Monday, June 30, 2008

"Friends are the sunshine of life." -John Hay



Doug & I hanging out with the gang :)


This weekend my best group of friends in the world came to visit. We have been best friends since mid 2000, when we met at Olivet Nazarene University, so exactly eight years ago, and since then Erin, Matt & Ted have been life friends (family) for me (Kate). We have all seen each other grow up, and I am so grateful for them --'My cup runneth over" :)


The last time all four of us were together was in 2006. Now, Ted lives (on and off) in China and finishing his masters in Philosophy at Northwestern University, Erin lives in Virginia and is a fabulous teacher and married to the Mr. Paul Anderson, Matt lives in Indianapolis and leads a band and is very successful in Sales, and of course I am here in Madison, WI , married to my AMAZING husband, Doug, and enjoying a career in Direct Sales, volunteering, etc. In short, we have grown up since we met at 18 years old.

Besides catching up and having great conversations, we visited downtown Madison, went out to eat and overall enjoyed everyone's company. Erin, Matt & Ted, thank you so much for visiting and for being such great friends to me & Doug.

"Good friends are like stars, even when you don't see them often, you know they are there...."


Love you all!
Katie :)


Tuesday, June 24, 2008

North Carolina!

Hi Everyone!!!

Today is my 26th birthday....hard to believe.  It was a great day which followed a wonderful LONG weekend of mini celebrations.  Doug and I were SO happy to have the opportunity to visit his Aunt Frud, Uncle Fred and cousin Katy this weekend In North Carolina.  We had such a great time in Charlotte and Blowing Rock, NC.  It was absolutely beautiful there, but the company and times we shared together is what made the trip so fabulous.  Uncle Fred, Frud and Katy, thank you SO much for your hospitality this weekend in every way--we had a wonderful time and hope you all did too.  We love you!!!! 
-Doug & Katie  

And again, Welcome Home Katy (she just returned from Spain!)!!!!



Sunday, June 15, 2008

Valerie, Steve & Liam Visited!!!







Happy Father's Day to my Dad and all the dads we know!!!

This weekend we LOVED spending time with Steve, Valerie & Liam!!! We had a great time going to the Madison Farmers' Market and hanging out at home and around Madison. :) On Friday night, we also hosted Val& Steve's friends, Fred, Jill and baby Sam (who is about 9 months like baby Liam). We all went to the Madison Farmers Market which was amazing (Fresh fruit, veggies, flowers, and the famous Spicey Cheese Bread :)--) and surrounds Madison's capital. It has been voted the best farmer's market in the United States...and it's every Saturday here in the summer... :)!!! On Saturday night when Doug returned from an exhausting day at Kellogg (as he had FINALS--yuck), we celebrated Valerie's belated birthday. Her actual birthday is June 6, but better late than never. Happy Birthday Val!!!!!!!

AND, this morning we were able to say Happy Father's Day to Steve on his first Father's Day (being a Dad) ever!!!! Needless to say.....There was a lot of cake to go around this weekend... :)

Since Doug just had finals, he has a weekend off from Kellogg and we are SO SO excited. We are going to have a whole lot more time to spend together this weekend...YAY!

Here are some pictures from the weekend (above)--ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Kate

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Blake & Kelly Visited!!!!


Kelly, Doug & Blake after Doug arrived home from Kellogg on Saturday.

The Siblings on Lake Monona (or Mendota...) after Brunch on Sunday..

Doug & I <3
Happy Tuesday Morning everyone. I am catching up on my emails and blog posts this morning, so there are actually two new posts you can see if you scroll down.

SO....last weekend we had amazing weather. And this weekend (If you watch the news, I am sure you heard), Wisconsin got pounded with rain and tornadoes. In fact, I just read on the news that FEMA is coming and that our Governor (Jim Doyle) declared a state of emergency in 30 (yes 30!) counties....Thankfully, most of Madison seems to be fine. And, because of the weather Doug was not able to get home (due to flooding on the highways) until almost 10 p.m. on Saturday night. However, when he did return he was SO excited to see his brother, Blake, and sister, Kelly.
Thank you again for driving up and hanging with us, Blake & Kelly!!!!! Above are just a few pictures from our visit with them. (Thank you Blake, Kelly and Doug for allowing me to take so many photos--I can't help it!) --LOL :)

Until Next Week... We are having Steve, Valerie, baby Liam, Jill, Fred & baby Sam stay with us...can't wait!! :)
Kate

Monday, June 2, 2008

Amigos! :)

May 31st, 2008

So.............did anyone else get "Carried Away" at the Sex and the City Premiere this weekend??? If you are into the show and saw the movie, I would definitely say it was truly "fabulous" :). And, if you are in the midwest, what a BEAUTIFUL weekend, right???? The weather was GORGEOUS!

We did see many of our dear friends this weekend. I had a long visit with Carolyn (C-Pal) who just returned from 4 months in Italy. Carolyn returned to the States fluent in Italian, with amazing experiences under her belt and she looks even more beautiful (which is hard to imagine!). And, since Doug has class all day Saturday, his old good friend Binu took off Monday from work and it still here visiting, which we love.... :) Thanks, Binu! So, here are just a few pictures.....Hope you enjoy this week!

Carolyn & I hanging out at her apartment :)

Woo! This is the first time (almost) that Doug mowed our lawn of our new house....Doesn't he look handsome?! :)

Doug & Binu hanging out after Doug & I returned from Chicago. We were tired, but had a great time. Happy Birthday Binu!
~Kate