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My Ol’ Kentucky Home

I decided to visit my parents in Kentucky for a number of reasons:

  1. The flights from Kentucky to SLC were way too expensive in April, meaning my parents weren’t going to be able to come for T.J.’s graduation as we had planned.
  2. My dad was going out of the country for two weeks and I thought it would be fun to surprise him when he got back.
  3. My mom broke her wrist and needed some cheering up/help around the house.
  4. T.J. is really busy with school and wouldn’t notice we were gone.
  5. I’d be in town around my birthday… Happy Bday to me!

So, I asked my mom what she thought and a couple hours later, the ticket had been purchased.

It was such a great trip. My dad was very surprised when he got back from Australia and I was sitting on the couch when he got home. The two unenthusiastic questions he asked me were, “What are you doing here?” and, “How much did it cost?” haha! But really, he was excited and we all had a good two weeks together.

Some of the highlights were going the Krohn Conservatory, the art museum, Kenwood mall, PF Changs, watching Downton Abbey together, helping my mom out at school, going to the park with Eva, a visit to Cynthiana-the “big town” near where my mom grew up, and eating LOTS of goetta.

Thanks for the trip, mom and dad! Miss you guys so much already!

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Funk

I am in a major blogging funk right now. Here are a couple reasons why:

  1. I need to post Eva’s 15 month post, but I haven’t taken pictures of her yet so…
  2. So much going on right now is up in the air and kind of private until we make our huge life decisions and they are set in stone. And if I am saying it’s private and too big to post about, you know I mean business considering I am usually an open book. Agh! Please, let’s just fast forward a couple months when everything (hopefully) is all figured out and settled!
  3. I’m bored of my blog. I mean honestly, how many recipes am I going to post?

Tonight I went over to a good friend’s house who I grew up with… follow her adorable blog here. We looked through her old scrapbooks from middle school and high school. Hilarious. Also, turns out I was a major brat at times. FORGIVE ME. I’d like to think I’m pretty nice now, but that sounds bratty too. Anyway, it’s fun to be home and reminisce on the olden days. Although they were filled with drama at times, they were easy and fun. I grew up in a great town and was blessed with great family and friends.

Well, that turned into such a random blog post. I should end now.

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Fire & Ice Event at the Riverwoods

 

Friday night we went to the Riverwoods for pizza at Malawi’s and then looked around at the Fire & Ice event. It turns out that it actually started Saturday afternoon, but they did have lots of fire pits out and the one ice sculture. We ended the night with hot chocolate, provided by Dustin and Lindsay. All the kids were so good and it was a blast to be out with everyone.image_1 image_2

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Living Planet Aquarium

This week my sister-in-laws and their kids joined Eva and me at the aquarium. It was a really great afternoon and so nice to get out of the house for a new activity. The kids even enjoyed looking at everything, especially the otters. They also had a play area where Eva had a ball peaking through the cave. Next time we go back to Kentucky, we will definitely be taking Eva to the Newport aquarium.

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Spring Haven Ward Activity

Our congregation at church headed up the Springville canyon to go to BYU’s Spring Haven Lodge for the night. We weren’t planning on going since Eva had been sick, but on Saturday, her breathing was back to normal and she wasn’t coughing much anymore. The drive up the canyon was gorgeous! We didn’t stay too long but it was fun to mingle with friends, play some games, go down the slide with Eva a hundred times, and explore the grounds.

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Valentine’s Day Instagrams

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I love…

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My Darling Diva Eva

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My Husband, Our Eternal Marriage, the Gospel

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The Mountains and Summer

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My Family

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My In-Laws

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My Nieces

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My Nephew and Niece

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My Girlfriends (Is that a beach ball under my shirt?! AH!)

Not pictured: The Office, Michael Scott, Parks & Rec, Downton Abbey, funny and unnecessary hash tags, Diet Coke, gel nails, and cupcakes.

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XOXO

Although we stayed in tonight for Valentine’s Day, that doesn’t mean we didn’t make the day count.

First off, our tax return came in meaning we could actually get gifts for each other! I got T.J. a graphic design book he’s been wanting and I made a deal with T.J. that benefited both of us. If I could get this gel nail kit that I’ve been dying to own, he didn’t have to get me flowers and a trip to the nail salon (as previously wished for). He was 100% down for the deal because it meant he could cross one more thing off his very long to-do list. I haven’t gotten to use it yet because I’ve been quite busy with work, but you better bet your bottom dollar I’ll be using it first thing this weekend.

Then this morning I snuck a bag of valentine candy into T.J.’s book bag today. I felt so sly! And to my complete surprise, T.J. had a beautiful rose for me when I picked him up at work. What a cutie!

For lunch, I met up with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew for lunch. It was the first time Eva got out of the house all week (excluding doctor appointments) and the first time I put on real pants (I’ve been living in leggings all week). It was such a fun girls’ afternoon out!

I was really disappointed that I didn’t get to throw my Galentine’s Party/Bachelor-Watching Valentine’s party this week since we’ve been sick. But this afternoon I decided I’d still make a little party spread and make my favorite V-day treats for T.J. and me. Strawberry chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered strawberries. Bliss. We then dropped off plates to our elderly neighbors next door. That officially got me out of my no-party slump.

And finally, just when I was about dead from taking care of Eva all day, Parks & Rec and The Office were on and were 100% wonderful. Oh my gosh. So hilarious. It was the best V-day gift ever. What a great day.

On another note, I read this tragic blog post about a girl who lost her husband on Valentine’s Day last year in an awful accident. It really broke my heart hearing her story but it helped me to count all my blessings today. I love my husband and my daughter more than I can describe! I love my family, my in-laws, and all of our great friends. At the risk of sounding identical to the Seriously, So Blessed blog, I just want to say that I truly am grateful for all of you in my life!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

XOXO,

Katie Lee

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Pro/Con list (minus the cons)

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I’ve been making a mental pro/con list for our family moving to New York. There are a lot of obvious points for each side. But here are the top three things for the pro side that you might not have thought of…

  1. Carlo’s Bakery from the Cake Boss nearby
  2. The actor Matthew from Downton Abbey is in a broadway show-so there’s the chance of meeting him
  3. The one and only Essie nail salon is in NYC

Those are all very important things. How could we not move there when all those opportunities in NYC exist?

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Wrapping up the Holidays

Now that I’ve finished all of the holiday posts, here are a couple more Instagram photos to wrap it up and move into the New Year!

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We thought Eva would like a little ride on the luggage. She wasn’t too thrilled about the experience.

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We went to this Elf Village on the Levee in Newport. My mom used to take my older siblings to see the Elf Village when it was downtown Cincinnati like 25 years ago, so it was cool that they set it up again for the public.

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We also saw a lego display that was really big and intense! There was a lego Santa, of course.

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This is the cool walkway in the Chicago airport. This is the only good thing about that place.

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When we scold Eva, she makes this face. Ha!

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Eva became quite the recorder musician as the vacation went on. I think we’ve got to get her a harmonica. And me some earplugs.Photo Dec 30, 5 49 48 PM

She pulled out all the clothes and sat in the trunk.

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We love our festive and warm socks!

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