Perfect day for this post

Update: Mom has requested that the picture of her and Dad come down. So, if you didn't get to see it, I apologize. She is my mother ... I still listen to her. :-)

After a weekend of birthday celebrations this is the perfect day for this particular post!

Happy Birthday Mom, Darren, and Chase!! Today is your (y'alls) day .... party hard! :-)

We had a wonderful (and very busy) weekend. Andrew and I drove into Mocksville Friday evening after work to celebrate my Mom and Dad's birthdays. We had steaks off the grill and some very yummy ice cream cake. Here is a picture of their cake (I am still really mad that the bakery people at the grocery store wrote so crappy on it). Also, you will find some pictures of my Mom and Dad in their birthday hats.

After celebrating with my Mom and Dad, Andrew and I ventured off to Raleigh to celebrate Chase's first birthday on Saturday. We had so much fun! A lot of people from the neighborhood came over and Chase made out like it was Christmas with all of his presents. Check out Chase with his own personal cake. Can you tell that he enjoyed it?

Hope you all have a very special birthday today. We love you all very much!

We have arrived!

We are finally in Maine!

Short post though ... very tired!

We left at 3:45 this am and got here about 9ish or so .... loooooong drive ..... more on that later!

So, after a quick dinner and shower it is off to bed!

I will update lots more tomorrow (with pictures) .... from our drive in and our birthday celebrations with our family! :-)

I don't think so!

Andrew finally noticed that I took his song choices off of our blog ... ha.

Well - he decided that he would post a picture of his truck at the bottom ... and it's HUGE.

No worries ... a smaller one will be taking its place.

Men!

Ssshhhhhh .... don't tell Dad!

I woke up this morning without the usual paws on the bed and kisses on my face from Louie. I looked at the clock and noticed it was 7:45 ... Louie was being a late sleeper. And then I got kind of worried. It's not like her not trying to wake one of us up (and it is 99.99% of the time that Andrew gives in and takes her out). So I got up and walked out to the living room and there she was ... in Andrew's chair, stretched out, and living the good life. I literally had to coax her out of the chair to go outside for her morning ritual around the block.

Well, about fifteen minutes ago when Andrew headed to take a shower Louie decided she needed her chair back ... and this time I got pictures .... don't tell Andrew! :-)

I made her get off of his chair ... and now she is beside me on the couch. What can I say? I am the softie around here ... and she knows it.

Goodnight all ... hope you all have a great week -

-K

COUGH wetriedtocallyouchris COUGH

After messages and voicemail ......



Happy Birthday, Chris!!!

Summer Celebrations

Well, another celebration has been added to the summer months!

First ... the rundown ...

It seems as though most of our family has a birthday or anniversary in July and August ... here they are in order:

Amy - Birthday - July 10

Bryan - Birthday - July 11

Mom Raynor, Darren, and Chase - Birthday - July 28 - (yes, all on the same day!)

Shaun - Birthday - July 31

Dad Raynor - Birthday - August 1

Mom and Dad Raynor - wedding anniversary - August 5

You guys are depleting our bank account ... but we still love you!! And it is all worth it!

So who is the newest celebration?? Miss Taylor Marie Benson!!! :-) No, she isn't our family but it feels like it!

Taylor was born to parents Charlie and Holly and big brother Landon on July 13th. She is a very healthy baby girl weighing in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces. Mother and Baby are doing great!! Andrew and I couldn't be more excited for the Benson's ... they are truly a blessed family with a lot of love and happiness.

And I get to see their newest addition soon!! I will be sure to get some pictures - I know she must be beautiful!

I'll also take pictures from our other crazy family birthdays and post those too!

Happy July/August birthdays ... and anniversary too!

It's been awhile

Sorry for such a late post ... I know there are so many people out there just dying to know what the Rudy's are up to. I do apologize for my laziness of not keeping all 3 (maybe 4) of you entertained. :-)

Where to begin ...

How about this - Andrew got a promotion! That's right - he has turned into an everyday suit wearing, big-time, downtown banking man! We are so thrilled that his hard work and dedication over the past 5 years has paid off so nicely. Now I need to pick out my Coach bag ... haha ... kidding!

Andrew's mom also came to visit us for a few days. We got to show her around our new little town, go out to dinner, and relax by the pool .... with a delicious bottle of wine! It was so wonderful to have her company and we are looking forward to a trip to Florida to visit with her and Mike!

Last weekend for the 4th of July we headed to Raleigh to visit with Bryan, Amy, but mostly Chase! We had a wonderful day by the pool, ate some yummy food off the grill, and watched Chase wobble around on his two little feet. It is absolutely crazy how much this little man has grown!! Oh, and how do you like this? Andrew and I decided to stop by McDonald's on our way home from Raleigh. Well, Andrew proceeded to order his Bic Mac and got this as a response, "We don't have Big Macs" No lie ... I tell the truth ... 4th of July weekend and the most American fast food joint doesn't have it's signature sandwich! WHAT!?!?!

Now we are gearing up for our big trip to Maine at the end of July! Yes, we are driving ... and yes, I know that is crazy. Andrew and I will be spending 16 hours in the car together to get there. I can hear some of our conversations now; "Slow down, Andrew" "Speed up, Kristin" "Do you see any cop cars hidden on the entry ramps?" "It's my turn to pick the CD" "But I'm the driver, I get to listen to my choice of CD until we switch" "Are we there yet?" "Yeah, just over the hill" "Eww, was that you?" Fun times!!!!! We are actually really looking forward to our vacation to the beautiful state of Maine for the annual Lobster Festival! We will be sure to blog and post pictures while we are up there.

Oh, question .... is it true that you can hear the lobsters 'cry' as they are thrown into the pot? I think I may cry ....