Hunter’s 1st Birthday Parrr-tay!

The other weekend was Brian and I’s nephew, Hunter’s, first birthday!  We both couldn’t even believe how fast the year went.  It seems crazy that he’s already turning 1!  Brian’s sister and Mom did a fantastic job and the party was so much fun! They did a “Jack’s Big Music Show” theme which is a show that is a favorite between Heather, Hunter and Marcy!  They even had a clip of the show playing at the party so we could all partake in the fun.  =)

Mommy, Daddy & Birthday Boy!

How cute is he!? OMG!

Sidenote, this cake was A-MAZING!

Hunter's smash cake! =) 

My addition to the party! Yay for cake balls! (and thanks to a friends recipe!) =)

Let's get this party started!

It's time to get messy!!!

Hummm...what to do first?

Go get it Hunter!

Deep in concentration, this is a very serious matter guys!

Awh, Mom, I think I'm done!

Boy, that was pretty good! I'm ready for a nap now =)

Hunter enjoying some of his new toys!!

And to think I almost got the perfect pic! 

Uncle Brian & Aunt Jaime with the BIRTHDAY BOY!

I think the party was a success!! Don't you?

Poor Hunter had just gotten over a little cold, but despite not feeling completely 100% he sure did seem to have fun and was still just cute as can be!! It was a great afternoon celebrating and hanging out with family and friends! 

 HAPPY 1^ST BIRTHDAY HUNTER!! 

It’s official…Mrs. Ritter it is!

So, where to begin…gosh the past couple weeks have really been a whirlwind!  I have been so lucky to have two of my besties get married and our nephew’s first birthday party!  (So needless to say…I’m WAY behind on my blogging!) 

Mr. & Mrs. Ritter!! (are they not just the cutest ever!!)

So yes, it’s official, Paige has tied the knot! Can you believe it!?  I ventured back to KC to help one of my best friends celebrate her big day!  Paige and I have been friends since 3^rd grade and have seen each other through it all…from our good ole days at Skyline Elementary to us cheering on those Elkhorn Antlers all through high school! (Go EHS!) =)   Paige went on to go to Baylor and I K-State but somehow we stayed as close as ever even though we were all those miles apart.  AND you won’t believe it! But Paige’s husband is, yes that’s right, A WILDCAT!! (woot woot!) She was just drawn to that midwestern charm!;)  (And we’ll get her to wear purple here soon too!!)    

I had a great time from the moment I got off the plane!  Friday morning, we started out getting manis and pedis, had a wonderful spread of food (and mimosas of course!) and really Paige just spoiled all us girls rotten!  We then made our way to the bridal lunch-in, which was just beautiful!  It was so much fun getting to just hangout with Paige and all the girls! 

just relaxin'

Bridal Lunch-in

Wishing Tree!

Molly, Kim & I..I just love these girls! (E-town love right here!)

That night we had the rehearsal dinner at Jack Stack BBQ….AAAAAA-MAZING!  I failed at my photo duties this night. =( I guess I was having too much fun catching up with all those Antlers! Haha! 

 Then onto the big day!  All us girls were pampered…we got our hair and make up done and were just having a ball!  The day went so stinkin’ fast!    

Special delivery from the Groom!

Sooooo pretty!!!!

Paige's niece...little Georgie! Adorable!

beautiful bride!!

We had to get Parker & Emmie in there! =)

Happy Groom!!

Me & B!

I think he missed me all day!=)

The entire weekend was amazing.  It was so much fun, Paige looked beautiful, and I’ve never seen my best friend happier ….it really was a fairytale wedding!!  Her and Brian truly make a beautiful couple and just have so much fun when they’re together.  You can tell they have a genuine love that will last a lifetime and I am so happy I could be apart of their very special day!! I love you both to death!!  

(and soon to come, Hunter’s 1^st birthday AND Kait’s wedding weekend!! I know you just can hardly wait!!) 

My new favorite spot!

So we waited long enough don’t you think! We’ve lived here four years now and have these two trees in our backyard screaming, “I’m perfect for a hammock!” 

This seriously is my new favorite place to be.  It’s so relaxing and if you can believe it the evenings here have actually been nice lately so we can even enjoy it too! (major positive!=)) Coop still doesn’t have it figured out completely.  At first he tried to jump on it! Haha! Now that was definitely a sight to see! But now he just thinks it’s a game to play with Brian and I and tries to bit our butts through the hammock! Oh Coops…maybe one day he’ll make it up there with us! 

My Week as a Brit!

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately.  I haven’t posted in forever it feels like.  I’ve definitely failed on my blogging duties!  But, really I’ve been having to travel quite a bit for work lately and last week I actually spent the week in London. Sorry for those of you that had to hear about my endless worries of me flying alone!  I made it safely and once I was off the plane I really did have a great time. AND I just kept telling myself you get to see Sam too! (this really did help!!) =)  Sam, Brady and Parker moved to Norwich, which is I think about 2 hours outside of London, and Sam was so very nice and made the train ride into the city to hangout with me for the afternoon.  It really did make my trip! And Parker is just adorable and honestly wins your heart over instantly.  I mean how cute is he!?! And his little personality makes him even cuter if you can believe this is possible! Long story short, it was a great afternoon of shopping, coffee shops and lots and lots of catching up for Sam and I!

When I go to London my co-worker likes to stay in Trafalgar Square. Which I can’t complain, it’s right in the heart of it all I feel like.  These are a couple views from my hotel room. Can you believe it? I couldn’t.  I look out and see Big Ben and the London Eye! It was so cool. I had to check it out every night before I went to bed. (I know, I’m a big nerd but how often do you look out your window and see these sort of sites!) 

Also, London was a busy city this week. First off, the city was getting ready for the Queen’s Jubilee, which is actually this weekend. But it was crazy.  Streets were blocked off and seriously the queen’s face was everywhere!  (I mean everywhere!) On chocolate, billboards, and I even saw her face made out of logos at this famous toy store on Oxford Street. It was nuts. The funny part is, my boss, a native Londoner is not a fan of the Royal family at all. I mean her feelings are so strong I could almost use the “H” word, if you know what I mean! (She was pretty funny during the whole Royal Wedding extravaganza though, I have to admit!)  I sort of thought, after hearing her endless banter about them that this was a common thing…the English not liking the Royal family, but this trip I learned this was not the case. Haha! Many Londoners were very excited about the Queen’s Jubilee and were having huge parties this weekend to celebrate! My boss, Jane, laughed when I told her I was shocked not all Brits didn’t like the Royal family! Don’t worry though, she said she was still going to attend some parties this weekend…and very much was going to enjoy the two day holiday they get due to the Jubilee festivities! Seriously, we all need to move to London.  They get more holidays than you can imagine AND get 9 months off work when they have a baby! OMG! 

Also, you could already tell the city was ramping up for the Olympics.  I had to pick up some gear to take home of course! And this sign was up in Trafalgar Square…it’s a little off on the days though incase you couldn’t tell! But that’s ok, still had to take a pic. =) 

So we did work I promise, but the last night we were there me and a co-worker went to see the musical “Rock of Ages.”  It was AMAZING!  Both of us didn’t know much about it at all, but it was seriously one of the most entertaining musicals I have seen! I would definitely recommend it. It really was hilarious, but I would say definitely not kid friendly.  LOL.  

Ok, and lastly, I had to just write a few things I noticed while abroad. 

1.     Men wear capris a lot, and they are not all gay men.

2.     I saw girls wearing these shoes everywhere. Is this a new trend, or are they just commuter shoes? I’m not sure, but they were either black or nude. Hummmmm….

3.     Women showing their bras ALOT. I couldn’t get a picture of this…I wasn’t ever quick enough to get my camera out in time (and this could have been sort of creepy too!), but seriously it was women of all ages, young and old with see through shirts.  Just had to mention it.

4.     Bikes. London has some SERIOUS bikers.  They were nuts! (Much braver than I!) And then there were these little bike stands and people could just rent a bike and go, and it seems like a very popular concept.

5.     Lastly, you know how the bright color fashion is so popular here now, it was so strange-- I was expecting it to be EVERYWHERE over here, but nope…I was wrong. It was shocking, no bright colors really.  Guess Brits aren’t happy people…haha only joking!!  

But, overall my trip was great!  The week went so fast and before I knew it I was back on a plane and so excited to see my hubby and my little baby Coops. It’s crazy how much you can miss your family only being gone one week! I was very glad to be home. =)

(Here are just a couple more pics from Trafalgar Square and Towers Bridge) 

Team Burley in the house! =)

Today we had our March for Babies walk at White Rock.  In all honesty we couldn’t have asked for a better day.  The weather was beautiful and it was so inspiring to see all the people and families there celebrating for the same wonderful cause. It was such a wonderful way to start our day -- with such great friends at hand!  Brian and I feel so blessed. 

 We ended up having a great turn out and had 22 walkers and as a team, Team Burley, raised $2,020! Can you believe that!?! We would have never in our wildest of dreams thought we could raise that much money in such a short amount of time!  (I had made a team goal of $500 and was nervous about reaching that!) Thank you so very much to all of you that donated in Landon’s honor. I know many of you are far away, and we wish so bad we could have walked with you this morning, but we were thinking of you all and are so very thankful for your generosity even though you’re miles away.  We have the most amazing friends and families and we just want you all to know how much we love and appreciate each and everyone of you! 

The walk couldn’t have come at a better time. Landon’s due date was this week as well, and I really feel like this wasn’t a coincidence. God always knows what he is doing, doesn’t he!  This was a week to remember and honor our little baby and we did just that.  I had been dreading this week for months and to be completely honest, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It made me realize I think I may be more at peace with it all more than I realized, and I think seeking God’s guidance has really helped me through it all.  And this walk was a beautiful way to end the week.  I truly think getting involved with the March of Dimes, and especially participating in the Walk for Babies really has helped me with the healing process, and I am very grateful for that.

A big THANK YOU again for all of you that were so very generous! We could have never raised this much without you and I can’t tell you how much your love and support means to both B and I!  Also, just a side note, and I am so excited to share, but for every dollar you donated 77 cents goes directly to the cause. This is so amazing!  March of Dimes truly is a wonderful organization and I hope this makes you feel even better about the donations you have made! =)  Also, I had to share some pictures from this morning!  As you can tell we were the blue team!  We were the misfits because a TON of teams had fun, cool team t-shirts…BUT we had bandanas! (that’s right!) haha! We were so cool! But, now, we’re all already looking forward to next year’s walk and what our team t-shirts will look like! Haha! All suggestions are welcome!=)  

March for Babies!

It's a little more than 1 week until our Walk for Babies is finally here!!  B and I are getting so excited and want to thank all of you that have already donated and will be walking with us at White Rock! You all have been truly amazing and your love and support means more to us than you know.   

There is still time to sign up and/or donate.  It's such an amazing cause. And like they say every little bit helps! Just click on the link below if you want to check our page out.  =)

http://www.marchforbabies.org/jburley08

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by researching ways to prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality.  They do this by hosting educational classes, research and various community service events throughout the year, the March for Babies walk being one of them!   

Thanks again and can't wait until the 21st! Now we just have to get a good pair of walking shoes and hope for good weather! =) 

Viva Las Vegas Baby!!

This past weekend was Paige’s bachelorette weekend in….yes, that’s right….. the one and only Las Vegas! (can you believe it!?!)  Now for those of you that don’t know, Paige and I have known each other since 3^rd grade and have remained close ever since.  We’ve been through it all together and there wasn’t a second of hesitation when she said, “So I’ve decided on Vegas, you think you’ll be able to make it!?!” Ummmmm....all I could do was scream YES! Like I was going to miss this!! Our little Paige is GETTING MARRIED!!! So exciting.

We had a great group of girls.  It was a mix of high school and college friends and we all got along wonderful.  The first night we got in we all grabbed dinner, then had Paige’s shower.  It was a blast seeing Paige open up all her ris-kay gifts and then we played many many games having to do with a little feature that happens to be only on the male body!  The next day we had a fun pool day and got to hang at our cabana all day long, sip on some cocktails, and get to know Dallas our pool waiter.  His name was Dallas Hallas…I’m not even joking! Poor guy….it was so funny because you just couldn’t only say Dallas; you had to say his entire name every time you asked him something. AND, then by the end of the day all us girls decided he probably needed to marry a girl named Alice just to make the family complete! (Haha! Ok, I’m done talking about Dallas Hallas now…but it was just too funny!) Oh and I forgot to mention Paige’s Maid of Honor gave her a list she had to complete by the end of the weekend.  So Paige was able to check many off this afternoon. Some included asking guys to participate in a handstand contest in the pool, swim around in little kid floaters and get a guy to put her name on his chest with permanent marker….just to name a few! It was hilarious watching Paige check off the list…but I’ve gotta say she did great…they were all checked off by the time we went to bed Saturday night!  

Saturday was our big night out. We hit up a couple different clubs, but they were so packed that we ended up just going back to a bar in our casino and ended up having the best time ever!  There was another bachelor party there so we hung out with them and get this…one of Paige’s things to do from the “list” was to make her bridesmaid do whatever she wanted.  She made us get up at 3am in the middle of the casino and sing the YMCA! It was so funny!! (We were HORRIBLE!) And the reason I know we were horrible is because one of our new friends recorded it, put it on You Tube and sent it to the future Mrs. Ritter to pass onto her friends! Can you believe that!?! We were so bad and the funniest part was no one at the bar/casino was even fazed by this….like it was totally normal we were up doing this!  So yes, I’m on You Tube…always wanted to be a You Tube sensation so here is our chance!! Haha! (and no I’m not sending you the link….it was so horrible…I said what happened to “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!!”) 

Well, it was overall a great weekend! My travel day Sunday was a bit rough I have to admit, but it was totally worth it and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!  It makes me miss my friends so much though. I feel so blessed to have stayed so close to my high school girls and value their friendship more than they know.  There is something about reminiscing about the good ole days, that just makes you feel happy!  And yes, I’ll admit Paige and I did whip out some Elkhorn Antler cheers and maybe the fight song too! Hahaha! Go Antlers!  Can’t wait to see my E-town girls again….at PAIGE’S WEDDING!! Woohoo! Let the count down begin….