InstaKings...

Here's what we have been up to according to all the pictures on my phone... 

We celebrated this guy on his 69th birthday!!! He's real fancy and decided that all he wanted was chili dogs and homemade tater salad!

Emeryn's class is studying city planning and each kiddo was given a type of building to design and create using any medium they chose. The structure had to be bigger than a school milk carton but smaller than a cereal box. She was given "restaurant" and I am so stinking proud and amazed by her creativity!

She was also proud of herself and that's my favorite part of anything my kids do!

We hosted a Camp King dinner one more time before lots of this crew graduates - I impressed them with my culinary skills of homemade sloppy joes. I get my fanciness from Pops. 

I have added four more things to this calendar during the last two weeks of school. Why am I even going to work those two weeks?!?!?!

Shelly is hosting a style challenge on the instagram this month and I have had such fun playing along!  I’d wear blue jeans every day in any temperature. I prefer them to shorts. My favorite denim is ridiculously long and belled bottoms. (Clearly part of my dream for long lean legs)

Emmy completed all of her first communion preparation work and had an awesome dress rehearsal complete with pictures before the big day....

She also chose and designed her own cake!

We could not be more proud of our amazing little lady and this next step in her journey of faith.

Landry INSISTED that I change into the "romper just like hers" for one more picture and who am I to deny such a request?!?

The day would not have been complete without Miss Elizabeth there to celebrate, too. What started as a random email request for a Spanish tutor has resulted in the blessing of an amazing mentor and auntie for my kids!

Speaking of nieces... Ryan finally held Keirstyn and then quickly took a nap with her!

I decided to get back into exercise and woke my sleepy booty up to get to the neighborhood boot camp.

I'm pretty sure every favorite thing I own in my closet was free - including this clutch that came with a bottle of cologne I bought for Ryan. (Actually, I think the gift was a wallet, but I talked them into this clutch since I was a girl). 

This day was my favorite... 

(I threw my new denim jacket over it to be appropriate for work). 

Do yourself a favor... RUN to your nearest Trader Joe's (or drive if you're like us) and buy the amazing cauliflower gnocchi. SO MUCH GOODNESS!!!

My favorite kind of office visits are the unplanned arrivals of some of my favorite Aggies. Sure do miss them when they graduate and leave but am ever so grateful for the opportunity to be a short little stop on their brilliant life-long journey!

This darling pink shirt was going to be my inspiration for Shelly's "pink" prompt, but you know I decided on showcasing my pink fuzzy crocs instead! ;)

I am loving this navy and white striped t-shirt dress from Old Navy and it paired so perfectly with my orange wedges and S&D tassel necklace. 

And while "true colors" can mean 1000 different things, I clearly need to showcase the colors that matter most... 

And then there was this prompt... 

No worries, Radley had me covered... 

and that's us in an instant!

InstaKings...

Where did we leave off? I can't pretend that this is accidental anymore. I need y'all to know this is just who I am now.

I blog.

Sometimes.

And I'm not that great at it.

Meh.

Here's what we've been up ...


If you haven't joined the land of HQ then you are missing out. Y'all. It's a FREE trivia app and there is a DAILY cash prize. 12 questions and then BAM.... and I finally won! The entire office was celebrating... now I just need to decide what to do with all that dough...

April is a CRAZY month in higher education. Basically all the students decided long ago to every program or event imaginable in 30 days or less. Fun times. 

BUT, April is also when A&M hosts their official Family Weekend and I love love LOVE meeting the parents and families of the awesome Aggies I get to work with each year!

We also got to meet another new Aggie, my niece, Keirstyn, made her debut and she has already told me I'm her favorite. 

My students work on a somewhat limited budget which means they have to fundraise. They started a "small 5K" three years ago that has not stayed small.... we had 400 runners in the ramps of Kyle Field and this guy below made it all happen. He didn't need me one bit, but I showed up and pretended I knew what I was doing. ;) 

And also took lots of pictures. 

We basically never have any fun at these events.

Literally the best job in the world - I mean I don't know one thing about races, but they figured it out and made it happen. So so proud of all the work they do to make our community brighter!

That same afternoon was the burial of Mrs. Bush. I feel so honored that the Bushes chose our little town as their home away from home. The streets were lined with people waiting to pay their respect and show their admiration for her life of service. 

I caught a small one-hour of solitude at Starbucks and felt like a new person. 

We snuggled up with our new cousin...

Who was sweet enough to give us some gassy smiles. 

And Radley finished his soccer season with a win! I hate that I didn't get to see him play nearly enough this least half of his season, especially since he may be taking a break from soccer next year. He's ready to try something new and I'm ready to watch him shine with whatever he chooses!

My momma got me an "i.o.u." for a denim jacket ages ago (like, maybe 5 years)... and out of the blue asked me if I ever got one. I had not...but I knew which one I wanted and since she's an awesome momma and Dad decided the statute of limitations on an i.o.u. was 7 years... I am now part of the "cool kids" club. 

Ryan celebrates a birthday soon (a BIG birthday) and since he is such a supportive husband when it comes to making sure I have time to nourish my friendships, I surprised him with a weekend away with his buds. Stay tuned on all the crazy that I am sure will not happen! ;)

And that's us in an instant!

Lately...

Lately we have been enjoying all things spring. Like our spring break baby that had her fourth (yes, ridiculous) birthday celebration with framily!

I talked her out of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and into regular ol' store bought goodness.

[Please see FOURTH celebration - she was good.]

One morning as I was walking back to my car after volunteering at the kids' school I heard...

"Katy?..... Katy Guercion??"

Well, my head flipped around faster than something that goes really fast and my old boss was there! The boss that gave me the job at the most amazing deli where I ended up meeting a pretty cool dude that you all know as Ryan. 

HOW FUN IS THAT?!?! 

Know what else is fun? Working with some pretty incredible SHEroes of mine. 

Ryan installed the desk for the girls' room and they are obsessed! I am, too... the afternoon homework sessions have been pretty painless since they now have a big "grown up" space to work. 

We had an ENTIRE WEEK of PERFECT weather. The kind of weather that makes all the hot summers worth it and we took full advantage of this goodness by setting up some picnic dinners... 

and lounging around in the hammocks. 

And yes, that's us in the front yard because we are TOTAL front yard people. 

How else am I supposed to know what's going on in the 'hood? 

And that's us lately!

InstaKings...

We have been a literal hot mess around here. Bed ridden with fevers and snotty noses but we have managed to have some fun in between. So here is a glimpse of us through my phone... 

Emmy may look more like Ryan than me, but there is no denying she's mine as evidenced by her love for a good to do list... 

or should I say a "what do list". And she managed to check each and every item off. 

The kids earned tickets to an Aggie basketball game by reaching a reading goal so the girls and I made our way to Reed Arena to watch the Lady Aggies play.

We ate some popcorn, sucked down some soda, distracted the away team and had the best time ever!

Sometimes the day just calls for a soft serve from McDonalds... sadly the day also called for a different recipe and I'm not a fan. 

Landry wore vintage Katy to school... I have a similar picture of Emmy, I'm just too lazy to go look for it. I'm pretty sure my mom and our neighbor ironed this on for me eons ago and it's still just the cutest. 

I’m so glad that younger, more creative, me thought to make these mailboxes with the kids years ago. They do a great job holding the stuff that Gigi sends for Valentines and the last minute H-E-B purchases we get like chips and micro kites. (Yes, they are a thing and they cost $2 and will last 2 minutes).

Poor Emersyn missed out on the Valentine festivities but did earn herself a trip to the doctor for the second time in three days with a fever that just wouldn't go away.

We happened to run into Hope who was suffering from the same ailment - who could believe these two precious smiling kiddos tested positive for flu?

BOO.

I was leaving for a work trip the next day but not before Holly and Shelly delivered some love in my mailbox. Shelly told me I didn't have to share the tart, but I was nice and let Ryan have the strawberries. ;)  

I was leaving for a work trip on Thursday morning and Johnny decided he was just going to miss me too much to let me go. 

I get to do some pretty amazing things with my job but one of my absolute favorites is working with our graduate students as they enter this crazy field of student affairs. They always end up teaching me way more than I teach them but I have the best memories with these up and coming professionals. 

Teresa lead our team of students in the planning of an awesome conference in Dallas that allowed us to visit awesome companies and hear from thoughtful speakers and it made being away from home a little bit easier.

That and knowing that this sweet girl was being well taken care of by her Daddy. 

Three days with this crew wasn't enough - I tried to talk them into throwing together another conference or staying to plan it again next year but something about graduation, internships, study abroad and jobs keeps getting in the way. 

By Sunday morning, Emersyn was FINALLY fever free - that was SIX full days of a fever and I was so glad to see that smile back on her face and that sparkle back in her eye.

And then... 

MOM DOWN! I capped out a 103 on Monday evening and I have been home in my bed acting like a total adult ever since. You know, whining, shivering, coughing and making Ryan bring me soup. 

That just so happened to be hand delivered by the most thoughtful person in the entire world. 

I'm on the mend, praise the Lord, so let's just pray that next week We5Kings stay fever free!!!