Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

Good morning everyone! I know it has been awhile since I last blogged and there is no better way to return than announcing...

A BABY!

Last night, my cousin Tyler Ward and his wife Monica welcome a beautiful baby girl into the world! We have all been waiting a long time to here the secret "K" name and yesterday was finally the day, Kitra Anne! Monica had told us that we would never guess her name, she was right. I was guessing all these crazy names like; Kahleeka, Kruz, Kayson, and Kayn. I was way off! I think Kitra is an adorable name with many possibilities of cute nicknames!   

First picture of Kitra!

The first picture I saw of Kitra I instantly thought she looked like Tyler... 

Second picture of Kitra!

The second picture I think she looks like Monica's dad and brother.

It will be fun to watch her grow and see who she will look like when she gets older. She will be cute no matter who she takes after!



On another note.. today is someone special's BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday to my Grandma, Jolene Ward.

Typical Jolene look...

And another typical Jolene look...

Matching shirts! We are awesome!

I hope you have a wonderful Birthday Grandma!

~Until next time..

Chelsie

31 Day Challenge: Merry Monday

Merry Monday Everyone!

Monday was very Merry! We celebrated my Grandpa's 76th Birthday!

Grandma and I ordered a cake from K-Town Cakes. We got a marble cake with raspberry filling. When we ordered all we told them was that Grandpa was big into agricultural. He is a farmer and loves everything about farming. He loves animals, well maybe just Kiya and Miracle! And he loves his business, Ward Laboratories. They said ok we will get something made up for you. No sketch, no ideas.

This is what we got...

Isn't this wonderful?!

We were very impressed and thrilled with how the cake turned out!

He was super happy!

Even though our sneaking didn't work how we wanted Grandpa was still surprised and excited with his birthday cake!

Could those bales & cows be any more adorable?!

Aren't those corn stalks cute?!

They did a great job on the logo!

Everyone at the Lab also enjoyed the delicious cake and we had a great little celebration at the place that is Grandpa's heart and soul. It was a great day!

~Chelsie

P.S.- 

• Everyone needs to try a cake from K-Town Cakes!
• I am allergic to raspberries and had no idea until I ate cake with raspberry filling :( But it was still delicious! :)

31 Day Challenge: Super Sunday!

Super Sunday

Why was Sunday so super?

We finally have a house!! After all the looking and heartbreaks, they accepted our first offer. Our closing date is August 23rd! Third time really is a charm!

Here is a little information about the new house...

It is an older house so it has nice real hard wood floors throughout the living room, hall way, and upstairs bedrooms. The main bathroom has be newly remodeled! My brushed nickel shelf and soap dispenser will even match!

This is the faucet in my new bathroom.

Does anyone recognize that faucet? Some how fate new that my bathroom stuff would match at my new house!

Moving on.. the kitchen has original wood cabinets, so I am thinking about sanding and painting them. Light grey is my choice right now. The counter tops will also need to be painted. I am thinking about using Rust-Oleum Countertop Coating and painting them black with white and grey speckles. 

Has anyone ever used this? Good idea or not?

There is a full basement with a 3rd bedroom and another bathroom. Also, a full laundry room! So I will be able to close the door and hide everything that isn't done! "The office" will be downstairs in the corner since there isn't a spot upstairs to put one. I have been coming up with ideas on how to divide the room but any suggestions are welcome!

As for Kiya, there is a fenced backyard! I know that is all she really cares about! Silly girl! I will be building an outside kennel for her at the new house, since she loves the one at Grandpa and Grandma's!

Kiya in her 'house' at G&G's house!

Sunday was definitely very SUPER!

~Chelsie

31 Day Challenge: Shopping Saturday!

Shopping Saturday!

Most people already know but I love shopping and finding a great deal while doing it! I love a good bargain!

After looking at house #3 (& putting in an offer), Grandma and I went to get flowers for her good friend Jean's surprise birthday party. We went to Divas Floral Shop. I have heard they do great work but I had never been in the store. We walked in and I was very impressed! They not only had gorgeous flowers but they also had a boutique are filled with adorable purses, scarfs, jewelry, and more! Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful flowers!

After Divas, we went and ordered a cake for Grandpa a birthday cake. It is a secret! We ordered the cake from K-Town Cakes. The cake that we had for my Mom's (aka Pooh Bear) 50th Birthday party was ordered from these great ladies and it was great! K-Town has recently moved into their new space in downtown Kearney. They also have very delicious cookies! 

Wonderful Pooh cake! 

So after all the running around with Grandma, Lauren and I decided to go to the thrift stores in Kearney. We explored some new places and went to our usual spots. Of course, we found some great deals and had a great time!

The first store that we went to is a new store to downtown Kearney. They previously were located by Hobby Lobby. The lady working side they have definitely seen an increase in sales since the move! The store is call "Second Stories". They have cool old furniture, trinkets, dishes, clothing, and much more! Their prices are also very reasonable! Lauren and I both found some great clothing items! She got a really sweet belt that I am jealous of!

Big Star Jeans.

Big Star Jeans.

My first awesome find were the Big Star jeans shown above. They can be found at the Buckle and retail anywhere from $98 to $150. This pair is in great condition and they fit perfectly! I bought them for $15! That is a GREAT find!

BKE shorts

My second great find was this pair of BKE denim shorts. BKE is Buckle brand products. These shorts retail between $40 to $65. I got them in perfect condition for $10! That is another GREAT deal!

Lauren also got similar deals on her clothing. We will definitely be going back to this store! I would recommend anyone in Kearney to check out this store!

We also found some great chairs to refinish at the Goodwill! That store is like our weakness! We always find great furniture to buy and repaint! This time we found two chairs priced at $3.50 each, definitely couldn't pass that deal up! Now we need an idea of how to redo them? All suggestions are welcome!

What kinda of fabric should we use? 

What color should we paint/ stain?

With those two new chairs we now have; three chairs, a coffee table, night stand, children's desk, and a noTTafarm present that we need to finish! I better get some motivation pretty soon!

~Chelsie

31 Day Challenge: Finally Friday

Finally Friday

Thank goodness it is FINALLY FRIDAY! 

Just a couple of days late :)

When Friday finally came, I was ready to just relax at home for the weekend! 

I had to go to the dentist twice this week to get my gums deep cleaned. They did the left side of my mouth Monday and the right on Tuesday. They had to numb my mouth on each side so when I went back to work I sounded like I had cotton in my mouth! The worst part about the deep cleaning was the shots! But luckily I made it through just fine!

Now about the rest of my week... 

I have been living at Grandpa and Grandma's house for about six weeks now. I have (& Grandma) been looking for a pet friendly place to rent in Kearney. Unfortunately, Kearney is a very un-pet friendly community when it comes to rentals. So Grandma suggested buying a house, she now thinks that she will be keeping Kiya when I move out. Ha! I don't think so!

Who wouldn't love to see this face everyday?

Let me tell you a little about the Kearney real estate market. Right now there are only 68 houses on the market, and that is from $21,000 to $750,000. So the price range in which we have been hunting there are only maybe 8 houses. The houses in Kearney also sell VERY fast! Many of the house between $100,00 and $150,000 sell within two days. I'm not joking either! It is a crazy sellers market right not!

Grandma and I have been house hunting for a few weeks and disappointment after disappointment we are tired of looking for a house. House hunting looks like so much fun on TV but it definitely isn't that much fun! The first house we found we didn't know if we really liked it that much and after three hours of talking about it we called the Realtor to set up another showing it is was already sale pending! So, Grandma and I get on our game and weren't going to let the next one(s) get away...

The first house that we wanted, we put and offer in but they were going through bankruptcy, not something we wanted to mess with so we walked away. The second house that we put an offer in, thought that their house was worth more than it actually was so we backed off. We have another house showing tomorrow (Saturday) so hopefully this will be "THE ONE"! Keep your fingers crossed! Third time could be the charm!

House one that didn't work out.

House two that didn't work out.

House three hopeful! (sorry it's blurry!)

31 Day Challenge: Throwback Thursday!

Throwback Thursday!

Time for another #TBT! This time of course, it is late! But since I am behind four days already on my 31 day challenge I figured I should post what I should have posted on the correct day. So Thursday August 1st would have been the first day, therefore TBT.

I have been challenged by my fellow blogging buddy, my Auntie, and a member of the famous noTTafarm team, Kristin Camp!

1975- My Mommy (standing) and my Auntie Kristin!

I am so very thankful that my sister and I never had to wear PJ's like that! 

Kristin and I when I was three.

My bangs were pretty sweet! Thanks Mom!

Thanksgiving 2008.

I'm pretty sure that milkshake had alcohol in it and I wasn't 21. Oh well, it was a family function so it doesn't matter ;)

I want to thank Kristin for challenging me to blog more! I have a rough 31 days ahead of me! This is going to be fun!

~Chelsie

Throwback Thursday!

Throwback Thursday!

Welcome to this weeks' TBT! Earlier this week one of my best friends got engaged! I am so very excited! I love weddings and everything about them, from planning to coordinating to attending. They are wonderful! Anyway, I have dedicated this weeks TBT to my other halves, Megan and Nicole.

Introductions:

 Megan on the left, me on the right.

Nicole on the left, me on the right.

AND... we're the three best friends that anybody could have!

Summer between Freshman and Sophomore year of high school (2006?).

Junior year Halloween (2007).

Junior year Prom (2007).

Senior prom (2008). 

As you can see, we have a signature pose.

Summer between Junior & Senior year of High School (2007).

Yes, we all worked at the same place :)

 Senior year homecoming (2007).

(Yes I had pink hair)

 High school graduation (2008).

 Freshman year of college, Halloween (2008).

 Freshman year of college (2008-09).

They were mad I put bows in their hair :)

Summer between Freshman and Sophomore of College (2009).

Winter time 2010.

New Years Eve (2010/2011).

We like Taava too :)

Summer time in Valentine, NE (2011).

Recap of TBT:

- Megan, Nicole, and I like to always pose the same.

- I use to have a bow wearing obsession.

- My hair color is different in every single photo.

- We need more recent pictures! We have NONE!

Warming Wednesday

(Heart) Warming Wednesday

A couple of weeks ago there was a dog wandering around outside the Lab, and of course the animal lover in me went outside to pet it. Well this dog was in pretty bad shape. She was super skinny, sores on her neck, ticks in her ears. She just looked sad :( But.. she was so so sweet! She just wanted to be loved by everyone! And while she was at the lab she was very much loved by all of us!

She was so excited to have some fresh water!

Now I know Pit Bulls have a scary reputation and I believed all were scary mean animals but on that day I found out that yes they can actually be nice! Our sweet girl wouldn't have hurt anyone. We played with her and people on their lunch breaks fed her some food. She was all around just happy to have great company for once! 

I called the Kearney Humane Society to see what we needed to do to get her to them, they told me to call the police department (non-emergency) and they would come get her. When I called the police, they asked me all of these questions. When they asked what kind of dog we thought it was I told them maybe a Pit Bull. I could tell exactly what the lady was thinking, 'Oh great, another mean dog.' Before she could get the next question in I explained that she was very nice and that no force would be necessary when picking her up. After two hours of wonderful bonding time a sheriff came and picked her up. Literally everyone at the lab was sad to see her go..

Fast forward to last night at softball. There was a girl at the softball game talking about how she was at the Humane Society earlier this week and she had met and gotten to play with a grey Pit Bull and that she was the sweetest dog she had every met! My heart stopped. I was so excited to hear that someone else had experienced how wonderful this puppy is!! She wished that she could have adopted her but they already have a Pit Bull, so she was trying to get someone, anyone with a heart at the softball game to go adopt this wonderful dog! She said that she was doing really great at the Humane Society and that she looked healthy and full of energy! I really wish that we were able to adopt her but right now it just wouldn't work for us. 

Cherry :)

She is now available for adoption at the Kearney Humane Society. They named her Cherry and they also think that she is wonderful and sweet! So if anyone out there wants this adorably sweet puppy please go adopt her! I know shelter puppies aren't some people's fancy but once you meet Cherry, you'll fall in love too!

Threads Thursday

Happy cool threads Thursday everyone! 

Today I'm going to talk about one of the stores that Grandma and I have ventured to recently. This store is located in Minden, Nebraska. I wanted to go to this specific store because people on Facebook are always talking about it and I saw a shirt that I had to have! The store is called 'Hissy Fit Boutique.'

The shirt I HAD to HAVE!

'Hissy Fit' is full of fun trendy fun clothes, as well as, boots, jewelry, purses, and much more! Some people may think the store is too Country for them but living in Nebraska I don't mind. They had some pretty awesome boots but I might have to get a second job to pay for them :)

The boots on the right are the one I want :)

Grandma and I had a great time in Minden. We got a lot of cool clothing while we were there. Grandma also got a 'God Made A Farmer' tee shirt, along with a cute tank and cover up that she wore to Cattlemen's Ball last weekend. She looked adorable, of course we didn't get any pictures.

This is the sweater that I got on sale for only $20!

 

They also have adorable baby clothes!

I will definitely be going back to 'Hissy Fit Boutique' in the future!

 

They have some great new products for summer!

Thanks for checking in on Threads Thursday! Make sure you check out "Hissy Fit Boutique" on Facebook and Online. They do ship! Check back to see more stores we have visited!

~Chelsie   

Win Back Wednesday

Win back is a synonym to catch up. Today I am going to try at 'win back' everyone's attention by catching them up on all that has been happening in the busy past month. Here we go..

First off, my little brother Joe graduated from St. Thomas More High School! He will be attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in the fall majoring in PGA Golf. Yes, that is actually a major.

Congrats Joe! You're awesome! Photo credit: Kristin Camp :)

Some exciting news for my Mom and Dad. Especially my Dad.. He has accepted the position of General Manager/ CEO of White River Electric Association in Meeker, Colorado. He and my Mom will be moving to Meeker by August 1st. They will be newly empty nesters so two big changes for them but we all know they will do great!

Meeker looks beautiful!

Chris agreed to play on four.. yes FOUR softball teams this summer. So on top of Puppy School Monday nights Chris also has softball. He plays on two different team on Monday nights, another on Tuesday, and his work team plays on Thursday's and some times on Friday's. I do try and make it to all of his games even though there have been nights where it has been 50 degrees and raining and nights that have been 102. Crazy Nebraska weather! But great supportive girlfriend!

Chris's work team. Go Scorrchers! 

(Chris is 3 from the left, back row)

Kiya has started puppy school! Well it is actually Dog Obedient school but puppy school sounds better! We have only gone to two classes so far but she is learning pretty fast. We have six classes left before we have to take the "test" to see if we passed. Kiya and I have a lot of homework to do before then, but I am very optimistic that she'll pass :)

She was super tired after her first night!

I got to hang out with my little friend Allie a couple of times! She is almost as cute and perfect as I was when I was that age :) We have a lot of fun when we are together and we share a special bond because we are both first Granddaughters and oldest of our families. There is more for me to teach Allie, like how to be a pretty princess like me!

Grandma, Grandpa, Chris, and I attended Cattlemen's Ball near Paxton, NE. The weather was great compared to last year, a little rain but not 110 degrees! The food was good, the entertainment was great, the shopping was fantastic! This years entertainment was Lonestar. I thought they did a great job! They just released a new album and I may just have to buy it! We had a great time and can't wait until next year!

Grandma had her second knee replaced this week (she is doing great) but before she had that done we have been exploring local shops in other towns. We are the reason for Small Business shopping.. because we spend so much! I will be talking about where we have gone and what we think about the shops we have been to. Once Grandma is fully recover we will be traveling and checking out more stores around the area. So, if anyone has any suggestions we will take them!

I'm sure there is a lot more that I could talk about but I'm sure this enough for today. Hope you all were able to keep up with my chatter. Check back soon for my new store reviews and purchases! Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

~Chelsie :)