Derb-a-licious weekend update.

Derby weekend is over and I'm still recovering from all the fun. I'm going to try to get caught up here but who knows how far I'll get!

Derby weekend was such a success. Friday night was totally amazing. I had so much fun with my ladies at the Fillies and Stallions Party! I was super excited to get to meet Aaron Rogers and so many of the UofL basketball team! Here are some pictures from that night.  Also, these are totally out of order because this blog site drives me nuts and I can't figure it out half of the time and I don't feel like uploading every single picture one by one. So there.

Me, Aaron Rogers & Ashlee. WHAT!!!

Very nice and soft spoken guy. I was so excited to meet him! (PS...Thanks Brittney for making this happen)

Bonefish apps with the ladies before heading out.

Mr. Chane Behanan 

Creeping on Kris Humphries

Me and my bestest. Love this lady.

Borrowed from the Jenny Drake line.

Found Marissa on the dance floor!

My best girl. 

Momma's ready for some fun!

After the Fillies and Stallions party luckily for me Krista was sober and was willing to drive us home! Yay! I hate not sleeping in my own bed, especially if I have things to do the next morning. So anyway, once I got home I ate some chicken ramen noodles and took my butt to bed. At 4am. Shew wee. Momma doesn't party like that anymore. :-)

I woke up ready to go at 8:45am. Yep. I LOVE DERBY DAY! I quickly texted the husband a big ol' Happy 30th Birthday text since he was in a turkey blind and go up ready to start my day! I really didn't have much to prepare because I did a lot the day before since I was off. I went to try and find Derby programs and that was a complete bust. Everyone was sold out. So I ventured over to Starbucks and had the new Caramel Crunch Frappe. OMG. Talk about life changing. It was seriously the best drink ever. I totally gained 3 pounds last week but I've gotten back on track since then. So, I got my starbucks and a ham, egg & swiss croissant and then I went back home to prepare for the rest of the day.

I had Pandora jamming the Lorde station while I was making food. Ryan got home around noon and started getting the corn hole boards ready and all the fish and turkey set out for the fish fry. YUM!

People started arriving around 2 and Geoff and I got our corn hole winning streak underway. We were beat a few times but I'm pretty sure we were still the champions of the whole wide world. (As my dad would say.) :-)

Me and Krista being twinsies.

Me and momma.

My love. 

Who knows. 

The boys hanging out in the garage.

Krista Sammich.

The Derby pots were selling, corn hole was being played, fish and frog legs were being fried and everyone was having a good time! My baby girl finally got home around 4. My mother in law kept her Oaks night and most of the day Derby so I could get things ready for the party. Little bug was tired but she had fun playing with her best buddy Raegan.

Once the Derby was done and California Chrome was declared the winner I was pumped because I actually won the $5 Derby pot! I never win these things and I always spend so much money! Cali Chrome was the favorite so  when I drew him I definitely didn't think that I was going to win because the favorites don't win often. I knew I was taking my winnings to target to get some cute skirts. Yay!

We hung out with friends until around 930 and then Ryan and I were beat so we went to bed. On Sunday we had his birthday dinner over at his parents. Enchiladas, chocolate cake and ice cream. YUM! Jan's chocolate cake is amazing and this time she put a layer of fudge in it. WHAT?! I didn't eat any after the enchiladas but I did have a small piece later that night and it was so delicious. (I told you I gained 3 pounds last week)

So there you have it folks. My Derby weekend update. It was a lot of fun and it was exhausting and I'm already looking forward to next year!

365 update will be up tomorrow along with a few other things!


xxx

Ryan

Everyone knows what Friday is right?

Good morning my loves! I figured I better post a 365 update and write a little before I leave for our mini family vacation tomorrow.

I'm SO excited to be heading to Red River Gorge tomorrow. I could totally use some fresh air, campfires and family time. This is part of our Christmas present from dad and Jeannine. Every year we try to go somewhere as a family. 2 years ago we went to Gulf Shores, last year we went to the Gorge when Charlie was a mere 5 weeks old and this year we're heading back for another go round. We are staying in the "Living on the Edge" cabin and it is GORGEOUS! I'm so glad Charlie is older this year because last year it was tough taking care of a newborn while I was still recovering and trying to have a good time as well. So anyway, we leave tomorrow and sadly Ryan can't join us until Friday after work. He started this new work schedule a week too soon! If he had been on his old schedule just one more week he would have been able to come down with us on Thursday. Bummer.

Now, let's talk about Friday. Everyone knows what Friday is right? It's the HUGE Sweet Sixteen match up between UofL & UK. I'm honestly dreading this game. They beat us during the regular season but that doesn't really mean much when it comes to the tournament. This UK team doesn't have the talent or motivation that National Champion team had when they beat us in the Final Four two years ago. I really just dread this game because no matter what the outcome the fans are pretty shitty most of the time. I try not to be one of "those" fans. Especially on Facebook or social media sites. I always root hard for my Cards but I don't talk shit if we kick UK's ass. I'm all about a good rivalry but sometimes some of the fans are just shitty. And it's both sides. But it's not me. I'll talk smack all day when I'm watching the game with family and friends but I'd rather not boast or brag or be a crappy fan on Facebook. Not my style. On that note. Go Cards.

Here's an updated 365 post. Last week was an AWESOME week for me! Well, Day 81 was anyway. I'm part of a 365 group on Facebook with women (and one guy) from all over the world and we share our images daily. Well, a moderator normally picks one image a day for the top banner page. I've had some images that I thought for sure were going to be banner images in the past but I had never had one of my images picked. Well on day 81 that all changed. I went to lunch with Courtney, Molly & Charlie and snapped a shot of our delicious sushi roll when it came out for my 365 project. When I uploaded that evening to our group I was so excited when that image was chosen to be the banner page for a day! Sometimes I feel like my images aren't good and that I'm not doing enough or putting in enough effort but having that image chosen made me feel SO good! Aside from my image being posted I've booked 4 Spring photoshoots and a wedding in the past week. Yay!

So now that I've rambled enough. Here is my updated 365!

 Day 77. More food.

Day 78. Millie caught Charlie napping.

Day 79. Getting her gear ready for the game!

 

Day 80. My girl is 11 months old!

 

Day 81. The Sushi Shot! So proud of this image!

 

Day 82. Biscuits & Honey. One of my Honey's favorite things.

 

Day 83. Morning shadows.

 

Day 84. Millie and I got our days mixed up. Whoops!

 

Well after my trip I'm sure I'll have tons to update so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!

xxx

Ryan

Our girl is 9 months old!

Ah well, I'm a few days behind. If I could get some energy together I would be able to post consistently but since my kid wants to keep me sick all the time I do what I can :-)

I am finally feeling much better and was able to squeeze in a two mile run after getting back from Molly's slumber party princess birthday party thingy. I glimpsed into my future tonight and it was filled with little girls, screaming, tiaras, pink, giggling & fun. I'm cool with that. I do wish I could have stayed and helped my sister a little longer but as we all know, Charlie has a pretty strict bedtime and if she's not in her crib by 8pm she's not a happy little camper.

I'm a few days behind on posting my 365 on the blog.

Here is day 17.

This was yesterday morning. Little bug decided to sleep until 8:20. Yeah, she never does that on the weekend. I was just going to wake her up so we could get ready for daycare because I have to be at work at 9 and she was just sitting there waiting on me. Not even making a peep. She's so silly.

Today I decided to take her 9 month pics. The week is so busy so I don't really have a lot of time to do things then and also, the light isn't very good in the house when we get home at 5 so I knew that I was going to snap a few photos today.

Here is day 18 and Charlie's 9 month picture.

Those blue eyes kill me. I just love this little bug so much! I cannot believe it's been 9 months since she was born. It seems like just yesterday we were going through those rough first few weeks, the jaundice, the colic and the growing pains. I'm so glad we have such a great routine now and our girl is happy all of the time.

Louisville is about to play some ball so I'm not going to write much more. Gotta cheer on my CARDS! Here are a few more pics from today. :-)

xxx

Ryan

Facebook - RC2

Hello Teddy.

Good morning friends! Today I had this whole selfie planned outside with my new 85mm and then my crappy camera remote decided to die. I've got wifi on my 6D and the app on my phone but I still haven't figured that whole mess out yet. I guess I better because my remote is a pain in the butt!

So, since I didn't get to do my fun selfie, I decided to take Teddy out to play. My sister in law, Shawn,  is currently in Africa on a Peace Corps mission until 2015 and she is who got Teddy for Charlie for Christmas. Probably because Charlie kept trying to steal her childhood bear, Norton. Also, Teddy is named Teddy for now because Charlie can't talk to name him, and I like the name Teddy, mainly because of our amazing few years with Teddy B. Teddy and Charlie. Good fit. (More on that later). One day, when she's old enough, she'll probably rename him. But for now, he's Teddy.

So anyway I wanted to capture an image that showed awesome bokeh and this does that. I seriously cannot wait until outdoor portrait session weather. This lens is a gem!

Here is Teddy.

Obviously my backyard isn't awesome for portraits but I love this shot and Teddy was a willing participant.

Well, I guess I better go for now. I have to go pick up my little bug from her grandparents house!

xxx

Don't forget to "Like" my Facebook page and follow my blog!

Ryan

Hey-o friends!

I love saying that I'm going to keep up with my blog only to forget about it for 6 months and then realize that I should write something.

Well....duh dun duh.....I had a baby! Miss Charlotte Leigh Cecil was born on her due date, April 14, 2013 at 12:31 pm. She weighed 8lbs, 2 oz and was 19 inches long. She was totally perfect and had the most hilarious cone head for a good couple of hours after she came out.

The day prior to me going into labor was UofL's spring football game. At this point I was convinced that Charlie was never going to make her appearance and I was already planning her first birthday inside the womb so I decided to waddle my 9 month preggo butt down to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium with Tiff & Fredie and have some fun. After the basketball team was announced during "half time" we decided to split and go get some food. We went to The Cardinal Cafe to grab some grub.  My back was starting to bother me just a little when we were eating so I was ready to get home and relax.

April 13th was opening day of Turkey Season so Ryan had been hunting all morning and he managed to wrangle himself a bird. So he was dealing with that most of the day. We went to bed that night and around 1230 I woke up having contractions. I was always worried that I wasn't going to know when I was actually in labor but I knew that it was going down! I started timing my contractions at 8 minutes apart. By 2 am they were 6 minutes apart and then by 3am they were 4 minutes apart so I knew that we needed to head to the hospital. We put Rexie outside, grabbed our bag and then got on the road.

As we were driving my contractions were getting worse so Ryan started making the phone calls to let our parents know that we were heading to the hospital. When we got there, they examined me and told me that I was going to be having a baby today. That's when shit got real! Yikes!

I got my epidural around 530 am and after that the rest of the morning was a breeze. We had family in and out to visit and I was eating a ton of popsicles so all was good. Ryan took a nap and I played Candy Crush most of the morning. I was too excited to sleep.

My doctor came in around 1115 am and told me we were going to get this show on the road. I was nervous! After an hour and some change of pushing our little baby girl came out and it was the most awesome thing ever. I asked if she had all of her fingers and toes (she did) and I asked if she was cute (she is) haha. After that almost everything else is a blur. I remember hanging out, then being moved upstairs, then eating some food and we had a lot of visitors that day. We have a huge family and some awesome close friends that came to visit us that first day.

We stayed in the hospital until Tuesday and then finally got to come home. But that's worth a whole seprate post. Those first few days were rough.....more on that later. I'm blogged out for the day. I really do plan on keeping up with this....haha.

I'm a tiger. Rawr!

Until next time...........................