Tag Archives: sisters

Apr8

Happy Birthday, Sister!!

Posted on by
Standard
Happy Birthday, Sister!!

Hello everyone and happy weekend! Today is an amazing, special, wonderful day because it is my beautiful big sister’s 25th birthday! Kristen. My sister, my soulmate, my best friend on the face of the earth. Kristen is someone who my life would be absolutely impossible without. She is someone that I can go to for literally anything. To laugh, cry, complain, or just be there with to pass the time. My sister is one of the strongest women that I have ever met. Ever. She is a survivor, she is brave, and she has proven to herself and everyone around her that she can get through the worst of times and ultimately improve and better herself along the way. If that isn’t the definition of courage, then I really don’t know what is.

Kristen is someone who is kind. She is genuine, she has a huge heart, and she brings so much joy and light to everyone who she encounters. Her smile and laugh is contagious and her beauty is second to none both inside and out. If you can’t tell by now, my sister is my everything. I am so thankful not only for our sisterhood but for the friendship that came from it. You can have someone as a sibling and only view them as such, but Kristen is so much more for me than that.

From outings to the movies, shopping, the nail or hair salon, coffee, dinner, or just binge watching on Netflix, I treasure every minute that I spend with my sister. Don’t get me wrong, she drives me fucking crazy, but isn’t that what sisters do every now and then? And I promise you that she would say the same thing about me, but probably even more so!

The point that I’m trying to get at, is that I am so, so incredibly lucky to have my sister as, well, my sister. I love you more than anything, so here’s to you, you beautiful, fantastic, intelligent, loving, perfect girl. Happy birthday and I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight!

sis4grad35sis3sis1sis

Happy Birthday, Kristen ❤

I FREAKING LOVE YOU!!

Mar30

Girls Day Out!

Posted on by
Standard
Girls Day Out!

There is nothing more important than sisterhood – women coming together and supporting each other, regardless of color, race, or religion. Us girls need to spend time with each other to remember why we are utterly amazing. Girls tend to build each other up and spending time with other females will help improve your mental health. We are good listeners and very empathetic, unlike men who tend to be more logical and reasoned. They aren’t so keen on listening to us talk our problems over for hours on end; they just want to solve them. Of course, we understand that the only thing able to solve our problems is us! Talking is part of the process. As well as analyzing every text message sent between you and your crush!

With this in mind, spending time with the girls is critical. However, you shouldn’t just stick to girls nights out; experts say that daytime activities with a gang of your sisters are the best way of keeping our mental health in good shape. So here are some fun ideas for you to try next GDO (girls day out!):

Horseback Adventure: Setting new challenges and getting up close and personal with animals is usually something that women love. This is because animals are as empathetic as we are. We feel relaxed around them and at ease. Horse riding is perfect. Think about a few of your mates all jumping on horseback and then heading off for a few hours of chatting and relaxing. Finding a good riding school will save you all the cost of horse ownership, and you won’t have to buy your own riding hats and turnout rugs, you can just turn up, get on, and head out! Make sure to pack a picnic lunch and some cute sunnies!

gno1

HORSIE!!!!!

Shop Till You Drop: What girl doesn’t like retail therapy? We all do! So heading out for a day of shopping somewhere a little further from home could be just what the doctor ordered. A great way of doing this is to take a train to a large shopping center. This way you can all have a long boozy lunch after, and none of you have to worry about driving. Just keep an eye on your bank balance and spend within your limits!

gno2

Pexels Image

Pampering Party: How about a spa day? Taking a moment to get completely chilled out and enjoying a massage for some much needed TLC. Most spas will do couples massages where you can be with your loved one. Well, you can enjoy these with your mates, too. Then head into a clay bath and laze the afternoon away lounging by the pool! Chilling at the spa is a brilliant way to catch up with your friends as well as give yourself some love.

Keep your girl pack close and take time out of your schedule to enjoy each other. We know how to make the best out of every moment and how important it is to leave the boy drama behind. Find out what the rest of the girls enjoy doing and get out there. You could even take it in turns to organize a weekend every month. Then, you will get to try out a variety of different things and learn more about your BFF’s interests.

And remember. Sisters before Misters!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Mar22

Beauty And The Beast Review

Posted on by
Standard
Beauty And The Beast Review

Hiii everyone and happy Hump Day! Yesterday night was a fun one because my older sister, Kristen, treated me and my mom to a night at the movies to see Beauty And The Beast for my mom’s birthday. I have to admit, I was semi ambivalent because I had heard some amazing reviews, some horrible reviews, but mostly very average reviews about the film. But the remake of Beauty And The Beast made me eat my words five minutes in because I absolutely LOVED it. It wasn’t just me, though. My mom, sister, and what felt like the entire audience seemed to be in agreement that this film was really special. Let’s discuss:

What I loved about this remake was that they stayed true to the original cartoon and then enhanced it appropriately. With these improvements, we gained further insight into the backstory of Belle, the Beast, and the castle’s inhabitants. Some people on my Facebook newsfeed deemed these additions “pointless” but I thought that they were brilliant. Why would a classic film be remade at all if there were no changes made to it? If it was a literal live action play by play of the cartoon, I would rather watch the original any day.

Now, let’s all be honest with ourselves here. We all know that that was not Emma Watson singing. The autotune was strong for her – so strong that it sounded exactly like the singing in the cartoon version. I ain’t mad at it. Only a little! Another teeeeny tiny bone that I have to pick is that the British accents seemed incredibly out of place because they are in France, after all. I would have loved to have had the entire film done with really good French accents, but we can’t always get what we want. And, finally: WHY WAS BELLE’S SKIRT TUCKED IN ON ONE SIDE?! IT DROVE ME FREAKING CRAZYYYYY!

Okay. I’m glad I got that off my chest.

But really, though. It was a hell of a remake. It really was. And that’s saying something coming from me because Beauty And The Beast is easily one of my favorite Disney movies. I laughed, I cried, and I enjoyed myself immensely. The cast was so strong and complimented each other so well, which made each scene in the movie flow perfectly. I wanted more. I was honestly sad when it was over! The little tastes of the retelling of such a beautiful tale left me ravenous and if a sequel were for some reason announced I would probably cry from happiness.

It’s crazy, because when you’re a kid, you don’t really think about how intense Disney films are. It’s only when you’re older that you can look at the film and be like “wow, that’s kind of fucked up”. I mean, there’s an entire song in Beauty And The Beast dedicated to killing the Beast. And don’t even get me started on the turmoil that Maurice goes through upon returning to the village after Belle stays as the captive. Of course, the cartoons are sad. But there was something about seeing this remake after not having seen the original in so long that made me weep like a baby. The characters were so easy to connect to so all you wanted was the very best for them. And for Gaston to jump off of a freaking cliff!!

Speaking of, I loved, loved, loved to hate Gaston with every ounce of my being! He was so bad and so good and I was so pleased with the “Gaston” number in the bar because that’s weirdly my favorite song. And, I thought Monsieur LeFou was perfect. The combination of Gaston’s meatheaded nature and LeFou’s sass for days was definitely a fun twist. And LeFou is obviously better at seeing the good (or lack thereof!) in people for crushing on a total asshole!

All in all, I’m rating this movie with a ten to the ten, ten, ten. Despite me being nitpicky, I had a fantastic time at the movies last night and would happily go see Beauty And The Beast for a second time!

(And, as always, I have no rights to this trailer or featured image.)

So there you have it, my Beauty And The Beast Review! What did everyone else think of this movie? Which Disney flick do you hope is remade next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Disney UK

Jan20

Taco Bell, Lol

Posted on by
Standard
Taco Bell, Lol

Hiii everyone and TGIF! So I had a super fun night with my sister yesterday. Kristen came with me to watch me coach Special Olympics figure skating, then we went shopping in downtown Kent (the surrounding college town), and decided to top off our night with some delicious Taco Bell. This is the part where you go: But wait, I thought you and your sister have both been vegetarians since childhood. And this is the part where I respond with: You can get beans on everything instead of meat!

So, yes, Taco Bell. After we finished our shopping, I was completely starving. It was after seven at that point which is way later than when I’m normally used to eating and I was getting HANGRY. Lucky for us, there’s a TBell right up the street from where we were, so we decided to go there instead of our usual stomping grounds that is closer to home. After making this decision, which I now wish we didn’t make, I was getting really excited. Fantasizing about eating the entire menu, salivating heavily – the whole nine yards of hungry girl problems.

A few minutes later, we arrived at Taco Bell and hurried inside to begin our order. Because I knew exactly what I wanted, I went first and began my litany of the four items that I wanted. As I mentioned before, because I’m a vegetarian, my order consists of asking them to sub the beef for beans after each item. To a seasoned TBell employee, this is no sweat. But to the fresh out of the hiring process girl working the register, it was the most difficult task in the world.

For well over ten minutes, I repeated my order as she tried to put it into the register and doubled back into the kitchen to ask for help. At first, I was like “Okay, I get it. I remember being new at a register based job before, too” and tried to be as kind as possible. But then, the hangryness started hitting me hard and I knew that if I stood there any longer, I would maybe be not so nice. To avoid this problem after the poor girl was appearing to get no help and she was getting visibly frustrated, I told her not to worry about it because there was a Taco Bell so close to my home.

I was so worried that that was rude but I really didn’t want to let my hangryness get the best of me. I also didn’t want to watch the girl struggle anymore since it looked like no one was coming to her rescue anytime soon. So, Kristen and I went back into the car and headed to the Tbell that we live a mile away from. And I have to tell you, it felt really good to be back in familiar territory.

We ordered our food and was then informed by the lovely employee that if we take a survey and mention her and her coworkers that they would get four extra dollars on their paychecks. We also would get free taco coupons for completing the survey. It seemed like a win win, so while we waited for our food, we each took the survey. Just upon completion, our food arrived which included a super special Taco Bell message from a grateful employee for us taking the survey. Lol, take a look:

tbell.jpg

^^^ Lololol

All in all, it was a beautiful evening but I still can’t help feeling kind of bad about the new employee at the Taco Bell that we fled the scene from. I hope she finds that her job gets easier soon!! Anyways, Kristen and I still had a lot of fun and just as our secret Crunchwrap Supreme message says, TBell truly does = life.

What happens when you get hangry? Was there a job that you ever had a really hard time getting the hang of? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct3

Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! I haven’t done any of the fun tags and awards that I have been nominated for for awhile but when my super cute friend K.M. tagged me for the Travel Tag, I had to give it a go! I am hopefully crossing the ocean in the spring of 2017 to the UK for a graduation gift to myself so travel has been on my mind constantly. Before you read my answers to K.M.’s travel themed questions, please be sure to check out her wonderful blog at Ankhor You! I love chatting with K.M. via comments and Facebook and I am sure all of you will adore her just as much as I do!

Q & A:

You are leaving tomorrow to start a life in a new country, where would you go?

FRANCE!! Mais, oui. I have been studying French since high school and I am nowhere near fully fluent but I am very dedicated to becoming so. I love everything about France – the people, culture, language, food, scenery – EVERYTHING. So, needless to say, if you don’t hear from me in a while, just know that I have packed up and gone away to France.

You can take someone for a weekend away to the place you had the best holidays ever, where would that be and who would you take to go with you?

Hmmm…Since a weekend isn’t a very long time, I would probably spend the weekend with my sister at Cedar Point. Cedar Point is about two hours away from yours truly and my sister and I both love amusement parks so I can totally picture us staying in one of their hotels and having a big adventure weekend at the theme park. I have never been there during the Halloween season, either, so I think that that would be so much fun!

You can get married wherever you want to, your budget is limitless, what is your choice?

I hate to be redundant here but can somebody say “Paris”?

During your travels you can bring back home one animal as a pet, which one would you pick?

A MONKEY, A MONKEY, A LITTLE BABY MONKEY!!! While exploring the jungles in some far away, exotic country, I will befriend a tiny little monkey and have it come home with me. Its name will be Frank. 🙂

You can go back in time and relive one family trip, which one?

Oh, that’s easy. Definitely Universal Studios! My entire family is a big lover of amusement parks and we had the literal best time at Universal. Being at Harry Potter World was a dream come true and I would give anything to go back.

What is the first thing you would pack for a one year travel around the world?

Red lipstick and a year supply of hair dye.

What would your fantasy 100th birthday destination be and why?

Uhhh… I don’t really plan on making it to my 100th birthday?

During your travel you can learn one sport to become a pro, what would that be?

I would continue my figure skating education! I skated throughout my childhood and early teens and miss it very much!

I Nominate:

My Questions For You:

  1. Where are your top three places that you would like to travel?
  2. What is your favorite type of ethnic cuisine to eat?
  3. You get offered a plane ticket to a country of your choosing but you can only bring three items with you.Where would you go and what would your items be?
  4. What location does not appeal to you to travel to?
  5. Your BFF is a total adrenaline junkie and she has you pick between building an igloo in Antarctica, scaling Mount Everest, or zip lining one thousand feet over the jungle. What do you choose?
  6. Are you an over packer or an under packer when it comes to prepping for a vaca?
  7. Have you ever forgotten something totally essential while on vacation?
  8. What is your perfect vaca outfit?

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: The Travel Tag Edition! Thank you to my fabulous friend, K.M., for the nomination! How would you answer some of the questions that K.M. asked me? How would you answer some of the questions that I asked my nominees? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug27

One Love Yoga & Boutique Trip

Posted on by
Standard
One Love Yoga & Boutique Trip

Hi everyone and happy weekend! This past week, my sister and I made a little trip to Kent which is a college town in Ohio. We live about twenty-five minutes or so away from there so it’s not really far but it’s far enough that we don’t get to frequent the stores in their downtown area as often as we would like. Kristen needed to get one of her piercings fixed at the shop that we both go to in the area and then we thought that we would do some shopping at one of our favorite stores, Figleaf.

Unfortunately, by the time that we were done with Kristen’s piercing, Figleaf was closed because they always lock up obnoxiously early which we forgot. But Kristen said that she noticed a cute looking store that we drove past right when we pulled into the downtown shopping area. We trekked back to the beginning of downtown Kent and wounded up at One Love Yoga & Boutique.

This store happens to be a clothing boutique on the bottom and a yoga studio on top. Kristen was also so right, the store was absolutely adorable. We spent at least an hour in the boutique trying on clothes, admiring the jewelry, and chatting with the extremely knowledgeable and friendly workers. Kristen ended up with a new crop top, some jewelry, and a dream catcher for her apartment. Yours truly ended up with a gorgeous new dress that will be perfect for fall, pictured below:

The front and back of my new Millibon brand dress is pictured although I am realizing now that both shots look exactly the same! Regardless of that, I love this dress so much! I normally don’t wear a lot of burgundies and reds because I feel like it looks obnoxious with my hair but this dress looked so sweet and pretty that I just had to get it. I love the white flowers against the burgundy color as well as the little flutter at the end of its fitted sleeves.

My new dress is in a pattern that Kristen and I both recognized from Francesca’s and the worker told me that they buy from the same vendor which I thought was so cool! All of the clothes that they had in the boutique were gorgeous and the prices were very reasonable, too. This was definitely a pleasant surprise because I thought that I was going to see one hundred dollar and above price tags on everything! I got my dress at thirty-two dollars which I thought was a steal.

I’m looking forward to welcoming fall weather with my new frock. I plan on wearing it with my knee high tan riding boots for a more casual look and my army green Guess wedges for a night out. This is also a perfect dress to wear tights under as the weather gets colder and it will look lovely when it peeks through my navy blue Modcloth peacoat. So much fun fashion so little time!

Also, if you check out One Love Yoga & Boutique’s Instagram, you might see a picture of me because the owner saw me in the dress when I showed it to my sister and thought it would look nice for their social media pages. I also highly recommend checking out their website which is so well put together and a like on their Facebook page would be nice, too!

So there you have it, my One Love Yoga & Boutique Trip! Kristen and I had a blast and I can’t wait to go there again soon! What is your favorite boutique style store to shop at? Who could see themselves taking yoga classes at One Love? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. –Sarah

PS: If you’re not on my Facebook page, here’s a new picture of me in my dress from my shopping trip at Urban Outfitters:

urban1

Aug25

Crocker Park Haul

Posted on by
Standard
Crocker Park Haul

Hello everyone and happy Thursday! Last week my mom, sister, and I went to my favorite place in the whole wide world…Crocker Park! For those of you who aren’t familiar with this amazing, luxurious, Ohio outdoor mall – just know that it is truly the happiest place on earth. It is a little heaven manifested in Westlake where blocks upon blocks of clothing, makeup, and home goods stores reside. Stores like Urban Outfitters, H&M, Francesca’s, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Anthropology, Express, MAC, and Sephora…just to name a few! I made two purchases during our shopping outing and I’m seriously obsessed so take a look and let’s discuss:

The Haul:

  • Urban Outfitters Ecote brand dress
  • Francesca’s Miami brand flannel

Urban Outfitters: If I’m lucky, I make it out to Crocker Park about two times a year. Whenever I’m there, there are two stores that I always try to at least purchase something at and those are Urban Outfitters and H&M. Crocker Park is the only location with both of those stores and since it is about an hour drive away, I obviously don’t get to shop there frequently. Unfortunately, H&M had nothing that caught my eye during this shopping trip but I was so happy to find this gorgeous print dress on sale at Urban Outfitters!

Before our outing, my mom and I were chatting about what color clothing that we like to wear the best while we were walking our dogs. During which, I told her that I would love to find something gold or mustard yellow when we go to Crocker Park because I don’t mean to brag but those colors look dashing on me. 😉 I had my eyes peeled in every store we went into for something that fitted the color palette I was looking for. I struck out in almost all of them until my sister found my pretty little new number in the sale section of Urban. I had saw the dress but I skipped past it because the fit of it usually isn’t the most flattering on me. However, Kristen urged me to try it on so I did.

As soon as the dress was on, I knew that it was perfect. The colors were phenomenal and the fit was just right. It was flowy and fun as opposed to baggy and lifeless. When I walked out of the fitting room, my mom said that it was exactly what she was hoping I would find after our dog walking chat and my heart just melted. I love my new dress so much and I’m actually wearing it right now as I type this! ❤

Francesca’s: Of all of the seasons that Ohio experiences, fall is my all time favorite. About seventy-five percent of my wardrobe consists of fall clothing because I live for fall fashion. Therefore, when I saw my new black and white flannel from Francesca’s, I knew that I had to have it. I’m a big fan of flannels but the trick is that they have to be really unique because I feel like most flannels look exactly the same. When I saw that my new flannel had embroidered patterns in the design as well as zippers going up both of the sides, I fell in love because I knew that it would stick out.

What made the flannel even more “must have” worthy was that it looked really good with the outfit that I was already wearing – a black crop top, black shorts, and forest green wedges. That made it even harder to say no to the top which completed my outfit so nicely. I liked that it was more form fitting, too. It wasn’t tight my any means but compared to all of my baggy Gypsy Warrior flannels at home, it definitely was more fitted which was a nice change. I am looking forward to wearing this flannel around campus this fall for a laid back, college cool look.

The Crocker Park outing that I had with my mom and sister was a total success but I would have been happy even if I ended up with nothing. Us girls had so much fun wandering around the outdoor mall, looking in different stores, and chattering away that it would have been worth it to go home empty handed. BUT – I’m so glad that I didn’t! 😉

So there you have it, my Crocker Park Haul! Does anyone have an outdoor mall similar to Crocker Park in their neck of the woods? How about a favorite store to shop at that you live far away from? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug9

Sephora Surprise

Posted on by
Standard
Sephora Surprise

Hey everyone and happy Tuesday! Last week, my sister and I had a wonderful shopping trip to a nearby mall to get her some cute new outfits for her weekend trip to Chicago. We spent all evening in and out of different stores trying on and modeling new clothes, shoes, and accessories. Our final stop during our shopping outing was Sephora so Kristen could pick up “one thing”. Yeah, right. We spent at least forty-five minutes in the makeup emporium swatching everything from lipsticks and blushes to eyeshadows and foundations. Kristen ended up with a great makeup haul and also surprised me with a gorgeous Clinique treat. Take a look:

Once upon a time four or so years ago, my sister and I took a trip to Chicago. During one of our outings, we went shopping at the Watergate Mall (or whatever it’s called) which is eight stories high (or however many). Our first stop in the mall was at the MAC counter where I found an absolutely beautiful lavender colored blush. I was in love and it quickly became one of my makeup favorites.

I vowed to myself that as soon as I was out of the blush, I would purchase it again. I had every intention of doing so but unfortunately, when that day came, the MAC counter at my mall did not carry the shade. I was crushed. Since then, I have searched high and low for a similar shade but nothing, NOTHING could compare to the MAC blush that I loved so very much. Lucky for me, this all changed last week at Sephora…

I’ll be honest with you guys, I’m really not a big makeup girl. I literally wear the same makeup look every day and I don’t plan on changing it any time soon. My sister, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. She could spend an entire day in Sephora if she could. This is why I answered her testimony of only needing one thing there with an eyeroll because I knew that we would be there for a while.

The beauty must have that Kristen needed was a new blush from Clinique that was called “Melon Pop”. It was a beautiful peachy pink color that was going to look fantastic on her. I wasn’t very interested in any of the high end makeup that I was surrounded by, until I decided to further inspect Clinique’s new blush collection. That’s when I locked eyes on the shade called “Pansy Pop” and a montage of all the good times that I had with my MAC blush flashed before my eyes.

Kristen urged me to have one of the makeup pros that was working apply it for me but I knew that if I were to try it, I would buy it. Normally, I would be fine with this, but I have a hefty stack of textbooks that need purchased for the upcoming fall semester and those aren’t cheap! It made the twenty-two dollar a pop price for the blush seem ridiculous. As I was having a mental debate in my mind of whether to try it on or not, Kristen basically said that if I don’t, she will.

Within seconds, there was an employee, applying the blush… my blush to the apples of my sister’s cheeks. I caved instantly, and asked the worker to do mine next. The blush was divine. It layered perfectly on top of the pink blush that I was already wearing and created the most lovely field of flowers color on top of my pride and joy…my pasty pale skin. 😉

Of course, I wanted the blush badly, but I told my sister and the worker that I would think about it. All the while, I knew darn well that I should not be buying a twenty-two dollar blush at this time. I then made the solemn swear to myself that when I receive my next paycheck, I would come back for it and treat myself. The blush was not brought up for the rest of our Sephora excursion and I was glad because it hurt too much to think about it.

We finished our browsing around the store just at closing time and as far as I knew, Kristen left with two new lipsticks and the “Melon Pop” blush. As we began our walk through the mall to get to my car, Kristen told me, “by the way, I got that blush for you” and my jaw dropped. Instantly, “you really didn’t need to do that” came out of my mouth. She then answered with, “well, I knew you weren’t going to buy it for yourself” and left it at that.

Kristen seriously knows me so well because she was right. Even though I promised myself that I would get the blush soon, the chances of me following through with that were slim to none. I was so blown away by her generosity to her little sister and it just confirmed what I already know – that she is truly the best sister on the planet. Our trip to Sephora felt like I was reliving our time at the MAC counter in Chicago all of those years ago and it was so special to me to reminisce on those memories as well as make a new one.

We are still talking about how much fun we had during our most recent outing and it makes me feel good that she enjoys her time with me just as much as I do with her. Here’s to a great time and the best sisterhood a gal could ask for. I love you, Kristen! Thanks again! ❤

So there you have it, my Sephora Surprise compliments of my fabulous sister! What is your favorite item to splurge on at Sephora? What is one of your most loved makeup products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: For lots of fun beauty posts, check out my MyLikes page! 🙂

Apr8

Happy Birthday, Sissy!!

Posted on by
Standard
Happy Birthday, Sissy!!

Hello everyone and TGIF! In the past couple of weeks there have been a lot of birthdays in my family! Both of my parents and now my sister who turns twenty-four today! I refer to my big sister/best friend/soulmate, Kristen, frequently here on lifewithlilred so now it’s time to give her some birthday loving! Let’s do this thing:

Happy birthday to the best sister in the world…MINE. I love you so much, Kristen, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you this weekend! Thank you for all of the late night Taco Bell runs, borrowing my clothes without asking, and always providing me with a laugh or support when I need it. You are the bravest, strongest, most beautiful gal I know and I’m so happy that we share DNA with each other! I can’t wait to continue adding on to our endless list of memories and adventures now that you’re the big 2-4. You are beyond my best friend and I hope that you have the best day in the whole world! ❤

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

❤ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRISTEN!! ❤

Feb8

Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! This past week, my Special Olympic ice skaters competed in the winter games and it was totally awesome. The events took place on Wednesday and Thursday and they were single handedly some of the best days of my life. On Wednesday my sister, Kristen, joined me at the competition and the banquet that followed later in the evening. It was so nice to have her keeping me company and all of my skaters and their families just loved her! The days of the competitions were long but they were so worth it, so let’s discuss:

Wednesday’s competitions were the races for the speed skaters and then the figure skaters would compete in their skills and compulsorary events. On Thursday, the figure skaters would perform their music routines. Wednesday started out much too early for my liking because I had to get up, get ready, pick Kristen up, and then make the twenty minute drive to the rink so I could prepare my skaters for the events an hour or so beforehand. I felt like a zombie but god knows I looked fabulous! 😉

Once we arrived at the rink, my tiredness was a thing of the past because seeing all of the athletes and their families was so energizing! Everyone was so excited and I couldn’t wait to soak up all of the positivity and happiness that everyone was exuding. It was so much fun to make my rounds to all of the athletes upon our arrival and introduce my sister to all of my friends. I was so touched by the warm greetings I got from all of my skaters and their families. I think the athletes were more excited about Kristen being there than me though because they got a brand new person to show off to!

The events started promptly at ten with the speed skaters on the hockey rink and the figure skaters on the practice rink. I had athletes competing on both rinks so I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I had skaters to give pep talks to, athletes to cheer for, and competitors that I had to track down that were going to be competing next. I didn’t mind the fast pace though and thanks to my time management skills, I was able to watch almost all of the skaters that are in my group compete.

Saying that I was proud of all of the athletes was a severe understatement and before I knew it, the events were over for the day. After all of the events were complete, we made our way to the hockey rink for the award ceremony. It was so special to be able to watch the athletes and my students receiving their medals on the podium. I loved seeing the big smiles, surprised faces, and arms raised in victory of all of the competitors. One of my students, Rick, ran to his family after he received his medals and went in for a big hug from his aunt. During the hug he kept saying “I’m so happy, I’m so happy” and I started bawling my eyes out! I was so proud of everyone and being able to see them celebrate and know that they did a fantastic job was the cherry on top of a perfect morning.

After the award ceremony, Kristen and I stuck around for a little bit while everyone had lunch and then we rolled out. Kristen treated me to lunch and then we went back to her apartment to rest and watch Netflix until the banquet in the evening. The banquet for the Special Olympics winter games was held at the Clarion Hotel. There was going to be speeches, dinner, and some good old fashioned tom foolery.

Kristen and I got to the hotel around six and made it right in the nick of time because shortly after we got there it was time to eat. Dinner was served buffet style followed by a huge piece of chocolate cake. Once everyone finished eating, there was a bit of a lull so we could all chat and digest while the dance floor got cleared off. Before we knew it, the dance floor was cleared, a DJ was playing, and disco lights were flashing. That’s when the real fun began!

As soon as the music started playing, Kristen and I ran to the dance floor with our friends so we could get our groove on. We were all dancing and singing along to songs from Grease and the Top 40 hits. My sister and I had such a blast dancing the night away. We were on the dance floor for over an hour and by the time we left, everyone was still dancing and jumping around! Clearly, all of the athletes have far more energy than I! Take a look at some of my pictures from the banquet:

^^^ I love us!!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million more times, I am so unbelievably proud of all of my students and the athletes who competed at the Special Olympics winter games. I’m so thankful for all of my new friends and I’m so happy that my sister got to share in the fun with us. It has been such a privilege to be able to coach such a talented group of athletes and I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had for anything! Coach Sarah loves you guys! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition! The winter games were a great success and I’m so grateful that I could be a part of it. What is your favorite winter sport? What sports did you used to compete in or are competing in now? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah