Weekend fun with Fancy Kate

The Wiggins's came over on Friday night to celebrate Kate's birthday since they will be out of town next weekend. They were gracious enough to give Kate a "Fancy Nancy Treasure Book". I know those of you that have a young girl know Fancy Nancy well so I don't need to explain much. The main character, Nancy, loves to make everything fancy. They are the cutest books. Well, Kate must have felt very inspired by Nancy as she wore her fancy clothes all weekend...even to the mall on Saturday night to get Thai food. It was precious! She never got out of her P.J's yet was still fancy! That is what I call a good weekend.

This morning, Kate and I let Daddy sleep in a little and went on an early walk. The pictures of the creek are from the entrance of our neighborhood. There is a HUGE hill on the main road that I have been talking myself into walking up with the stroller. This morning we accomplished the feat without any problems except a little hard breathing, which felt great. I don't seem to get that same challenge on the treadmill every morning. We then cooked a little breakfast and I have to say Kate is becoming quite the chef! She cracked all the eggs and even separated the whites. I was a very proud momma!

For some reason I have not captured any of her swimming yet. We have been in the pool everyday since we got all the chemicals right. She LOVES it and loves it even more when her friends swim with her! Grant and Ann got to experience it tonight...fun fun fun. There is something to be said about coming home from a long day of work and slipping into the pool for 15-20 minutes. Life is good...

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/FancyKate#

Happy 2nd Birthday Tripp

Another day...another good laugh. The question comes up again, which one is more silly? I think today it is a tie!!!

Last Sunday we celebrated Tripp's 2nd birthday with a wonderful cookout at Jacobson Park in Lexington. It was a great way to celebrate his birthday as well as Father's Day. Kate enjoyed playing with Tripp, Sawyer, and Cameron. They are all just so darn cute :) Thank you Kara for inviting us to the wonderful party! We look forward to seeing you on the 4th for Kate's big 3rd!

Life seems to be getting back to normal. Work was rough this week as Abbott downsized part of its sales force in my division. Thankfully my team is performing well so I was not affected. I cannot say the same about several of my peers, many of which are very dear friends. I feel very blessed that I was not only retained but that I get so much satisfaction from what I do. People always ask how I define success. It is weeks like this that reitterate my own definition of success...satisfaction that I have made a difference in someone's life!


I am looking forward to a fun week this coming week. For one, it is a short work week because of the holiday and two, Kate's birthday is next Sunday. We are celebrating her 3rd with a pool party at our new pool! I ordered the cake today and can't wait to see it on Saturday. I am sure there will be 100's of new pictures next weekend so stay tuned. It is so hard to believe that my baby is already 3. Her personality is starting to come alive...both the good and the bad. One of my favorite things about her is that she has a mind of her own and doesn't appear to just want to follow what everyone else is doing. I struggle everyday wondering if we are instilling the right things in her. As her confidence grows, I feel, at least for today, that she seems to be on the right track. Her self confidence is great and I pray that it stays that strong!
http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/TrippS2ndBirthdayAndMiscFun##

Like father...like daughter

Most days I wonder to myself...who is more silly...Ryan or Kate. As you can see from the pictures, it is a toss up. I am so lucky that I don't ever go one day without a good laugh. Thank you to Ryan and Kate for always bringing a smile to my face! I love you both.

I think I mentioned a few posts ago that we lost our camera. Thank you to a little reward Visa card I get from work, we were able to buy a new one at Costco a few weeks ago. It has a feature on it where it snaps several pictures right in a row like a high-end professional camera. That should help explain the silly pictures.

We are officially moved in and unpacked. I can't believe how quickly we got everything organized. Our new house is really starting to feel like home. We have decided to wait at least 6 months before we start painting and/or decorating. I cannot get a good feel of what colors will look best so I am going to take it slow and just do one room at a time. Hopefully that will extend the excitement that comes from making a home your own.

Enjoy the silly pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/NewCameraTheMoveToFoxHarborRoad#

Vacation in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Thanks to Jon and April Nodine, Ryan and I celebrated my birthday and our anniversary with a long weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas a few weekends ago. We, along with Jon and April and Mindy and Chad Bushee, enjoyed some R&R at the Hot Springs Village. The guys played 3 rounds of golf and the girls enjoyed some spa time at The Arlington.

Hot Springs is known for their Bath Houses. I had never heard of the experience until Jon and April started planning this trip. I am not a bath person; however, this bath experience was very very relaxing. Maybe it was just that I had closed on two houses and moved in the past 24 hours...regardless, I enjoyed the experience to the fullest. On that Saturday, we all rented a boat and cruised around the largest lake of the community. As you can see in the pictures, we couldn't resist showing off our best dives. And ther!e is nothing like ending a good day with a little karoke

Since being back, it has been full steam ahead. Thank you to Jon and April for hosting us in Hot Springs. We look forward to our next adventure...Disney in January for the marathon :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/HotSpringsArkansas##

We moved...THANK YOU RYAN

We moved...which explains the lack of postings. Last week was one of the most hectic weeks of my life! I traveled Tuesday and Wednesday for work and drove in just in time to close on our old house at 2:00 on Wednesday afternoon. We then closed on our new home at 4:30! In the meantime, Ryan and several of our dear friends Jon Nodine, Kevin Smith, and Jack Sherman helped Ryan load everything we own into the UHaul and several vehicles/trailers. Wednesday night, Ryan, Jon and myself unloaded all the stuff into the new house. We then left at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday for a little R&R in Hot Springs, Arkansas (more on that to come).

We have had a blast here in Hot Springs but are now ready to get back and get everything put in its place. Ryan and I are so thankful that Jo was able to drive up to Louisville and take Kate and the boys back to her place for the weekend. We don't know what we would do without you Jo!!! Thank you so much for allowing us to enjoy a peaceful weekend here in Hot Springs. We owe you big time!

As soon as I get things situated, I will post some more pictures of our house.

Happy Anniversary Ryan

I LOVE YOU...I LOVE YOU...I LOVE YOU!

It is hard to believe it has already been 4 years! Time flies when you are having fun!

Jessica's Baby Shower...pictures

Here are the INCREDIBLE pictures from Jessica's shower. These pictures were all taken from her new camera and were primarily taken by Jessica herself and Jon Nodine!

Here are a few comments...

1) Jessica, you look BEAUTIFUL!
2) We all make some pretty cute kiddos :)
3) When can we do this again???
4) We can't wait to meet you Baby Cietek!
http://picasaweb.google.com/whitneymardis/JessicaSBabyShower##

I added 2 more albums with a ton of pictures from Jessica. A lot of them are the same but there are a few more precious ones that I thought were worth adding.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrterry1707/TollgateBabyShowerContinues#

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrterry1707/TollgateBabyShower#