Homeward Bound

The Sunday Pat left ATL Cooper & I headed to Hartsville with here. It was the week before Labor Day so I thought it would be nice to spend some time with family.

Cooper & I had a great week! We stayed with my grandparents, Mama & Papa. (Cooper's GREAT grandparents) I loved being able to spend time with them & to watch Cooper bond with such special people in my life. Here are some things we did:

-Swam in Grandpa's pool
-Ate LOADS of peaches
-played with Ginger (Papa's dog)
-Ran around in Papa's backyard (before the mosquitoes tried to carry us away)
-watched more Weather & Fox News than ever needed (I know older folks love the weather/politics)
-Cooper enjoyed swinging with Papa in his swing
-Cooper also LOVED getting spoonfuls of goodness from Papa. (banana pudding, milkshake, & more!)
-Cooper ran miles through their house
-I went through tons of stuff from my youth. Throwing away & dotating 95% of it.
-We went to dinner with Grandma & Poppa
-Had a play date with Jen & Cage
-Loved spending time with Leslie
-Went to Sonic more times than I'd like to admit (LOVE their desserts)
-Spent money at Big Lots
-Took good naps
-Had fun with Bryant & Jilli
-Ate WAY more food than is necessary
And much MUCH more!

Here are pictures from our adventures in Hartsville...

Four Generations!

Cooper stealing Papa's Banana Pudding

Swinging with Papa

Mema feeding Coop Papa's milkshake.

Pool Time!

Enjoying GRASS!

Playing the piano with Cage & Baylee

Grandma playing with Coop while we wait
for Kyle & Moose to arrive.

Cooper enjoyed Poppa's grape drink!

The kid LOVES the piano!

Uncle Gary making Coop laugh

Loving Auntie Leslie

I found my clay creations from my elementary years.

Six years of Rec Softball. I LOVED every minute of it!

Mama making Coop laugh with a pound puppy.

Mema & Coop

So much randomness. I'm getting stiff armed by Coop!

Mama cracked us up when she sat on Papa's lap. So cute!

Guests Galore!

The month of August went by in a flash! We had visitors every week & I'm not complaining! 

First Karl & Onna's family came for an overnight visit. Technically they didn't stay with us but we were able to get together for dinner & a Braves Game. It was a fun night!

Everyone at the game
(sorry i didn't realize it was going to be side ways)

Cooper's First Braves Game!

Next my Dad came to town for a weekend. He took us out to our favorite BBQ place. We also made homemade ice cream & relaxed. We enjoyed having him here with us.

Grandpa & Coop

Then it was Grandma's turn to visit. Kyle's Mom, Pat came to town for a long weekend. It was a BLAST. She spoiled us rotten. Seriously. She brought treats for Moose, clothes for Coop, frozen dinner & breakfast, Mac's Pride peaches (the BEST) & more! Moose & Coop just couldn't get enough of Grandma. We kept the road hot with Pat was here. We went to Costco, WalMart, LDS Distribution Center, Belk, Frosty Caboose, & several thrift stores. Pat also made some amazingly delicious food. We had a taco night that took us all back to Guadalajara Mexico circa 2009. Life is good with Grandma is here!

Cooper showing off his Halloween Costume
Grandma got him from Costco. Not pictured
is Moose trying to grab his Tiger Tail!

Ah yes. Taco night!

So delish!

We went on a family walk. I didn't get the red
shirt memo so I stayed out of the pic. :)

Homemade Peach Ice Cream. It was that good!

We thoroughly enjoyed all of our visits. I don't know what we are going to do this month. Who's coming to visit?!

26 years & Thanksgiving

On Nov 21st I turned 26. That's right-26. Crazy. I remember when my sister was this age (she's 12 yrs older than me) so it's weird to think that I'm now this age.... Anywho! I have some pretty rocking friends. They know who they are & I am so grateful to have celebrated my birthday with them & some yummy cake. :) I don't know what I'd do without such amazing friends that make me laugh, listen to my ramblings, & make sure I'm still alive (Coop & I hibernate a lot).

Dad came in town for my Bday weekend. We had a good time. He took us all out for a dual birthday linner (lunch/dinner) since his bday was on the 13th. Kyle made me an amazingly delicious Sunday dinner after we went to see Gladys Knight & the Unified Voices 'revival.' (Btw it was such an awesome experience to hear & see Sis. Knight. She is so inspiring & her music...it's so hard for me to put into words how it made me feel but it was wonderful!!)

My Birthday Cookies!
(excuse the roughness. my actual birthday wasn't the best of days)

Thanksgiving 2011 will go down as the day I ate way more than I should! Wait... that's everyday.... ha! This year for Thanksgiving we went to Hartsville & ate 2 HUGE dinners in the span of 3 hours. It was so incredibly delicious & disgusting. I hope we don't have to experience that again because I'm not the best at saying no to food-especially the comfort food that we don't get much of. We had a great time with family. We did a little Black Friday shopping (it's getting to be a little too intense for my liking). Kyle enjoyed some man time with his Dad & brothers. We saw some friends. Did I mention we ate some food? ;)

Coop loves his Auntie Jen!

Meeting Auntie Caye for the first time.
I'm pretty sure he's in love. :)

We promise he loves you Auntie Jilli!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandpa, Apples, & bears-OH MY!

This past Friday my dad, Grandpa, came to visit for the weekend. It was nice having him here & getting an update on life in our hometown. Cooper has been kinda funny with different people holding him but he didn't usually mind it when Grandpa held him. I think Cooper liked the silly noises Grandpa made so that Coop would smile.

Gamecock fans thru & thru

Saturday morning we all got up & headed to Ellijay, GA for the GA Apple Festival. It was a great day to get out & see what the festival had to offer. We walked around for an hour or so. There were tons of booths with crafts (birdhouses, wood toys, etc) & then there was the food: Fried apple pies, fried banana pudding, foot long corn dogs, fried onions, bratwurst, fried oreos, fried sneakers, & more! For 'brunch' Kyle & I shared a fried apple pie & foot long corndog while Dad had a chili dog. We ended up buying a 'peck' of Pink Lady apples since it was THE Apple festival & all. I'm glad we went but I doubt we will return-I've seen enough fried food & 'interesting' north ga people for a while. (no offense north ga but you do have some 'interesting' people in your mountains....)

Coop wasn't too interested in the festivities.

Not even when there was a yellow jacket
that kept landing on him.

We stopped by Costco & Cooper is probably scarred for life. He'll forgive us one day.... hopefully.

Coop didn't enjoy the BIG cuddly bear.

Saturday night Kyle cooked up some of the apples & made Apple Sauce! Kyle is a great cook but I have to admit I was pretty skeptical about the whole thing but it turned out delicious! I don't think Kyle anticipated Dad & I eating the rest of the batch that night!

A Weekend of FUN!

Kyle & I took Friday off of work so we could hit the road this past Thursday evening. Our destination? MOUNT PLEASANT, SC!! We rented a car for fun & our drive was pretty uneventful. We made it into Mt P at 11:30pm & our first stop was Isle of Palms to see, hear, & smell the ocean. I loved just standing on the beach feeling the wind in my hair. Moose definitely enjoyed running around eating sea shells. :) I didn't realize how much I missed living on the coast.

Friday started early because we were so excited to be 'home' & we had tons to do. Kyle went downtown to pick up his Cooper River Bridge Run packet & I went to visit my old job. I had such a great time seeing Dr Goltra & the girls. I miss it there SO much! For lunch Kyle & I met up with Scott & Rachael for some delicious Melvins BBQ! It was A-Mazing! I ate everything & given the chance I probably could've had more!

Friday afternoon we spent some time with Kyle's parents, Marc & Pat before Cooper's baby shower that evening. (I'll post on the shower later) After the shower we invited a couple of friends over to play games. The Adams, Artls, Bryant, & Jilli came. We played Catch Phrase & we had some good laughs! There are phrases from that weekend that will never be forgotten!

Just thought I'd throw in a belly pic from that weekend.

Saturday morning came quick! Kyle set his alarm wrong but we woke up early enough anyhow so I could drop him off for the BIG race! I went to the grocery store, took a quick nap, & enjoyed the sun while Kyle was at the Bridge Run. Kyle did have a good time at the run even if it was solo. For lunch Kyle & I met up with Marc & Pat downtown at Poogans Porch. The company was GREAT & the food was pretty good (not our best visit there). We did have their delicious Gouda Mac & Cheese even if I did have to beg for it since it's not on the lunch menu. :) That mac & cheese is seriously life changing! haha After lunch we walked down to Waterfront Park to look out at the Charleston Harbor. There was a cruise ship, sail boats, & dolphins! It was great smelling the salt air & feeling the warm sun on our skin. (How can you not just LOVE it there?!)

Kyle after the race! So proud of him! :)

Me, Kyle, & Marc at Waterfront Park dwntwn Charleston.

Saturday afternoon we hung out at Ann's house enjoying the nice weather with Bryant, Jilli, & Dad. The boys tried to fly kites-that didn't work out well-so they moved on to skateboarding. Moose loved the skate board...well she loved to bark & bite on it. ha! Later I was able to meet up with my friend Rachel really quick before dinner. The visit was SO not long enough-I miss that girl!

We had a fun dinner date with Scott & Rachael at the one & only Gringos! The food was pretty amazing & the Adams rock my socks! :) After dinner the boys headed off to the Priesthood Session of General Conference so Rachael & I were able to have some much needed girl time! We chatted, cried a little (gotta love hormones!), got some special treats for Ann, & made a poster before the boys were done. We tried to go to Cupcake but they were already ready closed. :( When the boys were done it was time for dessert! We ate at Menchie's. It's new frozen yogurt place where you basically make it yourself & pay by the ounce (or by the pound if you ask Kyle. hehe). It was hard to decide what we wanted but it was super yummy!!

Sunday we had a little breakfast shin dig. I made Pat's famous Breakfast casserole & the Adams brought their homemade cinnamon rolls. Basically it was delicious & great to spend a little more time with special people before we left.

Now we are home & exhausted. We ended up staying up every night until 1am & waking up EARLY each morning so we're glad to be back to ATL but SO so sad to leave Mt P behind. It really feels like home there & I miss my family & friends. Who wouldn't want to live on the beautiful SC coast?! Hopefully we will get back there one day for good!

Dad's Visit!

The week after Labor Day Dad came to visit for a few days. I didn't have much planned for him because I had just started keeping my friend's baby & I knew Dad was cool with just hanging out. For a while Kyle had been begging me to go to our church Cannery so we could start up our food storage. I had never been & I didn't want to go alone but the friends I have here all have babies & the cannery isn't open on the weekends! So when I found out Dad was coming I knew I had a partner in crime! ;)

We went on Wednesday morning & it was fun! Upon arriving we met an older couple that were good friends with the Mary Lou & Ace Ensign crew! (Kyle's gma & gpa) Small world! All 4 of us teamed up to make the canning easier & faster. We donned our hair nets & went to work! I was the official labeler! Intense-I know! haha We were done in less than an hour & it was fun! I am constantly amazed at how well organized the church is. I love the order of everything & how simple it all really is!

Here we are with our goods & rocking our hair nets!

On Thursday evening Dad & I loaded up a bag of snacks & took the train downtown. After we met up with Kyle we made our way Dad's first Braves game! After arriving at Turner Field we got in line to buy tickets. While we were in line a guy walked up & offered us his extra 4 tickets for $40. We only needed 3 & we didn't have that much cash so he ended up selling us the 3 tickets for like $25. We didn't know where we were going to be sitting-we had initially planned to get seats up at the top so after we got in & found our seats we were 9 rows back on the 3rd base line! woo hoo! We walked around so Dad could see all of the sights & then settled in for the opening ceremonies & the first pitch. The first inning was AMAZING! The Braves came full speed & even hit a couple of homers! Unfortunately after that they totally stunk it up. We had a yummy dinner though because there is nothing like footlong hot dogs at a Ball Park!

Showing off our seats!

(If you haven't noticed-Dad is always talking during pictures! haha)

That was basically all we did when Dad was here. One day I did make some yummy sugar cookies from scratch! They were SO yummy if I might say so myself! :) There is no telling how many I ate! ha!

Some of the cookies are Star Wars shapes. & no it's not Christmas but I only had red & green sprinkles! :P

It was nice having Dad come to visit. I hope he enjoyed a few days of nothingness!