Lovely Printables

We are crazy over here at the Etheridge house about free online printables! Not only are they budget friendly (who else thinks greeting cards have gotten outrageously overpriced?!) but they are just so gosh darn cute compared to the mainstream cards you get at the store. I started this trend in our home after I was just downright upset at spending $5 on a single card, not to mention postage if I was going to send it, which I didn't since it was for the hubs birthday back in March. So, I began pursuing the internet as I knew from wedding DIY crafts I undertook there were actually a great deal of free things out there for the taking ;) All it really took was typing a few different phrases into google and then selecting images to find some really cute printables! The hubs even copied me and did the same for my birthday card last week, which I LOVED! I will post a picture of the cute one he picked out later. Here are some of my personal favorites...

The most adorable thank you card!
Found here

A cute birthday card!
Found here

A sweet love note ;)
Found here

My personal favorite, lunchbox love notes!
Found here

I absolutely love the lunchbox love notes and send them with Mitchell occasionally for lunch, when I can get my head together that early in the morning to write a sweet note or bible verse and slip it into his lunch. I've found taking a few minutes at the beginning of the week to print them out and then write them out makes that process much easier! Also, when printing I use a thicker card-stock that I had leftover from when we made the fan programs for our wedding ceremony. This makes them look a lot more professional and less flimsy. You can buy cute colored greeting card envelopes at Wal-Mart for about $5 for 40 as well! 

I hope everyone has fun perusing through these and can take as much joy out of printing their own cute e-cards from home as we do!

Love,

The Etheridges

Jet Setter

As most of you know, this past weekend was quite the eventful one for me! I had been planning to attend the beautiful Amanda's wedding for months now and was all set and ready to leave Del Rio at 6:08 am on Thursday. I was going to arrive in Atlanta that morning and spend the day with my dad and then be able to attend the bridesmaids luncheon the following morning with the rest of Mitchell's family!

However, thanks to the oh so lovely (and I say that with every ounce of sarcasm I can muster) United Airlines employees of the Del Rio airport, I was not allowed onto the plane because apparently I got there 28 minutes prior to departure and not 30 minutes. I won't bore you with all the dirty details, but after 1 missed flight (which I technically didn't miss at all), one broken plane, 5 hours round trip to San Antonio, one delayed flight, and two layovers I finally made it out of the great state of Texas and to Georgia! Phew, who ever thought it would have been that difficult to get out of this state?!

Anyways, although it was a very emotional process getting me home it was worth every bit of the frustration! Not only was everyone so overjoyed to see me but I was honored to be able to see Quinn and Amanda become husband and wife and share their special day with them. The love between them was apparent in every detail and moment of the wedding. I wish them both all the happiness in the world!

The STUNNING bride a few minutes before
she became Mrs. McArthur!

Some of my favorite ladies :)

I thought they couldn't have looked
more like Cinderella and Prince Charming
if they had tried! Seriously!

At the reception!

I also got to spend a few hours, between the drive from the airport and getting ready to leave the next morning for the wedding, with my dad. He was very sweet and came to pick me up in Atlanta late Friday night despite having been told a hundred times I was and then wasn't coming. He stuck with me through all the United drama, thank goodness! I was sad I wasn't able to spend the long weekend at home like I had planned, but all in all I was just very thankful and blessed to get there at all.

Little Winston was so sad I was leaving :(

The gorgeous view of my dad's yard! He's done
and amazing job with it!

Naturally I had to get my Starbuck's fix
before heading back to desolate
Del Rio.

In other news, Mitchell went on his cross country this past weekend. This meaning that they went on a long distance trip accompanied by some IP's (instructor pilots). They stopped in College Station, TX for dinner and then headed to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the first night. They eventually hung out there for the weekend and then headed back here to Laughlin on Sunday night. Naturally he failed to take any pictures but the one of their sweet rental van...

Classy huh?!

We both ended up having VERY eventful weekends as it turned out but we both got to spend time with either friends or family (or both) which made all the drama and frustration we endured worth every second of it. We are both so blessed to have such amazing family and friends who are always there for us every step of the way. We love each and every one of you dearly :)

P.S. A huge shout out to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law Amelia for forcing me to come to GA at the last minute and making me feel like a "jet setter" this past weekend! You guys were the best cheerleaders!

Love,

The Etheridges

Easter Happenings and Other Grand Adventures

Easter Sunday was very relaxing around the Etheridge house a few weeks ago! We went to church at Del Rio Bible, where we have been regular attenders for the past few months and then went out to lunch with some friends. It was nice to spend time with the hubs and our little pup as our first Easter as a married couple....

Before heading to church! 

Little Winston!

It's actually looking rather
green around here for Texas!

As I promised to update everyone in my last blog, Mitchell passed his first check-ride with flying colors! He has also had his second check-ride, of four total in Phase II, within the past week that went great as well! He is doing fantastic in the T-6 and I can't believe that Phase II is already half way over! He tracks around June 28th, which is when everyone in his class will find out which type of plane they will be training in as they finish up the last 6 or so months of UPT. He will either track T-1's which is the heavy plane track, or he will go T-38's which is the fighter track. At this point we would both be happy with either track and are just praying that God will place us where we need to be. 

We also had our first visitor this past week and this weekend, my dad! It has been a great trip so far and it's been great having a family member come and spend some quality time with Mitchell and me. I will post again soon with more pictures from his trip! Here's a teaser for now...

Winston thought he was going to
scare the train coming in from Mexico ;)
He's pretty vicious!

Next weekend Mitchell and I will both be out of town on our own trips, so I'm sure even more pictures and adventures will be blogged about soon ;) Thanks for tuning in and I apologize for my lack of blogging lately, I'll try and get back in the swing of it!

Love,

The Etheridges

Chocolate Cupcakes...Need I Say More?

I was in a baking mood today...more specifically I had a huge craving for chocolate cupcakes! I'm trying this new thing where I make baked goods from scratch as often as possible instead of reaching for the oh so easy boxed items of yumminess at the grocery store. I think that older generations had it right when they were making everything from scratch (yes I know they didn't have boxed goods, but still). There is something so much more personal about homemade goodies that just warms my heart :) Anyways, as usual I ran to Pintrest for some inspiration and ran across this oh so heavenly recipe from 52 Kitchen Adventures! I could tell from the start that this one was going to be good. If the batter is amazing, you can bet the end results are going to be even better!

Amazing Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 C butter, room temperature

1 1/4 C sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 C flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 C milk (I used fat free and it was still yummy)

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until softened and smooth. Add sugar and beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each until well combined.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate small bowl, combine milk and vanilla.

Add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to butter and sugar and mix until combined. Add about 1/2 of wet ingredients to mixture and mix until combined. Continue alternating dry and wet, mixing in between (finish with the remaining dry ingredients).

Fill cupcake tins about 1/2 full (don’t overfill – you only need 1/2) and bake for around 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Also don’t worry – these will come out flat, but that’s perfect for smoothing on a layer of frosting!

*On a side note, there is also a yummy looking ganache frosting recipe that goes along with these cupcakes. I didn't have the ingredients and didn't feel like running to the Commissary for the third, yes third time, in one day.

I hope everyone enjoys these goodies and the new blog design :)  

The Etheridges

Life As We Know It

Two weekends ago was MWS Day here at Laughlin (Major Weapons Systems Day)! I was really excited about getting our own private viewing for the Laughlin folks of some really cool planes here on base. I had never seen most of these planes so it was really neat to see some of the aircrafts that flew in for the weekend up close and personal...

In front of one the T-38's that
flew in from Sheppard AFB

T-38

The MASSIVE C-130

Inside the C-130

The B-1 (my personal favorite)

The A-10 (fighter jet)

Of course we also hit up the lake last weekend after checking out these cool planes! It was the first nice day of the year, so naturally we couldn't resist getting the boat out ;) It has been insanely hot here in Texas the past week including yesterday when it got up to a whopping 95 degrees. Luckily we were able to get out to the lake again yesterday with some friends and enjoy the heat on the water! 

Other than our fun filled weekends, life here in Del Rio is pretty much the same as usual. The hubs is still plugging away at his 12 hour days and I'm still taking care of school work. Mitchell has his big check-ride coming up this week, so any and all prayers for a great flight would be greatly appreciated!! I know he's going to rock it ;) In other news, I started a new job this past week. I will be working at the gym coffee shop. I'm really excited about working on base and getting to work with some of my favorite ladies as well! 

I hope everyone has had as wonderful a weekend as we did and I will update again soon! 

Some pretty Texas flowers outside
the gym on base!

The Etheridges

Flying Solo

Mitchell was able to solo the T-6 this week, something we both have been looking forward too for a long while now! For those of you that don't know what this means, he was able to fly the plane he has been training in for the past few weeks on his own without an IP (instructor pilot). It's a pretty big deal and I was so glad that I got to go see it happen! It was a VERY windy day which reminded me very much of our time spent in Colorado, but despite the bad weather Mitchell did fantastic! He was only up in the air for about 15 minutes due to the winds, but he didn't crash and the plane came back in one piece meaning he did well and passed ;) It was a very exciting event and here are some photos I took while out on the flight line yesterday...

Right before he soloed!

About to taxi

Right after take off!

Some of the other T-6's

All done!

The tank

Needless to say..he didn't make it back to the flight room ;)

If you don't know about the tank, it's an UPT tradition. After you solo, if members of your flight can catch you on your way back to the flight room from the plane they throw you into the tank of let's say "less than sanitary" water. If you do make it back to the flight room however, everyone in the flight has to buy you beer. In all actuality very few people are lucky enough to make it back to the flight room without being caught :)

I hope everyone enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed being there and getting to experience Mitchell flying solo! I will post again soon with another crafty thing the hubs is making once it's done! 

Love,

The Etheridges   

So proud of the hubs!!

Carolina Style Weekend

This past weekend was rather eventful around the Etheridge house for once! Mitchell purchased a smoker last weekend and had been itching all week to use it once he had some free time. So, on Saturday he so graciously smoked us a rack of ribs and a pork shoulder. Let me just say, it was some of the best BBQ I've ever had! He also made a homemade Carolina inspired BBQ sauce and that was phenomenal as well. I think it's safe to say we will be smoking meat A LOT in near future. Our next task is to try some beef brisket and get a little Texas style BBQ going on ;) We also have enough pork to last use the next year probably...

Putting the rub on the shoulder before
 heading to the smoker!
Yup, that's 10 lbs of pork right there...

On the smoker!

Literally the best ribs I've ever had!

Mitchell also made a picnic table this weekend for our late Valentines Day present to one another! He had been really wanting to build something new so we thought this would be a perfect addition to our backyard with summer and warmer weather coming up. All in all it wasn't that expensive and we decided to paint it a rather pretty yellow to compliment the chairs and pots we already had! 

Before being painted 

The painted table in the backyard! 

Winston was a lot of help ;)

All in all it was a very busy but fun weekend. I've really learned to love the weekends even more now that Mitchell has started his 12 hour day work weeks. It's nice to unwind after a hectic week and really spend some time with one another. UPT is still going really well for the hubs and he is loving flying! He should be soloing (aka flying by himself) within the next week or so, so that's a milestone we are both excited about!

For those of you wondering about my exciting life here in Del Rio there isn't really anything too new to report. I start school back tomorrow (ick) after a very nice week long spring break! I've been busy spending time with some of my favorite ladies here at Laughlin and am also in an amazing bible study once a week! I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people here while we are in Del Rio and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for both Mitchell and I :)

I hope everyone has had a perfectly wonderful weekend! 

Love,

The Etheridges