we all had our moments

We all had some good moments on the water,

but we all had our fair share of crashes!!

surprise! surprise!

How many guys do you think it takes to pull in an anchor?

Normally, it should just take one.

But here it was taking two guys.

And here it is taking three guys.

When we realized we were pulling up some twigs, we understood why it was taking so many guys.

But they kept pulling and found out it wasn't twigs, but a tree.

A huge tree. My Dad thinks it was about 30 ft. tall.

Everyone anchored around us was just staring at us like we were crazy.

The guys finally got the tree sideways and Drew hung out the side of the boat and grabbed the anchor.

They were all exhausted after finally getting the anchor unhooked from the tree and back into the boat.

So apparently if you are pulling a tree in with your anchor it take 4 guys to pull it in and a photographer to capture the moment!!

why you should lock your door at night

**WARNING: This story is very long and wordy, but it is defintely worth your time to read. It was a scary but very funny experience that we had in Arkansas.

We decided Saturday night that we were going to get up early and go on the lake before we had to check out on Sunday at 11am. I woke up first on Sunday, so I went in my parents bedroom to wake them up. When I got in their bedroom my Mom asked me if I heard all of the drama last night. I had no idea what she was talking about. Here's what she was talking about....

Drew and Jordan were sleeping in the living room on the couch and the chair. All night they both kept waking up and hearing the other one snoring. Finally they both were up, but they could still hear someone snoring. Drew had thought it was Jordan the whole time and Jordan had thought it was Drew the whole time. They immediately thought that either Matt and Ryan had been kicked out of their bedrooms, so Drew got his cell phone out to shine a light on his face to see who it was.

It was somebody they didn't know. His feet were all bloody and he had cuts all over his legs. Drew tried to wake him up, but he was clearly very drunk and would not wake up. Drew even starting pulling at his armpit hairs, but he would not wake-up. When they finally got him awake, he would not go out the front door. They convinced him to go out on the balcony. They watched him try to open the locked sliding glass door for a while, and that is when they realized that he was completely wasted. They opened the door for him and Drew and Jordan were trying to get him to go down the back stairs and go away, but he would not go. He started to try to fight them. He leaned over the balcony and started to fall asleep again so Drew starting kicking him to tell him to wake up and leave. He would not leave so finally, Drew went into my parents bedroom and told my Dad that he had to get out here because some drunk guy was on our patio and wouldn't leave.

While Drew was inside talking to my Dad, the drunk guy started calling Jordan, T.J. He kept saying, "T.J, I thought you were on my side." Jordan kept telling him that he wasn't T.J. and that he needed to get out of here. He finally told Jordan, "Man, T.J., I thought you wanted me here." Since the drunk guy obviously thought that Jordan was T.J, Jordan decided to pretend to be T.J. too. Jordan told him "Man I do want you here, but over here (as he led him to the front door). He finally got him out the door at 5am.

He started walking aimlessing around the cabins and cars outside. He had no idea where he was going. Drew saw a lady walking around and yelled at her "Are you looking for some drunk guy?" She ignored him at first but then told him , "I guess he's our responsiblity." She really acted like she didn't know him, but they were just glad to get him off their hands.

When we checked out of our cabin we told the owner that there were blood stains on our deck, wood floor, and the rug, but that they weren't from us.

We told him the whole story and just laughed all the way through. He couldn't believe that that happened, but he was glad that we were able to laugh about it. We mentioned T.J's name in the story, so he looked at his list of cabins to see which cabin T.J. was staying in. T.J. was staying in the cabin next door to us.

Right after we checked out the owner went and woke up the their cabin. He found out that the drunk guy was a friend of a friend of T.J's and they didn't even really know him. My older brother saw the owner talking to them and said that they were a pretty rough crowd.

The owner said that he was send my Dad a discount coupon for us to use next time we come. We love it at Lake Greeson so we will for sure be going back, but we'll remember to lock the door at night next time.

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

UPDATE: This giveaway is now over. Thanks so much for participating.

Be looking for more contests in the future!!

Welcome to.....

{The Link Home}

To celebrate my new blog makeover, I will be hosting my first giveaway!!

I will be giving away one of my Mom's personalized

denim diaper bags from her Etsy Shop.

She has been making these bags for almost 27 years. They are great for babies, toddlers, and even pre-schoolers. Lots of our friends have used them as "church bags". The winner of this giveaway will be able to choose their own design and personalization for their bag. If you don't need a bag right away, you can have a rain check to order one at a later date.

{You don't have to have a baby to enter this giveaway. These bags make wonderful baby shower gifts!!}

There are LOTS of chances to enter this giveaway so please read the directions carefully to maximize your chances to win. Also, be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.

I will pick one winner at random on Saturday, July 18th.

For the first entry, let me know how you found my blog!!

{It is A-Okay if you don't know me. I'm just curious to know how you found The Link Home and who reads my blog. Trust me.....I read lots of blogs of people I don't know!! }

For the second entry, go take a peek at my Mom's Etsy Shop or her Flickr Website and then come back and tell me what your favorite thing is and you will be entered.

For extra entries:

**Write a post about this giveaway on your blog and link back to me {include your blog address in your comment}

**Write about this giveaway in your facebook status. {include your status in your comment}

**Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter! {include the URL to your tweet or your username in your comment}

And as a special bonus, if you do 2 of the extra entries, you may come back and enter once per day!!

And don't forget--leave a separate comment for each entry! You have until Saturday to enter. Good luck!

lovin' my new look

I was so excited to come home from vacation today and see that my blog was pretty.

Thanks Fabulous K Creative for my fabulous blog design!!

Check back tomorrow for a super fun giveaway and lots of pictures from our vacation!!

izzie expands her vocabulary

Izzie is a smart little dog. She knows and understands quite a few words.

These are some of the words she knows, understands, or responds to.

• go
• eat
• treat
• ice
• Shasta
• toy
• no
• come on
• Lolly
• Mommy
• Daddy
• outside
• walk
• leash
• play
• bed

The newest word that I can add to Izzie's vocabulary is Lucy!!

While we were out of town, I left Izzie with some friends of my parents. They have a sweet little Maltese puppy. Her name is Lucy. They said they had a great time playing all weekend.

I was talking to my Mom this afternoon about how Izzie over the weekend. I mentioned Lucy's name and Izzie turned her head and got all excited.

This is what Izzie did almost all day.

I think she misses her new friend. I hope she is not too depressed!

**I did not forget to put sit on her list of words. She just hasn't quite figured that one out.

out of town

Matt and I will be headed to Lake Greeson in Arkansas for a long weekend vacation with my family. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it when we get back!!

See you on Sunday!!

evening walks

After we take Izzie on a walk she always runs straight to her bowl to get some water and then she chills on the cold tile floor.

Even though it's 100 degrees outside, Izzie still love to go on walks. I'll be glad when it cools down a little bit so our walks will be more enjoyable.

shopaholic

It's a good thing that I spent the first part of summer making money rather than spending money!!

Ever since I have been done with summer school I have wanted to go shopping. I'm not talking about the kind of shopping where you pick up one shirt, but the kind of shopping where you come home with way too many bags!!

I did that today!! Oops!!

I came home with a bag from Dillard's, NY & Co., Payless, and Sam Moon. But luckily I didn't spend too much money. Everything that I bought was on sale and I had a coupon for the stuff from NY&Co. and Payless. Half of what I bought was paid with leftover wedding giftcards from Dillard's (shhhh....don't tell anyone) and the rest was bought with my hard earned garage sale money!! (and there is still a lot left) So I really didn't do any damage!!

But maybe I should stay away from the mall so I don't become a true shopaholic.

happy 4th of july!!

We have been crazy busy the past two weekends, so we didn't really have any big plans for the fourth.

We started our holiday by catching the tail end of watching this guy eat 68 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

I have never watched the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on TV. I've heard about it, and even been to Nathan's on Coney Island, but never watch the actual contest. Oh my word....talk about disgusting. I think I almost gagged just watching them. They dip the hot dogs in water and then just shove them down. My brother and I were curious at how many calories that adds up to, so we researched it, and I happen to find this on the internet.

It is 3 hot dogs short of what the winner ate this year, but it gives you an idea of how much they are consuming. Disgusting!!

After breakfast, we watched a movie called "The Boy in Striped Pajamas." It was an incredibly sad movie about the Holocaust, but was a good reminder for us to be thankful for the freedom we have in our country.

Around 3pm, we headed over to Nonnie's house for a late lunch with the family.

We had these delicious barbecue ribs....

.....corn, potato salad, red beans, Sister Shubert rolls and homemade peach ice-cream!!

I'm not much of a nap taker, but today seemed like the perfect day for one! After our nap we took an evening spin on the lake with my parents, little brother and his friend.

Happy 4th of July!!

And thank you to all the men and women who are serving our country right now.

a hot round of golf

Matt decided to play a round of golf this afternoon since he got off work early.

Doesn't he look like a pro here?

I think this picture is on the hole that he got a birdie!!

I had fun for about the first 5 holes. Eighteen is just too many holes.

I had fun watching him play, but it was stinkin' hot outside. Next time I tag along, it going to have to be in the 80's.

cooties

This is something I deal with daily in Kindergarten....

shiny and new

After I got engaged last year, my Mom taught me how to clean my rings at home for cheap. Jewlery cleaner can be so expensive, so I love this cheap alternative.

You'll need a small sauce pan and some clear ammonia. Put about a 1/4 cup of ammonia and 1/4 cup of water in the pan. The bottom of the pan should fill filled a couple of centimeters high.

Bring the water to a boil then turn down to medium-high.

Put the rings in the pan and let them sit for a couple of minutes.

Fish the rings out with a toothbrush and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Rinse off and scrub the rings with a toothbrush.

Place back on your finger and admire how shiny and new your ring looks again.

b-ball

Every Wednesday Matt enjoys some guy time up at the church playing basketball with the guys from our ABF. I went a couple of weeks ago to watch them play. I had fun chatting with some of the wives and taking pictures of my sweaty man.



But starting this Wednesday I am going to be going to a Women's Bible Study at the church. We are doing a Beth Moore Bible Study. I'm so excited to be a Bible Study again. It's been way to long!!

snail mail

I had an exciting trip to the mailbox today!!

I got an invitation for this little guy's 1st birthday!!

I got my summer school pay-check!!

And this arrived in the mail today!!

I can't wait to start editing my photos like The Pioneer Woman.

AND

I can't wait to learn how to digital scrapbook like my sister in law.

**My sister in law made this page for us when we got engaged.

Good thing summer school is over TOMORROW because I've got a party to go to, money to spend, photos to be edited, and digital scrapbook pages to be made.

a delicious dinner

I have to brag about my dinner last night. I thought it was absolutely delicious!!

On the menu:

Swiss Stuffing Chicken

Green Beans cooked w/ Bacon

Sister Schubert Rolls

Tea

I got the recipe for the Swiss Stuffing Chicken from Kelly's Korner Blog.

4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
6 oz. Swiss cheese slices
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/4 cup white cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken-flavored crushed up stuffing mix (I use the off brand)
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked chicken in shallow buttered casserole dish. Layer cheese on top. Mix soup, wine, salt, pepper; pour over cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour. (I used chicken breasts that I had pounded and froze, so I only cooked mine for about 40 minutes.)

Oh, and if you have never had Sister Schubert's homemade rolls, you are missing out. I have seen them at Sam's, Kroger and Albertson. Go buy some, your life will be forever changed!!

a new look

I am so excited to be giving my blog a new look. Well....I'm not giving it a facelift....the talented Kelly at Fabulous K Creative will be giving my blog a new look.

If you are interested in getting a new look for your blog too, go check out Fabulous K Creative. She has been wonderful to work with, her prices are reasonable and all here designs are too cute. I can't wait to see what she does to my blog!!

I will have my new look on my blog in the very near future, so check back soon to see the new look for The Link Home. You'll also want to check back because to celebrate my new look, I will be hosting my first giveaway on my blog. It's going to be fabulous. So stop back by, you aren't going to want to miss my giveaway!!