time to stay in a hotel, first time to swim in a "BIG" pool, first time to go to the zoo, and first time to be away from her parents this long...all of this while we are potty training of course!

The car ride there was great! We only had to stop and potty once! She was such a big girl! She kept herself occupied with books, jammin' to Taylor Swift, and of course the popcorn Brandon's Nana made her for the trip! But as you can tell a car ride and popcorn can make a girl sleepy.....

Popcorn is good in my belly!

Being Abby is hard work!

When we got into the Dallas area we checked into our hotel and immediately went to check out the pool! She was sooooo excited about swimming, but first we needed to go get some grub in our hungry belly's so off to Saltgrass we went! The food was yummy as usual! What are we waiting for!?!

I love my Uncle Brandon!
I love me some bread!


Once we got back to the hotel and gave our food a chance to settle it was off to the pool we went! Fro Mama was FEARLESS! She just jumped right in! We started out with floaties, but once she learned that she could move a little easier in the water without them, we ditched those bad boys! Brandon and I were so proud of her! After a few hours in the pool it was time to scrub a dub and get read for our zoo adventure the next day!

Future synchronized swimmer :o)

I'm goin' in!
1, 2, 3...JUMP!

This is what I'm talkin' 'bout :o)

On Saturday morning we woke up and got ready to go to the Fort Worth Zoo! Brandon, myself, and her parents had been talking about the zoo with her for the past couple of weeks and practicing all the animals and there noises, so she was roarin' and ready to go! Before heading to the zoo we stopped and had breakfast at Chick-fill-a! Yum! Once we got to the zoo we went and explored every animal and took lots of pictures! She loved it! She even got to feed the birds and pet some animals (which is quite unusual for her to want to do!) We spent almost 5 hours at the zoo and she did AWESOME! We didn't even have any potty accidents! Woo Hoo! What was so funny is that she wanted to be in the exact area where the animals were, so we would catch her trying to climb up the fence to "get in there with them!" After sweating at the zoo and so much adventure it was time to head back to the hotel for a nap! She feel asleep in about 2.5 seconds once we got in the car and hit the road! She was trying so hard to be big girl and re-live all the animals and the noises they make, but nap time won!

Chicken for breakfast = YUMMY!

Let's get this party started Jess!
Where should we go first?!?
Deep conversation with the elephant....

Loving the giraffes!

Obsessed with the crocodile!
This is a very rare image!
Come here pretty bird!

Trying to "get in there" with the animals!
One pooped Fro Mama!

After heading back to the hotel and taking a nap we went to have dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse! Fro Mama was still a little pooped from the day and did not have much of an appetite so we decided to skip out on the pool and hang out in the room after dinner and head to bed a little early for the ride home!

DIVA!

We got up Sunday morning and packed our bags to head back to Midland! We had to make a pit stop to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Connor! Once we got there everyone was swimming which meant Abby had to swim too! We stayed and splished and splashed for an hour or so and then hit the road to eat some lunch and head back to Midland!

All packed and ready to go!
Water baby!

Once we got to Midland we went to drop her off at home to her parents and have dinner and look at all the pictures and videos! We also had no potty accidents the entire trip! Rock on sista! We had a blast! I think we had more fun going to the zoo with Abby than if we had gone by ourselves! It was so exciting to see her experience something "new" and fun! I will forever cherish the memories and adventures that we had with our Fro Mama! So I guess this means when Muffin Man turns 2 he is taking a trip to the zoo which his Aunt Jess and Uncle Brandon! :o)

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it"

~ William Feather ~