8 Month Catch-Up

I am a blog-slacker. Everytime I get caught up I swear I'm not going to slack off again, and I do, so I won't make that promise again! Here are some highlights from the past EIGHT months!
  
1. We were blessed with the birth of another niece! My sister-in-law, Kristin had a baby girl in March. She made her appearance rather quickly into the world much to everyone’s surprise, especially her parents! She is beautiful, healthy and (in my opinion) looks exactly like her big brother when he as a baby! 

2. My Gma Bev has made great improvements in her battle with breast cancer since receiving treatment in Atlanta Cancer Treatment Center of America.  Her overall health has improved and more importantly, she feels so much better! Praise  the LORD!

From Key West... ;)

3. Drew and I traveled to Aspen and Key West since my last post. I will have to post about these trips in greater detail later! We had a great time on both trips though and are planning our next trip to Colorado already (well, in our minds at least). ..

4. I had neck surgery in March to repair a ruptured disc in my neck that was causing severe pain down my right arm. Fortunately the doctor who performed the surgery did an amazing job and I feel so much better; I’m not 100% pain free yet, but we’re working on that!

first day home, notice the nurse (unnecessarily) shaved my hair - it's now growing into a rat-tail circa 1990. 

First day back at work with my fancy foam necklace! 

5. Drew bought a new toy.. a Jeep.. Although I was very reluctant in the beginning as to why we needed another vehicle, I must say it’s pretty darn fun to drive. Side note: It has a manual transmission; when we test drove it the first time Drew stalled out, I didn't.. I just felt that that was an important piece of information to share. ;) 

The in-laws driving us around :)

6. Both if my sweet nephews are another year older! It's so sad how quickly the time is flying by.. Their moms both did a great job on their birthday parties!

7. Three of my girlfriends are pregnant! Lori is due in February, Kathryn in March and Caroline in April! It's going to be a busy spring next year! 

I'm Backkkkkkkkkkk

Obviously I've been on a little bit of a blogging hiatus but hopefully I will get back on track now. 

Here are the highlights since my last post:

1. I FINISHED MY MASTER’S DEGREE! I just recently had it framed. It now hangs proudly under my undergraduate degree in my home office.

2. We went to Maui! BEST. VACATION. EVER. 
Drew and I had convinced ourselves by the end that we would just stay; he would become a fishing guide and I would be a bartender… My favorite activity was our hike along the Waihee Trail. Absolutely breathtaking! Drew’s favorite activity was golfing at the Four Seasons on Lanai. If you are ever thinking of a trip to Hawaii I would definitely recommend Maui over any of the other islands. We will definitely be back!

At the Drums of the Pacific Luau

Golfing on Lanai

Hiking the Waihee Trail

3. Drew and Kathryn’s Birthday! They are birthday twins! We ate at The Good Day Café in celebration. We also celebrated earlier in the week with a delicious dinner at my bother-in-law’s house (Drew and his brother’s bday are only separated by a week (and 6 years)). 

4. Bird Dog Breakaway and the Color Run! Kathryn and I recently completed both of these 5K’s. I’m not going to say that I enjoy running now, but I don’t hate it (anymore!). We finished the Bird Dog Breakaway in 33 minutes and the Color Run in 29 minutes. We were thrilled with our time at the Color Run (I had a sinus infection, Kathryn forgot her headphones and we didn't warm up). It was a lot of fun though! Kathryn has a much better description of it here: Kathryn's Blog, Click here!

Bird Dog Breakaway in Waynesboro

After the Color Run

5. GSU vs. The Citadel
We finally made it to a football game! The weather was wonderful and the Eagles won, of course! 

6. I finally found a unique way to store a few of the trinkets from my wedding. Mrs. Cheryl gifted me a handkerchief from her wedding that I pinned under my gown. My mother had this tiny bagged made out of her wedding dress and one of my father's USMC bars was pinned inside (this was also pinned under my dress).  I have had both of these items in my fireproof safe since the wedding but I have always wanted to display them. They are now beautifully displayed on the shelves in my living room. 

Old Barn Wood Shadow Box (via etsy, duh!)

7. Kim’s is ridiculously beautiful when pregnant (and not pregnant, obviously!). Here are a few pics I took last week:

8. My other sister-in-law just found out last week that they are having a girl! I know they were thrilled to find this out, plus it is so much more fun to shop for a girl! My Etsy addiction is getting out of hand.

 IT'S A GIRL!

9. This past weekend Ansley, Lori and I went to HHI for a mini-getaway. We went to the outlets, which were a bust by-the-way. After that we spent the rest of the day hanging out, eating, bar hopping and finally ended up at the XO Lounge at the resort. We forgot to take a group picture though.. But here is a picture from college… you get the idea! 

Chateau Elan

Drew and I managed to slip away for the weekend and headed to Brasleton, GA to stay (and play) at Chateau Elan. Chateau Elan is a winery in North Georgia that makes several different types of wine, my favorite being the sweeter Muscadine wines (came home with 6 bottles!). We played golf Saturday afternoon and that was a lot of fun for both of us! Drew actually played; I just caddied for him. Saturday night we ate Dinner at the Versailles Restaurant which was French food which was fine, but the desserts were even better! I literally had a plate full of chocolate before we left dinner (and of course made myself sick!).   The rooms were fantastic, very spacious, clean and well decorated and our room overlooked one of the three golf courses. The spa was beautiful as well with an authentic Parisian feel (well, as authentic as they could make it in Georgia). We both agree that we would like to make another trip to Chateau Elan  in the future. 

Outside of the winery

Playing the Elan course.

One of the suites at C.E. (ours was laid out a little different than this one). 

Dinosaurs!

On Sunday drew and I took our nephew to Augusta to see the dinosaur exhibit at the Civic Center. In my opinion there could have been more dinosaurs (I was thinking there were going to be legitimate fossils and artifacts) but there was none of that. There was however a good number of extra large animal tronic dinosaurs that my nephew loved looking at and touching although I don't think we were supposed to touch. It was fun especially for a 2.5 year old but the person paying $56 to get in was a liytle disappointed! There's also was a kidzone complete with several bouncy houses face painting dinosaur rides and sheer madness. He absolutely loved the kidzone! We went and ate pizza at Mellow Mushroom afterwards then finished of the day with ice cream from Dairy Queen. Drew and I immediately went home and slept for two hours. It was sooooo exhausting!