NYC Girls Weekend

Mom, Dales, Annie, and I decided to have a "girls weekend" in NYC a few weekends ago during my Fall Break and boy, am I glad we did!  There's just nothing like family time. :) We had a fun dinner on Friday night at Fig + Olive, which was right across the street from our hotel, and then we met up with Dales' boyfriend Pat and his family for drinks.  I hate that I didn't get any pictures that night, but we had a great time, and I was so glad to finally meet Pat's parents.  On Saturday morning we got up and went to the new 9/11 museum.  It was cold and rainy as we waited in line, but the museum itself is unbelievable.  It was very touching, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.  

We warmed up at lunch at P.J. Clarke's, which had a cool view of the Statue of Liberty.  The weather cleared up and we headed back to Dales' apartment before hitting a few shops on Madison.  

That night we went to Dock's Oyster Bar and Seafood Grill, which had great food and an really fun atmosphere.  Pat joined us for dinner, and we practically closed the place down. ;)

On Sunday morning we walked through Central Park before I had to catch my flight home.  The weather was so nice, and I hated to leave! 

I will always be so thankful for the time I got to spend with my mom, sister, and grandma that weekend!  What wonderful memories. :) 

Five on Friday

[one]

Labor Day weekend was one of those weekends I want to bottle up and relive over and over.  It was fun, but still relaxing and I loved that we got to spend time watching football and hanging out with our friends. On Saturday we headed over to Drew and Kristina's for the UGA/Clemson game (how amazing was that win??!) and then we took the boat to the Savannah River after church on Sunday with Jason, Caroline...and our little babies-on-the-way. ;)  

[two]

We had a "Truth Be Told" paint party at our small group meeting a few weeks ago.  We all picked different colors and bible verses, and I thought everyone's canvas turned out so well! 

[three]

A few weeks ago we went to Celebrity Waiter, which is a fun event our Downtown Organization puts on each year.  We went with a bunch of our friends and our tickets included dinner, dessert, free drinks, and a live band.  What a fun night! 

[four]

A few weekends ago we headed to the Coast with Gaines' parents and Amy for a relaxing weekend on the water.  Amy recently adopted a puppy named Sophie, so we had SO much fun playing with her.  We went to the beach both days and cheered on our Bulldogs (who heartbreakingly lost to stupid USC...) on Saturday night.  The weather was so nice, and it was great to be on the water all weekend! 

[five]

Cheerleading has sort of taken over my life lately, but I could not be more proud of my girls and their hard work.  Their stunting has come so far from last year (one of our groups has mastered an extension!), and they did such a great job cheering, stunting, and dancing at our first Pep Rally on Wednesday.  

P.S. I am 17 weeks and the babe is growing and doing great!  We go back in a few weeks to finally find out the gender.  Eeeeek!!! 

Happy Friday. :)

Celebrating My Papa

It's been a couple months now since my sweet Papa passed away and back in August my whole family gathered in Rome, Georgia (where he was originally from) for a memorial service.  My dad and his two siblings were there, in addition to all but one of my cousins.  Plus my Papa's two brothers were able to come, as well as all six of my dad's cousins and their families.  The turnout was amazing, and I know Papa would have been so happy seeing all of his family together in one place.  We buried his ashes in a cemetery next to his parents and several of my family members spoke and shared memories of him.  We had a great lunch reception afterwards at my Uncle Jim's retirement home, where we continued to catch up and share stories of him.

When I took this picture, the "S" in Elias was missing, but it was later added. ;)

My dad's family

My Aunt Jane's family

My Uncle David's family (minus my cousin Lisa)

Papa and Gram's family :)

My Uncle John's family

My Uncle Jim's family (he had gone back to nap before we took this picture)

My cousins + our spouses

It truly was an amazing day, and one I know one he would be so proud of.  I miss him so much, but am so thankful for all of the time I was able to spend with him and all of the memories I will get to keep forever.  We love you, Papa! 

Luke Bryan Concert

Two weekends ago I drove to Atlanta to see Amy, celebrate her birthday, and go to the Luke Bryan concert at Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood.  Her best friend Emily, her sister Amy, and their mom Paulette came, too.  Cole Swindell and Lee Brice opened for Luke and both put on a great show.  And Luke-- oh Luke! What a concert!  In the video below you can't really see his greatness, but you can definitely hear it. ;) 

After sitting in traffic for about 2,397,652 hours, we finally made it back to Amy's house and then celebrated her birthday the next morning with brunch at West Egg Cafe.  We ran a few errands and then I stopped by Lindsay and Travis' new house (which is absolutely adorable!) before heading home. What a great weekend! 

Mom and Dad's 30th Anniversary Celebration

Thirty years of marriage...talk about a big deal!  My parents celebrated this big anniversary on June 30th, and we continued the celebration of the lovebirds at the Tides Inn.  They were sweet enough to hire drivers to take us to the resort and then we enjoyed a drink while we walked down the dock.  Then, we headed up to the dining room, where we had lots of wine, amazing meals, and fun desserts to celebrate.   It was such a fun, memorable night!! 

 

Happy anniversary to my wonderful parents, and here's to at least 30 more years of wedded bliss. :)