Bittersweet

This last weekend we took a long drive down south to Arkansas. In the drive down I saw more mullets than I had in the past year of my life. We also referenced the movie "Deliverance" on more than a dozen occasions. Basically we were in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by inbreds. Could be quite scary at times. But we were down there for a good reason. (And I apologize in advance for anyone who lives down there but you've got to admit, about 75% of the people down there are quite the sight.)

As some of you may recall, my grandpa passed away a year ago in April. We had him cremated and per his request we were going to scatter his ashes over my grandma and uncle's graves down in Arkansas. However, last April I was very pregnant so we decided to wait until later this summer when Charlie was bigger to head down there and scatter his ashes.

We headed down to Des Moines last Thursday night to cut our long drive up a bit. From Des Moines to our destination it was about 9 hours, add on the 3 1/2 from Minneapolis to Des Moines and we've got one hell of a haul. We were nervous as to how well Charlie would handle being in the car for so long but luckily our nerves were unfounded. She did GREAT. We rented a 12 passenger van and all easily fit in there along w/ lots of toys and a portable DVD player so Charlie was always entertained.

Once we reached our destination we hit the pool for a bit, met up w/ my dad's cousin, Mike and his wife, Debbie and got some dinner before crashing early. What is it about long drives that totally wipe you out? I don't get it.

The next morning we headed to the cemetery w/ Pap's cremains. It was bittersweet. He was finally home with his wife and son. It felt good to do but also re-opened the feelings of loss. He was so close to getting to meet his 1st great grandchild. I know he would have loved Charlie.

Not all was sad though. We took a drive through Fairfield Bay which is where he lived for several decades and we talked about memories we had of him and being down there. We'd been driving down there to see him my whole life. That's a lot of memories! We finally ended up at Greer's Ferry Lake which is not only absolutely gorgeous but huge! We rented a pontoon boat, like we had so many other times w/ Paps and took it out on the lake for 3 hours. Charlie loved the boat and the weather was perfect for an afternoon out on the water.

It was a fun afternoon to celebrate Paps and our love for him.

We finally made it home last night and we are wiped. Charlie slept for 11 1/2 hours straight and Kobe was so tired I picked him up and he sagged like a rag doll, so no fireworks for us unfortunately. Besides the illegal ones we picked up in Hillbilly, Missouri on our drive home. :)

Charlie was not impressed w/ the gigantic sparkler. She was however impressed w/ Kara's sunglasses. Maybe next year... :)

Later~

Kellie

She's beautiful

Seriously. She's going to have the boys drooling one day. And yes, I'm aware that I am her mother and therefore a bit biased but for realsies just look at those eyes!

xoxo~

Kellie

Wordless Wednesday

Yes, these are a little old but I noticed I never really posted any group shots from Kara & Todd's wedding and reception!

xoxo~

Kellie

Weekend in Des Moines

Last weekend Charlie and I drove down to Des Moines for a friend's wedding. Since Wade was doing the MS150 I had to make the drive alone and was a bit nervous. It turned out to be the worst drive going down there. Charlie slept for the first 1 1/2 hours but then it started pouring rain which woke her up so she started crying. I was white knuckle driving b/c the rain was so heavy and with a crying child in the back and a whining dog in the passenger seat it was a bit stressful. Needless to say the glass of wine I knocked back when I finally got to my parents went down fast.

Friday was spent shopping and relaxing w/ Charlie and my mom until the rehearsal dinner. Kara, Todd and I went to the rehearsal dinner which was held at the Tavern. It had been years since I'd been there and I was drooling over it. And now that I'm thinking about it again I'm drooling some more. Some of the best taco pizza ever!!!

Saturday the weather was gorgeous so we headed downtown to the farmer's market. Otis, the lazy dog, sat in Charlie's stroller since she didn't want to. I think he liked it, what do you think?

We decided to eat lunch down there on a patio since it was so nice out which w/ 3 dogs and a baby turned out to be quite the production. We had quite a few stares as we tried to get organized and situated which took a good 30 minutes at least. What a hassel! It ended up ok in the end though and Charlie got to eat some quesadilla and french fries. She loves it!

The afternoon turned out perfect for Sarah and Jason's wedding. It was beautiful! Not too many pictures were taken but here are a few from the evening. The red wine was flowing and some of us may have had a little too much. I won't name names but I'm included. :)

Congrats Sarah & Jason! You are too cute and we love you guys!

(Me & Ade, my date for the evening. xoxo)

This weekend my in-laws are traveling up to see us. Who am I kidding? They are coming up to see Charlie. :) Hope the weather is good and we can get some more outdoor time! Maybe even get the zebra pool out again and live in luxury! Haha!

Xoxo~

Kellie

Wordless Wednesday

Me & my Charlie Monkey

Bags & Jewelry & Shoes! Oh My!

The theme I'm digging (which I almost always dig) is NEUTRALS! I'm a big fan. I wish I owned more neutral items and these would fit perfectly into my wardrobe. A girl can dream right???

Christian Louboutin Jenny Knotted Platform Pump

Christian Louboutin Mariann Front Pocket Hobo

Juicy Snowflake Earrings

CK Arielle Platform Pumps

CK Smooth Link Necklace

Michael Kors Darrington Shoulder Tote

Hive and Honey Multi Cord Bracelet

Nine West Fastpace Strappy Sandal

Kate Spade New York Sweet Spot Necklace

Steve Madden Haylow Stiletto

(and OMG these are CHEAP!)

Michael Kors Edie Shoulder Bag

Cole Haan Perry St. Casey Hobo

And my WTF item. Seriously? Ew. I'm not sure if anything could make these things look good but I'd like to see someone try.

Loeffler Randall Wallaby Laceup Bootie

TTYL!

Splishy Splashy!

We broke high temperature records 2 days here this week so we decided to get out Charlie's new zebra pool and give it a try. She wasn't too sure about it at first and was very hesitant to let me sit her in it but as soon as I started throwing her toys in it she was more willing to give it a try and eventually started to like it! It was a little chilly at first but it was 97 degrees out so it felt really good after you got used to it. I have a feeling we'll be getting good use out of this cute little pool. We got it for super cheap at K-Mart. It has a little sprinkle fountain that shoots water out of the zebra's neck as well but we didn't turn that on b/c we thought it might be a bit much for her to handle all the newness at once. We'll give it a try next time when she is more used to the pool.

10 Months Flew By!

I can't believe my little peanut is only 2 months away from turning 1 year old! These past 10 months have gone by faster than I could even imagine! She is so much fun!

Some of her new talents:

Waving hi and bye-bye. She is sometimes picky as to who she will wave to but she knows what it means and will show me while waving at herself in the mirror.

Blowing raspberries. This isn't a new trick but it has picked up in intensity ever since her tooth broke through.

Eating big girl foods. She loves to eat whatever we are eating! She's started eating out of bowls (although spills a lot) and I've even stabbed fruit pieces with a fork and given her the fork and she's gotten it into her mouth! I was surprised b/c I thought for sure she wouldn't know what to do with it but she amazed me!

Sticking her tongue out. She is still immediately sticking her tongue out the second she feels a breeze. This includes the fan inside. She's funny.

She loves Kobe. She watches him so intently and will grab at him but he's pretty good at staying just far enough away. And since she's still not crawling as of now he's safe.

Pulling to a stand. She hasn't mastered this yet but has done it a couple times. Unfortunately her balance still isn't up to par so she'll tumble over if I'm not there ready to catch her. I bet she has this nailed by the end of the week though. This makes me believe even more that she will skip over the whole crawling stage. She's just NOT interested!

She has nailed the sippy cup but refuses to drink her formula out of it. If it is anything other than water she gives me this look that could kill and slams the sippy cup down on the floor. I can't fool her!

Thanks Charlie Monkey for the most amazing 10 months of my life! I love you!

Too Cool for School

I wear my sunglasses at night...

Wordless Wednesday

Family Rocks. Nuf said.

Xoxo~

Kellie