Vacation Recap

So I realize that is has been two weeks since my last post but we've been pretty busy over here in the Rudy household.  School has really picked up for Ryan this Spring and I started a new job with my company in March.  Needless to say, we've had a lot going on!  However, we did find time for a vacation :)

Last Monday, Ryan flew to Atlanta to meet his brother in laws for a guys trip.  After meeting up that Monday night they headed down to Augusta to watch the practice round of the Masters on Tuesday.  I'm pretty sure they had a great time and then decided to try their luck in golf and managed to get in a few rounds over the next couple of days.

On that Thursday I flew out to Kentucky with my sister in laws to all meet up in Lexington for a little weekend getaway.  One of Ryan's sisters and her family live there and we actually went up last April and then again in October to visit but this was the first time all the siblings were all able to make it together!  We started off the weekend by having a private tour of a beautiful horse farm on Friday morning.  It was a little windy but I think we all enjoyed listening to how everything works out there and seeing the sights.

That Friday afternoon the girls ventured off for a little shopping at the local boutiques and the boys went on out to Keeneland.  After a few hours we met the guys at the horse track to catch the final races.  The weather was absolutely perfect and it was great to just be outside.  Later that evening we cooked fajitas and played a little cornhole. 

On Saturday, we all dressed in our finest, had a mimosa or two to kick off the day and headed back out to Keeneland.  Once again, we could have not been luckier with the weather.  A few of us went a little early and I was able to walk around a take a few pics of the scenery. 

We had a few winners in our group that day but unfortantely Ryan and I didn't walk away as lucky. Oh well, at least we had fun trying, right?? Ryan didn't have quite the same attitude :)

Once again we had a great time visiting Lexington but I think the best part about our little vacation was being able to spend time with our family.

Benny and the Cow

Thoughts from Benny...

"Wow, Look at these big dogs.  Maybe I should go check out this big black one."

"He is a little bigger than me.  Oh well, I wonder if he wants to play chase...."

"Yikes! I don't think he wants to play..."

"Run!!!!!!!!"

Nicky T captured these shots last weekend at the farm and I thought they were too cute not to share :)

Life in the Country

This weekend we traded in our sporty little BMW for this:
 

Instead of our usual El Tiempo Margaritas or Black Box wine we drank Miller Lite :

Instead of shopping for furniture and accessories at Pottery Barn we hit up the antiques in Warrenton: 

Instead of our our pups being confined to a small crate with no room to even turn around they had 90 acres to roam: 

 Alison, Mark, Nicole, Aaron, Ryan and I along with all our pups traded in the city life for the country.  And we absolutely loved it.   

In all seriousness, Ryan's parents graciously hosted all our friends and our furry children for a weekend in the country at their Barn.  Ok,  if we are being serious I guess I'll admit that we don't really drive a BMW but I thought it would make more of a contrast with the Gator than the six year old Nissan Xterra that I actually drive....

Anyways, this weekend happened to be one of the two weeks out of the year for antiquing in Round Top and Ryan's mother took all of us girls out shopping on Saturday and we loved it!  It was quite an experience, and extremely overwhelming, but we truly had a great time.  We were exhausted after only a few short hours but the best part about this antiquing thing is that you get to drink beer while you shop.  Who would have known??

While the girls shopped the boys were hard at work building a work bench in the barn.  They didn't quite finish the project but I think they had a good time.  We spent the evening driving the Gator around chasing the cows, playing a few games of corn hole, spending time with the pups and just enjoying the beautiful weather.

I think it was a nice little getaway for all of us and I can guarantee we'll be back.  We may live in the city but I think we have a little country in all of us :)

Girls Weekend

One of my dear friends from college came to visit me this past weekend and as expected it was just like we were back together again in Norman living in the Alpha Chi house.  Well, we couldn't have done some of these things in the sorority house but either way, it was just great to be re-united  :)

Ryan had class all day Friday and Saturday so we were able to have almost a complete girls weekend full of shopping, laughter, eating, exercising and of course more eating.  I'll leave you with a few highlights and pictures from our fabulous weekend...

• We spent Thursday evening catching up at a local wine bar after I picked up Anna from the airport.  This was the first place of the weekend that someone asked us if we were sisters...
• Friday morning we hit up Lola's for a delicious breakfast and then took a vigorous six mile walk in attempts to burn off all the calories we just ate. 
• We then decided since it was 70 degrees outside that we should lay out by another sorority sister's apartment pool.  However, we drank all our fun fruity drinks before we even made it outside. 
• This led us to Costco in search of more Fresca and Crystal Light to make another batch.  Apparently you can't buy Fresca nor one pack of Crystal Light at Costco.  They would only sell us a box of about 90...
• Once our next batch of fun fruity drinks was finally made it was too chilly to lay out by the pool.  We still managed to finish the batch. 
• That evening Ryan treated Anna and I to a delicious Italian dinner.

• I will say that we look pretty red at dinner but I'm pretty sure it's not because of the sun...
• The next morning we attempted a kickbox class at 8:30 am.  I haven't giggled that hard in a work out class in a long time.  
• I'm also pretty sure the instructor had a crush on Anna as he kept yelling, "You can do it Anna!" Keep going!  Almost there!"  Again, I'm still giggling.  This was the second time someone asked us if we were sisters...
• We decided to hit up another Italian spot for lunch since we deserved it after the 90 min extreme workout class we had earlier that morning. 
• We then ventured out to the Galleria to do some shopping since it was pouring rain all afternoon.  We made several fun purchases and then decided we needed a break. 
• We decided Chili's would hit the spot and sat down for a margarita and chips and salsa.  This was the third time someone asked if we were sisters...
• Later that evening my sweet parents took Anna , Ryan and I out to dinner at a new local restaurant.  We had a great relaxing evening.

• The next morning we decided against any form of exercising and instead met a good friend for brunch.

• We managed to hang out there for about two hours.  That might have been because of the bottomless mimosas or the good company.  I think it's a little bit of both :)
• After brunch we hit up another favorite shopping spot in Houston and managed to make a few more purchases.   
• And.... it's a good thing I got paid today :)

Overall, we had a great weekend and made a ton of memories.  Thanks for coming Annie!  Looking forward to our next get together!

One last dinner...

This past Saturday night we had one last dinner as a family at my parents house.  They have lived there nearly 18 years and are moving out in two weeks.  This is the house my brother and I spent most of our childhood in and it's an odd feeling for my parents to move away from there.  We made a ton of great memories in that house and while I'll never forget them I'm also looking forward to all the new memories we're going to make.

To kick off our dinner we took a few "last" pictures in their backyard.  

My cute parents and their even cuter dogs :)

Ryan & Courtney - Georgia didn't make this picture but she'll make her appearance below...

Ryan, Benny and I - I'm pretty sure Bennett had his eye on the tennis ball..

And lastly I'll leave you with the person (err I mean dog) most excited about the new house.  As you can see, he has currently been restrained to a small little pond in their backyard for swimming....

And look - there's Georgia!

And now Benny has his very own pond in my parents new backyard.  See, no restraints now :)

The Brat is Back

Benny did it again.  I mentioned here how he chewed our couch pillow.  See exhibit 1.  Well he ate another one.  See exhibit 2.  And then he chewed the corner off the back pilllow of the couch.  See exhibit 3.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

 

 Exhibit 3

Shame on Benny the first time.  Maybe even the second time.  But shame on me the third time.  Needless to say, Benny is back in the crate.  For a long, long time.

Clearly, this pup thinks he owns the house....

Even though I'm out two pillows and part of my couch I still love the little guy.  Admit it, he does have a pretty cute face :)