Our Thanksgiving

Check out this post over at Alicia's blog to see how we spent our Thanksgiving Day :)[image source]

P.S. Is anyone else have feet that are killing them from shopping ALL day long today? Not that I'm complaining...I started and just about finished all of my Christmas shopping in one day! I love Black Friday! :)
Are you hooked, Beth?

P.S. Also, over at Beth's blog is a short video from Thanksgiving Day :)

BFF Evangeline

Then:Now:

"Playdate"

Check out Alicia's blog for an adorable picture of Callie and her new friend Arthur. :)

Cardinals Game

Monday, July 27th I went with my brother's (Ty) girlfriend to the Cardinals game against the LA Dodgers.Barely fitting into my Cards jersey! lol!

We had so much fun and the Cards won! What could be better? :)

Wedding Weekend!

Back to St. Louis this past weekend for Tommy and Julie's wedding. It was at a beautiful winery in Defiance, MO called Chandler Hill Vineyards. Here's a picture of the view (the ceremony was held by the lake where you can see the white chairs set up):Ceremony:Julie and Tommy saying their vows:

Braden, Brad, and Reeder after the ceremony:

B and me:Groomsmen:B and me with the newlyweds:

Vacation

Braden had a week of vacation starting the last weekend in May so we headed home to St. Louis.

We started the weekend out right with a suprise 50th Birthday party for my mom. My dad and I had been (trying) to plan the thing for months but when it got down to the last few weeks until the party, we were scrambling. Thankfully my mom's girlfriends were there to help us otherwise I'm not entirely sure we would have pulled the "suprise" part of the party off.

So picture a garage FULL of people waiting for the Birthday girl to get to the house:

When mom arrived she was totally suprised (she didn't really want a party in the first place, but come on! You HAVE to have a party when you turn 50!):We had a BBQ feast and everyone brought a side dish:Oh! And I can't forget to mention the obstacle course!!! The guys all dressed up in work-out gear (Richard Simmons would be proud)....so that explains the short shorts and shirts:Here's mom with the birthday cake:

Then on Sunday, Braden and I took off to the Lake of the Ozarks for 5 days with Braden's parents and brothers.

We celebrated Diane's Birthday. Here's a picture of her and the boys:

The rest of the time we were out in the sun or shopping at the outlets:When we got back from the lake we had a wedding to go to and I had a couple of wedding showers too.

Oh! And I got to see my bestest friend Kristen who now lives in Arkansas with her husband...that was a rare treat for sure! :)

So! That's what we've been up to lately...makes me tired just thinking about all of the stuff we crammed into that week....seems like I always need a vacation after vacation! Whew! :)

yum, yummy!

This afternoon was soooo incredibly nice outside that my friend Leah and i took a walk down Frankfort Avenue. We stopped at a consignment shop called Margaret's to look at maternity clothes for Leah. They had some great stuff and their children's clothes were pretty reasonably priced as well...most stuff was around $5. After that we headed further down Frankfort to this fancy little dessert cafe called Sweet Surrender. We each had a piece of this amazing chocolate oreo cake and it was amazing and so rich that we should have just split one piece! I highly reccomend this place, even though it is rather pricey...every once in a while you should treat yourself ; )

This weekend is the big kick-off for the Kentucky Derby festivals...tomorrow is what they call: "Thunder Over Louisville". I blogged a little about it last year too...but it's bascially the largest air and fireworks show that you've ever seen. It's a REALLY big deal around here and everyone looks forward to it all year. So hopefully I'll have some pictures to post before the weekend is over.

That's all for now! Hope you're having a great Friday!

good clean soap giveaway!!!

my good friend alicia is doing a free giveaway of her all-natural, homemade soaps to promote the opening of her etsy shop.speaking from experience, you'll never want to wash your hands with anything other than this soap after you use it just once...it's that great. the scents too, are amazing!

so go here before next wednesday and comment for a chance to win 3 free bars and a cute, wooden soap dish too! how easy is that?

p.s. even if you don't win, i highly recommend you hop over to alicia's etsy shop and purchase her good clean soap! it's totally affordable and totally worth it!

Costumes!

Braden and I went to a get together on Halloween night over at Scott and April's apartment. We had chili and a bunch of other great foods and played some fun games. Here are a couple pictures of our costumes:

Braden and ISpikeBraden and Josh

April and I We had another party to go to afterwards and Braden switched it up and dressed up as Burt with another friend who dressed up as ErnieHere's the whole gang What did you dress up as?

Camping in Kentucky

Saturday morning we drove with two other couples, Josh and Leah and Scott and April, to Frankfort, KY to go camping and canoeing at Still Waters Campground. On the way there we stoped at a yard sale that spands the entire length of highway 127. It was a pretty neat concept...the sale lasts all weekend and people sell everything right there along the side of the highway (it's a two lane highway, so it's not as dangerous as it sounds). People sold everything you could imagine...vhs tapes, christmas decorations, clothes, shoes, records, camping gear, books, cups, shelves, chairs, squirrel skin blankets (Seriously! But we do live in KY), lots of antiques, and so so so much more. When we got to the campground, we checked in and then started setting up camp right away.
Here's a pic of the boys setting up the tent we shared with Josh and Leah:All done:Our home away from home:After that was done we all got ready to try out the canoes.

The girls, right before our canoe adventure...April, me, and Leah:

The boys trying to figure it out...just kidding! they were good with the canoe:Tried to get everyone in the pic:

After the canoe trip the boys made dinner: burgers, hotdogs, chips and cookies-we were really roughing it!The rest of the night was spent around the campfire...s'mores were such a treat! We had a great time with our new friends and we definitely want to do it again soon!

Memorial Weekend at the Lake

Braden and I spent Memorial weekend with my family (minus Ty and Zach) at my parent's condo at the Lake of the Ozarks. My good friend Emily was able to come too. We had a blast hanging out on the lake and got way too much sun! I'm still suffering and am putting aloe on constantly!

Emily and I:My sister Kendra and I:Mr. Schneider and my dad:We celebrated my mom's birthday which is acutally on the 26th:Me and Kendra:My brother Skyler:Looking up from the dock, our place is on the second floor:Dad and Dylan with the catch of the day:My sister Miranda:The girls:Emily, me, and Ashlee Schneider:Me and B:Emily and I:

Me, Kendra's friend Alaina, Kendra, and Emily
Me and B: