2014!!

A little late, I know...So happy to have brought in the New Year with some of our best friends.  See here for how I am going to make 2014 count.  For now, take a look at how our night went!

Making 2014 Count

Loose weight, get healthy, save more money. Seems like everyone always makes the same New Year's Resolutions each year.  2013 was for sure one of the best in the book.  2014- you have a lot to live up to!
When I started to think about what my word of 2014 should be, I kept coming back to a phrase.  live in the moment.

Already making 2014 count by giving back to kids that need the hair more than I do! 1 thing on the 2014 bucket list crossed off!

For me, living in the moment means not planning the next 2 years out in my mind.  It means embracing how beautiful my body is inside and out.  Not looking at our home and always thinking I need to do something more (even though owning a home always means perpetual work). Knowing that whatever the future holds, it will always find a way to work out how it should.  The baseball lifestyle is one that does not work well with planning.  One day we could be in Carolina, the next we could not even be with the Indians Organization.  I am going to live in the moment by loving my husband and enjoying the time we have together before we start thinking about a family.  We want to travel. We want to strengthen our marriage.  We want to be the best us before we bring a child into the world.  So for all you people out there that say "Cayte and D.J. are going to be pregnant within the first year",  you can mark my word here that we will not be popping out babies anytime soon! :)

2014 has lots in store for me and for D.J. We plan to make lots of memories and enjoy every second.

 We will make 2014 count by living in the moment.

#tbt: Bachelorette Party!

Planning the Bachelorette Party was difficult since my Maid of Honor was my 17 year old sister.  The typical bachelorette parties wouldn't really work for us considering Julie couldn't even get into a bar underage! Deciding to go to the Outer Banks was the best decision ever! It was exactly what I wanted to do.  My family was nice enough to rent the house in the same neighborhood that we have been going to since I was a baby for the whole week. We spent the first part of the week laying out every day and watching the beautiful OBX sunsets each night.

The girls all came down on Thursday and Friday to spend the weekend celebrating! Kendall and Julie really worked hard to make it so much fun. While I got ready for the night, they all helped decorate the top floor of the house. 

 

When I came up, there was a huge bride cup, some lovely accessories and a shot glass necklace! 

On Friday, we all had pasta at the house (thanks to Liz for being the domesticated one of the bunch) and then we went over to the local little bar and sang some karaoke! Let me tell you- my singing skills that night should never be heard again! We took these awesome pictures before we went out saying how everyone knew me!

Saturday we spent at the beach and laying out! Saturday night we went down to Duck and had a delicious dinner before we came back and played some games at the house! Here is the final picture of the whole group! I am so lucky and blessed to have such great friends and an awesome sister to plan this whole event! I wouldn't change one thing about my bachelorette party! Next weeks #TBT will be all about the bridal shower.

2013: A Year in Review

2013 was one of the best years so far. Starting the year off in the Outer Banks with some great high school friends last New Years Eve was great.

  

The first few months of the year were full of plane tickets, new adventures, and lots of recruiting for AST.  I checked off Indiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arizona, and New York on my map of America! I even ventured North into Canada and crossed Niagara Falls of the bucket list and South to St. Lucia!

I recruited over 100 women to join different chapters of Alpha Sigma Tau.  My experience as an Educational Consultant came to a close in May after I installed our Epsilon Rho chapter at SUNY Geneseo.  Having the opportunity to educate women on Alpha Sigma Tau really put it into perspective that this sorority is more than just me.  It's more than just James Madison University.  We really are all over the world and are bound by ties that naught can sever.  Being a part of something that will make an impact on these young ladies lives forever was very powerful and something I will forever be grateful for.  

Tiffany Street, Kristin Walker, Chris Covington, our National VP's and President were all in attendance at USI's Installation

Ashley, Jenn, and I at SUNY Geneseo doing some recruiting!

I even tried my first "snowball" in Louisiana with these lovely ladies of Phi!

After some fun in May at JMU seeing one of our dear friend Bradley graduate, I headed home to embark on the next chapter of my life.  

I drove to North Carolina to pick up the newest addition to our little family, Stryker.  He was about 3 months old when we got him and as cute as can be.  We really did luck out with how awesome of a puppy he has been.  At 10 months old, he currently weigh around 70 pounds and is still growing! I am so fortunate to have found my second job since graduating as the Alumni Relations Coordinator at Norfolk Collegiate School.  How funny that they hire an alumnus for this job right?! It really has been a perfect fit for me.  I have great hours, work with great people, and get to work in the same place that has made me the person I am today.  

During all this time, I was working hard to plan the most beautiful day of my life. On September 28, 2013, D.J. and I were officially Mr. and Mrs. Brown! Since D.J. was gone for pretty much all of the planning, I was so glad I had my mom around to help me do all the cake tastings, pick out invitations, and figure out the seating plan! All in all, the wedding turned out just the way I had hoped it would! I never thought that I would marry a professional baseball player and could never think of what this life would be like.  Every day is something different  and the phrase "plan for the future" just isn't in our vocabulary (that's a hard one for me since I am a huge planner!) We may not be together for 6 months out of the year, but its what works for us. Having other girls in the same boat as me really makes it easier though (thanks Maria and Mikaela!) Hopefully the boys will all start together in Carolina this season and I will be able to make lots of trips down on the weekends!

Anyways..

No more than 48 hours after we tied the knot, D.J. and I closed on our first house together! It has been a work in progress, but it is our home and that's the most important part.

Be on the lookout in 2014 for a before and after blog post on the house!

2013 was nothing short of amazing. D.J. finished his first full year of professional baseball, we added Stryker to our family, got married, bought a house, celebrated marriages and engagements of our friends, welcomed new babies into our families, and have been able to enjoy the adventures together. Being a baseball wife is hard work, but seeing him on the mound living his dream makes it all worth it.  

Here's to another great year in 2014 as a baseball wife!

Merry Christmas

This Christmas was full of love and new traditions for us!  Since this was our first Christmas married, we did Christmas Eve Mass and Dinner with my family.  Church was scheduled to start at 4:00 but really started whenever it was full (which ended up being at 3:30!) After that we went home, took out Stryker and then we went over to Pappy and Bull's for Christmas Eve dinner.  It was different this year because none of her grandkids were there. It was full of neighbors and friends while we had delicious food, tasty punch, and a great celebrate of Christmas. 

Christmas morning was the first new tradition that we started.  Since this was our first Christmas in our new home and as a married couple, we woke up in our own house! I know, it sounds so simple, but it was different for both of our families since we were not waking up at our families house.  Santa came and gave us our stockings and then D.J. and I opened up the gifts from each other around 7:15.  After that, we went over to my families house and did Christmas with them.  Santa was extra generous this year and gave us some awesome gifts.  Nana, Anne, and Dave were there too as we opened up all our gifts.

Around 11 am. we went out to my cousins house to see what they got from Santa.  Seeing their little faces when they showed us what Santa brought was so awesome.  This year, giving gifts to D.J. was just so much fun.  Knowing that I am making him happy and giving him things that he needs makes me feel so happy! I loved being Santa for D.J., but I know being Santa for a little one is going to be so much fun!

Later that day, we decided to head up the road to D.J.'s families house as we surprised his family.  They were SHOCKED! We weren't supposed to head to see them until the 26th, but we thought it would be fun to go up early. We spent the weekend outside at the park, going to town, and just enjoying some family and friends at the annual Brown Holiday Christmas Party! Here is our weekend in pictures!

Stryker was so good with Myla!

Christmas this year was great and I loved being around so much family and friends.  Can't wait to ring in the New Year! 

#Flashback Friday: The Proposal

If you have not heard this story, I think it's safe to say our proposal story is quite funny. I had known we would be getting engaged in the next few months, but I had no idea it would be in August.  D.J. was flying home for his sisters wedding and I knew it couldn't be that weekend.. OBVIOUSLY!! Well, I was wrong. Here's how the story goes!

After I picked D.J. up in Richmond on Friday morning, we drove up to Fredericksburg for him to get his tux for the wedding.  I had asked to stop by the mall so we could go look at the rings again (not knowing he had already bought it!) He was so sweet and just said "babe stop thinking about all that, this is Amy's weekend".  Which was 100% true! I had told him whatever he does, he is not allowed to propose anytime that weekend.  Which is why I thought it would be in October when I went out to visit him in Arizona.  We got our nails done during the day (funny how he planned that one isn't it?!) and that night we had the rehearsal and the dinner and it was all so lovely! On the way home I had said "We should tell Amy and Brian to throw us the bouquet and garter!" Once I said that, D.J. knew exactly how he was going to pop the big question!

Saturday was full of love and wedding excitement! I was in charge of being Amy's right-hand woman and doing anything she needed. The ceremony was beautiful, the dances were great, and the food was delicious! Late into the night, Amy and Brian were getting ready for the bouquet and garter toss and I think the pictures below will speak for themselves!

 

Our first picture after we got engaged!

Needless to say, I was shocked! Everyone was in on it including the bride and groom! I felt terrible for doing that, but Amy said she wouldn't have had it any other way! I am so thankful that we got to share such a special day with them! 8.18.12.