kate
vacation: prep
planning a trip isn’t the easiest thing #PGKtravel
charleston is calling my name! in one week my mom, aunt, sister and i will be exploring this historic city and soakin’ up the rays on the beach.
this trip has been in the planning stage for a while – it seems surreal to say in one week we’ll be hopping on a plane. this is a belated graduation trip for me, my aunt and MK. things got put on hold because the fall is hectic for everyone. we finally…
losing touch
it’s easy to lose touch with friends #pgk
man, is it easy to lose touch with your friends once you all move on to a new chapter of your life.
growing up, life seems so easy. you see your friends all the time whether it is at church on sundays or every day at school.
college was somewhat of an adjustment. my best friend moved to dallas for school. only one of my friends from high school went to osu. it was a rough first few months for…
happy birthday America! it’s been a great weekend to celebrate this great country we live in – with a four-day weekend.
|RAIN OUT| thursday evening, the plan was to see turnpike troubadours. until it started to monsoon. with a little change in plans, it ended up being a great night still (minus all the rain). i also learned, don’t wear leather sandals in a downpour, they end up staining your feet.
|HBD AMERICA| when i was little, my family always went to one the redhawks baseball game the weekend of the fourth. this year was no different. while we might not have won – we got to see an awesome firework show, no contact was lost and we had an epic dance party in the parking lot waiting for the cars to clear out.
|WORLD CHAMPS| did you see the USA v. JPN rematch? mainly, the first 15 minutes ! carly lloyd and hope solo are soccer gods – they have trophies to prove it *see lloyds #WWC hat trick – FIRST IN HISTORY OF FINAL ROUND. one of said goals was made from the USA half of the field. still not over the #USWNT win and third star? follow all the players on social media, you won’t regret it. now to figure out what to do since there is not more women’s soccer to watch.
the next few weekends are going to have a lot to live up to – at least until charleston!
let me start off by saying, last week went by way too fast. a weekend review seemed to slip my mind. so here is an incredibly condensed version.
|ROAD TRIP| my pledge sister nicole got married! so emily, emily’s boyfriend and i made our way to faytteville friday afternoon. the evening was full of celebrating, catching up, dancing and countless new stories. oh and a trip to dickson street to end the night.
|SATURDAY| after driving back to okc and a little nap, it was time for round 2. there is a new t-shirt company by bleu garten – opolis. they were having an open house/party at their killer firehouse office/house. check them out – i think i might go broke if i bought all the shirts in my cart currently. *birthday is in 29 days*
|POOL DAY| caitlyn was babysitting for the weekend. sunday i tagged along for their day at the pool. while laying out, i realized it was the first day all summer i have had a pool day. talk about post grad prob!
there you have it – the fastest weekend review to date!
if you don’t know, my dad and i are quite similar – which often proves to be our downfall. we’re both stubborn and impatient – not great qualities when you’re in a disagreement with someone. we know how to push each others buttons to the point we just stop talking for a little while. we’re also the masters of knowing which buttons of mom’s to push. but at the end of the day, he’s my no. 1 cheerleader. no matter what we might disagree about or how long an argument might last, my dad is the first person i can call when something is wrong and i need help. he understands what i need without even saying anything.
he constantly encourages me to go after my goals, no matter how crazy they may seem . when i start to have doubts about something he is right there to remind me what i want is achievable. he’s the best listener and advice giver. dinners with just my dad are the best because we just sit and talk. i have learned so much from these conversations about life, politics, planning for the future. and there is never any judgement for things i say or questions i ask.
he’s a jack of all trades. he his the handyman of the family, there is no project he doesn’t tackle, no car trouble he can’t solve. he is an expert packer and mover. if it weren’t for him, i would probably still be trying to move everything to my apartment. that’s what he does, without question. he knows how to cook – he makes a mean steak and the best deer jerky you’ve ever tasted.
he has shown me what it means to truly provide for a family simply because he wants to. i can’t tell you the number of times i got in my car to a full tank of gas, without ever asking, or an extra $20 in my cup holder before i went back to school. he constantly makes sure my sisters and mom have what we need in life, even if it means sacrificing something for himself. but the thing is, he doesn’t look at it that way. he finds the joy in providing for us. he loves and cares for all six of us unconditionally. because of him, we never went without growing up, and it is still true today. i got to explore the country because of his hard work and desire for us to do everything we wanted.
he has shown me how a man should treat his wife and family. there is nothing i love more than seeing how much my dad cares for and loves my mom. i want to find someone who looks at me the way my dad looks at her. he doesn’t have to say the words ‘i love you’ for you to know how much of his heart belongs to my mom. there is something admirable in their relationship – one you don’t find too often anymore.
he laughs along with us. he does all the silly things we ask – like play dress-up. he cries when we watch emotional movies (cough, cough…the fault in our stars) and gladly owns up to it. he reads “girly” book and young adult novels – it comes in handy when you want to have a conversation about a book and compare it to the movie because chances are he already read it.
thanks dad for teaching me how to fish, for letting me explore the world, for taking me to late night movies, sharing my love of ncis, how to properly hold a gun, how to fix my car, how to balance a budget, to reach for my goals, how to love without end.
thanks for being the hardest goodbye and the happiest hello. happy father’s day dad and all you constantly do for me.
weekend review
why is it the weekends always fly by and the work week drags along? (clearly i lost track of time since #PGKweekendreview is on a wednesday night).
the lunar laugh recently released its first album – make sure to check them out!
there’s never a dull moment with this wonderful friend.
i have this super talented friend connor who is in not only one, but TWO, bands. and friday night, his bandt…
sleepovers, time with @panhellindsay, shopping and swimming make for a great #PGKweekendreview
with all the dreary, rainy days and cold(er) than normal temps, it is safe to say – SUMMER IS OFFICIALLY HERE!
and what better way to ring it in than with movies, junk food & a sleepover with my cool friend Cait! #FLASHBACK to high school summers (with the addition of some wine). i know i said it last week, but really, i have no idea how i made it through the last few years without hanging out.
how is the weekend already over? it went by so fast. i left the office friday, blinked and my alarm was going off bright and early for work monday morning. but that is how i feel about life in general lately – which is why it was nice to just lay on the couch all friday night, binge watching MARVEL agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. (that is a post for another day).
this weekend was all about celebrating my wonderful sisters high school graduation, talk about PARTY – but not really though because madi hates attention. and i needed the weekend helping with the “amazing race” at church for the youth’s promotion sunday activity (promotion sunday – the day when all the little kids move up to their new class and incoming sixth graders move to youth).
but by far the best part of the weekend – well week really – has been catching up with my friend Caitlyn. we were great friends in middle school and high school, and then drifted apart during college. but if you saw texts or heard us talking you would never know – it is like no time has really passed since the last time we talked. there are very few people who i can say this about. after saturday, i don’t really know how we went two years without talking – NEVER AGAIN! one of the best things about Caitlyn, she understands my family’s dynamic, knows who everyone is, all the crazy things that have happened. i don’t have to explain why things are the way they are or how something came to be, she already knows. and she understands my crazy quirks, which isn’t always the easiest. i think it is safe to say, Caitlyn might be the only person who not only wouldn’t judge me for taking a blanket to the movie theater because i don’t have a jacket but brings one along to. so aloha old friend, i’m so glad to have you back in my life.
speaking of aloha – have you seen the new movie release? i highly recommend it. granted, i was sold from the preview, but how could you not be with its all-star cast? bradley cooper, emma stone, rachel mcadams, john krasinski…talk about GOLD – i’m a big fan of any movie these people are in, in all reality. it is the perfect mix of light-hearted humor and romance, with just enough drama – plus it has a killer storyline. without giving anything away – there were some serious moments with a little added humor to keep with the movies style, and you can bet we made sure everyone knew it was meant to be funny.
until next weekend….
miss part one? check it out here.
once you look past the car situation, this was one heck of a weekend! it has been marked in my calendar for a year – to stand beside my dear friend taylor as she said ‘i do’. a lot of prep went into this weekend, with many trips to stillwater: addressing invitations, creating labels, envelope stuffing, shower and breakfast invites. oh, and chalkboards – talk about putting your penmanship to the test.
so skipping car drama. lifesaver no. 2 – thursby – picked me up and we were on or way to the rehearsal dinner…30 minutes late. i got all caught up on what i missed being rehearsed, like getting two wonderful escorts. i also answered numerous questions about said car drama. from there, we headed to the airport |sidebar: who knew tyler had an airport, i definitely didn’t| to pick up long lost fev |fev was my roommate in tri delta for a semester & currently attend ku law – hence we haven’t seen each other since roommate days|. then it was off to the sleep inn |not our hotel| to spend time at the pool and in the parking lot with everyone.
it was an early start saturday morning with breakfast starting at nine, sans hair & make-up. from breakfast it was off to the country club to get ready and set-up the reception area. we spent the entire morning slowly getting ready and relaxing – once we found plug-ins and got the air turned down |it was muggy outside because of all the rain, room was at 76 – you do the math|. the day seemed to fly by without time really moving.
before we knew it, we were changing into our dresses, taylor into hers and moving outside for pictures – for a little bit anyway. see, the rain moved in as we went out to take pictures – with a little re-grouping, we moved inside to finish. the rain ended and it was time for #novaknuptials. it was a beautiful ceremony |aside from getting mosquito bites in the middle of my back – hello award face twitching from the pain|. short & sweet but such a great celebration of this couple. a few pictures later, we headed inside to dance the night away – literally.
congratulations tay & ethan! thank you for letting me part of your special day. i cannot wait to see what amazing things God has in store for your future together.