Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

It's been a long time since the Fox ladies had a girl's day. It's hard to find a time that works for everyone now that our families are growing. But a few weekends ago, we made an effort to get together for a little bonding time. Both Jerilyn and I have birthdays in March, so that was a great excuse. Kyle and I went to Wichita on Saturday night and enjoyed dinner with Greg, Stacie, Henry, Jerilyn and Conner. Despite it being spring forward, Kyle still managed to wake up in time to go to work with Greg at 6 a.m. on Sunday. They worked a half shift and got home just as Kyle's parents were arriving. The boys stayed home with the nephews and us girls went out for a little pampering. We ate lunch, got manicures and did a little shopping. It was glorious! When we got home, Greg had everything ready for a cookout, which was very brave of him considering how cold it was outside. After we ate, we had fun playing with the nephews and giving Jerry and Patti gifts for their 36t...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Kyle and I are celebrating by hanging out at the house watching basketball. Not the most fun I've ever had, but he went grocery shopping with me earlier and tonight he's making me dinner, so I can't complain. I can't believe it's already mid-March. It's been a busy month so far, which explains why I haven't posted lately. So I guess we'll start with the beginning of the month. The first weekend of March was a big one for us because I was helping host a shower for one of my friends and we were traveling to Hennessey to celebrate our birthdays with my family. The baby shower was for Amanda Mason. We've known Amanda and Kurtis for a few years now, and it's so fun to see them becoming parents! A little piece of us might be slightly sad about the changes that will come with moving them over to the "friends with kids" column, but we are SUPER excited to meet Baby Mason. We had so much fun planning the shower a...

So February is almost over and my gratefulness journal is going pretty well. I actually started on Feb. 1 and have only missed two days so far. Not because I had nothing to be grateful for on those days but because I just didn't make the time to sit down and write. One thing that made the journal on Sunday was Miss Savannah's birthday party. It was such a blessing to be able to celebrate her first year on this earth. Savannah was born very premature and weighed less than 2 lbs. when she made her grand entrance. I work with her dad and everyone at the Foundation was praying for their precious family. They also organized donations and a collection of things that would help them in the hospital. This is one reason why I love the Foundation. We always come together to help our coworkers when they're in need.  Kyle and I play volleyball with Ryan, and we wanted to do something to help. I'm sure our contribution was modest in comparison to all others did, but for us, it ...

The week of Valentine's Day was a short one for me because I took a few vacation days, so Kyle and I celebrated early. Wouldn't you know, it snowed on the day we planned to celebrate! It was a beautiful snow with big, fluffy flakes and as I sat at my desk sipping some hot cocoa, I got a call from the front desk. I had a delivery and was so surprised to see that Kyle had sent me flowers! We'd decided not to do anything for Valentine's Day, but what girl doesn't like getting flowers? After work we went out to eat, which was the perfect way to end the wonderful day. When actual Valentine's Day rolled around, I drove to Hennessey to babysit Asher. Mom and Dad were in Vegas/San Francisco that week, so I offered to come down for the day so Josh and Stacy didn't have to take any more time off work. I decided to be ambitious and take a Valentine's Day project for us. I chose spaghetti art, which is very out of character for me. Messes stress me out. (M...

Well I’m back after a bit of a break and there is just so much to share. We’ll start with Kyle’s 28th birthday, which we celebrated on Feb. 9. It’s so hard for me to believe that we’re approaching the end of our 20’s. Where does the time go?! Kyle’s birthday was on a Saturday this year, which usually means he would be working, but he was able to take some time off. Although it was nice for him, I really felt like it was a present for me. I forget how good it feels to spend two consecutive days off work with your husband around! I might just be able to get used to that. We weren’t alone, though, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Greg, Stacie and Henry wanted to come down and celebrate with us, so they stayed the whole weekend and we had so much fun. They came Friday night and we got to watch Henry walk all over the house! It’s so hard to believe that the last time we saw them he couldn’t do that. He’s already so steady and speedy, too. After he went to bed, Greg and Kyle...

Ever since Christmas, I’ve been thinking about death more than I usually do. I hope that doesn’t sound morbid, it’s just a concept that my 26-year-old self still has trouble grasping. I know the mechanics of it, and I strongly believe that for Christians it’s a joyous occasion, but it’s still a little hard to fathom when I sit down and think about it. I was 12 years old when Grandma Taylor died. There have been so many times I’ve wished I would have known her better. I have and will always have great memories of her. We were over at their house all the time, especially in the summer. I can remember going over to swim and drooling over the freshly baked oatmeal cookies cooling on the counter. They were big, thin and gooey – just as every cookie should be if you ask me. I remember staying over at Grandma and Grandpa’s and eating popcorn for breakfast by the pool. I remember playing with the ceramic bears in her bay window, each bearing one of our names. I can still hear her laugh and ...

So we pretty much became hermit crabs after the holidays. All of that travel left us longing for lazy weekends around the house. And that's exactly what we've been enjoying the past few weeks. I am pretty pumped about this because it means I have a clean house, organized closets and a DVR that is very near empty.   My Martin Luther King Jr. Day project. I should have taken a before because it's come a long way. And in case there was any doubt, this purchase proved that I am a huge nerd. I was so excited to find these rubber tubs to house my cleaning supplies. However, we were ready for a change this weekend. Back in October my wonderful husband bought me a spa package, which expires at the end of this month. I am horrible at making time for pampering. There are just always so many other more important things to do. So, I FINALLY got around to scheduling my appointments on Wednesday, which meant two back-to-back days of spa visits. I have such a rough life! :) ...