Road Trip!

At the end of May, my sisters' and I all met up at Catina's house to celebrate her turning the big 4-0! Let me just tell you, 40 never looked so good. Catina has always been in pretty good shape and honestly from my perspective has always been thin but she has taken her concern for her health to a whole new epic level. We Stewart women...we've got the ole competitive gene and that can be applied to various things in life but for her over the last couple of years she's totally poured herself into not only re-establishing a career but also taking super good care of herself. One of the plus's I see to having older children - time for Mommy to prioritize Mommy (not to say that I shouldn't be doing that now but when there little bitty's it's kinda difficult to succeed in this endeavor). Anyhow - she's super dedicated to working out and joined a Y and she has really invested in learning more and more about nutrition and although eating well sometimes = sacrifice, she's proven she's up for the challenge. I'm kind of inspired and at times kind of jealous - just keepin' it real folks. I hope when I turn 40 I look that good! 

Because our husbands and kids all adore each other so (such a blessing) we had all of them in tow except for Steve who had some work & family obligations that kept him here. It was a FULL HOUSE but we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Our main plan for the weekend was to celebrate Catina and enjoy each others' company, but we did have a few other goals:
~attempt a Pure Barre Class at a nearby studio
~do lunch out together - just the 4 of us 
~have sister pics taken - it's been forevah and Catina specifically requested we have some pics made by her friend/photographer Maria 

I'm happy to report we checked off all the goals. Here are some pictures of the festivities. 

You gotta love that even though Catina only has girls and they are grown, she had two little trucks - perfect size to keep Grey man entertained :).

 Who doesn't love a little backyard duck, duck, goose?

 This boy. He melts me. 

 He was having a super big time running down the hill in sisters' backyard. 

 Poor Ellie was still kind of newish to walking/wearing shoes and met the pavement earlier in the week. Gettin' some lovin' from cousin Catherine.

 Here we are all ready to go rock our first Pure Barre Class. If only we'd known what we were in for! More about that in a minute. 

 Although these next pictures aren't necessarily the most flattering pictures ever, they do depict us well. We love to laugh and we do a lot of it when we are together and I love it. In these particular photos, we were laughing about how we all had our "tight pants" on and then we launched in to singing the skit from Jimmy Fallon. If you're not familiar with the skit I speak of - you're welcome:  

Ha, ha ha - tight pants!!! Good times.

As for our Pure Barre experience...I'll just say it was meh. The "pure barre technique" is different than any other weight lifting/workout technique I've experience and it was clear we were newbies and the other ladies who shuck out major $$$ to do it regularly had perfected that said technique. I'll also just go ahead and continue keeping it real. We registered for the class ahead of time and the instructor new ahead of time we'd not had experience with this type of workout before. Despite all of us being in what I call good shape, she was not interested (IN THE LEAST) in trying to encourage us/help us/break down the form for us, etc. You know, when you go to a new class at the Y or most any other place (I would think) the instructor is going to want you to return and therefore she will be friendly, welcoming and she will be eager to explain form and technique. Well - that was not our experience and for that reason I would not recommend that particular studio to anyone in the future and I've certainly scratched the Pure Barre itch...we won't be going back anytime soon but I'm glad we can say we've tried it! 

I'm excited to see all the pictures that Catina's friend took of us, but I've only got this "teaser" if you will for now and when I've got more...I'll be sure to share. I'll be glad to replace the other pictures of us I've got framed...from 2006 - it's HIGH TIME. 

We did find some time to take all the kiddos to a local park and of course they played and played hard. 

Like I'm always saying - this child beats to the rhythm of her own drum. 

Best "big sissy" ever!

This chunk of love...I adore her but she doesn't adore the camera - she's stone cold when I have the camera in her face but I snap away anyhow...she's too cute not to. 

As always, we had a really good time together and I think Catina felt super special and celebrated that weekend. 

After spending the weekend with sisters, I headed to KY to spend some time with a precious new sweet bundle that had been born to my good friend and running buddy Courtney. I planned to visit with some other good friends that weekend, but this little gem was the guest of honor that I wanted most of my time with and I accomplished that for sure. 

Precious new life...there's nothing more amazing. 

The gorgeous and proud new Momma. Court bounced back pretty quickly but I was able to cook for them a bit and help with some organizational stuff and I offered advice when it was requested. I'm thankful I was able to make the trip - over the years and after my babes she's played a huge role in my overall well being and I really wanted to be there for her during this new season. 

The following weekend we hosted a sip-n-see for Court's friends and family to come over and meet the new princess. Here's our yummy spread: 

Happy Day! Janine came into town to meet Piper and bonus - we got to hang out too! 

Although we didn't quite have the turn out we expected, Courtney got some really sweet things for Piper and it was nice to visit and "shower" her with love. 

I wanted a book for all of her guests to sign for Piper and found this Dr. Seuss Book "Happy Birthday To You" which I thought was perfect but was surprised that after all my years of reading books and all my years of adoring Dr. Seuss that I've never seen this book in particular. It is precious and I'm glad she'll have it forever. 

After we got cleaned up post sip-n-see, we headed over to Abby's for pizza and more socializing. I mean, it's not every day I get back to KY you know? 

I miss these girls so much, but I'm so thankful we've stayed connected despite the miles between us all. 

While I was in Kentucky I was able to stop in the clinic and see all my old co-workers and I got to see some ladies I was in MUMS with in KY which was really nice and I also went by my old church for Sunday morning worship before I hit the road back to NC. Part of my heart will forever be in Kentucky.