Headed South!

The weekend getaway we've been {waiting} for is finally here!! Tomorrow afternoon Megan, Audra, Christie and I are headed South to meet up with Amber and spend the weekend doing total GIRL things!! It's a celebration of our 30th birthdays!

We have a hotel in Tulsa for two nights, and are looking forward to eating out, shopping, going to the movie, and just catching up. All of these things without kids!! I will miss my Little Bear oh-so-much, but I am excited for a girls weekend, and the chance to relax and do some things without him attached to my leg :) He'll have more fun at home with Daddy, anyway!

The thing I am most looking forward to: THE SPA!! I have had several massages in my day, but I have never been to a real luxurious spa, where you get more than one treatment. The girls and I researched spas for months...literally! Once we finally picked one, we all had to decide on our services, so we could call and make our reservations. I have been saving up my birthday and Christmas money just for this! I am getting a Citrus Crystal Body Polish, a Revitalizing Scalp Treatment, and a Milk & Honey Soak Pedicure. Mmmm...

Thank you Justin, for being an awesome hubby and daddy, and letting me take this trip. I know Barrett will be just fine at home with you, and you will both have a great weekend! You have Gigi, Grandma and Mimi, if you need back-up...but I'm sure you'll do fine.

Off to pack and get ready for departure!

But first, I had to have a little fun....

Just did this little {Look Alike Meter} for fun! I saw it on my blog friend (you know the ones you call "friends" but have never met in real life?!?) Adrianne's blog :)

I had some issues getting the pictures to load, so these were the best choices I could get to work. I was shocked to see my child "looks equally like mom and dad." Myself and everyone else I know thinks he is the spittin' image of Justin. Maybe when I have more time and patience, I'll try some different pictures.

Building a "no-man"

We finally had a day when it wasn't so blustering cold, and we were able to take Barrett out to play! We got all bundled up and ventured out into the snow. The wind wasn't blowing, and the sunshine felt so good!

He wasn't scared to walk around in the snow at all. Some of the drifts by our driveway were pretty deep though...almost to his knees. I was afraid he was going to loose a boot every time he took a step through it. He would pick up handfuls of snow and say "cooold." Of course, he wanted to make a "no-man."

We hope your first time playing in the snow, and building a snowman was all you ever dreamed, Little Bear! One of these winters, you'll be sledding down big hills with Daddy! He's like a "big kid" when it comes to playing in the snow. Just wait!

Really...it's 2010?!?!

I'm sure everyone feels a little bit the same way! The years really do just fly by. Sometimes the months feel like they drag on, but then when I look back, I'm always amazed at how fast life goes by. It really does seem like just a couple years ago we were going from 1999 to 2000!! I celebrated that New Year as a sophomore at Kansas State.

I love that I get to celebrate every New Year with my some of my favorite people! My friend, Megan, and her husband always host a get-together at their house. It's Brent's {favorite} time of year! Some years, we have quite a few people show up. Some years, we're all pregnant, and it's pretty low-key. Some years, it's just a small crowd...but we always have fun! This year it was a small crowd, and two of the ladies were prego.

We dropped Barrett of at Gigi & Papa's to stay the night, since we would be out late. Then we met Audra and Kane for dinner at the new Pizza Hut Wing Street. After dinner we all headed to Megan & Brents. We had more food: spin/dill dip, popcorn, crackers, cream puffs, eclairs, peanuts and black eyed peas dip.

Every year (as in this year and last), I have my mom take our family picture in front of her tree. Here is our last family picture of 2009!

Obviously need to take the red eye out of that first one!

It's a NEW year, and I have lots I can't wait to blog about! Right now, I'm in a bit of a funk! I always get a little depressed right after the holiday hullabaloo is all over. I am so sad to have to take down my Christmas stuff. I usually wait until the Sunday after New Years...and that would be today! So when Barrett goes to bed tonight, I'll have him say "bye-bye" to the Christmas tree. He'll be so sad. He loves running out every morning to turn it on. I'll miss the warm glow of those white twinkling lights, it's just so cozy!

I am ready to get clean and organized in the new year though! I was up until 4am last night/this morning...so I could have totally justified a nap today. Instead I orange oiled all of my kitchen cabinets and deep cleaned the counters and floors! I guess I'm off to a good start at getting out of the funk! Hoping to paint the kitchen sometime this month, before my photo sessions pick back up. My office needs a major overhaul too, and I've been working like crazy to revamp my business website, blog and pricing/packaging. It is a big job...but I hope to have it all finished this month.

I just feel like I have so many things on my to-do list...my head is SPINNING! Did I mention Barrett turns two in just a couple weeks, so I'm busy planning a cowboy party?!?! Invitations, decorations, cupcakes, favors, the monkey picture banner and of course the annual birthday slideshow! That is why I was up all night! I started and finished the 2nd year slideshow all last night!! I will share that later. Before I started that, I took a few minutes to watch his 1st year slideshow...and I was ballin' like a big baby!

Okay, this is a lot of random rambling! See, my brain is fried...and very tired! I'll be sharing more from the party planning soon!