4th of July

We had such a great weekend. My in laws came up on Friday, and we had a fun night as the Harms unit. We even got a visit from my Brother-in-law! It was great to all be together. On Saturday we left for Perry, to see Ryan's Dad's side of the family in Perry, OK. We got to see Ryan's grandma and cousins! It was very fun, and that night we went to stay with Ryan's other Grandma in Ponca City. Then, we went to see Ryan's best friend in Stillwater. They had just moved there from Alaska! We are so excited they are close again, and they have the cutest little 8 month old, Charles. He is so adorable and right about now I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of the cuteness.

Then, we went to my parent's NEW house! They had just moved out of the house we lived in for 17 years! It was quite the move, but they are doing a great job of putting everything back together and settling into their new home. I love it! We even squeezed in a quick visit with our good friends from college, the Hejls.

So we saw a LOT of people! It was very fun. And I just keep getting bigger....
(Not my favorite picture....I look ragged and for some reason there is a stick in between my legs, but oh well..)

And check out what we got...

Ryan's Great Grandfather made it long ago! Isn't it sweet? And it will go perfectly in our playroom.

Next Saturday is my first baby shower. Eek...I guess we're really having a baby!

Hope you had a great 4th! We did. :)

Babymoon

Ryan and I had a marvelous time in Hot Springs, AR at Bartee Meadow Bed & Breakfast. It makes me miss it just talking about it! Everything about this place was just delightful. Here are a few reasons I loved it: 

1. An adorable, cozy cabin with a beautiful view. 

 2. This guy was there with me. Here he is outside the cabin, which was so cutely decorated for Easter.

3. Little touches, like our names EVERYWHERE, welcoming us, wishing us goodnight, etc.

5. A hot tub on our back porch!

6. A delicious steak dinner with my favorite guy.

7. A picnic! After which I owned Ryan in a game of Horse.

 7. Sparkling cider and cookies on our last night, which we consumed wearing our fluffy white robes that were provided. We lived in those!

It was so wonderful and relaxing. No dogs, no cooking, no noise, and only a little rain. (But even the rain was romantic!) I love my man!

(Ignore my white arm. Please. For my sake.)

We got bored...

This is a long overdue post, but when it snowed like crazy, we got bored. Ryan and I both stayed home from work, and shenanigans ensued. See below.

We dressed up our dogs.

Resourcefully cooked.

Pancakes. Training for when we have kids. (My Dad always make us initial pancakes)

I wanted to do a puzzle. Ryan did not.

Read funny things at WhenParentsText.com

The dogs got a little stir-crazy, too.... 

Gotta go....Sadie is trying to drag Lewis around the house.

Happy Birthday, Memaw!!

Ryan's Memaw turned 80 yesterday! We had a party for her on Saturday, and got to spend time with lots of family. It was great to see everyone! Happy Birthday, Memaw!

On the way home from Ponca City, I snapped this of the sunset...

So pretty!!

It was such a great weekend. I got to see some people that I haven't seen in years! It was so great to see everyone. 

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

Sea World, I love you.

We took a trip with some good friends this past weekend to San Antonio. Despite one awful pull-out couch, scorching triple-digit heat,  and seeing too many people that needed to put more clothes on....we had a great time! 

The girls

Waiting for a show to start....

The whole gang at Salt Lick, this awesome barbeque place in Round Rock. It was so good!!

Baby sea lions!! So adorable.

We had so much fun with our friends. It was nice to get away for a weekend and enjoy great Mexican food, friends and of course, Shamu!

Favorite Awkward Summer Pictures

In London, on the way to Wicked. Oh, how I wish I was doing that now....

On the boat. Ignore my fat hand. Such a contrast from my last post. I have hand issues. 

Me and Allissa ON A BOAT.

So that was nice and grand, but I thought it would be more fun to post some awkward summer pictures. 

Needless to say, I wasn't ready. This is in Cinque Terre.

Again, not ready. This is in Paris.

For some reason, I thought I only needed to take a picture of the back half of the lion? This is in Trafalgar Square in London. 

This is not really awkward, but just plain weird. In Cinque Terre. 

You should share your summer awkward pictures....it's fun. 

I guess I should post on this thing...

Europe in pictures....

London

Rome

Paris

London 

Cinque Terre

Rome

Venice

Austria or Italy?

I was SO close. So close to having our Europe trip completely planned. It was London, Paris, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Rome. After planning London and Paris, I started working on Venice.

And then I discovered that Venice is expensive and crowded, and that we would be there on May 1st, which is Labor Day. My book said it is usually very booked and expensive. Then my eyes wandered to the Austria section of my book...

Italy: Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Rome

or....

Austria: Vienna, Salzburg....SOUND OF MUSIC

Cast your vote...PLEASE. Really, I need help. Cause when I freak out and can't decide, Ryan says..

"We will do whatever you want, babe."

I never thought hearing THAT would stress me out. :)

Much love,

Allison

Planning our Europe Trip

I am in the process of planning the Europe trip. We are planning to go sometime in 2010. Spring or early summer. There are so many places I want to see, so I have been trying to narrow it down as best I can. Here is what I know....

1. I want to go on the Sound of Music Tour-- Salzburg
2. I want to see Mozart's Birthplace and House, and where he composed the Salzburg Symphonies and parts of The Magic Flute. --Salzburg
3. See as many places from the Sound of Music movie as possible-- Salzburg.

So that is what I know. Salzburg is a go. The rest is up in the air. Other thoughts....

1. During college, studying music history, I had a huge desire to go to Venice, Italy. I know I want to see at least one city in Italy. But which one....
2. Ryan has never been to Ireland and Scotland, and I hear good things about them, so I that is an option.
3. I want to see London..Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and also we could see Broadway shows, which I LOVE.
4. Paris is an option, and Ryan says we could see it in 2 days max. I want to see the Eiffel Tower, of course.
5. I also don't want to overwhelm myself, but I don't want to waste a trip where I get to pick where we go. Decisions, decisions!

So many thoughts....Can't decide! I need a first time Europe survival counselor.

So that's where I stand. Back to my research!

Much love,
Allison

Staycation starts tonight!

Tonight Ryan's parents arrive, and our "staycation" begins! We are going to the lake tomorrow and renting jet skis! I cannot tell you how excited I am for this weekend! 

Goals for this weekend: 

1. Laugh. 

2. Relax.  

3. Go see movies!

4. Not worry about work. 

5. Get Ryan to install a ceiling fan 

(Don't tell Ryan about number 5. It is a surprise. Muhaha.)

In other news, I made it on Mandy's photo blog. :-)

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend!

Much love, 

Allison

Our Staycation

A very reliable source (cough, Wikipedia, which I used to tell my students is NOT a reliable source, so really I am joking) calls a "stay-cation".....

staycation (or stay-cation, or stacation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions.

We are going to take one! For Fourth of July weekend, we had been planning to go to Houston to be with Ryan's family. We have not spent nearly enough time with them this year! We have been finalizing plans, but have decided that they will come here to Dallas and we will rent jet skiis! I am so very excited. I have been itching for a vacation, but this is more exciting to me, because I don't have to worry about packing, or what to do with the dog, or how much money we will spend on eating out. I am SUPER excited. 

Do you buy the staycation? Do you think that it doesn't count? Would you go on one? If you live in a boring place, is a staycation not possible?

Or I guess a more important question is.....When will Jillian see that Wes is a fame-hungry jerk?

Much love, 

Allison

Where should I go in Europe?

HELP! 

Ryan and I have been saving and planning for a trip to Europe for quite a while. We are planning to go at the beginning of 2010. (Doesn't 2010 sound so far away? I can't believe that is next year.) Ryan has told me that he will take me wherever. He has traveled ALL OVER, so he said he would go anywhere he has already gone, or go somewhere he hasn't. I know I have friends out there who have traveled and studied abroad. Where should I go? 

These are some places I am interested in......

Vienna, London, Rome, Venice, Austria, Salzburg (Mozart!!!! eeeee), or maybe New Zealand (I know that sounds random in this list)

Now, I have been researching this. Rick Steves is my new friend. But there are so many options....and I decided that maybe you can give me some insight. Thoughts? :) 

Much love, 

Allison

San Antonaversary!

Ryan and I went on our one year anniversary trip! We went to San Antonio, thus the title...San Antonaversary! (From FRIENDS....anyone?) That is what we called it. And boy, did we have a blast. We did. Fo real.

We went to Six flags and rode some great roller coasters, and went to the water park there. Which was called White Water!

White Water!? We have one of those in OKC! My fam and I went their all the time in the summers! It ruled. But, I digress.

We went to Sea World! Which was the best. I LOVE SEA WORLD. Give me a dead fish and a dolphin or sea lion to feed and I am THERE.

See below. Apparently my make-up had worn off. You can also see a video at the bottom of this post.

I took over 300 pictures. Yes, 300. It was insane! If you would like to see them go here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026037&l=3eb31&id=168301255

and here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026035&l=1eb2d&id=168301255

If this is your first time reading my blog, welcome!

Much love,

Allison

Ron's Auto Shop

Let me tell you a story about a typical Kelly family vacation. This was our first vacation where we included Ryan, and boy, was it interesting. Our lovely Dodge caravan just could not take another trip. I actually cannot remember the last time we took a driving trip where we didn't have van trouble. Anyway, so we are driving along in Branson, MO, and my Dad sees the "Service Engine Soon" light. He calls the dealer, which isn't open and after a few phone calls we get connected with Ron's Auto Shop, who says they will work on it. Cool. So we head there, and it is a house. A blue house with a guy named John with a blue shirt wide open and a Love tattoo on his right peck. Yum. He says he can fix it, but he has to get the parts. And so begins our wild goose chase to make it to the show we had bought tickets to and rent a car, because we can't drive ours. John lets my parents take his car to go rent US a car.....and it is a old 80s looking-red convertable with the words "Fear This" across the windshield. The image of my parents in the "Fear This" convertable is the best thing I have ever seen. What a trip.