Summer Time

It has been an exciting summer with many trips and adventures. Here is a little recap....

I first headed to Atlanta over Memorial Day weekend. Bella and I packed up the car and drove 8 1/2 hours up north to see the Grahams. We arrived on a Friday and enjoyed staying with MaMa and Jeff and Joy. I got to meet Katie as well. MaMa, David, Katie and I had a great dinner near where they live. Jeff, Joy, MaMa and I also had fun exploring Atlanta and going to an art festival. Bella and I also had a lot of fun on Sunday night when we went to stay with my friend Sarah and her dog Dixie. Sarah and I met freshman year at UK and have stayed great friends. Dixie and Bella were so cute together. They had a great time!

Sarah and I at Maggiano's.

Dixie and Bella outside.

Before I headed up to Marion, MaMa and Michael took me to eat at J. Alexander's for brunch. It was great and I really enjoyed my whole weekend in Atlanta.

Michael and MaMa outside of J.Alexander's.

I then continued on to Marion. It took Bella and I over 9 hours to get there! There was a 2 hour highway closure near Chattanooga. We did not enjoy being in the car so long, but we were finally there :)

The weekend of 6/7/08 my friend Ashley from UK got married to Daniel Miller. I was a bridesmaid in the wedding and had a great time. They were married in Paducah on a beautiful day.

Ashley and I before the wedding.

Mr. & Mrs. Miller

The following weekend on June 14th I picked up Alexis and we headed to Northern Indiana for the Higgins Reunion. Alexis, Bella and I were meeting Andy and his parents in Kouts, IN. They flew in the night before. We were very excited to see them. It had been 3 weeks.

Alexis in the car on the way to Indiana.

We had a beautiful day on Saturday. We had a great time seeing people we had not seen in years, and for me I met many new people for the first time. Alexis loved playing with her cousins and they all loved Bella. It turned out to be a wonderful reunion that we hope to have more often.

Stepp Family Photo

Alexis with Bella and her cousin Stephanie

Bella was worn out!

Getting spoiled on Sunday.

After a wonderful weekend in Indiana visiting with the Higgins and Stepp families it was back home for Andy and Bella. Bella flew back with Andy to Orlando and I took Alexis to Kentucky.

Alexis with her joke book on the way home to Kentucky.

I dropped Alexis off in Evansville to meet her mom and then I drove to Cincinnati. I went to visit my old roommate Sarah. We had a great time relaxing and remembering what it was like to be roommates. I hope to see her again soon.

Sarah and I at her house before I left.

After visiting Sarah I drove south a little bit to Northern Kentucky. I stayed with my friend Cara who was also one of my roommates. It had been 3 years since we had seen each other! We had a lot of fun. I also got to see Emily another roommate :) It was so much fun to all be together again.

Emily, Cara and I

At Emily's new house.

After a great week in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky I drove back to Marion. I spent one final week there. Russell, Lety and Charnelle came to visit and we had a nice time. It was great to be home for a visit. Before leaving I went to Micah Murphy's wedding which was on Andy's birthday. Andy had to unfortunately work on his birthday but we celebrated later in Hilton Head.

On June 29th, Mom and I packed up and left very early to begin the drive to Hilton Head. It was a very interesting drive that began with one of the suitcases flew off the roof of the car. We were able to recover it after reversing down the side of the highway. We picked up Alexis in KY. Kim and Mom were able to reattach the suitcases tightly on the roof. We then thought all was well and we were able to continue. It wasn't til we were a little past Atlanta that it began to look like rain. The suitcase that flew off earlier lost its plastic bag. It wasn't long before it was soaking wet. Then for the last few hours of the trip the suitcase came inside and Alexis had even less space. She always said she was fine and had a smile on her face :) Needless to say after 14 hours we all three were very happy to be in Hilton Head.

Alexis in teh car. From the front seat you couldn't see her!

The final suitcase standing!

Once we arrived we had a great time. Late Sunday night Andy and Bella arrived as well. We all got a good night sleep and then went to the beach on Monday. It was a beautiful day and not too hot. That evening Brandon invited us all to the preview night of the new restaurant at the Hilton. The food was delicious and the night was lovely.

Alexis and I at HH Prime.

Jeff and Joy Amber, Alexis, and I
Andy and Amber
Me, MaMa and Joy at XO lounge

Later that night we celebrated Andy's 24th birthday. He enjoyed his presents and the "special cake".

Very excited about his presents!

Andy and I

Andy loves Clue, he usually guilts us all into playing around midnight. :)

Andy's volleyball from Alexis.

He thought the box was a trick....but no its really Wii.

The wonderful writing by a Publix worker....Alexis and I thought we could of done better.

Andy liked his shirt.

Andy and I

Andy and Alexis

We all enjoyed relaxing at the beach. It was nice and sunny most of the time. That evening Brandon and Amber invited us to come over and enjoy the sunset and some food.

Michael, Ryan and Amber

Amber

Alexis eating her sandwich

MICHAEL

The Group

Amber and Alexis

Andy and I

Andy and Bella going outside

Sunset behind Brandon and Amber's

Looking over the balcony

Sun getting lower

Balcony

Beautiful Sunset

Mom, MaMa, Andy and I went to Harbon Town one day to explore and do a little shopping. We had a nice lunch at the Waterfront Cafe and a lovely day.

Lighthouse

In front of our Yacht...haha :)

Having Ice Cream...it was yummy!

Mom and MaMa

This evening Andy and I had a post Birthday dinner for Andy at Marley's. It was a fun restaurant with great food.

Andy and I at our table at Marley's.

Andy and I took one day to rent a Wave Runner and go Parasailing. The Wave Runner was a lot of fun. We had it for an hour and could go all around Harbor Town. Then we went Parasailing which was very cool. We were 800 feet in the air. It was like floating. I was thankful we were the first couple to go, because while the other people were taking their turns the boat made me very sick. I think Parasailing is a one time thing for me. No pictures unfortunatly because my camara was out of memory. While we were off on our adventures Alexis went with Mom and the crew to the beach and shopping.

Alexis shopping

Mom making Alexis pose in front of the umbrella. It is a great pic!

On Hilton Head Island they allow dogs to come on the beach at 5pm. We thougth we would let Bella enjoy the waves one evening and she loved it! She jumped in the waves and looked so cute in her new life jacket. She was definatly the most stylish puppy on the beach!

Getting ready....

Bella watching the waves

Alexis, Bella and I

The cutest puppy ever!!!!

She loves her Daddy sooo much!!

Happy Family

Alexis playing with Bella

Mom and I with Bella

It was a chilly evening

She is such a sweet girl.

Thursday night was a big night, especially for Alexis. We all went to a concert that was in a ballroom at the Condo where the family was staying. It was Old Crow Medicine Show. We had a lot of fun during the show. We were all very close to the front and Alexis got to be in the front row. One of the musicians gave Alexis his harmonica, which was so cool. After the show we hung out and got to meet some of the musicians.

Joy, Mom, Me, Alexis ready to go to the concert.

Michael, Andy and Alexis before the show.

Mom and I

Old Crow Medicine Show

Alexis and I front row :)

Andy and I during the concert

Andy, Alexis and I with Katch after the show.

The Graham Crew plus Thomas and Christine with Katch.

Friday was the 4th of July! Andy and Bella had to go back to Orlando because Andy had to work on Saturday and Sunday. Bella just loves to go with her Daddy! Mom, MaMa and I went to Savanah, GA with Andy for the afternoon before he continued to Orlando. We rode a trolly around the city and saw a lot of history. It was a hot day but we really enjoyed it. I hope we get to go visit again soon.

Bella checking out the carriage horse

Bella on the trolly

Trying to think cool thoughts on the trolly.

Bella loved watching everything.

Suicide Stairs; They close them on St. Patrick's Day

MaMa and I

Me with Paula Deen

A candy store where they make all of their own candy fresh.

The begining of taffy. They taffy was sooo good!

After a great day in Savanah we went back to Hilton Head to meet everyone else for dinner. We went to the Oyster Factory which turned out to be the best place to go because we were able to watch the fireworks on the back deck. There were a couple of great firework shows around us.

The back deck of the restaurant

Fireworks

Saturday morning came it and it was time to leave. We were all sad to leave. There is just never enough time at the beach. Alexis and I headed to Royal Palm to spend the week with Andy's family.

Alexis and I in our matching skirts that she got for us on Thursday.

Andy's sister and kids came to visit from Pennsylvania for a few days. We had a lot of fun going to the beach and playing in the pool. Andy and Bella came down on Sunday.

Justin

Randy, Jenn and Chris

Jacob and Megan

Megan and Justin

Everyone at Buca

Megan Alexis and Jacob

Alexis with the spoon :)

Celebrating Megan and Randy's birthdays. The cake was very good!

Megan is 7!

We enjoyed some post 4th of July fireworks thanks to Andy and Tony.

Playing Mouse Trap, always a classic.

Jacob, Megan, Justin and Alexis...so cute!

Bella wanting to go outside with Justin.

Pool Volleyball was a lot of fun.


Bedtime!

We celebrated Andy's birthday with a Cold Stone cake. Yummy as always!

Randy and Jacob playing Wii. I think Jacob was close to Pro before he left. Do you have a Wii at your house yet Jenn? :)

The Hill's time in Florida came and went very fast. We had a lot of fun together and we look forward to seeing them all again soon. After they left Andy and I visited with Brandi, Adam and Morgan. Morgan is taking gymnasitcs and is so cute! We also got to see a few friends on Thursday night before we headed to Orlando on Friday morning. I was pretty excited about going home after being gone for 7 weeks.

Friday evening Tony, Chris and Alexis came to Orlando to spend the weekend with us. We had dinner at Chevy's on Friday night, which is one of our favorites. On Saturday it was a long but fun filled day at Magic Kingdom. We made it through pretty much the entire park with only a little rain mid afternoon. The lights parade and fireworks show were spectacular!

Alexis and I in front of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

Chris, Alexis and Tony The Haunted Mansion

Cinderella's Castle is beautiful at night


Peacock in the electric lights parade

Fairy Godmother

Cinderella

Fish

It was spectacular!!

After breakfast on Sunday Chris, Tony and Alexis went back to Royal Palm. We had a great weekend.

July 26th was my 24th birthday. Bella relaxed with me in the morning while Andy was working and then in the evening Andy took me to dinner at Emeril's Chop Chop restaurant. It was a wonderful dinner, very fancy food. I also got to open presents and have cake! Andy is so good to me.

Emeril's Tchoup Chop

Andy and I at dinner

My fabulous date

Isn't the restaurant beautiful?!?

Andy and I after dinner, out with a couple of friends.

My roses and cake from Andy.

Since my birthday I have been looking for a job and studing for my nursing boards. I have gotten to spend a lot of time with Bella, which has been great. Andy has been working a lot at Disney. He has been tring to work as much as he can before school starts up in August. That pretty much raps up our summer. It has been a great one!