CaseyAndKelly.Com

Casey’s been talking about us rearranging our DVDs for awhile now from the format we’ve always had. He wanted the DVDs arranged by genre as opposed to alphabetical because he said when he’s looking for a comedy he doesn’t wan to pass over things that don’t fit the bill. It took me about 2.5 hours to get everything in order because of how time consuming it was to type the movies that overlapped categories and I was constantly consulting IMDB for the proper genre. I broke movies into the following categories: Action, Horror, SciFi, Drama, Suspense, Children’s/Family, and Comedy. TV is already on the rack in the office as there’s no room for all four racks in the living room.

Congratulations all around to Matt & Julie on their wedding and to Sara on baby girl, Laney!

We left last Wednesday for our trip to Missouri for Matt & Julie’s wedding. We got a late start but still made it to KC in 8 hours and 15 minutes even with the occasional downpours. I’m sure a lot of our good timing had to do with the awesome gas mileage we were getting. Our first stop wasn’t until Salina which is over 400 miles from COS and where we were reacquainted with sticky humidity. We were able to catch dinner at The Outback with his parents, Grandma, and Lew. It was nice to be able to get to see everyone if only for a short while. Our total time to Washington, Missouri was only 12 hours and that includes a twisty, turvy road behind a semi where the speed limit fluctuated between 30 and 55 miles per hour. After three states it was a relief to check into the hotel and get a full night’s sleep.

Thursday while we were waiting for Matt arrive from his last day at UPS (yay!) in Louisville we went shopping for a new dress. We managed to find the most expensive mall in St. Louis but since it was the closest and we only wanted one store – JCrew – that’s where we went. I wanted a new dress for the wedding and managed to find the perfect one! Matt met us at the mall and after saying hi to Julie and getting in the FX we went and paid the deposit on Matt & Julie’s new apartment while Julie went for a mani/pedi with her family. We had plenty of time to spare afterwards and I drug Casey & Matt around another mall looking for wedding shoes. The entire time I had my heart set on heels because my dress wouldn’t match the shoes I brought. But when we got back to the original store (because I never buy shoes at the first store that we park near because I don’t want to commit without seeing all of the options) the boys started talking about dancing shoes and jumping and while I could perform all of the stunts and was adamant about not dancing, I caved and bought some super cute flats that I can also wear to our next wedding this year! This was one of the longest mani/pedi’s in history (sorry Julie) but we also managed to go to Grolwer’s and get appetizers and a couple of beers and then go to Trader Joe’s where we got some two-buck Chuck to not bootleg back to Colorado and we still managed to beat Julie back to her parents house. For dinner we went to the Trainwreck for yummy food and drinks before heading back for a wicked game of ping pong. I’ve never played before and have to say I’m the exact opposite of awesome but we all had a ton of fun trying while Jo and her boyfriend, Matt #2 (hereon referred to as #2 to avoid confusion). Friday morning among all of the chaos, we managed to pick up the boys tuxes and get back out to Washington and the hotel. We had a little downtime hanging out before heading over to the rehearsal. For the rehearsal dinner we went to a restaurant with a name I don’t remember the name of where I got to meet Matt’s family, before we all headed back to the hotel for more drinks and hot tubbin’.

Saturday, the BIG day, we indulged in the Belgian waffle continental breakfast before playing Taboo in Matt & Julie’s room. We did girls vs. guys to even out the teams because, well I’m really awesome (and not the exact opposite this time) at Taboo. Then we went to finalize plans with the florist (who had two cute, fat, bullies – it made me miss mine even more) and then went to lunch at the American Bounty which is now officially off of places I’ll ever go again because of the lackluster service and sub par food which worked out because of the dinner and open bar awaiting us. When we got back to the hotel we managed to squeeze in a quick nap before I had to get ready for the wedding. The wedding party got ready at the carriage house near the church before taking pictures all over the pretty vineyards and river views. I ended up being the assistant to the entire wedding party and family by the time the night was over I had other people’s hairspray, comb, cell phone, keys, sewing kits, sunglasses, and a marriage license. But I’m not complaining, I was useful. Before the ceremony I got to meet the rest of Matt’s family and we all hit it off so well I became an honorary McKahan. Everything about the ceremony was beautiful, especially Julie. We had so much fun at the reception and even against Casey and I’s protests that we wouldn’t dance, we did and had so much fun doing it! Now we’re considering taking dancing lessons! After the reception we all met back at the wedding the after party in Julie’s parents room. The night went by too fast but it was one of the best wedding’s we’ve ever been to!

Sunday we planned on getting back on the road early but after the open bar and after party we deicded we might as well enjoy the free breakfast and sleeping till 7:30 before leaving. Matt kept insisting we wake them up before leaving but we ended up not needing to and managed to have breakfast and say goodbye. Our trip back only took 12 hours and 15 minutes. Thank God for the $900 plane tickets + rental car + hotel because driving afforded us the chance to stop at Bryant’s for lunch and more BBQ sauce (we ended up with 6 assorted bottles and rubs from various places by the time we got home) before picking up Stoli. It was just so much fun!

I’ve given you enough to read for now. Unfortunately we don’t have many pictures to post as I took most with Matt and Julie”s camera but when they get back from their we’ll post what we can! Happy belated 4th to you all!

Casey was forced to take Friday off because of all the overtime he’s been using and not using as comp time. We put the time to good use and got the oil changed and the tire patched (there’s been a slow leak and low tire pressure for a couple of months now we’ve been refilling) on the FX apparently because of a nail pop. Then after a ton of drama at Walgreens during which we waited for an hour to get our pictures taken for our passports they were finally completed. Apparently the slow down was due to the people that got to the 1 Hour Photo counter seconds before us and were developing 500 pictures. There’s only so much browsing you can do at a Walgreens. We ended up getting one photo for free so all in all we ended up getting both of our photos for our passport taken for less than 1/2 of what the post office would have charged. Our plan to get to the post office before it closed failed because of our setbacks so we ended up showing up during their afternoon hours (1:30-3) and we still had to wait because the chick doing passports was a chatty Cathy. Fortunately we *did* get our passport information submitted although we’re both a little concerend about the processing but are keeping our fingers crossed. Casey’s worried because his name was changed but his birth father which we know nothing about other than what’s on his birth certificate has to be listed although they have different last names. And for me, I had a passport from when we went to Berlin but it was under Blankenship and since I was legally adopted when I was 9 there is *nothing* with that last name on it anywhere except for my adoption papers which I didn’t bring with me because I don’t have. Even my birth certificate was changed to Bonine. So much drama. Then to add to all of that, they take your birth certificates (the originals) and send them in with your passport information. Seriously, it’s like identity theft waiting to happen. The estimated wait is between 12-14 weeks and since we applied exactly 5 months before we leave for the Dominican Republic we’re hoping all is good.

We’re leaving for St. Louis on Wednesday with a hopeful stopover in KC. We’ve been seeing all of these new BBQ restaurants on the Food Network that we want to try. And while we love Bryan’s, we’ve had and are planning on stopping at the Speedway on our return trip to bring back goods for the rest of the fam. I’m really looking forward to the wedding and taking a break for awhile. I’m bummed we’re not bringing Stoli like we originally had planned because after thinking about it, her in a hotel room probably wouldn’t be a good idea. She’d be barking at all hours of the night if she heard any sort of noise and we also feel bad about leaving her alone for so long. Randi and family are supposed to be making the trip down that weekend too so hopefully we’ll be able to see everyone along the way!

Yesterday we went looking for a dining room set. With no luck. We had stopped by an unfinished furniture store last week and saw a piece we really liked and said how fun it’d be to stain and finish the pieces ourself although we weren’t sure we wanted to commit because after all of the pieces, staining, and shipping we figured it’d be the same as Crate & Barrel. We were right but the one piece we liked and were willing to pay for is backordered till July. Then we saw another one that was cheap and cute although a little small and maybe not as sturdy at American Furniture Warehouse but that one was backordered for two weeks and we were hoping to have the set by 4th of July when we’re planning a BBQ or at the latest when Uncle John is here. So we decided we’d splurge and get the unfinished furniture set cause we’d get to pick the stain and the design was perfect. Well as thing would happen, the piece was reserved and the soonest they could get another in is four weeks. So now we’re just contemplating whether or not to order this piece or just wait. No time like the present though I guess.

Summer hiatus sucks! The only thing getting us through it are the cooking competition shows. Our favorites for the summer are The Next Food Network Star (go Amy and Paul), Hell’s Kitchen (go anyone that doesn’t cry, I haven’t decided on any favorites there yet), and Top Chef (go Hung and Micah). We’ve also been watching a lot of the Challenge shows involving cakes on the food network but I always just want to reach through the screen and eat their icing. So now we’re just catching up on movies that and not feeling very fulfilled.

The seed packets of oregano and basil that I planted are finally sprouting! It’s so exciting to see the little buds popping up and growing but it’ll still be awhile till they’ll be ready to use. For next year’s garden we’ll most definitely do the verbena, pansies, marigold, and rosemary again but as for the others we’ll need more plants that do as well in the full, all day, sun. We’re pondering pulling out our dog run and putting a garden in that space as our deck needs to be restained and sealed so we’ll see…

New pictures of Stoli posted in the gallery. Yes, we adore our dog!

Who’d have thought that I actually like gardening?! We bought some seeds a month or so ago and I haven’t been able to find them but finally did yesterday. This morning I planted a planter each full of basil and oregano. Then I transplanted some of the pansies that were growing in the rocks near our house into the remaining planters so now both plant boxes are full. I just uploaded more pics of the newest completed planter box, the first box completed without the hail this time, a summer view off our back deck, and some more random pics of Stoli. Happy Wednesday to everyone!

New pictures from the last week have been posted in the gallery. The pics are from our anniversary through this past weekend. There’s a cute video of Stoli vs. the lawnmower that I want to post but I’ll have to have Casey’s help with that once he gets home so stay tuned…

It rained and then hailed four separate times on Saturday. I was worried for our garden but not willing to get pelted by hail to bust out the stakes and sheet and cover them up. Everything looks fine and the cilantro is still plentiful. I have yet to use the cilantro but there seems to be enough to spare so something with cilantro will be on the menu soon. We’ve had two six-packs of alyssum sitting in their original containers since early April and I transplanted them this weekend too but it’s too early to tell whether they’ll keep thriving or not. The lady at Lowes so they were very hardy and required little attention. I can’t seem to find my seed packets anywhere so the rest of the herbs we were going to grow are on permanent hold for now.

I guess with all of the rain it’s making the bugs come out because there are a ton of them (mostly gnats) flying around and getting stuck in our screens. We haven’t had to turn on the AC yet and have only had to turn on the fan once so as long as no bugs permeate the screens we should be good for awhile longer. The rain is also making the weeds grow like crazy. I’ve had to weed several times this summer already because they are popping up everywhere. I’ve made it about halfway around the yard pulling the ones that have migrated under the landscaping border and growing in the mulch. There are just so many I’m thinking the previous owners may have just covered them up with more mulch taking the easy way out.

I’ve been fighting a weight gain that appeared suddenly last month and I can’t seem to shake it. Casey and I are now back to calorie counting again in preparation of the weddings we’ll be attending. We’re kind of doing a modified South Beach Diet so I don’t imagine anything miraculous. I even weighed Stoli and she’s up to 57 pounds! The vet said in April that she needed to get down to 52 pounds and now she’s gained. We moved her food into the living room because she really hates eating in the bathroom where she can’t see us even though it’s right around the corner. I’m thinking I’m going to have to move it back and that’ll be her diet – walking to get her food. That’s all for now, time for a movie and some sugar free puddin’.

I need some warm weather desperately. It got down to the low 40s last night and was only about 60 today. I seriously need some warm weather – something tropical!

No word on a job. Pickins are slim and there’s just nothing here that I’m qualified for so I’ve been catching up on my reading. I’ve been going to the library to get audio books and then upload them to my iPod. Well the last two books I’ve gotten have been all scratched up. I mentioned it to the clerk when I returned one today and the guy asked if I had tried out the other discs. Um, isn’t the first disc the *most* important one.