Derby Day Wedding Anyone???

It happened..it finally happened...a man by the name of Chris finally stole the heart of my betsie and convinced her to marry him..(haha)

I know some of your are reading this in disbelief...but Jacqueline Coleman my friend for closer to 20 years than 10 is now a married woman!

I was lucky enough to be a part of this amazing day..it took place at "the farm" a place that is very near and dear to several peoples hearts...if you have never been out to the farm it is somewhat hard to put into words..it is breath-taking and somewhere you just feel at ease..a place you can take a nice deep breath in and exhale all of life's troubles...

The farm is one of my most favorite places..it is a place I have spent alot of time....had several plate fulls of "Jack's" homemade pancakes, tried out for the KY derby, celebrated many special times in life , and now got to watch my betsie say "I DO"

Jacqueline and Chris were married on Derby Saturday 2011...

The weather had been chilly earlier in the week but the sun came out and everything was perfect for their big day. They were married on the front lawn surrounded by a small group of family and friends. Then after the wedding we had mint juleps and went to the barn to watch the Derby.

We had brisket, BBQ chicken, corn muffins, etc- some good old fashioned cooking..and it was tasty. We had dinner, dancing, tequila, and lots of laughs...

Because did I mention we had multi-talented people there..Sid the guy who cooked the meat was also the DJ...and this was not something that was planned..something that just kind of happened...and well it worked...it was hilarious...

He was a great commentator...i heard things like ..pimp my barn...comparing the wedding to the Royal wedding..the list goes on and on...but everyone was definitely entertained.

TC was able to come in for the wedding and I was so exited..it was the first time I had seen him in a month..so it was nice to just let loose and enjoy a night of dancing with my cute hubby.

TC finally got to meet several people he had heard me talk of before...Jimmy and James Dunn made sure to break him in right and pulled out all their fancy dance moves for the big occasion...I really think James and Jack should take their dance moves on the road..

Then as we were leaving Jack...kissed tc on the cheek..hehe..too funny..i think he was just so relieved they had survived.

I am attaching pics of the wedding...however words can not describe how breathtaking jacqueline, chris, will, and nate were!!

It was a fabulous time...those Coleman's really know how to throw a party!!

just a quick note

just had a fun evening out at dodgers stadium...I will post about this with pics later on...

just missing all the little people in my life...

if i could give one piece of advice...don't take for granted when they are young...

i never thought i could love anything like I love my sydney (and now my newest addition- sawyer-bugg). i remember the first time i laid eyes on both of them...

my big sis took syd to a princess tea party this week and syd was telling me all about it and asked if the airplane could bring me back from CA so i could spend the night in her bed with her and have a "girls day"

then the other night alison said she was laying in bed saying..i miss my karen...

this is the roughest part of being away..missing time with my little miss...

most of my fondest memories over the past 3 years include her...

so it has been a hard week..i am really missing her and it is so hard to explain to her (even though tc and i are convinced she is the smartest 3 year old in the world) why we cant see her every weekend...

Hoping to get to skype with her this weekend and so I can see how big Sawyer is getting..

I have pics coming to share with everyone.

Much love to everyone and remember to spend time with your family and loved ones on this holiday weekend!!

What Happens in Vegas....

Hello All Reporting to you from Valencia CA (which I recently learned was self named Awesome Town..I know not very original..)

This was probably the most fun vacation thus far TC and I have taken..

It was a little different than we expected because I was in KY...but hey it was a good time

So on one Thursday afternoon I flew from Louisville to LAX...and got to stay the night at my house..

then the next morning we woke up and hit the ground running...we were so excited for our fun filled road trip.

I would love to say I have attached pics of the drive from LA to Vegas..but I am not because it would probably put you to sleep..and like my dad says.."once you have seen one cactus you have seen them all.." same goes with Joshua trees!! After about ohh 10 miles..i was like this is cool...oh neat...um then i was over it.

We got there right at check in on Friday- My hubby got us a great deal on a 3 night package at the Encore which is in with the Wynn- just more modern.

If you get time you should definitely google Encore..it was amazing

As soon as we walked in the door we were hit with the vibrant colors and decorations...the color scheme was reds, purples, and butterflies..it was so amazing.

We were starving so we grabbed some lunch at a tapas restaurant in the hotel which was pretty good.

Friday night we just went out and explored...our hotel and some other hotels (The Cosmopolitan). Saturday we were up early and out to the amazing pool...talk about relaxing...

Then we got ready and went to La Reve (a cirque De Soleil production which took place in water) If you have never seen a Cirque show you simply must put it on your list of things to do..it will amaze you...

Then TC and I decided to hit the town...we went to a club an spent the whole night dancing and hanging out...WE HAD A BLAST...

We met another couple and just danced the night away...

Sunday we slept in..(basically we were bums) we decided around lunch time to hit the pool again where we ordered some fruity drinks...(at this point and time I was trying to figure out if we could sell the house how long we could both be unemployed and just stay in Vegas on vacation) But since I am writing this from CA...you know that plan never materialized...

Then our last night in Vegas my hubby took me to a nice Italian Restaurant...our meals were both incredible..TC had Risotto (which I had never had...and it was tasty).

After that we decided to continue exploring our hotel..just when you think you have seen everything you see something new!

At this point we still had not gambled a single dime..haha

But on Monday morning we decided we could not leave Vegas and not gamble so we took 40 bucks- I picked roulette and TC picked black jack. TC won 3 straight hands of black jack..(you are probably saying to yourself..that Karen is his lucky charm) and while part of that is true my hubby has SKILLS..haha

Then I started winning in roulette...in 15 minutes we won 100 bucks on top of our 40 so we walked away and cashed in our good fortune.

At this point it was time for us to say good bye to each other as he was dropping me off at the Vegas airport to go back to KY and he was headed home to CA...have i mentioned these goodbyes get rather old...

We will be heading back to Vegas in Sept to meet my parents and bring them back with us to CA...so we are looking forward to exploring some other hotels.

My betsie-Jacqueline and I went to Vegas to celebrate our 25th bdays...and we were rock stars...now this trip was a little different it was still a blast..and I am looking forward to my sidekick coming to visit so we can hit up the town again! HINT HINT - jack and Chris!!

Attaching pics as usual for your viewing pleasure

Are things really bigger in Texas???

Well In April on our whirlwind month of travels- TC and I headed to San Antonio to watch his sister Eva get married and for some sight-seeing. I have never been to Texas but TC was actually stationed in Texas for a little bit with the military...

We arrived on Friday night..I was late getting in of course because I flew Delta (they should let me do their campaign Slogan - D is for don't do it...E is for every time..every time they will be late or loose your luggage L- if it is your absolute Last chance T is for taking your money and you get no customer service in return and A is for always- always fly southwest.

We went straight to the rehearsal dinner- it was at a lovely park and it is always nice to get to see family we don't see as often as we would like to.

Friday night we went to dinner at the oldest Mexican Restaurant on the River Walk- which name is totally escaping me right now..but it was pretty good. Funny story Myrna and EJ (tc parents) were also in town for the wedding...we were dropping them off at what we thought to be their hotel..we dropped them off and were pulling out haha then we saw Myrna running towards the car chasing us...we totally dropped them off at the wrong hotel (it had been a long night)

Saturday we got up late and went to this amazing hole in the wall restaurant because we missed breakfast time at all the other restaurants- they had homemade corn tortillas and we made our own breakfast burrito..it was so yummy...

Then we walked around the river walk...and I got to enjoy the sights of Texas (however my husband still owes me a ride on the boats around the river walk which I will be reminding him often. So even though we were in Texas in April it was already very hot and humid..I would hate to be there in July.

After a partial day of exploring we had to get ready for the Main Event- Eva's wedding

There we got to hang out with TC's brother David and wife Melissa and their two children Brooke and Meghan...whom LOVED their uncle TC

Also his nieces China and Celeste were there (Eva's Children) and Celeste's son Jackson- I was like wow TC you are old..you have a great nephew...

I always love weddings and it was nice to be surrounded by family that night

Well Saturday night was the Final Four where UK was playing Butler...we were trying to find a sports Bar to watch it..and in TX they are not smoke free and I am a snob when it comes to that...So I put on my UK shirt and tried Really Hard to cheer my Kentucky Wildcats to victory...as we all know the outcome was not good.

Sunday more sight-seeing and then we had lunch at an amazing restaurant- Boudreaux

They made guacamole table side- for those of you who love this stuff like I do..they had a interesting twist..they put not only lime in it..but orange..and also some fire roasted tomatoes...it was so yummy. They are also known for their prickly pear margaritas...so my husband had 2 one for me and 1 for him..haha..he loved them..I think he would go back to TX for that drink alone.

Then it was off to find a present for Sydney- well as soon as TC saw it..he knew it had to be ours...A pink guitar(i am attaching pics). Syd loves music class at school as she has a drum set, microphone..and so it is only sensible that a 3 year old needs a guitar right??

Also something that was interesting when we were walking around...I saw what i thought to be a rat on the street..just sitting there...kinda weird right?? Well then all of a sudden this guys starts yelling its mine..it is my pet it fell out of my pocket..okay mister..trust me I don't want to steal your rodent...I am also attaching pics

Then later that night we went to hang with TC's brother, wife, children, and parents...it was really nice

Monday was a sad time it meant that TC and I would have to be separated again..and that is tough..it never gets any easier... Also as we were leaving the hotel their was this strong wind storm. I really felt like we were in a Wild West Movie- tumbleweeds blowing- could not see due to all the sand being thrown away..it was definitely interesting.

So he went off to fly on Southwest while I got stuck on Delta-

Let me again stress how you should never send anyone you care about on Delta Airlines-

I was stranded in Atlanta airport for 12 hours....

I don't think I could even send my worst enemy on Delta..so if you gather anything from this blog it is DON'T FLY DELTA....

We had such a wonderful trip and I am so glad I got to explore Texas with my hubby!! Stay tuned for my next blog it will be about our Las Vegas Trip!!

Much love to everyone back In KY- I will be home in Oct for 2 weeks so I hope to see as many people as possible!!