All is Wells: June 2010

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Leslie & Stephen's Wedding Weekend!

We went to Atlanta this weekend to celebrate the marriage of my dear friend Leslie and her fiance, Stephen! For those of you who don't know Leslie, she is my "twin" and we have literally lived parallel lives together!

2002: We met at Auburn where we lived down the hall from each other in Lane Hall!
May 2006: We started our Chick-fil-A Internships together. (We were so nervous we met in the parking lot and walked in together on our first day!)
August 2006: We graduated from Auburn together from the College of Liberal Arts!
2007: We both got full time jobs at Chick-fil-A!
2009: We both got engaged!
2010: We both got married and read in each other's weddings!

Throughout this whole time, people always thought that Leslie and I were sisters, twins, etc. When we were at Auburn and Chick-fil-A, people would constantly come up to me and call me Leslie, talk to me about Leslie's projects, etc! We finally just pretended we were the other, because we were fed up! :)

Leslie is one of the most genuine and sincere people I know! She is so selfless and truly cares about others lives - even the details! Oh, and she'll remember them, too! She's one of the reasons I miss Chick-fil-A most! Every morning, we'd get our coffee together and fill each other in on the drama of our lives! I just love her and miss these moments dearly!

The beautiful bride before the ceremony! She wore her grandmother's wedding dress and it was stunning!

Leslie and Stephen had a sit down dinner at the reception, and named each table for one of the places they have traveled together! Look what she named our table! Clayton and I loved it! That's a picture of Leslie and Stephen from our wedding day! So thoughtful!

Her flower arrangements were gorgeous!

One of my favorite Chick-fil-A friends! I miss Kristen so much! She totally set me up for success at the Chick, and has been such a great role model to me in her life and in her marriage! It's been so neat watching her as new mother of two! We've seen it all together and she's such a great friend! You can thank her for the Spicy Chicken Sandwich Reservation System!

My old Chick-fil-A Family! I love these girls and miss them so much! We had so much fun dancing the night away!

All the Chick-fil-A girls with the Bride!

Cutting the gorgeous cake!

This picture is too cute!

We love you, Leslie & Stephen! I hope you are having a blast in Costa Rica! We're so jealous!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Veggies, Books, and Bears, Oh My!

Here's a few updates on our life in the mountains!

We dicovered a HUGE blackberry bush in our front yard! They're delicious!

We've been eating lots of fresh fish from what we caught at the Coast! Blackened grouper tacos!

Jamie continues to grow...

As do our tomatoes...

As does our Basil and Mint....Mint Juleps anyone?

My gardenias are out of control and smell so divine! We have bowls of blooms all over the house!

Oh, and we have our first baby bell pepper!

I just finished the best book ever! My friend, Brittany, gave me the book "The Help" as a gift and I HIGHLY recommend this as a great summer read! I cried when it ended, because I was so attached to the characters... I just didn't want it to end!

And last but not least, we had our first black bear sighting of the summer! He strolled right through our yard! I did a double-take, because I thought it was Jamie at first! He was just a little cub, but where there's a baby bear, there's a Mama Bear!

We're off to Atlanta this weekend for my sweet friend, Leslie's wedding! Be back next week!

Happy Father's Day!

I can't let this week go by without wishing a Happy Father's Day to the great men in my life! Happy Father's Day Dad, Bart, and Papa!

My Dad

They should call Father's Day, "Happy Jay Day," because Jay is the best Dad to Allie and me! My sweet dad always puts my sister and I first! We are so thankful to have such an awesome Dad! He has always made our dreams come true..."You want to go to Auburn?" "Go for it!" "You want to have your dream wedding at the beach?" "I'm in!" No matter what, he has paved the way for Allie and I making the impossible, possible. We are so blessed to have such a giving Dad.

This year, has been a particularly special year for my Dad and me. He gave me away at my wedding, and has welcomed Clayton into our family. I will never forgot my wedding day and spending that special moment with my Dad before he walked me down the aisle. My poor dad has been surrounded by women his whole life - surrounded by all sisters, all daughters, and nieces! It's been so neat to watch how he and Clayton have grown close, especially since we've been married. I love how great our families get along!

Thanks for making my dreams come true, Dad! Thanks for loving Clay as much as you love Allie and me! I love you so much!

Bart, My Father in Law

When I married Clayton, not only did I get an amazing husband... I also got the MOST amazing family! I couldn't ask for a better Father-in-Law! Bart has been such a great role model to Clayton, and I'm so blessed to have a husband who was raised in such a wonderful home with a wonderful patriarch. Bart has raised two wonderful kids, Clayton and Liz, and I can honestly say he treats me like the third! He has always accepted me as part of the family.

One of my favorite memories of Bart happened the morning that Clayton proposed to me at the beach. We came back up to the condo to be greeted by our families in the pajamas. Bart made mamosas and gave the most touching toast to Clayton and I. We were all in tears! I wish I had a recording of that toast - it was so beautiful!

Thanks for being the best Father-in-Law a girl could ask for! Love you, Bart!

My Papa

Gosh, it's times like now, that I really wished I had all my childhood photos uploaded on my computer. I have SO many good ones with this great man, My Papa. I have so many wonderful childhood memories with Papa. He is my mom's dad, and has been such a huge part of my life. If you ever showed up at the Holy Trinity Gym or the MCC Soccer Field, this man was there with his camera taking every action shot he could of his two grandduaghters! He was also the one who apparently, took this screaming baby (me) out of church every Sunday to watch the squirrels. He is one of the most loving and patient people I know.

One of my favorite memories of Papa, was getting up in the middle of the night to go turtle watching. We would set the alarm for high tide, grab our flashlights, and walk down to the beach to watch the turtles lay their eggs. Those were experiences I will never forget!

Thanks for creating so many loving memories for me, Papa! I love you so much!

Fishing, Scalloping, and ICEing!

We had an impromptu trip to the coast this past weekend! One of my favorite things about Steinhatchee is Scallop season! I got to experience it for the first time last year, and fell in love with "Scropin'" as we like to call it!

Since the oil is coming (don't even get me started!), the Governor of Florida opened scallop season early! This was the only weekend we would be able to get down there, so we packed up and headed to Florida last Thursday afternoon!

On Friday, we went fishing! Check out our catch!

Clay's Grouper

The boys with their cigars!

My snapper! (Oh and don't mind my attire, we only road in through a lightning/thunderstorm that last 12 miles in from offshore.)

My 28 inch Grouper! Yes, the biggest catch of the day! I'm still sore from reeling this guy in!

The biggest grouper and the biggest snapper of the day!

They made me hold both of my catches like this...Yes, my fingers are in their eyeballs. I'm grossed out. And they're really heavy.

Me and the boys and all our fish!

On Saturday, we went Scalloping!

Check out ALL our Scallops... and ICE. Shhh!

Bart got ICED! And took it like a Man!

Oh, and speaking of ICED.... did I mention that someone else got ICED the weekend before?

Planting the ICE.

And you thought I wouldn't blog about it, TP....

James & Carole, Girl's Night, Sunday Fun Day!

I'm back! After a crazy couple of weeks and some hard drive drama (ahem, thankfully none of my pictures are missing!), I am back! We have been busy kicking off our summer! Let's see how much I can fit in one post!

1. James Taylor and Carole King Concert: My sweet mom bought us tickets to go see James Taylor (my absolute fave!) and Carole King (my new absolute fave!) in concert! We sat back, relaxed, and listened to all their greatest hits! Carole is absolutely adorable and I hope I am as cute and spunky as she is at that age!

2. Best Girl's Night Ever: I hate that I have no pictures of this night, because pictures really would have given it justice. You know how sometimes when plans fall through, they end up being better than you could have imagined! Well, that explains this girls night. My old roomies (Courtney and Brittany) and I had planned to see Sex in the City 2 on a Friday night at Phipps. After fighting traffic, rain, and chasing down lost dogs (Ellie) and caring for dogs who were just newtered (Jackson)....we FINALLY made it to Phipps Plaza to purchase our 8:50 pm movie tickets. Upon arriving at 7:30, we were excited to purchase our tickets early and enjoy a glass of wine and dinner at The Grape. To our surprise, the only tickets left were for the 8:00 pm showing. We all REALLY wanted that glass of wine - so we ran into The Grape, gulped a glass, swollowed and appetizer flatbread, and coerced our waitress into letting us buy bottles of wine to take into the theater with us! The best part - she did! She sold us 2 bottles, corked 'em, and sent us off on our way with plastic cups! We were set! Again to our suprise (sensing a theme here?), upon entering the theater we discovered there were no seats left! Sold out show! So we did what any girl desperately needing a girl's night would do. We sat on the floor in the back. There we were - 3 friends sitting on the floor, butts falling asleep, watching our SITC2, and drinking our wine! We got to talk and laugh throughout the whole thing whithout annoying anyone around us! I couldn't have planned it better! That night will always be engraved in my memory! Thanks Britt and Court!

3. YH Sunday Fun Day: On a usual Sunday, you'll find us Wells fishing, exploring, finding creeks, etc. This particular Sunday was especially fun! We found a new creek and a really cool Antique shop! I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Creeks & Waterfalls!