Kait tied the knot!

This past weekend I was back in KC for Kait’s wedding! That’s right, she tied the knot and now is officially Mrs. McCormick! =) WOOT WOOT! AND, I also had the wonderful opportunity to meet the newest addition to the Jones’ family- Miss. Hailey Jeanne.  She was so adorable and Meg looked just great!! I ended up traveling solo this weekend because B had too much school work. =( Boo! But, on a side note, he’s on the downhill and only has two more semesters left after his summer courses! (YAY!)  He not only works full time, does school, but still is a wonderful, loving, supportive husband and does such a good job of managing his time! (through all this I’ve definitely learned he deals with stress and no sleep much better than me..I can say that for sure!!)  I am just so proud of him.  So needless to say this turned into a little girls weekend.  Which really was much needed because I hadn’t seen some of my girlfriends since last September…which let’s be honest IS WAAAAAAAYYY TOO LONG! 

All us girls with the beautiful bride!

  

Kaitlin’s wedding was so perfect! The best part was it was totally Kait!  Everything about it, which just made me smile.  From the invitations, program, cake to even the glitter TOMS she wore under her beautiful dress!  Her and John just seemed so happy and in love and you couldn’t ask for more than that!

Kait made these! (the pic doesn't do them justice..they are so cute!)

So sweet!

That's right, Mr. & Mrs. McCormick it is!!!!

So Kaitlin!

Me and the beautiful bride!

Sam had to get a pic with her too, duh!

I just love Sam!

Such pretty girls! =)

All us girls had such a goodtime!   We all don’t get to see each other all that often, but when we do we definitely make up for lost time.  Flying home I was thinking to myself I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time!  We all have so many good memories and our group of friends just pick up right where we left off….we definitely don’t skip a beat!  We even had Sam make a guest appearance all the way from England!  Yes, our friends are the biggest dorks…AND you wonder where I get it from!  This putting our friends heads on a stick started in college when many of us studied abroad and couldn’t make it to date parties and birthdays….you get the drift.  But don’t you worry we were still in all the party pics and heard we always had a good time! ;) I just love my friends.

I also got to meet little Miss. Hailey!  And got to celebrate her one month birthday too! How fun is that!?  She was such a good little baby and has the happiest mommy and daddy in the world!  She has the most beautiful blue eyes and I think is the perfect mix between Kevin and Meg!  AND, Meg is such a wonderful mom!  It was so fun to see my friend in her new role and she is a definite natural!  I can’t wait until I get to see little Hailey again!!

Me with little Hailey!

My FAVORITE pic! How cute is she?

Sleepy baby

Overall, a great weekend.  I am so very blessed to have such wonderful girlfriends and feel so lucky that I’ve stayed so close with them even though we’re all so far apart.  I admire each and every one of them for different reasons and have learned so much from our friendships.  I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.  To put it simply- I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! Much love~xoxo 

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)