Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Take a hike!


All last week Kyle & I kept throwing out ideas of what to do this past weekend but nothing really stuck. We finally just left it alone & figured we'd just enjoy a boring weekend at home. As soon as we decided that it all changed-in a good way! We were invited to our new friends', the Malan's, house for dinner on Friday. I offered to bring dessert because as most of you know I LOVE sweets! I made brownies with toffee bits, topped with coolwhip, more toffee bits & syrup. (I forgot to take a pic! Rats!) Anywho! We had a nice evening with them. I have actually hung out with Erin & lil Finn a few times but this was the first time our hubbys got together. It was fun chatting & getting to know each other. Erin made some yummy food including corn on the cob because she remembered me expressing Kyle's love for corn. :)

Saturday Kyle & I decided to head to Stone Mountain. We heard you could hike up the 835 foot tall mountain made of stone so we thought we'd give it a try. I dressed as if it was a rather quick & easy walk/'hike' to the top telling myself that if it's quite the tourist attraction for ALL ages that it has to be easy right? So wearing my jean shorts & sneakers (a last minute decision because I'm usually rocking flip flops) we headed out. Upon arriving we couldn't figure out where to start up the mountain. (there was barely any talk of the hike on the web site nor with the actual people that work there-Kyle & I later agreed that it must be because it isn't a money maker). After finally getting some vague directions on where to start our ascent we head off into the trees. We walked on this trail thru the woods for about 20 minutes wondering A-why it felt like we weren't moving up the mountain B-why are haven't we passed anyone C-if the mountain is made of stone-where's the stone?! Another 20 minutes of trekking ahead, sweating like crazy & swatting mosquitoes ticked on before we actually came across people & the REAL trail to head up the mountain. Come to find out we were on a trail that took you AROUND the nearly 600 acre mountain! By this point I'm frustrated at myself for the way I have dressed, wondering if it's worth it, wishing I had a snack packed for a quick boost & bugged that after almost 45 min of hiking we haven't even begun to conquer this mountain! So to cut to the chase we made it up to the top!! (after plenty of rest stops) It felt amazing to have made it & boy was the breeze wonderful! After doing some sightseeing, reading some fun facts, & actually lying down on the smooth stone mountain, we decided to take the easy way down by riding the Summit Skyride & head home. It was quite an experience & next time we will definitely be better prepared!

Stone Mountain

Kyle being awkward because I wanted to take a pic of him. :)

We were pretty happy about finally making it to the top!
(Kyle took this with his nifty new iPhone!)

Resting & enjoying the view.

Saturday evening we were invited to the Crolley's to play some games. Kyle & I were excited to hang out with Paul, Mandy, & lil Olivia! We introduced them to some of our new & fun games: Blokus & Ruckus! (shout out to the Adams for hooking us up!) We had a great time playing & before we knew it it was 11:30. We are so blessed to have them so close! They are so fun & have helped in making our transition into a new area & new ward so easy! Major thanks to the Crolley Crew! :)

Overall we had a great weekend. At one point this weeekend Kyle & I were talking in the car about how much we missed our friends! Especially the Adams in Mt P & the Bartons in MB! They complete us-haha! We really miss the funtimes & familiarity of it all. But looking forward we are SUPER excited for next weekend because we are heading home to Hartsville! There are so many family members that reside in the ville now! We can't wait to see everyone & have some fun!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Month #1 Completed!

I have been living in ATL for over a month now! This whole moving thing still does not seem real... I guess if I had a job/calling that would help make it real! Kyle & I have done some fun things in our first month here but we are noticing that we have a lot more free time now then we've had in a LONG time. In Mt P we were so consumed with our jobs, church callings, family, friends, & mini vacations that we rarely had time to just be lazy-boy are we getting our fair share of lazy here! Not complaining-just interesting how it all works out. We were praying for more time while we were in Mt P & now we have the time but now in ATL!

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So to recap we have:
-Visited the World of Coke
-Explored the largest Aquarium
-Spent some fun times with the Lusks (my sis & her fam)
-Walked around dwntwn Decatur & had some yummy burgers at Farm Burger
-Saw food we'd never imagine existed at a HUGE Farmers Market
-Walked down to the Frosty Caboose for some ice cream on a few too many occasions
-Painted our Bed & our Rocking Chair
-Had some weekend visitors: Mom & Dad
-Joined a weekly Ladies Lunch (that'd be me, not Kyle. hehe)
-Learned the MARTA system!
-Moose has had some fun at a few different dog parks
-Become addicted to NetFlix
-Too many IKEA trips
-Played some fun board games
-Celebrated Kyle's Birthday
-Skyped with Family
-Started sewing an Apron
-Tried to "Shoot the Hootch" & failed miserably
-Made all sorts of food: boiled pnuts, dirt cake, star wars cookies, & more

We have also been able to get a lot of couch time in-I'm sure our butts are imprinted in this thing (yes I'm sitting on it now). It has been fun exploring ATL with Kyle. We have SO much more to see & numerous roads to get lost on. Although it still doesn't seem real-I am glad that we are in ATL. I am grateful for this time Kyle & I have together-this could be a calm before the storm!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Birthday Boy!


Kyle's 27th Birthday was last Tuesday! (I'm late posting-I know) It was fun for me gearing up for his BIG day! He just wanted it to be a normal day but I had to make it special. :) Kyle came home from work to see the island decorated just for him!

Here are his gifts & some yummy homemade cupcakes!

After Kyle opened his gifts (I forgot to take a picture of all his loot) we headed to Mellow Mushroom for his birthday dinner.

By Friday ALLLL the cupcakes were gone (I'd rather not talk about it-ha!) So since Kyle has had a dirt cake for just about every birthday-we decided to make one! You can't mess with such a yummy tradition! We also had candles so I sang to him so he could make a wish!

I tried to make 27 out of candles & failed
(isn't he so cute!? i heart him)

Make a wish!

Some fun pics from birthdays past!

Last but not least on Saturday Kyle & I went to the Apple Store! (no Tiff, they don't sell fruit hehe) Kyle took his gift card & money from his birthday to get another gift- an iPhone! Kyle has been holding out on getting the iPhone for sooooo long! He's one happy camper now!

Happy Birthday Kyle! I hope you know how special you are, how much you are loved & how fun it is to have you in our lives!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It's a Rockin Chair!


A few months ago my fantastic friend Pam asked me if I wanted her rocking chair. I gladly accepted the offer & I was excited to repaint the chair a fun color! So since we've moved & gotten settled I decided to make the chair my first project post unpacking. I'd have to say I'm pretty proud of myself! :) I took pictures to document the process!

Before


During the sanding process


ALL painted!



Here's the final product! Moose wanted to be Vana White. After painting it-I made it a little antique/rustic. The color matches the blanket my (great) Aunt Mary made for me.



I LOVE the paint color I stole from Pam so much that I also painted a picture frame to match the chair. Kyle's scared he'll come home from work one day & everything will be Bay Mist! haha