Looking Back on 2011

Wow...I can't believe 2011 is over! It went by sooo fast. It was an amazing year for Kevin and I, mostly because it brought us 2 of the most wonderful blessings. So...here's a look back our at 2011..

January ~ my best friend got married!! Her wedding was just gorgeous and tons of fun!

Kevin and I at the wedding, isn't my Maid of Honor dress gorgeous??? She did an amazing job of picking our dresses, and her dress...it was beyond fabulous!!!!

The beautiful bride, in a gorgeous Vera Wang dress, moments before she walked down the aisle...she is just glowing!

February ~ We spent Valentine's Day in Colorado and went on a fun Valentine's Day double date with some friends! It was such a fun trip and Colorado is such a beautiful state.

March ~ Kevin parents came to visit. They like to tour little vineyards (just like us) so we took them to a few of our favs. Here we are a one of them...the random lady in the middle of the pic is the Vineyard owner.

April ~ We took a really quick trip to Norman, Oklahoma (home of the Sooners!!) and this seemed to be the only picture we took...it's me in front of my beautiful Sorority house. Like I said, it was a super quick trip. Lol ;)

May ~ This is the month we went to Coronado, California. Oh my goodness, it was such a lovely island. I could have stayed there forever. After this trip we're totally planning to retire there...like next year. ;)

June ~ My bff (the one that got married in January) and I had a fabulous little girl's weekend in Kansas City. LOVE the Plaza!! Can't wait for our next one!

July ~ my friend Katie and I attended Omaha's 'Red Sky Music Festival' - we went to the Jason Aldean concert, he was uh-mazing!! We had such a fun night. One of the best nights of my whole summer!!

August ~ Molly and I tagged along on Kevin's business trip to New Mexico. Such a beautiful state, the desert is so neat. Also...on this trip, I found out I was pregnant!! SOOOO EXCITING!!

September ~ Kevin and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. It's just crazy to think that we've been married for 3 years now - sometimes it seems like we've been married forever but other times things still seem so 'new,' I think it's a good mix. ;) As a wedding gift to each other, we decided to purchase new toasting glasses since ours never made it home from the reception. But, the BEST anniversary gift of all, was learning that we were pregnant with TWINS!!! What an amazing blessing!! After a 3 year fertility journey, we were overjoyed. I can't even tell you how thankful we were/are for this amazing gift!!

Toasting Glasses!

First picture of our TWINS!!!

October ~ I turned 30!! EEEKKKKKK!!! We celebrated with a trip to Florida and the Bahamas. We had a fantastic time! On my actual birthday, Kevin treated me to a spa day - seriously, best Spa experience of my life!!

Here we are on the balcony of our hotel in Fort Lauderdale...look gorgeous beach...love.

A week after we returned from our trip, we learned that the twin were BOYS!!! How exciting!!! For weeks after that just saying things like "My boys and I," "When we do --fill in the blank-- with our sons," brought tears to my eyes. As I mentioned before, this has been quite the journey for us so we already had names picked out - we had such a wonderful time telling our friends and family that Connor and Grayson will be here in April!! Even now, I tear up writing about the experience. I'm just so thankful God chose me to been a Mom to these two precious little boys!!

November ~ we went to Maine (Kevin's home) for Thanksgiving!! I just love Maine, it's such a beautiful state. We had a wonderful time and were able to take a picture of all of the 'Rooney' cousins. It was sooo amazing to be with his whole family!!

...Do you see those baby boys in the picture??? Those are our nephews that Kevin's sister had last December (2010). So, our little boys will have twin boy cousins to play with - SO PERFECT!!

December ~ Our first snow of the season!! I was eager to 'play' in it - even if that meant scooping. Ha!!

And, of course we took our Christmas card pic - and you can see my little baby bump!

What a fabulous 2011!!

I can't believe all the amazing things that happened in 2011 and I know God has even more amazing things in store for us in 2012!! Most of all, Kevin and I can't wait to meet these two wonderful boys...

Connor

And Grayson...he's waving 'Hi' ;)

Love these boys so much already...isn't it crazy how that works?!?!

Merry Monday!!

What's 'merry' about today?

C U P C A K E S !!

I cannot get enough of them! Before this pregnancy, I didn't have much of a sweet tooth but wow, it sure seems like these babies loooove their sweets!!

We went home to Oklahoma City this weekend...which was were the cupcake extravaganza began...1st up, Cuppies & Joe.

Here's their website

their menu is uh-mazing!!!

My favorite flavor is their Boom Boom Pow ~ it's a vanilla bean cuppie w/chocolate buttercream, caramel, and sea salt. It's beyond delicious!!

We may have had to take a few home...ya know, just a few. ;)

Ok, so when I imagine what Heaven will be like, it's definitely a version of this place. Pinkitzel is every 'Girly Girl's' dream come true. They manage to combine an upscale boutique (complete with clothes, baby girl clothes and home decor) with a cupcake and coffee bar. Seriously friends, it's heaven.

Here's their website

While I was down this weekend, my best friend, Christina, threw me a baby shower...AT Pinkitzel!!! Yes, it was perfect. Truly, there aren't any other words to describe it. Here's a picture of the room where the shower was held. This pic is from their website...I'll be doing a baby shower post soon with lots more pics. Believe it or not, the room looked soooo much cuter for the shower. LOVE the antique circus theme!!

On our way back to Omaha, we stopped at the Plaza in Kansas City. After doing a little bit of shopping, we had to stop at KC's well-known cupcake place.

It was just a small store front...small but adorable! Here's their website

Super yummy & fun flavors!! My favorite was their seasonal flavor 'Peppermint Hot Chocolate,' it was delicious!!

Now that we are home, I'm still craving cupcakes. Luckily, I went to a Christmas Party tonight that was right next door to Jones Bros. Cupcakes!! Pretty sure it was meant! Ha!!

Here's their website

If you're ever in Omaha and are looking for a place to grab a tasty cupcake and cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) I highly recommend Jones Bros.

Thankful Thursday

Those of you who follow me on twitter, or who are friends with me in real life know that I have soooo much to be thankful for today. Most of all, I am so thankful for your friendship and prayers! I'm so lucky to have such amazing and prayerful friends!!

I'm also thankful for getting a little break with my amazing husband

And, I'm super thankful that we were able to bring along our little Molly!!!

How cute is that little face?!?!

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Fabulous Girls Weekend in KC

This weekend my bff, Christina, and I met up in Kansas City. Not only is it one of the Midwest's hidden gems but it's also the perfect half way point for us.

We both arrived Friday and didn't waste any time catching up! The weekend was a nonstop chat fest, yup, it pretty prefect!

Our first stop Saturday morning was the plaza...friends, I *heat* the plaza!!!

Not only does it have fabulous shopping but the architecture is a-mazing!

Picking up a few fun items at Mac!

Halls department store....where I bought this...

I've been wanting it for what seems like forever now but, whenever I finally get around to getting it, it's always sold out. I'm beyond in LOVE. Ha!

More of the gorgeous plaza - love their fountains!

After a fun day of shopping and yummy eating, we saw Bridesmaid's

What a great weekend!! We are already planning our next girls weekend get-a-way!!

Hope you had a fantastic weekend too!

Bittersweet - Saying Goodbye to Sophie

Last week was rather bittersweet for our family. Kevin's grandmother, Sophie, passed away so we traveled to Maine (where Kevin is from) to attend her funeral. Though the circumstance that brought us together was very sad, we were also able to see friends and family we seldom see and that part of the trip was just wonderful. We love and will miss Sophie!! We feel very blessed to know we will see her again.

This picture was taken just last summer. Sophie was such an amazing person and always so full of energy!

Kevin's parents live in such a neat area, all the houses in their area are on a few acres and there are lots of wooded areas in between the homes. Every morning, Kevin and I went for a nice long walk - it was such a nice little treat for us. I don't know about you but mornings in our house aren't exactly relaxed so it was so nice that we were able to have this time. I think Maine is absolutely gorgeous so, of course, I had to bring my camera on our morning walks. ;)

I just love this little side porch, Kevin's mom decorates it for every season - this picture isn't the best but, she has orange lights on the tree.

This little area over looks a pond that isn't very full now, but in the Spring and Summer it's pretty full. In the summer, that bench is a great place to relax with a book and some sweet tea....that's right sweet tea in Maine. Ha!

One of the neighbors homes - love their Christmas decor!!

A little pond...once it's iced over, it's a great place to do some ice skating.

Yeah, I don't really know why I like this picture so much - I just love that little nest!!!

Kevin's parents house through the trees, you can just see their red front door. I love red front doors!! Not sure if our house could pull off a red front door though....hmmm....something to look into though.

Backyard garden, lots of yummy fruits, veggies and herbs come from this little garden.

Every week, Kevin's parents attend line dancing classes. They love it! They do all kinds of line dancing from Country (obviously) to Irish line dances. So, they invited us to go with them - we had a great time!! Some of those dances are kinda complicated!! It was great - lots of laughs that night...definitely what we all needed!!

Here were are after our class. Yeah, had to put my hair up - it turns out line dancing is a bit of a workout!!

Kevin's sister, Eileen, is pregnant with twins (yay, yay, yay!!!) and is on super strict bed rest....we visited everyday. We loved spending this time with her!! She is so much fun and you can't help but laugh when she is around. Eileen and Matt, her husband, are going to be wonderful parents! We just can't wait to meet those twins!!!

Love this picture!!

Yes, I'm on my tip toes....being short isn't very fun :(

Our last night there, Kevin's parents took us to dinner at The Dolphin Striker - the restaurant where they got engaged!! How neat, huh?!?!