Family Beach Trip

First of all, I apologize for my blogging hiatus. I've been very busy all of a sudden and have fallen WAY behind on my posts. Last week, I spent two wonderful days at the lake, (sorry, completely forgot to take any pics) followed by a few days at the beach with my family. I was supposed to stay at the beach for the whole week, but I had to come back to B'ham on Tuesday for a few days of orientation for the new job. Actually, my family is still down there right now...can you all sense my jealousy?!

My Mom, Dad, Sister, DB, Uncle Dan, Aunt Vicki, cousin Bret and his GF Jessica stayed in a beautiful house in Destin. I completely forgot to take any pictures of the house, but it was "pimp"! The weather was beautiful and the beaches weren't oily...just very seaweed-y. I ate LOTS of seafood and tried to soak up as much sun as I could in two days.

First night in Destin....dinner at Pompano Joe's! DB was sooo excited to be at the beach!

Katherine's new favorite food=crab claws! She eats them all by herself!!

Our beautiful beaches

Sister and I tried to fix my hair "curly"...it didn't quite work out very well! Dad and I at lunch at Acme. The red beans and rice were AMAZING!

Mother Daughter mutual admiration society! Katherine loves to give kisses now!!

While in Baytowne, DB heard some fun music and decided to "get down low"!!!

I think she takes after her Gigi's mad dance skills!!! haha

Of course, I had to join her dance party!!

DB loved feeding raisins to everyone

Every night ended with a game of Mexican train!!

The EPA was out in full force looking for oil

I loved these beach chairs and umbrellas

DB was a big fan of the beach!!

Sister and DB

Rocking chairs in Seaside

Us being funny in Seaside...no, Katherine's not standing! GrandBobby is holding her up!

I had a wonderful time at the beach and wish I was still there. Thanks Mom and Dad for an amazing trip. I can't believe the summer is officially over and I'm already back at work. I guess time flies when you're having fun!

Allison and Ben's Wedding Weekend

Have you ever wanted to rewind a weekend and do it all over again? Well, I certainly feel that way about this past weekend. Allison and Ben's wedding weekend was absolutely amazing...there aren't enough words to describe how much fun we all had together. Having all of our friends in town and celebrating together with the new Mr. and Mrs. Paul Benjamin Leaver was fantastic! I have to admit that I am beyond exhausted, but it was completely worth it. We soaked up every ounce of time together and made the most of the weekend!

The weekend started out at my house on Thursday night working on our poem for the Rehearsal Dinner. (Yes, Bails is sleeping on the couch while we were writing!)

Friday started off with the Bridesmaid's Luncheon at The Club. Here is the Bride-to-Be absolutely glowing!!

The AU girls with the Bride

Bailey and Bess at the Luncheon

Britt and me

The entire bridal party around the "charm cake". We had the best time pulling out our charms and learning what they mean. I got a "heart" and it supposedly means that love is coming!!!

Look at our beautiful bags we got as BM presents!

After the Rehearsal at the church, it was off to Park Lane for the Rehearsal Dinner...the food and venue were absolutely amazing! The Cyganiewicz' and the Weeks' were in town from ATL....boo-yah!

The menu for the Rehearsal Dinner was beautiful

I absolutely LOVED these flowers!

Saturday morning, we all (the AU girls) gathered at my house for some hair up-dos' and some mimosa drinking!! Given the fact that we were wearing one-shoulder BM dresses, we thought we should all get our hair done so that we would look "glamorous" in our dresses!! haha (that word was a running joke all weekend!) Bails got us the hook-up with Brittany from Two-A-Days (the show on MTV that was about Hoover High School) and she came out to my house and set up shop in my bathroom. I kind of felt like I had a celebrity sighting in my own home! haha It was great to meet her and she did a wonderful job with all of our hair....thanks, Brittany!

Look at all the products and tools she brought!

Of course we had to get a pic with her before she left!

Britt-ster did my eye make-up!

We can always count on Bess to keep us laughing throughout our day!

I thought this pic was too sweet to not post...Allison and her sister Catherine!

Her dress was absolutely gorgeous!!

The AU girls with the Bride!!!

Bess and Casey

They're married!!!!! The whole bridal party rode the "party bus" to the reception and we had the best time toasting to the new Mr. and Mrs. Paul Benjamin Leaver!!

Shades!!

All the Chi Os

Congratulations, Allison and Ben! We are all so excited for the new life y'all have begun together. Hope you're having a blast in St. Lucia!!!

The 4th

Summer is officially half-way over...boo!! I cannot believe the 4th of July weekend is over. I spent the weekend at home with my parents....and we had a wonderful time! We hung out, ate LOTS of food, shopped at some cool places, and even shot some fireworks. It was a fantastic weekend on Sand Mtn.

These lovely tomatoes were picked from our garden...way to go Gardener Bob! Mom and I had some awesome tomato sandwiches over the weekend.

My mom and I have a big LOVE of watermelon...nothing says summertime and the 4th better than this tasty fruit!

Despite the tornado, our hydrangeas are hanging on!

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and headed up to Arab, AL to Buddy's Antique Auction. They were having an estate sale with tons of antiques. I used to go to this place with my parents back in the day and I hated it...that was back before I knew better! haha I now have a love for antiques that I share with my parents...if only I could afford to buy them for my house. I loved listening to the "auctioneer" doing all the bidding. How does he talk that fast? My dad got on to me for touching my hair because he thought they would think I was trying to bid!!!! I found several things I would like to own...a mirror, some oriental rugs, a secretary, and a table. I unfortunately did not make any purchases, but my mom got the one thing she had her eye on. It was lots of fun and a great way to spend the day.

Buddy's Antique Auction

I had my eye on this mirror...too bad we didn't stay long enough to bid on it!

My mom got an antique knife box...it's so pretty!

Yesterday, we spent the day with our wonderful family friends, the Ross' at their lakehouse on Lake Guntersville. The Ross' are my parents oldest friends and I think they were there when Sister and I were born! They have a beautiful home on the lake and we had a great time catching up with their family. The food, drinks, and conversation couldn't have been any better. It was a fantastic way to spend the 4th!

Dad was all decked out in his southern 4th of July finest! Red seer-sucker pants and a navy shirt. And of course his outfit wouldn't be complete without a glass of red wine!!

The Ross' put on a wonderful spread of food for everyone!

These boys ran over from the neighbor's house...their swim trunks were ADORABLE!! What says "Happy 4th ofJuly" better than this??!!

On our way home from the lake, Dad and I stopped here and bought some fireworks...we only go to the classiest places in A'ville! haha

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy 4th of July!! It is now officially my friend Allison's wedding week....yay!!!! I have a busy week and weekend planned and couldn't be more excited about all the festivities to come!!!!