Friends

We had a great weekend with our friends Dave and Meagan and their two boys who came to visit us on their way to see family for Thanksgiving. Dave and Nick played golf and tennis, as usual, and Meg and I went shopping (also as usual). We enjoyed dinner out one night and very late nights talking and laughing. It was a fun time with our friends that we don't get to see very often. On Sunday we had a house full with Emily and Dave (lots of Daves in the house) and their kids.

Dave and Nick

Meg and me:
The Daves and Nick playing Settlers of Cataan on Sunday afternoon:
William and Alexa became fast friends:
A few other shots we got that afternoon:

Weekend with the girls

My college roommates and I had a GREAT time this past weekend. My voice is hoarse from all the talking. We shopped, ate yummy food, played fun games, and reminisced about college fun. It was great to catch up on their lives and realize that in many ways, we could just pick up where we left off 8 years ago at graduation. It is a blessing to have lifelong friends like them! Here are some pictures from my trip:

The four of us in our new shirts; we went shopping Friday and found some great deals!
Playing with the babies and waiting for dinner:
Eating out at Pei Wei, a yummy Chinese restaurant:Sara and me:
Mary and Kirstin:
Kir and me trying on matching shirts at Old Navy:

The new additions to the group; Ada, Sara's 13 month old:
Luke, Mary's 9 month old:Abby and her 5 month old, Ellie:

For comparison

Here is a picture (posed similarly) of the 5 of us this past weekend. We haven't changed much in ten years, wouldn't you say?!

Roommate Reunion

My roommates from college and I are getting together for a reunion this weekend (finally!). We've seen each other here and there over the years since graduating, but have never done an intentional get-together. So now, we're doing it! I'm headed to St. Louis in a few hours where we will undoubtedly laugh a lot and have tons of fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again -- it's been 10 years since we lived in room 510!

And no one needs to comment on how young I look in this picture. Don't I know it!!

A Story of Boy Meets Girl

Alternate title: A Story of How Girl Arranges to Meet Boy :)

Today is the 10th anniversary of our first date. Not as momentous as our wedding anniversary, of course, but 10 years is a milestone and I know the date because I kept a journal at the time. So for fun, here is the story of how we met:

We were at the same college, living in the same dorm only two floors apart. Being at a tiny college, I had seen him around before, but had never had the opportunity to meet him - he was a year ahead of me and was constantly in the gym playing basketball - not a social butterfly, my husband.

His roommate began dating one of my friends (Meg, who reads this blog and to whom I give all the credit) and they decided that Nick and I would make a good pair. So after talking with me, they arranged a group date in which everyone going knew the purpose was to pair up Nick and me. So it was a bit awkward since we were being watched, but we hit it off immediately (this is not what I count as our first date, by the way).

That night after putt-putting and ice cream we all went to the local golf course where Nick worked and sat out under the stars. Nick and I were a way's away from everyone else and we talked for hours. Nonstop (which is quite the feat knowing what I know about him now - I'M the talker in the relationship!).

The next few days were finals and we were both busy with those, but we still managed to see each other and say hi. About a week after the group date, Nick called me and asked me out. I said yes and we went to Applebee's for dessert on Sunday, April 30, 2000. My roommates threw jellybeans out the window at us as we walked to the car, and Nick and I were both too nervous to even acknowledge it! I was a wreck with nerves. But I remember that he opened my car door (and still does to this day) and that made an impression. There was no looking back - a week later we were both home from college for the summer (he lived two hours away) but he drove down every weekend to see me and two years and a month later, we were married.

So all in all, a successful first date!

Aquarium Trip

For a fun outing, my friend Renae and I went to the Georgia Aquarium and had lunch in the park afterwards. It was a gorgeous (albeit yellow-tinted from all the pollen) day, and we enjoyed walking around both inside and out.

View of the aquarium from Centennial Olympic Park:


Japanese sea dragons:


Beluga whale:


A fuzzy picture of very cute penguins:


Me and Renae:

Cute

Nick cuddling with Alexa and Jordanna on Sunday afternoon. :)

Time with friends (and not a single pic)

We spent a great two days with our friends, Dave and Meg and their two boys. Dave and Nick have been best friends since middle school and spend all their time together competing in various games and sports. They played (in no particular order): golf, basketball, tennis, Wii games, and even iPod games in competition with each other. Meg and I joined them for Risk, The Office board game, Hearts, and Twilight Scene It game. Nick and I were far and away the winners in the board game categories, winning all of them! I'm not sure which of the boys won more of the sports they played, nor did I ask.

Other than games, Meg and I went shopping, we all went out to eat at a Japanese Hibachi Grille restaurant (YUM), and in general, had a wonderful time with them.

Too bad we didn't get any pictures. :(

A special day

Today was a very special day. A day that will live in infamy, even. Yes, it is Pearl Harbor Day!!

But also, it is Jordanna Ruth's birthday! I got to be a part of her day today by being there to see her come into the world! She is beautiful and chunky, just like her older sister and brother were.

Emily (very calmly) in labor:

Dave (very calmly) doing crossword puzzles while Emily was in labor:


Baby Jordanna:

Emily and Jordanna:

Aunt Molly and Jordanna:
Happy birthday, Jordanna!

Parents for the night

We gave Emily and Dave the night off from parenting so they could go to dinner and a movie as their last hurrah before a new little one arrives (because we're awesome like that). So yesterday afternoon, Caleb and Alexa arrived at our doorstep ready for "popcorn." We had promised them a movie and popcorn and that was definitely the highlight of the evening. They were both easy going and went to bed without a fuss, and were even willing to get ready for church this morning. No meltdowns! We were all ready to go 1/2 hour early, in fact! This parenting stuff is easy! (ha, ha, I know)

We enjoyed our evening as "parents!"

Cooking up a storm

On this dreary cold Friday (L.O.V.E. I.T.), I have been at Emily's house preparing meals for the freezer.

We made:

chicken enchiladas
chicken noodle soup
parmesan garlic chicken tenders
chicken and wild rice soup
orange teriyaki chicken

Each of us made three dinners of each meal, so I have 15 meals for the freezer ready to go. I didn't take any pictures while we were working - both of us were up to our elbows in chicken guts.

Then we went to Chick Fil A for lunch (because we were apparently not sick of looking at chicken yet) and now I'm babysitting her kids while she goes to her doctor's appointment.

Not a bad way to spend a Friday!! Productive AND fun!

Garage sale and hair color

This has been a busy weekend! Emily and I held a garage sale at my house today. It was quite an adventure. In the first hour and a half, we made $0.25. This was probably due to the monsoon that has been going on around here for about the last 10 days or so. But we decided to stick it out and in the end, probably sold 1/3 to 1/2 of our stuff. We plan to keep everything where it is for a week, then try again next Saturday if the weather is better. Here are a few pictures of all our treasures for sale in the rain:

We set up a tent to keep some stuff dry and to catch people's eyes as they drove by:
Everything else went in the garage:

Last night Emily spent the night so we could get up bright and early for the sale. She highlighted my hair for me, returning the favor I did for her on Thursday. Here is an after picture of my hair. You can't tell very much from the picture, but it is overall a bit lighter and there are definitely blonde streaks throughout as well. Since I was given enough hair for three people, any shockingly blonde parts can be easily hidden. (Not that there are any...) I like the effect anyway - I needed a bit of a change.


For the during picture, click here (thanks a ton, Emily).

Braves Game

What a beautiful day for a Braves game!! The high temp was only 83, which is really unusual for Atlanta in July. We did end up sitting in the direct sun for about half the game, which wasn't the best (ok, I was a little whiny), but the time with family and friends more than made up for it.

View of Atlanta from our seats


Nick and Dave squared


Emily and me trying to look happy despite the bright sunshine


Nick and Ben


David (yes, another one) and Barbara at Chili's after the game





Oh, and the Braves lost, which was a major disappointment to some people and not even a blip on the radar for others! :)

Happy birthday, Nick!!

Nick is 30 today!!!

To surprise Nick for his birthday, his best friend Dave flew in for a day of golf today and a baseball game on Saturday. He was TOTALLY surprised and had no idea, so when the doorbell rang at 10:30, here is what happened:

I'm so excited that we pulled one over on him and he will have a great birthday spending time with Dave and the golf course!!

Happy birthday, Nick!!

Outlet shopping in the beautiful weather

My friend Annette and I went shopping today at an outdoor outlet mall and enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL Spring-like-without-being-hot weather. I ended up with two new pairs of shoes:

Ok, so only one of them is mine. And lest you think "what petite feet she must have!" let me assure you that my feet are anything but petite. It is just that my dear husband's feet are yachts. I'm excited that he now has shoes that will keep his soles dry when it rains. That is how badly he needed brown dress shoes.

So then I came home and baked.


Well, if you consider mixing a packet of blueberry muffin mix with water and shoving them in the oven baking. I certainly do!! They are for a teacher breakfast at school tomorrow. Only two more days of school!!!!

Fun girl outing

My mother-in-law and I went today to have a manicure/pedicure and then to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It was a very girly outing (even though there was a husband and wife there getting manicures and pedicures - I wonder if I can talk Nick into that someday!). We got solar nails, which I can't really explain except to say that they are really fun and pretty and nearly indestructible. After our lunch, Emily met us at the mall and we did a little clothes shopping. What a fun Saturday!!!

Blog fodder

I don't have my own kids to blog about, so I have to make do with blogging about Emily's. Babysitting Caleb and Alexa this afternoon gives me a fun topic to write about on this otherwise very gloomy day.

After school, I picked them up and brought them home with me. We ate lunch, and while I was doing the dishes, this is what they were up to:

In the span of about three and a half minutes, every toy I own ended up in this corner of the kitchen:And every pot or bowl within reach ended up in the den:


I wasn't sure of the motivation for the placement of all the toys and pots, but then I discovered it:
Apparently the empty toy container was much more fun to play with than when it was full of toys.

Before we cleaned up (super duper slowly, I might add), Caleb laid down on the floor with a candle on his belly and closed his eyes and started snoring and telling me to be quiet because he was asleep. Oooookkaaayy!

Thanks for letting me borrow your kids and an interesting blog topic for today, Emily!