Well, Helen and Corey's wedding celebration came and went so quickly! It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating their engagement at Peche downtown. I had been looking forward to this wedding for months because I knew Helen would make sure it was the classiest of all affairs, and it truly was. Both the ceremony and the reception took place at The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was a beautiful and breathtaking venue, the weather was perfect (a tad on the chilly side but we weren't outdoors for very long) and the food was delicious - catered by Whole Foods. It was such a treat getting to meet their families and other friends and to catch up with Krista and Kyle, who we don't get to see too often because they live in San Francisco. Some of my favorite parts of the wedding include Helen's signature cocktail (Pimm's Cup), the table centerpieces (little finished wooden boxes filled with succulents made by Corey's grandfather), the tiny pecan, lemon and buttermilk pies for dessert, and, of course, the visible ora of happiness that surrounded both Corey and Helen the entire evening. I am so glad I got to be a part of the celebration of this new union between two wonderful people.
Random thought in relation to a dream I had last night: Do you ever have fond memories of a movie or TV show you used to adore as a child and then decide to watch it as an adult, and it's just not the same? How can this happen? It makes me so incredibly sad. I guess it's just one of those downfalls of growing up. Like the traditional Disney movies used to seem so alive and awe-inspiring, and now something just seems off and a bit lackluster. Don't get me wrong - The Little Mermaid is still in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. I'll never get sick of that gem! Sometimes I still pretend I'm Ariel. Embarrassing, but 100% true confession.
Moving on. Today is the birthday of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Taylor. This morning I sent her a quick "happy birthday" text, and it turned into a thoughtful conversation wandering down memory lane. We went to elementary, middle and high school together. We initially met in Girl Scout Troop 3215. What can I say, our friendship blossomed in a whirlwind of cookie sales, crafting, snacking and camping. Ah, camping. I think our troop might have only gone on one camping trip in January or February when it was freezing and miserable outside. We slept in these makeshift tent-cabin structures and were strictly advised not to go to the restrooms alone, as it was pitch back out there at night. Of course, I end up having to go to the restroom in the middle of the night so I try to wake someone up to go with me, but it doesn't work and I end up peeing all over myself. So that is what I remember most clearly from the camping trip, but I believe we also participated in some sort of sock hop talent show thing as well. I suppose that was a good time. Anyway, Taylor and I have been through interesting situations together including numerous prank phone calls to infomercials, trying to start a girl band, stalking boys (mostly my doing), creating fake personalities named Jeb, Bertha and Sidalee Bock, Bobo, Buckbo and Bob-O Bonfire, and of course Sidalee's boyfriend Jimmy. Fun, weird times were had, and here's to many more! Love you, Bertha-Funky Lady-Taylor.
Well, the holidays came and went like a flash of pure, unadulterated lightning, but they bought some pretty nice things along with them - lots (but not nearly enough) of family time, Mom's pancakes and bacon, a movie date with my brother, hugs, laughter, christmas gifts, silly cats, sushi, a best friend brunch, tornado warnings, green skies, a whirlwind of leaves in Nana's front yard, feasting, tea-drinking, new friends, an introduction to Duck Dynasty, signature meals, margaritas, Scattergories and so much more.
My sweet cousin, Sarah, graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University this past weekend with a Bachelor's of Business Administration degree in Economics - Summa Cum Laude, might I add. I'm so, so proud of her. She's come a long way from that adorable, doe-eyed little blonde chasing Esther and I around to keep up with our erratic, girlish antics, but she is still as selfless and giving as ever. The entire weekend was a wonderful treat - getting to spend some much-needed quality time with Esther on the road to Nacogdoches, seeing my sweet Nana, goofing around with my mom, hearing Aunt Kelley's infectious laugh, chatting with Aunt Kandace, eating Aunt Kim and Uncle Dale's always delicious food, giggling with my sister and younger cousins and, of course, seeing Sarah walk across that stage, stepping into that new, terrifyingly uncertain phase of life with the world in ruffles at your feet. After the ceremony, we all gathered around the table for Frito pie and gelatin salad, and I felt myself get lost in the moment, melting into the eyes of these people surrounding me, every fiber in my body feeling nothing but unconditional love for my family. This is it. This is what it all comes down to - family loving and supporting each other to no end. It's so overwhelming in the best of ways.
Well, I got to spend another wonderful weekend in Houston with my favorite people. I left straight from work on Thursday afternoon and got to catch the end of my sister's volleyball game at Barbers Hill Middle School. It's so neat to see her play in a school team sport. I've watched my brother his whole life on various baseball, basketball and football teams, and it's been great, but it's fun to watch Micah kick some booty on the 7th grade A-team volleyball court. She's pretty awesome.
Friday, my mom and Micah had to go to school/work so I went over to Nana's house and picked up some lunch and groceries for her. We had a nice little afternoon eating, chatting and watching Days of Our Lives. Then I went back to my mom's and we celebrated her 45th birthday with appetizers, margaritas and a free birthday brownie sundae at Chili's before heading over to Micah's volleyball game in Deer Park.
Micah's volleyball tournament continued on Saturday, and I got to watch the first game before heading over to New Caney with my step-dad and his girlfriend for my cousin Katie's baby shower. I got to see a lot of family and friends on that side of the family that I hadn't seen in so long. It was really wonderful to catch up with everybody and watch Katie open up all of her cute little baby gifts for baby Rylie due on November 9. Saturday night was really fun because everybody (including my mom) actually stayed up late looking through old photo albums and reminiscing.
I had to come back to Austin on Sunday, but my mom made a super delicious lunch of harvest chowder and cornbread before I left. I love my family :)
Oh boy, Kousins' Kamp! Where to begin? Back in 2008, my mom got this great idea called "Cousins' Camp" from her friend Jenelle. It's basically a family reunion sans the creepy, distant relatives you've never met before that like to pinch your cheeks and chat about how big you've gotten...and without (most of) the drama that comes with large family gatherings. So on my mom's side of the family, we decided to make Cousins' Camp an annual thing (as long as we could manage it) and we changed the C's in Cousins' Camp to K's because most of the Kitchen family has K names - My mom is Kary and her sisters are Kim, Kelley and Kandace. Kelley's kids are Keller and Kirby. Kandace's kids are Kody and Kaylie, and my mom has me (Kassie) and Kaleb. The odd balls without K names are Esther, Sarah, Abigail and my sister, Micah. I should have made a flow chart for better understanding, huh?!
I am basically obsessed with that side of my family. I love how close-knit we all are and how supportive and loving everyone is toward each others, in most cases. Our family, as a whole, has been through a lot together, lots of highs and lows, yet we've all stuck together and provided that shoulder to lean on in all situations. Sure, we have our disagreements about lifestyle choices, religion and politics, but what's so great about us, is that we do have so many differing opinions on important matters, but we all still love and cherish each other despite everything. We Kitchens are a force of nature.
Anyway, back to the Kamp. Our first Kousins' Kamp was in 2008, the second in 2009, the third in 2010 and the fourth was this past weekend. They have all been at Nana's house in Crosby, our sanctuary, the one place that ties all of us together. That big barn house cradles many precious memories and has plenty of room for more to come.
In past Kousins' Kamps, we had more events and activities like various outdoor races, obstacle courses, hands-on cooking, scavenger hunts and more. This year, we relaxed the schedule a little and did more catching up, chatting and reminiscing past gatherings. We still had Krafts with Sarah; we decorated picture frames to hold pictures from Kousins' Kamp as a sort of souvenir. We did some line dancing out in the driveway, played a few thousand rounds of Yahtzee and Scattergories, watched home videos, played croquet out in Nana's big front yard, made ice cream sundaes, ate our traditional Kitchen family foods - chicken spaghetti, taco soup and, of course, Velveeta & Rotel cheese dip! We even had a bit of a war - the elder and wiser females vs. the psychotic teenage boys attempting to attack us with twirling rifles and batons from the 1980s all in order to protect the large flat screen TV they stole from the living room so they could watch their inappropriate movies in the upstairs bedroom. Tsk tsk.
Sadly, the weekend had to end a little early for some. Esther, Sarah, Abigail and Aunt Kim left Sunday night so Esther could fly out to Florida the next morning, and Kaleb and Keller both had football practice early Monday morning. Yesterday afternoon, the fun family-filled weekend came to an official close with the ultimate finale of delish butter burgers at Culver's with my Mom, Micah and Kirby.
Friday night after Kaleb's football game. GO EAGLES!!!
Sitting around the kitchen table as usual.
Proudly holding a painting of my mom from back in the day.
Playing a hilarious game of Scattergories!
Going on a walk around the block with sweet Nana
Brother, Sister and I with Nana
Eating ice cream sundaes!
The "little" girls with Nana
Gearing up for the Egg Toss
Micah being silly
The Masters of Croquet
The Big Girls
Lastly, I have a video montage that my brilliant 14-year-old cousin Kirby put together throughout the weekend:
