The Best

Today is one of those days when I realize just how incredibly lucky and blessed I am. 

We woke up at 8:30 {really 7:30 since time changed last night, but we'll forget about that}. Kurt got N out of bed while I relaxed in bed for a little longer. When I finally rolled out of bed, it was time to get ready to head out of the house. We had planned to meet Josh and Mer at Patachou for breakfast. It was so delicious! 

After breakfast, we headed off to church. When we got home, it was about time for N's nap. Kurt relaxed at home and got a few things done while I ran to the pet and grocery stores to stock up for the week. 

N slept for a couple hours and then was up and ready to go. After a quick lunch, we put our jackets on and headed out for a long walk. Even though it was only 40ish today, the sun was brightly shining all day and the temperature felt warmer than what it probably really was. We stopped for a bit on our walk at the park. N wasn't so sure about it, so we didn't stay for too long.

When we finally got home a couple hours later, no one wanted to go inside yet. We played outside with the dogs until it was time to cook dinner. We decided it was a perfect night to whip up a healthy grilled meal {we haven't been able to use the grill in months}. While Kurt cooked, Norah finally got to ride in her birthday bike outside. She was in heaven! 

We finally came inside to eat dinner...it was delicious! Kurt headed off to hockey while Norah and I played for a while longer. The fresh air and running around outside really tired her out. I couldn't keep her up past 7:15. We read a couple books together and she held my hand as I rocked her to sleep while singing lullabies...perfect.To top it all off, it is still light outside as I sit here and type this up. 

It wasn't too long ago that we couldn't wait for days to turn colder. To bundle up in cute fall sweaters and riding boots. To sit by the fire and cozy up to the ones we love. Now I can't wait to pack up those sweaters and boots. To bring out a box of clothes that has been tucked away for months. To spend countless moments outside playing with my little girl, husband, and doggies {who LOVE to be outside}. To not bundle up while sitting outside on our patio listening to crickets chirp and watching fireflies light-up. Funny how the love for each season fades after we've lived it for some time. There are many things I love about each season, even winter. But for now, I'm looking forward to longer days, shorter nights, warmer weather, and everything else that comes with spring & summer.  

                                   

pretty pretty princess {or prince?}

Over spring break {which seems like ages ago}, Julia spent the night at our house. We had a lot of fun hanging out together, but a highlight had to be playing Pretty, Pretty Princess {Disney Princess Edition} with Josh and Meredith. After we ate dinner, Julia and I ran down to their house to see if they wanted to get ice cream and come play a game {we didn't disclose which game until they agreed...didn't want to scare them away!!!}. We all piled in my car and went to McDonald's for some yummy ice cream then headed back home for a fun game. Kurt decided he would wait for another round {which never happened} and let Julia, Mer, Josh, and I play together. We had a blast and Julia won fair and square!!

Trooper!

Princess Julia 

{Olive wanted to play, too}

Julia and Olive LOVE each other! 

Playing together in the morning.

Old Man Coop was exhausted from all the events!

Newest {mini} Addition

When I first started blogging, I told all about my family here and here and here. Almost 6 weeks ago {I can't believe how fast time flies}, Andy, Quinn, and Julia welcomed another little baby girl, Lauren Victoria.

 Lauren was born on February 24th, weighing in over 9 lbs!!! When Kurt, Christopher, and I went to the hospital that day to see her, she was very alert. What a precious addition to our family. :) I can't wait to spend more time with her and watch her grow.

{Kurt practicing for one day...ha!}

favorite

Love the beautiful views and sharing them with family.

Cabo {finally}

When thinking back to my many trips to Cabo, I'd have to say this trip was {by far} the most dramatic. I'm sure you're wondering why, but I'm not so sure you'll want to continue on reading....

You want the short version? -- It took us 36 hours {or something} to get there.

You want the loonnngggg version? -- Continue on reading!

Instead of telling the story, I'm going to just give you the {as brief as possible} time line. Okay, so here we go.

November{ish} 2009
Mom calls to get our seat assignments and airline informs her that our flight had been canceled. They {graciously} bumped us onto the Christmas Day flight. We informed them that we could absolutely not leave on Christmas Day. They {finally} added us onto another airline's flight leaving the day after Christmas...like originally planned.  

December 26, 2009

{times are all in Indianapolis time...}

3:15 am - Our alarm goes off to get ready...get out of bed at 3:30! :)
4:15 am - Mom and dad pick us up.
5:30 am - Having difficulty checking in. {Julia's reservation was for some reason with my name....important information for later on...little did we know!}
6:00 am - Kurt and Andy stand in line forever waiting to talk to the gate agent about getting seat assignments...kinda hard to fly with a 3 year old when we're scattered around the plane. {Another flight had been canceled, so those people took forever in line.} They never talked to the lady.
6:30 am - Our flight was scheduled to leave. We continued to sit in the airport... {Maintenance}
7:30 am - Sitting on our plane waiting to leave. {1 hour late}
*Note -- we had an hour layover in Denver to make our flight to Cabo*
7:45 am - They come back on saying there is another maintenance issue with the air conditioning.
8:45 am - We are told we have to switch airplanes....still in Indianapolis!
9:30 am - On our 2nd plane of the day, waiting to get deiced.
9:45 am - FINALLY leave Indy.

10:30 am - Our flight leaves for Cabo...without us :(

11:30 am - I'm looking out the window noticing we continue to turn to the right a lot...
12:00 pm - Pilot announces that we've been circling because of a snow storm and we'll continue to circle until given the okay.
12:45 pm - Land in Denver.

1:00 pm - Find customer service line in airport. Dad begins waiting with the hundreds of other people. Everyone else tries to find a place to eat.
2:00 pm - Done eating lunch at Paradise Cafe. Find dad who has just gotten to the beginning of the line.
3:00 pm - Manager of customer service has looked all over the country trying to find us a way to get to Phoenix. {There were no more flights to Cabo that day. We HAD to get to Phoenix by 9am the next morning to make the flight. All the flights from Denver to Phoenix were overbooked that day. If we didn't get to Phoenix by the morning, we were told that we wouldn't get to Cabo until Tuesday...it was SATURDAY!} She came up with a plan!!!!!! This is what she told us... "There is a flight leaving from here in 30 minutes to Fresno, California. You'll have an hour layover in Fresno and then you'll get on another plane to get to Phoenix. We're going to send your bags to Phoenix tonight. You'll stay the night in Phoenix and catch the first flight out to Cabo."
3:05 pm - In disbelief of how ridiculous this day was. Rushing to our gate to make the next flight.
3:10 pm - Find out that our flight to Fresno is delayed because the plane is late from Aspen. Praying with all our might that it would hurry up so we could make it to Fresno in time....

{While waiting, we had to take our minds off of the stress. Watching the airport people clear off the runways...how exciting!}

{Wearing sunglasses in the airport because it was SO sunny and warm inside. We're making our 'I can't f*ing believe this is happening right now' face!}

5:00 pm - Finally leave Denver praying that they will fly the plane EXTRA quick!

6:45 pm - Land in Fresno. Look around while pulling into the terminal to see NOT ONE plane sitting by a gate.

7:00 pm - Run to our gate to find out that it left.....

7:30 pm - Begin talking to the gate agent about what the hell we are going to do. We just wanted to make it to Phoenix that night. After standing there talking for 1 1/2 hours this is what we found out...

-There was no possible way to get all 7 of us to Phoenix that night.

-The first flight to Phoenix was at 6:30 am the next morning. Here's the kicker....there were only 6 seats on the flight!!!!

-Kurt and I offer to figure out a way to fly that night to Phoenix so that everyone can get on the morning flight.

-Man begins checking to see what we would have to do to get to Phoenix.

-B**** lady on the phone tells us that they would not allow for me to fly with Kurt because Julia and I were together on a reservation. They wouldn't split up our reservation and if they did, Julia would loose all of her seats for the remainder of the trip {including home flights}!

-Kurt offers to fly by himself to Phoenix...which meant he would fly from Fresno to Vegas THEN from Vegas to Phoenix....that NIGHT. {Kurt ended up being in 5 airports and 5 states in ONE DAY!}

-Man gets Kurt's tickets and then works on getting all our tickets for the next morning. THANK GOD we were already on the Phoenix flight in the morning....we just needed to make it there!!!

-Man tells us we need to come back to the airport at 5am the next morning.

9:00 pm - We sit down at the {one} airport restaurant to eat dinner. Kurt continues to complain about his stomach acting up....he can't eat a thing.

9:45 pm - Say goodbye to Kurt in the Fresno airport.

{Julia started crying when Kurt left. We were making our 'sad faces'.}

10:00 pm - Call hotel shuttle.

10:15 pm - Get free 'cosmetics' and hotel rooms. Find our rooms. Can't shut my hotel room door. When I figure out how to shut it, I can't get out...ugh!

10:30 pm - Lights out. Waiting for Kurt to call.

{Going back...} 10:00 pm - Kurt's plane starts to leave for Vegas. He throws up in the plane bathroom and tells the flight attendant that he's not going to be able to stay on the plane. They make him talk to the captain and drive back to the gate. He calms down and decides that he's going to stay on the plane....if he got off, he probably wouldn't have gotten to Cabo till Tuesday...! He pukes the entire flight and they make him wear a mask. {poor guy!}

12:30 am - Kurt calls from the Vegas airport. Says he feels like crap. Looks for a gatorade and waits for his next flight. I remind him of all the things he has to do when he gets to Phoenix and go back to bed.

2:00 am - Kurt calls from Phoenix. He checks in for the morning flight, gets his hotel voucher, and talks to the baggage person about where our bags are. He calls the hotel shuttle.

2:15 am - Hotel shuttle not there. Kurt calls back. They ask him to take a cab because they were having an emergency.

2:30 am - Kurt gets to the hotel and gets reimbursed for the cab fare. He was told about the drunk lady who stumbled through the lobby/hit her head and cause the emergency....

2:45 am - Kurt is still sick and tries to lay down to get some sleep.

8:00 am - Arrive at the Fresno airport. Wait in a VERY long line {when we were told NO ONE would be there!}

8:30 am - Lady tells us that Quinn {sister-in-law} was in fact NOT on this flight and that she is THIRD in line on standby. {Even though they printed off our tickets the night before that we were on this flight}

8:45 am - Start freaking out. I go stand in the security line. We didn't know if everyone would get on the flight...even if we did, we didn't think we'd make it through security in time.

8:50 am - I scan the security line for some saints!

8:55 am - Ask two incredibly nice ladies if my family could cut in line so we could try and get on the flight.

9:10 am -Run to the gate and begin asking people if we can pay for their ticket so they would switch. Some people offered, but they decided not to when they heard they couldn't get out of Fresno until at best the next day.

9:15 am - Told that if we have a ticket we had to get on the plane or they'd give away our tickets. Dad decided to stay so Quinn could go. {They gave Quinn a 'ticket' to get through security but not to get on the flight.}

9:20 am - After ALLLL the drama, they close the door and allow all 7 of us on the plane.

*My dad was able to get on because other people didn't make it through security in time...

9:30 am - Plane leaves Fresno a little late. I'm shaking in my seat because we had only 45 minutes in Phoenix to make the Cabo flight.

11:00 am - Plane lands in Phoenix. We run to our next gate, where Kurt and Patrick were waiting. {Patrick was supposed to come a day later than we were. We ended up being on his flight!}

11:15 am - Having not eaten a bite of anything that day, we buckled our seat belts on the final flight.

1:00 pm - Land in sunny Cabo!!

1:45 pm - Absolutely cannot believe that ALL our bags made it safely to Cabo!

3:00 pm - Get to our hotel and begin the checking in process.

3:30 pm - Begin drinking {!!!}

Can you believe it?!?!?!? It still stresses me out....and kinda puts me in a bad mood...ha!

You would think that after that the vacation was a-okay? Nope, the first day we were there {a whole day late} it absolutely POURED more than you can imagine. Oh well...we took great naps that day! :)

I'll be sure to share some good parts of the trip tomorrow!

Merry Chirstmas {and Happy New Year}!

I love Christmas.....

The traditions, spending time with family, snow, music, etc.

I especially love that my family leaves for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico the Saturday after Christmas each year.

Yep, that's right. Saturday we'll be leaving the cold weather for a week of relaxing on the beach.

Have yourself a wonderful Christmas and a very fun New Year.

See you in 2010!

sad

As you know from the many dog posts, my family loves our doggies. Today we had to make a tough decision. Tonight will be the last night that Belle will sleep at my parent's house. Remember in June how I told you that we've had Belle for 16 years? We got her the summer before I went into second grade...and now I teach second graders! She's had a wonderful life, but we'll sure miss her! My family has never had to do this before....

Today after school, I went to my parent's house to spend the afternoon with Belle and Bailey. Belle laid on my chest like a little baby. We took a long nap together and just hung out.

I don't know what tomorrow's gonna be like. I don't know how it's going to feel going to my parent's house for the first time in 16 years without Belle there. But one thing is for sure, I know I'm gonna miss her a ton.

Thanksgiving Break - Night 3

Day/Night 3 of my Thanksgiving Break was actually Thanksgiving. We were supposed to wake up early and join my parents and my brother, Patrick, for the annual 'Turkey Trot.' Unfortunately {maybe/maybe not!}, we overslept and decided to not go. Instead, we slept-in until about 9:30. We had a pretty busy day. We dropped Cooper off at Kurt's parents house, because we knew we'd be gone longer than they would. We then headed over to Kurt's parent's friends house to eat meal number 1. After a couple hours of eating, drinking, talking, laughing, and playing war {....}, we headed over to my parent's house for meal number 2! It was great to spend time with both our families.

That night, Julia really wanted to play with me all night long. So, we spent a lot of the evening in her 'room' at my parent's house. This is where a lot of her toys are, especially her baby things. She is in love with her Bitty Baby {a small American Girl doll}. So, my mom bought Julia and her Bitty Baby matching Christmas pjs. She decided pretty quickly that she wanted to change both her doll and herself into her new pjs, and asked me to help.

This couldn't be any cuter....

As we continued to play, she decided that she wanted to sit in her Bumbo Seat {she used it when she was a baby} and read a book to her baby and me. She told a really great story about babies... :)

And of course, she wanted to take a picture of her baby and me...

{a little too close up!}

So, that's how we spent our Thanksgiving Day! We headed home somewhat early because we were so tired from all the food!! More Christmas and laundry room updates to come.....

thankful

I know I promised to share pictures from last weekend's trip to IU...I haven't forgotten. But, I've decided to take some time away from blogging and enjoy this Thanksgiving week. Today at 3:20, my break will begin!! It's going to be filled with lots of family, friends, food, decorating, shopping, and {hopefully} some relaxing. I promise to be back next week with lots of updates and things to share.

Remember to stop and think about all the things you're thankful for. Take some time and enjoy those people, pets, etc. around you that make you happy each day.

Have a {very} happy Thanksgiving!

{another} busy weekend

We have another crazy but exciting weekend ahead of us. Last night, we went to dinner at Benihanas {one of my most favorite restaurants!!} to celebrate Patrick's birthday with my family! {Happy belated Birthday, Patrick!} Yum, what great food!

Tonight we're going out with Patrick and Allison and many of their friends to celebrate Patrick's birthday {again!}. Dinner should be great and then we'll either go duck-pin bowling or to the bars...either will be a blast!

Tomorrow we're heading down to Bloomington to cheer the Hoosiers on {by tailgating and visiting our favorite bars from college}. The last football game of the season is always against our rival, Purdue. Go Hoosiers!! {Please} beat Purdue! :)

We're wishing we could get IU to bring back the Bud Light 'Fan Cans' so we could drink a few of these while cheering on our Hoosiers...

Oh well! I'm sure we'll still have an amazing weekend! Good thing next week is only a two day work week for me!!! :) Hope your weekend will be great, too!

dreaming

Sorry about my short blogging hiatus. Work last week was full of drama and very busy....

This was a much needed weekend that ended up going way too fast!

I don't have much inspiration right now considering I had to be at work today at 6:45 am.

Lately, I've been dreaming of my family's yearly trip to Cabo San Lucas.

We always go the Saturday after Christmas and stay through New Years.

Not trying to wish away this time of year, but it will feel fabulous when I spend a week looking at this....

Celebrations

Today is a day full of celebrations! On this day many years ago {I'll leave out the exact number}, my mom and dad got married! On this day three years ago, Patrick and Allison got married! And, on this day four years ago, Cooper was born!

Congrats Mom & Dad --

and cheers to many more years together!

Congrats Patrick and Allison --

and, I'm really ready for my next niece/nephew!! :)

Happy Birthday, Cooper --

even though you drive us nuts sometimes!

walking and shopping

I'm so excited for tomorrow! My mom and I are going to do the American Heart Association Heart Walk in the morning. This is an association very close to our hearts. Last July 17, I got a phone call from my oldest brother, Andy, telling me that our dad was going to have emergency bypass surgery out of the blue. This is a story for another day, but he's doing okay now. Those people who have walked in the past, helped save my dad's life. I hope that our donations help other families in need. Plus, we will get free cholesterol tests {and other heart tests} to make sure we're keeping our hearts healthy. {Both my dad's dad and his grandfather passed away from heart disease. That means my brothers and I are at extreme risk for heart disease...if we don't take care of ourselves. Not to mention we have anxiety and high blood pressure that run in the family.....}

It's great to get some exercise and spend time with my mom all while we're helping others. I'm sure you're wondering why my dad won't be there?!? Well, he was given free tickets to the Notre Dame game. I suppose I'd be choosing that over a walk as well!

After the walk, Kurt and I are hopping in the car and driving 2 hours to Cincinnati....and I can't wait! We're going to the IKEA to shop for new house things!!!!!!


I L.O.V.E spending time in the car with Kurt. It's been something that we've done somewhat often within the past 6 years. We always have the best conversations. It simply feels great to be together and spend that time without any other worries. Of course, I love shopping, too! I love buying things for the house much better than for myself. It just feels great knowing that the things we buy together are going to make our house into our home. Lastly, I couldn't be more excited because I've NEVER been to IKEA. I've searched the website and catalog. I don't know how we're going to decide on just a few items. I think I'd get close to buying the entire store, if I could! :)

I'm sure Sunday will be a nice relaxing day spent watching football, etc. {P.S- Go IU!!}

Have a great weekend. I'm really hoping that I can share pictures of some amazing things bought at IKEA. Wish us luck!!!

booty dancin'

Saturday was my dad's birthday. In order to celebrate, my family went to a yummy restaurant downtown Indy. Of course, mini-me, Julia, was there to help celebrate. Normally when I pull my camera out and ask to take a picture, Julia wants nothing to do with being photogenic. But, to my surprise, Saturday night was different. Here are some of the pictures {minus the VERY random ones she continued to take of heads, ceilings, etc} from our photo shoot....at least it kept her occupied for awhile!

Things started out good...

...and then started turning a little more silly.

Trying to be a princess?!?

Then, we had to take 5 pictures looking up at the camera...

Best of all, the 'booty dance' face.

Apparently I make this face a lot when I'm talking about kids doing crazy things, weird stuff that happens, etc. {This is obviously an exaggerated face...} Well, Julia has somehow picked up on this face and now loves making it. One day while listening to loud music, she started making this face while bending over and shakin' her booty. And, the 'booty dance' was born! She looks so funny doing her dance. {I can assure you that she didn't get the dance moves from me!!}

10 things I hate {and love} about home

I love my parents very much. Honest, I do. They are the best parents anyone could ask for. They go above and beyond to help my brothers and me. They would go to the moon and back just to make us happy. If there is one lesson I've learned in my short little life, it's that moving back home after you've lived on your own {truly on your own, not like college on your own}, is one of the hardest things that you'll ever do!

I've decided to make a list of things I hate {and love} about home.

Things I love:
5. Being so very close to school.
4. Not having to buy groceries.
3. Not having to clean.
2. Seeing my parents each day.
1. Seeing and sleeping with Bailey each day.
{oops, maybe I should switch 1 and 2!}

Things I hate:
5. Thinking about all our stuff in storage we aren't using...
4. The less healthy food choices.
3. Not seeing Cooper each day.
2. Not seeing/sleeping with Kurt each day.
And, the number one reason I despise living at home, drum roll please......
#1. THE BUGS THAT ARE EVERYWHERE!!!

Last night, I killed the trillionth centipede {AHHH, I HATE THEM!} in my room. After stepping on it {as hard as possible}, I ran to get the vacuum and swept my entire room, top to bottom. The bugs this year are very bad. For some reason, my parents house is always bad with bugs. My mom knows how much I hate bugs, so she got the house sprayed about a month ago to keep them from coming in. Welp, guess that didn't work much. In fact, I think they are worse because they're coming out from the spray. UGH! I told my parents that I may be saying 'Goodbye' early if I have to kill any more bugs in my room!!! If our house is anywhere near as bad with bugs, I may pull some of my hair out.

Side note: our first unit at school is Insects. OH JOY! I have to pretend for 6 weeks that I love learning about bugs so the kids are excited about it, too.

GO. AWAY. BUGS.

You should be living outside!!!

P.S- Now my mom is mad at me, even though I was totally joking. :(

a day in the life...

...of my mini-me, Julia.

Today was very fun because I spent the entire day with Julia. Quinn dropped her off at my parents house early this morning. She arrived in her colorful, cute pj's with a car load of baby dolls and accessories, 2 blankets, and a bag packed full of pool necessities.

We hung out at Nana and Papa's house for awhile with the doggies. She is SUCH a 'mommy' and it's funny because I was exactly like that when I was little. Before we headed off to the pool, she had to put Pink Baby in her swing {Julia's from when she was a baby} to take a nap while we were swimming. She buckled her in, gave her a bottle, kissed her, and then said, "Bye, baby. Take a good nap." Oh, and her other new favorite thing is 'her' purse...a.k.a. my Louie clutch that she refuses to put down. Today she reminded me that she "likes it because it's expensive." -- Not kidding one bit! Needless to say, one baby, both blankets, and Louie had to come with en route to the pool. But, all of thee above had to stay in the car!

We had lots of fun at the pool together. She absolutely loves the water and it doesn't hurt that I get to tan at the same time! :) After we swam for quite awhile, we met Nana, Papa, and Uncle Patrick at Chipotle for some yummy lunch. She was acting very goofy the entire time...it's so cute to see. Once she was done eating, she wanted to be the 'big helper' and threw away all of our trash for us. My mom gave her a dollar for working 'so' hard...you should have seen her face! She said, "I can't wait to put this in my purse!".......... {Mom, if you're reading, I didn't get a Louie until my 21st birthday. She BETTER NOT get one when she's like 10! Ha!!!}

We headed home in hopes of taking a nap. But, Julia had plans of her own....to take care of those babies of hers that needed fed and given a nap. Finally, I got her into her bed {with all the babies} and thought she had fallen asleep quickly. Not too long after, I heard voices coming from her room while she played contently with them in her bed. Then I heard, "get me outta here!"

She had been telling me all day about going to see Kurt and Cooper {whom she adores}. I knew that she wanted to see them badly enough that if we got in the car and I told her that she needed to take a nap on the way, that she'd fall asleep. And she sure did! So, I ran through the bank drive-up window and then decided to take a very long way to Kurt's house to allow for a decent nap. When we turned into Kurt's neighborhood, she woke up and said, "Kiki, where are we going?" You should have seen the look on her face when I said, "We're going to Kurt's house!"

(Getting messy while eating a popsicle at Kurt's!)

We stayed at Kurt's house for quite awhile. She loved being there with Cooper and running around the house. I was finally able to get her out of the house because we needed to get back to her house. When we got home to see Harry {her doggie}, it was time to eat dinner and play some more. Sure enough, she fed the babies some more while I made dinner!! After dinner, she decided that she wanted to call Papa. She had about a 10 minute conversation with him, including many times that he needed to go to 'time-out' because he was still at work. Then she decided she wanted to call Nana. So, we talked to Nana for awhile. Right after she hung up the phone, she decided she wanted to call Patrick {who asked if we wanted to get ice cream with him}. Then Christopher. We then had to call Nana back!

We waited for Uncle Patrick to call us back so we could meet him at Cold Stone. I told Julia that when we left the ice cream place, that we had to hurry home and get ready for bed {we left for Cold Stone after her bed time...oops, that's what aunts are for, I guess!} When we got there, she chose the blue, Cotton Candy, ice cream. And, she ate every last bite!! We hurried home and started to get her jammies on. Well, then she decided that she needed to try and go pee pee on the potty, which she did. When she does this, she gets to eat a sucker...woo hoo for more sugar! So, she ate her {blue!} sucker while we put her jammies on and read a couple stories. We quickly brushed teeth and then headed to bed.

Phew, I'm tired thinking about how much fun we had together today! It's really fun to be able to spend time with her and watch her grow. The things that come out of her mouth make me laugh and amaze me!

Time for bed!

terrifically three!

When Julia was asked, "What do you want for your birthday?" her reply was sure to be, "Im-a-no." Which in 'kid-language' stands for, "I don't know!" But, we all knew exactly what she wanted...to be {even more of} a *princess* for her birthday party. Her wish was surely granted {although there weren't any small-sized princes at the party}. 

~A day in the life of Princess Julia~

Everything at Andy & Quinn's house was decorated with Princess-Themed things {table cloths, plates, silverware, centerpieces and even tiaras for each girl}! We were all ready to celebrate with Julia...who {of course} simply wanted to play! {Even if it was in her special pink 'princess' dress along with her new necklace and bracelet.} 

Weeeeeeee! Who said a princess can't swing?!? 

So, swing it was! With Uncle Kurt first...

then with Kiki! 

This picture reminds me of this. How the simple/little things in life can make us {so} happy!

Julia also made sure that each person at the party saw the picture of "my daddy and my mommy" in her new locket.

After swinging for quite some time, she moved onto busting a move. Her new dance is the 'Booty Dance' which consists of bending her knees, sticking her booty out, and shaking it all while making this face!

 

Wonder who taught her this dance....um, who?!?! :) 

{I'm pretty sure she got the 'look' from me too...!}

The Princess Party even had fun things for the adults to do {drink beer/play bags}. 

Uncles Christopher and Kurt were sure to partake in both of those activities!

 

Papa was playing until....

the Princess started chasing him while trying to throw a bag at him! 

Wish life could always stay this fun & entertaining.

It was daddy's job to grill the {yummy} food. 

But, of course he could take a break to share a quick minute with *his* princess!

Princess Julia was getting quite anxious to open her presents {especially after dinner was over}, but that didn't stop me from taking some pictures....

and I'll still take pictures, even if she's not going to smile/look at the camera.

But, it's okay because they turned out great, anyways! 

Woo hoo! Finally present time! 

Opening the Bitty Baby Birthday Outfit that Nana and Kiki bought at the American Girl Store. 

I'd have to admit that she is one {very spoiled} princess!! 

Isn't that a princesses job?!? 

Harry enjoyed 'watching over' his princess while she opened her new gifts.

{Finally} once all the gifts had been opened, it was time for the birthday princess to eat some cake! {It took SO long for her to open all of her presents (because there were so many) that the cake was beginning to melt!} 

What a perfect day to celebrate a p.e.r.f.e.c.t. princess! 

Life moves quickly, be sure to enjoy it and try to capture as much of it with a camera so you'll never forget it!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Princess Julia.

I love you,

Kiki

busy as a bee

As the weekend quickly approaches, I'm reminded of the busy days Kurt and I have in our near future. This weekend is so jam-packed, I don't know when we're going to get a moment to breathe let alone enjoy our last couple days in our apartment {we pretty much know this isn't going to happen anyways!} I am OCD about making lists and plans. Although I have a billion lists for this weekend, it'll make me feel better to get it all down on one 'master list.' 

Friday: 

-LAST DAY of summer camp! {Clean-up at school and bring all materials home}

-Wedding 

-Last night in the apartment {with furniture} 

Saturday:

-Wake up early/finish any last minute packing

-Movers coming at 10:30am

-Move all things to either storage shed or parents' house

-Paint two walls back to white 

-Cook-out for Christopher 

{My brother - he just graduated from grad school and is moving to NYC}

Sunday:

-Kurt will be playing in my families annual golf outing all morning while I be doing a major cleaning of the apartment

-Cook-out at my Aunt and Uncle's house after the golf outing

-Julia's 3rd Birthday Party at 4:00

Monday:

-Doing any last minute things at the apartment and turning in our keys :( 

Phew. I kinda get stressed out thinking about it. Have a great weekend!

4th of July

Happy 6th of July! I hope you had a great weekend. Kurt and I {along with Bailey and Cooper} went to the lake to spend the 4th with his family. We scurried around the apartment on Thursday trying to get the last minute things together and get up there quickly. Unfortunately the weather on Friday and Saturday was subpar and we didn't spend much time on the lake. Actually, my weekend was spent with a lot of {wine}

       

   

 {In fact, I think it involved too much of this. Yes, I did fall backwards out of my chair while playing euchre in front of his whole family -- aunts, uncles, cousins, etc!} and wishing I could get rid of {fireworks}.

I know every 4th of July to expect tons of fireworks. And I know I probably sound like a huge grump, but I'm really not a fan of fireworks. ESPECIALLY when they continue on and o n and...you get the point. Sure they look cool and wow they make really loud noises, but they scare the s*** out of my doggies. If they don't like them, neither do I! :) So, I guess it's not really a matter of me disliking them, it's really that the dogs freak out/shake/pant all night/hid in tiny spaces and nothing I do {except give them medicine} helps one little bit. Please neighbor kids at the lake, go to bed and save those fireworks till next July 4th when I expect my dogs to freak out and I have enough medicine to last the entire night.

Good thing the weather was beautiful yesterday. Oh wait! We spent the entire morning glued to the T.V. watching the Wimbledon Final. Unfortunately, we sat there for 4 hours too long just to watch Federer win.... a g a i n. Good thing Roddick isn't too hard on the eyes and a favorite of mine to watch. Thankfully the match {finally} ended and we were able to enjoy the remainder of the afternoon on the water. 

Thank God it's my LAST week of summer camp. Can't wait to relax!!  

chicago

This past weekend, my mom and I went to Chicago to celebrate my {belated} birthday and simply spend some quality girl time together. She and I are both {kinda} shopaholics, although my mom may have a difficult time admitting this! Chicago is the perfect place to indulge in our addiction while getting away together for the weekend. 

We got to Chicago late Friday night {courtesy of my dad's bad directions}. When we checked into our hotel {finally!} we were told that our room was on the 46th floor. Not only did I feel like I was going to plunge to my death in our unbelievably high room, our air conditioner was leaking onto the floor. Needless to say, we quickly called and asked for them to switch our room. Finally we were in a {lower & cooler} room so we could quickly unpack and hit the hay. 

We woke up somewhat early {for me} on Saturday so we could get in a full day of shopping. After eating a {scrumptious} buffet breakfast, we quickly headed out to the first store...{a HUGE} Forever 21. {*Anyone that knows me, knows that I HATE shopping in stores like Forever 21. I get very annoyed with how messy these types of stores are and how many people are there. But, the most annoying thing is how they operate the dressing rooms!!! I'm not even going to get started on this! Oh, and I wish I had the patience to shop at stores like this because they have great deals....} Good thing this was the first store because I was in a good mood and they had some great things! By the time we checked out, I was about to have a panic attack because we were in there for so long, but I survived and made it out with some really cute {and cheap} new things! 

(This is what we dropped off at our room after the first couple hours!! Successful trip for both of us!)

The afternoon continued on with more and more shopping. We stopped to have lunch at a cute little pizza place in one of the malls. It was really yummy and much needed energy! One of the most eventful stores we went to was the American Girl store. When I was growing up, I loved playing with dolls, especially American Girl dolls {I have 5 of them that my mom has saved for me to give to my daughter(s)}. The stores weren't around when I was younger, so we had no idea what to expect. We wanted to go check everything out, but we were really going in to find something to buy Julia, my niece, for her Bitty Baby. O.M.G, this is paradise for any girl {old or young}! If you're ever in a city with an American Girl store, you should check it out just for the entertainment aspect. 

After a very successful day of shopping, we went back to the room to freshen up. We then had dinner at this Italian restaurant {the oldest in the city}. It was pretty good. The tiramisu {one of my favorite desserts} was fabulous!!!  We then walked around for a little bit before our show started. We went to see Jersey Boys. It was phenomenal! I can't wait to see it again in Indy this coming Winter. 

(Enjoying our dinner together. Notice the huge tiramisu that I ate all by myself...oops!) 

On Sunday, we ate breakfast, packed our things up, checked out, and then decided to take advantage of the awesome weather. So, we walked around for a little while {and stopped in a few more stores} before heading home. It took us forever {or so it seemed} to drive home. We were so hungry when we got home, we decided to meet Kurt and my dad for some great Mexican food at a little family owned restaurant in Broad Ripple. 

(Mom and I modeling all our new clothes and accessories while waiting for a table.)

(It's good to get away, but even better to come home and see the one you love!) 

Thanks for a great weekend, mom! I had so much fun and can't wait to wear all my new things!! :)