Natalie at her neighbor friend Gwen's first birthday party this past Sunday.
We have been busy! But, the good kind of busy. The kind that leaves you energized instead of tired. Except for the time change on Sunday, that left me a bit tired. You with me? It seems like we JUST rang in the New Year and somehow here we are in mid March. With that in mind, lets not waste anytime with this here update:
Last weekend we packed up and headed south to Schoolcraft and stayed with my parents for some pre-wedding fun. Next month my only brother gets married and on Saturday my Mom and I hosted a wedding shower for his bride Rachel. The shower (strategically planned without games and WITH mimosas) was a success.
Later that evening Natalie spent time with her Grandparents while Jeff and I joined my brother Jason and Rachel (along with the rest of their wedding party and their plus ones) for a joint bachelor/bachelorette party in downtown Kalamazoo. It felt good to be back in Kzoo again - a place where I used to spend a lot of my time during college (go Broncos!) and just after. Our night began at Old Peninsula (where they have the best chicken salad sandwich in the world) and ended at Harvey's where I was able to catch up with my big bro for a bit.
I asked Jason if he was excited for the wedding and his response really stuck with me, "I'm ready for the wedding to be over with, but I'm really excited to be married." He continued, "She's way out of my league." I'm so happy for him and Rachel and cannot wait to be a witness at their wedding next month.
Rewinding a bit further in March, two weeks ago four friends and I ditched our families at home to spend the weekend together in Chicago. It was filled with shopping, eating, drinking, dancing, and time catching up. We hit up some familiar spots like Eataly and Untitled Supper Club as well as some new spots like Pops for Champagne, Beatrix, and RPM. Everything was awesome and I'm not just saying that. And proud to say, they let Moms into The Underground.
In other news, we booked our next Europe trip scheduled for this June! We'll be visiting Krakow, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. Similar to our Italy trip, we'll be traveling with friends Josh and Emily and will be staying in AirBnBs and leveraging public transportation. I wish I could tell you more, but I co-chair the 'fun-committee' with Josh which basically means we leave the planning to our better halves. Bless them.
We also just booked tickets to Washington D.C. for a wedding in May (lots of weddings this summer) for one of Jeff's buddies from the Peace Corps. Did you know you have to apply to take a tour at the White House? Jeff is also in charge of the itinerary for this trip but I can tell you that I'm most excited to see the monuments at night.
Miss Nat is crawling EVERYWHERE, pulling herself up on things and has begun to walk along the couch and coffee table. We've armed ourselves with baby gates and anxiously await her taking her first steps. We're becoming increasingly aware that she a social being and really likes being around people. Even in the morning when Jeff and I are getting ready for work she insists on being in the bathroom with us hanging out on the floor and honestly, our bathroom isn't big enough for all three of us to hang out in there. I tried telling her that we need our space and she doesn't seem to understand. Do you ever feel like your loved ones aren't listening to you?
And with that, I leave you. I hope your week is filled with sunshine and rainbows... I heard it's going to rain a bunch this week.