18 Weeks

We hit 18 weeks this past weekend. Seems like time has flown by..yet we are barely half way there. Still feeling good, trying to stay fit, eat healthy, and get plenty of rest.

(Not sure what I'm doing with my hair. I want to let it grow..but yet I loved it when it was above/barely at my shoulders and short in the back. Any suggestions??)

Went outside to pick the dead flowers off my petunias and water them this evening and found this. I left it alone and just worked around it. It's mother was chirping away at my from the tree. I love Spring and Summer!! Yay for warmth and the sun!! 

Hooding Ceremony

My hooding ceremony for my Masters was last night at EIU. Glad it's over! We only have 6 weeks of classes starting at the end of May and ending the first week of July, then I'm officially finished with my Masters! YAY!!

Me & Momma

Me & Cheryl Walker (NCHS English Teacher..one of the only reasons I made it through!)

Rylan & I

Birthday Celebration

We took supper to mom's last night, just for the fun of it. Each of us took something to eat. Samantha said she wanted to get a DQ Ice Cream Cake..so we let her get that. This was not supposed to be a birthday celebration at all, however...it ended up being something like one. Jen, Sam, and BobbiJo come downstairs with this:

Apparently they coulnd't find any candles..and they thought they needed to have something on the cake. So they ran around mom's house and found these little figurines to put on it. They thought they were so clever..they laughed and giggled like little kids. Thanks guys..for the birthday cake..candles?!?..and laughs!

Amy's Birthday Wishlist

1) Sperrys Boat Shoes - Top-Siders Linen/Floral
2) Simply Vera Vera Wang Silver-Tone Long Lariat Necklace
3) Nike Women's Imara Kylo Cee Watch
4) Life Application Study Bible NLT
5) Frye Shirley Riding Boots - Tan
6) Trek Hybrid-Road Bike
7) Womens Lucchese Mad Dog Coat Boots - Peanut Brittle
8) Subjektiv 4-in-1 Lens Kit

Lazy Days at Home

Needless to say, I'm sick of school being cancelled. I know it's for the better, but I am so bored! Tuesday, I didn't have school but Rylan did till noon..so I was home alone for most of the day. Wednesday, we spent half the day at Mimi's eating chilli and coconut bread pudding...along with mom, Jen, Leslie, McKenna, and Sheila..OH! and the 4 dogs! Today..Rylan had school and I didn't. I worked out for an hour and a half..came home and took some pictures outside of what was left of the ice on the trees.

Both mom & Pat and Randy & Julie have been out of power since Tuesday..so Kristen has been staying with us because she still has class at OCC. So her and I laid around for while today until Rylan came home and it was time to make supper. After supper, I was still super bored..so I made cake mix cookies with lemon icing. They are the perfect little size and just yummy!

OH! I meant to make this a separate post earlier..but as you can tell..I've been too busy! (Guess I needed these days to calm down and relax. Instead, I've been bored though) One of my best friends had her baby a week ago today! She is the tiniest little thing and so precious!

Delia Ann Haberlin

Congratulations Danny & Alicia! We love you all!

(Rylan can't wait to come see her!!)

Happy 25th Erin!

My best friend Erin, over at The Michels Family, turned 25 yesterday! It's crazy that we're turning 25 this year. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago when we were......

dressing like this

(Oh the days of Mickey and wind-suits! Check out those white-wash jeans! Mom was always good at giving me perfectly poofy bangs!)

riding our bikes like this

(I love that I'm in PJs, Erin is in her swim suit, and Jen is in shorts with no shirt on. It could be any time of day and this is probably how we always looked when we were camping.)

receiving birthday presents and wearing matching outfits like this

(Jeans..white turtlenecks..matching suspenders..we are doomed to be like our mothers! They even dressed us alike when we were children! Ah!)

swimming like this

(Oh the days of swimming in your underwear..or diaper..whichever you prefer! :) I love the bright orange floaties..my Mickey Mouse ring..and your Mickey Mouse swim suit. But the ultimate best..is our mothers' bathing suits and hair! HA! Love you momma!)

lounging like this

(back: Jen, me, Derek, Erin   front: Leslie, Samantha   watching a movie on Bill and Deb's bed)

Love you Erin! I couldn't imagine my life without you..even if we are turning into our mothers! We're still the best together! Happy Birthday!

A Much Needed Update

Prepare yourself. This is going to be a long one!

I know that you all have been asking why I haven't been updating my blog..and to tell you the truth..it's the last thing on my mind lately. Between cheerleading, games, school, masters classes, working out, and every other direction that I've been pulled in since Nashville..I honestly do not have time to do anything. And even if I do get a free minute..I either want to just sleep or spend it with Rylan and our families. Sooo..below is going to be a BUNCH of randomness of what has gone on in our lives over the past month.

Christmas was busy as usual, but enjoyable! We played a trick on Randy this year, because he always plays a trick on us. His boots have a hole in the bottom..so we put a bunch of our boots in a big box and told him that he could choose which pair he'd like to have. He wasn't too sure about that..until we gave him the new boots we bought for him. He loves them and wears them frequently! We were lucky on that one..we found the perfect size and style for him.

 We had Prime Rib at mom's for Christmas. It was DELICIOUS as usual! I think we all ate more than we should have..but you can't pass up a perfectly cooked prime rib! Way to go mom and Pat!! You surpassed our expectations again this year!

 We had our usual gathering with Jon, Lisa, Jordan, and Jared again this year. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to stop this tradition! We love spending time with them!

 We got to spend some time with Kate and Jesse while they were both home. It's always nice to see them and catch up on some good laughs!

 

We spent New Years at the Gypsy. Festivus was a blast and I can't say I've ever had that much fun on New Years. (Except maybe when Sheila peed her pants last year at mom's!! HA!) We had plenty of laughs - more than enough to make up for any that were lost during the past year! 

 

A few of us Aired our Grievances as well as participated in the Feats of Strength.

 Above: BobbiJo and I - we had to try to knock the other person off balance without letting our right foot touch the ground
Below: Bart and Brock - they wrapped a rubber band around their ear and had to pull as hard as they could till one of them yelled 'uncle'

If Festivus occurs again next year, I encourage you to join..if you are invited that is!