Sweet 16

In February, my baby sister turned 16.  It still blows my mind, but we wont go into how old that makes me feel.  My mom and I threw Cori a Mad Hatter Tea Party.  Of course, Pinterest was the inspiration for much of it.  Here are a few of my favorite details.

tea table complete with quotes on the walls, heart candies, chess pieces, and the works.

Little bottles filled with kool-aid

Red Velvet cupcakes and cheese cake squares

This was a game of croquet with cards and hedgehog 

Everyone had fun (even the cats)

 They also had a card house building contest and made "Scrap Journals" which are books that you basically destroy each page in a different, creative way (paint, cut, draw, write, etc.).  So fun.  :-D

Retirement

I spent my spring break in Texas in February.  It was great to see some old friends and have a brief catch-up.  Ronnie’s grandparents came down for part of the time, too.  We were all able to be a part of Ronnie’s retirement ceremony.  He received several awards and his superiors had nothing but great things to say about him.  He moved home just a few sort days later and officially retired at the end of March.  He has been home since then helping out with little projects around the house (pics to come) and starting some online summer courses.  He is planning to start full time classes in the fall in pursuit of a business degree.  

December Disney

I think my sister would kill me if didnt dedicate a post to our spontaneous trip to Disney World.  Cori came to Ronnie and me in late November and bluntly stated, "You guys should take me to Disney World."  I laughed and asked her when.  She simply said, "Before the end of the year."  And that is how it started.  I knew that school would not afford me the time to plan such a trip so it was up to Ronnie and Cori to plan the trip details and keep the price down.  But they did it... every last detail.  Cori even looked up Disney "secrets."  We found little hidden treasures, events, and tricks all along the way.  We were in Disney for 4 days over New Years Eve.  For those who have never ventured to Disney over New Years, I will tell you that what they say is true.  It is the single busiest day of the year as everyone crowds in to see the spectacular castle and firework show at midnight.  Magic Kingdom was at capacity by 9am, so we got there for Magic hours at 6am and stayed until midnight.  It was an incredible show, well worth the wait.  But I dont know that I will dare fight the crowds again.

There are so many cool pictures of the trip and I wish I could elaborate more.  But for the sake of time, I will just leave you with a glance at the Shutterfly book I just put together of the trip.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Christmas 2012

Ronnie and I had a great Christmas.  It is so nice to have him home for a couple weeks.  We both got a kick out of watching Mia open her Christmas presents.  She was so into it!  Please notice the Christmas PJs and her new snow boots, too!  

 

Mia Bug

Couldn't help but share this pic of Mia.  It was taken by my aunt over Christmas.  Such a cute little pupper!

Ugly Sweater Party

I hosted our CLS class Christmas party after our last day of school before break.  I could not have done it with out the help from my good friends from school, Jacqueline and Kim.  We baked and decorated and got everything all ready.  The party was a huge success!  We had a white elephant gift exchange, Mario Cart competition, and a photo booth.  So many fun photos to choose from.  :)

My little bug

Mia was a bumble bee this year for Halloween   She wasnt quite sure what to think about all the people coming to the door.  :)

Fall Break

I hate that I never have time to blog anymore, except when I am avoiding studying (like now).  It feels like not much has happened lately, but that's just because School is on my brain.  But really a lot has been going on.  

Ronnie came for a visit over fall break.  We only had a week together, but it was packed with activities.  We went on a little mini vacation with my family down to Madison  Indiana to Clifty Falls State Park.  It was the perfect place to just enjoy fall.  The colors were beautiful!  We enjoyed shopping on Main Street and checking out the park.

The rest of the week I had school, so, aside from visiting me for lunch, Ronnie got lots of little projects down around the house!  He rearranged the upstairs room, put up a new light fixture in the office, tinted some windows, cleaned the garage, and more little things.  What a help!  I'm so spoiled.  I have such a great husband.  *blush*

All in all, we had such a great time together.  I was sad he had to go so soon.  But hopefully he will be moving home for good sometime soon!  

My crazy cousin

My cousin Stephen came in from New York City to visit us for a weekend.  He was doing some scoping for a movie he is going to be shooting for school.  We managed to hit all the highlights of the surrounding areas as well as hang out a bit.  We took him to Brown County, an apple orchard, Bloomington, and Greenwood (where he grew up), as well as the necessities of midwest life- Steak 'n' Shake and Ritter's.  It was so fun to hang out with him for a bit and catch up on life in general.  Man I miss that kid.

Anyways, he is raising money for his film "Big World" so check it out at http://www.indiegogo.com/bigworldnyu 

Puppy Proof

Well, we hit a bit of a milestone this week.  With Mom out of town and no one to puppy-sit, I had no choice but to leave Mia at home alone all day.  That is one large accomplishment in itself.  Ten hours is a long time for a pup to hold it.  I decided to leave Mia in her new large, soft-sided kennel so she would be able to stretch her legs a bit.  Well, she managed to get out; first via the zipper, then just straight through the side.  When I got home, she was VERY excited to see me.  I think she camped out by the door all day.  BUT this is the look I got when I went to go check her kennel....This is her, "I know I broke it...I'm in trouble" face.  Yup.  Nice large hole in the side of the kennel.  It took everything in me to keep a stern voice and not laugh.  The good news is though, she did absolutely no damage to the house therefore, she earned the privilege of staying out of her kennel while I'm gone from now on. I guess it's that or her tiny kennel since the large kennel is just not puppy proof enough....