Wednesday, December 19, 2012

My sister knows me well


Sisters from left to right--Lauren, Katelyn, Gretchen, Me

My sister, Lauren.

She's two years younger than me. Out of all five of us siblings, we are the closest in age.

However, we were not very close growing up. In fact, I remember despising each other at times. We each had different skills and interests that we excelled in. But there was always this sense of "competition" between who could be better at their certain skill set. We would quietly steal each others clothes and find out later when a picture would turn up of me wearing her shirt without permission, or her wearing my hat--boy do I remember how mad that made me! We would race each other to the shower in the mornings before school to maximize the time spent getting ready. And we especially had a hard time "sharing" the same friends.




But, ever since we both graduated college, got married and moved on in life, we are truly two peas in a pod. 

Sisters and friends for life.



It's more than just understanding each other. We've walked through rough times together. We've bonded on so many more levels than I ever knew existed. Part of me wishes we would have been nicer to each other in our growing up years. But the other part knows that looking back doesn't matter. What matters is the now. 



One thing we definitely have in common is decorating. Really, anything home-related. We've been known to tell the other about a new light fixture we just bought, only to find out the other already bought it! True story.

And when it comes to home improvement, nobody does a better job than Lauren and Dave (her hubby).


Just to give you an idea, here's what they've done to their house...



 This is not a joke. Their old house is hiding in there somewhere!



Anyway, this is how much my little Lauren loves us...

While Greg and I were on our cruise, sneaky little LoLo brought her hubby to our house to get to work. When Greg and I arrived home last Saturday night here's the first thing we saw..



In case you're not sure what your're looking at...

It's a BRAND NEW FREAKING GARAGE DOOR! Purchased and installed by Lauren and Dave.

Ours used to be a lovely poop brown color, with a motor that decided to quit working this past July. We wanted to replace it before winter but...you know how projects go around here. Wasn't gonna happen.

Anyway, Lauren got us the exact {carriage style} door I would have picked out myself!!




This is just one example of how well my sister knows me. She knows my style without even asking, she studies my life and knows that Greg does not have extra time to work on our house, and she knows I absolutely LOVE surprises. :)

Thank you LoLo. 

I love you little sis.

***

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Cruisin' with friends

We've never been on a cruise. So when our college buddies suggested the idea of taking a trip all together (sans kids) we were all in!

The timing was absolutely perfect. All of our kids were just the right age to leave behind. Not old enough to be in school yet, but not babies either. And more importantly none of us girls were pregnant! Perfect timing.

And I know what you're thinking. 

Didn't you just go on vacation to Mexico not too long ago?? Umm yes. Yes we did. Greg had a work-related trip that turned out to be even better than our honeymoon!

For people like us, who rarely go on vacation, we felt incredibly blessed to take two tropical vacations just 2 months apart. And as I've mentioned it before, our marriage has needed them this year. Big time.

So without further adieu, I give you the... 

SagPowDer 
{3 letters from each of our last names} 
Cruise 2012

(be sure to scroll down so you don't miss the funny video)



So excited to spend a week together!



This was my FIRST visit to Florida. Our ship left out of Miami.












Dressing up for formal night!












The guys were in heaven...



The food was goooooooooooooood. To say the least.








So great to spend a solid week with my hubby again.














Playing cards is a MUST with this group. 



The dynamic duo winning their trivia game!














Lots of fun times spent here listening to comedy and karaoke. Justin and Aaron even shared the spotlight singing a hilarious rendition of "Let's Make Love"....





We were dancing fools.









Spent a couple days playing some beach volleyball. We have a pretty competitive group with some serious skills so that made it extra fun! And surprisingly it only resulted in one injury. Greg getting a bloody nose b/c he blocked a ball with his face. Awesome.


























Allison suggested we take this same pic in 30 years. How fun would that be?!









Greg, Aaron and Cathi body surfing in the Bahamas. They were a bunch of 12 year olds out there. So funny to watch them.




We got as close to Atlantis as we could just to snap a pic in front of it. Looks like an unbelievable resort!









I love me some cappuccino.









Goofballs.




Our last night on the ship. We were extra giggly that night!




Learning the wobble dance.











Tuckered out and heading home.




After hearing about the horrible events on Friday in CT, we definitely gave our kids extra hugs when we finally arrived home that night. In the midst of having such a great trip is was such devastating news to hear.

I will also say if you've never been on a cruise be prepared to "recover" afterwards! I was still swaying back and forth like crazy for a solid two days after we got off the ship. No one from the group got sea sick but make sure to pack some meds for motion sickness just in case!

Other than that it was a total BLAST! There is so much to do on a cruise it's unreal. I think going with a group makes it more enjoyable b/c you might do more than if you were just with your spouse. That's my opinion anyway. 

Now, it's the mad dash for Christmas!! I still have some shopping to do and we have back to back to back parties leading up to the 25th, so you may or may not hear from me until next week. 

***

Monday, December 17, 2012

So we have these friends...

You may recall this pic...

circa 2005--at our wedding rehearsal dinner

All six of us went to the same college. 



Us girls were teammates...

Cathi & me                                              Allison & Cathi                                                me & Allison




Our boyfriends became friends b/c either (a) they traveled to our games/ meets together or (b) they were roommates at one time or another.






In a nut shell, we all became friends in college, got married, and each had 2 kids around the same time (not planned at all btw)...

March 2011



It still baffles me how that all worked out without even talking about it...




We've been able to live {somewhat} close to each other and make it a priority to get-together a few times a year if we can. 

It's amazing how much life can change after college. 


And it's so cool to see how this group of friends has remained close after all these years. 

We just got back from a cruise this past week (which I'll post on tomorrow). Just the six of us without our kids, acting as MUCH like kids as we possibly could.




It was a trip we'll never forget.

God is so good.

***