Thankful Thursday: AR State Special Olympics

I haven't done a Thankful Thursday in a few weeks...

I'm slacking, I know!

Today I am Thankful for: 

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

My oldest brother has Down Syndrome. He has competed in Special Olympics since he was in elementary school. I am SO thankful that Special Olympics was created for people with special needs. There are events for EVERYONE, no matter what the handicap. 

We were blessed to be able to travel to Searcy this past weekend to watch Joshua compete in the State Special Olympics at Harding University.

Joshua used to do more running events, but over time he got hooked on power-lifting. 

My dad even got certified as his coach and they go to the gym just about every day.

Article in Bryant Daily

(that's my Dad spotting Joshua)

Joshua got to compete in the bench press and the dead lift. It is AMAZING to see people who are physically and/or mentally disabled get up there and perform. There was a man (who could BARELY walk, y'all!) that shuffled up behind the bar and then dead-lifted 300 lbs. THREE HUNDRED POUNDS! Isn't that insane?! I can't remember Joshua's final bench press weight, but his final dead lift was 205. TWO HUNDRED AND FIVE POUNDS. 

Did I mention that he is 5'0'' and about 125lbs? 

HE IS SO STRONG.

It is just amazing. 

It puts so much in perspective. If you ever have a chance to attend any type of Special Olympics event, you really should. It's life-changing. It shows you that you can do anything you put your mind to, no matter your physical or mental limitations. And if you aren't sure if you can, you must at least TRY.

There is no such thing as failure in Special Olympics. There are no losers. 

The motto for Special Olympics is:

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be faithful in my attempt."

Pretty good advice for anyone, don't you think?

Here's some pictures...

my favorite picture. Look at that face!!

my 2nd favorite. He's smiling bc he knows he has it! :)

3 gold medals (Bench, Dead-lift, Combo)

Needless to say, we are super proud of him!

-Holly

"Stay-cation"

It's about to be a stressful summer of

playing "The Waiting Game"...

aka:

I'm waiting on grad school responses,

Aaron is looking at other jobs,

and we are looking at a potential move.

We got our lease extended until July (Praise the Lamb!) so we wouldn't be so rushed in finding another place to live IN CASE we move. So with all the stress coming our way, Aaron decided to take off work. We had tossed around the idea of going somewhere on a mini-anniversary trip, but ended up staying NWA and doing a "Stay-cation", which we were both initially bummed about...but y'all, it was a blessing in disguise. We got to sleep in and relax. We celebrated our anniversary with a fancy dinner/night out, we went to the movies, we (FINALLY) went to Crystal Bridges, and we finally went shopping for Aaron! YAY! And last Friday, we picked up the "surprise" bachelorette cake for one of my best friends and we headed back down to Central AR. My big brother also had the State Special Olympics and we made it to Searcy JUST in time to watch his Powerlifting events!

Side note: I'm pretty sure I gained 5-10lbs this week because we ate out so much.

It was worth it ;)

anniversary dinner

tried burger life for the 1st time

@ Crystal Bridges

We had a great week! So happy to have a week off from any kind of schedule! Plus it was Memorial Day weekend, so we even got to visit my grandparents and spend some time at the lake house in Hot Springs! And a good time was had by all!

-Holly

1 Year Anniversary!

May 21st, 2012.

Ladies & gents, we have officially made it through year one!

Our first year of marriage has been amazing. 

I improved my cooking skills and Aaron has proved himself to be quite the handy man.

(as I write this, he is working on one of the cars!) 

We have had our share of ups and downs.

Mostly, UPS :) 

We have spent hours and hours on the road.

We have probably eaten more pizza and watched more Redbox movies than we should.

I love Aaron more every day...

I could go on and on.. 

I'm very blessed.

He took me to Ruth's Chris for our anniversary dinner. 

We both had never been. It was delicious and we were STUFFED. Then they asked what we were celebrating and we said our first anniversary, they brought us dessert! The service was great! They even complemented our shoes haha! It was definitely a special occasion that I will never forget.

squished car pic

my chicken

Aaron's steak

our surprise dessert!

Happy 1 year!

gotta love a bow tie 

-Holly

Aaron's Birthday (5.17.12)

Aaron's 25th birthday was last Thursday. I had been asking him for weeks what he wanted to do to celebrate, or what gifts he wanted and he wouldn't give me any ideas. He just wanted to keep it "low-key".

MEN.

ugh.

I finally figured out where he wanted to eat, so I made a reservation for us at our current favorite restaurant in Rogers called Bonefish Grill. 

He didn't want any gifts, so we decided that his gift would be a much needed shopping trip to get some new clothes! I LOVE shopping, but Aaron hates it, so he usually encourages me to shop just for myself and not for him. 

BUT that is beside the point. 

First, I surprised Aaron by waking up early (that's love) and baking him his favorite, strawberry muffins. 

THEN, I surprised Aaron with a cake from Rick's Bakery. I led him on all week, making him think that I was going to just bake him a cake on his birthday since he just wanted it low-key. 

I went the week before and ordered the cake so that I would be able to pick it up during the day on the 17th. I even paid in cash so that he wouldn't see the charge on our online bank account. ;) Sneaky...

Needless to say, by the time he got home I was SO excited that I couldn't wait to show him until after dinner so I showed him right before we left for Rogers. 

He was SO surprised and SO thankful and SOO sweet. :)

I was one proud lil' wifey.


After Bonefish, we came back, had cake and watched a movie. He said it was his best birthday yet. :) Such a sweetie.

okay, I made some choc chip ones for me too...

"G'morning Sunshine"

Sneaky...

my guys

before his bday dinner

how cute is this?!

out on our deck

Happy Birthday Babe! 

-Holly

Belated Mother's Day Weekend Recap

So...I meant to post this last Monday, 

but today will have to do!

Mother's Day weekend was a blur. We spent Saturday

in Searcy with the in-laws. 

Aaron's brother was graduating high school so ALLLLL their family was in town.

It had rained all day and was pretty muggy, so 

graduation was inside. Kind of disappointing, because we had to sit in the balcony due to a huge turnout.

Sunday we spent in Bryant with my family.

I really wanted to spend Mother's Day with my mom...since I know it is a difficult holiday for her. Plus my middle 

brother was finally home for the summer from 

college, so I wanted to get some family time in :)

Picture recap

Aaron & his brothers Nathan & Ethan

going to graduation at our high school alma mater

mom & her 5* kids

Aaron & I with my brothers :)

"And a good time was had by all."

Have a lovely day,

Holly

Confessional Friday

I am linking up again with Leslie @ A Blonde Ambition for a "Friday Confesh Sesh."

Yes...I really just said that.

1) I am pretty (VERY VERY) sad that GCB has been cancelled. No, it didn't have the best actors or the best over-all plot, but it was a guilty pleasure of mine and now it's GONE. :(

2) I may or may not have recently become even more obsessive over my teeth, IF that is even possible. Some people get excited over a new outfit or magazine... I get excited about new oral hygiene products. I have recently bought some new mouth wash and I think I have literally burned some of my taste buds off...but my enamel sure is being "strengthened" (I hope)

3) My in-the-car-driving "concerts" have gotten out of control. Don't worry, I DID see you staring at me today Lady...

judge away.

4) I am a professional "creeper" when it comes to social media. If my friends/family want info about someone or something, I can usually find out. Where there's a will, there's a way... ;)

5) Aaron has taken off the next week from work & we have NO plans. Our week will consist of going and doing what we want, when we want. I can't wait :) He is long overdue to have a break and since I'm playing the waiting game with acceptance letters, we both need some time to unwind and relax.

I'm packing the suitcase at random and I love it.

oh...and Monday is our 1 year anniversary. 

That's not a confession. 

I was just sharing because I am proud.

I love my husband and can't wait for 74 more years with him.

:)

Have a lovely day,

Holly

What I'm Loving Wednesday (05.16.12)

Here's a quick version what I'm loving today!

1) Messy summer styles to keep your hair off your neck! I am ALL about these lately. With my thick, wavy hair, styles like these are a blessing!

2) Relaxed, flowy dresses. The last thing you want is your dress sticking to you when it's almost 100 degrees and humid this summer!

Love the color palette too!

3) Special occasions. I can't wait to get official settled (aka: buy a house) and start hosting parties. PInterest gives me so many ideas and I really want to start having get-togethers with friends once we have some more space (aka: a yard).

How cute are these cupcakes in a jar?

You could even do specific colors for certain occasions!

LOVE.

4) Mickey/Minnie-themed TOMS.  Saw these on Pinterest (again) and thought, "Why order them when I can MAKE them?!" So next thing on the to-do list....invest in some red TOMS. :) 

I <3 DISNEY.

Have a lovely day!

Holly

Today's Mood.

This is the mood around the house today...

Needless to say,

Marley & I are going to have a quiet, lazy day around the house. 

Aka: I'll do housework and Marley will sleep on the couch.

I can't really blame him though...

It IS Monday, after all.

Have a lovely/lazy day,

Holly

What I'm Loving Wednesday (5.09.12)

What am I loving today?

(I'm glad you asked :))

1) Microbiology is OVER. FOREVER. You are looking at a budding microbiologist! I made an A in the class! WOOOO!

2) The weather today. Today it is currently "Sunny with a high of 75"- Relient K song anyone??

3) My husband. I know I've said it once, and I'll say it again, I married a good man :) He's so good to me!

4) Group Messaging.  I miss living with my girl friends and so this group message deal is as close as I'm going to get to those days again! :( / :)

5) Monogrammed...EVERYTHING. Check it: Marley Lilly Monogrammed Filigree Sterling Bracelet. It's a tad pricey, but maybe I could get it as an anniversary or birthday present?! hmm...I think yes.

http://www.marleylilly.com/

6) Chambray shirts. You can dress them up or down and they have a certain southern charm. :)

7) WEDNESDAY=

ahhhh!

If you haven't seen Revenge on ABC, I would not advise watching it tonight. I would watch from the very beginning, otherwise you will be SO lost! It's such a great show!!

That's all I have for now! 

Have a lovely day,

Holly