WonderFALL

Kyle's dad snapped this picture of us at Sharon Woods when we were at the CC meet. I have never really thought much about Fall but am really starting to love it. I am hooked on apple cider, pretty fall trees, and love when the sun is shining to keep me warm so I don't have to wear a coat {though I wore a coat this day since we were going to be outside for a few hours and you never know what Cincinnati weather is going to be like}.

Come Fly With Me

Kyle and I went sailing through the air on our hot air balloon ride this past Saturday. I thought it would be months before we would get to do it but someone canceled and we jumped at the opportunity. The weather was great, not too windy, sun shining and not too cold. I was a little nervous when we first started because my mind raced with the "What Ifs":the balloon stops working right, the other balloons that are above us accidentally come down on us, etc. After I got over the likelihood of my death being from a hot air balloon ride I enjoyed the rest of the trip. It was really fun to get to do something new and exciting. We both really enjoyed it and had a great time seeing the sights from up high.

Setting up our balloon

There were 5 other balloons with our group

A view from the inside

We're in the air :)

That balloon had 8-10 people in it

Kyle said he had skills because he got the hot air balloon in the background :)

We went over a local high school

Our basket touched the tops of trees, it was really cool

The hot air balloon we were in

After we were safely on the ground

If you are interested in doing a hot air balloon ride, check them out here. We had a great time with them and they have the best deals for hot air balloon rides.

Thanks for a great birthday gift babe! I love doing new stuff with you!!

Up, Up, and Away?

On Sept. 24th I turned 23. I have mentioned that Kyle and I make birthdays a BIG deal. It really is not about spending lots of money on a gift for me but about spending time with the people I love. When we have kids I want them to know how special they are and that we are so glad that they were born. I may put unrealistic expectations on a day but this is how I view my birthday. The older I get the more I hear people say "it's just another day" but that's not how I will think about my birthday. It is a time to celebrate and break away from the normal for a day and maybe get to do some of your favorite things you don't get to do as often as you would like. That being said on my actual birthday I went shopping in the morning with my friend Brittany to our favorite shop Fovever 21. Forever 21 can be hit or miss but this time it was a hit. I tried on lots of dresses {which never happens} and left with two pretty dresses :) The day was starting off on a good note. Kyle had to work the day shift so I had the rest of the day to visit with my family and get ready for dinner. When Kyle got home we decide on where were going to go and headed out. We had a little argument over what we were going to do for the night. I like to be surprised so I did not know what Kyle had planned for the night and when we talked earlier that day he said he had nothing planned. My initial reaction was to think he was joking but once I realized he was not I was upset. We have been together long enough for Kyle to know that birthdays are a big deal to me and I am learning that my love language is quality time. I said that I may put unrealistic expectations on birthdays so when I was basically deciding what we were going to do for my birthday I was frustrated that Kyle did not get it. But that is life sometimes, our feelings get hurt and we move on. On our way to dinner Kyle told me that the gift he got me was not in yet and he was not going to tell me what it was, double bummer.

So I have patiently waited for Kyle to tell me what it was and this past Wednesday the secret was revealed. I woke up Wednesday  morning to Kyle coming home from work making breakfast. We usually 1. don't make breakfast {we are cereal people usually} 2. Kyle almost always goes back to sleep when he gets home from work at 6 am. He told me he was making me breakfast and I had the day off. Excuse you, what did you say, I have the day off work?!?! I was completely confused since I know when I take my vacation days and this was obviously not one of those day. But Kyle had called a month and half ago so that I could have today off so we could do something really special. I called my work to remind them that Kyle had supposedly taken this day off for me, didn't want a pink slip when I went to work the next day :) Kyle made my favorite for breakfast, bacon and pancakes. In his sneaky ways he brought up the conversation of what we would eat for breakfast if we ever did make it at home so he would know exactly what to make me, very thoughtful of him.  After breakfast we crawled back into bed and did not get out until 11. You read that right 11! I have not slept that long in fooorrever. It was a constant rain that day and I'm so sad because my gift got canceled. Kyle had planned for us to go on a hot air balloon ride for my birthday!! I was SO EXCITED! Seeing the beautiful fall leaves from up high when the sun was setting would have been so much fun!

Kyle tried to do this surprise closer to my birthday but it is such a popular item that this was the soonest he could get it. We are going to reschedule and maybe the weather will cooperate next time. I realize now that Kyle did not have anything planned for my actual birthday because he had lots planned for when we could do the hot air balloon ride.

Dear husband you know we all to well. Thanks for making me wait for great surprises and doing things you know I'll love, like not working :) Sorry for getting so mad at you :)

We will be in one of these someday soon!!

I'm Pinned

{via}

I have patiently waited for my inbox to say "Welcome to Pinterest". Now I can pin to my hearts desire!

Pinterest=BEST.IDEA.EVER

My nose in a book

Friday after work I picked up The Help at the library and have been sucked in ever since. I got the book on CD which helps make my drive go by faster since the radio can get old after awhile. I have been listening to the book non-stop since I got it. I was intrigued since I heard the movie was great and wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. I loved the book so much that any spare moment I had I was listening to it. I listened to it while I cleaned the house, on the computer waiting for Kyle's parents to get home, made unnecessary trips so I could listen to it in the car. Kyle came home and I was staring at the blank TV listening to the book. He gave me strange look and just shook his head. He does not understand how a book can be "that good" that I would want to listen to it all the time. I am excited to see the movie and see how they compare. Besides The Bible or a Beth Moore book, this has been a really great read for me lately :)

Here are some  funny quotes from the book {really the whole book is filled with great stuff}. The characters all have a unique personality and without seeing the movie I can picture how they are going to be.

"Prayer is like electricity, it just keeps on going" Aibileen

"I waited on white ladies who walk out the bedroom with nothing on but their personality" Aibileen

"That old dusty Bible she keep out for show" Aibileen

"Benny, go tell daddy he better get his fool self out of that bed" Minny

"I can see Mrs. Celia in the backyard in a pair of hoochie pink satin pants and black plastic gloves. She's got dirt all over her knees. I have asked her a hundred times to quit digging dirt in her dress up clothes. But that crazy lady never listen" Minny

Where I want to be

Is taking a nap on the beach listening to the waves with Kyle...o a girl can dream. All of these pictures make my heart beat fast, I CAN NOT wait to go to the beach.

Check out the rest of this wedding here

Wishin and Hopin

And lots of praying but my dear friend is ENGAGED! Brittany and David got engaged on May 21st after Sunday night church service. My bestie is SUPER excited and I am THRILLED to help her plan and be one of her maids-of-honor along with David's sister{or is it suppose to be Matron since I'm married, I never know the right terms}.



It may look like Brittany and Leah were about to duke it out for the bouquet but I'm pretty sure Leah did not really want it

 Brittany I am beyond excited for you!! I cannot wait to make pretty things for your wedding, plan showers and a bachelorette party and see you walk down the isle in a beautiful dress! The fall will be here before you know it!



In Her Shoes

It's no surprise that I LOVE Weddings. I love going to weddings, seeing beautiful venues and dresses, being inspired by the decorations, dancing with Kyle, and catching up with friends. So it would not be surprising that I watched some of the Royal Wedding today. I have not been glued to the tv the weeks before the wedding but today I wanted to see it. I wanted to see her beautiful dress{which I LOVED, I knew having a lace dress was "in" ;)}, see how the church was decorated, and see what people wore to a Royal Wedding.

I think Kate seems classy, down-to-earth, and is very refreshing in a society that tells little girls and women that they need to have the "perfect body", an "in" hair style, to party and act wild to have friends, wear scandalous clothes to get noticed, and having more is always better. For someone who just became royalty, I think the way Kate looks on her wedding day is a great example for women. She looks like herself and does not seem to be conforming to how society tells her to act or look.

Images via. Blog title from this awesome blog

Highlighter time

This is Kyle's favorite time of year...March Madness is starting on Sunday {Selection Sunday}. For the next few weeks we will be watching lots of basketball games with hopes that our brackets will be successful!

I am looking forward to buzzer shots, Cinderella stories, big upsets, funny announcer analogies {like some Strawberry Shortcake from Dickie V}, the works.

We are excited for March Madness!

A girls dream

My cousin facebooked me and asked if I would be interested in helping one of her friends start up her photography portfolio. She was looking for newly wed brides to take pictures in their dress

A chance to wear my BEAUTIFUL wedding dress again +

Get my photo taken for free and get the rights to the photos =

I'M IN

Buying my dress I knew I would only be wearing it one time but it is such a TREAT that I get to wear it again! Not sure if I really want a bunch of pictures of me in my dress and it's not my wedding day, but I won't complain about free :) 

Have a great weekend!

January 8th

Who would of thought...two kids that barely knew each other when they were in 6th Grade

Would start dating their Junior Year

and Get Married

Six years ago Saturday I got a call from Kyle that I now know changed my life forever :) We were high school sweethearts, had a couple breakups, but then started dating again our freshman year of college.

Time really has flown by! Hard to believe that I would marry the boy who always wore UK shirts and dated all my friends in middle school :)

Rain drops keep falling on my head

Well...not really :) But if they did I would be prepared since I now own a pair of these

{here}

Owning a pair of these has become a must now that I have to let Bentley out in the rain and snow. I have always wanted a pair and am giddy to have some! They came in the mail yesterday and I walked around the house with them on for no reason, Kyle thinks I'm nuts :)

It's no longer a secret

Meet Ashley

Ashley and I have been friends since middle school! We have known each other for a long time and always get asked if we are sisters when were out. I have lots of great memories with Ashley of us growing up together and tons of funny stories. Some of my favorite memories are working at Cleves Park together, going to Ashley’s relatives in Tennessee for Thanksgiving, and hanging out at each other houses. I am so blessed that Ashley and I are great friends!

She was pregnant during our wedding but lost the baby a week later. But...now they are expecting again! She is almost out of her first trimester and I'm officially allowed to tell people now :)

Ashley & Ryan we are really excited for you guys! We will be praying for you and can't wait to shower your little one with love and gifts! 

Semi-Homemade Christmas

I wanted to make Baby Caleb's gift and since he needed some pictures for his room I thought this idea would be perfect! His room is also jungled theme so this was a must!

Who knew you needed to check the size when you ordered a book, not me. The book I ordered online {on the right} for a great deal was obviously too small but I finally found the right size at Barnes and Noble

I used Kyle's knife to get the pages I wanted

Finished product. All I did was take the pages I wanted and framed them, simple as that. I LOVE how it turned out! {ignore the glare from the window on the frames}

A closer look

I could not be more excited about how this turned out! It was simple, quick, and did not cost a lot.

Project Cost:

Three 8 x 10 Frames from Michael's: $11.00 on sale

Book from Barnes and Noble: $18.00 {yes, I know that is a lot for a book {do they want parents to read to their kids?} but I'm sure you could find it cheaper online but I was on a time crunch}

I will never look at a book the same!

Thanks for the inspiration and check out the tutorial and awesome blog, it is full of great ideas!

Chrismukkah

That's right, it's time for the OC Chrismukah marathon {can it be a marathon if there are only four episodes from the seasons? I'm sure I'll watch them more than once :)}

Some of the besties can not make it so twist-my-arm I will have to watch them all again sometime soon!

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o how I LOVE seth cohen and summer

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My weekend will also be filled with snow {that's what the weatherman tells me},

making cookies with Theresa  that hopefully look like these {but more like ornaments},

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 & finishing my last paper of the term!

Have a great one!

Who will give me $10, $10, do I hear $15?

That's right...I'm going to my first AUCTION! My madre, Connie {Kyle's madre}, and I are going to an auction really close to where we live. I'm really excited to hopefully find a great deal or treasure :) I have been wanting to go to an auction for a really long time, I might become really giddy if I actually win something I bid on! {hopefully the man selling the items voice will not become annoying by the end of the night}

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Saturday I am going to be hanging out with Brittany. It's really sad but I have not seen her since the wedding and we live probably 20 min away from each other!! It will be great to catch up with a bestie {I stole this term from you Jen}.

{brit is on the end}

Sunday I will FINALLY be putting up wedding pictures on Facebook{this is for you Leah}, visiting with  mine and Kyle's family, and relaxing at home :)

Have a great one!

Can it get any better than this

I LOVE when my grandparents come to visit!! This year my grandpa could not make the trip so my Grandma and Aunt Louise {she lives in Arizona} came to visit. I can not express in words how much I love my Grandma {she is one of my FAVORITE people}. My cousin hosted a party in honor of my grandma and aunt being in town.

Here are some pictures with my grandma

{surrounded by her son, grand kids, and great-grand kids}

{surrounded by her daughters, grand kids, and great-grand kids}

She looks GOOD for her 80+ age!

More to share soon!

Another year....

Tomorrow I will be another year older..the big 2-2 ;)  This year my birthday will be unique and extra special!! As I mentioned, my grandma is in from Florida and has agreed to make me breakfast tomorrow {of course she would, she's a grandma :)} Some of my favorite memories from my childhood was my grandma making me breakfast as I sat on my grandpa's lap and stealing his bacon when he was not looking :) My grandma has not been in town for my birthday since I was ten or eleven so it means soo much to me that she happens to visit when it's my birthday!!!

{here}

Another special part of my birthday besides spending time with my family is I get to spend time with this guy.

I get to celebrate my birthday as a married women {treat and something new} I will enjoy waking up and seeing Kyle there {he will just be getting off work} Kyle is off work all day :) and we always surprise each other with our gifts. This year I bought Kyle a chainsaw for his birthday, he was shocked! {yes, I know a chainsaw is kind of dangerous but its something he really wanted but did not think he would EVER get}


This weekend will also be filled with spending more time with all my relatives, homework and watching this team play at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday night.

{here}

 I have never been to a UC game before so I'm really excited

Another special treat is my birthday is by the first day of Fall. Enjoy the first day of fall {even though it feels like the first day of summer, 94 is not fall weather. But to be honest I like hot summer days way more than I like cold days}