College-life Weekend

Many moons ago, Gentry and MaKenzie (who we often affectionately refer to as "The Kid") came to spend the weekend with me in the dorms at K-State when I was a wee, little freshman.
We kept the tradition up reuniting for sleepovers in Boyd Hall with Gentry and occasionally at the G-Phi house.
We realized that after MaKenzie's approaching college graduation our opportunities for college-life weekends were, well, non-existent (without being overly creepy anyway).  We knew we had to make the short trip to Stillwater, OK to soak it up while we could!

The Pi Phi house welcomed us.




And they don't welcome just anyone, you know.


Our hostess, The Kid!

We enjoyed shopping in the cute little boutiques and being Stillwater tourists.

Touring the campus

Hangin' at "Aspen"--coffee shop for hip people like us.  (Does anyone use the word "hip" anymore?)

We had a great time hanging out with MaKenzie's friends and seeing her stomping grounds.  I must say, OSU is not messing around with their Ag affiliation.  They truly are "cowboys" down there.  

Not sure how this pic ended up on Facebook...but what can I say...we Sauder girls love a little karaoke.  I believe this was Backstreet Boys, I Want It That Way.  Classic for sure.  It should also be noted that it was like 8pm at this point and there were about 4 other people present.  

This is apparently the cool place.  Note to self: light up palm trees = happenin' place in the eyes of college students. (Does anyone use the word "happenin" anymore?)

A few weeks later we found ourselves back in Stillwater again to celebrate MaKenzie's graduation.

I can't believe our little MaKenzie is a COLLEGE GRADUATE!  Was this not just yesterday?!  Congrats to MaKenzie for all of her hard work.  I know I'm biased, but MaKenzie is one cool cat.  She is such a thoughtful, caring, witty, not to mention fashionable and beautiful, woman of God!  Her contagious smile and infectiously fun personality make her one of a kind!  As always, we are so proud of you!  Thanks for helping me (try) to be a hip, happenin' cool cat!

Cade is Five!!

After Cade changed his mind at least 57 times about the theme for his 5th birthday party, we finally convinced him to settle with a "Fiesta."  Made sense to me--he's a Cinco de Mayo baby after all!  He agreed--as long as a pinata was in the mix.  Done.  

Cousin Keeley is here to celebrate!  

The pinata lasted about .4 seconds.

Taking turns whacking the one-legged pinata remains.

Quite the crew came to celebrate!  What wonderful friends!

The party was the weekend before his birthday so we hit up Chuck E. Cheese on the actual golden birthday. (5th birthday on May 5th.)

Birthday parties are hectic, but also seriously so much fun for us all!  We love a reason to gather and celebrate another year!  We are so thankful for our family and friends who help us celebrate and beyond grateful for the gift that Cade is to our family.

Birthday bash of 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 (birth story)

How long will I link them all?  Probably always.  

Reese: Big Girl Edition

Reese has become quite the "big girl" lately--and by lately I mean within the last four months.

Getting a big girl hair cut!

Trying to even up the mullet...for like the 3rd time.

Turned out super-cute and so grown up!

Cade didn't seem to mind joining us...

Grandma and Grandpa Keeley got Reese a new big girl bed! 

It was quite the adventure picking it out at IKEA.

Highlights of the visit were the little sink in the bathroom (which we visited several times...)

And getting to push the cart at the restaurant.

We love the bed from IKEA!  It pulls out into a queen bed and has storage drawers underneath.  Reese loves sweeping all her toys off of her bed and into the drawers when she's done playing.

Reese is growing up so fast!  Sometimes she seems much older than 3 years old.  She and Cade play together well at times and drive each other nuts at times.  Many more years of that to come I'm sure!

Celebrating Sweet Reese!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Sweet Reese's 3rd birthday with our amazing family and friends.  We had an early evening shindig where the kids made dance-streamers and danced around a bit before Reese sped through opening the presents and blowing out the candles before we all got down to eating dinner.  We all had a great time, kids and adults alike!

I'm still working on my sugar cookies, come to think of it I missed my snow days to practice on this year!

A little coloring, a little dancing, and a little crafting as we partied.

Reese sped through the presents, but that part can tend to drag on and on anyway.  She loved everything she got...and what a haul!

The kids all had fun playing outside.  It was a beautiful day so it worked out perfect to gather in the garage, serve the food from the kitchen, and then eat on the deck.

I've been trying to take more pics of Matt and I since we never seem to have pics of us together.  So here we are going through the food line.  Why not capture the moment?  

Reese and Grandpa Keeley

"I'm three!"

Birthday banner pic!

Reese brings so much joy to our lives!  She is such a helper and talks constantly about how she can't wait until she is a mom.  She loves to help cook and clean and be by my side.  She's very loving and maternal and wants to please.  She's always got a smile on her face which can't help but make me smile too!  

Throwback to Reese's first birthday celebration at the Bend.

Throwback to Reese's 2nd birthday party!

And for the birth story junkies: Reese's Birth Story