I'm Alive, I Promise.

Where do I begin?!

Since I last blogged, a LOT has happened. I also have some other updates that I haven't been writing about, so bear with me. This might be a long one.

So Ross left us. Sad day there. Last Wednesday, I had Ross and his family along with some of my family over for a little farewell dinner. Which was delicious, if I do say so myself. Aside from the excellent meal, we had a really nice time visiting with each other's families (which, really, is just one big chosen family). He got a few little last minute gifts, including this picture in a frame and an umbrella with a little note from me saying "These are two things that you don't realize you need until you don't have them." I remember moving to school, and even though I was only 45 minutes away, I missed my family. Don't get me wrong, I had a GREAT time, but it was still sad. I hope that Ross loves every minute of his time in Knoxville, but I also hope that he always remembers where his family is! I'm going to Knoxville for Labor Day Weekend, and I cannot wait to see him!!

Along the same lines (kinda), I've been cooking a lot lately. I've cooked dinner for my parents and for friends for the past two weeks, and I have to say, I really have enjoyed it. I've been trying different recipes, all from the Weight Watchers website. Some have been delicious and some have been ok. Either way, I like being able to contribute and help out. So I think it's something that I'll continue with.

CLASS IS OVER!!! WOOHOO!! I finished up summer classes on Friday. Thank the good Lord. So I am officially on summer break--for two weeks. I know it's short, but I'm trying to make the most of it. So far I've vacationed, cleaned my room a little (a very little), started redecorating my bathroom, and relaxed. It's been very nice, and I really wish it could last longer!!

Vacation. Yes. My family left for Tybee Island last Wednesday, but since I had to finish up summer class, I flew down to meet them on Friday afternoon. First off, let me just say I love traveling alone. It was really nice to just get to have some alone time to think about stuff, to read, and to people watch and drink in the airport. Yes, that's right, drink. Look, don't judge me. My official summer had just begun. So of course I had a few cocktails, or four, on the way to Tybee. What the heck else was I supposed to do on vacation!? At any rate, I arrived in Savannah around 7 Friday evening, and the fun began! We went to dinner and had a WONDERFUL meal.Played cards and had family time on Friday evening. We woke up (really freaking early I might add) on Saturday morning to a tasty breakfast and made ready for family photo time on the beach. This was the first time we've made pictures as a fam since Dalton was born. I think they turned out really well and we had a great time taking them. Also, during this time, we learned that Jeremy has another calling in life as a photographer. hahaha. After photos were over, it was beach time! Not sure how many people have been to Tybee Island. It was a beautiful beach, but the water is, well, it's dirty looking. When I say dirty, I don't mean that there was actually stuff in it, but I couldn't see my feet. Therefore, I did most of my beach chillin' on the sand. I took a lovely and much needed nap. Dug in the sand a little bit with Dalton. People watched and lusted after a group of Georgia Hotties. Overall, it was a good time.We had another delicious meal, did some sight seeing on Sunday morning in Savannah--fell in love with Savannah and began planning my destination wedding there IMMEDIATELY!--and headed back to good ole Tennessee. It was really kind of odd. I think it's the first long term road trip that I've taken with my sister that was completely pleasant. What a nice change of pace!

In other news, I posted like a month ago about my weight loss journey. So far, it's going alright. As of today, I've lost about six pounds. Not an overwhelming amount, but good enough since I vacationed AND had exams during that time. I've been cooking as I said earlier, and I think that is really gonna help expedite the process since I'm not eating out as much. Also, the whole not eating out thing is helping my wallet get fatter! Who knew! I've been doing Zumba/PiYo on Monday nights with Sister and Allison. It's a nice workout and nice bonding time for us!

Well, I think that's just about everything. I also think you all are probably tired of reading this dang book. Sorry for the hiatus!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Ok, so I've had the busiest week EVER it feels like. School is coming to a close for the summer, I had cupcake orders (Woohoo!). Stayed with Whitley one night and kept Dalton one afternoon. Baby shower on Saturday. Went to church today and met my favorite twin boys for the first time. Whew. I'm tired just writing about it all!

As you can see from the photos, Dalton REALLY enjoyed helping aunt Kayla clean the batter off the spatula. He was a little leery at first, but got the hang out it real quick!

Luckily, after this week I'll have a little (very little) time off of school to relax and chill out. Friday I leave to meet the fam in Tybee Island, Georgia for a mini vacay. I'm excited to be on the beach for a hot second and to get the heck out of Robertson County for a few nights.


Among my busy week, I made time to invite myself to dinner at my grandparent's house several times, and when I say several, I mean three. That's right. I invited myself to eat, spur of the moment, THREE times this week. Are they not the best? Really and truly, I have what is quite possibly the best grandparents and in turn family on the face of the earth.
Not every granddaughter gets to grow up staying at her grandparents house. Myself, my sister and some of my cousins were lucky enough to never have to go to day care. Instead we got to hang out with each other and spend time with my grandma all day long. Both my grandparents are relatively young, especially to have several grown grandchildren. So not only did I get to spend time with them as a child, but I can now enjoy them as an adult. They come to parties and dress up. They host a huge Fourth of July extravaganza for our family every year. They even came with us for my 21st birthday weekend in Metropolis.



Most importantly, my grandparents have given me and my cousins a great example of love to live up to. They have been married for 47 years. They've been through hard times, good times, sad times, pretty much anything you can imagine, they've done it. For Christmas this year, the Cousin Club found a wall hanging that pretty much summed up what Maw and Papaw have done for us. It said "All Because Two People Fell In Love" and each of the seven of us signed the back with a little message about how much they mean to us. And really, the words couldn't have been any more true. Without them, our family would be nothing. They were the beginning of it and continue to be the backbone, pulling us together for the good and the bad. Hopefully, I will be getting married on their 50 wedding anniversary in 2013 as a tribute to the example they've been for me. I'm so thankful to have them now and forever!

P.S. I would like to add that Papaw is NOT a cross-dresser, well, usually he isn't. That's the only good picture I have of him and it's from a Halloween Party.

The Trip From HELL!

So this weekend, I took seven 17 and 18 year olds to Six Flags Over Georgia to celebrate Allison's 18th birthday. Any of you that know me, know that my cousin Treavor, Allison's boyfriend, are unusually close. So for me to spend a weekend with he and his friends is really not out of the ordinary. Bright and early Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed south. There were many, many bad times (hence the title) that I won't elaborate into. What I will tell you about is Treav, Allie, and my boo Ross.

As I said, Treavor and I have always been unusually close. I say unusually because really, how many boy and girl cousins that are six years apart in age hang out on a regular basis? It's bizarre, I know, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. You can look through old pictures from when we were kids, and there is a ridiculous amount of pictures of Treavor and I! I joke to Aunt Deana that I'm gonna but my own baby ad in his senior yearbook to fit them all in. I think he and I are a lot alike, which makes it easier for us to relate. We like to go to games, and swim, and just be goofy pretty much all the time. My favorite tradition that Treavor and I have is the UT/Bama game in October. This will be the third year we've gone together (and hopefully third victory for Bama...ROLL TIDE!) and I'm really, really looking forward to it. Something I'm not looking forward to however, is next fall when he goes to college. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for him and I will do anything possible to help him attain his dream of attending UT. With that said, I am gonna be a mess when he leaves. And that bothers me more and more everyday.

Ok, so there is a point to this gushing about my love for my cousin, I promise. Along the way of Treav's life, I've met and made friends with so many great kids that are his friends. Two years ago, when my uncle died, I saw more friends reach out to him to support him and care for him than I could ever share with you. There have been a few, though, that have really made an impression on me, and Ross is for sure one of them.

The story about Ross is a funny one. Ross's mom, Bethany (what's up shout out!), and Treavor's mom, Aunt Deana, were BFF in high school. Though Treav and Ross were close to each other in age, they really weren't raised and destined to be BFF like their moms. That's where fate stepped in and brought the two together a couple years ago. Since then (but really forever), Ross and his parents have become like family to Treav, me and our whole family.

Ross is one of those kids that you just want to hug. He is one of my favorites ever and I'm really glad to have gotten connected with him through Treavor. This weekend was the second of many trips to come that Ross has come on with me. He's moving off to Knoxville in like 20 days or something and I'm just about as sad with him leaving as I will be when Treavor does. I'm excited for him and this new part of his life, but sad sad sad to see him go. At least I have his wonderful mom and dad still here in GB to hang out with and many trips to look forward to!

Allison, aka Allie, AllieCat, AllieGator, or Gator, is by far the best addition to the Cousin Club in many, many moons. She and Treav have been seeing each other for almost two years, and in those two years, she has become a wonderful addition to our family.

She is one of the most caring and sweet girls I've ever met and I'm so happy to have gotten to know her and be a part of her life. She comes from a great family, who have welcomed all of us with open arms, which if you know many of us, is not an easy task! I'm looking forward to working with Allison through her college journey to become a teacher like me!

With the help of these three, I made it through an otherwise undesirable weekend. Luckily, I learned that next time, it will just be the four of us! I'm thankful for great family and great friends.

High/Low/High 1.0

So I know I said I was gonna do the high/low thing in an earlier post, but after I thought about it today, I decided on high-low-high cause you should always end on a positive note, right? So here is high/low/high: the first edition!

High

The first high of the week has been the time I've got to spend with Nicole this week and really the past few weeks. We used to have a really tight knit group of girls that worked together, ran around together, and pretty much spent an obnoxious amount of time together. It was fantastic. But as time goes on, babies and boyfriends (now husbands and fiancées!) and new jobs have broken us apart and we really don't see each other much at all. Nicole and I have become so close in the past five years that its hard to think that we've ONLY BEEN FRIENDS FIVE YEARS! She has been such a great friend,

supporting me when I needed it most and giving me a swift kick when I needed that too. She and I live on different schedules though. She teaches elementary school and I attend college. She has a fantastic man that she's about to marry and we all know I'm single and mingling. We find a way to make it work, but the past few weeks, we've seen each other more than we have all year. And have I mentioned? I LOVE IT! I've enjoyed wedding planning and eating and just spending time together. I'm so happy to be apart of her life and now Maid of Honor in her wedding!!

Low

This week has been pretty great, so it's hard to find a low, honestly. But the one I can come up with is not doing as well as I had hoped on some tests. For those of you that don't know, my first round at college was not one to be proud of. I was young and dumb and made lots of mistakes. But now, I'm focused on what I want to do with myself and have really been trying harder to excel in my classes. I studied more than I think I ever have for any test for these two and just made mediocre grades on them. Really irritates me! Hopefully, the next tests will be better though :(

High

I got to hang out with my sweet baby nephew last night and kept him today while his mom went shopping and dad worked. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with him, especially if its a time that helps his momma out. I surprise myself with my motherly instincts with him. I have wiped

more undesirables from his body without a thought than I ever even dreamed of doing. There's no better feeling than when he says Aunt Kayla or when he gets excited cause I come to visit. So basically, I just love the kid. So thankful for a baby to love and spoil and play with-and then to send home!