Toodle-oo March

And just like that our magnificent March has come to an end and we're steaming full speed ahead into April. We rounded out the month by meeting up and spending a great day in Lexington, KY with some of our favorites. Our new little miss, Brighton Marie, her big sisters, beautiful momma, MaKenzie, and Aunt Toby!


I've mentioned before, the new house will be Farmhouse decor, and my Aunt has a niece on the other side of her family that has very similar taste. Erin has a BEAUTIFUL home in Nicholasville, KY ... just outside of Lexington and it is what dreams are made of. Guys, her hardwood floors are made of legit barnwood. Like the entire home is floored in an old barn. Swoon. So, when we were talking about our new house one day, Aunt Toby wanted me to walk through the house before I got too far into selecting my finishes, in case I found some great ideas. Plus, we never pass on an opportunity to play together!

I love how she re purposed an old antique to become a vanity! So cool.

More barnwood use! Love. I'm doing this in our master bedroom and our hall bath on the first floor and seeing it in action made me 100% certain I've made the right choice!

It was a quick trip, but I loved seeing all these pretty ladies and the home was awesome! Since we were in Lexington ~ aka ~ horse country, we thought it would be a great time to head over to Keeneland and see my momma's racehorse. My dad bought stake in a racehorse for my mom for their anniversary this year and perfectly enough he was being trained that morning at the track. Spring meet begins next week, so all of the horses are working out at Keeneland. Spring meet brings back so many college memories ... but taking my babies to the track was certainly different than I remember from college, HA!

We gave them donuts to give them a little sugar boost, to ensure they'd last long enough to walk through the stables and hang with Honor Mission, our horsey!

 Horseys and littles. Kentucky can be pretty perfect.

 We woke Honor Mission up from his nap ... ain't he pretty!?

 And momma was reunited with mister.

And Lainey perfected her horse sounds.

 And then we all gave him a little lovin'

It was a perfect day <3

And then we cruised into our low key weekend getting ready for our big Spring Break trip this week - DISNEY!!! Of course we forgot to pack the kiddos travel stuff when we moved back from Nash, so we had to rebuy all of their headphones, etc. (moving/packing fail). But Bennett was pretty amazed by Best Buy and Lainey liked the new way to ride in the cart ... so we'll count it as a win.

We packed, we prepped, we hung out, we kicked off spring break with ice cream for dinner with a visit to my childhood ice cream joint, Berry Twist, and we even made it to Tee-Ball! It was the perfect cruise into our magical week and I absolutely cannot wait!

So toodle-oo March ... we're heading to the most magical place on earth and kicking off April in the best possibly way! Oooooooohhhhh toodles!!!! M-I-C-K-E-Y!!!!!!!!!!

Remember to Keep it Fresh

I mentioned last week that hubs and I spent some time away and it was a good reminder to stay fresh. And staying fresh is refreshing ya'll. It's easy to get wrapped up in the motherhood thing. Easy to wear the same outfit 54 days in a row and not think a thing about it because it's practical and it makes sense. And don't get me wrong, I love it. I'm proud of it. And more than anything I'm genuinely happy and feel beyond lucky to do it. But danngggg does it also feel good to get dressed up, walk out of the house without a bag the size of Texas complete with sippy cups and diapers and simply head off with your hubs and talk about things other than Blaze and The Monster Machines or The Three Little Pigs sometimes. And we've had back to back weekends of adult time and it's been a great breath of fresh air.

Memorial Day weekend was a whirlwind with 101 things happening nonstop. Starting with item numero uno to keep it fresh. A newwwww carrrrr (say it like the Price's Right guy ... it's a lot cooler). Haha but really, post surgery I wasn't able to climb up in my SUV and easily swing Lainey's carseat in and out like I used to be able to. So, we traded in little miss Lucy and went for a more middle sized SUV that is lower to the ground and has easier access to the kiddos thanks to captain's chairs. Out with the old and in with the new!

After we changed out all of our goodies from one car to the next and said a proper farewell to the car that safely brought home both of our babies from the hospital (why am I such a sap and think about things like this? Am I alone in that weirdness?) we headed for a quick wardrobe change to see our
sweet niece, Tatum, graduate from high school! It seems like just yesterday she was standing next to me as a junior bridesmaid and now she's all grown up (that's her in the white)!

We went to dinner with the family while my girlfriends kept the kiddos (shout out to Wads and Jess for coming through in a pinch!) and celebrated Tatum. This girl ya'll has impressed me so much.

These littles celebrated her all day at her party and are the cutest cousins around! The day after her graduation party she packed up her things and boarded a plane to head to Ghana, Africa and work on a mission trip to spread the word of Jesus to people in the villages. And when she gets home she's heading to my alma mater, The University of Kentucky, and headed to fall recruitment. So proud of her!

After graduation fun, it was time to celebrate one of my college roomies at #OneKulWedding :) and watch her be the prettiest bride of all in Bardstown, KY. Luckily for us Shane's Dad, Grandpa, and his girlfriend, Susan, live in Bardstown so we doubled the wedding with a grandparent visit and had built in babysitters, WAHOO!

After we got all dolled up, and took a picture with the littles to prove it. We headed out to meet the gals. Ya'll I've said it before and I'll say it again ... these girls. They get me. Real, good Friends are hard to find and I am so lucky to have found so many in my journey. They each mean so very much to me and I'm so fortunate to have them. And my hubs too :)

 There's a few of us missing. But that's a solid crew right there.

 Ekkk! And there she is!

And then after we danced our hearts out all night long, I had a happy heart for both myself and this pretty bride. Outdoor weddings have my heart, so to me there is nothing that could have been better. It was perfect Sara and so were you!

After our whirlwind weekend we had quick stop to the James Brown Cancer Center in Louisville for a second opinion about this health nonsense and then dropped off the kiddos and headed back down south. We had a quick day in Nashville and then hit the road for Hilton Head Island for #KustesIslandIDo and a short beach trip with Shane's buddies and a lot of our college pals. Shane just couldn't believe it!

 For the record, I am HORRIBLE at road tripping. And add a bum leg that has to be elevated and having to stop more than we normally would and we were nervous about the travel. BUT, I think I did pretty good and if I dare say Shane may agree? My snapchat story was pretty comical...or to me at least :)

 My handsome groomsman at the beach wedding.

And here's my wedding date, Kelly, since our hubbies were at the beach altar.

 Back to my real wedding date.

 And these guys.

 And the most perfect roomies for the entire weekend. Regardless of how bum mine and Buddy's legs were. We rock compression socks :).

It was awesome to see everyone again, and to say we had fun was an understatement. But once we got home and our littles were asleep in the car on the ride home, I was so thankful for the time away ... but loved having my babies back with me. 

The kiddos keep me fresh too :)

My Old Chi Omega Home

This past weekend I took a fun-filled walk down memory lane ...

456 Rose Street at the University of Kentucky. The steamboat, the wedding cake, the chee, the home that holds amazing memories … The Chi Omega House.

Le Sigh.

So much happy in such a simple photo.

The Lambda Alpha Chapter of Chi Omega was chartered in 1914 and has now turned 100 years old! This past weekend was the Centennial Celebration and sisters from years past and present all came together to celebrate. SO COOL. There is so much history and so many memories for so many amazing ladies that are all centered around this same location, it seriously makes me so happy.

When I joined a sorority my freshman year, I was completely overwhelmed and had no idea what to expect. At first, it seemed a little superficial, a little forced, a lotta foreign, and incredibly overwhelming, but it quickly became apparent that it was also inspiring, challenging, bettering, comforting and ALOTTA fun. It also taught me some really great things about myself and life.

College itself is a great time...classmates, old friends, new friends, the entire "growing up" on your own and coming of age experience is second to none, but if I'm being 100% honest my sorority had a HELLUVA-lot to do with why I loved my college days so dearly. And side note: bigggg shout out to my parents for making all of aspirations and dreams of college and frat life a reality, without ever once batting an eye and trusting in my decisions, even though they were sometimes a little questionable ;)  My sorority sisters were by my side for all of it …

Additionally, I just started a list where I was naming everything they were to me so you could get the full effect... I got to 25 and deleted it, because I realized it's a little overkill. You get it. We were close. We were besties. A lot of us still are. And although I may have met them on my own, I credit Chi O for all of it and I'm not ashamed to say so.

Our Symphony was something I used to hear weekly. And, as cheesy as it may sound … It was neat to hear it again this weekend. The Symphony's notes are played across 173 campuses in America. Sisterhoods are strengthened on a daily basis; handshakes are being exchanged, songs are being sung, and oaths are being vowed. We are part of a tradition that has lasted over a century; women have been playing the Symphony long before we ever heard it. But the tune still rings louder than ever just as I and so many have promised to be a "symphony of high purpose and helpfulness in which there is no discordant note."

And BIGGG news … that steamboat that you see pictured above is getting a MUCH NEEDED makeover! HOLLLLLAAAAA. Check her out … I can't wait to see her when she's finished!

Anywhoodles, it was a great weekend. I also managed to throw in a little Keeneland, 75 degree weather, grown up time with Hubby and some of my favorite college foods. So, I'm certainly chalking this one up as a win.