1509 13th Street

Friday my mom, dad and I loaded up and headed to Tuscaloosa.  It was a bittersweet trip.  We were going to pack up our house.  The time had come that it just made since for my parents to sell the house.  It had actually been on the market for a while so they were excited to finally make a deal but it was so much more sad than I thought it would be.  My sister had already cleaned out her room and bathroom.  It all seemed so final.  I immediately started thinking about the night we moved into the house.  It was one also filled with laughter and tears.  My sister and I shared her room the last semester I was there.  It was probably one of the best semesters, probably because I thought it was going to be the worst.  We've made a lot of memories in that house since July of 2007.  It was time for us to let go and let another group enjoy it.

So, here's a walk down memory lane, in no particular order...

Freshmen cousins at a tailgate.

My first tailgating season as an alumni.  

Two of the "movers".

The bathroom I got ready for my college graduation and my sister's wedding day.  It was fun on gamedays there'd be a herd of us in here right before we headed to the stadium. 

I also fixed some hair here. 

My sister's room.  My little twin bed was in this corner when we shared, we called it the slave bed.

Liz and Amy before a ball game.

Love these kids.

In the process of packing it all up.

This was my desk that I bought for $10 at the thrift store when we moved into my first house.  Kristen and I painted it white and apparently tagged the back but I didn't remember until I saw it. 

This article was in the CW my junior year.  My roommate called me to tell me I was in the CW, I was so excited then I saw the picture.  I'm the one in the back in the pink.  I look way less than thrilled to be helping the kids.  We've gotten a good laugh out of that for years.

Taking a break for a game of darts.

All through school my roommates and I had dinner together once a week and watched tv, we called it "Family Night'. When I moved in with my sister and cousin we continued to have "Family Night".  This was the last one before Clay and I graduated.  We all look so young!

My graduation day.  One of the proudest days of my life to date. 

I have a million other pictures I could share but I think you get the idea.  We've had a blast these last few years.  I wish we'd kept a sign in of how many folks we've had tailgate with us.  I know it's been a few.  We celebrated a lot of wins in this house including two National Championship seasons and mourned a couple of losses too. 

We were sitting around late Friday night, I was looking around and thinking that this was the point in our reality show they'd be showing clips of all the memories we've made in that house.

I've had that video playing in my head ever since.

Big Changes

When Patrick was 16 he got his "dream car".  It was a beautiful bright red 1998 Z71 pickup truck.  Brand new, it had 8 miles on it.  He had bagged groceries at the local Delchamps and saved enough money for a down payment and his parents helped him.  He bagged a lot of grocerices to get to drive ole red and he couldn't have been more proud.  I remember him bringing it to my house to show my older brother and I thought he was so cool. I also thought cheoreographed trampoline routines to Celine Dion were cool, I was 12 what did I know.  Never in a million years did I think he'd be taking me out on dates or that he would ask me to be his wife in that truck.  So it's funny how something so special to him eventually became something sorta special to me too.  I think that was his plan all along :)

Washing his new truck when he was just a 16 year old baby ;)

Well some 250,000 miles later, Red wasn't running quite like she used too.  We've been fortunate that nothing major has had to be repaired but all the little things were starting to add up.  It was time for a new ride.  I knew Patrick really wanted a new truck but I could tell he just wasn't ready to give this one up yet.  The final straw was a few weeks ago he was trying to leave work, it was raining and the windshield wipers would not come home.  He sat there for a good 30 minutes waiting for them to decide to work so he could get home.  I think it was the next weekend he drug me all over central Alabama looking at trucks.  He had been researching them online for months and was sure he knew what he wanted. 

Finally, he wanted me to go to yet another dealership and I said I'm not going unless you're buying a truck. I was tired of looking at hundreds of the same things on different lots. So we went and he did it.

He found his new "dream car" and it is beautiful.

2012 GMC Sierra Crew Cab, this one had 12 miles on it.  It has a few more bells and whistles than his old ride.  Sunroof, XM, heated/cooled seats just to name a few.  He is smitten.  I have to admit, I love it too.  

Posing in the same driveway he brought red home too.

We still have old red, she's sitting in our front yard, like a monument to the last 16 years of Patrick's life.  I'm hoping we can at least move the monument to the back yard, but I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Book Club

We kicked off the Memorial Day weekend with our monthly book club.  Sadly, only about 3 people finished the book.  But that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves.  Natalie had a wonderful spread.

I was frowning because no one wanted to be in a group picture. No, I didn't chop off one side of my hair.

Our wonderful host Natalie and her cutie pie son Caden.

We chose a short book for June so maybe we can finish this book too.  We'll have to remember next year to keep the books short during the busier months.

Beach Bums

Last weekend, my parents graciously invited me to the beach with them and my brothers family.  (My other siblings were invited but couldn't attend).  We had such a nice time. It was Porter and Harper's first time to the beach and they loved it.  I loved getting to watch them explore something new and enjoy something I've loved since I was a kid.

I've got a few pictures, they are probably out of order but I'm lazy and want to get this post up so please forgive me.

The water was beautiful.  I've been to Cancun and the beaches were as pretty or prettier than those.  The water was so calm and the kids had a ball.

Harper was pouting because she didn't get to walk around the docks at the marina.

We ate at the Captain's Table as always and I got the grilled shrimp and it was delicious as always.

We also headed to another family favorite Thomas' Doughnuts, and they'd added this gem in the parking lot.  I loved it.  I had tow requests for food while I was there and luckily we managed to hit both spots.

Now, I'm sorry for this but these people needed to be documented.  I'm not ever sure why they make bikinis that large.

I made these cute sand buckets for the kids.

This cutie loved the beach and the ocean.

This one loved the beach too.

The best Nana ever brought them popsicles to the beach.

We fed Mr. Charley's birds.

The marina.

I was jealous of his volume.  Kid's got some hair.

Drew napping on the beach.

I made Harper into a mermaid.  She was in heaven.

This was our camp for the week.

Porter wanted mom to build him a jeep in the sand that he could drive.  This is what the finished product looked like.

She dug out the seat so he could get in it and drive.

We wanted to get some pictures of the kids on the beach before we left and we farted around and had to settle for morning light and it practically blinded the kids.

My mom has a picture of the four us in this same spot as kids.

The only picture of me from the whole weekend.

It was a nice trip.  I loved getting to hang out with the kiddos and spend time with my family.  I wish Patrick and the rest of the fam could have made it...maybe next year.

Weekend Review

We had a nice weekend!  I didn't take many photos but it was still a nice time.

Friday night, Kristen came and stayed with me since Patrick was working.  We had such a nice night.  We sat out on the deck and talked for hours.  Have I mentioned we are loving our new deck furniture!  I sit out there most mornings and most afternoons. 

Saturday we headed to mass to celebrate Ava's first Holy Communion.  I can't believe she's 8 years old.  After church we ordered pizza and rented We Bought a Zoo.  I thought it was so cute.

Sunday was Mother's Day so we headed to lunch at my parents' house.  We played wii with the kids and watched crap on tv.  For dinner we headed to the Horton house. We had a nice time there too.  I've been so bad about taking pictures lately, that much change!

I am so thankful for my mommy.  I am proud to call her my friend.  We may not see eye to eye on things but we can usually laugh about it.  I'm also thankful for Patrick's mom.  She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met.  She is so kind and tenderhearted. I'm so happy she's in my life.

It was a nice relaxing weekend.  I'm looking forward to this weekend.  I'm headed to the beach with my parents and the kiddos.  Should be fun!

Pomp & Circumstance

 Friday my mom, sister and I packed up the car and headed to ttown.  I was excited for the rare springtime trip.  I love how the minute I get down there I feel like I'm back in college.   I love going to graduation at Alabama.  It is such a special feeling watching those kids walk in, I'm reminded of how I felt at that exact moment.  I remember that feeling of accomplishment, I made it, both figuratively and literally.  You truly feel as if the world is your oyster!  They always ask parents, grandparents, etc to stand up so they can be applauded for their support over the years but this year they asked all Alumni to stand first and it was so special to get to stand with my sister and cousins.  With all that being said, is there anything more boring to sit through than a graduation.  I know that's an awful thing to say but am I wrong?We were lucky enough to have two graduates this year.  My little brother's girlfriend Hope graduated Friday night.  Afterwards we went back to her apartment for some food.  I always enjoy spending time with her family.  They are so cute!   

After the graduation party, we went out to celebrate John's birthday!  The birthday boy.   We took this to send to our other cousin Bullet.  I love these kids.  I'm so happy that we're still friends and still enjoy hanging out together.   Roomies

Saturday we headed back for round 2.

This was supposed to be Alumni but John snuck in.  I'm so proud of Mark and Hope (and John who will graduate next year)

Elizabeth's pinterest inspired gift for Mark.  It turned out cute.

We decided to hit a few balls at the fiesta after party.

Clearly I was out of my league with these guys. 

All in all it was a good trip with my mom (she was there although she doesn't appear in any photos, don't know how we managed that).  I loved getting to hang out with my cousins and brother and sister.  It was a special weekend!

Ally's TV debut

My sweet Ally turned 4 years old today.  She was so excited this morning and immediately got her "happy birthday" cupcake toy.  I can't believe she's four years old. 

 She had a big day.  She was on TV this morning!  One of the local morning shows was doing live segments about the Magnolia Festival so she and I were on to talk about the pooch parade. Well actually we were just on we didn't do much talking.  I had a hard time deciding what she should wear.  I sent this picture to 2 friends and they were impressed that she had so many options.  I was embarassed to admit that this was what I had narrowed it down to.  She really has about double this.  Patrick says she has more clothes than he does, he might be right.

 

He were are waiting to go on.

Ally with Jeh Jeh

My boss took this of the TV.  She looks like she wanted to talk into the microphone.

All in all it was a fun day!