Reminiscing on the the Past

Back in 2000, Jamie and I had a class at UNA together and we would always "eye" eachother, but neither of us made the first move. Turns out, we both had a mutual friend that was also in that class who we would each ask to introduce us, and because she had a thing for Jamie, she would never do so. I had such a crush on him and I remember telling a friend, that I should just call him out of the blue and take him to our upcoming sorority winter formal (I, of course, didn't though.) Its so fun, now, to go back and talk about that time with him. Back then, I had long, BLONDE, curly hair, which apparently, Jamie loved. One day, I came into the class that we shared and had cut it and darkened it some. Jamie told me that at the time, he told his friend, "I can't believe she changed her hair!" We went that entire semester, never actually meeting.

The next semester, in January 2001, the first week of being back in school following Christmas break, I was the DD for one of my sorority sisters. She was begging to go to 7 Diamonds, so I took her. While we were there, she bumped into Jamie and he asked for her number. I remember taking her home being so disappointed after she told me that. (He later told me that he thought she and I lived together and the only reason he asked was so he could call me; he later found out we didn't live together and never called her.) Then a few months later in April 2001, at an SAE party (Paddy Murphy?) Jamie came up and introduced himself to me (FINALLY) and said, "so what did you make in that class?" I still make fun of him for that 'line'! :) The following weekend (it was Easter weekend), I ran into him one night and we really hit it off. He asked for my number and came over that night to the house I shared with a friend. We watched a movie and stayed up talking until 4 or 5 in the morning. I remember I had to be at work that morning at 8 o'clock and despite being tired, I was on cloud 9. We were inseperable after that. We literally spent every day together and within weeks were dating eachother exclusively. That summer, he went with my family to Destin (which I had NEVER brought a boy with me on vacation) and one evening, while walking on the beach, he first told me he loved me. :) My mom said the only reason she let him come with us was because she already had a feeling that he was "the one" and it wasn't some fling. We got engaged the following year, September 17, 2002 at the beginning on my senior year in college and were married on August 9, 2003, 3 months after I graduated from UNA.

God knew exactly what I needed when he put us together and for THAT, I'm very grateful! He's a perfect fit for me and my personality. I'm just glad he's been willing to put up with me all this time! :) Monday, August 9, marked mine and Jamie's 7th Anniversary. Since we had just returned from vacation, we've decided to celebrate this upcoming Friday night with a date night, while Noah stays with my parents. I can't BELIEVE it's already been 7 years.... we've been through alot together, lots of great times and a few difficult times; but we've come out of each situation having learned and grown from them. Of all the things we've done during the past 7 years, our greatest accomplishment is our two boys and the family that we've created together. Jamie is an amazing father and nothing makes me happier than to watch him with Noah; I can't wait to see him with both of our sons. And I couldn't imagine living this life with anyone other than him by side. I love him more today than I did 7 years ago on our wedding day... and I'll love him even more tomorrow than I do today. I look forward to celebrating many many more anniversaries together!

Here we are, through the past 7 years (except '04 b/c I couldn't find any pictures from then.) WOW how my hair has changed through the years! :)


... Wedding Day, 2003 ...


... Christmas 2005 ...


... March 2006 ...


... Las Vegas, May 2006 ...


... Braves Game, August 2006 ...


... Welcome to the world, Noah! April 2007 ...


... First family photo, May 2007 ...


... Noah's 1st time to church, July 2007 ...


... Tuscaloosa October 2007 ...


... Christmas 2007 ...


... May 2008 ...


... Las Vegas July 2008 ...


... Coldplay Concert Novemember 2008 ...


... My 10 year Reunion July 2009 ...


... Jamie's 30th Birthday August 2009 ...


... Halloween Party 2009 ...


... Opryland Hotel December 2009 ...


... New Years Eve 2010 ...


... Trip to Gatlinburg January 2010 ...


... Mother's Day 2010 ...


... Savannah, GA July 2010 ...

Hilton Head, Here We Come!

Monday, following Lindsay's wedding, we were all worn out from having been out so late the night before. We spend the day relaxing and enjoying our last day with the family. That evening, we had dinner at Uncle Bubba's, which is Paula Deen's brothers restaurant. It was really good, wasn't that long of a wait, and had air conditioning:) so we were happy campers!

Tuesday morning, my family headed home to Alabama and we headed off in the opposite direction to Hilton Head, SC. Our drive was only 45 minutes so we left out around 8:30 and stopped for breakfast once we arrived. We ate at The Original Pancake House... YUMMMMM! I had a (huge) egg, cheese, & bacon sandwich, Jamie got an omelet (that was the biggest omelet I've ever seen), and Noah had pancakes and scrambled eggs. After breakfast, we decided to try to find our hotel, the Hilton Oceanfront Resort, even though check in wasn't for several hours. Once we got there, they actually had a room ready for us, but it was a parking lot view, so we opted to wait for a beach/pool view. Since it would be several hours until the room was ready, we headed to the outlets. The only person that raked up that day was Collier. We bought him several outfits and a cute little jacket for the winter. After a little shopping, the hotel called us to let us know our room was ready so we headed back. That evening, we headed out for dinner but stayed in Palmetto Dunes (the area where our hotel was located) and ate at Alexander's.

The next two days were spent out at the pool, playing in the water and laying out. Noah even napped on a lounge chair each day. My favorite meal the entire time we were in Hilton Head was from the hotel's pool bar, where I had coconut shrimp and fries for lunch...it was DELICIOUS!. Wednesday evening we ate at The Old Oyster Factory and went to Harbour Town to do some sight seeing. Harbour Town is the home of the Harbour Town Lighthouse. This famous lighthouse is visible from Harbour Town Golf Links, which is the location of the Verizon Heritage PGA Tournament. Jamie has always seen this lighthouse on tv when watching this particular tournament so he was very eager to see it in person. It really was a neat lighthouse, however, with Noah in tow, we chose not to go to the top. Harbour Town was a fun little area with lots of restaurants, shops, live music, etc.

The following evening, we ate an early dinner at Scott's Fish Market (which the hotel conceirge recommended) and headed back to the hotel early. We wanted to get Noah to bed at a decent hour since we had plans to head home EARLY the next morning. The following morning, we left out at 4AM... yes, you read that correctly, 4 in the morning, since we had a 9 - 10 hour drive. It is IMPOSSIBLE for Jamie to sleep in so he's always up around 5 or 6 each morning. Since he prefers getting on the road early, he lets me sleep in the car and he drives the whole way (however, this time, I only slept for an hour the entire ride home). It was still dark when we headed out so Noah immediately went back to sleep. I was dreading the drive as I wasn't sure how Noah would do, but he really did great. We actually made great time and got home around 1 pm (however, we gained an hour b/c of the time change). Needless to say, we crashed once we got home. We had a great time on our "extended" vacation...It was very fun visiting new cities and spending time on the east coast! :) However, I realized that as much as I LOVE vacation, I'm also someone who loves my time at home... and after 10 days away, I was glad to be back!


... Views from our Balcony ...


... Harbour Town ...


... famous lighthouse ...




... my cool dude ...


... relaxin' poolside ...

The BIG Day has arrived!

Lindsay and Derrick's wedding was on Sunday evening, August 1. They toyed with the idea of moving the wedding inside because of the heat and a 60% chance of rain... however, thankfully, the rain held off and there was a nice breeze that cooled things off for us so they ultimately decided to keep it outside... which turned out beautifully!

The wedding began at 7:00 in the evening as the sun was setting. It was such a sweet ceremony and completely Lindsay and Derrick's personality. They had a local musician play the acoustic guitar and the grandmothers, mothers, and I walked down the aisle to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." ...Which is one of my sister's and my dad's favorite songs. One funny thing that happened, my sweet little grandmother, Nonnie (that has Alzheimers and the same one that hit the parked car with her door) was missing right before it was time for us to all go down the aisle. We were all looking for her and little did we know when all the guests were going outside to be seated, she headed out there with them (with my uncle) and just sat down in her seat on the front row. :) We had to go get her, so Jamie could escort her down the aisle! Hilarious... it was good comic relief for us, especially for my sister, who was a tad bit emotional. Jamie and Noah escorted my mom down the aisle, right before it was my turn, and it was THE most precious thing. Of course, my dad teared up watching Noah, which caused me to tear up... I turned away to try to regain my composure and saw that my sister was crying too. It even made the preacher tear up. He is actually from the Shoals area and my mom just randomly located him on the internet when searching for Baptist preachers in Savannah. Turns out, my dad knew him and his wife from 20+ years ago, when my dad used to sell cars. On the night of the rehearsal, he and dad got into a conversation about Noah and Dr. Connell shared with us that he and his wife had 2 grandchildren that had passed away, one of which was born with a genetic disorder that took his life at 4 months old and the other that was injured at a daycare and left paralyzed, until he passed away 7 years later. He told us that special children really meant alot to he and his wife. This of course had us all in tears and we realized that it wasn't a "concidence" for mom to randomly find him on the internet.

Lindsay truly was a beautiful bride and just beamed with happiness and excitement. Following the wedding, everyone rode the ferry across the river to Vic's on the River, which was the location of the reception dinner. Dinner was delicious and we all had a great time celebrating with Lindsay and Derrick. It was a late night for us, but Noah was a trooper. Lindsay and Derrick headed out early the next morning for a week-long honeymoon in Mexico.

It's so WEIRD to me that my little sister is now a MARRIED WOMAN! However, I'm so happy that she has found her partner and that they truly have an awesome relationship. I love that Jamie and Derrick get along so well and that Lindsay and I have become even closer over the past year. My mom and her twin sister are VERY close and when we were kids, our families always did everything together... summer vacations, Christmas and all other holidays, etc... my 2 cousins were almost more like brothers because we spent so much time with them. I hope that is something that Lindsay, Derrick, Jamie, and I will be able to do with our families!


...gorgeous setting...



...beautiful bride...




...sweet boy...




...delicious bride's cake...


...chocolatey grooms cake...


...noah's favorite person...






...stealing a moment together as husband and wife...

Savannah and our "Low Country" Adventures

Last Wednesday, Jamie, Noah, Lindsay, and I headed out before noon for Atlanta. We decided that with our trip to Savannah being close to 9 hours, it would be best to split it up into 2 days of travel. We made it to ATL around 4 (their time), checked into our hotel and headed to Lenox Square Mall for some shopping. I was able to find some cute summer, maternity items. Noah had only napped for about an hour during the drive and with our shopping and then dinner, we didn't get back to our hotel until around 9:30... at that point, he was deliriously silly and wired! After an hour or so, I was able to get him to calm down and go to sleep. Thankfully, he was great the whole day and didn't fuss or cry at all.

My parents drove to B'ham late Wednesday night so Thursday morning, we left our hotel in time to meet them as they were passing through ATL, that way we could follow them the rest of the way. We made it to Tybee Island in about 5 hours and unfortunately, our vacation got off to a rocky start. As SOON as we pulled into the parking deck of our condo, the electricity went off in the entire complex. This meant the elevators were out of order (with someone trapped inside!), so we had to tote all of our luggage up the stairs. When we got everything out of the car and get settled into our rooms, we realized it was HOT in the condo. There's no telling what it had been set on since it was unoccupied and at this point we were still without power... with a heat index of 110 outside. After an hour or more, the power finally came back on, so we decided to head out for dinner. My dad got into a conversation with the maintenance guy on site and he recommended we eat at a place called Burneys, which was located on a pretty busy street called Tybrisa. It wasn't quite what I was expecting when we pulled down the strip to park, but it reminded me of something that you would find on the Jersey Shore! Several t-shirts shops, souvenir stores, and small bars lined both sides of the street. Jamie, Noah, Lindsay, and I rode together and got there before my parents (who also have my grandmother, Nonnie, and my aunt Carol with them.) We walked into Burney's and the first thing I realized is that it's basically a bar with a couple of tables. Next thing I see is a rather large couple in their bathing suits, making out at the bar. Ummmm... I didn't want to be the one to veto this place but I didn't think it was for us. Lindsay pointed out pretty quickly that there were quite a few smokers and she didn't want Noah around it so we left quickly. My parents still hadn't gotten there so I called my mom's cell to find out where they were... turns out, when they parked the car, my Nonnie hastily opened the car door and slammed it into the neighboring car (which happened to be a brand new Tahoe), putting a dent in the side of it (and in the door of my parent's car). The owner of the Tahoe was LIVID and started mouthing off to my dad, despite the fact that it was obviously an accident! My dad was trying to calm the guy down and get everything situated (as far as exchanging insurance) but apparently that wasn't enough for this guy... he was looking for a fight. My dad finally calmed the guy down and we head out looking for another place to eat. The next attempt was AJ's. We found it easily, however, the parking lot would only hold about 10 cars at best. We drove around searching for a spot to park both of our cars with no luck, so we headed out looking for something else. We decided on The Crab Shack, which had been voted "Best Seafood on Tybee Island" for something like the past 10 years in a row so we thought we'd found a winner. We waited for about an hour or so but it passed pretty quickly because we sat outside and watched kids feed the alligators that they had in an enclosure. They took us to our seat and it immediately became apparent that the restaurant was without air conditioning. The food was okay, but nothing to call home about. A tired 3 year old, a 80-something year old lady, and a 6 months pregnant girl plus the rest of my family... in August, 100+ degree weather, no a/c, and all worn out from traveling all day ... it just was not a pleasant experience. We were all hot, sweaty, miserable, and tired.

The following day, my mom and sister had some last minute wedding details to finalize, my dad and Jamie wanted to check out a local golf course as well as make a grocery stop, so I sat with Noah and Nonnie at the condo. I woke up that morning feeling sick with really bad congestion, headache, and a sore throat/bad cough so I didn't feel like doing much plus my grandmother has Alzheimer's so there was no way I was venturing out just the 3 of us, especially after the run in she'd caused my dad the night before! :) That evening, we had reservations at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons, with Derrick's (Lindsay's fiance) entire family. Because of our party size, we had to choose the buffet, which was really good. Fried Chicken, Steamed Shrimp, Macaroni-n-Cheese, Corn Casserole, Yams, Mashed Potatoes, Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding and more. The best thing on the buffet was the Mac-n-Cheese... YUM! The one thing I wanted to try but it wasn't offered this particular day was the Gooey Butter Cakes. Follwing dinner, Jamie, Noah and I went ventured off by ourselves to see Savannah. We headed a couple of blocks towards City Market and then turned up near some shops, however, with it just a few minutes to 7:00pm they were all closing. And let me tell you, it was HOT, despite it being 7 in the evening. In fact, that doesn't even begin to describe just how hot... I've always heard that it's much more hot and humid in Savannah and that night I experienced it! With full bellies from our meal, our clothes literally sticking to us, and huffing and puffing as we wandered around through downtown Savannah, we finally decided to just head back to the car, with hopes of returning to explore another day.

The following evening, Saturday night, was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. All I can say is this was the first time I actually saw where the wedding was to take place at the gardens of the Westin Savannah Harbor (other than pictures on the internet) and the scenery was gorgeous! Dinner was to follow at The Olde Pink House and it was wonderful... but the service was even better! It was flawless and so impressive. We all thoroughly enjoyed our experience there. Between Jamie, Noah, and I, we were able to try all of the options that were available on our menu. I had the She-Crab Soup, Shrimp and Grits, and Key Lime Pie... WONDERFUL!

Here's my observations:
1. Savannah is beautiful! However, being 6 months pregnant in one of the hottest months out of the year, I didn't get to fully experience it... it was just too hot and required alot of walking that I didn't feel up to doing. The combination of the heat/humidity, being sick the whole week, and pregnant just left me drained! I honestly didn't feel like doing anything, other than Lindsay's wedding activities. I hate that I felt that way because I know I really would have enjoyed Savannah with different circumstances. I would love to go back at a different time of year, and when I'm NOT pregnant, so that I can enjoy all that it has to offer.

2. When we were planning our trip, we were told that Tybee Island was only a 15 - 20 minute drive to Savannah. However, we found that it took about 30 - 45 minutes depending on traffic therefore, we didn't get to venture into Savannah much during the day since we were there so much each evening for wedding activities. None of us were impressed with Tybee Island and I wouldn't recommend it, except for maybe a day trip, but not somewhere to stay for a week. It didn't seem to be geared toward tourists, but more so a getaway for locals, because there wasn't anything there other than the beach, some tacky touristy shops, and a few hole-in-the-wall restaurants, majority of which didn't have air-conditioning. However, I know others feel differently because I had heard nothing but great things prior to our trip. I guess I'm just spoiled by Destin and the beautiful Gulf Coast!

Obviously, our number 1 purpose for the trip was Lindsay's wedding, however, Jamie and I were also using this as our summer vacation too. Since we didn't really get the vacation experience we were hoping for on Tybee Island, Jamie arranged for to get a hotel for 3 nights on Hilton Head Island, which was only a 45 minute drive from Savannah. His birthday is 8/3 and our 7th anniversary is 8/9 so he thought we should enjoy a little time with just the 3 of us. The plan was to head there following our departure from Tybee on that Tuesday morning. WHOO HOO!! But before that, we had my sister's wedding...


a little alligator-watching to pass the wait at The Crab Shack


the crab shack's slogan "where the elite eat in their bare feet!"


outside of paula deen's the lady & sons


river street


practice makes perfect!


the bride and her favorite nephew




our rehearsal dinner menu


family shot outside of the olde pink house