twenty six

This year the birthday festivities extended over several weekends of fun. First, we headed down to Austin for Memorial Day weekend to celebrate and swim in the new pool!!

On Saturday, we headed out to the McDonald's lake house on LBJ. There was a very competitive corn hole tournament, Brent and Sammy came out victorious.

After that, we mostly just hung out around the pool. The water was still pretty chilly and the weather wasn't great, but we spent as much time as we could out there and lots of time in the new hot tub. The puppies loved the sun deck, but were skeptical to actually get in and swim. With a little encouragement (I pushed them) they all got in at some point. I think once it is warmer, we'll have a hard time keeping them out.

For birthday dinner on Sunday night we had the below delicious (and huge) steaks.

The next weekend was my birthday weekend and I wasn't feeling great, so we took it easy. I got a record player from Mommy and Daddy for my birthday and records from The Garrity's, Kyle and Ryan. So Saturday, we had a lazy morning listening to records, got a few errands done, had a delicious lunch at Latin Deli, took a nap and then met up with some wonderful friends for dinner at Grimaldi's and drinks at People's Last Stand (of course I didn't remember to take any pictures). Sunday, we went to church had another relaxing day and then had a delicious dinner (really just wine and cheese) with the Kochs at Cru.

Monday was the actual day and my sweet co-workers decorated my desk and took me to lunch at Mi Cocina (again, I totally forgot to take pictures - shucks). We had community group that night and Chrissy was kind enough to make cupcakes (yellow with chocolate icing - my favorite!) Ryan had also purchased some Sprinkles cupcakes that we enjoyed for the rest of the week.

The weekend after my birthday, we celebrated by floating down the Brazos river again (will post those pictures at a later date, but here's one of the group). 

Then on Sunday, Ryan took me to the Rangers/Indians game and we sat out in right field to see David play. It was a beautiful sunny summer day and we ended up getting burned, but had a blast anyway. It was a wonderful birthday 2.5 weeks!

200K

Max hit 2,000,000 miles on 4.8.14!!! Ryan and I had been watching the odometer for a while, carefully choosing who drove which car each day to make sure we were together when we rolled over 200K. It's silly I know, but it was fun! We celebrated the milestone with a champagne toast, Korbel (yes, we're cheap, we have a car from 1998 with 200 thousand miles on it).

The picture on top is the first time I drove the Maxima on my own. Kelsey and I were sent to return a DVD to Blockbuster by ourselves on Christmas Day 2004. Sweet independence! I can't believe that was almost 10 years ago, I remember it vividly. Max has been with me through high school, college, several road trips, moving to dallas, and everything in between with only a few bumps and bruises along the way. Hopefully we have several more miles together ahead!

daddy's dallas birthday weekend

Mommy and Daddy came into town last weekend for a visit. Mommy was on spring break and Daddy was able to take some time off. And, since the pool is under construction, they brought Meeko up too. For some reason, 35 traffic was terrible and it took them 6.5 hours to get here on Friday night. So, we stayed in, had some wine and chatted Friday night.

Saturday morning we woke up and made a big breakfast to celebrate Daddy's 54th birthday! Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs - the works. Then, even though we told him he didn't have to, he wanted to help us work on the bathroom. So, he and Ryan got to hanging sheetrock while Mommy and I ran some errands.

After a few good hours of work, we got cleaned up for a nice birthday dinner at Cool River Cafe.

Sunday morning we woke up and went to church. After that, we met Cinda and Jim for brunch at Terelli's on Greenville. Then we spent several hours relaxing on the patio enjoying the sun and just being together. It was excellent!

Later that evening we went to dinner at Mi Cocina (had to) for some Mambo Taxis and queso. As usual, we stayed up much too late talking.

Monday morning came early, they got the go ahead from the contractors that the gunite was ready to begin at 5 am, so they were off. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and so much fun. Love y'all both so much, thanks for making the trek up! (Love those smiles, the early morning departure was definitely worth it.)

dash down greenville

Insider participated in the Dash Down Greenville benefitting the North Texas Food Bank this weekend. We had all sorts of experience levels from novice to basically pros on our team, and even though it was much too early for a Saturday, everyone had a great time running for a good cause!

february recap

cold. late work nights. celebrations.

Ryan went on their annual guy's hunting trip which meant lots of snuggles for me. (And he almost got stuck there an extra day because it snowed 6-8 inches early Sunday morning before they were supposed to leave.)

Cold, wet weather meant baths inside, which Murphy is not a fan of.

It snowed. Again.

Which meant the puppies were inside much more than they wanted to be.

Insider participated in Go Red for Women's National Wear Red day to support women's heart disease awareness.

Several late work nights meant lots of sleepy Kochs.

Kate's birthday came on one of the few gorgeous February days we had. We celebrated in the park by White Rock Lake. 

Tembri is getting married in April and we got to celebrate the bride-to-be in Dallas!

st. valentine's day

Valentine's Day was on a Friday this year and Ryan and I really had no plans other than avoiding the crowds as much as possible. This seemed like all we needed until around noon the day of when I realized we really had no plans and no food in the fridge. Ooops. Luckily, my sweet husband had a half day and decided to take the opportunity to plan a little date night in.

I was greeted with this scene when I got home from work. Ryan drizzling honey on the delicious goat cheese appetizers he made (because he knows I am always hungry as soon as I walk in the door). Along with a Valentine's card and gift each for Kali and I.

Murphy ended up stealing the gift he got for Kali after about 30 seconds, but I guess it's the thought that counts.

We had more of the appetizers than we could eat, so we took some over to share with the neighbors. As it turned out, they were having a family Valentine's night in also. We ended up staying there for an hour or so chatting and drinking wine with them. We love the Herridge family and had a great time over there. After that, Ryan grilled some delicious steaks and had a tres leches bread pudding cooking for dessert. The meal was delicious!

We ended up having much more bread pudding than we could eat, so Grant, Stephanie and Scooter came on over for dessert and games. It was an unconventional, spontaneous and very nice Valentine's night in.