Big Blue Birthday

My birthday has always been a little tricky. Some years it falls on Easter, most years it is during Spring Break, some years it is a bright, sunshiney spring day and some years it defines April showers bring May flowers. (But it ALWAYS falls the week before tax day-sorry Dad!)

This year it just so happened to fall on the day of the national championship game. When I noticed the coincidence when the bracket was released I never dreamed Kentucky would still be in the tournament and we would have a double celebration on the 7th of April.

But we did and it was so much fun! Friends and family gathered at our friends James & Ashley's to watch the game and dually celebrate my day. My mamaw even came to watch the game at "Rowdyville" for the occasion :) There were balloons, UK dinnerware and a strawberry cake of course.

They sure know how to make a girl feel loved! The double Happy Birthday serenade was the icing on the cake. Speaking of icing please take note of the little finger sneaking into the blue icing...

The game sure didn't go as we wanted it to but I'm still proud of them. They exceeded expectations and made these last few weeks super fun. My brother was able to experience Jerry World for the first time to watch them play in the championship game and we spent lots of nights being with friends that our busy schedules doesn't allow us to do near often enough.

I would be lying if I said losing wasn't disappointing but when I found this Kentucky state necklace that Allison posted on her blog it seemed to soften the blow. I had some birthday money to spend and for only $16 I'm confident it will lift my spirits without buyers remorse. I'm still Kentucky proud!

Thanks to all of you for all the birthday love sent my way yesterday. Social media sure makes birthdays extra special!

Kentuckian

I am always proud to say I am a Kentuckian but this week I especially am. My birthday is not until Monday but we celebrated this weekend with a trip to Keeneland for opening weekend. This was my first horse race experience so it made for a special birthday memory. Before the races we tailgated with friends outside of the track and watched the first race from where we are standing which was really cool.

Keeneland is so picturesque. You can see rolling, green hills for miles and everyone is dressed fancy. This was the view from our seats when we headed into the grandstands. Hubby did a great job picking these! The men were up and down wagering all afternoon and the girls stayed bundled up in a blanket enjoying the sights :) It was sunny but chilly.

I did have to dabble in the betting just to say I did. When in Rome, right? Here I am placing my first ever bet. Marcus thought that called for a photo op. My horse finished show but I made a win bet so I didn't win any money. It was exciting though, I won't miss that $2.

Ideally I would have had on a Lilly dress and wedges but early April doesn't always bring spring temperatures so it was coats and boots instead. Just another reason to go to Derby also!!

We went with our good friends Mary Beth and John and Paige and Eric. I love spending time with these two couples! Hopefully the Bennetts will be moving a little closer to us in the future so we can see them more. We are kindred spirits! And Paige and Eric always make events fun. I'm still laughing about the food they packed-lunchables and string cheese :) Just babies I tell ya.

While we were in Lexington, Georgia Grace spent the day with Grandma. Baths are her new favorite past time so they decided to make it an extra fun bath. I think this is her saying the Cats are #1 and going to win the championship! :)

Speaking of the Cats, we kept with tradition and went to James and Ashley's to watch the final four game (and I wore the final four shirt that was wrapped hanging on my door from them when we got home-they know me so well!!). Just like every other game of the tournament we were on pins and needles until the bitter end. When Aaron Harrison hit the 3 to put us up by 1 I think you could have heard us from Arlington! Unbelievable. We sat on the 2nd floor balcony to watch so Georgia Grace could play in the upstairs TV room so this was our view of the game. So much fun!

Horses, sunshine and Kentucky basketball made for a perfect birthday weekend. If they can bring home the title tonight that will make this birthday over the top!

Blue Love

Was this weekend even real life?!?

If you don't know what I'm talking about then crawl out from under your rock because we are in the Final Four!!!

I still don't think it has set in that this team is two games away from a national championship. They play Wisconsin Saturday night and if we are victorious we will play Monday (winner of Florida & UConn) on my birthday!

The celebrations started early as Georgia Grace and some of her AKK buddies wore their UK blue to school on Friday. I'm glad she is surrounded by kiddos with such smart mommies and daddies ha!

We beat Louisville Friday night in an unbelievable game to advance to the Elite 8. You won't hear any Louisville bashing from me. I'm just happy to be part of BBN and the SEC-the best conference in the nation!

Saturday was a rainy, yucky day that was only good for a slow start with morning cuddles in our bed. This has become a weekend tradition for us and I look forward to it so much. I hope that the little things are etched in her memory just as much as the big things.

And I think it should be noted that she is totally still celebrating with her three goggles ha!

The slow morning gave way to a slow afternoon and a slow night. Georgia Grace spent some time with her grandparents for a little while on Saturday and I took some time for myself and started reading The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I took the love language assessment pre-Mrs. status so I doubt it is accurate and will take it again once I am finished reading. I learned so much just from reading the first 50 pages. I know I say this all the time but the best gift we can give our children is a strong marriage full of grace and love and that is Christ-centered. I want to do anything I can to harvest that.

Sunday was a normal Sunday for us. We went to church and volunteered in the nursery and then we went to mamaw's for lunch.

I mentioned Friday that we are learning our animals and sounds so I couldn't wait to show Georgia Grace an actual cow on my grandparent's farm. She mooed at them and wasn't a bit scared.

We had a busy, excited girl this weekend so pictures didn't happen often but when they did she was on the move mostly. I had to document her UK attire (her UK squeakers came from Cracker Barrel). We went to James & Ashley's Sunday to watch the game. We are a rowdy crew and GGH got spooked a few times when a big roar would erupt so we went outside and played in their front yard a while. I went back in just in time to see the big Aaron Harrison "3" to seal the victory!

Final Four bound and headed to the big D!

And a BIG birthday shoutout to our fur baby who turns 5 today! I have no idea where the past five years with him has gone. I remember the day they brought him home. We drove to the dollar store for puppy food and he sat on Marcus' shoulder ha! He had huge paws as a pup so we knew he would be a big boy. Life has been 148204 times more fun with him along for the ride. Messier? Yes. Sometimes more stressful? Yes, but we take it all in stride and wouldn't trade it.

When you turn five you get a BGE grilled steak!

Happy Birthday sweet Owen! Or "O-wa" as your sister calls you. You have officially made me a dog person. We love you so much big boy!

#TBT New Orleans 2012

When I think of March I think of March Madness. Living in basketball country all of my life I have always associated the beginning of spring as also the conclusion of basketball season.

My mom and grandparents have attended the SEC tournament for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl they would bring us home tshirts and memorabilia from the Fan Fare events. I never got to go to the tournament because of school but I always said when I was older and out of college that I wanted to make the trip.

So Marcus and I decided to go to the 2012 SEC tournament in New Orleans! Neither of us had ever been to an SEC tournament or New Orleans so it sounded like the perfect one to attend.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites-Carondelet Street. It was super nice and in walking distance to the arena and tourist hot spots.

A great view of the downtown area

The tournament was held in the New Orleans Arena where the New Orleans Pelicans (Read: Anthony Davis' team) plays. And fun fact-I just read that it is now the "Smoothie King Center" as of last month. That is...different!?

The Superdome was right beside the arena so a photo-op could not be passed up. The Final Four and Superbowl were all held at the Superdome in 2012 so New Orleans was the place to be in the sporting world.

If you are familiar with UK basketball you know they have the best fan base in the nation and they travel all over the country to watch them play. It was a sea of blue everywhere we went.

I would guess 80% of the fans were UK and the other 20% made up the rest of the SEC!

A beautiful hotel in the French Quarter that caught my eye every time we passed

Such a tourist photo :)

I care too much about my money to gamble but I had to take a picture of the famous Harrah's Casino.

Riverwalk on the banks of the Mississippi

Taking a trolley to save some steps and wearing some bunny ears :)

We met some of our friends from back home at Drago's Restaurant one night for dinner. There are usually 20-30 people that we know that attend the tournament so it feels like home away from home.

My UK basketball lovin' family. I'll always cherish this picture of us with my Papaw from his last SEC tournament trip.

The famous Jackson Square, a historic park in the French Quarter. There was actually a wedding taking place the day we walked to it.

This picture just represents New Orleans to me.

Bourbon Street-I will keep it PG rated per Bourbon Street standards. I'm glad I can say I've experienced Bourbon Street but I was definitely out of my comfort zone!

It's not a trip to Nola without an authentic mask.

Cafe Du Monde was on the must-do list. Absolutely delicious. That's my kind of comfort food!

We also attended a few ballgames while we were there ha! It was a full week because when we weren't watching games we were out exploring.

UK ready to take on Florida in the semi-finals

My husband Mr. SEC

Our Cats made it to the championship game and lost to Vanderbilt :( We were bummed at the time but they went on to win the NCAA Championship a few weeks later so we got over it. We were just thankful they made it to the final game and we were able to watch them play the whole way through (since we bought books of tickets).

And another reason that this trip is extra special is because this was when we told my Mom, Stan, and grandparents that we were expecting! We put a pair of UK baby booties on our bed so that my mom would see them when she came in our room. We totally caught her off guard which is what we were hoping to do! I was 7 weeks pregnant so I was very tired by the end of each day (and dressed slouchier and had horrible roots ha!) but I didn't let it slow me down.

 Another crazy thing that happened while we were there is we ran into my Ob-Gyn on the streets of New Orleans! I had met him because I work with him but Marcus never had so it was neat that their first meeting took place 600 miles from home :) It was an instant connection.

New Orleans was a great trip and a unique place to visit. I'm glad I can say I've experienced The Big Easy. We were able to see the side of town that has not been rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina. It was unbelievable. We were able to see the Mississippi River and experience the true deep south. It's a vacation I will never forget!

A Whole Lotta Awesome

I have big news to share that I have been dying to tell since August...

Our best friends are having a baby!!!

Rachel is 12 weeks along and everything is perfect. They came over to our house very casually one night after we invited them over for supper with this sweet little card. I screamed of course, my excitement level was/is through the roof! 

This was how they announced it (which just happens to be the cutest way ever). And this was my response when she sent it to me via text HA! I threatened to spill the beans several times if she didn't go ahead and tell it already. Baby Ross is already on the AKK waiting list so consider Georgia Grace and Baby Ross best friends for life.

This baby is a testament to God's faithfulness-God is good!!!

First birthday party details are being finalized this week (in between wedding plans) and a big detail is ready to go-the party dress! My friend Jenny of Savvy Stitches made this beautiful custom piece for Georgia Grace based on my Pinterest board and personal preferences (she also made this dress for us). This dress will be perfect to match her party theme. Southern, prissy, and unique to our 1st birthday baby. Thanks Jenny for sharing your creativity with us!

Monday I was informed that I had won tickets to a UK football game!!! I know everyone always says this when they win something but I seriously never win things like this. I could be the only name in the hat and somehow the hat tag would end up getting pulled out or something. Maybe my bad luck with prizes streak is over! Anyway this game is the first weekend in November and we are planning on making it an overnight trip and leaving Georgia Grace with family for the first time. I think I'm ready, I KNOW she's ready. The timing just feels right as the busiest month ever concludes. I have to think these tickets are the reason we needed to take some mommy/daddy time. Thank you Beech Tree News!

AND my brother's girlfriend Sarah has been nominated as a WKU homecoming candidate! Unfortunately WKU homecoming and GGH's birthday party overlap each other, we are bummed about that but we will be there in spirit to support her! Isn't she a doll? I think she is a perfect representative for the university. Good luck Sarah!!

Governors Cup, Invitations, & Fall At The Hall's

Saturday we [myself, Marcus, Nathan, Rachel, my sister Paige, and Eric] made the 2 1/2 hour trek to Lexington to watch our beloved Cats play Louisville in the Governors Cup. My mom kept Georgia Grace for us so we could go. I can't wait to take her to games with us but I just don't think she's ready yet.

The last time we both went together to watch the Cats play in Commonwealth Stadium we upset Spurrier and the Gamecocks so we were hoping we were their good luck charm.

We weren't ;(. Oh well, we had a blast and UK looked much improved from week 1 & 2. It's going to get exciting in a few years when "Stoops Troops" take over the program. We are faithful fans! A day in blue is better than any day in [Louisville] red :)

WKU lost Saturday too :(. A bad football weekend in these parts!

One of my favorite things about the game was when the UK and UL bands joined together to play "My Old Kentucky Home". A good reminder that it's just a game and we should be proud of our state regardless of what team we root for.

After the game we headed to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant Bourbon n' Toulouse to have some cajun food with Lexington friends. Then we headed home to our baby who we missed a lot.

Saturday night after we got home from the game and Marcus and GGH went to bed I finished the birthday party invitations. I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. I wanted pink, pumpkins, and a princess feel all rolled into one invite. It was my first time using a new editing program so I learned, added, and changed as I went. Only six short weeks!

Sunday night we went to eat supper and for the men to do some shooting at my sister and brother-in-law's farm. I forgot to take pictures of us until it was time to go but I snapped this of her mantel. How cute is this?!? Her house is adorably decorated for fall. I think I will hire her out to come do mine ha! Although seeing how Georgia destroyed rearranged their decorations I'm not sure how much I will put up this year. She can clear a table of knick knacks in 5 seconds flat. Awesome.

It was a fun weekend. The weather was perfection. Hope your weekend was great too!