"I never realized how happy you made me, Oh Mandy.."

....Uh Barry Manilow, anyone? Hmm, maybe not. But anyway, I just wanted to show off my new favourite necklace that Mandy made for me!

It has an elephant and a compass with part of a map as the background. Sooo fun! i LOVE it. she's so stinkin creative and knows me so well. it's perfect.

"...And i need you today, Oh Mandy" ; )

Deckage of the Halls..

i think i need not explain how excited i got when tony asked me the other day "wanna know what we're gonna do tonight?"

"aunt kookie!! they're making trees!!" as my little Jensen would say.

the redundant christmas light problem...

...conquered!

and my beautiful Santa statue that tony bought me last year. i heart my little white santa. that wasnt meant to sound racist.

and another favourite, our pretty little star. apparently we give this "two thumbs up".

Deadly Desserts

Tim and Kelsey had an Appetizer/Dessert contest at their halloween party this year. Betty crocker and i made Spooky Brownies! Spiders, Frankensteins and Ghosts.

i think they are more "cutesy" than "spooky" but thats okay..and they would have been better if i hadnt put them in the pan so close together and THEN tried to draw their detailed faces..at 1:ooam the morning of. whoops.

Mr. Anthony did a wooonderful job on his Spider Web Seven Layer Dip. it was a big hit and won the appetizer contest! tim and kels gave us a gift card to macaroni grill/chilis/maggianos.

Daddy made icky looking Stuffed Cockroaches. yuuuck. but actually they were probably my favourite desserts there..if you pulled out the antennae, walked away and cleared you mind for a bit before popping them in your mouth, they were faaabulous. cream cheese and walnuts inside.

i love him..

fifty million weddings down...one more to go. MINE. someday. i feel like Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses. only difference is i dont even get a new dress for each wedding.

Sugar and Spice..But Snakes Are So Much Cooler!

Mandy's children are the most darling things...The "husnnn-akes" are always a big hit with them. This was at the end of Tony's Birthday BBQ last month.

Jarrett and Monty.

will she go for it.....

.. success!


Well my big sister did it..maybe it wont be that bad...

Did it!

Juhlapinos for Momma

these are the poppers i was making when i was talking to you...

CUT big fresh jalapeno in half

SEED it, or else, holy smokes

STUFF the crap outta that baby with regular cream cheese

WRAP in a slice of raw (i like thick peppered) bacon

BAKE at 350 for 30min (jalap bit more firm) to 45min (jalap soft and bite-able)

DONT burn your tongue on the cream cheese; it's sneaky inside

--make sure to use pie pans/pans with edges because the grease runs everywhere.

--you can shove a toothpick through it for easy eating and so it doesnt fall apart.

--you can make them in advance and cook them later, or cook them now and nuke them later.

--i wouldnt use microwave bacon cause it cooks too fast and will get too hard after 45 minutes. ja know? besides, the real stuff is always better no matter what.

Port Aransas...

We went to Port Aransas a few weeks back with Mandy and Jim +4 & Jerry and Kacey +3. We just camped out on the beach and it was soooo nice to get away from town and just relax.

Sophie was worried about her "booboo" and kept showing everyone, inevitably giving herself an atomic wedgie everytime. hehee.

this....was Grant the whole weekend. that boy did not care about a DANG thing. as a matter of fact, we would give him a snack and he would, intentionally, roll in in the sand before eatting it. looks like he has a five o clock shadow...

like i said...doesnt care about a dang thing. the only caption for this picture is "Aahhhhhh..."

soph running into the waves..

Lydie was the best at finding sheshells.

this is my faaavourite picture. if you dont know lydie, shes the sweetest thing and the biggest daddy's girl in the universe. here she is pitching a fit because daddy is taking Grant into the water and not her. see them in the back?

Grant and i, pumping some iron at the beach...has anyone seen my beachball? its about thiiis big around, might have gone thaaaat way?

cuuutest picture of Jim and the two youngest.

this is how tony and i walk down the beach. totally candid. its just what we always do.

the shark i caught on the boat. yeah, its a five footer.

well. maybe the captain caught it. but if i was really trying, i totally would have got it.

sad. i dont wanna talk about it. but im suuuure he tasted mighty fine.

this was Jims face most of the time on the boat. he probably should have gotten some sleep the night before and shouldnt have downed that giant hamburger and fries two minutes before the trip...he stayed strong, though. if he didnt, i wouldnt have been anywhere near him. so good job, Jim.

Jim helping Jarrett bait his hook.

hes so cute..

YYEEAAAAA-UUUHHHH BAYBAY!!

gorgeous sunset from the top of the boat.

uh huh, thats more like it.

"jarrett, hold onto the shark like uncle tony did. and smile" this is what we got.

brings a whole new meaning to "Sand Castle". little plastic bucket molds on the beach will just never be the same.

Krutsinger Family Reunion

The wonderful Krutsinger Family that adopted us for their reunion.

adam and our soon-to-be newest member of the Krutsinger Clan, mandy!

Tim thouroughly enjoying one of Jeffs famous hugs.

i tried to get pictures of them all but i swear there were more munchkins running around that i missed.

an intense game of Water Polo. thats what they called it, at least.

Stuarts candid abercrombie model pose.

very intense.

more of the chilluns..

and apparently this is what happens in water polo. or at least it does when our boys get together. each one of them had bloody toes.

4th o' July

here's me attempting to catch up...I've been slacking on the updating.

Fourth of July at the Lakehouse.

This picture does noootttt do justice to how totalled Brandon and Darrens poor jetski is. a very long story short: both at full throttle, i was in tonys blindspot, he turned, my jetski would not turn, i T-boned him, he flung, i flew..if our bodies had hit eachother we wouldnt be alive. it was rediculously scary.

Baby swallows sleeping with poppa on the lookout.

Momma feeding them...alllll day. poor lady.

"he cleans up good"

yes, Tony shaved it all off. i meant to get pictures of it completely clean cut, but this is when i remembered to do it. hes going to grow the beard out until the wedding then shave again for it. in't he just so darling?? dang, i lucked out on a hottie.