Forrest Spence 5K 2013

This past weekend, the girls & I had the opportunity to participate in the 6th annual Forrest Spence 5K. The Spence family are members of our church, so there is a huge participation from our church each year at this event.  Isabella did the 5K, Brook did the 1 mile fun run, & well me, I did something like a 4K. There's a story behind that.  Anyway, the girls had fun & we got a few pictures to remember the day!

Pre-race with our Team Janovich shirts

Isabella on the 5K course with her friends

She did great!

Brook ready to go with the Janovich girls.  We were on a team in memory of their dad.

Go Brook!

Elvis

To follow-up with the last blog post, Avery & I had a date night on August 16th, the 36th anniversary of Elvis death. A friend from church offered to watch the girls & gave us a gift card as a thank you for some time & advice Avery had given to them on their house.  We appreciated the gift & that they valued his time & expertise, even though they did the work themselves.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of Elvis' Aloha from Hawaii concert.   The concert was broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973 from Honolulu, Hawaii, although it didn't air in the United States until April 4, 1973.  It was aired in over 40 countries across Asia & Europe too.  The show was the most expensive entertainment special at the time.  Each audience member was asked to pay whatever he or she could afford.  The performance & concert merchandise sales raised $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii.  There was a special showing of this concert downtown Memphis at the Orpheum Theater to close out Elvis week.  We ate dinner downtown then headed to the show.

Just a few of the sightings

I have never seen so many Hawaiin shirts & leis in all of Memphis.  I sure wish I had wore my Hawaiin shirt!

People were screaming, clapping & cheering like the man was going to come on stage.   

Guess who wore his blue suede shoes?

Some members of the gospel Stamps Quartet that use to perform with Elvis sang gospel songs at intermission. For some reason, their heads were glowing so you can't see any faces!

Elvis all over.  No doubt in my mind, the best entertainer/singer/musician of all time.  Please see the links below for proof!

After show dessert!  It seems like just yesterday I posted about this cheesecake.  It is our favorite.  

Lord, help convert this sugar, dairy, soy, gluten & whatever else into something worthwhile!

Suspicious Minds.. all the proof you need.  Do yourself a favor & put this on full screen!  And before you click on this, just as a reminder, whatever you do, make sure you click on the link below too.  It is classic & worth it!

So this cute little video has gone viral, so you may have seen it.  If you haven't, please watch it from beginning to the very end.  You have to watch it until the very end to get the full effect of this cute little Elvis fan.  If you have seen it, well then watch it again for pure entertainment.  I will never think of American Trilogy the same.  

And if you are really an Elvis fan, for fun, here he is singing Fever, one of my favorites from this concert.  I will always remember where I was August 16, 1977 when I heard the news.  Until next Elvis week..........

15 Years of Marriage & Elvis

This past May, Avery & I celebrated 15 years of marriage.  We had a nice dinner out & it was a great evening.  Last week, I received a gift for that event.  I am much more an "acts of service" love language girl than a "gift" girl, but I do really like my gift & so appreciate the acts of service that were behind the gift.

It started with a fire.  Who would have ever thought it would be cool enough to have a fire one evening mid-August in Memphis?  I am so thankful for our mild summer with cool evenings!

He finally proposed!  As the story goes, Avery asked me on one knee to marry him this time since the first time wasn't a question but more of a Jerry McGuire moment, of "let's get married." 

I said yes this time (the first time I didn't answer until the next day). 

Yes, I got a new ring!

Clearly, I hadn't left the house this day, so pardon my fancy attire. 

We had our own photographer in the house! (Isabella :))

The next day, I had my ring sized.  This is us with the sweet lady who had helped Avery & the girls.  They picked this out over a year ago & have been saving all this time until they could get it for me.  I love that the girls were a part of this. The associate had tears in her eyes when we came in & told me she had been waiting over a year to meet me!  So of course I got a picture!

Because that was enough excitement, I'll save Elvis for tomorrow!

Weekly fun

This post is sharing some of the little things which help us enjoy each day the Lord has blessed us.

This is dessert I made last week when some new friends came over... Brown Sugar Caramel Poundcake.  I recommend it with cool whip or ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream, you know I love my share of frozen yogurt.  The girls & I treated ourselves to some yogurt in honor of the new Duck Dynasty premiere last week. And in honor of completion of our first full school week.  And in honor of any other excuse we need to eat yogurt!

A little trip to Office Depot wouldn't be complete without a picture by the group, One Direction.

Brook's favorite band.  Reminds me of what I would have done 30 years ago, but I would be standing in front of Duran Duran....both 5 member boy bands from the UK.

Brook posing with her fancy ring, bag, & hat in Charming Charlie's.  I really like this place.  She & I had fun here while we waited on Isabella who was at a birthday party & Avery was out of town.

A healthy trip to the grocery store (not pictured fruits)

Well, and then I bought this too!  

My project to get my mind off of the car I hit on Sunday.  I enjoy me some puzzles.  

It's been a long time, but the girls decided to make a fort & even slept in this.  

Coming up...a post about a fun weekend, minus hitting the car on Sunday.  Everyone is safe though, thankfully. 

KC Visitor

We had one of dear friends stay with us last week, & it was good to have her here again.  We met Rachelle in 2006 through church.  She moved in 2008 back to Kansas City, where she is from.  We have missed her, but are so happy she is where God wants her & she is faithfully serving the Lord there. She was in town for a wedding, so we enjoyed the visits we had in between her busy schedule in Memphis.  Here are few flashback photos & current photos:

Throwback from 2008

Look at Brook's hair!

 

2009

2010

Isabella in Rachelle's glasses

The girls slept in our laundry room & redesigned it for the week!

We made a bride's bouquet for the rehearsal dinner & Brook posed with it, along with my veil!

Rachelle & the girls

Brook playing with Rachelle's hair

Wedding reception downtown

Family picture with Rachelle

Food, glorious food!

The saying goes, never go to the grocery store hungry.  When I go grocery shopping, I usually stick to my list.  I'm a little crazy with my list.  I spend just as much time shopping as I do on creating a list & cutting coupons.  All that time, & 99% of my shopping days, I come home & realize I forgot something or am informed we are out of something. Oh well, I will be back to the store again the next week. I do sometimes buy a special treat for the family, find a good sale item, or sometimes just a plain weakness. My last time to the grocery store, I had a weakness/curiosity moment.

Let me just say, these are so good!  I won't tell you how long it took us to finish it.  It may or may not have been in under an hour that they entered our home.  No shame.  So good they could be a breakfast item, ha!  

On a healthier note, I do enjoy fresh vegetables we enjoy in the summer.   Our sweet neighbor provides us with vegetables often from his garden.

We had the opportunity to spend some time last week at a friend's farm.  The girls picked figs & came home with fig preserves, one of Avery's favorites.

One of the most famous & favorite summer places in Memphis is Jerry's Sno Cones.  The girls really like this place, but I admit, I just went for the first time last Wednesday.  It was better than I even expected, so I hope to go back before the cold weather arrives.

Sno Cones with Hayden, the Jr. High Assistant

Family photo :)

My latest addiction is tomato basil soup.  That is crazy because I just started eating tomatoes about 5-6 years ago.  This was our family dinner one night....tomato soup & grilled cheese!

Yum!  Makes me excited for fall food.

Hopefully, you'll be inspired for some good meals this week.  If you need recommendations, don't forget to check out The Pioneer Woman's recipes.  She actually just showed her tomato soup recipe last week. I was a little excited to see it.  Happy eating & give thanks!