Magic Time Machine

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Magic Time Machine with these sweet friends to celebrate Tony's birthday.  Our family hadn't been there since Jessie was very little.  It was more fun than I expected and way more food than I needed.  We always enjoy these people and this day was no exception.  

There were lots of laughs to be had when you dine at a place like this!

And, He's 16!

Happy Birthday to our favorite boy!  I can't believe that he is 16.  Time has flown by... it is not fair.

We are so proud of this young man.  We love him so very much.

Yeehaw

Well, we finally celebrated Fred's birthday.  It took a couple of weeks, but we did it.  I think it is the first year we've celebrated it in FOREVER.  I blame it on him, actually.  On his 40th birthday, HE planned a camp out with his Boy Scouts.  Last year, I think he was either camping or we were at a football game-- or both.  This year was football games and marching competitions.  But, we finally got it celebrated!

We went to Texas Roadhouse with our good friends the Moffitts and Palmers last Friday.  I'm so glad that he picked Texas Roadhouse (or maybe we picked it for him, because he was indecisive).  Most of us used it as an opportunity to splurge.  I was mostly speaking of the delicious fillet that I had, but I think it could also be said of the chicken fried steak that took up an entire plate (and then some) that Tony ordered. We won't even talk about all of the food that Jonathan put away.  I think it was just 2 years ago that I had to beg him to eat.  Guess those days are gone!

 I signed us all up for coupons so that we could get free appetizers (sometimes I think ahead).  I think we should all go out on all the restaurant websites and figure out what we can find for free.  This might be my new hobby.

  We capped the evening off with big fluffy cupcakes from Smallcakes.  Let me say that they weren't small by any means.  And, again, I was thinking ahead and brought take-home boxes for the cupcakes and we all brought our cupcakes home.  I had the strawberry cupcake.  It was amazing.   I don't really like cupcakes.  I just ate the cake and threw away a mound of frosting.  Fred said that was wasteful and that I threw away the best part.  I beg to differ.

I am especially glad that we went to Texas Roadhouse, because I couldn't live another moment without this picture of Fred on the bull.  He was so close to me that I couldn't really get a good picture, but it still makes my day. 

 What a fun night!  So thankful for great friends that braved the rain and  helped celebrate Fred's 43rd birthday.  I love Fred and I love the Moffitts and Palmers!

Butt Cake

We celebrated Fred's birthday with dinner at Chili's and a "Nothing Bundt Cakes."

For someone who can be so coordinated with most everyone else's birthdays, I woke up and realized that I had nothing for my own husband.  October 12th just snuck up on me!

We took him to Chili's (at his request) for dinner.  They were SEVEN orders behind.  I had decided to splurge and get my all time favorite sandwich ever, the Grilled Chicken Sandwich.  It is usually so good and the only place that makes one better is Cafe Express and I haven't had that since our office was over on Midway and Keller Springs-- so that was like 10 years ago. (This post just went off course, somehow.)

When they finally brought our order out to us my sandwich was room temperature.  The plate was piping hot, but the food was not.  It made a big difference in the enjoyment of my dinner, let me tell you.  Fred and Jonathan enjoyed there hamburgers.  And, I believe that we had been waiting on Jessie's veggie fajitas.  I was so very sad. 

When we finally made it home... you know after waiting for what seemed like hours for our dinner... we celebrated with a "Nothing Bundt Cakes."  Well, everyone except for Jonathan.  Jonathan and I are not big cake eaters.  He said that he wasn't eating a "butt" cake.  Even though I generally, don't enjoy cakes, I have to say that I did enjoy this particular cake. It did seem to ease the sting of my really bad dinner.  Score 1 for me!

I still owe Fred a much better celebration, but at least I redeemed myself with the Butt Cake!

To the Best Person I Know

Happy 43rd Birthday to Freddy Fortenberry!

(I am so thankful that he has finally stopped reminding me that he is 8 months younger than me!)

We have been celebrating his birthday together since 1991... that's a whole lot of birthdays.

I guess we are officially oldish.  And, clearly, I'm slightly older than Fred.

Fred's the best person I know and I'm so thankful for him.  I'd be happy celebrating his birthday every single day!

1,000th Post!!!

In honor of my 1,000th blog post (oh yeah, that's right, 1-0-0-0), I felt like I needed to do a little Throwback Thursday and pay homage to Angela's birthday, the State Fair of Texas and these boys that truly love each other!

So, first of all Happy Birthday to my crazy friend, Angela!  You haven't changed a bit-- you still look and act just like you did when we were in college.  Amy, your hair was a little higher in college!

I feel like there are several things to point out...

1) That "kiss" sure is awkward

2) I wonder if we planned our coordinating outfits.

3) Check out Dave's flip phone held together with electrical tape.

4) Fred needs a hair cut.

5) Why did they pose like that?

6) I believe this is the one and only time that I have ever been on the Texas Star.

7) I wonder if I needed Dramamine.

8) Can I say Amy has great hair?

9) Again, do we know why Dave and Fred posed like that?

10) I'm just going to keep asking the question about Fred and Dave until someone answers it for me.

I don't think there will be 1,000 more posts, but here's to a few more!

Thanks for reading!

P.S.  Here is last year's tribute to Aunt Angel.

One Year Older and Wiser, Too

Last Friday, we celebrated our sweet friend, Rod.  Not only was I happy to celebrate his birthday, I was happy that he picked Outback for his celebration.  It is one of my most favorite places.  I stuffed myself silly with steak and baked potato.  I personally chose not to partake of their yummy bread, so that I could have more room in my tummy for what I came to eat-- meat and potatoes.  However, Fred and Jaiden came for the bread.  They sat next to each other and shared loaf after loaf of bread and tub after tub of butter.  And, that was before the meal arrived.

Fred is serious about his bread.  My mom once threatened to serve garlic bread instead of rolls for dinner and Fred "jokingly" said he wasn't coming to dinner.  He was joking, but I think he was half serious.  Now, he has a bread friend.  Fred and Jaiden were serious about that bread, too!  I also think they were more than a little offended when I suggested they slow down.  I mean the bread was flowing like wine (if we drank wine, that is).

We are so thankful for great friends to celebrate birthdays with, to stuff ourselves silly with and to eat good bread with!  And, we think that Rod is the best!

Happy Birthday, Jessie!

Happy 19th birthday to our Jessie!

Here are 19 things that I love about Jessie.

I love ...

1. her kind heart.
2. that she loves all animals - even those stinky cats! 
3. her ability to love kids and the fact that she is super patient.
4. that she is quirky and owns it.
5. how opinionated she is.
6. most of the baked goods that she creates.
7. that she says "I love you" to her family all the time and means it.
8. her red hair that comes from a box.
9. how she and her dad enjoy watching the same movies and TV shows.
10. her laugh.
11. how she chatters all the time.
12. how passionate she is about topics that touch her heart.
13. that she loves her family.
14. her sensitive nature.
15. her ability to do hard things.
16. her sense of humor.
17. the way she seems to love every single person.
18. how she makes me a better mom.
19. the love that she has for her brother.

Hope you have the best birthday ever!  Thanks for making me a mom 19 years ago and thanks for making me a better person each and every day.  I love you so much.

Top Golf

Fred and the kids enjoyed celebrating Katy's big 18th birthday.  I know they had a great time celebrating Katy and playing golf.  I'm sad that I missed it.  I love Katy and always enjoy time with her.  I am not sad that I missed the big golf extravaganza.

Debi sent me some cute pictures of the kids, so that I wouldn't feel left out.  I'm only posting a few so that I don't overwhelm you.  But, they were all super cute!  Trust me.  I don't lie about these things.

Birthday Love

Can I just say that my 43rd birthday was super special?  I really dislike birthdays now.  Being old is absolutely for the birds.However, I had a great birthday week.  And, yes, my birthday was all the way back in February.  But, I am so far behind in capturing my thoughts.  At my age, I had better capture them now, or it will be too late.

See, the details are already fuzzy.  I remember enjoying time with my parents on Monday, the 9th during Jonathan's Winter Band Concert.  On Tuesday, Fred and I went out to eat at Red Lobster (where I am sure his plan was to count that celebration as a two-fer -- you know Birthday and Valentines celebration).  

Wednesday, the 11th was my actual birthday.  I think someone in my family must have requested Cane's or maybe I said that I would rather have it than Fred's all-time favorite Golden Chick!  If you didn't know, Fred knows everything about fast food chicken.  And, by everything, I mean everything.  His favorites are Golden Chick and Popeyes which happen to be my least favorite.  My favorites are Chick-fil-a and Cane's.  Fred can handle Cane's thanks to the Cane's sauce and the lemonade, but he believes there is nothing special about Chick-fil-a (blasphemy).  So, we are a house divided.  

Anyway, I arrived at my home with a bag full of  Cane's shortly before it was time to leave for mutual (Wednesday night church for our youth).  As I entered, I kid you not, I heard a large dog barking.  Fred met me at the back door and saw the concerned look on my face when I asked whose dog was in our house.  For real people, Fred looked at me and says, "It's Tony."  First there was panic because I knew that my house was a disaster and then confusion as I rounded the corner and saw Tony Palmer on all fours barking like a dog.  Yes, he was playing with our dog and felt the need to bark at her like he was some sort of Rottweiler.  After I got over the initial shock, our friends, Kelly and Tony, had brought over a sweet smelling gift of Bath and Body Works that was yummy.  Not only that, the bag was complete with a balloon (I never think to add a balloon to my gifts).  It was super sweet!  I wish I had taken a picture of it before I took it apart.

The celebration continued on the following Tuesday.  How many days can an old lady celebrate her birthday?  My sweet friend, Ruth, took me out for lunch.  We sat and talked and talked.  I remember glancing at my watch, but I didn't want to be rude so I just glanced at it.  Well, I didn't glance hard enough because I thought I still had plenty of time to pick Jonathan up for his doctor's appointment.  We talked so long that I had to drive like a maniac to Jonathan's school to get him picked up.  But, it was so very worth it to spend time in the middle of the day with a precious friend.  And, how well she knows me.  She gave me a gift card so that I could go pick out a Vera Bradley purse.  Oh, mercy me!  I love Vera Bradley and I love the sweet lady that gave me the purse.   

I am so thankful for the amazing people in my life.  Not only did they make me feel special on my birthday, but they continue to make me feel special and loved all year long. I am not sure what I did to deserve these people in my life, but I'm not complaining!

Just Can't Win

 We enjoyed celebrating sweet Isabella's 1st birthday on Saturday.

I knew that the gift giving part would be a contest, so Jonathan and I set out for Target Saturday morning to find the perfect gift.  We looked at all the Little People toys and I found my most favorite Princess Castle complete with Cinderella and Snow White.  Jonathan pointed out that it was really for 1 1/2 and up and we should pick something else out (darn that kid).  I love Cinderella and I really wanted to get her the Castle.  So, we looked some more and we picked out the Little People Carnival set.  It was the biggest and loudest Little People set they had.  I was hopeful that it would beat anything that Angela brought.  But, no, Angela was already there when we got there.  I guess she thought that 3:00 was just the suggested time that the party started and she had not wrapped her gift.  It was out and Isabella was playing in it.  It was a ball pit!  Really?  A ball pit for a ONE year old? Of course, Isabella loved it and so did the big girls.

You just can't win when you are competing against Angela!

So Cute!

I think we are so cute!  I think I really wore my hair like that in the '80s.  For sure in the early '90s.  I had bangs in the '80s, so I had a little bit more going on, but not much more.  I was called out for not looking '80s enough.  Actually, no one was authentically '80s.  Mostly, everyone was just having fun.  But, really, I thought we were super cute!

Happy 42nd Birthday to Fred

Happy 42nd birthday to my sweet husband!  We celebrated last night with a date night at Jenbeh.  Apparently, Fred celebrates like a 10 year old with a hibachi dinner.  Then, we saw Meet the Mormons, which was so great that even Fred confessed to tearing up at the end.  The Cowboys won today, so what more can he ask for.

Our family is blessed to have Fred at the helm.  He is an amazing husband and dad!  We love our Fred!

I'm Sexy and I Know It

Last Saturday, we celebrated Angela's 40th birthday.  The party was a theme party.  An 80s party to be exact.  Oh my.  I hate dressing up.  Jonathan refused to dress up.  But, he and Dave gladly sang karaoke all night long.

Jonathan singing karaoke is bad.  Dave singing karaoke is really bad.  Jonathan and Dave singing karaoke together is down right awful.

Then you have Dave wearing those pants.  I never want to see that much of Dave ever again!

I went inside for just a few minutes.  Angela's sister stuck her head in and told me that I had to come out and listen to Jonathan.  I wasn't sure that I really needed to come back out.  As I said, I had been listening to Jonathan all night long.  Well, I leave for five minutes and someone puts on I'm Sexy and I Know It.  The most inappropriate song ever.

Trust me when I say, hearing your fourteen year old son sing "I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it" will scar you for life.

All I know, is I saw phones out all around me capturing the moment.  I hope those pictures and videos stay hidden forever!

The next day, I woke up with the worst migraine ever.  Not sure if it was from the bad karaoke, Dave's pants or living through the most embarrassing moment of my life.  Either way, no more karaoke for the Fortenberry's!

Happy 40th Birthday to Aunt Angel

Angela shown here with with Dave, Ally, Madison and Jessie

Happy, happy birthday to my dear sweet friend, Angela!  Everyone in our little group calls her Angel.  I use those names interchangeably. I'm the only one.  I have to admit that when I met her I must have been 19 or 20 and she was in high school.  She was giggly and loud.  Dave and Fred were buddies and met her at their new job, Mountasia.  They told me about this girl, Angel.  They said she told them that her name was Angela, but that THEY could call her Angel.  I remember rolling my eyes and thinking that I would NEVER call that girl Angel.  Ha!  Well, 20-something years later, I'm calling that loud, giggly girl Angel, because she is an angel of a friend and I love that crazy girl!

Angel is that friend that knows way too much about me and what she doesn't know she makes up.  She is the girl that talks her circle of friends into doing stupid things like dressing up in crazy dresses while they are in Eureka Springs. (Or, booty charades.)  They grumble but do it and maybe enjoy it a little.

Or, maybe they get roped into being diapered at baby showers.

I've actually been diapered twice!

But, you know she's a keeper when your kids lovingly call her Aunt Angel!

I couldn't help but include this oldy but goody!

Hope you enjoy your 40th birthday, Aunt Angel!  Thanks for the laughs and the memories!

Jessie's Birthday Celebration

Jessie's restaurant of choice for her birthday was Black Eyed Pea.  It is her favorite!  I told Fred that we needed to call and see where she wanted to go for her birthday, but he seemed to think it was a no brainer. He was right.  She loves the bread and the veggie plate.

Jessie invited her cute friends, Jaiden and Nicole.  Those girls are so darling and sweet and I am very thankful that she has them in her life.  Nicole just received her mission call!  She is going to serve in Spokane Washington and will be leaving on November 22nd!

We were quite the rowdy group at Black Eyed Pea on Monday night, let me tell you!  I think that they typically bring in a quiet, older crowd. Add in Jonathan and Fred and you've got the makings for loud and silly!

Jaiden had never eaten at Black Eyed Pea, and she quickly asked for kids' menu.  She doesn't eat very much she told us.  Then, she managed to put away 1 roll and 2 pieces of cornbread.  So, it was no wonder that she had a hard time eating her kids plate which was 2 very large cheese sticks and a bowl of mashed potatoes.  Hmm... not sure that is a balanced meal, but she reported that it was very good.

  
This picture is awful, because it was taken with Fred's phone (he refuses to upgrade).  Jaiden gave Jessie a Doctor Who nightlight and a Doctor Who Yahtzee game.  Jess was thrilled!  It completely made her day.

We were headed out for a quiet family dinner, but I'm so glad for the last minute editions.  These two girls really livened up our night!  I love these precious girls!

Girls' Day for the Girls

I received this message yesterday from our friend, Debi (and it was accompanied by about 20 pictures):

It was a fun afternoon out to celebrate Jess!

Grammy Susan bought all a Which-Wich sandwich for lunch THEN we were off to the Smallcakes Cupcakery in Frisco! Later, Laura and Jess had a Deal or No-Deal Parity Video-Watching Fest.

We are blessed to have such great friends/family that love our girl, take care of her and celebrate her!  She had a wonderful time and was completely spoiled!

Eighteen

Happy 18th Birthday to our beautiful, sweet, quirky, amazing and compassionate girl!

I miss the little girl that loved princesses, barbies, tutus and the color pink.  But, I love this crazy girl that you've grown into. 

We love you, Jessica Taylor Fortenberry.  

Happy Birthday, Jonathan

Our sweet Jonathan turned 14 on Saturday.  Jonathan is a creature of habit, so he celebrates the same way every year.  We had a family dinner at Fudruckers on Friday night.  Then on Saturday we went to Main Event and enjoyed games and the gravity ropes with the Garstka's, Miller's and DiSpigno's. We finished up the the evening with Pie Five where Jonathan ate everything in sight.  I think I am going to be in trouble very soon.

On Sunday, Jonathan was ordained a Teacher by his dad.  He also received his Duty to God certificate that he folded into tiny squares and put in his pocket, so that he could pass the sacrament. He knew Mom was going shake her head over that one, because the first thing he said when he handed to me was, "I HAD to fold it."

Jonathan brings so many blessings into our lives and we are so thankful for him.  Each day he puts a smile on our face.

Happy 41st Birthday to Fred

 

We are celebrating Fred's 41st birthday today.  Nothing fancy.  Just a cake.  I don't even know what we are doing for dinner yet.  It will just be our family.  I need to plan something bigger, since we never got to celebrate his 40th last year.  It is so hard to celebrate with him, because he is such a busy man.  He just got home from camping with his Boy Scouts and he will be doing Scout training next weekend.  Looks like it will be the following weekend. 

I am so proud and excited for Fred.  He went to the temple for the first time (a very big deal in our church) on September 21st.  I am so glad that he did that before his birthday.  I don't know why, because age doesn't really matter, but it was a very happy day for our family.  We still have a big milestone to hit in the upcoming month or so, but that was one hurdle accomplished.  I am so thankful to all those men that have touched Fred's life and inspired him to come so far.  We are truly blessed (cheesy but true).

Happy Birthday, Fred!  We love you.