Spring Plans

As I posted awhile ago, things have definitely slowed down in the Rudy household. No more trips to Chicago, vacations in Cabo and friends visiting from out of town. I apologize for the lack of posting but what could I possibly have to write about now?

While we have definitely enjoyed having more free time this past month we are about to be busy again with all the fun things we have planned this Spring. Let's see, next month we have a fabulous couples shower planned for our good friends Alison and Mark (more details to come later on that), a girls trip to Charleston, SC , bachelor/bachelorette parties, a trip to Kentucky to visit Ryan's sister and her family and then finally Alison and Mark's wedding in Dallas! Whew - I'm sure I'll have tons of good posts and pictures to come from these events!

As for now, I'll leave you with a few fun facts about what's been going on with the Rudy's:

• we bought a new desk that Ryan just absolutely had to have
• our second bedroom has been rearranged to fit the new desk we had to have
• we had to buy a new computer to sit on this new desk

See, I told you we didn't have anything exciting to post about right now :)
Have a good weekend!

All Alone....

As I mentioned previously, Ryan took the GMAT a few weeks ago, sent in his application and had an interview this afternoon with an admissions director. He sent me a text message after his interview stating, "If I get in, it is going to be a very busy 2 years." I panicked. While I am so proud of Ryan and how hard he has worked it made me nervous for him to say that. For him to say it's going to be a very busy 2 years means that is a lot more work than he or I expected. While I know Ryan will be up to the challenge and will succeed, I'm a little nervous for myself.

Yes, I know this is selfish but I am going to have a hard time with him going back to school if he gets in. I can't imagine him going to work, attending class in the evenings and then studying in his spare time. When are we ever going to hang out??

Ryan attended a function at the campus this evening and has not been home since this morning. I think I got a taste of what it will be like with him being gone all the time. So, what have I been doing this evening? Well since I got home from work I have cleaned the house, played fetch with Bennett, ate a lean cuisine and now I'm drinking some vino while waiting for Grey's to come on. Did I mention that Bennett is bugging the crap out of me? He is constantly barking at me and wanting in and out of the backyard. This is why I am nervous. What is going to happen if Ryan is gone almost every evening and leaves me alone?? Let's see...

1. I could be super skinny from only consuming lean cuisines
2. Bennett may drive me insane
3. They may run out of Black Box at Kroger

I think I am going to need a new hobby. Any suggestions???

Birthday Surprise

Today is my 25th Birthday (gasp) - where did the time go??? It's hard to believe I've reached such a big milestone. Anyways, I wanted to share with you how kind my parents, husband and friends are to me.

My mom and I share a love for many of the same things and one of those things happens to be David Yurman. Ryan gave me a beautiful bracelet from David Yurman on our wedding day and I have been in love with his jewelry ever since. Well my mother took me to lunch today and surprised me with a beautiful new ring! It is the blue topaz stone which I have been lusting over and it is absolutely stunning. Thanks Mom and Dad!


I also want to thank everyone for the kind birthday wishes I have received today. It always amazes me by the amount of phone calls, emails and texts I receive on my birthday. My wonderful husband is also taking me out for a nice relaxing dinner this evening. I feel like we haven't been out just the two of us in a long time and I'm looking forward to a great meal with great company :)

62 pounds

My little boy Benny is only 62 pounds. What kind of lab only weights 62 pounds?!? Bennett had his visit to the vet this morning for his shots and routine check up. The vet says he's healthy and in great shape. She also says he's full grown. At 62 pounds. I think Ryan and I have been in denial about Bennett's size. I mean surely our male lab was going to be bigger than 62 pounds, right? Most male labs are at least 85 pounds. How did we end up with the shrimpo??

Oh well, he is pretty cute and if he was any bigger I guess he wouldn't be sharing the pillow with us anymore....

Boomer!

Tonight is the big game. The college football national championship game. Oklahoma Sooners vs. the Florida Gators.

I'm nervous. Big Game Bob has disappointed us the last few years in big games. Let's hope he can turn the tables around and earn his name back.

We're having people over to watch the game tonight. I know Alison (my other Sooner) will be wearing crimson. Other than that I'm afraid the crowd will be rooting for Florida. Who will Ryan root for? Let's hope he supports his wife's team and sports his OU polo. I've learned not to get my hopes up when it comes to Ryan and rooting for the Sooners. I'll keep you posted tomorrow....

May the best team win - BOOMER!

Best of 2008

As the new year is upon us, I've been thinking about all the great memories we made in 2008. I thought it would be fun to look back on our year, and in doing so, I realized how fortunate we are as we have traveled, celebrated weddings and spent time with our family and friends.

It is so great to have memories documented this way. I am grateful for all of you who stop by and take a peek into our lives. Please come back in 2009!

In January, Ryan and two of his sisters ran the Houston Marathon. During this month we also celebrated Aaron & Nicole's upcoming wedding with a couples shower at our house.

We traveled to Tulsa in February to visit Anna & Reid and attended their couples shower. We had a great time catching up with friends from college and as always had a good time with Anna, Reid and her family.

Benny’s first official swimming lesson was in March at the farm. Benny’s first attempt was when he was much younger and he went in a little too deep. We were afraid he was going to be scared of the water but that was not the case - we could barely keep him out!

In April, Nicole and Aaron finally said their vows after many years of dating. They are such good friends of ours and it was great to be a part of their wedding. It was such a fun weekend and we had a blast at all their wedding festivities.

We traveled to Tulsa again at the end of May to celebrate Anna & Reid's wedding. Anna is a sorority sister of mine and I was honored to be there for her big day. She was a beautiful bride and they had such a beautiful wedding.

Right after Anna & Reid's wedding we hopped on a plane to San Francisco to celebrate our first anniversary on June 2nd. We walked all around San Fran, tasted great wines in Napa, ate fabulous food, drove through Pebble Beach and hiked in Big Sur. We had such a great time in California and we're looking forward to going back.

The month of July was spent floating the river in New Braunfels, hanging out with friends and spending time with my cousins from up North.

We celebrated Benny's 1st Birthday in August. He loved his new toy but definitely not the party hat....

September was spent recovering from Hurricane Ike. Our house had some damage and we were without power for a week. We manged to have a good time at my parents despite the fact that it was hot, we were without power and we had no means of communication. However, we had plenty of good food from the grill and plenty of wine!

October was a slow month but we enjoyed the fall weather and most of our Saturdays were spent watching college football.

We had a much busier month in November as Ryan and I traveled to Chicago, Anna & Reid visited us and we celebrated Thanksgiving in Cabo with my family.

In December we spent our 2nd year together as a married couple. Most of our free time was spent with our families and we loved every minute of it.

Happy New Year from the Rudy's!