a bunch of weddings, a new couch, and some other stuff...

Ok - so I officially win the worst blogger EVER award! I have been super busy lately with weddings, work, soccer and meetings and have totally neglected the blog!! However, I have been updating my Kimberly Conners Events blog so check that out if you want to see what I have been up to lately in the wedding world. Besides the wedding stuff, I have been slowly working on getting my apartment ready for the holidays coming up...and I don't mean decorations.

For startersm, we FINALLY ordered our new couch!!! We have been in dire need of a new couch ever since our adorable pain in the ass boston terrier, Charlee completely destroyed ours! I must admit...when I first walked in the door and saw that she had chewed through the cushion and base of the couch, I yelled "Bad Girl!!!" and sent her to a "time out" in her crate (which lasted about 2 seconds because I felt so bad for yelling at her - I know, I know...bad mommy). But after looking on the bright side, I realized I should be thanking her because she just gave me an excuse to buy a new couch. Ok, so maybe I didn't need a good reason to spend an entire paycheck on a new piece of furniture, but my husband sure did. He didn't quite take my side when I made several previous attempts to say "You know what would really compliment those pillows I just bought is a brand new grey couch!", or "You know how we always want to lay next to each other while watching a movie, but we can't because this couch sucks! We should buy a new one!?!"

It was a little easier to say "So you know how your dog (of course it's his dog when she does something wrong) chewed up our couch and now it looks like it belongs in a frat house? Maybe its time to buy a new one?" Even though I had to say that every day for 2 weeks straight, he finally agreed! So we ordered our new couch and I can hardly wait until it's gets delivered!!

We also got our new headboard for our bed delivered a few weeks ago and I'm so happy with how it looks! Our bedroom is almost finished! As soon as our apartment looks somewhat close to how I picture it looking, I will post some pics.

On a happy note, I am getting busier and busier with my wedding coordinating business and have 5 weddings booked for next year so far! I'm so excited to see how my business will continue to grow over the next few years and hope that it will one day be a full time job! I am having so much fun with all my clients and I'm also developing some great friendships with some of the vendors in the wedding industry.

As for my better half - Andrew's job continues to be a struggle. Mainly for me....The drive to El Segundo is just ridiculous and takes up so much of his week that it's hard to have dinner together or do anything at night! On top of that, my patience has been more than tested with the promotion issue. He works his butt off and still awaits the much deserved promotion to a store manager. I know it will happen eventually, but I just wish it would happen sooner than later! So Mr. Dick (actually his name is Mr. Stack) if you just so happen to follow my blog, PLEASE promote my husband already!!

On a seperate note - With Thanksgiving coming up, I am reminded of just how blessed I am to be married to such an amazing guy and to have the best friends and family a girl could ask for! I also continue to be grateful for my good health and my job. I am looking forward to the upcoming holiday festivities and spending time with everyone I love the most! I am also really looking forward to the return of the Sola kiddos and my second husband, Kristy! I cant wait to see how much the kids have grown in the past 4 months.

In the mean time, I will try to get better about posting on this blog more often so that all two of you who read this, have something new to look at! :)

xoxo
Kimberly

{these pictures have nothing to do with anything except the fact

that they were taken this year and are some of my favorites}

Missing my little monkeys...

{Missing these kids, and their mommy, like crazy!}

Counting down the days until they come home for Christmas!

On a positive note, I finally got my web-camera set-up so I can skype with the kids! I can't wait to see their adorable faces on Friday afternoon.

Love you Monkeys!!

xoxo

Priceless...

Friday night, we went over to the Harrelson's house for dinner. We were excited to hang out with them and spend some time with little Hunter. He has grown so much in the past few months and has become so mobile! Andrew hadn't seen Hunter in a while so when we first walked in the door, he was surprised to see how much he had grown!

When Hunter was first born, he was so tiny and fragile that Andrew wasn't too sure he wanted to hold him (I think he had the same fear as most guys do with newborn babies). In the months that followed, he still wasn't too "hands-on" with the little guy. I would always say "Here Andrew...why don't you hold Hunter for a little while?" and Andrew would say "It's ok...You got him". To give him credit - Andrew has always been really good with kids, especially when it comes to his niece and nephew. But when it comes to the baby department...it seemed he needed a little work.

So fast forward back to Friday night...

I wanted to show Jana my new car. Since Bryan wasn't home yet, we couldn't leave Hunter with him while we took the car for a spin and we didn't want to go through all the trouble of putting his car seat in my car. So Andrew said (ever so confidently) "I'll watch him...you girls go ahead." So before he changed his mind, Jana and I scurried out the door to take the car around the block. I must admit, I kind of expected to walk back into the house to see Hunter crying hysterically and Andrew looking at us like "Ummmm...please take him back!" However, we walked in the house to see Hunter laughing and smiling as he climbed all over Andrew. Of course, I had to pull out my camera and get a picture of this priceless moment...

{priceless moment}

After having a yummy dinner, we sat outside in the backyard and talked over dessert (because we have no self control no dinner is complete without it). It was nice to spend some quality time with some of our favorite people!

J, B & little h - Thanks for having us over for dinner! And for letting Andrew prove to me that he is perfectly fine in the baby department - it just took a little time for him to get there.

{Some other pics from the night}

(no we are not wearing snuggies...we are wearing Bryan's sweatshirts to stay warm)

Molly & Ella's Birthday Party

{Such a sweet picture}

{he could be in a catalog with this pose}

{Look at those baby blues!}

Although it stinks that Andrew has been working a lot and we don't get to spend as much time together as we would like, the upside to that is I get to spend a lot of time with my friends. One of my favorite families to hang out with is the Sola fam. Since Kristy is only here for a limited amount of time before packing up the kids and heading back to Colorado, I take full advantage of every opportunity I get to hang out with her and her adorable kids! This past Saturday was Kristy's nieces' birthday party. Ella and Molly celebrated their birthdays at Lake Mission Viejo and I was lucky enough to be invited.

About a month ago while hanging at Becca's house, Ella drew me a picture and said that it was my invitation to her upcoming birthday party. She even drew me a picture of the gift she wanted me to bring her...gotta love kids - and their lack of tact! Of course when someone invites me to a place where there will be a million little kids and babies, food, and birthday cake, I'm all in! We had a lot of fun watching the kids swim in the lake and playing water balloon toss (more like pick up a water balloon and throw it on the ground to watch it explode!) I had fun chasing the kids around and playing hide and go seek. Becca made the most adorable birthday cakes for the girls. She did such a great job putting the party together - its amazing what that girl can do being a mom of three! Everyone had a great time!

Molly Moo & Ella - thank you for inviting me to your birthday party! It's fun days like this that remind me how lucky I am to have such great friends - even friends that are 3 and 5!

Fathers Day

{Some pics from Father's Day at Andrew's family brunch - I love these kids! (& my hubby too)}

Happy Birthday Avery

June 3rd was my niece Avery's 9th birthday. Avery wanted to celebrate her birthday at Lake Mission Viejo on a party boat with 6 of her closest friends. Guess who was one of her friends?? Me!! I was so honored she chose me to be part of her birthday party celebration. My sister-in-law packed a lunch for all the girls and got us all goodie bags with a pair of flip flops and some candy. We cruised around the lake listening to Michael Jackson who is Avery's favorite artist! I never though hanging out with a bunch of nine years old could be so much fun!

I can't believe that Avery is a nine year old. I have known her since she was 2 years old and it has been so much fun watching her grow up. She is the sweetest girl and has such a funny personality. The best thing about her is that she absolutely adores her Auntie Kym. In fact, she insisted that there be an "Auntie Day" since we celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day. Could she be any more adorable?? She has decided that Auntie day is June 19th. I am excited to see what she has planned for us! Avery and I have so much fun when we hang out, especially now that she is getting into shopping, pedicures and just hanging with the girls. It's kind of like having a little sister. She is always telling my that I'm her favorite Auntie - and of course I tell her that she is my favorite niece (even though she's my only niece).

I am so blessed to have married into such an amazing family. Not only do I adore Avery, but I also love Landon, Jeff and Erin. They have always made me feel like part of their family...even when we weren't sure if I would ever officially join! :) I love the Otsuji's and I can't wait until we have kids of our own because I know Avery and Landon will be the best cousins ever!

Happy Birthday Avery! We love you!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Sunday, June 6th, Andrew and I will be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary (7 years that we’ve been together). I can’t believe that it’s already been one year since we got married! This past year has brought its share of ups and downs. They say your first year of marriage is often the “roughest” and it has definitely been one of the hardest years of my life. But not because of Andrew or our marriage…but because this year I experienced not only the best day of my life but two of the most difficult.

Looking back, getting married was one of the easiest and best decisions I've ever made! Our wedding day couldn’t have been more perfect because I got to marry my best friend and all of our favorite people got to celebrate with us! It was a party that we never wanted to end! We spent our first week as a married couple in Belize on our honeymoon and it was amazing! For one whole week, we got no phone calls, text messages or emails and we got to spend every minute of every day together. From the minute we arrived back to LAX our everyday life has been far from that. Between my full time job and wedding coordinating business and Andrew’s job at Dick’s Sporting Goods, it seems that one of us is always working in one way or another. We rarely get to hang out with each other for more than a few hours at a time which has been hard for the both of us. Not to mention, soon after our wedding we added a little girl to our family – a Boston Terrier we named Charlee. She has been such a joy in our lives and has taught us a lot about each other. It has taken a lot of hard work and patience but we both agree it’s been worth every minute!

When we exchanged vows on our wedding day we promised to laugh together and cry together. As cliché as that sounds, I didn’t expect to cry together so soon. Just 2 months after our wedding, my grandpa passed away. I hate replaying that night in my head when I first found out. I have never cried so much and so hard. I couldn’t believe how life could be so good and then in an instant, your world could seem flipped upside down. It was a rough time for my family, especially over the holidays. To make things worse, just 3 months later when things started to get better my boss and close friend Clint passed away. I couldn’t believe it was happening all over again. I know I wasn’t myself for a good part of this past year and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who was there for me through all of it - even when I just needed to sit on the couch and be held while I cried.

Life has been crazy this past year, but when it comes down to it, we both agree on one thing - we love each other more than anything and are so blessed by God to have the life we have. We also agree that we need to try to slow down a bit, even if it means saying no to networking events, meetings, soccer games, or rounds of golf. We want to cherish the time we have with each other as much as possible before the babies come along and its no longer “Conners, party of two”. Thank you to everyone who has been there over the past year to help support us as a couple and as individually as friends.

Baby – I love you to the moon and back and can’t wait to see what the next year brings us. Thank you for making me “Mrs. Conners”. Happy Anniversary!

Forever,
your wifey
xoxo

Vacation with the Sola Family - sort of...

About a month ago, I went to Colorado to visit Kristy and her adorable family. Her husband JJ was scheduled to be deployed the day after I arrived. To make things even crazier, her two boys were sick and her 2 month old daughter, Taytum, was really sick with RSV and was in the hospital. From the moment I stepped off the plane, things were hectic! I spent the first night at the hospital so that Kristy could enjoy her last night with her hubby and her two little boys. It was so sad to see Taytum hooked up to a breathing machine and laying on a hospital bed. She is so little! The following morning, JJ had to say his goodbyes. It was an emotional morning - to say the least!

Kristy and I didn’t get to hang out much the first two days since we had to take turns being at the hospital with Taytum and being at the house with the boys. I would make the boys lunch and put them down for a nap while Kristy stayed with Taytum at the hospital. Then I would watch Taytum while she went home to make the boys dinner and put them to bed. Then we would switch – she would sleep at the hospital while I slept at the house. Then the next day, we would start over again. Sheesh! I’m getting tired just thinking about it…. The day after JJ left, we were fortunate enough to bring Taytum home from the hospital. She had to be hooked up to an oxygen tank but at least we could all be together at the house. It was so nice to finally take showers and eat something other than cafeteria food! We spent a lot of time just playing with the boys and watching TV with them. I think I memorized a few episodes of Dora the Explorer thanks to Braylon. We had so much fun just talking and spending time together. Oooohh and we snuck in a few trips to Sonic to get cherry lime-aids!

As crazy and emotional as this trip was, I was so glad I could be there for Kristy and her family during such a difficult time. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have your husband leave for a year when you have three kids under the age of 3. But if anyone can do it, it’s Kristy! She’s such an amazing mom and wife. I have learned a lot from her over the past few years as I’ve watched Kristy raise her kids. She loves those kids more than anything and you can tell by watching them together, that they love her too! Oh and let’s not forget JJ – what he’s doing for his family and his country is amazing! Even though the kids are too little to know what’s going on, they will one day know how amazing and selfless their daddy is and how blessed they are to have such a wonderful role model.

Kristy - Thanks for letting me join in on the craziness for the week! I know it was hectic but it was still fun hanging with you and your precious family. I love you guys to pieces and will continue to pray for all of you! I look forward to hanging out with you while you are in California.

Love,
Monkey

{I’ll leave out the part where I got sick with the flu and was glued to the couch for an entire day. Oh and the part where my flight from Dallas back to Orange County was cancelled and I had to be re-routed to LAX where I arrived at 1:00am. Oh and the part where I had no luggage because it got lost in translation and didn’t arrive until the next day and I had to miss another day of work – but it was still worth every penny!}