Weekend Celebrations!

5.14.2013

This past weekend was spent hopping from one celebration to the next! Master's Graduation, a high school bestie's wedding, and Mother's Day all in one weekend = most fun weekend ever!

Here's a little recap of my weekend...

Friday

Following work, my mom and I did a little shopping before being picked up by the boys to head to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, 411 West! We enjoyed a lovely dinner, which was made even better when my brother, Bryan, and his sweet girlfriend, Hanna, joined us mid-way through! We ended the evening by going to see The Great Gatsby, which was ah-mazing! Perfect way to start the weekend :)

My brother & his sweet girlfriend, Hanna, sent me flowers at school :)
My students were all up in my business trying to read that note :)
Pre-Graduation Celebration Dinner @ 411 West...nom nom nom!
My precious parents & me
Saturday 

I slept in a little before starting to get ready for the big day while Kyle and my daddy made a nice, big brunch for everyone! Kyle's parents arrived mid-morning, as did Bryan and Hanna, and the whole gang enjoyed some yummy eggs, pancakes, and fresh fruit. Graduation was at 1:30pm, and was so exciting! It went by really fast, and before I knew it, I was walking across that stage!

I was just a little excited ;) I'm sure you can't tell at all!
Me with the 5 other teachers at my school who I completed the program with! Love these Geckos :)
BFF Ash & Me! We did our undergrad & grad programs together...so proud of us!
My brother can't stand to be in tar heel territory...had to throw his wolfpack sign out there!
My cheering section...Kyle's fam in the back, my fam in the front!
2 new besties that I met through this program...so thankful for these girls!
Ash, Em, & Me...we took this same exact photo 4 years ago...only it was for undergrad, and we rocked carolina blue robes!
After graduation, we all headed over to a local restaurant called Nantucket Grill for cake! This place has the most AMAZING cakes ever, and we totally indulged! Not the best idea considering we immediately had to switch into wedding mode and get ready for the next celebration--one of my high school bestie, Ally's, wedding!

Reception was on the 28th story of a building in downtown Raleigh...such a gorgeous view!
Reunited with 2 of my high school girls, Becca & Paige :)
Kyle and me with my rents...mom and I totally coordinated with our dresses without planning!
We love photo booths!
Childhood besties :)
Gorgeous cake overlooking the city :)
The whole gang...love these girls!
Heart JP :)
Love.
Ally & Steve-- the beautiful couple...photo courtesy of their wonderful photographer, Brian Mullins!
Sunday

Mother's Day! We slept in after a very fun but very late evening. Mom wanted to have an early lunch at Carrabas, which is her all-time favorite restaurant. We had a great time with my parents and were sad that the weekend festivities were coming to a close!
I love making photo cards for my family!
Happy Mother's Day!
Had to get a photo with Dad, too!
Wow! What a weekend! It was so nice to be surrounded by all of my family and friends to celebrate big life happenings! Yay for celebrations!

Surprise Night

5.08.2013

So, it's no secret that I finally finished grad school. I've pretty much mentioned it on every social media outlet and worked it into every conversation for the last 2 weeks! But, there's one person who's been hearing about this for months, and that person is my sweet hubby, Kyle. And, when my two friends, Kelly & Anna, and I all hang out together with our guys, we definitely have been guilty of reminding them about this upcoming "milestone." We may have even gone as far as to hint that they plan some sort of epic surprise for us, and guess what...they listened! Not only did they listen, but they planned the most thoughtful, sweet night for us ladies!

Last Friday, us girls were told that we needed to stay at school until around 3:30 and that we didn't need to change or do anything but just show up where we were told, when we were told. Well, we had had Field Day at school that day, so I was totally bumming it, but I had faith in my hubs that he truly meant it when he said I'd be fine. I even reminded him multiple a few times that I was wearing a sports bra and tennis shoes that day, and he just kept laughing and saying not to worry!

At 4pm, Kyle drove me to Kelly's house and told me to get out of the car and go inside. He then proceeded to drive away! I was so confused! When Anna arrived, Kelly's hubby, Keith, presented us with an envelope with our 1st clue...

Here's a look at what our surprise adventure entailed...

Excited & Nervous to open Clue #1
Clue #1-- Those Funny Boys :)
We each got a gift certificate for manicures! We also got clue #2 but were told not to open it until after our manis!
Beautiful nails & Clue #2-- which told us to go to the place where we all first hung out...Anna & Matt's house!
The boys had put out wine & appetizers for us! 
So sweet!
Clue #3 was also waiting for us-- Can't believe the boys actually picked out our outfits! We had so much fun getting ready!

Keith picked us up to drive us to our next destination, which ended up being my house, even though he tried to fake us out a couple of times on the way!
We walked inside to see this lovely dinner table set for us...and Kyle's mom was in the kitchen! She had wanted to do something special for us, too, and when she heard about the boys' idea for surprise offered to come up and do the cooking for our meal! She is a great cook, and it was such a delicious meal! She even served us and everything!
Our table has never looked this good!

After a lovely meal, we were presented with Clue #4, which led us to the Melting Pot for a late-night dessert!
Keith, Matt, & Anna!
Kyle, me, and Kelly!
What a perfect way to celebrate! Kelly's facebook status said it best following our lovely evening...

I think we married some keepers!
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