Texans/Cowboys

Allison hooked us up with sideline passes and great seats for the Texans/Cowboys game. It was ssaawwweeeeettt! Here are a few pictures of our football adventure.

a time to heal

My dad has Alzheimer's. Yes, it is extremely hard and sad... and hard to even admit. It took me a few years to be okay with saying it out-loud. He was diagnosed in 2007. We didn't start talking about it or accepting it until 2008. Over the past few years, I have seen how he has dealt with having this awful disease, and every day, I become more and more proud of him.

People respond to such devastating news differently- some shut down, some ignore and others prosper. My dad decided to make the most of what God has in store for him, and he decided to fight back. Over the past few years, he has gotten very involved with the Alzheimer's Association- referring to himself as the "Alz guinea pig." He spoke at a Baylor College of Medicine seminar for new doctors, participated in a photo session showcasing people who have been diagnosed with early-onset (which will be included in an exhibit in 2012) and most recently, started a blog called Alz News. The Alzheimer's Association encourages them to talk/journal about how they feel. It is a way to help them cope with the disease. They have encouraged him to start this blog as a way to raise awareness of the disease. It is an insider's view of Alzheimer's. I encourage you to read it. I struggle with reading it- let's face it- it's hard. But, it's also a way to heal and cope. It is a way for my sweet daddy to teach people about the disease.

He inspires me more then he will ever know. I am tearing up as I write this, but I am also beaming with pride as I think about how much he has taught me over the years, months and each day.

A few life lessons to keep in mind (courtesy of my dad):

• Never give up.


• Live everyday to the fullest.


• Enjoy the time you have with the people you love.


• Tell the ones you love.


• Appreciate the little things.

I could go on and on. If you haven't had the chance to meet my dad, I hope you do one day. He has and will continue to bless my life each day. He is a very special man. I love him more then words can say.

**Shameful pitch: AUSTIN MEMORY WALK is October 16. Come walk with my dad my family and others. Please call, email, facebook me- whatever- if you are interested or have any questions. You can also CLICK HERE!**

awkward story.

So, awkward story. Good thing this blog is called excuse me for being awkward, because apparently, I am.

I go to the same coffee shop almost every morning. They make this great iced coffee blend for $2- doesn't get much better then that.

Anyhoo, I pull up this morning in the small parking lot and head inside. I get my coffee, say hello to the usual crew of people who also go there on a semi-daily basis and head back out to my car. I click my clicker to unlock it, open the door and get inside only to realize that I am not in MY car...something is off. I'm sitting in someone else's car... WHAT THE HECK?!

So, I'm sitting in a car that isn't mine, trying to figure out what the hell is going on, when, of course, the owner comes outside. He is probably thinking the same thing I am- how am I not in MY car? Awesome job Katelyn. You ended up in a stranger's car.

I see him walking towards HIS car so I jump out and yell, "Oh gosh. I'm so sorry! We have the same car!"

He looks perplexed and says, "Um, no? We don't?"

I literally ran away to my car (in heels and a dress) and drove away.

Let's back track a smidgen so I can explain a few things:

1. Yes, we did have the same car. It was a black highlander. IDENTICAL.
2. When I pulled up, it wasn't there. It pulled up after I had already walked in.
3. I used my clicker to unlock my car. However, he did not lock his car. So, when his car opened, I just automatically assumed it was my car.
4. I was half awake when this happened.
5. My car was 1 spot over. Homeboy parked directly next to me, which blocked me from seeing my car.... or the fact that there were 2 twin cars parked next to each other.

UUGGHHHH. Why am I so awkward?! I don't mean to be! Can I blame my parents for this?

Quote from my mom after I tell her my story: Oh my! You need to wake up Kate! This is hysterical! Only you Katelyn!! *Glad I could entertain you mother dearest.

walk by faith

Would I believe you when you would say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Help me to win my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

love Austin

just another reason why I love Austin

so long summer

Top 5 reasons I'm going to miss Summer:

No more Blues on the Green with these 2 lovely ladies.

No more fun boat trips on Lake Travis.

I have to wait a whole year before I get another roomie reunion.

No more lake parties... or 100 degree weather.

Not as many frequent visits from my sweet friends.

say it ain't so

They always say you turn out like your parents. You grow up saying it won't happen... you won't let it. I was one of those people. I was 110% sure I would not end up like my parents... God knows I love them, but CRAP! It happened.

1. Brad says I have irrational fears. I disagree, but I'm beginning to think he might have a point. (Don't tell him I said that.) I lock my door 3 times every time I walk in my house. At night, I lock my bedroom door. Brad calls that an irrational fear. I call it being safe. I sometimes have nightmares about snakes. Again- irrational fear vs. just something I'm afraid of. My mom called me twice yesterday. I didn't answer. She texted me. I didn't answer. She then texted me and said Please let me know if you are okay. I called- explained I didn't have my phone. She said, I thought you were dead. IRRATIONAL FEAR.

2. Dad and I are both experts at misplacing things... our keys, clothes, shoes... you name it- we misplace it. We have both tried everything to be less forgetful. I have tried to pay more attention, tired putting it in the same place; basically everything I can think of. NOPE. I still leave my keys in my door and don't realize it until the next morning. (Good thing I locked my door 3 times. Hey, scary man trying to get in my house- I left my key for you in the door. Hope it helps you break in.)

3. Mom gets crabby when she is super hungry. By crabby, I mean unpleasant to be around. She SAYS she has low blood sugar and just has to eat something. I think that just means hey, I'm starving. Give me food. Either way, I have noticed that over the past few years, I have become more and more like her. If I reach a certain point of hunger, I become SUPER unpleasant to be around.... grumpy times five. However, if you feed me, my mood quickly changes; as does my mom's. Call us the fat kids, call us whatever you like- but either way, we are alike.

Sadly, I could continue with my list of similarities, but I will leave you with those for now. I hope my friends and family like Lisa and Jeff, because I am quickly becoming more and more like them. Dear Mom/Dad, you know I love you, but please stop giving me your bad... I mean unique traits.

please be quiet.

My dad has always been the quiet type. It’s probably because he had 3 daughters and a wife. He did it for his own good. When I was growing up, he was a huge supporter of "no TV time." This, of course, used to bug the begezzies of Allison, Rebecca and me. How dare he want to sit and talk to his children when he gets home from work?! The nerve! Of course after temper tantrums because we were missing Full House or Baywatch (yes, this happened) we would calm down and talk to each other. I suppose we enjoyed it, although we would never admit it at the time. I forgot how great it is to turn on the television and simply talk. I was reminded of this joy on Sunday night.

Brad (the bf for the one other person who reads this besides Mary) was exhausted and asked if we could simply eat dinner in front of the TV and watch a football game. Isn’t that what every girl wants to hear from their boyfriend? (Watching a football game for me means bringing a crossword puzzle to do while he watches the game.) I took over dinner and we plopped our self on his couch ready to eat and watch football (my pen was poised ready for the puzzle). We say grace and turn on the TV.... to find the cable not working. Brad was beyond distraught. He spent a good 15 minutes turning it off/turning it on/rebooting/etc. He finally gave up and goes "well, looks like we are just going to have to talk tonight." (AWE. ISN'T HE SO ROMANTIC?!) After dinner, since the TV was still not working, and he was semi-over the fact that he was missing his game; we decided to take a walk down South Congress for a snow cone. Even though the snow cone place was closed (clearly the world was working against us on Sunday), it was so relaxing to stroll down the street. Having no cable was so great! Imagine it- a night of silence to talk to someone. A night of silence to take a lazy stroll in the city you love. What a wonderful night! Um, can I unplug the TV once a week?

I now understand why my dad loved the no TV time. Daddy, you have taught me so much- just add this to the list! Not only did it get me out of watching a football game (I can save my crossword puzzle for the next one), but it gave me a chance to relax and talk with a cute boy. :)

aahhhh SIC EM BEARS!

Getting Baylor season tickets might be the best idea since sliced cheese. I loved being back on campus.... in Waco. I forgot how beautiful Baylor is! I loved walking into a room and seeing green and gold everywhere... it was magical.

I got to tailgate and see old friends... and meet so many fun new people. I have gotten the chance to meet some great new people. It makes me laugh to think about how we weren't friends in college! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! Its fun sharing Baylor with them even though we met after college. Baylor... bringing people closer together.

This weekend, I got to run the bear trail AND go to Spice. I had an awkwardly large grin on my face the entire time I was running. (Seriously, I probably looked a smidge crazy.) I took a trip down memory lane.... roomies, friends, parties, professors, classes and more. Spice was incredible. They have so many great things. I'm pretty sure I could have spent all my money there. Actually, now that I've said that, it might be a good thing Spice is in Waco and I'm in Austin. After this past weekend, I'm really excited to have the rest of the season to look forward to!

Seriously Facebook??

Dear Facebook,

I love you, you know that, but you are on my hit list today... and yesterday.

Love,

Katelyn

I was playing on my phone the other day; just doing the usual Facebook stalking. NBD. Randomly, facebook decided (without asking me) to sync with my phone contacts. It's like facebook said, "Hey, what would make annoy the crap out of Katelyn today?"

It took me awhile to figure out what Facebook had done. I realized it at midnight, when my alarm went off, thus woke me up. It was informing me of some girl's birthday... a girl who I'm friends with on facebook... who I knew when I was 10...so, obviously, we are besties.

SERIOUSLY FACEBOOK?! I don't need a calendar reminder of every 'friend' birthday in my WORK CALENDAR! But, good news, it gets better... Not only do I have every birthday in my calendar with an alarm to go off at midnight (the start of their special day), but now, every phone contact has their facebook profile picture assigned to them in my phone. Whenever I text, email, call, WHATEVER- yes, their facebook profile picture appears. That's not annoying at all.

Then, facebook decided to kick me in the shins... If a 'friend' has their employer information/phone number/email on their profile, it is now in my phone as well. For example- my sister called... it did not show up as Allison... it showed up as Allison- Houston Texans...with her facebook profile picture. AWESOME JOB FACEBOOK! WAY TO TAKE OVER MY FREAKING PHONE!

Dear Facebook,

I hate fighting with you. I love the stalking opportunities you provide me. However, I do not need you to take over my phone. I don't care about the birthday of a facebook friend who I haven't seen in 10-15 years... please stop waking me up at midnight to inform me.

Katelyn

**PS. If anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know. I'll buy you a cookie and be your bestie**

picture proof

Photo booth family bonding... we are such a handful.

http://www.photoboothstexas.com/ - Great photo booth for your next occasion.

My family has no shame. It's fine.

My mom... before the 720 spin and fall.

Perfect Wedding Guests

My sweet cousin got married this past weekend in Dallas. The entire Davis clan (minus Allison) was there to participate in the wedding festivities. It was a beautiful and perfect weekend for Davis and Leanne, and we were all so thankful to be a part of it. To show our appreciation, we took our role as Wedding Guest and Family of the Groom very seriously. Just like in any civilized society, there are certain rules one must follow to achieve such role.

1. Keep it classy. Gdad (aka Muffin) was the essence of classy this weekend. On Sat morning, a group of us stroll down (half awake) to the hotel restaurant for some breakfast. We are in jorts, t-shirts, flip flops… the usual Saturday morning attire. We walk in to find Gdad eating breakfast… IN A SUIT. When asked why he was so dressed up at 9AM on a Saturday morning, he replies with “Well, this is all I brought for the weekend.” Yes, true story. We see him at lunch- in a suit. Hanging out in the lobby mid afternoon- in a suit. Brunch Sunday morning before everyone leaves- in a suit. The man wore 1 suit Friday through Sunday. Clearly the essence of class.

2. Recover from embarrassing moment gracefully. My mom had the textbook definition of an embarrassing moment. She loves to dance. She usually dances alone while my dad sits quietly watching (and most likely judging her and wondering how he ended up with her.) I like to describe her as a “jumpy” dancer who bobs up and down (usually while clapping.) Will 3 was dancing with her… spinning her all over the place. One minute, everything is great, the next, she somehow loses control of her body, does a 720 spin out of control and falls onto the ground (almost sliding under a table). My dad (being the gentleman that he is) gets up to check on her. I see this happen- gasp, laugh and then start going over there to check on her as well. Before we can get there, Will 3 grabs her with 1 arm, pulls her up, and she keeps right on dancing/jumping/ bobbing out of control. Way to go mom. You recovered with nothing but grace….ish.

3. Take over the dance floor. I think this needs little explanation. I’m a bit surprised there was room for anyone else after the 17 of us got on the dance floor. There were moves you wouldn’t ever dare to do in public. I found out my family has little to no shame when it comes to dancing. At 1 point, my crazy Uncle Will was screaming the lyrics and jumping up and down, my mom was singing into her hand (which of course had transformed into a mic), my sister and cousins were doing all sorts of awkward yet awesome dance moves and everyone else had kind of backed away so they could watch the Davis family cut loose. Case and Point- we took over the dance floor.

4. Capture the evening. Taking pictures is key to any good event…you want to remember the memories you are making. We have a plethora of pictures to choose from. We have nice pictures before our hair got all messed up from the dancing, photo booth pictures out the wazoo, action pictures, model pictures, solo shots… you name it- we have it. I’m fairly certain that the majority of the pictures and wedding video will be of my hyperactive family. Sorry Davis and Leanne.

As you can see, we are a blast to have at any wedding. We take our responsibility seriously. Please feel free to invite us to your next event… we won’t let you down. OH, PS, we are plus 16... not 1...

Pilot

I'm awkward. Get over it... and then enjoy the blog. :) Thanks to Mary for helping me name my blog.