let's be real

Apparently my mind only remembers the fun things about events. This past weekend there was a lot of drama that went on and I remember everyone being in a strange mood on Saturday night.

I feel as if I have gotten far from God recently and the group members I've talked to have been feeling the same recently. I used to go to Confession weekly and Adoration and Mass daily. Now it's been at least two months for confession and probably even longer for adoration. Luckily Mass is a weekly obligation!

Thankfully Christina and Monica are less willing to sit in complacency than some of us. I just had a long talk with Chrissy about the past weekend and agree that we need to get back on track. So we're going to Adoration as a group tonight.

All I want in life is to be good and holy and totally wrapped up in love for God. Yet I find myself being petty and easily distracted from Him. I know that my friends want to live in Him as well. Of course Satan is going to attack a group of people who love God and want to do his will.

Jesus...we need You. Help us to remember that and seek You at each moment!!!

babbitt campout

I have now officially been to a Babbitt campout! The past few years I've had to work when Adam and Ryan invited everyone up to their parent's house to sleep in tents in their yard. I didn't really take priority then for some reason. :)

This year, however, I was able to go! It was great. There were three baby kitties there that I got to play with. We had a bonfire and played bocce ball and went swimming at the lake. We also got to see a meteor shower! Even the rain on Saturday night couldn't spoil the fun! Such a great weekend!

Jesus thank you for the Babbitts and for their generosity to let so many people stay at their house!

iowa state fair

I went to the Iowa State Fair with Ryan and Monica this past Friday. Apparently, Iowa natives though they are, neither of them had been to the fair before. That would not do.

Although I've been to the fair every year, I don't know much more to do there than eat and try to find the biggest animals. We were going to ride some rides at the midway until I discovered that they were at least $5 each! Crazy.

My parents must have spent a fortune on my sister and I when we went to the fair as children! (Although things were cheaper back in my day.)

We ate several foods on sticks; saw the biggest bull, boar, and sheep; watched baby pigs being born; and waited in line a lot. Ryan wasn't too happy about that fact, especially on the drive to the fair. It took us at least 20 minutes to go 2 blocks. Just part of the delights of the fair!

All in all, a very good day. Although I don't know how impressed Ryan and Monica were. I guess you just would have had to have grown up going. Plus they are both rather hard to impress. I remember taking my friend Chris for the first time. He had just moved from Texas and was running around like a small child because he was so excited. Apparently after Las Vegas, the Iowa State Fair is the #2 thing to do in the country.

God bless the fair!

the office

We had an Office party in celebration of Ruth Ann and Monica's birthdays. It was so fun! Everyone had to dress up as a character from NBC's The Office and act like them. We spent the night watching, quoting, and laughing at the office for several hours. Sarah and Chris couldn't make it, so as promised, here are the pictures!

Adam as Michael Scott

Kimberley as Pam Beasley



Roman as Jim-Dwight



Sarah as Katy



Monica as Angela Martin



Chrissy and Jon as Phyllis and Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration



Kathleen as Kelly Kapoor



Mary as Meredith Palmer



Ryan as Toby Flenderson



Ruth Ann as Jan Levinson

wedding cakes

Yesterday I went to my dear friend Angel's house to help her decorate her wedding cakes! It was a lot of fun, but it was a bit hot with the oven and no A/C. When we started frosting the cakes I got a bit nervous because they started to crumble a bit.



It all turned out well in the end, though. We covered them with fondant frosting and put strings of pearls on them. She will also put red ribbon around the bottom of the cakes. We ran out of time, otherwise I would have gotten to help with this as well.



Her kitty even helped us decorate. Actually, he was just curious about what was going on but in the end decided sleeping was more fun.

It was good to see her. Angel and I were in high school youth group together, but haven't seen her much since we started college. She is marrying Greg on Saturday. They are such fun people and I know they will have a wonderful life together!



Jesus, please bless Angel and Greg as they prepare to spend the rest of their lives together! (And help the cakes be yummy!)

happy birthday mon!

My dear friend Monica's birthday was today. For short we call her "Mon," so of course we had to have a Jamaican birthday party for her. :) We were instructed to wear island attire and bring something tropical and delicios to eat. Of course Adam (who has been planning this party ever since he discovered that we could call Monica "Mon") went all out with a grass skirt, coconut bra, and rasta wig. So hillarious! Ryan was dressed in his swimming suit, sun glasses, and water shoes and played a tropical guitar song while Adam serenaded anyone who walked through the door.

I love my friends!

See Ruth Ann's blog for another fun account of the party!

birthday prize

I love my birthday!!! I got so many fun prizes, but Ryan gave me roller blades. I have always wanted to roller blade, but never got any because I thought they were like $500. So I was super pleased to get them from my dear love!


He wants to be able to run with me, but I can't breathe and run at the same time. So roller blades were the next best option.

I knew that he was giving me roller blades because he told me and then asked me to try them on at the store. So I tried them on, he bought them, and then left them in my room. This was on the 17th. So for the next week Ryan asked me everyday if I'd tried on my roller blades yet, which I hadn't since I'd already done it at the store.

So on Tueday, the 22nd, I went to his house to "run" with Ryan. I felt awful because as soon as I opened the box, I found a very sweet card from Ryan! We laughed a lot because of it. Better late than never, I suppose!


Jesus, thank you for my dear boyfriend and his generosity!

waltersized

Last night I went to the Walter Trout concert (as part of Nitefall on the River) at People's on Court with the Babbitts. It was a lot of fun. Mike was super excited and kept counting down the minutes until Walter Trout played. (Example: I got a phone call at 8pm the night before saying "Kathleen, this is Mike Babbitt. I just wanted to inform you that in less than 24 hours you are going to be Waltersized." It totally made my night.)

What a fun concert! His three sons played two songs before he did. They were called "Sibling Rivalry" and they were pretty good!

It was a fun evening. And then I went to work and cleaned up vomit and diarrhea all night. :( I wish I was back getting Waltersized.

C'est la vie. Jesus, thank you for good times and times that help us appreciate the good times.