A Perfectly Long Labor Day Weekend

If the purpose of Labor Day is to have a break from work...have a break we did! Our "Labor Day Weekend" kicked off on Tuesday when we headed up to the ranch to visit Jason's mom and step-dad.We went out to dinner, Kenley played in her very own mini-water park and we all had a great time.

Wednesday, Jason and I spent the day at the Minnesota State Fair stuffing our faces with our favorite greasy fair food, drinking beer and walking around wearing a fit bit band with no fit bit in it...yup, awesome.

And then spent our evening with our friends Seth & Alisha and none other than Mr. Tim McGraw.

This was our third time seeing him and I think was my favorite of the three shows. Seriously in love with that man.


We had approximately no time to recover from the concert and the fair because Thursday was the Gopher home opener! We were off for campus promptly at 12:00pm. Our festivities began at our favorite campus restaurant, Tony's Diner, and then moved to Lot 37 just as soon as the lots opened.

My Gophs started off the season with a 42-20 win over Eastern Illinois!!!


Friday, the only plans we had were Jason's fantasy football draft which thankfully didn't involve me, so I got a night at home with my best girl.

Saturday morning, Kenley and I met up with my family for a wonderful day on the boat. It was a beautiful day on the water and Kenley was right at home on the boat - just like her mama.

Sunday we spent the morning at the pool and then had a family lunch with Jason's family to spend time with his sister who was in town from Florida and also to celebrate Jason's younger brother's birthday {sadly, I failed to take a single photo}.

Then Sunday night, because we hadn't packed enough in, we had a fantasy football draft and party in our party room for Jason and his friends. It was just me and the boys and while it was kind of fun to finally see what a fantasy draft is all about, I kind of wanted to poke my eyes out - but overall it was a really fun night hanging out with my favorite boys.

Yesterday was spent doing absolutely nothing. We literally just took turns napping and trying to recover from a wonderful week off!

A Special Kind of Friendship

When Jason and I got married in November 2011, we knew we wanted to do a honeymoon right away and we knew we wanted to go somewhere tropical. With the help of our friend/travel agent we booked a week long vacation in Riviera Maya, Mexico at the El Dorado Casitas Royale. We figured our honeymoon would be a nice relaxing week filled with new husband and wife time. And while it was, it was also SO SO SO much more. 

The very first night of our trip {Monday, November 7, 2011 to be exact} we were walking along the beach after dinner, trying to find our way back to our casita. It started to pour rain and we sought cover under a tiny little beach bar. There was a larger group of people sitting across from us, whom, after a few drinks we learned were all on their honeymoon and had all met that night. All it took was a massive gust of wind shooting the rain horizontal and all of us were ducked behind the bar. It was at this moment Jason and I officially met Billy & Jackie. 

They were our age. They were married the same day as us. AND, they lived in Iowa - just across the border of all places. This is going to sound cheesy, but we hit it off immediately. The four of us just clicked and had a blast. We ended up hanging out with Billy & Jackie every day {at some point} for the rest of the trip. I'm sure to some it seems super strange to spend so much time with strangers on your honeymoon but it truly made our honeymoon as amazingly fun as it was. Jason and I were able to have our date nights, excursions and newlywed time, and then we'd meet up with Billy & Jackie later in the evening...where hilarity would ensue. Again - super cheesy - but we all bonded so fast that we were heartbroken when it was time to say goodbye.

I don't know if it was fate, geography or just the amazing friendship we were able to build in 7 days, but we've managed to get together twice a year every year since. Well, that first year we only got together once because it turns out I was pregnant when they came to visit and didn't know it. WHOOPS! We label our get togethers with Spanish numbers as an ode to our meeting place and are always planning the next time before the current time is over. 

Part Cinco just took place a couple of weeks ago! Jason and I made our way down to Iowa early on a Friday morning so we could squeeze in as much time with our "honeymoon friends" as possible. Billy & Jackie just built a new home which is absolutely gorgeous and we were so happy to be able to see it. We spent Friday on the boat, stayed up way too late, drank way too much, the boys golfed on Saturday, we went to a Hawkeye bar, went to a carnival, created about 10 more inside jokes, laughed more than ever and as always had an amazing time.

These two are so special to us and it makes me so happy that we've made the effort to stay in touch and see each other on a somewhat regular basis. When we get together it's like no time has passed, there's never an awkward moment and all we do is laugh.


Now I just wait for part seis!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Mistletoe? NO.

Stockings? NO. 

Fat man in a velvet suit? POSSIBLY. 

Drunk relatives? DEFINITELY YES. 

Today my friends is my favorite holiday. TODAY is the start of COLLEGE FOOTBALL! 

Can I get a "woot! whoot!"?

I am breaking free at noon today to meet my family and friends down at Lot 37 to tailgate, have a drink (or 80) and cheer on my beloved Gophers to a 1-0 start to the season.

If you're wondering whether or not our tailgate has a Facebook group....

it does.

And if you're wondering whether or not I changed my cover photo to this last week....

I did.

WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! 

I hope everyone has a wonderfully long and safe Labor Day weekend!

GO GOPHERS!

RAH! 

A Perfect Summer Weekend

Good morning friends! This past weekend was much needed. After some jam packed crazy weekends it was wonderful to finally have a few days with limited plans. 

Thursday after work I grabbed some take out Chinese from my favorite place and went to my mom's to hang out with her and my baby girl. Since Jason and I cancelled our cable I haven't been able to watch the newest season of Giuliana and Bill...and it's been killing me. My mom recorded all the episodes for me and we had ourselves a little marathon. While waiting for the take out I tweeted about my plans for the evening and then a few hours later, I received this:

No your eyes do not deceive you - that is a retweet and a reply from GIULIANA FRICKIN' RANCIC. Needless to say I freaked out! And then had to explain Twitter to my mom. And then of course had to post the tweet to instagram, twitter and facebook! It was a pretty bomb way to start the weekend. 

If you follow me on instagram, you also saw that planning has officially commenced for Kenley's First Birthday Party. 

You know what they say - don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today, or whatever. That is totally my motto when it comes to party planning, so I am starting to get the things done that I can so come November I can be stress-free and enjoy my darling's birthday. 

Friday morning my mom joined Kenley and I on a quest to pick up something I purchased for the party on Craigslist last week and then spent the afternoon at the country club enjoying lunch and the pool. 

Saturday I was up early and off to Lake Minnetonka for my girlfriend Liz's Bachelorette Party! We started the day at her fiance's family's lake house with breakfast, mimosas and gifts. 

At promptly 10am our boat arrived and after some early morning beer bongs, we were on our way. 

We we were on the lake the whole day; stopping for lunch at Lord Fletchers, spending the afternoon at Big Island and eating dinner at Maynards. I had the best time catching up with my high school girlfriends, talking about boys, soaking up sun and celebrating Liz.

Sunday I got two glorious hours to myself at the pool with my book {I'm reading Prospice and loving it - full review coming soon} before Kenley and Jason joined me.

This little girl LOVES the pool, just like her mama {thank Heavens!}

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning up, grocery shopping and other lame but important things. Now if this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday could just hurry the heck up that would be great, because college football starts on THURSDAY!!! 

As usual I am linking up with the adorable Sami for Weekend Shenanigans.