Spring Break 2016: Day 7, 8, 9, 10

It’s the last spring break post for 2016. Aw, how sad right?! If you’ve missed any of my other posts…

Day 1, 2, and 3
Day 4, 5, and 6

Get caught up because we’re already on to last Friday, the 18th!

I went to lunch with one of my uncle’s this day and hung out with the other one for another part of the day and then later that night we all went out for a family dinner. My 2 aunts, my 2 uncles, my uncle’s girlfriend, my 3 cousins, and my cousin’s girlfriend. I love my people.

I ordered the miso glazed salmon. On top of steamed vegetables?? Who knew I was coming to dinner? #myperfectmeal

For dessert I got to watch everyone else devour tiramisu and this s’mores brownie. I mean. Seriously.

After dinner we had to take pictures, because they were with me so #naturally. One of my uncle’s probably said something stupid and he is hilarious, so this is what we looked like all night.

When you ask your boy cousin to take a picture, expect a selfie.

My cousin Claire is a year younger than me (she’s Reese’s age) and we are basically the same person. I love her! And she’s a darn good cook…see yesterday’s post.

Uncle Rick (the one that says dumb things and keeps us all belly laughing) doesn’t have any kids. So his nieces and nephews are his kids. 🙂

Y’all know how much I love my Reesey. Omaha folks…in case you’re wondering we ate at Crave in Midtown and it was so good!

Now, I woke up Saturday morning headed to the gym in SNOW. What the heck?! It was 30 degrees in Omaha and probably 70 degrees in Texas. And there was SNOW. IN MARCH.

After I got back and showered from the gym, Reese and I hit Scooter’s again because #wheninOmaha.

I wish Reese and I lived closer because coffee dates with him are fun.

We were on our way to lunch with Uncle Rick and he decided to randomly pull into this jewelry store and told me to pick out something. So I came home with this cute bracelet that just so happens to double as a necklace if I wish.

Oysters, shrimp, and fried calamari (for them) was lunch. I told them I had never eaten out this much in my life as I did this week.

Uncle Rick tried to get me to take a shot with an oyster in the bottom at 11:00 in the morning and I said no thank you sir. So he did it without me and toasted to my momma 😉

When we got back from lunch, my aunt and I went to get our nails done. And then I sat by the fire because…

SNOW IN OMAHA IN MARCH. This Texas girl did not know what to do with herself!

Later that night, Uncle Rick took his girlfriend, my aunt, my cousin Ean and Ean’s girlfriend to dinner at Fleming’s Steakhouse.

And just because we like to have fun, ya know. (We didn’t actually drink it like this, it was a joke to my parents.)

Appetizers started with this seafood stack. Yo girl and her seafood, Boston, east coast loving self was in Heaven.

I ordered the sea bass and it was TO DIE FOR.

I again got to watch them all devour a molten chocolate cake for dessert. HOW RUDE. 😉

And we got another group picture before we left.

This is Ean (Reese’s brother) and he’s kind of a pain in the butt most of the time. But I still love him.

And then everyone left me so I hung out in front of the fire by myself. I basically lived by the fire this whole vacation because I was so cold. Like, I didn’t even bring a jacket y’all because in case you missed it when I mentioned 43092 other times this post…it was March.

On Sunday morning Reese and I accompanied Uncle Rick to his weekly Sunday morning Menards run.

And then Reese and I came back to his house and watched March Madness while he ate Buffalo Wild Wings.

I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up I couldn’t find anyone, so I just went to the gym for a while.

That night Uncle Rick smoked some salmon in his new smoker.

And served us some spinach salad as an appetizer.

So we had steamed veggies, smoked salmon, ribs, and sweet potato for my last supper. And then I had to begin saying my goodbyes to everyone. 😦

I forgot to take pictures on Monday, so you’ll have to forgive me. I can tell ya what happened though…it’s really pretty simple.

1. I woke up and went to the gym.
2. I got home from the gym, showered, ate, and went to see Miracles From Heaven with my aunt. OMG Y’ALL. GO.
3. I came home, packed, snacked on some more food, and then we went to the airport.
4. I got on a plane and flew home.
5. I slept in my own bed and went back to reality.

Sigh. It was fun while it lasted. Seeing my family is never a bad thing. Quality Time is my love language so getting to spend some one-on-one time with all of these people was right up my alley.

Best spring break of my college career!

Spring Break 2016: Day 4, 5, 6

I’m still recapping my Omaha trip. If you missed Day 1, 2, 3 click here.

Tuesday started day 4 of vacation. Reese and I talked about Starbucks and he said he didn’t know what to order there, but he knew he wanted something. Helllllooooo you’re talking to the queen of coffee. So I asked what he liked…you know, hot or cold, chocolatey or vanilla, and we took a trip to Starbucks. I got my iced coffee and he enjoyed his Vanilla Latte. Now that wasn’t too hard, was it? 😉

As soon as we got back to the house, my aunt and I hit the road for my grandpa’s house in Iowa.

Around 1:00 or so, I wanted a salad. A grilled chicken salad. While we were driving my aunt mentioned something about wanting an ice-cream cone, so we ended up stopping at a dairy queen and I was pleasantly surprised by how good their salad was! And get this…Tuesday, March 15th happened to be FREE CONE DAY. What the what?! We all won!

We got to grandpa’s right around 3:00 in time for a Dr. Phil episode. I spread out on the couch eating grapes while gramps sat in his beloved chair and we watched all the crazy play out on Phil’s show.

Later that night we went to dinner at a local Tavern and while it was taco night, I ended up with a grilled tenderloin. All I got was a tiny piece of meat and I was still hungry so when we got home…

…I made some popcorn and we all munched while watching updates on the presidential race. Gramps enjoyed some leftover birthday cake.

Ohhhhhhh how I love this guy. I was so happy we got to come down and see him!

On Wednesday we woke up and were lazy all morning, so come lunch time my aunt made grandpa a lasagna and I laughed because it looked SO GROSS. Word to the wise…don’t buy Stouffer’s lasagna if you want to eat something that actually looks yummy. If you don’t care, then by all means!

Later that afternoon, we did what gramps does during the afternoon. He sat in his chair and read the paper while I continued on in Candace Cameron Bure’s book. With more of the news in the background of course.

That night my cousin Dani (who’s basically the older sister I never had) and her husband, and their little boy Tommy came to eat. So we went back to the same tavern for dinner…because when in small town Iowa, you have limited options. This time I got a grilled chicken breast and baked potato.

We came home and I got a picture with grandpa. And it’s a shame I don’t do something with my hair because ew.

I posted this picture on Instagram. FOLLOW ME @mollymiddleton01. Tommy pooped his pants right before this picture and it was hilarious. Nonetheless, I still got a picture with him (and gramps in the background) so it’s my new favorite.

I had to grab another selfie with grandpa while I could.

We hung out, chatted and then all went to bed.

Thursday morning we woke up and grandpa had his cereal. We said our goodbyes as we were going back to Omaha that day.

We stopped by my other aunt and uncle’s house to say goodbye and my aunt gave me this drink to try. I’m a fan. Have you had it before?!

And then we stopped at our Dairy Queen again. And here’s the deal with that.

My aunt did something to her knee to where she could barely walk, so she wore a knee brace down. When we went into the DQ on Tuesday the lady behind the counter asked if she could pray for her. She said yes and we left. Well, the next day my aunt woke up feeling  100% better and said we were going back to her! So we did. And she had her pray for some other stuff going on in her life. And it was so refreshing to see!

Thank goodness for people like Bev from DQ.

When we got back, I quickly showered and headed over to my uncle’s house for some corned beef and cabbage because #stpaddy’sday

And then I went out with one of my other cousin’s and her parents for happy hour.

We came back and they had this appetizer made. I found it on Pinterest and am totally going to re-create it soon! Sooooo good!

My uncle has his famous drink that he makes and when we got home he got to it!

I had one of his drinks and a drink that my cousin made. Trust me…you won’t have to worry about an alcohol deficiency when in the presence of my family!

My cousin and my aunt just cooking away and spoiling me.

Steaks, kale salad, and sautéed mushrooms and onions. DELICIOUS. I want it again!!

We sat around the table for a couple hours after dinner talking, laughing, telling stories, and all of that. I ended up going home around midnight and went straight to sleep. All of these events were wearing me out!! But it was so much fun!

Tomorrow we’ll be wrapping up and coming home. Come back to see! 🙂

Spring Break 2016: Day 1, 2, 3

I cannot believe that my last spring break has come and gone. Now that means i’m officially 1 month away from this semester being over! And guess what you’re in store for this week???

My spring break recap!!!! Oh yeah.

So on Saturday the 12th, I hit the airport for a flight to Omaha, Nebraska! 3 out of my mom’s 6 siblings live here with their families so it sounded like the perfect vacation spot to me. Family time!

I took along book number 1 for the trip and read while I was waiting for my flight.

This lady was driving me NUTS. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to TEXT someone use your hands. That’s what texting is…if you’re going to talk on your phone…CALL THEM and take your loud conversation to a private corner. I just find it so rude!

My flight got in around 5ish and we went straight to my uncle’s house and did what this family only knows how to do…pulled out the booze!

Y’all know Reese. We’re best friends and cousins mixed into one. We decided to have a little photo shoot before dinner happened!

My uncle made baked potatoes with filet mignon (that ended up back in the microwave for this girl).

After dinner we sat around, talked a little bit, caught up, etc. But before we went back to my aunt’s house my uncle and his girlfriend showed us a dance move that they learned in Jamaica a couple weeks ago. These two…put them together and you’ve got entertainment to last you a lifetime!

My cousin asked the 24 Hour Fitness that he goes to if my membership would work, and it does! So Sunday morning I woke up and hit the gym for my BodyCombat class. And then Reese and I made a smoothie run to Scooter’s for him, but when I found out they have almond milk you can bet your bottom dollar I got me something.

Apparently Scooter’s is really popular around here (considering it was on every street corner we drove by)! I’m a fan.

After the gym and coffee, my uncle took me to Trader Joe’s so I could get some fruit and snacks for the week.

After Trader Joe’s my uncle decided that he needed a new TV because #whynot so we drove to Nebraska Furniture Mart to pick it up.

But when we found out every store was out of the one he wanted, we agreed it was Mexican food time! And let me just say, these Omaha peeps do not know what guacamole is!!! Geesh.

So Sunday night we did a little of the same and all hung out, ate dinner, and went to bed.

Monday morning I got up and went to the gym. When I got back, showered, and grabbed some food I got a call from my uncle asking if I wanted to go with him to a client’s house. Why sure, nobody else was home! So we took his car out for a spin and then hung out for most of the afternoon.

Monday night my aunt, a couple of her friends, and I watched the bachelor and once it was over Reese was wanting some BWW so we hopped in the car. Only to find…

Jingle Bells playing in March. So weird. Once we got back Reese and I started American Sniper and after he finished eating, we each went to bed. We are some lame people around here…but we’re off to a good start!

Alrighty, that was days 1-3. The rest is coming!

Friday Favorites

All day yesterday I thought it was Friday and I have no idea why. But the good news is that today is Friday and not Saturday. #glasshalffull

Link to Narci, Andrea, and Erika and blog about your favorite anything this morning. Here are mine 🙂

Baseball and Cousins

The siblings, Reese, his girlfriend Diana, Ean, my two aunts, mom and I all sat through Ryan’s baseball game on Sunday afternoon. It was blazing hot. Like the bleachers were burning my bottom hot. Can’t you see how excited we all look to be out there?!

But Ry played some good baseball and it was fun getting to spend that time with our cousins. The weather wasn’t a favorite, but any time spent with family is.

The Pool

Sunday after Ryan’s game, Reese Diana and I stopped at the dollar store to get some beach balls and we created a volleyball net in the backyard. Morgan invited her friend over and we had a little 4 v 4 game. My team lost. Ha, I wonder what I would be like out on the volleyball court again…

Morgan’s friend had an underwater camera so he brought it and we took some pictures. This is the best I got. At least it was documented that I was there right? I’m planning to spend a lot more time here this summer. Being in/around the pool is one of my favorite summer activities.

Lunch Date

Yesterday morning my mom texted me asking if I wanted some lunch dates? I mean how would anyone say no. I told her we should go out so I can get out of the office and we drove until we were going to find Mexican food. We ended up stopping by this restaurant not knowing what to expect and we LOVED IT. I got the grilled trout, my mom got the veggie burger (no clue why), and my aunt got the crab cake salad. My favorite part is now I have leftovers for lunch or dinner today!!

Monday

I came home on Monday and it just felt like such a long day. I popped open a bottle of White Zinfandel from our favorite store and mom, dad, aunt, and I sipped some wine on the patio. What a refreshing way to cure the Monday blues.

Late Night Walks

This week has been a killer. I wake up early, am gone all day, and then usually have things to do at night. It’s like real adult stuff. 😉 I’ve been so tired lately that as soon as I got home from work twice this week i’ve popped down on the couch and fell asleep for an hour or two. Tuesday night after my nap and dinner I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Usually I don’t like to do this because I can’t be seen, but it was actually kind of nice. Long walks are a favorite!

Summer Scarf

I went browsing through Target last night and found this scarf. I decided I just needed it because it was light, colorful, and would look great with a tank and shorts this summer. My favorite. And get this: Only TEN DOLLARS! I’m not trying to be bossy or anything…but you ladies need it! 🙂

That’s it for this Friday. Have a good weekend, friends!

S&T: How you met your mate – 2 of my favorite stories

I’m excited for Andrea’s link-up today. One of my favorite things is hearing how people met…did they hate each other first? was one dating the other’s sibling? did they meet in middle school? were they best friends for a while? Oddly enough, i’ve heard all of those stories. I’m sure i’ll be doing some major blog hopping today.

 I had more people scheduled, but they didn’t get back to me, so today i’m just sharing two stories with you. Because i’m not in a relationship, I thought i’d have Emily and Reese post. I texted them on Sunday and told them the gist of what was going on today and they all agreed. So, let’s see how God put these different couples together….

Emily and Tyler

Tyler Tyler Tyler, where even to begin…

Freshman year biology I guess is where you could say it all began. Entering high school was a whole new world with so many new faces. Tyler and I were paired up to be lab partners and to be honest he never really had much to say, haha. He was quiet, kinda shy, and still hung out with the same group of kids he grew up with. I on the other hand was a little more outgoing, and was excited to be in the new environment of high school. As the year went on friendships began to grow and I noticed that Tyler and I started to have a lot of friends in common, we started talking more and more in class and feelings started to appear (at least on my end). It’s kind of a blur how things matured with us but before you know it Tyler and I were dating. We both brought different things to the relationship and fed off of each other’s energy when we were together. As the relationship continued I grew closer with his family and he with mine. It was only a couple moths into the relationship when Tyler told me he loved me, I can honestly say I had never had a boyfriend so this was a real curve ball and I worried we were moving too fast when in reality Tyler just knew from the beginning it was right.

Do you recognize the girl on the right??

Tyler was my best friend, we challenged each other academically, supported each other mentally, and shared the same values. Eventually our families became best friends as well and from then on we had family vacations every summer. Fast forward to two years into the relationship and the relationship was now very serious and intense, and that’s when the fear set in. At 16 I considered myself too young to be in such a serious relationship and I found myself questioning if Tyler was going to be my forever. Eventually these thoughts lead us to breaking up, I don’t think I had ever been so devastated… even though I felt as though it was important to experience new things I was scared that maybe I had made the wrong decision and I had lost him forever.

Senior homecoming. They were dating other people at this point.

Over the next two years of high school our feelings towards each other changed as we both dated other people and for a long time we had a mutual hatred of each other, we couldn’t even stand to be in the same room, but our families still loved our vacations, which continued while we were broken up. (I swear my parents thought it was funny) one summer after a huge fight that was it, Tyler and I completely cut ties.

One of their many family vacations.

Senior year rolled around and I found myself in the middle of my parent’s messy divorce, there were so many times I had wished that Tyler was there to help me through but he was in a serious relationship and we continued to grow apart. Before I knew it we were both walking across the stage at graduation. That fall I started my freshman year at the University of Arkansas while Tyler was at ole Miss. (6 hours apart)

Fast forward again to summer of 2014, our parents (who had remained friends) decided it was time to start up the family vacations again that had been neglected since the start of college. This was the first time Tyler and I had spent time together since the start of college and boy did it start out rough. We fought, bickered, and complained. One night we were outside talking (actually getting along) because I was upset over my mom’s new boyfriend, Tyler comforted me and for the first time in a long time I felt unconditional love. So here we are, Tyler and I are back together and yes distance is hard but he’s worth it in so many ways.

Tyler changed my life, he challenges me in every aspect of life and encourages me to be a better person. He is the dreamer to my doubt and has the biggest heart. After seven years I have learned every side to him and while it might not always be pretty, there is no one else I would want to share a life with. Our time apart matured our relationship and made us both realize how important we were to one another. I thank god every day that we found our way back. I love Tyler to death and cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.

Couldn’t you just cry?? The first thing I think of when I look at their relationship is that quote…”If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.” I love Tyler and Emily like they are part of my family. You two are my best friends and i’m happy you found your way back together! 🙂

Reese and Diana

This is their very first picture together.

I met her in our environmental science class. (I hate science). I saw her and I
thought she was soooo pretty! First thought right off the bat. I made small talk
but never anything big. Then I finally moved closer to her in class and then had
conversations with her. Always asked for a pen for two reasons. I actually
needed one and I wanted to talk to her. She always dressed up for me trying to
impress me but I never picked up on that (I know I’m a bright one). Then we had to do a group project and that’s how I got her number because the group exchanged numbers or else i don’t know when I would have. My first text I ever sent to her was “SNACKS!!!” because I always told her to bring snacks to class because four hours is a long class! Needless to say she failed at that haha. But we kept talking and she came over Friday night (November 14) and I gave her a tour of the house and then I looked at her and kissed her and that’s how I asked her out. ❤️ everyone that
has met her loves her. She’s the first and only girl to ever go to grandpas and
the dog farm. I can’t wait to bring her there when everyone’s there. She’s so
amazing. That whole semester she’s the best thing that came out of it. I don’t know what I would do without her. She treats me great. There are no words to describe the feelings we have for one another ❤️

So cute!!

Reese, Grandpa, Diana

This was Valentine’s day this year.

Our family always makes fun of Reese. He never had a girlfriend and he’d always talk about how he was going to bring a date to a family event…(he’s a talker.) Now I can say this because Reese is my cousin….but he’s always been one to jump into things really fast. Any little relationship he had he says I like her so much and I told him to shut up because he’s 12 hahah, but I will say this relationship has been different and i’m surprised she’s stuck around this long 😉 When he told me about her I was thinking in my head “gah, this will be a week.” But it’s been 4 months! (Love you Reese, don’t hate me!!!) I haven’t met Diana yet, but i’m glad she’s made my Reeser happy.

And because we are talking about the L word go watch this video about a couple who’s been married for 56 years. Melt. My. Heart.

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway from Friday Favorites last week, because i’ll be announcing my winner TOMORRROW!!!! Happy Tuesday!

Meet My Peeps: Reese

It’s another edition of Meet My Peeps today! Everyone say “Hello,

Reese

How do I know Reese?
Reeser is one of those lucky people that gets to call me family 😉 His mom and my mom are sisters, so he’s been stuck with me since we were weeee little tots.

What do I love about Reese?
Definitely how close we are and all the memories we have. Also the fact that he loves sports. It’s kinda fun, ’cause he’s always down to go to baseball games or play golf. But he’s super lazy and wants to watch tv all day, so that’s the not fun part. I also love the fact that I can tell him how annoying he is and he doesn’t get mad. I think when you read the next question you’ll also learn why I love him! And we both love our grandpa and are constantly sending each other funny things he says!

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Reese?
ALL THE COUNTLESS LAUGHS WE’VE HAD! I specifically remember one time we were at our grandpa’s playing video games in the basement. He did something or I just got frustrated at the game, and I started pulling his hair! Finally he got so annoyed at the fact I was pulling his hair that he started pulling mine and it just went back and forth forever. We laugh about it still to this day…i’m actually laughing as i’m typing. Because what kind of idiot cousins have a hair pulling stand off as 10 years old??? Also, we have this tradition where we (did pre food allergies) go get beefy five layer burritos at 3am from Taco Bell…don’t know how that started. Oh, we got “married” when we were little after I got a dress-up kit. Yes, uncle was the minister. We had the moms, we kissed, we toasted, we were five. And then wrote a sign saying “Just Divorced” on the back of the 4-wheeler a couple years ago and rode around like that for a couple days one summer.

What do I think is one fun fact about Reese?

He finally got a girlfriend. Just kidding Reeser, love you! I think a fun fact about him is that he was adopted from Romania. My aunt adopted him and his brother both from Romania…and they actually weren’t brothers there either. Also, Reese is an assistant coach at Iowa Western Community College, and undecided about where he’s going to coach next year. I’m super proud of Reese, because I don’t know anything more perfect for him!

Wahooo jump for joy!

---

Okay, here with go with the interview!!

What is your name? Age?
Reese Baumgartner, 19 

1. If money weren’t an object, what would you do with your life?
Live my dream. Coach college football for Iowa, marry the love of my life and have a family. and enjoy life to the fullest and live in the moment. Because we’re never guaranteed anything.

2. List 3 of your favorite things.
Family, coaching, my friends.

3. If you were another person would you be friends with you?
Dang right I would. You know how many people have said i’m the nicest person they’ve ever met and they know they can always come to me for anything. And they know i’ll always be there for them.

4. What annoys you most about me?
Honestly nothing. You’re like my best friend. Sure we get pissed at each other but that’s expected. I love ya cuz!
(Or pull each other’s hair)

5. Do you like taking this?
Yes.
(Lies! This is about the time he was asking where all these questions were coming from.)

6. Who’s the first person you’d call if you had a bad day?
Collin.
(He’s one of our cousins. The one in the middle!)

7. What’s one thing I don’t know about you?
I have no idea.

8. What is your favorite Bible verse?
Isaiah 41:10

9. What is one thing you hid from your parents?
(About this time he was just telling me the other day how he tried to lie to his mom the other night and get caught…so, anything he has hid from them he’s been caught for. Haha)

10. What would you rather be doing than this right now?
Well my girlfriend is next to me. Molly: Oh my gosh! Reese: No it wasn’t meant like that!!

11. Who is the funniest person you know?
My friend Jack.

12. What is a “color of your life”?
“What does that mean?” Molly: “Whatever you interpret it to mean.” Reese: Blue. Because it’s my favorite color and it’s one color that has helped me with my future big time being Iowa Western and coaching. Also, where I met Diana 🙂

13. What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Thanksgiving or Christmas because I get to be around family and that’s the most important thing to me and I love them!

~A pic of my graduation on the left & the day of his grad party on the right the next year.~

Thanks, weeeeeesey for participating!!!

Glad y’all got to meet my good ol’ cousin. Make sure you check back next week to meet another one of my favorite people 🙂
If you missed any of my other ones, check it out HERE!