This is the EASIEST and the best soup - SOOO good! (Just had it last night, actually)

Beefy Mexican Soup

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (yuck - I don't use)
5 cups hot water
1 package Hamburger Helper chili macaroni
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups diced tomatoes (from 28-oz can), undrained
1 can (8 1/2 ounces) whole kernel corn, undrained
2 tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives (yuck - I don't use)

1. Cook beef, onion and bell pepper in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.

2. Stir in hot water, Sauce Mix, chili powder, garlic salt and tomatoes. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in uncooked Pasta, corn and olives. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer.

I serve with Frito's Scoops, cheese and sour cream... YUMMY!

Makes:6 servings


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Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween!!! My momma came over early Saturday morning and spent the WHOLE day with us!! I SOOO enjoyed that!! We had to run some errands, so we all done that, Then came back to the house, ate some lunch and laid punkin down for her nap (which she so desperately needed) While she was asleep, mom and I made some brownies and cupcakes to take to Nanny's Saturday night. Every Halloween, since I can remember, we have ALWAYS went over to my grandmother's to go trick -or- treating and Daddy has ALWAYS cooked a pot of Chili...... It is so wild how you take for granted those memories... JUST LIKE - We used to ALWAYS get together EVERY Sunday at my grandmother's for lunch.. Heather, Jen and I would get to play with our cousin's, Kevin and Eric..... and this continued until my Granddaddy passed away about 4 years ago... I don't know why, but we have just stopped doing that..... And, THAT, I so miss!!!! I hope we will start getting together again, if it is just for my Nanny, before she passes. (I don't know HOW I got off of the subject.... but, I did - so... back to Halloween!)

But, we went to Nanny's... and to my surprise, my second cousin, Aynsley and her family came to trick-or-treat with us! I am so glad they did. All the kids had a BLAST together!! They are always so fun to watch!Here are some random pictures of the night, I thought were Priceless!!!!

Okay, here is the story to these two pictures (Above and Below) This was Kelsey's reaction to seeing Devin in the "scary" costume!!!! I could see why she didn't wanna look at him!! So funny!!!
HOPE EVERYONE HAD A SAFE AND FUN HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

I was able to get off of work last Friday and go to the pumpkin patch with Kelsey's preschool class! We had so much fun!! We were thinking we were going to get rained out, but it turned out to be B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! :) She was so good all day long! I enjoyed spending the time with her so much! It amazes me how much I am still falling in love with her!!!

Her friend from church, Anna Lee, is in her class and she and her daddy went, too! They were so cute together! Also a girl I went to high school with's daughter is in there, so I was able to hang with her a little bit, as well. We had so much fun.

After we were done at the pumpkin patch, I wanted to do something fun with her. I took her to Sweet and Sassy in Patton Creek to get her nails and toe nails painted. She was so good! She seemed to have liked it, too! They put a sparkly star on her cheek along with a spritz of some cupcake smell good spray and glitter on her hair! So cute!

After that, I ran by my office to show her off. It had been a long time since they had seen her (in person)! They couldn't get over how much she had grown. (not to mention how cute she was :)! )

To finish our mommy/daughter day, we went to the park in Pleasant Grove. I knew I was going to regret it, but I didn't get any pictures....... I knew I'd be playing with her and I would've found a way to break my camera! :)

It was a PERFECT day!!

Happy Birthday, Dev!

Ok.... Ok!!! I think I am ABOUT to get caught up, here!!!!!

We just had my nephew, Devin's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. They thought it was going to be too chilly to have it outside... but it turned out to be BEAUTIFUL! A perfect day to spend at the park! I still can't get over how fast all these kids are growing up!! My oldest niece will be sixteen next month, SIXTEEN! Still so hard to believe! Gah... I sure am getting old! :)

Anyway, I hope you had a great birthday, buddy! The party was a blast! Aunt Shea Loves you!!!

Crazy Hair Day at School

Kelsey is absolutely LOVING preschool! This is her on "Crazy Hair Day"!

Evening Fun!

Our Bama Babe!

My Birthday "month"

Okay, so we pretty much celebrated my birthday the WHOLE month of September :) We all had a hard time getting the whole gang together ~ But we finally managed!

On my birthday, my wonderful Mother-In-Law cooked my favorite, Dumplin's! She also surprised me with a cake :) It was all SOOO good! Brian was out of town and Yes, I forgave him...as he did not have a choice!..... PLUS, he sent me some beautiful roses :)

But, we finally got together at my mom and dad's and then at Brian's Maw-Maw and Pop-Pop's house to celebrate with them! I love my family!!!!

Mine and Brian's cousin, Emily's, birthday's are just a couple of weeks apart, so for the past couple of years, we have shared them, since we have grown our family's and are just so busy ~ It's just hard to get us all together! Hope you had a great birthday, too girl! :)

But I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family and some Great In-law's! I love you all and thank you so much for the wonderful gifts and celebrations! :)

My Lil Diva

We had so much fun playing dress up!

Our Newest Addition

Welcome to the family
COOPER LANE FONDREN
September 8, 2009
6 lbs 2 oz
19 inches

She loves her baby! :)

I am SOOO glad we didn't get an ill-tempered dog! I am so surprised Chloe hasn't bit Kelsey's head off yet!! :)

ROLL TIDE!

Kelsey's 3rd Birthday Party

Well, I can not believe our baby girl is ALREADY three years old! Where in the WORLD does the time go!!!???? Before we know it she will be starting 'big' girl school, then we'll be giving her keys to a car - Boy, I DO NOT wanna think about that! But she is at such a FUN age! That girl LOVES to sing, just like her daddy! It is just music to my ears... I love it!! I don't know where she gets this from, but she loves to read! (Well, for us to read to her!) :) And she is loving horses!

But, we couldn't think of what we wanted to get her for her birthday..... So at the last minute, we went shopping for her the night before her birthday. She ended up having to go with us... Anyway, let me back up - on the way from MiMi's house, we were headed home and I had asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said a baby puppy.. I thought it was cute "a 'baby' puppy". Brian called me and I got her to tell him what she wanted and she told him the same thing. Well, on the way to Toys 'R Us, Brian asked me "Isn't there a pet store over here?" I said "yeah, over in Patton Creek" So..... to the pet store we headed! If you know my husband at all he is NO MORE DOGS!! So this was a SHOCKER for me!! But we went in looked at the ones in the little kennels and none popped out at us. We were walking out and the pet store had this little box up front where they can put puppies in the window. Well, this little gray puppy stuck it's head above the top of the box and I told Brian - aww, look at that one over there in the window with the little bow in it's hair. So we got her and played with her for a minute and Kelsey kept saying "I wanna take her home!".. after a few minutes we were like, we don't need a dog.... so we left! Went to Toys 'R Us.. spent more $$ than we needed to.... We were at the red light leaving Toys 'R Us and Brian asked Kelsey "Do you want that puppy?" and of course she said uh ha.... So, BACK to the pet store we go! We got the puppy and went the room and let Kelsey play with her.... I think Mommy and Daddy fell in love with her right then. But we still hadn't made our mind up...... We got out of the room and Brian was up front holding/petting the little puppy and we were still talking about it and I asked Brian, do you want the dog and he looked at her and petted her little head and said "look how cute I am!" I said alright, that's it! We are getting the dog... I know my husband ~ he just doesn't do that! So, we ended up taking a dog home for Kelsey's birthday present!

Now, to the party - we had rented the big slip n slide cousin Layla had for her party and all the kids had a BLAST! They had a GREAT time!

She loves you, too, Piggy! :)

Lunch at Nana and Papa's

We went to my parent's house to eat lunch one Sunday. I got some cute pic's of Kels on their front porch. We also had fun watching the hummingbird's swoosh RIGHT by our heads - never could get all of them at the feeder, though...

My crazy Kelsey

One night I was cleaning up the kitchen and Kelsey came in there, look Mommy, I am a doctor..... She had put her ironing board cover on her head like a dr.'s hat - I was too funny and how in the world did she think of this all by herself - Wow at her little imagination!!

Fun times at the River

I KNOW! I KNOW!! It has been forever!! I'm so sorry! :) But, i am back...

We went to the river to spend the night with my sister and her fiance on Friday night and spent the day with them on the water that Saturday! We had a blast!!!

Monday, Day 3

Yesterday morning we got up and just ate a quick breakfast. Kelsey and I just ate out on the balcony. It feels so wonderful on the balcony in the morning - There has just been this cool breeze blowing - It's great!! After Layla got up, she and Kelsey played out on the balcony for the longest. I think they were playing doctore - Kelsey kept, I guess, putting band-aid's on Layla with a sales paper - I just love to watch these two play. It is so cute!! But, we finally made it to the beach around 11:00 or so. The kids played in the sand and rode the waves for a little bit, then headed on up to the pool.

We had decided we would grill out by the pool last night. We were actually able to get on the grill with no problem. We were afraid we would have to wait on one, but we were lucky! Brian cooked steaks, winnies for the kids, baked potatoes and mac and cheese! It was delicious!!

After dinner, we went to play putt-putt. We had a great time. Drake hit, I think, 4 hole in ones! Way to go, buddy!! Kelsey would hit the ball and then run and pick it up and drop it in the hole - too cute!! :) Brian quit keeping score around hole 11 - couldn't keep up with that and between the two of us, couldn't keep up with Kels!! We went and ate Dippin' Dots afterwards - it was so good!!!