christmas eve, with some friendsgiving on the side!

Happy Christmas Eve to everyone! We're spending the next couple of days at my parents, with a house full of babies & dogs & grandparents & really good food... The most wonderful time of the year! I'm in charge of Christmas morning breakfast, so I'm off to prep some frittata ingredients & make labels for the mimosa bar (oh yes). Not to mention the oodles of presents that have to be wrapped to day, as per Essmann family tradition, but I leave you with the holiday video I finaaaaally managed to put together from our Friendsgiving gathering last month. Pretend that the leaves are snow, because that's what I'm doing. (& once again, sorry for the spot on our lens that might make you twitch.)

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!

midwest trip - emily's wedding

A million years later, I'm 90% done with get all of these vacation photos sorted! I wasn't kidding about just how many pictures there are. I was going to start my little blog series of our trip with a good ol' fashioned post about being on the road, but quickly discovered that most of those pictures are of 1. someone sleeping 2. someone eating 3. a sunrise 4. a sunset or 5. scenery. *snore* You're welcome. & actually, some of the scenery still made it through so...

We made the 18 hour drive to my grandparents house in St. Louis in one day (Please hold your applause. Actually, don't. It was seriously impressive.) but Jared & I packed up the very next morning to head up to Indiana to jump into wedding festivities with Emily. As my maid of honor, Emily pretty much kept me sane on the days leading up to our wedding, & it was all we could do to attempt to return the favor. We really loved having some down time to just catch up & introduce Jared to her family + our old stomping grounds.

Em & I spent four of the best years of our lives (I mean... You know.) living next door to each other in Carmel, Indiana. We tried to take Jared on a tour of Carmel, but as 10-14 yr. olds, our lives revolved around anywhere we could scooter to. Our lifelong friendship was forged in about a 2 mile radius of our houses. Needless to say, it was a pretty short tour.

The next 48 hours were wedding wedding wedding = my happy place. Emily & Trent had their ceremony in a chapel on the St. Mary's College campus where Em graduated from this year, & it was a truly beautiful ceremony + mass (but also appropriate amounts of funny - Cheers to Father John, the best priest I've ever had the pleasure of drinking with). I sobbed. I always do, even when I'm the planner, so you'd think I would have especially mastered the subtle eye/nose wipe or at least remembered to wrap a tissue around my bouquet but NOPE. It's fine... It's fine. We made our way to the lake that we spent many a summer weekend on to enjoy the reception at the club house. Emily loves the 4th of July more than any human being I know (besides like, Francis Scott Key, maybe), so it was only fitting to end the evening setting off wishing lanterns before the lake's firework show started. Perfection.

We spent 4th of July in the car driving to Indy, but that didn't keep us from dressing to match the holiday. Hurray America!

 But also, corn.

 

Home sweet home!

BRIDE!!!

But also, turbines.

 

Between the rehearsal & gorging ourselves on Italian-holy-yum at the rehearsal dinner.

After the ceremony with my love on the gorgeous grounds of St. Mary's

Lakehouse reception!

So, it's a well known fact that my dad sings to my mom every time they dance together. But this was like, INTENSE. We laughed, but so did mom. 

 

So happy my baby sister made the trip with us!

Oh, you know. Just photo bombing the dance floor. Please take note of our audience on the right *buries face*

Blogging is a full time job, derrrr.

Bride & her mama, sweet Anne.

During the sibling dance. Presh, right?

Emily made a special request that we dance to "The Luckiest" at my wedding, so it was only fitting that we do the same at hers.

Sobbed. I sobbed. Again. There's a video to prove it.

Pro-tip in regards to wishing lanterns: Test them first. Then game plan accordingly.

But my, they were gorgeous.

This fireworks show was probably an hour & a half long. Tres impressif!

I can't wait to see the professional photos, but in the mean time, these + our videos will do. It was such a precious day, & I am SO excited to welcome Emily & Trent into a lifetime of family vacations & married couple get-aways. 

Up next from our midwest adventure - Jared's dreams come true at Busch Stadium! Well, baseball dreams.

Which is actually just my segway out of this post so I can eat the macaroni & cheese that I just pulled out of the oven. Awwwwwwyeahhhhh.

scenes from the weekend

 

 

Pictured are things like: 
-Taking advantage of Target's seductive sales in the form of a new kitchen rugs
-Welcoming back sunsets that arrive after 6:00 p.m. when we're both home to see our family room flooded with bright light
-Enjoying our friends playing a fantastic show at the coffee shop around the corner... with other lovely friends who have beautiful smiles & adventure with us down to Granby St. to check out a block party that had already ended
-A perfect sunset on the walk home last night
-Selfies in the car as we spent our day sneaking around a rainy city while everyone else worked & we pretended that the Earth actually WANTED to spend its special day to be windy & very un-April-like
-But also, please take note, very briefly, that I... Kelsey Bethune... NAILED the winged eyeliner look for the first time in ever. Just for Earth Day. Or something.

It's Monday... & Tuesdays are my Monday at work. So, goodnight, weekend. See ya in just another few days.

bits of sunday

The Coulombs joined us for some Norfolk festivities last weekend, but Jared kinda ended up working a little bit more than originally anticipated. But it was okay! Because Andrew really loves soaking up as much girl time with me & Amelia as possible. At least, that's what I translated "I'm going to the Naval History Museum" to mean. But really, it was still the loads of fun that Coulomb weekends tend to be.

We are now at the weekend AFTER that because I took baby pictures on Monday, & working on 200 moments of newborn cuteness usually just... consumes my being. Between those and planning a Husband Birthday Celebration EXTRAORDINAIRE, I'm a little scattered these days.

But it's March! The last quiet month before event season kicks into gear! So, we are determined to soak it up. Soak up whatever little pieces of quiet that we have left, even if there are three major Bethune-calendar birthdays & a seriously important bridal shower mixed into said quiet. Also looking to soak up a mini vacation. Not gonna lie.

That's all I have tonight. Baby pictures are staring at me & blinking with their big, newborn eyes, begging for the last 40 minutes of my awake time on this cold, cloudy March 1st, 2013.

with amelia

 

The day I traced my finger along the campus map to figure out where COMM 103 was, I realized it was really the only corner of campus that I hadn't already explored during my first week of college. When I walked up to the building, I definitely wrinkled my nose a little bit at the building that looked like it had been placed there in 1973 & then left to fend for itself against the outdoor elements & indoor college students.

It only got worse when I walked into the classroom, & was greeted by a professor who looked like she had been placed there in 1973 & left to fend for herself, as well.

Then there was the awkward where-do-I-sit dance. There were several sophomores already in their seats that had obviously shared classes with each other before, chatting away & even *gasp* talking to the professor. I felt like SUCH a freshman in that moment. I picked a chair in a row that was uncomfortably far from the door, but I had already walked too far into the classroom to turn back. DOOMED, I thought.

(This next part is where it might start sounding like a love story. #soulmates #noshame)

& THEN SHE WALKED IN. She was pretty & tan & kinda a hippie & totally a freshman. I could just tell. I AM A FRESHMAN! She had really (really) long hair, down to her waist. & white shorts. I HAVE WHITE SHORTS! &... could it be?? Is that an American Eagle logo on her shirt? I. LOVE. AMERICAN EAGLE!

Now, let me be clear. This was 2006 - Approximately 458 freshman girls on campus fit that description . But, in that moment, I felt compelled to be her friend. We freshmen had to stick together. Plus, I really liked her hair.

So, when she sat behind me, you can understand that I was like, brushing my hair behind my ear to show off the American Eagle logo on my polo. (Yes, polo.) Smooooooth.

It took a few more classes for us to start talking. There were a couple "pair up" assignments that we worked on together. We learned first names & plotted to submit photos of our professor to What Not to Wear. One day, we were encouraged to go visit the Communications department's ice-cream social for extra credit. I wasn't going to go, but she convinced me to go with her.

& then, something happened. We were together, outside of the classroom which had previously been the boundaries of our friendship. & we couldn't stop chatting. The ice-cream social was a total bust. (No mint chocolate chip ice-cream? NO THANKS.) So, in typical 2006 fashion, we headed to the poster shop that had been set-up on campus. Best decision ever, in case you're ever trying out a new friendship. In the poster shop, our conversation went something like this:

"Oooo, I love this movie!"
"Omg, me too! Almost as much as I love this band..."
"AH! I LOVE THAT BAND!"
"Really? The first song on the album reminds me of my boyfriend..."
"SHUT UP IT REMINDS ME OF MY BOYFRIEND."

Or something very pathetically close to that.

Turns out, our dating anniversaries (remember those?) were exactly a year & a day apart. Turns out, we had a LOT in common. Turns out, we were supposed to be friends. I had no idea that one of her friends from high school was also my only friend in my English class that lived a floor above me. So, a few days later when I got invited to Grey's Anatomy Night upstairs, I walked in the door & saw a pink butterfly chair, with Amelia sitting in it. & we chatted. & we sort of haven't stopped chatting ever since.

All I can say is this: thank goodness for COMM 103 & the row of chairs that was uncomfortably far from the door. A friendship began in that row of chairs that I would be a very different person without. I could never have known how important those white shorts & Death Cab for Cutie posters were going to be, but God totally did. We've had our ups & downs. Our distant times & our disagreements. But with Amelia, there is never any looking back. I think that's maybe what I like best about her, actually. With Amelia, you just keep looking ahead to really bright & sunshiney tomorrows.

& guys, that's how my life with Amelia began.


Oh, & p.s. then-boyfriends are both now-husbands. In case you were wondering.

a krispy kreme date with miss chelsea

Because sometimes you have to drive 45 minutes away to drop off a camera lens for fixin', & then you're like fixin'... hmm... fix... HMM... DONUT FIX, & then a Krispy Kreme magically appears, & then you meet an old man named TJ who's obsessed with karaoke, drives a red mustang & hangs out at Krispy Kreme on the daily & he calls you out on taking way too many pictures of your donuts & you totally agree & spend the rest of your visit discussing the best karaoke songs.

& & & I love Chelsea. & donuts. & karaoke.