You may have been wondering where the heck we have been the past few weeks, so sorry for the disappearing act. Blame it partially on a broken computer, but more importantly, our trip to Kansas!!! Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING is better than getting to be back at home for more than a few days. Our social calendar was jam-packed!!
First, we spent the weekend in Topeka/Lawrence to celebrate baby brother's graduation from KU. Hard to believe that little Mikey is all grown up. Poor schmuck has to enter the real world now. Guess it isn't really that bad though. Here are Kim, Erin, and I (Sigma Kappa girls) gathered for a reunion. You know you are old when conversation has shifted to house buying, jobs, and babies.
Then it was time to take baby brother out on the town to celebrate graduation. We hit up our old stomping grounds...QUINTON'S (Said in a loud yell for any of you non-KU people)....Louise's Downtown.....The Wheel. Patrick and I may be old, but we closed down the bars and ended the night with pizza just like old times. Thankfully, Grandma Malone kept the kiddos so we could re-live our college days.
The weekend was even more perfect because the old roomies reunited!!!! Blair and Ashley were both in town for another friend's bachelorette party. Even though it was a short visit, it was so good to see each other.
The next day was graduation. Thankfully, the weather was about as perfect as we were going to get. We started the day at Mike's friends house with some mimosas (Yes, we had to explain to mom and dad what these were). Here are the boys trying to look graduate-like.
Patrick and I were fortunate to live with some of our best friends during college, friends we still have today all of these years later. Mike was equally as lucky to live with some awesome guys the past few years.
Notice that Luke looks scared in this picture. Mike is standing on a slope and had been drinking. Luke is no fool....luckily, this ended well.
Luke couldn't wait to see Crazy Uncle Mike walk down the hill for graduation, a KU tradition. There were lots of people to watch, dogs to pet, and grass to roll around in during the wait.
Grandma Malone and Auntie Theresa took Claire and sat in the shade....
Until the grads made it down the hill! Somehow we managed to find them and get this picture. Mike, this one belongs in a frame.
After the graduation festivities dad took the whole family out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. The food was great, but the wait was long. We intended to go all over campus to get some shots of the three KU grads together, but the babies were getting tired. We did manage to get this one though in front of the main KU sign.
We spent the next day shopping in Lawrence, and it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day!!! One thing you don't appreciate about Lawrence when you live there in college are the amazing parks. Luke and Daddy had a great time playing together.
Luke's new favorite thing is to go down slides. It is a little difficult since he can't climb the ladders himself, so either Patrick or I get a good arm workout lifting him up over...and over....and over...
During our visit to Wichita we thought Luke might like a day at the zoo. He loved the petting zoo, but the goats were a little scary at first.
We think Luke liked the statues of the animals just as much as the real thing, which was fine with us because it made getting a good picture much easier.
Even when animals were far away, Luke enjoyed watching them.
We ended the week having Claire's baptism at St. Thomas, the church where we both grew up, got married, and had Luke baptized. We asked Ashley and Anthony, Melissa's college room mate and her husband, two of our best friends to be the godparents. Here are Luke and Stella, their little girl, getting ready together.
At the baptism...
Godparents (Ashley and Anthony Biondi)
And the Godinez family...
And the Malone family...
Great-uncle Larry and Great-aunt Mary Malone
Old roomies and kiddos together!
Daddy taking care of his worn out baby girl.
Then it was time to go back to Louisiana. Both kiddos were excellent little travel buddies. Luke loved to act like a goofball making faces and dancing. We watched
The Muppet Movie twice on both trips, and he was a happy camper.
Claire used the trip to catch up on her sleep. She was exhausted from meeting all the family for the first time.
Home sweet home.
This is like two blogs in one! Right after we made it back to Louisiana, Jimmy, Katie, and their new little girl, Piper, came to visit for Memorial Day weekend. The weather was beautiful, so we packed the kiddos and headed to the lake.
Piper and Claire are only a few weeks apart, so they spent lots of time on the playmat together. Luke just watched them, wishing they were older to run around and play. Notice the interesting way Luke likes to wear his pajamas. We're just now getting into the "I like to take off my clothes" phase.
This is one of those pictures that Claire is going to hate Patrick and I for later in life. Doesn't she look like a little elf in this outfit?? I got this little outfit before I had Luke, and it just cracks me up. Normally she is decked out in head to toe pink, but the green was a nice change of pace....not to mention the kooky hat :) Embarrassing senior picture?? I think so!
Thanks to everyone who made the time to visit with us in Lawrence and helped celebrate Claire's baptism in Wichita. Until next time...
