...

Well we finally moved in and have been living in our home for 3 weeks. {Shout out and thanks to all the family and friends who helped us moved. We owe you all big time}. It has been a slow process with getting all settled in. With Kyle at work everyday and Layne pregnant and not really able to do too much, there is still plenty to do, but hopefully we'll finish in the next couple weeks.

Right now we are in the process of doing the nursery.  Layne had a meltdown a couple nights ago about it and since then it's been all we think about.  With only 8 weeks until the baby is here and pretty much only weekends to do stuff, it better be our top priority! We decided to build a wood panel wall with a shelf on top in his room, which we are going to white-wash. We are really excited about it. We are still in the learning stage that everything takes longer than expected. Everything.

The rest of the house is still in works. All the major renovations are finished, but all the little, small things that need to get done are still on the list (because everything takes longer than expected.. you get our drift here?)

We promise our next post WILL have some pictures of our home.. hopefully the nursery!? And it hopefully won't take too long to post it....

Update of sorts

Well our house is starting to show some progress! The professional painting is getting started and from what they have already done, it looks amazing! They are only painting some of the downstairs, and it is well worth it. ALl of the trim, a couple walls and a few ceilings. Yep. Worth it. Layne hasn't been able to go to the house for quite some time now due to all the fumes from paint and stuff and she absolutely hates it. Probably for a couple reasons.  She can't help. She can't make sure everything is going perfectly. It's hard for her not to be in there with what a perfectionist she is, and also she loves painting and fixing up homes.

We've both been pretty stressed lately with the home renovations and all, so we decided to take a night away to relax. Kyle booked a room Friday night at The Ambassador Hotel downtown which is our absolute favorite place. He told them we were coming for a relaxing night to get away from home renovations and also that his wife was pregnant. They upgraded us free of charge. We love them even more! This was our third time to stay there and we love it more and more every time. We honestly feel as if we aren't in Tulsa, but on a vacation. Side note and props to the hubs: He had gone earlier in the day to the room to put a beautiful bouquet of tulips and a sweet card in the room, so it was the first thing Layne saw when she walked in. Yep, she's a lucky gal.

That night we said we were going to make the most of the relaxing night and truly make it feel as if we were in Tulsa. We don't hang downtown too often so it was a nice change. We first went to the Tavern for happy hour. Kyle got the bacon infused old fashion {of course} while they made Layne a yummy lemonade type drink {non alcoholic, of course}. Oh yah, and the most amazing snack ever: bacon popcorn. It. is. divine.

After that we went to Biga for dinner. It was our first time there and we don't know why. Layne had the butternut squash ravioli {side note: if that item is on the menu, it's a for sure win for Layne} and Kyle ordered the Gnochhi. We found the best gnocchi ever in Houston and just knew we would never top it. Esp in Tulsa {sorry T-town!} but alas, we were wrong! Biga's gnocchii is amazing. It was so fluffy and just amazing.

Even though we were very full from all the food, you cannot have a proper date night without dessert. Crepe's sounded good so Mod's we went. Of course, Layne always wants the S'more crepe or the NUtella and strawberry one. But she could tell Kyle wasn't feeling that style tonight. So then we saw the chessecake crepe. A slice of cheesecake wrapped in crepe with chocolate sauce and walnuts. If that's not enough, we had them put nutella and strawberries in it as well. There's nothing to say other than: it was the most amazing thing ever. We ate all of it, even though after one bite our pants were too tight. BUt we couldn't waste it. Yes, we know we are fatties.

We went back to the hotel and watched Taken2. Not the best movie. The first one was way better in our opnions.

We love the hotel so much that we wanted to stay there until we had to leave. Check out isn't until 11am, but we got up at 7 to have breakfast and then went back to the room and watched Argo.

things are changin' round here

Well we obviously cannot multitask. Moving cities, starting a new job, buying a home, redoing parts of the home, having a baby and just getting back to a normal lifestyle, writing a blogpost just wasn't at the top of our mind. So sorry that we haven't updated in quite some time.

Yes, you read that correctly. We have moved back to Tulsa! We got the great opportunity for Kyle to take a new job and are so excited and extremely blessed with this opportunity that came around. And it came at such a perfect time. So, at the beginning of this year we packed up our 2 bedroom apartment in Houston to move back to Tulsa. We already miss some things about Houston and we know we will always miss them, but we are so excited for this new beginning to be back in Tulsa with family and friends, especially with the babe on the way. While finding the perfect home we are staying at Layne's parents. Super thankful for them for putting up with us and all our crap that we unloaded in the game room and garage. 

Before moving back to Tulsa, everytime we came back for a weekend or so we looked at homes. Finally after seeing every home in Tulsa for sale, we finally found the one. We just closed and are now in the process of renovating some of the home. We are mostly sticking to the downstairs for now with the kitchen, dining and living before we move in. But we are also painting the important rooms upstairs... the master and the nursery! Better to just get it over with before living in the mess. We are so excited for it to be finished and to finally have a home to ourselves. This will be the first home of our own since being married. Or ever actually. First home to decorate and have all of our stuff in one place. Ever since we have been married some stuff was at Layne's parents, some at Kyle's parents, now some in storage. So once we move in it'll be amazing to see what we actually have. Get ready, I'm guessing an amzing garage sale will be happening soon after we move in.

We'll be doing before-and-after deets of all the renovations that we are in the process of on our blog when they finish for all of you who care. We are only half way through the renovations and it already is such an amazing change. We can already see us in it and really picture our family just on regular nights. If you want to see it in person, just hop on over, but don't be offended if while you are here you get asked to pick up a paint brush or unpack a couple boxes....

Out of all this crazy and exciting news, the greatest news of all is that we are going to become parents in June!

And not just parents. Parents to a baby boy!

We are beyond excited, nervous, happy, but most importantly extremely blessed. We've always wanted to be young parents and it finally was the right time for us. We cannot wait to meet our little man and to see how he looks. Red hair? Blonde hair? Bald? Chubby cheeks? Chunky thighs? Seriously. But having to wait for another 16 weeks to hold him for the first time is gonna seem soooooo looongggg. We want him now. We are a little over 24 weeks today, which is crazy. It's gone by fast... and slow. More than halfway there and we still have so much to do to prepare for him. 

Now we hope you understand a little more why we haven't really found the time to blog. BUT we'll be updating more and more now that we've got some really exciting things to share with the babe and new home. 

december first

Hey all - the husband here. Some of you may find the following to be pretty sappy, but you know what, I don't care if you do. Layne's unaware of me typing this right now, and she's unaware that I posted this on her facebook. She's watching Scream 3. Solid scary movie.

It dawned on me today that I'm not always the most outwardly expressive of how I feel about my wife, and ya know, that just ain't right, because she does so freakin' much for me, and I want to show her how much I appreciate it all, even at the risk of one sappy blog post, especially on her 25th birthday!

It's hard to imagine anyone better suited to be my wife. It is just insanely righteous to have found someone with which I can share a laugh, without even laughing. We just seem to know how each other are feeling and what we're thinking, without even saying anything. Not to mention that fact that Layne is a wicked freestyler. Beatboxer, not so much. But that woman can put together a carefree, funny rhyme more resolutely than eminem circa the shady lp.

Also, what's crazy is how much we have become such a symbiotic family. That sounded weird. But no, really, we kind of just know how each of us are feeling. This feeling has also extended to our dog. When we're lazy, the charizard is lazy. But back to the point, it's just so great that both of our ideas of fun and relaxation overlap so completely.

There are a ton more reasons why I love this woman. Her memory. Her love for me. Her love for Charlie, and other animals. Her careful driving habits. Her ability to solidly destroy me at running. Her love for her family. So. Much. More.

I love my wife so much, but I've decided not to embarrass her too much with funny stories, so instead I'll leave you with some adorable old photos of the wife.

And now, this following photo is by far my favorite...

Hope you may have enjoyed this even a little bit. I just wanted to give a little bit back to the woman who does soooooo much for me. So, so, so much.

Happy 25th Birthday Layne!

YAY FOR BROTHERS!

Yesterday was National Sibling Day {found that one out by all the social media...then found out again by social media that it was a false alarm. true date is actually April 10} and it got me thinking about my two older brothers. Sorry Callan and Cameron, I didn't post some picture of us, but hey this will {hopefully} be better. And, c'mon, even though it's not the real National Sibling Day, doesn't mean we can't take time to appreciate them, right?

Having older brothers and being the only girl means a couple things while growing up:

1) They are automatically best friends and you're the 'weird' one

2) You have that tomboy stage. Granted, mine went a little too far with me wearing their football jerseys to school and jncos {ahh! yes those horrible pants}. I then steered into regular middle school girl stage. Awkward, braces and just plain awkward. I can only imagine what my parents thought, probably praying that they would never have to buy jncos again {and now that I think of it, I think it was my brothers jncos that I wore....}

3) Every time we went on vacation I either had to a) share a room with my brothers {and yes, I always got the couch} or b) stay in my parents room. If I could, I always stayed in my brothers room, even on that darn, non-comfy, horrible smelling couch.

4) I also get stuck sitting in the non-cool part of the car. They always got the third row seat when we were young, but now, they never want to even think about sitting back there, so even to this day, I get stuck crawling over the weird middle seat when we all cram in a car. Luckily I now have sisters-in-law to share it with.

Also, what do you get with two older boys and a solo young girl?! All the regular everyday torturous things happened to me when we were younger. Some include: my brothers bullying me or ganging up on me, chasing me around, not letting me play their video games, ripping my barbie heads off {even though they actually played barbies with me on numerous occasions..}, making fun of me when I sang and danced to BSB or Hanson and many others. 

But I've got a couple special highlights.

When I was about three years old, my mom was out {I'll guess shopping} while my dad 'babysat' us. While my dad was out mowing the yard, my 4-1/2 year old brother Cameron, who loved me so much, decided he did not like my pigtails. So he cut one off. Yep. Now I was the solo young girl with a solo pigtail. I guess he tried to do it at the scalp, but my hair was too thick so kept moving down until he could finally chop it off in one nice swoop. When my mom came home she thought my pigtails were lopsided, so she kept doing her thing. Until she saw my bright blonde hair all over the floor. Obviously this was a bad 'babysitiing' job by my dad and a horrible brother action towards me. A 4-1/2 year old with scissors next to a 3 year old's face?! Cameron says I was all for it... but it's because I had no clue what was going on. I still have yet to get him back -- still waiting for a great night to shave one of his eyebrows off.

One more. For my fifth birthday, my parents took me to get my ears pierced, and I was ridiculously nervous. Would it hurt, will they miss, yada yada {exactly what any other 5 yo thinks while going through this}, but everyone is there to calm me down. They're all telling me how quick, painless it is, even Callan being a model oldest brother and helping me play it cool. But then Cameron chimes in with this gem: "Don't worry, it'll probably feel just like a stapler." Wow. Yeah, thanks Cam, you really are helping. Buttt afterwards, to their credit, they both said I looked like a princess, so ha. 

So everyone, it looks like Callan is the nice brother. I don't remember any horrible incidents he did to me, but then again I may have blocked them out. 

But seriously, now that we are adults it is so nice to have older brothers and honestly, I've got two of the coolest, best brothes a girl could ask for or want. We actually get along and like hanging out with each other. When we are all together, which is seldom, it is such a fun, packed time, that once it is over I miss 'em. Callan is now a dad to two of the cutest boys in the world. He's such a great father to them and it's so nice to see my brother all grown up with his own kids. His heart is just filled love for them, I love to see that beautiful side of boys. Oh yah, and I can't wait until they get caught playing with barbies.... Cameron has no kids yet, but once he does, I know he'll be a great dad too. Can't wait for those dark eyed babies to enter this world, just as long as they don't start training to become barbers all the time.

They also blessed me with super cool sisters-in-law... so thanks Cal and Cam.

Transish to Kyle.

So y'all probably already know of my brother Brendon. I say probably because he makes quite the impression on you. He has been doing improv since he was, like, 7. It's just part of who he is for sure. And judging by L's crazy stories about her bros, I oughta relay a story that few others know as well. 

What's funny now that I think about it, I've got two hilarious stories but they both involve me hurting Brendon, ha. I'm sure he got retribution for these events but I must have erased them from my memory also. Block the pain.

First story: back in the house we grew up in, the second story in the back of the home was a sheer drop toward the first -- there was no roof to break up the house, just a straight up two-story wall. Well, I happen to be up in the "corner room" and lo-and-behold, Brenbo comes walkin' out of the back door. I'm being a nosy little bro and watching to see what he's doing, in case it's something mischievous and I can tell on him. Next thing I know, my fat head pushes the screen out of the window frame as I'm peering down on him. It must've made a funny noise because right at the same moment, Brendon looks up to see what on earth was careening toward his face. 

I mean, bullseye. Perfect shot. Corner of the screen goes right into his eyeball. Think part of his vision impairment may have stemmed from this incident. Yowza.

Last story: Same house, another doozy, more setup. Kitchen was situated in the corner of the house and right as you walk in to the kitchen along the back of the house, you can immediately turn right to go the laundry room, which went on to the master bath. The wall that was shared by the kitchen and the laundry room had the fridge on it. One night, during some of our typical hijinks, Brendon is all running around, going hyperactive and whatnot, and he comes running into the kitchen from the master bath. Well, right at that moment, I swing open the freezer door {the fridge was the split horizontal, so the freezer was up top and the fridge down below. old school, righteous.} and plants a imprint right across his face. For added visual, think Home Alone when Marv gets face smashed by the iron. Same type deal.

But, despite my obvious best efforts, Brendon remains. Can't ask for a better old brother for sure. He's always been there to support me and Layne, and he and Amy are always so fun to be around and hang out with. It stinks they live so far away and we get to see them mainly on holidays, but such is mango. 

{sorry for the partially sap post}

So, happy fake national sibling day.

that's a pig. on a leash.

This past week has been such a blessing! Tuesday was our two year anniversary and it such a great feeling knowing you get to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. God has blessed us with so many things and we have grown together so much in the past two years and have experienced some amazing things that will be memories forever. 

Kyle was such a sweet guy and had planned the weekend before the anniversary to take Layne on a surprise weekend getaway. Last Friday, Kyle told Layne to pack a bag for a little vacation and that we we're leaving right after lunch. Layne was surprised that he was able to surprise her {usually she finds out}. Ecstatic Layne quickly cleaned the house and packed a bag. She kinda went through Kyle's all-ready-packed bag to get an idea of things to pack. 

Before we headed out of town, we took Charlie to a new boarding place. 1 1/2 acre grass play area, other dogs to play with and many, many toys. If that wasn't enough, the owner is a professional frisbee thrower and plays with all the dogs. We knew from that point on she would love this place and never want to come back home to our tiny two bedroom apartment. 

So we started heading west, and Layne kinda was starting to figure out where. Lately we have talked about going to Ausitn and San Antonio for weekend trips. So she had an inkling that is was going to be one of those. 

She was right. AUSTIN!

Kyle was amazing at planning this trip. He had searched about all different things to see, do, eat, shop {he even book-marked two boutiques to take Layne into.... that is just amazing} and everything else. 

One of the best, most romatic things he did was book us this amazing room in the aboslute cutest hotel ever. It only has 7 rooms. The style is impecable. It's like they got into Layne's brain and designed the hotel exactly how she would design her home. The hotel sells cute little pillow covers and all the soaps they use. And not just the regular-hotel-style soaps. The awesome soaps that we now want to go buy. The room wasn't huge by any means, but come on. Who needs a big room especially when you're in a city that you want to walk around in? So it was absolutely perfect.

We had only been to Austin one other time. Summer before junior year of college. So we we're excited to get to see the city, shop and eat. Eating was pretty much all we did and it was glorious. The food trucks {or trailers} are so. freaking. good. 

So we arrived, got set up at the hotel and walked to a coffee spot to get a beer and some hummus. Such a cute place. We then had to go to South Congress to go Jo's Coffee which has the 'I love you so much' wall where it was a must to get a picture. Only thing, it's just so awkward asking a random person to get a picture of you. Can't wait to go back with family or friends so we can annoy them until we get the perfect one.

Food trucks were the way to dinner. We chose thai food--pineapple chicken fried rice, spring rolls. It was awesome. The best part of the night was Lick. An awesome ice cream place with amazing flavors. Kyle was gonna get one with bacon it it, but decided to go with Local Honey and Vanilla Bean. Layne went with the Lemon Lavender, and holy crap it was so delicous.

Saturday morning we got up for a wonderful run then went to a great breakfast spot, Magnolia Cafe. It was all friggin' delicious, as expected. Kyle had read about a farmers market so we went there and tasted some awesome limeade and some food looked great, but we were actually waaayyy too stuffed from breakfast to even try it. Drove up to a beautiful spot to see the skyline of downtown Austin, but before, we obviously needed to hit up Mozart coffee house, because it was on the list.

I think the best part of the day was when we were kinda not even hungry, but we had to go to Gourdoughs to try the donuts {or doughnuts, whatever}. Kyle got the Flying Pig with maple syrup and slices of bacon on top and Layne went a safe route and got the Heavenly Hash with marshmallows, chocolate fudge and bits of chocolate on top. Yep, they were amazing. Sugar levels spiking then crashing, so next stop was to go take a nap, natch.

For dinner, we just went to a pizza place. It was exactly what we needed. That and the pork dumplings we got afterwards at the Thai Food truck. There was the cutest little puppy that Layne was walking up to go pet, but then realized it was a pig. Yes, a pig on a leash. 

Aside: the entire weekend, we were wanting to go eat at a burger bar on soco called Hopdoddy. But. We never had the patience to wait because the line was out the door {one in, one out} and it was 100+ outside, and the line was in the sun, no shade, no breeze. F'real, this line was a joke and though we waannnnted to try it so bad, we just never could wait.

Kyle read about some irish pub, Fado, so we went there to just relax and drink some beers. We were so tired and full to do anything crazy.

Now that we are rethinking about, dang we ate a lot of food that day. But it was truly well spent.

The last morning we went to Juan in a million. And let us tell ya, that is true. The best breakfast tacos in the history of breakfast tacos.

On Tuesday, our anniversary, Kyle once again hit it out of the ball park and surprised Layne with breakfast in bed. Egg biscuits, sausage and chocolate milk. Oh yah, and also the amazing, beautiful orange, purple and white garden that was all over our room. Three huge beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers {he went and got them at 5:30am that morning!} and then two beautiful roses.

Layne was also lucky enough that Kyle took off after lunch so they could spend the day together. We went and had some awesome Korean BBQ and then went to our favorite little pub for a celebratory beer.

It was such a great and special weekend that was just the two of us with no distractions {sorry Char!}. We will keep these memories for a lifetime and we are so excited to see what the next 100+ years bring. Thanks for our family and friends for making the past two years unforgettable!