A-May-Zing Celebrations

Summary pic of my week in Denver! #Riskonnect is here. Sleeping in Target. Ben Stein. Elvis. Making Pizzas. Wendi & Kelly - my rocks! #RIMS2014 

RIMS 2014 was a huge success! And of course we had fun while we were at it! Being 7 weeks pregnant could have been really bad and I was expecting the worst but hoping for the best... I got the best! I didn't get sick and I wasn't OVERLY tired... I was still tired and couldn't take 5 hour energys to wake me up but I made it through! Luckily for me it was a pretty low key year... so I soaked it in! 

I was craving some sun! So I cut me up some watermelon, poured me an orange Ice water, put on my bathing suit, and headed to my back yard... and just sat there soaking in the rays! It was glorious! 

Will I be your bridesmaid? Do you even have to ask? YES! Love you @missmalpal32 lets do this!! 

Mallorie got engaged!!! Save the Date for Feb 7th... we have a wedding to do! 

The Stepfords!

Lilly Grace is officially spoiled! Her aunts already love her so much! 

We threw a baby shower for Jen & Lilly! Here are some pics from the day: 

All the Phi Mu's at the shower and the Baby Blanket I made Lilly Grace! 

So proud of my bestie @rachestan for graduating with her masters today!!! You are an inspiration! Love you! 

Rachel graduated with her masters from GSU! So proud of her! Steven and I went down to her house for a graduation party! I got her a little summer fun bucket... since it will basically be the first summer she will have off! And I made her a place for her to hang all of her race bibs! I got to see her do her first keg throw too... she's too tiny for that keg! 

Little Mothers Day gifts I made! It's chalkboard so they can change out the name, date, age, and picture as the months and years go on! 

My little lion! He is the cutest! #roar

I wanted the ice cream man to come to my office and @wendifreeman made it happen! 

Sour blue raspberry rocket and birthday cake pop are the best! 

Leslie is pregnant!! Ahhh!! So excited for Leslie and Brandon! They are going to make great parents! I love Baby Barfield so much already! The aunts are ready to spoil... bring it on! 

Leslie and Brandon announced to the world they were having a little Barfield!! 

Lake Time! 

We went out on Big Daddy's boat with Leslie, Brandon, Sam, and Greg for Memorial Day! Good times! Here are some pics! 

9 hours on food, fun, sun, noodles, and wind in our face! :)

May 27th - Announced to the world that we were having a Little Castardi! 

(That will get it's own post!)

Out celebrating @nateblase birthday! The big 3.0. !!! #antico #ormsbys  we hope you have the best birthday! Here's to your next 30 years! 

Surprised Blase with a trip to his favorite... Antico! and the rest of the gang "just happened to be there"! Ate some delicious pizza while sipping on some Cab Sav, headed next store for some real authentic gelato, then tipped it off by going to Ormsbys for a little bocci ball action! 

Happy Birthday to my bigger little brother @tylercocks!! Somehow you always make me laugh and I love you so much for it! Here's to 20 more years of good times!!! 

And now for a montage of the birthday boy! @tylercocks turning the big 20 today!! Here's to 20 more years of me capturing your awesomeness!!! Love you! 

Went to Kani House for Tyler's birthday this year! Here is us celebrating! #pinkcake

A final happy 20th birthday @tylercocks... your welcome! love you! 

Throwback to the day @lesbarfield and I met as college roommates in 2005 to the day we found out we were both pregnant in 2014! #tbt #10daysapart #doinglifetogether #makinglifetogether

Lester and I are only 10 days apart... we will be holding hands while delivering! It has been sooooo awesome to be able to go through this journey together! 

April Flowers!

Got'em #muahahahaha #riskonnect

Wendi and I pulled a couple of professional yet funny tricks out of the ole hat for April 1st! 

• We covered everyone's light on the bottom of their mouses!
• All of our conference room and offices have motion sensored lights so we covered those with duct tape so they wouldn't turn on! 
• We put "out of order" sticky notes on the coffee machines! haha The first person to see them chattered real quick for everyone to stop by Starbucks on the way in if they wanted coffee! LOL
• We put a bowl upside-down in the cafe with a sign on top that said "Do not move bowl unless you plan to kill what is underneath it." (there was nothing under there and it stayed there all day! people were freaked out to move it just in case!) haha 

I absolutely love my friends and our pure time together... literally and figuratively! Missing from the pic was Jen & Lilly! 

 Us and our men went to Pure for some dinner and good quality time! 

This little guy was chillin on my desk this morning when I got in... cause this awesome friend of mine thought of me this morning! Thanks @katenowland... yup, screenshotted your snapshot! You're welcome right back! 

Kate brought me my favorite Starbucks drink... Upside down Iced Carmel Macchiato! 

Just a typical Friday afternoon at #riskonnect 

Friday afternoons at work you just never know what is going to happen... who would have thought that a banana on a razor would come zipping by? :) 

Guess who I picked up from the airport today cause he came home early to surprise the fam?? #drumroll... My Dad!!! #topdowninthejeep #boiledpeanuts #cococola #welcomebacktoATL 

I picked up my dad from the airport after he had been away for about a month and had him a "Welcome Back to ATL" goodie bag full of hot boiled peanuts, cococola, and a peach! 

Just a real quick powerpoint pic from small group! #NBD

This is my 

"a 16 year old is currently driving me home with 3 crazies in the back while blazing music" 

face! 

I made me a new bible cover! Ain't it purty? 

No pic but... APRIL 8 - WE FOUND OUT WE WERE HAVING A LITTLE CASTARDI!!!! 

Peanuts cheering on our Cracker Jacks Team! 

Celebrated with this beautiful and fun loving bride to be today! Love you @hyjrogers - can't wait for your big day! 

Heather and Caleb are getting hitched July 12, 2014!! 

"I wanted you to come home to beautiful flowers everyday" #iamblessedwiththisman

Steven said that. He planted me beautiful flowers around our mailbox and all over our yard and he did it just for me! Am I lucky or what? 

Happy Birthday @taylor_nevill ! I absolutely love you and always have a blast with you! Thank you for always making me laugh! Even when you don't say anything I know what you are thinking and I love that! I can always count on you for signing up first too and that rocks! xoxo

Lap on Lap! Love the Freeman Family and our last minute get together that worked out perfectly! 

At last minute we invited the Freemans over for a cookout and it worked out! We ate some good food, hung out, and I got some Asher time! 

My baby and I going for a walk... our nightly routine! I LOVE how the trees look at this season! 

We are either saying "yay it's go time!" or "holy crap is it go time?" ... You'll never know! #denverbound 

Wendi and I on the plane to Denver for RIMS 2014! 

Because We're Happy....

One Saturday morning Steven wanted to dance.... and so we did! 

March 2014 Madness

Cracker Jacks softball team party tonight! So @ericamabry and I went out for a sister date night! #gocrackerjacksloveyourpeanuts

Steven started a softball team at Hobgood Park that consists of 16 of our closest friends and family! The girls are consistently the best fans of any team... you can call us the peanut gallery! 

Happy Birthday to this best friend of mine! Cheers to being awesome and going through some of the best times of our lives together! #roomies #bridesmaids #besties Now go on and get that 26 out of here #footswipe I love you so much Sammy G! 

Happy Birthday to this awesome and beautiful cousin of mine! @sarahequandt thank you for all of the years of advice and laughs you have given me! You light up our family events! I wish I had some old pics of us to throw up here cause we sure had some great times growing up! I love you! xoxo

2014 Spartan Finishers right there! #spartanrace #aroo! 

A bunch of us from work conquered the Spartan race! 4.2 (or so) miles and obstacles! I only had to do 60 burpees... only 2 obstacles failed! AROO! 

We are Spartans! #rkfit #aroo #spartanrace #riskonnect

Just a couple of brunettes hanging out! #milkshakes #crockpotspaghetti #psiloveyou #crotcheting #cookies #besties #slumberparty 

Just a little soccer game action this beautiful Saturday morning! Love me some Stanley time! 

Jayci had a soccer game so we went to cheer her on! Of course we stopped at Dunkin Donuts before hand to get the team some donut hole to energize them before the game! 

FaceTime with our Californian Blonde Bestie last night! Distance doesn't stop our girls nights! #laurenstopmovingthephone haha LOVE YALL! 

Went down to see Rachel & Sarah's new house in Brookhaven and we had a slumber party! First Rachel and I walked to Town Brookhaven and started the night off with a milkshake...then Rachel made spaghetti in the crockpot, then we ended it with a good ole chick flick! 

Lunch date with my mom in downtown Roswell! She doesn't think we look alike anymore...

 I beg to differ! 

I went to the dark side! I had to try it out. I had been blonde for 27 years of my life... it was time for a change... don't worry, i'll be back soon! Blondes probably really do have more fun! 

Booti wanted to go the more formal route to church this morning. 

5 pillows made! Thank you rain for making me stay in today! 

Made new pillers for my back porch sittin'! 

Just ordinary humans building with an extraordinary God! #thegrove Psalm 84 - be a sparrow. 

Got to go to The Grove, finally, down at Passion City Church. A gathering put on by women, made for women, and filled with lots of women! KK and I went together and it was awesome! Will be back! 

Booti thought he was gonna get by on his 6th birthday without an Instagram collage...No sirie! He's the best Booti in the world! Happy Birthday to my Bubba! #overthehill

Twining x2 #riskonnect culture #rkfit

Love that I can wear work out clothes to work...everyday if I wanted to! :) 

First day of spring calls for a sit-on-a-patio-at-Bahama-Breeze-with-cold-drink-in-hand-talking-about-life-boys-and-Jesus kind of day with @katenowland

Yup, we did just that! 

I got this sucker through email one day! Made me smile I thought I would share! Love you Kate! 

(Booti was just vacuumed before this pic) Now for his nails to get filed down with sandpaper! Typical day at the Castardi's! 

FaceTime with my Bestie @jesskatenamy I LOVE YOU and so proud of your obedience to our Father. Only 3 more months (hand shake). 

Jessica left Hawaii and headed to Jordan to do mission work! I get to see her in 3 months! 

So proud of these two girls tonight! @claudiagoodwin and @michaela_thomasss told the world tonight that are in need of a savior and they have found one to follow! Although you were both baptized tonight and cleansed of your old ways ready to live with Him, my hope is that you will be covered in dust from this point forward...I pray that you will continue to follow so closely to Jesus that the "dust from his shoes" cover you! Love you both so much - like a proud mama bear! 

@wendifreeman workin like a boss! #top10bestie 

I am so proud of this man right here. The biggest award you can win in his company was awarded to him and then the next day he landed a well deserved promo.... and you would never know because of his humbleness. I strive for his determination. He is passionate with everything he does and truly  has a heart like Paul. Proud to be his best friend, wife, and Noggy! (not to mention his good looks and keen sense of memory making rock my world!) 

Steven not only won the Ace Awards for his company but then got promoted to Manager at his community! I am so proud of him! 

This little guy makes me happy! 

Work besties hanging out!!!! Love you both so much! @wendifreeman @katenowland #springequinox

Kennesaw Mountain Biscuit kind of morning with @thecastardian

Forever Friends. Love them! #picturetakingfun

This is the night that Leslie broke the news that she was pregnant! She had Brandon take a picture of all of us and he said "1, 2, Leslie's Pregnant!" - We all stood there in shock and then started freaking out! haha It was awesome!!!! So happy for them! The rest of the night was baby talk! 

Hands down the cutest second cousin ever! Ahhhh love me some Carly! #regram from Sarah! #springbreaktoddlerstyle

The Quandt's went to FL from SB and I couldn't resist not reposting this picture! She is the cutest... in picture and in person... in beauty and in personality! 

Our weekly date... check! Work, Aruba reds, life catch up, coconut skrimp, spin dip, chit chat it up, Aruba Red, side salad, Jesus...of course, split AR, full stream race, pit stop at the bar for an h20 to go... then skiddaddle on home! Yup, love my Kate time! 

Porch Rules have been hung! #tistheporchseason Big shoutout to our friends who contributed a rule!

You do not talk about the porch rules  - Steven

Always play a tune - Jessica

Slow down - Rachel

Friends are always family - Blase

Leave your worries at the door - KK

Mardi Gras beads required - Wendi

Sip coffee or beer - Steven

Make something - me

Have a deep convo then laugh until you cry - Lauren

Don't feed stray cats - Erica

No shoes, no panties, no problem - Stepfords

Take a nap or two - me

Breathe it all in - me