R e f r e s h

Can you believe its 2019! OMG. Seriously. June of this year will be my blog's 10 Year Anniversary and I honestly can't believe I've stuck with it this long. We are only twenty days into the new year but it already been a whirlwind  for me. I ended 2018 back home in the Virgin Islands with my family. My brother was in an almost fatal wreck and had to be flown off the island for surgery. I was able to go home and be with my family during that trying time. Two weeks prior to that, Jerm and I went on his first cruise. And less than a week ago I had refractive surgery to correct the vision in my right eye.

Although we've literally been all over the place in the last month I've tried to consistently document our journeys. In the end, even if Jerm decides that he'd like to do something else, he'll always be able to look back on the memories we've documented together. If you havent already, please take a moment to subscribe to his Youtube channel. For ease, I've posted his last two videos below:


2018 was all over the place for me. I'm hoping to bring more focus into 2019.

fin.

Hard Work is Easy Work

This weekend Jerm's team, the Killeen Trojans, played their first regular season game. Hard work truly pays off! The boys have been conditioning since about April and it definitely showed. They showed up and showed out beating their opponents, the Killeen Cowboys, 28-0. Jeremy played safety and he loved being on the field. I'm super proud of him and can not wait to watch him develop into the football player he is meant to be. His coaches and teammates have affectionately named him J-Dawg and this year we wear the number 28 with pride.

I have the best son. You'll never be able to change my mind.

xo,

Glen

Horse Shoes & Hand Grenades..

Summer is Close! We are finally starting to see some semblance of Spring here in Central Texas! This week, there's been a slight chill in the morning but it always seems to disappear by mid-day. Jerm and I decided to take advantage of the warmth and GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! If you know Jerm, you know he eats, sleeps and breathes football so that thing is always glued to his hands.

Even if you have to force it, sometimes it just takes you getting up, dressing up and getting out there to ensure that you enjoy life.  Live your best lives, loves.

xoxo,

Glen

Shirt: True Religion Shorts • Sunglasses: The Children's Place Sneakers: Nike Foamposites

Painting in the Park

Can you believe this is my first post of the year?! Wow. We are seriously a quarter of the way through 2017. Hopefully, this post snowballs into a fury of future posts. Last weekend we celebrated the 6th birthday of Jeremy's awesome classmate Kenna. Kenna (seen above) is a super smart kindergartner, gymnast, and pianist. You may remember her mom, Regina from Jeremy's 5th birthday party (click here to see that post). She made the invitations, photo props and tags for that party. Last weekend she put together a fantastic paint party in the park for her very own superstar, Kenna.


The details of this party were executed flawlessly; from the personalized aprons to the perfectly stenciled canvases. Everything was accounted for beautifully, to include custom birthday t-shirts for the family made by Regina herself. Cupcakes and palette sugar cookies set the stage for the beautifully crafted dessert table, and the kiddos had 4 stencil options to choose from: a DC superhero set, Hello Kitty, a butterfly or a race car. The guests were also allowed to decorate their own cupcakes before singing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl!



To say that the kids (as well as the adults) had fun would be an understatement. It was a beautiful and cool day, and the wind died down just enough for us to enjoy the park. The works of art we all ended up with definitely put smiles on our faces. Look at all this talent stuffed into these little bodies:


Kenna's grandparents and favorite aunt Kimmie were also in attendance, so what better way to end the day than with some lakeside family shots (compliments of the beautiful Bringle Park Lake in the background). The Ferguson family has seriously become my second family while here in Texarkana, and they were super fun to work with.


Here's to 6.
Happy Birthday, Kenna.

xo,

Glenesse

Pajama Jam Out

Last week Jeremy's class held the most adorable pajama party, complete with a visit from the big guy himself! There were games, snacks and treats, gingerbread house building and even a movie! I seriously had not had that much fun in a long time. I even received the cutest Christmas gift from my son; a plank cut to his size with the inscription: "Lean this snowman against a wall, to remind you when I was this small. Fingerprints made the mouth and eyes. This snowman is just my size! So take him out each Christmas and see I'm not as little as I used to be! Merry Christmas! 2016"

Kindergarten is amazing. Send me back!

xo,

Glenesse

Good tidings we bring....

Saint James Day School Kindergarten Christmas Program, 2016.

Jeremy's 3-piece suit and bowtie: Dillard's | Shoes: Payless 

My Dress: Calvin Klein | Pumps: Christian Louboutin

He's back!

Crawford is here! Let's see what kind of mischief ol' Crafty Crawford will get into this year. Elf on the Shelf can be fun, so let your imagination run wild!

xo,

Glenesse

Emerald of the Sea

Prior to our Orlando trip, Jeremy and I spent some time with my family in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Saint Croix, to be exact. It was a well needed distraction from all the things going on around us at the moment. Jeremy absolutely loved the freedom of being able to just run freely and play without regard on my family's land. He's truly an island boy at heart.


And what would an island boy be without a day at the beach?! We had so much fun splashing and wading and just soaking up the rays. We visited Hotel on the Cay (pronounced "key"), a popular tourist destination on St. Croix. Could you believe on his first official beach day Jeremy held a starfish?! I was born and raised there and it was my first time.



Our day at the beach was more than I could have ever hoped for. One of the other amazing things I got to do while at home was a tour of the world renowned Cruzan Rum distillery. It's one of the Virgin Islands' pride and joys. The tour was great. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and its comes complete with 2 cocktails and 3 shots at the conclusion of your tour.






Our time spent in the Virgin Islands was mostly spent by the water. Whether for lunch, an evening hangout with friends or a beach day, the ocean was a reoccurring theme. It was nostalgic, to say the least. A little piece of me will always be on that little rock in the Caribbean Sea..

Hope you enjoyed that little piece of my home as much as I did.
xo,

Glenesse

Cinco de Jerm!

This weekend we hit an unforgettable milestone in my sweet baby's life: he turned 5! This was my first time throwing him an actual party. In the end, all the hurdles, setbacks and delays were all worth it. Jeremy had a blast! So many lessons learned in these past few weeks, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change a thing. This process all started with my wonderful friend Regina, who made me these amazing custom Batman invitations. Unfortunately, I couldn't upload a picture of them (they had personal info on them, sorry!). Please take my word for it, they were gorgeous! Early on in this process, I had decided that I wanted to make most of the things for the party, instead of just purchasing the generic party sets. First thing on the list, create a backdrop for the main table at the party. After an extensive google search (my idea of research, ha!) this was the end result:


I used 3 20"x 30" foam boards, a ruler, a pencil, an exact-o knife and construction paper. Drew the lines, taped the ruler to the board and traced along the ruler with the exact-o knife to keep the lines sharp. Then I cut the windows from the construction paper and taped them to the board. In hindsight, using spray adhesive would have been a better option. I also made a personalized frame:


To make the frame, I used the same 20" x 30" foam board as before. I left 2" from the edge and cut the middle out. Then I bought wooden letters from target for about 79¢ a piece and little containers of paint. I used a combination of paint and oil markers to decorate the letters, then attached them using a hot glue gun. The large Batman symbol is a novelty pin that was purchased from Spencer's. The embossed Batman stickers were from Hobby Lobby. My sister and I were also very hands on with the take home favors:


Each favor basket included a homemade Batman shaped rice crispy treat and lollipop, Batman chocolates, sugared marshmallows on a stick, gumballs, a Batman rubber bracelet, boomerang and paddle ball game. The treats were made and prepared by my sister and me; my sister purchased the molds and cutters from Amazon. The toys were purchased online. The 3 layered custom tags were made by Regina. Jeremy, Shawn and I came up with the sayings on the back. Regina also used her Silhouette Cameo to make the photo props:


The cake, cupcakes and cake pops were ordered from a local bakery here in town and for entertainment, there was a Justice League bounce house:


In all, it was worth it. We had a wonderful time! Here's to being 5...
xo,

Glen

Back in the Sunshine State

Our little vacay back to Florida for a couple days was short and sweet. Filled with family, close friends and lots of warm weather. The atmosphere there is just so different than it is here in Texas. Although we weren't able to eat all the yummy things we wanted and visit all the places we wanted too, we made the most of the time we had.


On the way into Tampa, Jeremy was invited into the cockpit of our flight by the pilot and attendants. He had so much fun interacting with the pilot and telling everyone to "ENJOY YOUR TRIP" over the intercom! It was such a beautiful way to begin our time away.



While there, we were able to spend time with close friends and family. Until now, Jeremy thought he only had 2 cousins! It was quite a shock for him to meet all these new people who had been watching him grow for these past four (almost 5!) years. Most of all, I was excited to spend time with one of my most favorite cousins, Thalia (who just so happens to read my blog). Hey Thal!



Isn't she gorgeous?! *heart eyes emoji*
But seriously, I was having such a good time being back in Florida that I didnt take my usual thousand pictures. We just enjoyed the time spent with the people we care about. And that break was just what I needed to keep my sanity. I absolutely can not wait for my next visit! Until next time...

xo,

Glen