Baby Brother Graduation Weekend

My baby brother graduated college a few weekends ago and my family was in full force celebration mood. Kev and I traveled to Lexington early that friday to meet up with baby brother and some friends at Country Boy Brewery. We started the weekend celebration off right with some of our favorite beverages at what used to be one of our favorite local spots (when we lived in Lex). 

My parents met up with us at our hotel in Hamburg and headed to celebratory graduation dinner at Nick Ryan's downtown Lexington. We were so excited to finally take my parents there. 

We attended Eastern Kentucky University's graduation ceremony on Saturday. We were so so excited for baby brother and to share the weekend with his girlfriend, Brittany, and her family who had made the trip in from California. 

Kev looked so handsome in his bow tie and I was so excited to finally wear my lace skirt that had been collecting dust in my closet.  

Saturday was so special. My parents were just beaming with joy the entire day...so proud of their baby boy. 

Charlie and one of his best friends from home were in the same ceremony and were actually seated next to each other. It was very special as we are are very close to him and his family. 

Charlie's gorgeous girlfriend, Brittany. 

 The graduate! So so proud of hm. 

Brittany and her family. We adore every.single.one.of them. It was so much fun having them all in Kentucky together. 

After graduation, we headed back to baby brother's apartment to freshen up. Momma and Daddy surprised Charlie with a brand new Martin guitar for his graduation present. He was over the moon. 

Brittany's mom had lead the charge on planning the post graduation celebration. We celebrated the special occasion with  Brittany's family and 2 other families of graduates that Charlie and Britty are very close to. We had BBQ catered in, drinks flowing, a candy bar and an amazing cake all along with good company to share the evening with. Brittany's mom had went above and beyond. It was perfect!

We loved that our family was able to spend time with Brittany's family. We had each met them several times prior, but this was the first time we had all been together at the same time. We sure do enjoy them and think Charlie has definitely found a keeper! 

Graduation weekend was so much fun for my family and I. Y'all know we love every opportunity we all get to be together. I even insisted my parents stay with Kevin and I in a two bedroom suite at our hotel because we just can't get enough of them. There is no greater gift than family, and this weekend was such a strong testament to that.

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Charlie - I am so so proud of you and that man you are becoming, I know you don't have every single detail figured out, but you are destined for great things and I can't wait to watch your path unfold. I am blessed to be your sister and share so much of my life with you. I love you so much! 

Memorial Weekend 2014

Hello Tuesday! You aren't so bad considering I have the day off. Don't be too jealous because I did have to work half a day yesterday. Holidays in healthcare??? aint no such thing! 

Memorial Weekend was pretty laid back and low key for us and we loved every second. 

I started off friday by cleaning the house, getting a workout in, getting a manicure and picking up fresh flowers for the house. 

Friday night baby brother, KR and I headed to the nearest patio for beers and sushi. Did I mention that baby brother is our latest house guest? He moved in a few weeks ago and is planning on staying with us till mid/late July. Kev and I are both ecstatic to have him here. Absolutely.over.the.moon. We may just not let him leave....at least for a while haha. 

We went to Drakes in NKY, a restaurant that is originally out of Lexington. We felt right at home getting our sushi on with some crab ragoon rolls. The boys sipped some brews and I enjoyed sipping my little beer flight. 

Saturday we had a date with the Jacksons (our faves - Chris and Dana) and the pool! 

Kev packed us a cooler full of drinks and I worked on snacks and broke out the skinny girl margarita. 

We had a blast catching up and laying by the pool. We ended our evening with Chris and Dana on our patio with take out Dewey's pizza and also picked up a strawberry shortcake for dessert. 

It was the perfect Saturday!  

Kev and I headed back to the pool on Sunday and have made fast friends with our neighbors. We really enjoyed getting to know all of them better. We are in love with the pool being so close to our house. I think it's safe to say we will be making regular appearances. 

Monday Kev finished up some mulch work around the house while I spent the morning at work. Major SUCK! We waited for baby brother to get back in town (we were starting to have withdrawals!) and headed to dinner and a movie in Newport. We saw Godzilla in 3D IMAX and I was impressed with how much I enjoyed it. 

I hated to see it all come to an end. Back to the grind today... catching up on housework, laundry and grocery shopping. I do enjoy this part time work/part time stay at home wife gig. 

Happy Tuesday Y'all!!!! 

Easter Weekend 2014 (better late than never....)

During my little bloggy hiatus, I totally missed recapping a very special weekend that we were able to share with both of our families. Easter has always been special for us, you can read all about why here and here

Easter was the first holiday we spent together with both sets of parents when we were engaged. Kev and I have started a tradition of hosting it at our house. 

We were thrilled to have my parents, baby brother and baby brother's girlfriend up on friday night and were able to take them to one of our favorite local spots in Cincy. If there is one place we fell in love with fast, it was Eli's bbq. Hello amazing and delicious bbq in a place that allows you to BYOB and sit outside on wooden picnic tables. It's right up mine and Kev's alley. We took a few six packs and posted up listening to some live bluegrass music. It was the perfect friday night. I was so over the moon to have my family in town. 

Saturday morning we all woke up early. I cooked it up in the kitchen most of the morning and put the boys out back with momma for some yardwork. The weather was absolutely perfect. 

Kev's parents arrived Saturday afternoon and we had Easter dinner on our back porch that evening. We loved having everyone under one roof. LOVED IT!

Sunday morning we headed out to Easter service at church. We were thrilled to have them join us. When we were back in Lexington, we loved taking our parents to church on the weekends that they would come and visit us. We were so in love with our old church and loved sharing that experience with them. We have became pretty settled in our new church and have definitely been getting more involved. It was great to share that piece of our new environment with them. Easter services was absolutely perfect and so moving. 

After church it was time for left overs followed by some pretty photo snapping in the back yard. 

Kev and I were so content the entire weekend. Family is such a priority for us and we try to make the most of anytime we are able to get together with the entire clan. Easter is such a special holiday for us and to share it again with the ones we loved most was just icing on the cake.  

it has been a hot minute......

So it's been a hot minute since I have carved out the time for this little bloggy here. I have missed it so much, but the truth is I have struggled to balance the time for it. Kev and I have been so busy with getting to know our new surroundings and meeting new people, that it had to take a back seat. I find it so much easier to get my social media fix with instagram and keep up with all my bloggy faves through that avenue. However, I truly miss documenting mine and Kev's lives. That's the whole reason I started blogging in the first place, to have my little space to document the not so exciting, everyday experiences. So here I am, trying to hop back in the saddle.......

Here's a quick glance on some things I missed out on blogging in the spring. Don't mind me, I'll be over here playing catch up for a while.

March 2014- My sweet, sweet Bailey boy turned 8 years old on March 31. Tear. It semi breaks my heart that he is technically considered a senior dog. I hate seeing that on his vet appointment reminder cards. They say that boxers are always two and I believe that 100 percent. Bailey acts as energetic and playful as a puppy does. 

March 2014 - Kev's work space got upgraded and we took my momma to the grand opening. I felt like we were totally at the Google HQ. So proud of him and his new career. He absolutely loves it. 

March 2014- Momma and I tore up Kenwood Mall with some spring/summer shopping. And of course we bought matching shirts. Duh! 

March/April 2014 - We spent a lot of time cheering on our Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA tournament. And we made it the freaking final four!! It was glorious! (even if we almost had a heart attack every.single.game)

April 2014- We had both of our families up for Easter weekend. It was so much fun. Full post to come :-)

April 2014 - We spent the day in Lexington going to Keeneland and meeting up with friends at Pazzo's. A full post to come on this, too. 

April/May 2014 - We started operation "spring yard work". We are loving our landscaping and that everything is in full bloom. 

May 2014 - We have been making new friends and I just love this lil lady and her sweet BF. They showed us around some fun and hip places around downtown Cincy this spring. Kev and I are finally feeling like we are getting to know this place. This particular night was just perfect. We finally made our way to OTR and found a new restaurant and a couple of patios we are enamored with. 

May 2014- I chopped my hair off and added some red tones for spring and summer. I am loving my hair short. I don't know why I try to grow it out. It just doesn't work. My momma cursed me with baby fine hair, but I will forgive her for it. 

May 2014 - We have been spending a lot of time on our back porch for evening dinners and drinks. We love it out there. 

May 2014 - I became obsessed with Bourbon and Boweties bracelets. Absolutely obsessed!

May 2014 - Baby Brother graduated from college. Can't wait to share more details about our super fun weekend celebrating his accomplishment and share his big news. 

Happy Friday Y'all! 

It feels good to be back!