sweet summertime

I am so thankful that my job allows for me to enjoy summers -- time to relax and enjoy the warm weather as I've recuperate from last year, while also preparing for the upcoming.

I began the summer with a quick trip to Birmingham to cheer on Stephen as he pitched in the oldest Stadium in the country and a Braves game.

Memorial Day Weekend

We were also able to spend some good days on and at the lake --  wakeboarding, relaxing and hanging out with family and friends.


The puppies sure love being at the lake.  Mook absolutely loves the water, while Bridget hasn't been as much of a water-dog.  [I think it's partially because she's not exactly shaped for swimming, so she always wears her life-jacket.]  The days at the lake were unbearably hot and the water abnormally high [because of the rain, duh!], which resulted in sweet Bridget voluntarily plopping herself in the water!

We love weekend with Cal and Ashley.

The lake has always been my favorite place.  I'm thankful I was able to spend  a few weekends there.  Although we didn't get to do as much wakeboarding as we would've liked, when we enjoyed the time we did get on the water.  Maybe the rain will hold off and allow for some more time at the lake for a few more months!  

Blueberry picking off the bush at the lake is one of my favorite things of summer.

After spending quite a few days at school, some days working and planning with my new grade level, others sorting through the items kindly given to me, I can finally think about school starting without hyperventilating!  [I do still have a good bit to accomplish, but at least it no appears that a tornado hit my room!]  In addition to being incredibly thankful for the sweet teacher-friends' generosity, my mom also spent a day with me organizing and sorting through the rummage of the teacher supply tornado that seems to have hit my room, and I honestly couldn't be more grateful!  I should have taken before and after photos -- maybe I'll take one before the first day of school!

With just short of a week left of my summer, I plan to enjoy the last days to the fullest.  Off to the beach we go!

wedding season

As the wedding crashers say, "It's wedding season!"  Over the past few months, I have celebrated 4 new marriages!  Last May Byron and I began summer with our own wedding and honeymoon, and after a year of marriage it’s been incredibly exciting to support such special people as they said their vows to begin their lives together.

In early June a group of teacher-friends celebrated Corey and Meredith in Fayetteville.  Meredith is one of the 4^th grade teachers at Knight.  She was an absolutely stunning bride.  Her dress was perfect for her and had such beautiful details.

Celebrating at Meredith's wedding with sweet teacher friends. 

One of my best friends growing up, Danielle, married her high school sweetheart in New York [unfortunately the same weekend as my cousin’s].  Since I wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, I was very thankful to be able to celebrate at her Bachelorette.  She is such a beautiful person and  I doubt I’ve ever wished so badly to be two places at once so I could’ve been there to see her become Mrs. Hunter Smiley.

Danielle was a beautiful bachelorette and an even more beautiful bride.

God didn’t give me a sister, but He did bless me with a cousin.  I remember us having our make-believe wedding ceremonies as kids, and I’m sure her beautiful wedding was everything she’s ever thought it’d be.  Katie and Andrew were married right outside of Athens, which couldn’t be more perfect for them, before the move to Oklahoma as the Taylor's.

I think it's safe to say Katie and Andrew are happy to be married!

After at least a year of Paige and I guessing when he'd pop the question, Will and Paige finally tied the knot this summer.  I am so thankful to have such an incredible friend to work with and couldn't have been happier to celebrate her marriage.  Paige's dress was incredible and the wedding was a blast!

I love it when weddings show the personalities of the bride and groom! :)

Welcome to married life, friends.  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together!

Mocha Frap

I love a good cup o' joe.  My go-to morning cup of go-go juice is an unsweetened Cafe Au-Lait made with skim milk.  [p.s. that's a fancy way of saying I like black coffee with skim milk, no sugar or sweetener -- Sometimes I froth it to make it nice and foamy, sometimes I don't.]  It's simple and it's delicious.  I am not a Starbucks fan [Sayyy Whaaaattt?], but every now and again I want something blended and somewhat fancy.  Especially in the summer, it's nice to have an iced coffee to kick-start my mornings.  But I'm cheap and would rather spend $5 on anything but a drink, so here's what I've come up with:

Ingredients:
1 cup of black coffee, chilled [I french press coffee one morning, then refridgerate what I don't drink for the next morning, but any coffee should work!  The stronger the better!]
3/4 cup of skim milk
1 cup ice
light drizzle [or more!] of chocolate syrup
sugar/sweetener [if you like sugar in your coffee, you'll want it in this, too!]
whipped cream [to make it pretty, duh!]

Directions:
Combine the coffee, milk, ice, drizzle of chocolate, and sweetener into a blender.  Blend it until there are no more ice chunks.  Pour your coffee drink into a glass and top it with a mountain of a little whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.  Serve it with a straw and enjoy!  Mornings aren't so bad, right?