Where Dreams Come True

Disney World is a magical place. It is a place where before this trip, it was important to get to every roller coaster and adult rides as fast and we could, and make sure each fast pass was set up correctly. We would map out the fastest ways to the back of the park, and make sure we were there early and leaving late. Now, with 4 kids under the age of 5 coming along..not much changes. It is now important to do the same, but remember we will have strollers. 

I was the total 11th wheel of this trip, and loved every part of it..basically :) My parents have been planning this amazing vacation for a couple years now, and with the help of my brother and sister in law (they know everything Disney World) it was a great vacation. We were able to stay on a resort in Disney and it made for quicker trips, and even some pool time! 

We hit Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios, some a couple of times. We saw character after character, parades,shows, and hit almost every ride in the parks we could. I am so glad I was able to be apart of the first round of nieces and nephews trip to Disney..seeing their faces was priceless. 

Favorites memories of Disney Vacation 2014: 

Watching Cade and Lukas on their first Roller Coasters (definite mixed reviews, but overall loved going fast, and not getting wet)

Seeing Reese run up to Minnie and staring in awe of who she was meeting

Lawson absolutely loving Donald Duck and enjoying the Buzz Lightyear ride as the entire time he just said weeeeeee!! 

Andrea came from Melbourne for a day to relax and enjoy some pools/lazy rivers around the resort

Spending some enjoyable time with my family. I can't thank them enough for the awesome time and making sure they were never leaving me out! 

Here are a "few" of the pictures I gathered! Enjoy! 

Moving West!

In the coaching world you never know what the next year will bring. You are always looking to advance, or find that perfect fit that you hope to be at for some time. It has given us the opportunity to move all over the country, literally, and meet some amazing friends along the way. We have been blessed in each situation, even when we felt at times devastation and desperation.  

Living in Monroe was another accomplishment and journey along the way of life. I remember the day very well that Keith called and told me he had accepted a job in Monroe, LA. I was very excited for him, but also had no idea what that meant for us. Two years later, I have realized just how special of an experience it was for the two of us and how far we have came. We met some unbelievable friends and lived in an area I would have never thought of moving before. It was awesome to try an entirely new culture and definitely took some time to get used to some of the ways of the South.

The process from when we heard about the Fresno State University job opportunity and when we actually knew it was happening took some time. We had pretty much put all our eggs into one basket and went with the trust it was going to happen. It took me a little longer to get on board that Keith, but was excited for the new experience. Who would have ever thought California would be my next stop?  It was weeks of planning, waiting on phone calls, and preparing to move before we actually hit the ground to move. We decided we would take the 38 hour drive out there according to MapQuest instead of flying because we weren't sure when our cars and stuff would arrive. We wanted to have things we needed and thought it would be "fun" to drive across 3/4 the US.

Day 1 was easy. We headed to Kansas to be able to go through some more things and see our parents, family, and friends before we headed on our way. It was the longest stretch, but because it was day one, it didn't seem so bad. We enjoyed having time to see family and talking about what was ahead of us.

Day 2 we left Great Bend and headed into Colorado. For some reason Keith thought it was a good idea for me to drive through Denver and the beginning of the Rocky Mountains. As he slept, I admired them for about 30-45 minutes and then was ready to be out of them. I may not be as good of a driver as I once thought.

Day 3 was exciting. Our ending destination was Las Vegas. I was excited to be able to enjoy the city and have a little break before we took on the last leg of the trip. We drove thru Utah, not much going on but canyons everywhere, a little part of Arizona, and then Nevada, which until we saw Vegas, it was all desert.

Day 4 we got up, enjoyed a great brunch at Hash House and headed on our way. We got into Fresno about mid afternoon. We were put up in a hotel for a few days before we got into the house. Keith did an amazing job house searching and finding the perfect house in a perfect neighborhood. We are looking forward to guests at anytime!

 

We got to move into the house, however without stuff. It was lawn chairs in the kitchen and air mattresses in the bedroom. It was quite the experience living with nothing for awhile.

The new journey has just begun, but I am very excited for it. I do a lot of driving around and trying to get myself used to where I am. It is beautiful with a lot of fun things to do. It looks very Midwestern, but instead of wheat, we see lots of vineyards. The school seems to be thriving and continuing success. I look forward to the new teams, sports, and gyms I will be introduced to! Thanks for all of the support so far!!

Meeting Keeley and Much More..

When you live 12 hours from your family, you do not always get to be apart of big moments right that minute. However, when you finally get home, it doesn't make it any less special. Let me explain. I went home a couple weeks ago and met my newest niece, Keeley Wynn Birt. I may have been a little late to the "party", but she was still the most perfect little thing. I was so excited to meet her and get to have some time with her and Christy. We enjoyed changing her clothes and taking pictures often, as well as watching her sleep and trying to get little smiles out of her. She has grown so much already and can't wait to see her again.

While in Kansas City visiting, I got to enjoy seeing all my brothers and sisters and spending some time with them all!

We enjoyed a nice little "girls night" and went to a very fun place downtown called Snow and Co. I am so glad we could all get together and catch up! 

I was able to go home to Great Bend for a couple days and catch up with many things. I spent some time with dad and mom and got to meet up with friends as well. We went to Larned and got to watch baseball and meet Ben and Jenny's new little boy Eli, another adorable little one! I am so happy I got to get back and enjoy this time. Although, I never feel like it's long enough it was great to see so much family! 

Keith and I also have some more exciting news! He has accepted a position at Fresno State University in Fresno, CA. We will be moving shortly and enjoying the year round warm weather! We will miss Louisiana and our awesome friends we have met, but know this too will be a great adventure!! I will be posting about the move after we arrive and get settled!!

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!