Wordless Wednesday: kennedy at the pool :)

Two videos / two precious babies

I was copying some pictures to my hard drive tonight and couldn't help but watch some old videos that I took about a year ago. As soon as you watch these, you'll understand why I couldn't help but share.

The first one starts with Chuck doing his typical sniffing thing around the plants at our house while Kennedy cutely says, "Chuck, outta there....Chuck, outta there!" I remember she said this three or four times before I got my camera out for a video, and I am so happy I was able to capture a bit of that cute little voice. ...she says it first thing in the video, so if you missed it, turn up your volume and start it over!



The second one is of baby Quinn laughing at Chuck. And then falling over. And then he does it again. And again. And, of course, I was too slow to get my camera out for this one too! ...he was giggling (and falling down) like this for a good two minutes before this video starts.



And stay tuned: I'll be posting another precious (but a bit more recent) video bright and early tomorrow morning!

Happy Fourth!

(So far) this weekend has been spent with friends and family, lots of new pinterest fire food, tubing, and cuddling.

This picture was taken 10 minutes before jumping in the lake. I love my friend, Sam. And I love this beautiful life!

(and yes...i realize after my last post i sound incredibly bipolar)

Wordless Wednesday: it'sbeenthirtythreedaysandmyshellacstilllooksthisgood

The freebird returns

I don't believe I have mentioned the recent whereabouts of my absentee best friend, Natalie, on this here blog yet, but before I do so, I'd like to give you a little bit of background information...

Our sophomore year of college, Natalie and I studied abroad in Austria for the second semester. During this time we traveled all over Europe. Immediately (like, immediately--no you es of ay in between) after Europe, we took advantage of another study abroad program and headed to China for a month.

This was not enough travel for Natalie.

Our senior year of college, Natalie went back to Europe and spent two semesters teaching English in Poland.

Here is the semi-current update:

Six weeks ago, Natalie quit her job of six months, moved back to her parents, packed her bags, and flew down to South America. She went with her high school friend, Amy, Amy's fiance, Jeremy, and their almost-two-year-old daughter, Lola. BACKPACKING!

I was a bit concerned for two reasons:
1) A two-year-old? Backpacking? ...Natalie doesn't even like kids! 
2) Upon her return, she has no job to come home to!

But, oh well, that's Natalie--my ultra-free-spirited, non-baby-loving (how is that even possible!?) best friend--and I wouldn't trade her for the whole wide world!

The most current (and most important) update:

She will FINALLY be home TOMORROW!

And surprise, surprise, yesterday she sent me a Facebook message asking if I'd road to California with her next month...ha :)

Here are a few pictures from previous travels...if you're really bored, you can browse through here to see more.

Klagenfurt, Austria

Venice, Italy

Dublin, Ireland

Croatia (I forget the city--the capital)

Beijing, China

And this next one is a recent one of Natalie and Amy in Peru!

Hooray for homecomings!

Wordless Wednesday: the reason for my absence

A Birthday Surprise!

Remember when my grandma turned eighty? Well, our family didn’t speak much about this special day in the weeks leading up to it. So, when the day finally came, and her daughter (my Aunt Donna) drove all the way from Wisconsin to pick her up from work for a day full of shopping, she was definitely surprised!

Then, when she and her daughter went out for dinner at Hickory Park and sixteen other family members were already there, she was even more surprised. 

AND THEN, when she opened a birthday card that contained a plane ticket to Georgia (that left THE VERY NEXT DAY), she was even MORE surprised (and a bit panicked!)!
 

Why Georgia, you ask? Because that’s where her sister lives and my family (my grandma’s kids and kid-in-laws) thought this would be the most relaxing, enjoyable place for her to spend her birthday weekend.

And they were right--she absolutely loved it.

Pretty lady.

This is the whole group (minus two!). We tried to recreate the picture from my mom's birthday surprise :)

That one time when...

So there I was, standing in a Cross-fit gym for the very first time, scared to death wondering which one of those giant ropes I'd have to climb, exhausted from a very long and boring day of work/training, and hoping noone would notice the spikey patches of knee hair that inevitably gets missed every time I shave my legs, when out of nowhere, my long-time friend, Jamie (who somehow convinced me to attempt this workout), nonchalantly says, "Oh and Gabby Douglas is coming tonight."

wait.

WHAT?!?

Gabby Douglas?!? The cute, gold-medal-winning, OLYMPIC gymnast who I've only ever seen on TV will be HERE? With ME?

It's true, people. I couldn't believe it either.

And sure enough...about 15 minutes later, there she was. Apparently she lives with one of the cross-fit members during her Olympic training (she trains in Des Moines), so she came to help support the cross-fit gym on their one year anniversary.

Pretty cool, huh? The coolest part, though, is that she really was just like anyone else there. She wasn't surrounded by people or cameras and, quite honestly, I don't know that half the people in the gym even knew she was there.

However, as soon as someone else said, "I kinda want to get my picture taken with her," I obviously couldn't pass that up!

So, here I am, awkwardly standing next to her. I was so unsure about how to stand, if I should kneel, how much space I should give her, and you know...all the other star-struck thoughts one would have while being photographed with a celebrity.

Anyway, after we took the awkward picture, she talked about her training and what not (six days a week--and her short training sessions are 4 hours long), and she really is such a nice girl.

So, back to the whole cross-fit thing....eventually I had to begin the dreaded workout. And holy crap, that was the hardest thing I have ever experienced in my whole entire life. After six days, my muscles (or lack there of) are finally starting to feel normal again. Thank god!

Jamie, I love you, but I don't know that this body of mine can handle that torture again--how/why do you do that to yourself!?

Introductions.

There are four very incredible ladies that I would like to introduce to all of you. These gals have no idea that I look up to them in so many ways, but I honestly do.

The first girl I’d like you to meet is Mrs. Amanda Watters. Amanda actually went to the same university I did, the University of Northern Iowa, and of all places, we met each other in China where we both traveled abroad to teach English at a summer camp. Sadly, the two of us did not spend a whole lot of time together in China, nor did we keep in touch after we returned, but I came across her blog a year or two later and have been a dedicated follower ever since.

Amanda is mother to two-year-old baby Stella (and what an absolutely wonderful mother she is!) and wife to her high school sweet heart, Andrew. Prior to her new gig of stay-at-home mama, she was an English teacher—and boy does it show! She is such a fantastic writer.

…she is also a great photographer, cook (at least the pictures look amazing), homemaker, and has the ability to wear the cutest clothes that I could never pull off—not in a million years.

Click here for Amanda’s blog—I promise, she does not disappoint. OH, and one more thing—she is expecting her second baby (a BOY!) in October—I’m so excited to watch her cute little family grow!

The second lady is Miss Ashlea. Ashlea is full-time mama to two baby girls, Raygan and Remy, and she recently announced that she and her fiancé are expecting baby number three! Ashlea’s two girls are the spitting image of her. Obviously, I’ve never met her girls (or even Ashlea), but not only do they look just like her, but by the spunky little pictures she posts of them, their personalities are just like their mama’s.

…out of all four of these ladies, I think Ashlea and I are most alike. I don’t know if I can pin point exactly why I think that, but I do.  

Click here to visit my sista from anotha motha.

The third mama I’d like to introduce you to is also named Ashley. Baby Cruz is her little boy and he is SO CUTE! The two of them, along with the man of the family, Beau, live in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This town is very near and dear to me as I lived there for five years while attending college, so it’s fun for me to read about this family’s little adventures around the town that I know and love so well.

I swear Ashley has to be related to Martha Stewarts in one way or another—from her “14 Days of DIY Love” posts leading up to Valentines’ Day to the Sesame Street themed birthday party she threw for Cruz’s 2^nd birthday—holy cow, she could give Martha a run for her money.

Here is Ashley’s blog.

Finally, there is Mrs. Kerri Andersen. Kerri is probably the funniest person I have ever (not actually) met—reading her perspective on just about everything cracks me up every time! She is a new wife to her hubby, Jeff, and a new mama to baby Jane (she just had her baby about a week ago!).

I admire how Kerri isn’t afraid to talk about her frustrations and struggles; for example, when making a batch of sugar cookies, she attempted to bake the dough in a giant glob and cut the cookies out after she baked them. The way she told this story was absolutely hilarious and had me laughing so stinking hard.

See Kerri and her cute family right here.

I admire each of these ladies for so many reasons and am so glad I somehow made my way to their blogs. As I often do when I’m in the middle of a really, really good book, when I’m not reading, I find myself wondering what’s going on in these ladies’ lives. The difference, though, is that these women aren’t “characters,” and their stories never end.

Odds are I will never actually meet these women (except for Miss Amanda), but they will have unknowingly made my day 1000 times over, and have already given me so much advice and insight about the family I hope to have one day.

Happy reading!

ROAD TRIP!

Two months ago (yes, I know this is a little late), I went on a road trip with my bff, Natalie, and her little sister, Alyssa. Alyssa was accepted to grad school in Greenville, North Carolina, so I jumped at the chance to tag along on their apartment-hunting adventure (I’d take any excuse to enjoy a week off from work). So, on Friday, April 19^th at 9:00 PM, we hit the road and started our 20 hour journey east. I took the worst driving shift imaginable (from 12 AM to 4 AM) and was so grateful when I finally handed the keys off to Natalie. Natalie, however, has claimed she has “special eyes” ever since her lasik eye surgery (which was a month earlier). So, after 45 minutes of driving and many complaints about her “special eyes,” she handed the keys off to Alyssa and went back to her peaceful night of sleep. Typical! 

My outfit of choice for our trip of road.

Anyway, after our drive through Illinois, Indiana, a pit-stop in Ohio (to have breakfast with Alyssa’s college roomie), and several more hours of driving through West Virgina and Virgina (which were both so pretty!), we finally made it to our hotel—the Super 8.

Not sure what state this is--but it's gorgeous!

As we pulled into our gem of a hotel, we were greeted by a very large group of men standing around the parking lot who, we all agreed, appeared to be preparing for some big drug deal. So, while scared for our lives, we sat in the car for several minutes and contemplated our options: 1) stay at the Super 8 and hope we don’t end up on one of Dateline’s missing persons episodes, or 2) consider spending more than $50 a night on a different hotel.

We picked option two. Thank god.

Our time in Greenville was spent eating, drinking, shopping, and apartment searching. Sadly, Greenville is not near a beach and the weather was quite cold the entire time we were there. BUT LUCKILY, after three nights in Greenville, Natalie and I (Alyssa had to fly back home for school) were on our way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

Alyssa and Natalie.

Our nicer than ever bartender who told us where all the best shopping was.

After a three hour drive, we were finally there, and boy were we thirsty! We started our night with dinner on the pier and the night continued as we sipped a drink in just about every bar we walked by.

The view from our hotel room.

Natalie's first taste of "shark bites" ...we are still unclear of the true origin of this meal.

The beginning of our nightly stroll/bar hop.

The first take wasn't good enough...

The next day, it was FINALLY warm outside and we definitely took advantage. Natalie, got a little too carried away, though, and after only a few short hours, she was absolutely burnt to a crisp (and, holy crap, she looked miserable). I, on the other hand, was very protective of my pasty white ginger skin and constantly wore a nice, thick layer, of sunscreen. 

That morning--the start of Natalie's sunburn from hell.

Not sure what this creature is...

Natalie's foot one week after the burn from hell. Sickening.

After our stay at Myrtle Beach, we hit the road again—this time for ten hours—and ended up in Nashville, Tennessee. Neither one of us had ever been there before and we absolutely FELL IN LOVE! My Aunt Connie lives there and was nice enough to let us stay with her. My two cousins (Aunt Connie’s children), Drew and Carson, and Carson’s boyfriend (who is also my brother’s old friend), Quin, also came to Nashville for the weekend. The first night there, our eyes were a wee bit thirstier than our mouths were, so even though we purchased almost four thousand different beverages, I only managed to drink two or three beers.

We had high hopes...

The next morning we drove to Franklin, TN (and drove past BRAD PAISLEY’S church!) where we spent an hour or so window shopping. Of course, the boys didn’t enjoy that at all, so soon we were on our way back to Nashville where we spent the day/night listening to so many freaking amazing singers. Seriously, I do not understand how all of the people in Nashville aren’t already famous and on the radio--everyone was so good! 

Strolling the streets of Nashville. Me, Natalie (and one of her many cute photo faces), and Drew. Seriously, Natalie's face cracks me up every time!

Nat looking beautiful again.

Carson, me, Drew, and Aunt Connie

Me and Drew

We went to a well-known bar called The Wildhorse Saloon. I, being a lover of all line dances, was hoping I would learn some new dances to take back to Iowa. But, no; I was thoroughly disappointed with the line dancing there—how is it that Nashville, Music City, the country music capital of the world, had almost no line dancing?! I just didn’t (and still don’t) get it. So, instead of me bringing the dancing back to Iowa, I brought the dancing to Nashville. I am not even kidding. The third picture down below….that’s me teaching the Wildhorse Saloon how to line dance. 

Me and Natalie outside of The Wildhorse Saloon.

Aunt Connie, Drew, Natalie, and me.

There I am (in the middle) teaching that giant bar how to dance!

Anyway, the next night (Saturday) we went out again, and on Sunday, Natalie and I headed (another ten hours) back to boring old Iowa. Luckily, I had Monday off from work too, so I had ample time to apply for multiple jobs in...**drum roll please**…Nashville, Tennessee! 

Carson and Quin--the love birds.

Sibling love.

The last picture from our trip! This was taken as we listened to a band who's fiddler is also Brad Paisley's fiddler (and has been for the last 13 years). Yeah, pretty stinking cool, huh?!

P.S. Dear Taylor Swift, if you happen to be reading this and need an accountant, please let me know.

Fingers crossed!