Christmas Craziness..

I have to admit, this was maybe the most craziness, yet relaxing, Christmas I have had in awhile. As a family we decided to get together for Christmas a couple days early so everyone could be there at one time. It was so great to see everyone. We started Christmas with the entire Schartz family coming to GB for a huge celebration. It went very well and it is always so good to see so much family. It seems like every time we meet up, there is always a new face joining the family. I love getting to see my cousins and it's so hard to believe the next generation is now becoming what we all once were.
After that, my family all got together for "Christmas Eve". With two 2 1/2 year olds and 2 under a year, Christmas isn't quite the same. The best word to describe it would be..chaos! I love them all, and so blessed I got to be with them as long a I did, but wow, how our lives have changed!! :) After the kids went to bed, we were able to play games and enjoy some quiet time!
The next morning, we woke up to many presents and two VERY excited little boys! I do have to admit, watching them unwrap and get so excited really showed how awesome life is! After we opened gifts and had some lunch, we all went our different ways. I headed to Lindsborg for the night and got to enjoy the Ferguson family Christmas!
On actual Christmas, it was dad, mom and I left, and we definitely took advantage of it. We slept in and just relaxed. We went over to Larned for lunch with my grandparents an had a nice afternoon of playing cards. When we returned home the three of us enjoyed lifetime Christmas movies and fell asleep
Being home was such a blessing and I am so glad we were all together. Even though there is more chaos in the Keeley house, I wouldn't change a thing!

I didn't get many pictures, but enjoy the ones I did!!

Toes in the water..

You get the idea..Yes..that was my entire last week and I loved it! I was able to get to go to Hawaii and have an amazing time! My brother's basketball team played in a tournament on Oahu and my parents and great friend Andrea and I were all able to join and help cheer them on! (I did miss one game, but I knew they could win without me)
We started the trip by getting to take a nice seven hour plane ride over and leaving at 5:00 in the morning..definitely not my cup of tea..but beggars can't be choosers. I had a list of five things that I had to do when I was there other than laying out (which happened frequently).
It began with parasailing. I had never gone before and I was very excited for this adventure. We got to go up 800 feet, which was plenty high for me, and it was beautiful. The ocean went on forever and I couldn't believe I was "sailing" over it.
Number two on my list was Pearl Harbor. I had been before but it is something that is so moving. We got to take a boat ride over to the USS Arizona and see the actual remains of the ship.
Sight seeing goal number 3 was Diamond Head. It is an old volcano that has a trail up to the top with a beautiful view of Hawaii. We made it up and back in just under an hour!
Goal number four was to attend a luau. We went with the team to Germaine's Luau, and even though a little out dated, it was a fun atmosphere and Hawaiian experience.
Our last goal was to go snorkeling. My brother scheduled this, and because he is used to getting up at 6 due to his kids, apparently he thought we all should. So with a not so happy Beth..we headed to Hanauma Bay. It was pretty choppy water, but we were still able to see hundreds of bright colored fish, and some even saw sea turtles!
When not doing all these awesome activities, I was laying on the beach trying to get some sun! We enjoyed walking around the strip and going in to a lot of stores and looking from the outside into many VERY expensive stores. We ate at very "beachy" restaurants from Margaritaville, Hard Rock, Cheeseburger Beachwalk, and Shore bird!
I had a great time, and sad it had to end. I was very excited to return back home in Kansas to spend Christmas with my entire family! Congrats to my brother and MNU as they beat the the number one school in the nation. And this shout out is not near enough of a Thank you to my two amazing parents for this wonderful vacation! I am very blessed to be apart of this family!!

Best Time of the Year

Christmas is such a great time of year. It brings a whole new spirit to everyone and so many things are going on. Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas music, Christmas shopping, and Christmas weather. However...here in Louisiana it has yet to get under 65.  I know, crazy, but I like it! Last weekend I was able to go to a tradition here in Monroe that begins Christmas season. There was a firework show, lighting of the Christmas tree, dueling pianos and a rooftop party.  It was such a beautiful night and I am so glad I was able to join in!

Turkey Weekend!!

I have been so excited to get home for the first time since I moved to Louisina, and this trip home for Thanksgiving did not disappoint! I knew it would go by quickly and wouldn't be able to see everyone, but I sure tried to do my best! I flew home on Wednesday night into Wichita and my parents were there waiting! It was so great to see them when I got off the plane. We got in the car and headed to Olathe to be with Matt and Jana and the kids for Thanksgiving. The trip didn't seem as long because we had so much to talk about. Not seeing dad and mom every week opens the conversation a whole lot more :) I woke up to some cute little kids excited that Grandpa and Grandma had arrived with an extra little bonus of Aunt Beth. Jana cooked an amazing meal for lunch and our Thanksgiving feast! We had a great afternoon of napping and being able to hang out with the little ones.  Thursday night we decided to brave the crowds and do some "Black Friday/Thursday" shopping. We took the entire bunch (against my judgement) and it ended working out very well! We were not getting anything specific, so it was actually pretty fun to go experience this for the first time. Wal mart was not organized, but it made it easier for our crew to get through. Dad, Jana and I then went to the opening of Target which was very organized, but did not let us in before 9:00. The line was wrapped around 3 sides of the building and it was rather cold. Once we got in, we got what we needed and got in line, however, the line was almost to the back of the store and not moving fast. My dad at that point made an executive decision and we put all of our things back and headed home for the night.  Friday we woke up, had lunch, and headed West to Great Bend.

Once we arrived in Great Bend, we headed straight to the Beck's. I was meeting Lawson for the first time and so excited! He was even cuter in person than all the skyping and pictures I had seen. Lukas had grown so much it felt like and was going 100% when he woke up from his nap. I was able to just hang out in town for the weekend and see some friends at night. Saturday mom had a Thanksgiving meal for all of us and it was another great meal! We were able to play cards and watch football most of Saturday night. Of course, Cindy and Mom were putting up all of the Christmas decorations, as I laid on the couch and gave my opinion. If you know my mother, this was only about 1/10 of her decorations and she probably enjoys her personal time without my opinions. Sunday we got up for church, said my goodbyes to the Beck's and we headed back to Wichita. Dad, Mom, and I were able to do a little shopping before my plane left, and I headed home.

I am so glad I was able to get to spend time with family on this Thanksgiving weekend. I am so thankful for all of them in my life. I am getting excited already to be home over Christmas and get to see even more people!!

"Twi" Hard?

 I wouldn't call myself a true "Twilight" finatic, but I do enjoy the whole essence of the idea. Last week, a co worker and I decided that we would have a "double feature" of Twilight while the guys were away and enjoy a girl's night out. We left right after work and headed to her house to begin the movies. Leading up to the opening of Breaking Dawn part 2, Twilight and New Moon were on tv constantly, so we decided we would start with "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn part 1".  We had a great time watching the movies, pausing between the two for a supper break and then finishing up the next movie. When we finished the second movie, we realized that there was a 10:45 showing of the last movie and we hurried our way to the theatre to watch the final movie. It was a great ending of a movie and night! Thank you Kelly for hanging out with me!!

Texas Getaway

This last weekend I was able to head West and meet up with some friends I haven't seen in awhile. I started my trip on Friday where I headed down to Stephen F. Austin University to watch ULM kick off their first true game. I am very excited to see all these places and new gyms considering they aren't the same ones I have been to year after year playing and watching basketball in Kansas. It was fun to watch and see how these girls are improving each game. We didn't come out with a win, but I am still glad I could make the trip!

After the game I headed North to Fort Worth! I stayed and got to catch up with a great friend from high school, Katie. I hadn't seen her in forever and we had no problem starting where we left off. She is recently engaged, so we got to talk about all her planning! Saturday we met up with many Kansas friends and went to the KState TCU football game. Luckily Katie, being a TCU grad, knew her way around and got us everywhere very quickly. We had a great time tailgating and watching the game! I had a great time and so glad I got to meet up with lots of familiar faces! I owe a huge thank you to Katie and can't wait to meet up again!! 

A Simple Life..

I have been wanting to blog about something all week and get good at this blogging stuff, however, I have had a long week of doing nothing, including any ideas for what to blog about. I couldn't even blog about my poll question from last time considering NO ONE voted!! (It's OK, I know I only have like 6 followers, and that's because I text those six people and tell them to read my blog)  :)  So this blog is going to be quick and just a run down of what I have done this last week! Enjoy!!


Halloween Gift Basket from Dad and Mom!


The cutest nephews and niece anyone could have!

Lukas and Lawson  :)

Cade and Reese  :)

Pink Out game for ULM

Timmy's Birthday!! 

Keith won their first exhibition game last night 110-96!



Hope everyone is having a great week! Things to look forward to on my blog: Thanksgiving at home in 14 days, Hawaii in 35 days, and my Birthday in 67 days!! :)

My Everyday Life

I have really enjoyed moving down South. I have already met a lot of people, and they are all so nice here. I know that sounds awkward in the fact, that most people are nice, but these people are out of their way, always in a good mood, Southernly nice. I feel like it has started to rub off on me a little. You don't have "bad" days at work because everything is laid back, on your own time, when you feel like getting around to it. You think I am kidding, but truly, it is. (Which is really frustrating when things close on Friday at 3:00 because everyone wants to go fishing) And if the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers lose over the weekend, you can sure has heck bet no one is in a hurry to do anything on Monday.

I work for Broussard Cataract and Eye Clinic and have absolutely loved being apart of their team. Dr. Broussard is a Louisiana native who has been practicing Opthamology for many many years. I am a technician of four and have already learned so much. Tuesday is our Cataract Surgery day, we tend to get done early, but have to be there at 6:30 am! I have learned to be a surgery tech and got to do my first full day alone doing eight surgeries! What do I do? Pretty much just stand there and give Dr. the "tools" he needs when he needs them and make sure I don't touch anything I shouldn't! It has been so much fun and I am so glad that I have am enjoying my work!

I have enjoyed many new things down here and gotten to do a lot of things I have never done before. Some are new and some are old, but here are some pictures of what I have been experiencing.



Watching the ULM Water Ski team
They won Nationals last week!



Fire Pit with great weather!

Watching the ULM football team who is surprising everyone this year, winning the conference at this time!!