Summer Cut

Yesterday I tool Lilly to get her summer cut, but not before I snapped this pic:

Then this morning, after I took Lilly in to wake Rick up, I heard in a strange voice "What's she doing?" I walked in to find this:
She LOVES him! She wakes him up with kisses every morning, and if she's not in the bed, he refuses to get up until I get her. I am pretty sure it is just an excuse for a little more sleep. So that's Lilly Bears summer cut! Happy Memorial Day weekend all!

Happy birthday Allison!

Last Saturday we went to Parkside, a new little bar in my old hood, to celebrate Allison's Birthday! We loved this place! So cute and fun. Thanks for inviting us, we have a new fav bar. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AL!

IP after party

After the wedding last weekend, we headed to the IP Casino where we were all staying to meet up with the crew. Good times were had by all!

Got to see my sweet maid of honor Traci and my friend Anastasia.
My fabulous fiance' and lifetime best friend are so funny together. They love to pick on each other, it means they like each other, I think? This makes me so happy!!!

Willis-Ashbaker Wedding

Last weekend we went to our friends Tom & Rachael's wedding in Pascagoula. Tom and I graduated high school together, and Rach and I have known each other since we were kids, and they both live in Bham now. This wedding was BEAUTIFUL! There were TONS of people there, one of which was my adorable mom!

And one of my best friends Aaron and his wife April. Funny note, Aaron and I were in preschool together at the same church where Tom & Rach were married. We sat together at the wedding and I thought my mom was going to cry. She said "I could just picture you and Aaron up there holding hands in the Christmas program when yall were 4." I am very lucky to have such an awesome life long friend.

You knew I had to toss in one if Ricky Bobby and me.

Oh, and my big teddy bear of a friend, Tanner! We were really good friends in college, and he just so happened to marry Rachael's sister. Tan and Katherine just had a little boy that looks JUST LIKE TANNER! It was so great to see him, and he reminded Rick that I was always just one of the guys. I am sure Rick was thrilled to hear that. LOVE IT!

I failed to get a picture of the bride and groom due to the large number of people there, so this is all I've got! The photographer did take one of RB and me with the happy couple so when I get that I will add that.

It was an awesome wedding, and great to see all the smiling faces of Goula. I LOVED catching up with all my friends parents too, they are such sweeties! Every time I see them they say, you know you and Rick can stay with us anytime. Just so sweet! Now the newlyweds are in the Dominican Republic at the same resort where RB and I got engaged!! CONGRATS ASHBAKERS!

Plenty to celebrate!

Friday before last we had a cookout because we have LOTS to celebrate. It was Eric & Stephen's birthdays, and the first time we've been able to celebrate our engagement with our Bham friends. (Really just an excuse to have everyone over!)

Rick with the birthday boys!
I'm not sure we were ready for this one.

Some of the crew.

All of these guys have been best friends since high school, and they still are. I have never seen a group of guy friends as close as these, it's pretty awesome!! I am so excited to be joining such an awesome group.

Thanks to everyone who came, we had a blast (which made wedding dress shopping a little difficult at 8 am the next morning).

Summer & Jon's wedding

Last weekend we went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for my sweet step-sisters wedding, and what a weekend! We stayed at the Beau Rivage, crawfish boil for the rehearsal dinner, good friends, new friends, family, wedding, beautiful weather, beautiful bride, FABULOUS WEEKEND WITH A FABULOUS COUPLE!!!

The happy, beautiful couple.
Ceremony in the backyard, PERFECT!
My georgous sister.

My Love!

Most of the bridesmaids in our yellow dresses.

Easter with the McKibbins 2010

Better late than never. Here are Claire and Andrew Easter Sunday.

And Rick and me.

McKibbin family celebrations!

Rick's dad took all the Bham McKibbins out to celebrate our engagement, and it was SO much fun to finally celebrate with family (since we were in another country and could only call a limited # of peeps.). Here is the crew:

Our Congrats cheesecake!
We also went to tell Rick's Grandmother Duffey and take her to dinner. She was SO excited, she said "I didn't think Richard would ever get married." It was so cute!

I am so lucky to be joining such a fabulous family. I love them all and can't wait to be a McKibbin!!!

A Chicago Bachelorette Weekend for sis

We got back from the Dominican at 12am Friday morning, I unpacked the swim suits, washed a load of clothes, repacked with sweaters, took a 5 hour nap, then I was back at the airport for my 10am flight to Chicago for my sweet step-sister Summer's Bachelorette weekend. I have to say I was EXHAUSTED and less than thrilled to be traveling again so soon, but it was WELL WORTH IT!!! What a weekend, I had a BLAST in the big city. I had more fun than I ever imagined. I didn't really know any of the girls going other than Summer and Stef, but we all were instant best friends, and I couldn't have picked a better group to be with. Friday, after shopping, Summer's Chi town friends hosted a shower, then we went to a fabulous bar. This bar had an adult game room (like chuck e cheese for adults), another area was a dueling piano bar, and downstairs was a dance club. I need one of these places in Bham. Saturday, was more shopping, then resting, then the DRAG SHOW!!!! I LOVED THE DRAG SHOW!!! I am telling you these men look hotter than some women I have met, and they really know how to work it!! I cannot express how much fun this was. After all that, it was off to a few bars, then night 2 of late night pizza. Enjoy the pics:

This really was the PERFECT weekend!!! The perfect ending to the perfect weekend was, in the cab ride Sunday, Summer puked in her cowboy boot she was carrying. Stef and I could not believe this was happening, but it was AWESOME!! I love you Summer and can't wait until the wedding next weekend!!!

Heather & Walker's wedding, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

We had a BLAST at the Excellence Resort Punta Cana, with all our friends celebrating The Adams/May Wedding!!! As you can see I took WAY TOO MANY pics. Everything was perfect and this was the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to by far. The trip was awesome, and I'm not just saying that because I came back engaged. It was definitely a trip to remember. Enjoy the pics:

Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Walker May, we adore you both! Thanks for providing the scene for our engagement (Rick asked Walker's permission to do it on his wedding trip, but waited until everyone from the wedding left Punta Cana).

WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!

While we were in the Dominican Republic for Walker & Heather's wedding ( I will post that later), Rick asked me to marry him, and I said YES!!!! We stayed a few extra days after everyone else left Punta Cana, and they day they all left we got engaged. We were sitting on the beach after dinner, the nightly show, and the beach party, and I said OK, I need to go to the ladies room, so lets go back to the room. He said well before we go, I need to ask you something. He dropped to one knee, and said "Will you marry me?" I thought he was kidding. I said, this is not a funny joke! He said I'm not kidding, and he reached in his pocket and put the most beautiful ring I have ever seen (I couldn't see it at the time because it was dark) on my finger. I have never been happier in my entire life!!!

This was the day after.

Isn't it AMAZING???
I just couldn't resist!!

I haven't stopped smiling yet!

I feel so lucky, happy, blessed, wonderful, excited, loved, I could go on for days. I just adore Rick, and can't wait to be his wife. We are thinking August, yes August of this year, but I will keep you posted.

Bathroom uptade: FINISHED......well almost!

Rick put a BIG push on finishing the bathroom before we leave for our trip, and we did! Well all we are waiting on is the shower curtain, and my mom is making that. So here is the pretty much finished product, and as you can see it's the little things that matter.

Like a toilet paper holder.

A mirror on the wall.
The light switch cover.
Towel rack and robe hook.

Oh, and PAINT (we went with a pale grey)! What do yall think of the pain color? And all the fixtures for that matter?

Showering Rachael & Tom

Last weekend we helped host a wedding shower for our friends Tom & Rachael at Rojo here in Birmingham. Tom and I graduated high school together, and Rach & my parents are friends from high school. Another happy Pascagoula couple (but here in Bham). We are so excited for them (especially since we set them up), and can't wait for the wedding May 8, in Goula.

This is the only pic I have from the shower, and I look HORRIBLE, Sorry!

2 years!

2 years ago today I went on my first date with Rick! My how time flies when you're having fun, and that I have. I just adore him!

Heather's Bachelorette

Last weekend Kelly and I headed to Nashville to celebrate Heather's last nights as a single lady.

Party's not complete without a limo.
I was so excited to see Cam!

A friend of ours owns the Stage on Broadway, and was nice enough to reserve us some prime tables. THANKS BRAD!!! (As you can see heather was excited about this)

What a fun night, that's all I have to say. Now just counting down the days until we all are in the Dominican Republic!!!!

Biggest deal of the bathroom....THE MIRROR

We looked EVERYWHERE for the perfect mirror for the new bathroom, I mean everywhere, with no luck. The problems was that it had to be approximately 30" x 42", and we were looking for brushed nickel, or towards the end white, or some color to match the cabinets. I did find one that was perfect, but it was $589! Rick said absolutely not. Then I found this one at Pottery Barn for $329, and we thought what a deal, right?

In the parking lot of Pottery Barn I said, lets just run to Homegoods and just see what they have. Rick was over it, and just wanted to get the mirror and go. After talking him into it LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!!!!

The above mirror was ONLY $29.99!!! I said, Rick lets make sure to get a good one without any scratches, he said, we got a good one, IT'S $29.99!

We also found this one, and decided to get it too, just in case the brushed nickel one didn't look good with whatever shade of gray I decided to paint the walls. This beauty was only $59.99. So in total with both mirrors we only spent $100. MUCH better than the $350 we would have spent at PB, and we are returning whichever one doesn't work. I WAS SO PROUD of myself! I think Rick was excited too, but he doesn't show too much excitement ever, so I had to share with you guys. YAY ME!!! My mom taught me well. I another bargin story to tell on the shower curtain but that will come later.

Busy Mississippi Weekend

Rick and I had a VERY BUSY WEEKEND in Mississip! Friday we stopped in Hattiesburg to stay with Fancy and celebrate her birthday. Then Saturday we headed south to Pascagoula. We went to see my older brother's new house he's building, and visit for a little while. Saturday night was one of my favorite people, Brent Lachaussee's wedding. Brent & Leslie's wedding was so nice, and we got to catch up with tons of my fabulous friends from Goula. After the wedding we headed to the casinos to meet up with Traci and the crew to celebrate her birthday. Traci and I have been friends since she was born, so this was a big birthday. Not many 30 year olds can say they have a best friend of 30 years. Sunday, I helped host a shower for my sweet step sis, Summer, in Biloxi. What a weekend! Rick and I were exhausted, but we squeezed a LOT into our 48 hours in Mississip. I'm already missing the coast! It was GREAT to see everyone, and we will be back for Summer's wedding April 16th weekend to do it all over again. CAN'T WAIT!

Bathroom update after who knows how long...

I haven't posted the latest pics of the bathroom, mostly because the updates were slow and small. So here is what it looks like as of this morning.

This is a temporary mirror we already had, so that little guy is not staying. We are still looking for a large mirror, unfortunately the only one I found was $600, and Rick said NO WAY! So still on the hunt. Before he left for a bachelor party in Orlando last weekend he installed the light, and I LOVE IT!! It was cheap, and EXACTLY what we looked all over for!

Oh, the faucet. Well the guys put the WRONG holes in the marble counter tops, and I was VERY sad about it. So we had to send the original faucet that I loved back because it would not fit, and we had to get this one, that I do not love. We had planned to have a widespread setting, since we had a long sink, and this one was a real pain. It took Rick about 10 hours to install it because the settings were so close together. In the long run, it doesn't matter, and it's done.

Everything is really coming together.

Rick has worked SO HARD on this project, and he has done a FABULOUS job. I am a lucky girl! All we have left is the shower curtain, painting the top half of the walls, and hardware (towel rack, toilet paper holder, etc.). Stay tuned.