I need a vacation from my vacation.

Happy Friday!

Well, not really because this weekend...we get to pack!
Ugh.

The moving process is no fun.
If I was rich, I'd pay someone to pack all my stuff.
And put it away.
Man, that would be the life.
Keep dreaming and get to work.

Two weeks.
Two weeks and we will be living in a new home.
What a stressful, exciting, anxious experience this has been.
I definitely didn't think we would be leaving our first home this soon.
Crazy. Is this for real?

Our first home.
The home we bought right before saying I do.
The home where we combined our college furniture.
And the home we brought our baby boy home from the hospital to.
Bittersweet.

I'm ecstatic and emotional all at the same time.
Speaking of emotional, it's been a short week for us.
Still felt like a five-day week.

We just returned home from a mini-vacay to Denver.
Sans toddler.
I was a mess before we left. I'm not sure why.
It was the same amount of time away as our vacation in January.
I cried.

Maybe it's because we were state-side and communication wasn't an issue.
Or maybe because Carson is all grown up.
And saying "Mama" like he's five years old.
Sigh.

We all survived though.
Said toddler was beyond spoiled by his aunt, uncle and grandparents.
He welcomed us home by being a complete stinker this entire week.
But also gave us those smiles and moments we missed so much.
My real life.

Our vacation was jam packed.
Per usual when we visit Denver.
Friends, family, friends of friends and family...you name it, we see it.
We even attended a wedding.
And worked in hiking and a Rockies game.
A vacation that wasn't really vacation.

But we mostly ate. And drank.
I feel like I need a cleanse of some sort.
I even snuck in a trip to Ikea.  
Score!

I need a vacation from my vacation.

Happy Friday folks!

TOP | strider bike envy | peace dude | i wouldn't stop whining until my mom let me play with this baby toy

MIDDLE | trip to ikea = a way to piss off with your husband | ornery little wildcat | biking...what's that?

BOTTOM | spoiled rotten | breaking news: carson shares THE hat | play date

Mrs. Ruddick

This post is LONG overdue.

So, rather than me explain Katie's beautiful day that took place almost 2 months ago, I'll let the photos do the talking. Enjoy. Congrats Mrs. Ruddick!

Beautiful venue

Beautiful dress. Beautiful bride.

College buddies.

Dancing Queens

Katie and her daddy busting a move

Love this pic of Mr. Haller and Brittany and Lauren.

Out in downtown Tulsa

Ski ball and arcade games make drinking being sober more fun!

Holla's Last Hoorah

A few weeks ago, we made the trip to Tulsa for Katie's Bachelorette Party. It was a short trip, but well worth it.

Not gonna lie, the drive there is pretty boring and somewhat lengthy, but don't worry...we rocked the Greens' new minivan! Yeah-ya! I was pretty intrigued by all the gadgets and hidden features.

We started off the afternoon enjoying the god-awful pleasant Oklahoma sunshine. It was hot and we were sweaty, but we made it work.

And when you're not feeling it outside, just move the party inside. Beer pong with water anyone? That was this girl right here. I was well hydrated for the big night. Katie's kitchen island is the perfect beer pong set up.

The group minus the moms. Well, me and walker are mama's, but let's not go there just yet.

 

Some of Katie's fun gifts. I hope Barry and her have fun with their toys. Ha!

Dinner in Tulsa and then a night out on the town.

At a club called Ivey -- a club trying to be swanky and Vegas-like, but I give them a C. Well, an A for their motivation and dedication to getting bachelorette's to doing body shots, but a C for the rest.

Katie workin' the pole below at Pink. This club was interesting. I saw more butt cheeks and va-jay-jay's than I typically prefer. I can normally handle a few...say the kind you might come across in classy P&L, but this club took it to extremes. Rather, the girls on the poles took it there. Picture this, trashy girl with wack-job haircut (all sweaty because she had been up there so long) sporting a jean skirt (who seriously still wears those?) and a white thong.  Her motto: Leave nothing to the imagination.

For some reason, every guido-type juice head wanted to dance with us. Even the local brothers hit us up. They asked Katie if I would dance with them...I was like, "do you not see this thing growing from my belly!? No thank you!"  

Mama's can still have fun and stay up past midnight:)

Cheers!

 

I absolutely love this picture of Katie and her momma. Can you see the resemblance? So sweet! Katie kept trying to get her mom to drink all night:).

The girls ended the night at the casinos while Megan and I headed back to Katie's. It was just a little too smokey in the casino for Baby K.

Congrats to Katie (who's actually already Mrs. Ruddick!). Post on her wedding coming soon!

Stock the Kitchen

Last weekend, I attended a Stock the Kitchen bridal shower for the-one-and-only Katie. This girl is getting married at the end of July and we all couldn't be more happy for her. Boy, haven't we all come a long ways since our college days? Married, home owners, buns in the oven...man we are so grown up.

I have had some great times with this girl.

On a spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale. Let's just say this trip was interesting. A "booze cruise" turned senior citizen style with no pool (we should have listened to Katie and got the hell off the boat), our hotel catches on fire, Katie's trip to the hospital, and a random night involving some sketchy boys. Heather, I still can't believe you left your shoes there!

When we thought full length sequin dresses were really...in style.

When posing next to a dead squirrel at a date party was really...classy.

The infamous melons. I think we were all secretly openly obsessed with Katie's boobs. I can't tell you how many pictures I have like this. We were so weird.

A sneak trip to visit Katie and Rains in B-Ville. This trip was also one to remember.

One of the many lake trips and one of thousands of the random late night photos I have accumulated over the years. This was the most G rated photo I could find. Seriously.

Now back to the bridal shower.

Brittany and Lauren did such a great job with the shower! Scrumptious food, decadent cupcakes, and a fun game where we learned Katie's favorite kitchen utensil was a fork:). Oh Katie.

I really enjoyed seeing Brittany's house after experiencing all her handy, crafty house improvements on her blog.

Gracie was there to clean the floors:) Just kidding, but she was so cute scooting around on her stomach. She couldn't get enough of the tissue and wrapping paper.

An apron for Barry from Katie's G-ma

Congrats Katie! You are going to make a beautiful bride!

Our Family is Growing

We are officially gaining a new member in the fam! And no, I'm not writing today to tell you about a baby or a new puppy.

Even better than that...a future sister-in-law!

Yep, my older brother, the one who some (mainly his friends) thought would never get married, popped the question and is ENGAGED! His super cute, sweetest-gal-you'll-ever-meet-fiance accepted his proposal and said yes this past weekend. You can read all about the perfect night on her blog.

After their date night and the proposal, we were all waiting for them at The Flying Saucer. I couldn't believe how many people showed up to celebrate with them. There was so much love in the room!

Amy was so cute when she walked in and was surprised by everyone. The tears started flowing, and hugs were flying everywhere.

The happy couple

Love her dress

 My brother's best friend, Matt. Not sure why Matt sits like that. We aren't sure why Matt does a lot of what he does actually.

YAY!

I couldn't be happier for these two love birds. A little background about my brother...

Why are you more tan than me?

We are two years apart and had the typical love-hate brother-sister relationship growing up. As most brothers and sisters close in age, we fought, we argued, we tattled on each other, we pushed each other's buttons and tried everything in our power to get the other one in trouble.

We were quite brutal. One time, I hit him with my mother's high heel, which caused a wicked circle wound. It was bloody for days. He retaliated by somehow getting me to willingly put my finger under the sewing machine while he pressed the foot pedal. I'm gullible people, but I have no idea why I would do something like that at age 6. Luckily, it didn't hit the bone.

High school was better than childhood because he transformed into the protective big brother who would beat up any guy I dated. I thought it was annoying at the time, but looking back, I guess I sort of appreciated it. He was looking out for me. 

Next, I moved away for college, he moved to Kansas City, I followed to KC after graduation, and now we live in the same city. Those years living apart were the best damn thing that ever happened to our relationship. It made us realize how much we really do need each other and care for each other.

Don't get me wrong, we still have huge blow out fights at times, but we have learned to appreciate one another for who we are. While, we are two of the most stubborn people you'll ever meet, we're very different people. I can honestly say that all those fights and experiences have helped shape me as a person. I have learned from him, and I hope he has learned from me.

Sorry for all this sap, but my bubba is getting married!

He has been through a lot when it comes to relationships and I couldn't be happier that he found Amy. Got only knows that the Biddles are hard to handle, and if she can put up with him, she is a definite keeper! :)

Congrats to my bubba and the future Mrs. Biddle!

Walks - A - Hatch - E

Weird title, I know. But it's the only way I could remember to correctly pronounce the name of the town we traveled to last weekend for my cousin's wedding.

Waxahaxie, TX. About 30 miles south of Dallas. Not gonna lie, I wasn’t too excited about making the 9 hour one-way trip in the car. Flying would have solved this little problem, but we opted for driving.

I was thrilled to see my family and some cousins I rarely see, but I would have loved to explore Dallas, being right outside of the City. But let's get things straight, I wasn't there for myself, I was there to celebrate my favorite cousin's marriage to a sweet southern belle. It is apparent she is southern from her deep southern accent, I love it!

I couldn’t have asked for a better family road trip. We laughed, reminisced, ate way too much, drank too much, came with our dancing shoes on, stayed up late talking about old times, and had a damn good time.  

Here’s some highlights:

Spending way too much time driving around to find a bar and ending up at Chili’s. Yes, Chili’s. We chose beer over Presidente margaritas and somehow left with an insanely cheap bar tab. Our check was obviously wrong, but we didn’t say anything. We decided the bartender had a thing for my cousin Drew.

Eating at Pappasito’s in Dallas. Yummy Mexican food. Pappasito's Salsa = some of the best I’ve ever had.

Harassing the DJ with my cousin Kati. This was right after my brother informed me that she and I are the two biggest drama queens in the family. Thanks bubba. We’ll take that as a compliment:). Well, “Your DJ” (that was his company name, real original right?) was clearing the dance floor with the chicken dance and we wanted to hear Like a G6.

Chick-Fil-A. Right next to our hotel. Score!

Two words. Fat Daddy’s. That’s the name of the bar we found the second night. A definite improvement from the Chili’s and $2 big beers!

The wedding. The white dress. The beautiful catholic church. The vows. The first dance. What can I say? I’m a sucker for weddings.

The Grand March. Has anyone ever done this at a wedding before? I was a first timer and I am still uncertain of how I feel about it. It was a mix between london bridges, cotton-eyed Joe and absolute insanity:).

Somehow, Your DJ was able to convince every.single.person to join in. Correction: They wouldn’t start the The Grand March until every single person was out in the lobby lined up and ready to start (including little old grannies who probably shouldn’t have been doing this craziness). Apparently, it’s a “south” thing. Don't worry, we made it fun, but I’d prefer to stick to my “midwest” roots and the Cupid Shuffle. Thank you.

Here’s some pics. Enjoy!

Up bright and early and on the road.

Pappasito's! Thanks for the recommendation Cal! 

 Headed to the rehearsal dinner

 Me and Kati.

 Favorite cousins. We all grew up together in California and caused all sorts of trouble when we were kids.

Ryan and Amy

 Me and Drew. In the hotel lobby, taking a pic.

 Mom & Pops

 Oh yeah. It's not every day you catch a jayhawk wearing a KSU jacket. She was cold, lol.

The Newlyweds. Derek and Rebecca.

At Fat Daddy's. My cousin Mary.

  Meet Brian's late night friend, water.

 My cousins Brian and Brandi