The day I got my bling

Saturday, January 11, 2014 started out pretty normal. I slept in a little bit, laid around the house then took a shower. My sister, Kelley, texted me the day before asking if me, Kate and Mike would take some family pictures with her because her friend that was a photographer was in town and Kel thought it would be a good idea to give a photo album to my parents as a present. We all thought that was a good idea so I told Mike about it and he said he was on board. Now I have to admit, I thought something might be coming because over Christmas Mike and I picked out my ring and bought it. I wanted to be the loop about it because I wanted to LOVE it and I wanted something pretty specific. Mike didn't mind because he wanted me to love it too! Anyways, after I showered and got ready Mike came over to pick me up for the pictures. We were supposed to meet at a park nearby and before we went Mike wanted to stop by the grocery store to buy some flowers because he thought they would be great props (in my mind I was like, "Right..."). Mike was being a little weird and I could tell he was a bit nervous so that pretty much confirmed my suspicions. :) After we picked up the flowers at the store we headed over to the park and Mike asked if I could carry the flowers. He went to his trunk and got a couple of things out and said we should walk over to the huge tree and wait for my sisters there. Of course I was getting really excited at this point so I pretended I didn't see anything in his hands and said I would love to go over to the tree. When we got the the tree he handed me something. It was puzzle pieces. I put them together and they said, "Will You Marry Me, Kathleen Nease?". I was thrilled!!! About that time Mike got down on one knee and asked me. I said, "OF COURSE!!!!" He put it on my finger and we hugged and kissed. There was a random group of people sitting on a blanket across the field and they started cheering for us so that was pretty funny. Mike then told me that his friend, JC, was in the bushes taking pictures! I always wanted my proposal caught on pictures and Mike planned it! Here are some pictures form that glorious day.

After Mike and I had our moment, JC came out of the bushes and took some great pictures of us.

After all the pictures were taken Mike suggested that we go to campus and walk around a bit. It was great to have a little bit of time just to ourselves. While driving over there we called some family members and told them the great news. I wanted to call everyone but Mike said we might be seeing some of them later that evening. That made me really happy because I wanted to share this day with everyone. While we were walking around campus I got the great idea to text Kelley and Katelyn and ask them when they were getting to the park and that we were waiting on them. Of course I was teasing, but I wanted to stress them out and make them think Mike decided not to propose. Kel texted Mike and asked if anything was wrong, then I texted them back saying I was kidding. :) Around 5pm Mike and I headed to his house and most of our family and friends were there to celebrate with us! Even his mom and dad came all the way to Texas from Kansas for it! That meant so much to me! We had both of our favorite foods, BBQ and pizza! It was great. We got to tell the story to everyone and everyone was so excited for us. Here are some pictures from the party.

It was definitely one of the happiest days of my life! Can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Mike!!! Can we get married tomorrow?? :)

Merry Merry Christmas!

This year Mike and I had and early Christmas with my immediate family in College Station and then we went to Kansas for Christmas Day weekend. My parents were so kind to come to College Station so Kelley, Brian, Katelyn and I wouldn't have to travel anywhere. We all met up at Kelley and Brian's cabin they were staying in. When my mom and dad arrived with the presents Mike was a little shocked. My family loves to give each other presents so we had quite a few gifts. Picture courtesy of Mike:

We had a great dinner that Kelley and Brian fixed. We exchanged presents, played with Lucy and got to relax. It was a wonderful day spending time with family even if it wasn't on Christmas Day.














We decided to go to Kansas for Christmas Day weekend. One of the main reasons that we went was that Everett, Mike's nephew, was going to be there. Everett, Xianne and Isaac live in Singapore and they decided to come to the states for Christmas. This would be the second time that we got to see Everett so we were super excited! The entire family took turns playing with and holding Evie. He had an adorable Santa suit that he was wearing too!

 

 Evie probably received the most presents, but how could you not buy that little boy something? He was so great over the holidays. On Christmas Day the Penny's had Carmen's side of the family over for food and a gift exchange. The food was wonderful and it was great to see everyone. The gift exchange was fun too. There were tons of laughs and a lot of stealing presents. After lunch we all relaxed and didn't do much of anything. Mike and I went on a walk downtown and window shopped. It had snowed a couple of days before so we did have a white Christmas.

The next day Mike and I visited his Nonny and Aunt Susan just across town. It's always good visiting with them.

That evening we went with Jeremiah, Mike's friend, to pick out an engagement ring for his girlfriend. He picked out a gorgeous one! On New Year's Eve Mike and I got together Jeremiah and Tyler. We had dinner and then headed over to the casino in Kansas City. We had a great time and didn't lose too much money. :) The next day Dave, Carmen, Elijah, Mike and I went over to Uncle Mike and Aunt Michelle's house to visit with them and Aaron. While there Mike said he wasn't feeling well so he laid down. Ends up that Mike came down with something and stayed in bed for the next couple of days. In between looking in on him, Mike's mom and I went on walks and ran some errands. When it was time to leave Mike still wasn't feeling well so I drove back to Texas while he rested and slept.