Kelly's Birthday

This week we celebrated Kelly's upcoming birthday. This is the first time in a long time that Kelly has had an actual birthday party. She is always so busy during the spring, and for the last few years, she has had softball or cheerleading events on her birthday that prevented us from throwing her a party. She was so excited to go out to dinner and open presents. It was so sweet to see her get so excited!

My mom took us out to eat at Olive Garden, and Kelly's childhood best friend and college roommate, Elizabeth, and her big sis in sorority, Ali, were able to come too. We had a great time catching up and eating a delicious meal. We gave Kelly her gifts at dinner. Mom and I got her a couple of things from Lilly, and Ali got her an adorable Alex and Ani bracelet. Our grandparents gave Kelly some birthday money to spend, and  I am sure she will be using that this Sunday at the Lilly for Target sale! 

Mom got Kelly this gorgeous dress in the print Pink Colony, and Tyler and I got her this adorable skirt in the print Lion in the Sun. Here's hoping she lets her big sister borrow them sometime! 

The waiter brought her out a little chocolate dessert. How cute is she?!

To finish off the evening, mom, Kelly, and I went to the Keith Albee to watch Beauty and the Beast. This movie was my favorite when I was a little girl. I had my bedroom decorated in Beauty and the Beast, and I had a Beauty and the Beast themed birthday party for several years in a row. I was obsessed. When I was about thirteen, my mom took me to New York to see it on Broadway. I was blown away. It was amazing to see my favorite Disney princess come to life. Kelly, on the other hand, has never even seen Beauty and the Beast (tragic, I know). She grew up loving Winnie the Pooh and Barney and never had much interest in the Disney classics. It was so special for me to be there while she saw my favorite Disney tale for the first time. The play was wonderful, and we all had a great time. It was a great way to celebrate Kelly's birthday, and as always, I enjoyed spending time with my favorite girls!

Alpha Xi is the Life for Me

This week has been very eventful! My mom came to stay with me for two nights, and I loved every minute of it! She came in for my wedding dress fitting and Alpha Xi Delta's Strawberry Breakfast. We had such a great time together! I love when I get to spend time with my mom. She doesn't know how much she means to me. I look up to her so much and just love being around her.  Kelly met up with us too which made the visit even better! I am happiest when I am with my two favorite girls.

We went out to eat at a local favorite, Jim's Steak and Spaghetti. It was awesome! We heard The Food Network had been there filming earlier, but we missed them.

The next day was Strawberry Breakfast. Every year, my sorority has this breakfast as a fundraiser, and it is always a big hit! This year was no different. I bought 4 tubs of the strawberry butter, and my mom bought one as well. It is delicious! Even though I helped with Strawberry Breakfast for four years, I never got the recipe for the famous butter, but I am working on getting it! 

This weekend, Tyler and I went to the jewelry store where he bought my engagement ring to pick out my wedding set. I am still unsure as to what I want exactly. All of these small wedding decisions seem to be harder than the big ones, and they're all coming in at once. I thought I had pretty much everything squared away for the wedding. I was wrong. LOL Here is a selfie Ty and I took before we went to look at the rings. 

Sunday was Alpha Xi's Greek Sing. Every year, all the fraternities and sororities put on a "Spring Sing" for the Greek community and their parents. I love it! They choreograph their own dances, make their own music mixes, set it to a theme, and even make words to go along with the songs. You can see the creativity and dedication in each routine. The boys are always funny to watch, and the girls take it a little more seriously. These kids practice for hours every evening for about a month and a half leading up to the big event. It is so entertaining, and they all did a great job this year! I have to say, one fraternity stood out from the rest. Pi Kapps did alcohol awareness as their theme. They showed how young college kids want to fit in when rushing Greek life and will do almost anything to be accepted, including drinking to the point where it is a detriment to their health. The message they sent out was that Greek life is a wonderful thing and shouldn't be ruined by peer pressures to do things that can have a negative outcome. It is unrealistic to think that a college aged student won't experiment with alcohol, but all they were saying is be a good influence on each other, take care of each other, and drink responsibly. There was a great sense of unity after their performance, and every student gave a standing ovation. All of the other routines were great. They were fun and entertaining; however, the Pi Kapps really hit theirs out of the park. I loved it! Kelly and the Xi's did a candy theme, and it was adorable! Here are a few pics from the day. 

I have had a great last week spending it with some of my favorite people! With spring weather finally here and school coming to an end soon, I am really enjoying life! I have so much to look forward to in the next few months with the wedding, honeymoon, moving, and my fourth year rotations beginning. I can't wait to have even more free time to spend with Tyler and our family in the upcoming months! 

He Is Risen!

Easter Weekend is one of my most favorite times of the year. The weather is starting to warm up, and it is finally time to pack up dark winter clothes and bring out bright Lilly dresses! More importantly, Easter is when we celebrate that our Savior, Jesus, rose from the dead.  He loves each of us so much that he gave His life to give us ours, so that we can have the promise of everlasting life by accepting him as our Savior.  I know I for one do not deserve His love and grace. We are so blessed.

Tyler and I spent this Easter at his mom and Kip's house. We had a great time! This was the first Easter I didn't spend with my family at my Mawmaw's house. Every year, we all get together at her house after church, eat a huge dinner, and spend time together. Last year, Tyler came with me to my maw maw's for Easter, so we decided to spend this Easter with Tyler's family. Rhonda really did a great job (as always) at making me feel right at home!

 We watched the UK game Saturday night, and unfortunately, they lost. They had an awesome season though! I know Tyler and his mom were in shock when it happened, and I'm not sure if it has actually sunk in that they won't be playing another game this season. 

During the game, Rhonda and I colored Easter eggs. The kit she bought had a crayon to draw monograms on the eggs, and it even had glitter you could add to the coloring. Does she know what I like or what?! We had a lot of fun with it, and I think they turned out really cute!

We attended church on Sunday at Rhonda and Kip's church, and it was a wonderful service. Afterwards, we had dinner with all of Tyler's family. Rhonda cooked up a delicious meal! It was a great weekend spent with wonderful people. I hope each of you had a blessed Easter Sunday and were able to attend a church service this morning to celebrate the resurrection! 

The adorable puppy pictured above is Rhonda and Kip's new baby, Emmie Grace. She is so lovable and full of energy. She kept us laughing all weekend! 

I have to throw this picture in here too. Kelly took this at my maw maw's today. They are both such beautiful kids, inside and out. I am proud of both of them! Seeing this picture made me miss them so much! I wish I could've seen my parents, sister, grandparents, and all of my cousins today, but it is so great knowing that I now have Tyler's family as my family too. They are all so sweet to me. I am a lucky girl to be able to surround myself with such wonderful, loving people! Tyler and I are very fortunate for our families!