Sawyer's First Haircut!

Today I decided I was sick of Sawyer's nasty old guy comb over so I gave him his first haircut! I meant to take a picture before I started cutting it but I spaced it and only have a few from after. But those of you who have seen Sawyer in person, know his hair was a little old man-ish and way longer than others in some spots. But, I solved that problem today! :) I must admit I was a little scared to cut it but I think it turned out pretty dang good! 

                                                 Before.

                                                After. Mohawk :)

Change

As the months go by and it becomes closer to June, I have really come to realize what a sad summer it is going to be for me and my family. Lauren and Derek and Titan will be clear in Georgia and it breaks my heart to think what it's going to be like for Lauren to be without Derek for such a long period of time because that feeling is still all too fresh for me.. She is a lot stronger than I am though and I know she'll do just fine. She will also be a better ARMY wife than I am cause unlike her, I like to complain about all the stupidity that comes along with the army. But, she has yet to experience it :) I just hope they have a better experience then Garrett and I have had so far. I will miss them! Jordan will be in Pennsylvania until the end of the summer and will then be heading to Texas Tech in Lubbock for the fall. So at least him and I won't be too far apart :)  Colin will be here in El Paso working and living with friends. My parents will be in El Paso until the end of the summer and then they will be relocating to their new home. And that leaves me, Sawyer and Bentley. We will be heading to Fort Hood, TX on June 3rd. I must say that a part of me is excited to finally have a place to live after being at my parents for the better part of a year but the other(bigger) part of me is really scared and sad. 

As I think back on all the things that have happened in the past year and all the changes that we have all gone through, I can't help but always see my parents come in my mind while thinking about everything. They have been there with me by my side since the very beginning. I can still remember the day that I had to say goodbye to Garrett when he was leaving for basic training. My parents picked me up when it was time to leave and I just cried the whole way home and I was so thankful that I had them there to talk to me and comfort me and let me know that everything would be just fine. They were there when we went to see Garrett graduate from Basic Training. They took me on an awesome vacation of the South on our way there. They were there for me when I was pregnant and without Garrett. They were there ready to take me to the hospital the day Sawyer was born. They were there when I broke down and cried when I was told the sad news that Garrett would have to get deployed just two months after Sawyer was born. And they are still here now, ready to help me move and get situated in my new home. I've been so lucky and so blessed to have them with me through all that has happened recently. I don't think I could've done it without them. They are amazing parents and I couldn't have been sent to a more loving and caring family. 

I am going to miss being able to go anywhere and everywhere with one of my best friends, my mom. I'm going to miss having family dinner with my mom and dad and Lauren and Derek and Titan. I'm going to miss being able to hang out with all of them on the weekends and watch movies together and eat good food and laugh and cry. I'm going to miss living just five minutes from Lauren and Derek and having them come over and hang out with me on Friday nights when I'm home alone and feeling lonely. I'm going to miss yelling from upstairs "Mom! Come see what Sawyer just did!" or "Mom! Come hear Sawyer laugh!" I'm going to miss the comfort of my family. They mean the world to me and I'm scared to be away from them. I know that these changes at this time in our lives are all much needed ones but I just hate to see it come so soon. I want everyone in my family to know how much I love and appreciate them. They have all been a huge help to me and Sawyer and I can't thank them enough. 

I'm excited to start my new future with my little family in Fort Hood, TX. We will be moving June 3rd and will be waiting for Garrett to come home to visit in September for two weeks and then join us again for good at the end of November. Thank you to all of you in El Paso who have helped me and Sawyer while Garrett has been away. :) I will miss you guys too! Keep in touch everyone! :)

Fried Pickles anyone?

The first time I ever tried fried pickles was at Buffalo Wild Wings. My sister, Lauren suggested we get some. I had never even heard of them or even knew they existed. So, we got some and I must say, I fell in love. They were delicious! Dip them in ranch and they are even better! Of course, cause ranch makes EVERYTHING better(especially Dion's ranch!). A few weeks after trying the Buffalo Wild Wings fried pickles we went and ate at this restaurant on base called Smashburger. They also had fried pickles so of course we ordered some...Delish. So my mom and I decided that we should try to make our own. She googled a recipe for them and we gave them a shot! Here is the recipe! I hope you try making them! It's easy and they are soooo good! Enjoy! :)


                                                      Fried Pickles
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon vinegar-based hot pepper sauce(We used Valentino sauce)
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt(Lawry's)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup cornmeal
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1(32 ounce) jar dill pickle sandwich slices
1 cup vegetable oil for deep frying
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions: 
1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, 1/4 cup of the flour, buttermilk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, seasoning salt and garlic powder
2. In a separate mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, 2 cups flour, salt and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper.
3. Preheat oil in a deep fryer or pot to 365 degrees.
4. Dip drained pickles into milk mixture and then dredge them in the flour mixture. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Salt and pepper to taste.

                                                           End result! 

Thankful

This post is going to be about little Sawyer! I know he is only three months old, BUT he is growing up so fast and I feel like he is so big already! Today he sucked his thumb for the first time! He has been trying for weeks to get that sucker in and he FINALLY did it! He looked so cute! Last night he sat in the Bumbo for the first time too and he loved it! He also laughed for the first time the other day and I must say that when he laughed, I almost started crying! I couldn't think of a better sound than his little laugh. It was the best! He is so sweet and I love him to death! The mornings are my favorite with him because he is always so happy. A lot of times when I am feeding him, he can't keep the bottle in his mouth cause he is staring and me and smiling so big! It makes me so happy to know that he loves me so much. He is my little buddy. I am so very thankful that I have him especially at this time in life. It's when I really need him the most. It may sound silly to lean on a little 3 month old so much, but he really is what makes it possible for me to get through the day since Garrett is gone. He keeps me busy and he keeps me happy and he keeps my mind off of the fact that Garrett is in Afghanistan and is always in harms way. I am so thankful for my little family. :) They mean the world and more to me. I love them so much! 

                                     Sawyer sucking away at his little thumb! 

                                      Testing out the Bumbo! He loved it! :)

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I have seen a lot of people post a list of their favorite things so I thought, why not? I know...I'm such a copy cat. But, it sounded fun to me so here goes! 

A Few of My Favorite Things:

1. My hubsand, Garrett. Sexiest, most handsome, fun guy in the world! I love him to death!

2. Sawyer Scott. Our son. In my opinion, cutest baby there is! (And probably chubbiest, too!) His smile always makes my day. :)

3. Bentley Scott. Our boxer. Cutest stinkin' dog in the world. And he has the BEST personality!

4. My family. Leon, Jennifer, Jordan, Colin, Lauren, Derek and Titan. Best family I could ever ask for. They rock!

5. My car. Lola is her name. She runs like a champ. 

6. Mexican food. 

7. Movies. Garrett and I would watch a movie EVERY weekend. It was our favorite thing to do together!

8. Popcorn. Whirly Pop popcorn is the bomb...especially with Parmesan and Garlic seasoning. Yes sir.

9. My bed. It's super comfy and it's always calling my name, even though I rarely get to actually SLEEP in it. 

10. Dion's. Best restaurant EVER.

11. Decorations. I have a thing for decorating...even though I'm not very good. Ha!

12. Rainstorms. Although they are rare where I live, I still love them and wish they'd come more often. 

13. Flip flops. I wear them 24/7. No matter what the weather is, they will be worn.

14. Jeans. I would buy all the jeans in the world if I could. 

15. Night lights. Yes, I'm 22 and I'm afraid of the dark. So what.

16. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. Delish.

17. Target. I could go there everyday of the week and not get sick of it.

18. Baby clothes. Everywhere I go, I HAVE to look at them. Whether Sawyer needs them or not. They are just too cute!

19. Miniature things. 

20. Zebra and Giraffe prints. LOVE them. 

I could go on and on but, I will stop there just in case I've bored you to death! HaHa! I hope you enjoyed it, though! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Tankin'

So, as all of you probably already know, Garrett is currently deployed in Afghanistan for the next seven months. He was trained to work on the M1 A1 Abrams Tanks but for some reason the ARMY doesn't have any of those tanks in Afghanistan...they all belong to the Marines yet they still made Garrett go over there...I don't know why. But anyway, for the past couple weeks he hasn't been completely honest with me in letting me know exactly what it is that he's doing over there until I finally got it out of him a few days ago. He has been going out on route clearance to find IED's that are set in their way to explode. Awesome...NOT! When I found this out I was extremely mad that the ARMY would train him to work on a certain tank and deploy him when those tanks aren't even over there and then make HIM drive the tanks to look for IED's! This isn't his job and I'm pretty sure it isn't in his job description. Anyway, the whole reason why he hasn't told me what he has had to do is so that I wouldn't worry about him. Of course being his wife I am always going to be worrying about him. Especially because he is in Afghanistan and at any moment something could go very wrong. At times, I am thankful that he doesn't tell me everything that is going on, but at the same time, a part of me wants to know. He tells me over and over everyday not to worry about him cause he reassures me that he will be just fine. These words always bring comfort to me. I feel like it is just human nature to worry so sometimes even when he tells me not to, I do. But, I know that if I keep my trust in the Lord and have faith, everything will be just fine and I know that Garrett and I will be reunited when his deployment is over. I miss him a ton but I'm so thankful for the sacrifices he is making for not only his family, but also for the world. I love him so much! 

This is the tank my studly hubby has been driving around! The m984 Wrecker! 

Pima Chile

This is one of my all time favorite things to snack on. Its delicious and it's super easy to make! Here is the recipe in case anyone wants to try it! :)

Pima Chile

10 yellow hots

5 jalapeños

1 yellow onion

2-3 tomatoes(you can add more if the pima is too hot!)

*Dice up the yellow hots, jalapeños and onion. 

*Place them all in a skillet with a good amount of olive oil. 

*Turn the burner on a medium-high flame and let them sit in there until the onions turn clear. Stir occasionally. 

*Salt to taste with garlic salt, onion salt and regular salt.

*Place in medium bowl and add tomatoes.

*Serve on a warm tortilla or dip with tortilla chips. 

*ENJOY! :)