Month Long Celebration

I absolutely love birthdays. I think that you should get to celebrate it as along as possible. I know that as we are getting older, birthdays do not seem as fun, but I still think they are great! That is why I wanted to make sure Keith was able to celebrate all month long! Lucky for him, one of my very good friends Andrea's birthday is also this month, so we decided we MUST celebrate together. This year wasn't just any birthday though, they were getting to celebrate their 30th birthday's together! I know that neither of them were as excited as I was, but I think they both ended up enjoying it.

To begin with, my family has always had this thing that during your birthday month, you are allowed to choose, or not choose, in Keith's instance what we do all month long. Pretty much, if we go out to eat, you get to decide where, if you are trying to plan something for the weekend, the birthdayee gets to plan. However, in Keith's eyes, he decided since it was his month, he didn't have to decide a thing. That is quite annoying if you know me, because more times than not, I really don't care where we eat because I will get the same thing everywhere. (Chicken Strips or Hot dogs and Macaroni). Anyways, I planned with Keith's parents to meet in Oklahoma City for his actual birthday weekend. Keith and I left a day early, stopped in Dallas and met up with our friends Brent and Colton and then golfed the next morning. Keith picked the course and we actually both played well and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We headed into Oklahoma that afternoon and were able to spend some quality time with his parents.

I wasn't being mean by posting this picture, Keith knows he was making this face :)

In Oklahoma City, we hit up a Piano Bar, a Minor League Red Hawks Baseball game, and another round of golf. It was very windy when we were playing, but just an easy excuse for my score. I love going to Oklahoma City during Basketball season, because the fans there are so proud of their Thunder team. They always have so much pride around the streets and great food and drink deals!

 

 

We headed back for another work week until Thursday came along. Because of Mardi Gras break being when most people's Spring Break is, we always have a late "Spring/Easter Break". Ours happened to be this last weekend and it worked out perfectly. Keith and I headed down to Pensacola Beach (Perdido City) to be exact and met up with some more good friends Oliver and Andrea.  We spent Thursday-Monday enjoying some great beach time, and the boys managed to find a very nice golf course to play that included alligators!! (Not on purpose of course)

In Pensacola, we made an Easter Dinner, hit up a famous bar called the Flora-Bama, and made it into Pensacola to eat at a well-known Irish Pub. We played lots of cards and just talked about everything that has been going on. It was a perfect view and a great way to celebrate Keith and Andrea's 30th birthdays.

 

 

 

As this month is coming to an end. I believe that Keith is excited for it to be over. But, I also believe he had a great time celebrating all month. I am so glad we were able to see so many people and enjoy the time celebrating together. I am excited for next year already, but much more to come before then!

 

 

Final Four

Cross it off the Bucket List. For all of the basketball I have endured throughout my life, I have always wanted to go to both the Women's Final Four and the Men's Final Four. A was able to go to San Antonio a couple years ago to see the Women's Final Four, so now I was just waiting for the opportunity to be able to go to the Men's. This year, that opportunity came!

I had not planned on going really, but had the idea in the back of my head for awhile. It was in Dallas, TX, so only being 4 hours away, I knew I wouldn't have to decide until it got closer. My parents love going and are always there, and this year, my brother and his wife Jana were taking a few days off from parenting and heading down. I knew Keith was heading to Nashville for the Women's tournament, and not being able to take as many days off and head that way, I decided Dallas it was for the weekend! I packed up and jumped in with some friends who were also going and we were on our way.

Not really knowing what we were doing, we end up parking in the first car garage we could find. The people I was with, had plans and needed to be getting on their way. I told them I would be fine and started walking the downtown streets of Dallas, trying to find anything that looked like it could be with the Final Four. I googled and map quested and just kept walking and 6 miles later found an arena that looked like it was something I was looking for. I had been waiting to hear from my family, as they were in Arlington checking out the practices in Cowboy Stadium. Just as I am about to go in, my parents call and they are headed back to the Sheraton. Great! Only 2 miles back from where I came from. I finally met up with them and let the trip begin!

We had so much fun doing all the Final Four touristy things. We went to Bracket Town, hit up the free Jason Aldean Concert, saw some great games, and an awesome stadium with a massive video board (thankfully). It was so fun to meet up with people I hadn't seen in quite some time of coaches and college friends I have met along the way. I was even able to meet up for a day with some Great Bend folk and enjoy some Dave and Busters!

I am so glad I was able to go and hang out with my family and enjoy this experience. Pictures are so much better than words, so here you go!