Marriage Weekend

Guess what. Tim came to DC for a marriage weekend. It really can't be described as anything else. We had hours and hours of marriage prep. Which was wonderful and also really taxing. Fr. Christian is so good to work with our long distance struggles and dedicate a long weekend to us. It was really great to spend so much time preparing for the rest of our lives, Tim has a post in the works about the significance of it for us so I wont go too far and ruin that for y'all.

So it was so good to spend time with him and take him to some of our stomping grounds. Otherwise known as Kelly's Irish Times.

And the weekend was full of some other fantastic surprises by the names of Sarah and Steve. 

And remember when I told you who my favorite dancing partner was? Well Tim might have been a bit jealous.

So we had a big community brunch on Sunday. I love these people more than you could ever know and the blessing of living with people who build you to Christ all while making you laugh until you cry is the best thing ever. I suggest it to anyone who ever has the opportunity.

Ryan and Steve will be altar serving at our wedding this summer, they took this weekend as time to practice with Fr. Christian.

A new meaning to Boys Couch.

After the joy-filled weekend, we still have many more things to do toward marriage preparedness, but I am certain that I am ready to share my life and my loved ones with this man.

A Catch All

A post for all the things that are blog worthy but not documented enough for individual posts. Plus, do you see how behind I am?

^^ We had a Friday Night Event where we invited 100 (mostly) girls over to the House to paint their own pottery. I am so happy with how my mug turned out! If you are looking to host a party in the DC area, definitely look them up to bring their mobile studio to you.^^

^^The people who love me know I love puzzles. The picture on the right is of my puzzle table, a permanent fixture in my room. The people I live with have heard me praise the art of the puzzle a nauseating amount, but why not one more time? I love puzzles. When working on a puzzle you get to see your progress. You know that there truly is only one right answer. You feel so accomplished when you are working on it. You can sit down for hours with it or just do a piece here and there. I love puzzles. I use them to de-stress. If only I had more time to do more puzzles. But I do have many a puzzle to do! 

Imagine my joy and excitement when I get to my mailbox immediately after taking my first day of comprehensive exams to see a puzzle in my mailbox. My favorite, Larabean, had mailed me a 250 piece puzzle of Tim and I! So I took it into the Campus Ministry Lounge and did it right there before going to study for day two. And then Annie saw the giraffe puzzle and thought of me. This one is still in progress but I love it and her so much! Thank you ladies!^^

^^We had next years House community over for Prayer Time and Fun Time. And no community time in our House is complete without Gaga ball so...^^

^^Did you guys know that April 8th was Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's? Well it was, so I hit up some Phish Food before going to dinner for Shannon's Birthday in Silver Spring.^^

^^I discovered this selfie when loading pictures onto my computer for this post. Too good not to include.^^

^^ Last week Shannon and I hosted Confessions and Chipotle in Regan Hall. The casual life of a student minister. We hope you stopped by and got one of our hundred burritos, thanks Ines!^^

^^And then remember those people I told you were going to be huge in my life? Well they are. And we had a great Community evening where I think I speak for everyone when I say we grew really close that night. I am so blessed to know them all. They are doing wonderful things for our campus and I cannot wait to see how they are able to glorify Him with the rest of their lives. Our night was super fun and started with dinner on the Basilica mall.^^

^^Anthony had a child, burrito #1: Hector Tres.^^

^^Annie has some pretty amazing photo-bombing skills.^^

^^These guys are less awkward than they look. I think.^^

^^ Fab Five.^^

^^Joe's creative angle photography skills.^^

^^Finally, we started off Holy Week at CUA with Campus Wide Stations of the Cross. It was candlelit and beautiful and one of my favorite Catholic U traditions.

Well, thanks for bearing with me as I documented my Senior Spring. Less than a month til graduation!

Glee Club Groupie and other Tim Sightings

So Tim is in the Notre Dame Glee Club. And the Glee Club goes on tour for fall and spring breaks. And apparently we have gotten to the point in our relationship where I follow. So Glee Club Groupie award of the year goes to me, I claim it.

We met Tim and Sam about an hour north of WPB on Sunday after their concert so they could stay with us for the night before their concert the next day about an hour south of us.

These were taken in the parking lot waiting for the concert to end, I get nervous/excited every time before I see him so it'll be weird when that is no longer a thing. Of note: BURNT.

And Shan found my winter coat in the trunk and decided it was cold enough to use it...

Parking Lot Photo Shoots, tell me you don't all do em.

When we got back to WPB we went to dinner on the beach. Mom and Shan split a drink that came in a bucket. Classy? #SpringBreak06

And then, being the college students that we are, we all ordered the cheese burger that came with a free tequila shot, because it's a free shot?

Tim's first ever, he hated it. Again, note the burn.

The next day was a beach day where I remained covered the whole time because of aforementioned burn.

And no STB included blog post is complete without a MK&A pic.

I insta-ed this pic and it got a lot of love so I thought I would share the original.

And here it is, the Glee Club in the most sun burnt state I have ever seen them.

And my man, I was so lucky to be able to see him on that trip. Thanks for letting me stalk your life hun.

And these two are some keepers. Thanks for those Shan.

SB: WPB

I need to stop apologizing for doing this and just accept it as fact that I am incompetent and incapable of getting a post up within the month that it happened. When it came time to prioritize my life it went like this:

-Prepare to Study for Comps.

-Pretend as if I am accomplishing something in wedding prep while really I'm on Pintrest.

-Study for Comps for 8 billion hours.

- Friends, new and old. (Ryan that was for you, do you read it? This is a test.)

- Ministry.

-Renew, love you ladies.

-Pretend to study for Comps.

-Luaupalooza.

-Take Comps.

-Catch up on Greys on Hulu.

-Pass Comps.

- Live in Leahy, as will happen.

Start a puzzle(thanks to some really great people).

and then:

-Blog about all of those things.

So here it is, I went to West Palm Beach for Spring Break 2014. Shannon and I met up with my mom there for the week. Our first weekend was shared with some of my sibs and the last weekend we went to Ines' house. Tim came somewhere in the middle: expect a separate post in about 3 months.

It was so great to meet Christine that weekend.

Hilarity of this story that Shan is so tired of me telling but it's too great not to document permanently. My mom is a naturally dark person working off a Hawaiian tan who had been in Florida for a week. Shannon is a naturally fair skinned Irish lady who is coming off the plane from the Tundra. She was wearing pants and Sperry's. My mom went over to stand next to her so my sister, her friends and I laughed at the comparison. My mom, confused, in seriousness looked down and pondered aloud, "Are you wearing socks?" Nope.

She's the best though isn't she?

The week was such a great girls week filled with wine and weddings 24/7.

*And Mary-Kate and Ashley of Course*

Toward the end of the week, as mentioned we went to Ines' definitively-not-in-Miami home. It was wonderful to spend time with her fam. And the Holy Fam. I cannot thank you enough for this amazingly thoughtful gift that will be with Tim and I and our family for the rest of our lives.

While with the Zanotti's we were treated like Princesses in a way we truly did not deserve. Thank you so so much for your hospitality!