Memorial weekend...

We were able to get away for the long Memorial weekend. Plus we have our 5 year anniversary coming up, so we wanted to do something special. We go to go to Charleston, SC. It was just perfect! And so beautiful! It is such an old historical town.

We started each morning with a buffet breakfast at our hotel.  On the very top floor was a nice restaurant with an amazing view!

Saturday we headed downtown to the aquarium.  (we got a package with our room stay that included tickets!)  I love going to aquariums... here are the boys in the "rainforest"...

Colin was alert and watching everything while we were there.  It was really cute.  This aquarium had a lot of open tanks... and one section had pelicans and other birds out.  If you know me, you know I am NOT a bird fan... so it was a little scary for me!  haha 
Alligators and turtles:

There was an awesome huge tank that had many different types of fish... and one big shark!

We went to lunch after this, then decided to walk around downtown.  Charleston is sooo pretty!  There is a sidewalk along the water, and then there is this cute walkway beside that, it's in the shade.

It was a nice long walk... and the weather was so great!  Here I am with my boy!

There is a lot of cobblestone walks downtown.  I was nervous having the stroller, but there were sidewalks that we could use.  As you can see Garet enjoyed off roading with Colin:

We walked down to the Battery, and by this point Colin was sound asleep!  I was in awe of all the gorgeous houses!  They were so pretty!  I was so tempted to knock on the doors and ask to look inside!  I just love houses/floor plans!

I loved this one with the flag...

There are still real cannons everywhere.  

When we got back to the hotel we changed and headed to the pool for a bit!  Colin LOVED it!  He was kicking like a pro!  And boy does he like to splash!  His little hat was soaked!

Sunday we loaded up and headed to Folly Beach!  It was so nice!  Hot, but nice.  The beach was so big, so even though there were lots of people, it didn't seem too crowded.  And there was so much shoreline!  We got a big tent a few weeks ago, and I'm so glad we did!  I couldn't imagine Colin out in that sun!

Randomly we found out that one of Garet's good friends, Amber, was also in town visiting a girl they went to high school with!  So she found us on the beach.

We went back to the pool that afternoon, then had a wonderful dinner downtown.  There is so much to see and do - we crammed in as much as we could!

Monday we headed back home.  It was Memorial Day so we all wore our red, white, and blue!

I've always gotten very emotional on Memorial Day.  I am just overwhelmed with all the men and women who are serving our country.  Every Sunday before Memorial Day our church recognized everyone that has served, and is serving and every Sunday I am in tears with emotion. 
This Memorial Day is even different.  I now have a brother that is serving our country.  I am so proud of him!  So, it is even more emotional, to say the least!

Happy Memorial Day!

Family time...

My parents came this week!

It was soooo great to have them here!  I love the fact that they are less than 3 hours away!  They brought us a riding lawnmower (which G is very thankful for!), rocking chairs for the front porch, and we got to borrow my dad's power washer!

It is amazing the difference after we finished!

While Garet started power washing... we all sat in the front yard and watched =)

So, we took a day (more like an hour) to show them around the small town of Whiteville.  When we got back to our house, we got word from my brother that they are expecting a baby GIRL on October 1!!!  YAY!!  I am soooo excited!  My mom and I, of course, had to go out and buy them a few cute outfits! 

My parents left on Friday and headed on down to see Eric and Kailey... and Garet and I had my cousin and her husband over for dinner.  Once again - so nice to be able to do that since we are close!

We have really been enjoying our front porch now that it is clean and we have rockers! 
I just love my boys!

Sunday morning Garet was watching Colin while I was getting ready for church, and when I came in I saw Suzi laying with her head on our chair!  See her ear?  What a funny dog!  She didn't even move when I took this!

My parents came back and stayed the night Sunday night on their way back to Charlotte.  Before they got here I made some cookies!  (chocolate chip!)  I have been having a hard time trying to figure out how to get things done in the kitchen with Colin... at our house in Huntsville, I could see the living room from the kitchen... so Colin could be playing and I could still see him.  Here, I can't.  So, I just put him on the floor with some toys (a.k.a. kitchen utensils) while I made some yummy cookies!

He loved it... if you can't tell, he was playing the drums =)

Today was beautiful!  We got to go on our usual walk this morning... Grandmama took Colin outside to check out our hydrangea... which I love!

And we got to try out Colin's pool!  Here is my sweet boy in his swim suit!

He was very nervous about this!  He had a death grip on me when I got in with him!  He eased up a little when I sat down.  You can see how worried he is... I was splashing the water. 

He loves his bathtub, and he splashes like crazy in it... so we got his bathtub and put it in the pool for him to sit in.  That did the trick.  After getting semi-comfortable in that, I took him out and plopped him down in the pool...

He was a little unsure but he did well.  We didn't last too long, but it was a start!

It was sad to see my parents go.  I loved having them here! 

Walks around the hood...

We go on a walk (or a "w" as we say in front of Suzi) at least once a day.  It's funny because here in our neighborhood most of the dogs have electric fences.  So they run right up to you when you are walking.  Well they run up when we are walking with Suzi... if it's just me and Colin, they could care less. 

So, Garet and I have named all the dogs in our hood....
(just keep in mind, we have no clue what their names really are... or even if they are male or female)

- Regal - a brown and white English Setter.  She seems like she turns up her nose when we walk by - occasionally she will bark, but for the most part, she is too good for us.

- Yacks - These are two labs (?) a black lab, and a yellow lab (according to the owner, whom we have met) but the yellow one looks like she has Great Dane mixed in there.  We got the name because one is Yellow and one is blACK = YACK

There is one strip that I refer to as the "Dog Pound"  Ya know how you walk through the pound and a million dogs run up and start barking at you?  Well that's what this reminds me of...

- Wheely - Part of the Dog Pound.  This is also a black lab.  He runs with all his might up to the edge of the yard then starts hoping on his back legs at us... ya know, like a wheely.

- Humpy and Victim - Part of the Dog Pound.  Humpy is a Black Lab, Victim is a black dog with long hair.  I thin the name says it all.

- The Yappers - The main part of the Dog Pound.  A Beagle, a Jack Russell, and a real old dog.  The Beagle charges, followed closely by the Jack... and bringing up the rear is the old Yap (our favorite of the Yaps.  He kind of trots towards us, and with each trot he barks.)

- Bouncer and Goldy - Part of the Dog Pound.  Bouncer is a young Yellow lab.  Our favorite in the hood.  He is sooo full of energy and just bounces all over the place!  His yard mate is a long hair golden dog.  And she doesn't put up with this crazy young Bouncer!

- Dizzy and Mini Me - Last part of the Dog Pound.  Dizzy is another black Lab.  There is a huge patch of shrubbery in this yard, and Dizzy like to run around it.  Mini Me looks like the dog from Wizard of Oz (ToTo).

- Bashful - A Golden Retriever.  Love this sweet dog.  She doesn't travel far from the garage, but when she does, she bounces in the flower bed and acts like she's going to bark, but then runs back into the garage.

- The Mafia - A crazy mix... a big ole St. Bernard, a German Shepard, a big long hair white dog with gray and black spots, an old dog that doesn't move, and a few ducks (weird, right?)

- Romeo - a tiny little white dog that roams from his home yard to the yard across the street.  Barks at us from a distance.

- Juliet - English Setter that lives next to Romeo.

- Dragon - This dog stays in the garage.  We will hear him barking, but rarely does he emerge from his cave (a.k.a. the garage).

Mother's Day...

I had a good Mother's Day.  I truly feel so blessed that God has given me such a precious child! 

We got back from Bethesda on Saturday, so Sunday I could have my first Mother's Day here with my family.  Garet was going to make me Sunday breakfast... but we only had eggs.  =)  We didn't have time to go to the store after we got back Saturday night.  

We went to church, then Garet (and Colin!) treated me to lunch!  I have mentioned before how small this town is... and how odd the hours are at stores and restaurants... well on Sunday's downtown looks completely shut down.  So... we had lunch at the Southern Sizzler.  haha!

It was pretty good... and PACKED!  It was probably the only place in town that was open!

When we got home, we went on a nice walk - the weather was beautiful!  Then my brother called and said him and Kailey were going to stop by on their way back home from Charlotte.  It was so great to see them!  I love that we are on their way home! 

Then Garet made dinner for me!  It was soooo good!  He made Rattlesnake Pasta - we met when we both worked at Uno Chicago Grill... it was on the menu there.  Delish!  Oh, and he made brownie's with peanut butter!  (I could seriously eat an entire jar of peanut butter with a spoon!) 

It was perfect. 

Last year we celebrated Mother's Day... since I was pregnant.  But this year I feel like it was REAL.  As many of you know, it took us awhile to get pregnant, so last year's Mother's Day was very emotional for me.  This year I am just very thankful for my sweet little man!  I am overwhelmed at how much love I have for Colin, and I thank God for him every time I look at him!  I love being his Mommy!



Trip to DC...

We went to Bethesda last Thursday (it is right beside DC...) for a memorial service for Garet's grandmother.  We left Thursday afternoon and got there around 8 that night.  A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  I mean, it took us about 6.5 hours (we had to stop a couple times) instead of... um... like 13 hours!  Awesome.

So we stayed with one of Garet's sisters... she gave us some more hand-me-down clothes for Colin.  He had to try on this awesome hat...

while he was playing with this awesome whisk!

We took a long walk around the neighborhood and Garet showed Colin the house he grew up in

I don't know why I didn't take any pictures with my camera!  Crazy right?!  I took a couple with my phone, so did Garet, so all of these are phone pics.  I really need to get better about that. 

Saturday before the service we went to his mom's house to hang out for a bit.

(once again Colin found kitchen utensils to entertain himself)

He also got to hang out with his cousin Abbi.  She is the only cousin younger than he is (that is until September or October!) of his 13 cousins!

After the service we all went back to Adriane's house and had a nice dinner - it was so great hanging out and talking!  Garet and his sisters take a picture together every time they are all in the same place, here is the most recent:

I try my best to keep Colin on his schedule when we are traveling.  It doesn't always go as planned, but we do pretty well.  So, I had to bathe and put him to bed shortly after we all got back to the house, but before I did he got to cuddle with his Great Grandpa Steve

Too cute!!

It was so great to hang out with family!  And (if I don't say it enough on this blog!) we are closer so we can do it more often!  We left yesterday to come back home, but before we did we went to Garet's dad's house for a lunch.  Suzi got to play in the backyard with their dog (and all the kids, of course) so she was nice and worn out for the drive. Colin got passed around, and all of his cousins tried to make him laugh, so he was pretty worn out too.  And aside from a huge diaper blowout (I won't show you the pictures of that! haha) we had a smooth drive!

(and thanks to my mother-in-law for a couple of these pictures!)

Cleaning up...

no, not my house... my blogs!!

I have finally accepted the fact that I cannot keep up with all the blogs that I once did.  I don't know how many of you bloggers out there use Google Reader, but I love it.  And it is so easy to just keep adding blogs that you want to keep up with.  I have had 1000+ unread blog posts for a long time now... so I have gone through and taken off some of the blogs I follow. 

I had a lot of random, pointless, but funny blogs... like Awkward Family Photos and People of Walmart.
I love professional cakes... (like Cake Boss), I just think it is such an art... but this blog cracked me up: Cake Wrecks.
Before I was pregnant, I was obsessed with all things baby.  Spearmint Baby was fun to look at, there are some neat ideas on it.... I may keep this one...
I also love weddings.  Style Me Pretty has so many pretty weddings!  But they have tons of posts, and it is just way too hard to keep up with it.

There are more...but for now I got it narrowed down to just over 500 unread posts =)