Friday, July 27, 2012

Around the (expanding) house

We have officially started adding on to the house
Hooray!

GT, luckily, has a background in construction so he knows a lot about what has to happen
You know, where pipes go, what machines to use, what dimensions to use, how much things cost, how to use the machines....you get the point.
it's rather helpful

He has started the process of getting the add-on built and we'll call in some professionals to finish the job.
Mostly, we don't have time for GT to do it all himself. He works all day and we're gone most weekends
and also, another thing....
...We're having a baby in roughly 3 months...yikes!
We need somewhere to put this kid
Last weekend, GT rented a stripper. ha! 
I laugh every time i say that.
the only stripper i'll ever approve of

and stripped up the nasty old linoleum floor in our kitchen and laundry room

next step is to stain the concrete that will extend into the add-on so the floors flow

he then ripped out the carpet in our bathroom
(why would you put carpet in your bathroom anyway???? thank you 1983)

he also had some dirt brought in to level out the ground for the addition
Trigger thinks he is a mountain goat and this is his domain

Trig promptly moved when he saw the Deere coming

then Trig took over, again
I'll tell you one thing...leveling out all of that dirt is tedious work.
not for me!
thankfully GT has more patience than I do 
also, i almost ran the tractor into the barn so I was fired from driving it...for now

we also have lovely deer in our back pasture

I'm thankful for my man knowing how to do stuff and work hard

Soon, we'll have a baby room and a guest room
so, come on over!!!

Happy weekend friends,
Kate

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The 4th!...20 days late

A little late posting never hurt anyone.

I kind of enjoyed the 4th of July being on a Wednesday this year.
It was a nice little mid-week weekend, ya know?
Last year, i was in Ghana
the year before, i was in the Bahamas
This year, i celebrated in the land of the free.

It was a great day
spent swimming with Beau-man

and just playing with him basically

Jamie and I made patriotic desserts
Mom had a party for the fam at her house

then we headed to my cousins for another partay


There ain't nothing better than family, food and fireworks.
right?

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Meeting the twins

There was a lot of love that day (as you can see)
We just adore Stella and Kenzie!
Jenna and Drew are awesome parents (as expected) and are just doing such a great job of taking care of their babies while they're in the NICU. 


The girls have made such progress since Thursday.
Hopefully they'll be home very soon.
They are perfect and just so so so tiny and sweet.
They have a lot of people to love on them and are surrounded by eager helpers. 
Jen is being such an awesome mom! To see her handle all that goes along with having preemies in the NICU...she is doing it all so beautifully...makes me proud. 
It's amazing how God designed our bodies and how he prepares us for the role of "Mom". 

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
John 1:16  (NIV)
Welcome to the world sweet Stella and Kenzie!

you are loved,
Kate

Friday, July 13, 2012

a lovely Saturday...at home

For such a home-body, I sure spend a lot of time away from our home.
I relish the days spent at home
This past Saturday was one of those...
an all-day, slow-cooked venison roast

the guys working in the barn

dad was taking a break
these guys worked all day long
on what? not so sure

the pups LOVED having company during the day 
and the cold concrete, of course

found mom picking vines from our Wisteria bush

also, our first bloom on our little family tree

I spent the majority of the day writing papers
but, that's ok
I was at home and so was my man.
Ty, GT's brother, came to stay with us and we had a lovely dinner around the table.

Overall, it was a wonderful Saturday.
looking forward to the next...
...hoping on tomorrow!

Happy Friday peeps,
Kate

p.s. The twins were born yesterday and are soooooo precious!!!!
I'll share more later (i promise)

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

embrace messy hair


embrace messy hair

after all, you can always take a bath and slick it back

hope you got your week kicked off right.
even if you didn't...embrace the mess.

Happy Tuesday,
Kate

Monday, July 9, 2012

Galveston vacay

As we get older and life gets busier, it takes effort to spend time with friends.
Really, it's true.
Especially, when everyone lives in different cities.

GTs best guys live in Texas (he's a tad jealous, i suppose) and we get to see them fairly often.
It's important to us that we see them a lot. We kind of love 'em.
So, we started our annual summer vacay with them.
GT, Tommy and Larry spent many summer vacations together with their families and we want to continue the tradition with our little families. 

So, this year we headed to Galveston.
We met up with the crew at Tommy and Brice's house in Sugar Land to stay the night, then we all headed for the beach. 
It was quite a drive for us, but worth every minute. 
Friday morning daddy-day-care while Brice worked, Rachel went to Target and well...i was there.
but, really loved watching these guys with their babes. 

Mosquito Cafe in Galveston
super cute little lunch with killer sandwiches and squishy babies

evening walk on the beach 
my, my, my how our lives have changed on vacation

the pool was a major hit
the babies loved it and we did too!
it was perfect, especially since the beach was covered in seaweed

dinner out at Willie G's

but, really we loved hanging out at the house






Can't wait til next years vacay!!!
Perhaps we can go to Italy or the Carribean or maybe just Dallas.
Either way...we love our company.

Happy Monday friends.
Hope you're rested up!
Kate

Friday, July 6, 2012

wedding week: the details

It's all in the details
and I am forever grateful for everyone who helped make each detail perfect for our wedding day
a lovely hanger from my mother-in-law

a beautiful vintage necklace from my  mom
and earrings from my man
GT surprised me with the earrings the night before our wedding 
he had no idea what necklace i was going to wear
but they matched perfectly
i guess they both know what i like

GT and I wrote a letter to one another 

he thought he was funny by throwing in a $20 for the picture
cute, gt, cute

the flowers were amazing
perfectly casual and elegant

i loved Bellas flower basket
i think mom ordered it on Etsy
also, the arches were made of branches from my parents land
they brought the outside indoors

the cake was lovely
and topped with white hydrangeas

pictures of our parents and grandparents weddings
"i come from a long line of love"

GTs texas cake
there was not one crumb left

our kicks

ido7310


The main detail were the people who were there though
without them, all of the decorations and food would mean nothing
the Kirbys

wedding party

my dads side

my moms side

The big Taylor crew
  
all of our sibs 

 Taylor fam

Still loving my man and don't plan on quitting
Even if we got hitched in a van, i'd still do it again
but, it sure was alot of fun with all of our people around us
and all of the pretty things we were able to enjoy

Perhaps i'd do a few things differently, but really...it was perfect.