September

Well so much for keeping up to date this month like I kept swearing I would do. haha. My bad. Anyways, here are the updates for the month? lol.

1) Disc Golf- I mentioned we have been playing it a lot lately. I think I have now been to all of them in our surrounding area! My favorite is the one in Apex. It's a really pretty park and it's well labeled. :D I'm starting to get a little better and we even got some new discs! :D

2) John's schedule- I believe I mentioned in the last post John was going to be working mornings for awhile. Unfortunately, it wasnt all we hoped it would be. Or rather all I hoped it would be. Dont get me wrong- it was WONDERFUL to see John every night. But the time wasnt really good quality time. My poor husband never got a full nights sleep, it was always broken up and so he has just been exhausted. As much as I dont want him gone in the evenings (it can get pretty lonely!) I'm glad he gets to switch back to a regular sleep schedule. Being run down all the time just isnt healthy.

3) ESPN- John got to freelance for them for the State vs FSU game this past Saturday! He held a parabalic mic on the field (to capture field noise). What an awesome opportunity for him!

He also got look around the stadium a bit!

 GO PACK!

 Where he was located on the field

 SO CLOSE!

4) Beericana- John and I had tickets to go to this with Kristen and AJ! It ended up being the same day that John was offered the freelance job, so of course he took that. BUT The Klingenmaiers and I had a blast!!

 John is always with me! bahaha :D Didnt want to leave him out :D

5) State Game- John won tickets to the State v. Providence game! I had to work until 5pm that day, so I met him at the game. He did end up going with Matt and Kelly though and they had a little tailgate going. I made pretty good time to gget there and we had SO much fun with them! I got to play with sweet Riley and we got to watch a GREAT State win! It was so great, it was almost boring :D

SUCH A CUTIE!!!

 I need me one of these one day :D

Smooshed kisses for the hubs :D

 Game Time!

The fly over!

6) Homemade Pizza- Sine John was home most nights, we got to make dinner together a lot :D One night we got creative and made flat bread pizza! Okay, he got creative and decided to make it and I helped :D It turned out SO yummy!

OH yea! Get in my belly!!

7) Dentist! One of the days that we both had off together (one of the few full days) we went and got our teeth cleaned! YAY! haha. I actually dont mind going at all. I knew I didnt have any problems and I love how my teeth feel after a cleaning. It had been since we moved home that we had both been (YIKES) so it was overdue. We went back to the place Johns family has always gone and I had forgotten just how nice they are. They even have a massage chair for you to sit in while you get your teeth cleaned! We both came out with no issues and clean teeth! A total success :D

8) Home Inspection- After the dentist we had to meet our home inspector. We kept saying this day was an "adult day." Usually we try to do fun things together when we both actually have a full day off together, but this time we had too many grown up things to do. Like go to the dentist and get your house inspected. lol. anyways, Can you believe we have almost been in the house for AN ENTIRE YEAR?! Crazy!! We always said we would get an inspection so the builders could fix anything before the big warranty ran out. The inspection went great! No major issues and very little minor ones (so much that if we didnt have the warranty, I wouldnt worry about them. lol). So we were very happy about that. He said our house was very well built :D Now we need to book an appointment with the builder :D

9) Assistant Manager- WOOT WOOT! That's mee :D I finally did get my promotion! It's official :D I am working my way on up!

10) The Best Yes- I liked Proverbs31.org on Facebook awhile ago and really like a lot of the stuff they post. Well they hold different online bible studies throughout the year. There hasnt really been one yet that has peaked my interest until now! It's called The Best Yes. Which is perfect for me. Go check it out! :D and once I'm finished with the book, I am happy to share! I'm really excited about this book and how the Lord will use it in my life :D

11) SCANDAL/REVENGE-  ARE BACK! and all of the other shows that end up sucking up so much of my time. But thats okay! haha I LOVE THEM :D

12) Garage- Still working on it! We finally starting painting the ceiling. We figured that was the next step before we do more wall. Our goal is to get this finished by Nov. We'll see how it goes :D

Working hard while I supervise :D

Well, I **think** that might be it for now. Although I'm sure there is something I am forgetting. If so, I'll catch it up for this week! 

28 years young :D

Wow. I cannot believe that another year has passed and I am ANOTHER year older! I still feel exactly the same. I think? haha. I am still just as indecisive though :D

Anyway, this past year has been a BLUR. So much has happened. BIG things too:

• We lived in 2 different states. Florida and North Carolina
• Moved home to Raleigh -- during the holidays too. A bit stressful, but glorious all at the same time :D
• My mom sold her house and we moved her a week after we moved home. (AH!)
• I started a new job/career.
• We lost a dear loved one, my grandma's husband, Roy.
• We purchased a second car! A convertible mustang GT!
• Then the mustang was totaled thanks to a drunk driver:( Thank the Lord my husband was okay.
• We had a long battle with the insurance company and hired a lawyer to help with the totaled car and Johns physical therapy (for his back).
• We purchased another convertible mustang GT! haha
• My sister got engaged and married- all within 4 months.
• We celebrated 5 YEARS of marriage.
• My sister-in-law got engaged and also planned a quick wedding which will be in 3 weeks.
• We started to look for a house to buy and BOUGHT A HOUSE! :D We are still waiting to close on it- but it's ours!

WHEW! I'm exhausted looking at that list. haha and those are just the major things. There have been TONS of little things, you could even say a years worth? haha. 

I have truly felt more than blessed this year with everything that we have been given. Most days, I cannot believe it's been an entire year. If you would have asked me last year on my birthday if we would be where we are today- I may have laughed at you. Living in Raleigh? that was a dream! buying another car? yea, right?! AND a house? say, what?! that's just crazy. Needless to say it's amazing what the Lord can do in a year. 

Most of all I am beyond grateful that I have had my amazing best friend and husband to go through this past year with. He continuously makes me laugh and believes in everything I do. He works so hard for our little family in so many ways :D I could not have done the past year without him!

As for celebrating my birthday, John and I had 3 WHOLE days off together! These have been hard to come by with our crazy schedules this year, so it was really the best birthday present I could have asked for :D It was a perfect 3 days!

Thursday, we walked to Elevation Burger for lunch and took Carter! It was such a nice day that it was nice to sit outside and eat :D Then, went and saw our new house again! It's coming along nicely. They have painted, put in the back splash, and tile around the fireplace. I have to say- we did a great job picking stuff out. We were VERY pleased :D After we checked out the new place, we tried the new brewery in Clayton. It's only been open since April. It's a VERY chill place. We enjoyed it very much and will definitely be back! Then we went to look at appliances and such. I must be getting old to get excited about looking and fridges and washers/dryers! haha. The night ended watching football and hanging out at home :D

Family shot!

The Brewery

Friday, we slept in- YAY! haha. Then we did a few errands. We went and had some service done to Snoopy (the Tahoe) it was long overdue. We went and dropped the car off and then hung out. It's nice to have time to do nothing and do errands, it makes the errands not seem so bad:D Friday night we ended up going to the movies. I had free movie tickets so we thought it would be a good date night- for free! Well, minus the popcorn and coke. haha. We saw Runner Runner. Pretty good movie! When we got home, we were still in movie mode, so we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- SUCH a good movie. I do recommend it. 

Saturday, GAME DAY! :D We just hung out in the morning and I made some yummy tailgating foods. We were originally going to go to the game, but tickets got a little more expensive than we wanted to pay. Plus, we wanted to have a full day of football! We have not had one of those together since Miami. We had Hutch come over too and watched our game and played some cornhole, then watched more games :D haha. We also played one of our favorite board games. Good times, besides losing to freaking WF. ugh.

Our spread :D

Turkey Burger Sliders- on the BEST rolls ever. seriously.

 Spinach Artichoke Dip w/ pita chips and veggies 
(This was REALLY good, but I would use less artichokes next time. 
They were good, but there were too many. haha)

 Jalapeno Poppers

Sunday, John had to go back to work :( I was sad. haha. But we did end up going out for my birthday dinner- Mexican!, of course :D SO GOOD! There was SO MUCH FOOD. and of course NFL. I sure do love that man. He also got me new running shoes for my birthday!! SO EXCITED to try them out. It's been too rainy since I got them, but hopefully today it wont rain so I can go. 

Terrible picture, but they are really pretty! 

Apparently, I supinate when I walk/run and these are supposed to help with that! 

Monday, my actual birthday! I had to work. :( I really didnt mind though because we did so much for my birthday already. haha. Work was really busy too. But I did get flowers from my coworkers and a DELICIOUS pumpkin turtle pie. My mom and brother also took me out to dinner- Pei Wei. SO good. I may have gained a few pounds this weekend. haha. But it was TOTALLY worth it :D

Anyway, thanks to all who made my day fantastic! Including Carterbutt who showered me in lots of kisses:D haha

So Thankful!

There was SO much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! A trip home to be with family was among them :D

As I mentioned, we drove up with Kristen, AJ, Carter, and most all of our belongings. It proved to be an interesting journey, but a lot of fun too. Since it took us 17 1/2 hours, we didnt get home until 1am and we were beyond exhausted. Of course Carter was excited to see grandma and grandpa! We were ready to hit the hay! 

Wednesday we slept in some and then got ready to go and meet my new boss, sign some paperwork, and find a place for us to live. The Martins had graciously agreed to let us stay with them for as long as we needed, but we didnt want to intrude on them. So it was on our to do list.

My  new work place is wonderful! My boss seems really nice, as do the other people I met that I will work with. One of my new co-workers showed John and I some apartments and then we met with my boss to discuss pricing. The deal was just too good to pass up and so we chose the apartment I posted about in the last post! It was WONDERFUL to have found a place so quickly. Definitely a huge answer to pray. It really felt like everything just kept falling into place. :D Wednesday night we went back to the Martins and ate some dinner, hung out, and relaxed some. We were both so tired still. We also got to meet Julie's new boyfriend Joel! He is REALLY nice and fit in very well with us.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! I got up and made some of my mac and cheese and then it was almost time for lunch. Of course we stuffed ourselves :D It was all so very yummy. Then we played some games and lounged around all afternoon. That's what Thanksgiving is for, right?! I ended up taking a long nap because I wasnt feel good. I think my body is trying to fight off getting sick. Thursday night we went to my Mom's house. We had dinner with them and played some more games! I am excited we will be living so close soon so our visits can be longer :D

 Our Table :D 

 The food! Carter was so excited..

 

More food!

 Joel and Julie (I forgot to take pictures after this one. whoops) 

Friday we got up and had another big day ahead of us. My job was going to let us go ahead and unload our trailer into our new apartment (HUGE blessing!) so we got up and headed over there. I had to turn in some paperwork and then I got the keys. It only took us about 45 minutes to unload everything since there were so many of us. Afterwards, John and Brad took back the trailer while I went over to AT&T to get information about adding a line to our plan. (PS. I can walk to almost anything I want or need! The grocery store is behind the clubhouse I work in and right across the big road (which is RIGHT there) is a HUGE shopping center.) Of course John had to be at AT&T with me, so I walked over to Rack Room and bought some shoes. haha. Then we went and got some lunch at Red Robin with Brad! Always fun :D And finally headed back to AT&T. We decided to go ahead and get me a phone and new number to help make everything easier and to cross one more thing off our list. :D 

After that adventure we went back to the Martin's and got ready for the NC State Basketball game. Steve had gotten us free tickets and we couldnt pass them up. We met up with him and Anna Patton (a friend from college) there and watched the game. We played terribly, but at least pulled out a win! We also took Carter to play with Bailey while we went- they had a fun play date! 

Our seats were waaaay up there! Fun though!

Waiting for a toy...haha

Saturday, I got up bright and early to make some mac and cheese bites for our tailgate. They were DELICIOUS! Then we dressed in some warm clothes and headed out at about 9:30am to get a good spot. We ended up having about 21 people at our tailgate and had such a great time! Everyone brought something different to eat and I must say it was the most grownup tailgate we have ever had! haha. We had so much stuff. It was SO much fun and it turned into a celebration that we were moving back :D So thankful to have such great friends! It seriously made us feel like we were home. 

GO WOLFPACK!

 Anna Patton, her friend, and Steve

 Some of the tailgate gang

 LOVE him!

 I bumped into an old friend too! (we actually bumped into a bunch). Jeff was one of my "boyfriends" in 6th grade. haha

 Love this statue!

The game was FREEZING and John and I ended up leaving during the 4th quarter since we had to get up so early to drive home the next day. We grabbed some dinner and then headed to the Martins. I seriously fell asleep within 15 minutes of getting there. I was pooped. We had planned to get up at 3 and leave about 4- but of course we left later at about 5:30/6am. We really wanted to beat traffic since it was so bad last year. We were lucky and made the drive in about 12 hours! YAY!

We decided to leave Carter in Raleigh with Johns parents. We need the room in the Tahoe and we just didnt want to make him ride in the car for another 26 hours. He would have hated it. It was funny because he could tell we were leaving, but he was with grandma and grandpa so he seemed confused. haha. He's doing great there now though! He even jumped up in bed with grandpa one morning. He's making himself right at home. It is lonely here without him- but I know it's best. 

Anyway, we had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and we have SO much to be thankful for! Cant wait until next year when we have more time to spend with each family :D 

Chris comes to visit!

My little brother, who isn't so little anymore, came to visit for his birthday! He's the big 21! I feel so old. haha

His birthday and trip fell at the perfect time! NC State also happened to be playing in Miami while he was in town. So of course we had plans to go. Chris flew in late Thursday night. All there was really time for was cupcakes, since John and I had to work the next morning early. Friday, I took him to lunch on campus and showed him around some. After work, John and I wanted to take Chris out and treat him to a nice dinner. We took him to YardHouse and ate a very yummy dinner! I let John order for me (because I always end up liking his food better anyway) and he surprised me with a steak! It was amazing. and very sweet. lol. It was really nice to hang out and just catch up with my brother. We spent the rest of the night getting ready for the game the next day.  

   John and Chris at dinner

Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn to load up the car since the game as at 12. We had to run by Johns work for a little bit, so I used that time to cook the food I prepared for the game- Cheesy Brunch Bake and Prosciutto wrapped Mac and Cheese Bites. We also made some NC pulled pork to take and I brought more cupcakes. :D When we got the stadium we set up near some NC State fans- we couldnt find many at all! and the parking lot was EMPTY. These people do not know how to tailgate! We got to use our new tent too! Which was a blessing because it was SO hot out. We had a good time tailgating and were glad there were a few NC state people around to hang out with and play cornhole with :D 

It's hard to see- BUT the black bag caught in between the red bags and didnt go it- I dont think I could do that again if I tried! haha

While we were tailgating, there were some older UM fans next to us struggling to put up there tent. I went over and helped them. Later he brought me an entire cooked fish as a thank you. It was SO nice. It was however, the entire fish. lol. I found out later that he caught it himself! I love nice people. Later I took him some pulled pork and his wife loved it, so she made us some conch fritters (they had an entire fryer and huge propane tank!) and then I shared some of the mac and cheese bites. It was nice to have some fans next to us that were so friendly!! Even if they were UM fans...haha. 

The ENTIRE fish! including the eyes...lol

Anyway, the game was the hottest game I have ever sat through. EVER. I thought tailgating in Atlanta was the hottest, but this game definitely topped it. It was SO hot that we ended up watching some of the game from the consessions to cool off. The game was also terrible. I cant believe we didnt show up :(. However, Scotty McCreery did end up sitting in front of us for awhile!!!!! We talked to him for a minute and i got a hug :D Apparently, I am a star struck blubbering fool. lol. I may or may not have even told him that I loved him. I'm not even ashamed. I have now also fulfilled one of my miami bucklist items which includes spotting a star!! :D It was awesome :D The game was fun too- even if the loss was awful. I do have to say that my employees didnt even give me a hard time. They really couldnt though because they didnt play well either. We just played worse. haha

Scotty's the one on the right :D We didnt wanna bug him again for a real picture. 

GO PACK!

Sunday, we went to the beach for part of the day. Chris decided he wanted to go to the dog beach so Carter could come. lol Carter was IN LOVE with Chris and even slept with him every night. It was super cute. So we took him- he was restless most of the time and the water was kind of gross, but the weather was perfect. We played with Carter a lot, relaxed, and ate lunch. After a few hours we went back home and showered and then played games. We taught Chris one of our favorites games! Now we have another person to play with when we move home- YAY! Then we watched football and lounged around. 

Monday, it was time for him to leave :( On our way to the airport we took him to our favorite cuban restaurant for lunch, Savor Miami. As always, it was amazing. Then we dropped him off at the airport and went back to work :(.

He loves his uncle Chris!

The visit was so much fun! I also dont think that I have spent that much time with just my brother in years! So it was nice to talk and catch up and just spend time together. I miss you already, Chris!!!! (so does Carter! he's still sleeping on the guest bed. haha)

Friday Favorites!

For some reason this has been a REALLY long week and I have just been super tired all week. BUT there are still a lot of good things that happened :D

1) Furry Paws- we decided to look into taking Carter to doggy camp every now and then. We had our first test run this past Sunday and he did SO well! The first hour he pouted near the door :( and this broke my heart (we could watch via webcam). I wanted to back and get him immediately  But after awhile he warmed up and he had SO much fun. He was exhausted when he came home. He even fell asleep in the car, which he hasnt done in awhile. So this is something we will definitely be  doing again. It's great exercise AND socialization :D

2) NC State Win!- We beat The Citadel this past weekend. A win is a win! I hope they are ready for the game tomorrow- otherwise I may not be able to come to work on Monday!! haha. I also made some yummy taco dip- fantastic!

3) Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest- Finally reading it and I'm a good chunk through it! SO GOOD! I also finally returned the other book I was holding hostage (Girl Who Played With Fire) so maybe the $75 replacement fee will be removed from my account now. lol

4) Beach/Abbey Brewery- After we took Carter to Furry Paws, we headed to the beach. Just in time for it to crazy storm. and I mean it was CRAZY! We ducked into the Abbey Brewery and had a few drinks, had amazing spicy hot dogs, and watched football. It was fun and spontaneous :D The weather was just awful and the streets were completely flooded- almost to the point where the water came in under the front door to the bar!

5) MY BROTHER!- he is 21 and came to visit for his birthday!! You'll get another post on that SOON!

6) MY iPhone 5 came today!- YAY! no more broken phone!!!! and it's pretty baller ;D

7) NC StateTent- John and I got a NC State Tailgating tent!! We have decided that each year in celebration of it being football season, we will get one new thing for our tailgating activities. This year it was a tent! and it came JUST in time for the game tomorrow :D SO PUMPED!

Happy Friday Y'all! and GO WOLFPACK! BEAT THE 'CANES!

Friday Favorites

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! :D

1) I AM OFF DUTY!- This week has been an AWFUL duty week. A lot of calls and a lot of them were serious mental health issues. I am not sure what is going on with these students. So, emotionally I am drained. But thrilled to be off duty.

2) Girl Who Played With Fire- SO Good. I am almost done. I just need to find time to finish it!

3) Breaking Bad-Did it seriously end that way? And now I have to wait a year to see the rest?! A YEAR?! AH! It's so good.

4) Andre Brown- He had an AMAZING game last night. No, I dont like the Giants. blah! but NC State players doing well is always a great thing! Plus, he's on my fantasy team :D

5) Bark Box- Krystal told me about a groupon not that long ago for something called a Bark Box- it is $10 a months, for 3 months and they send you all sorts of treats and toys for your dog. SO WORTH IT!  We got the box yesterday, and I swear I was more excited than Carter was to open it. Haha. This month it had:

- Zukes Z-Bones in Clean Apple Crisp Flavor 

- Whole Life Organics Sweet Potato Treats 

- Whole Life Freeze Dried Chicken Treats

- A Crinkit- Carter played with this for 2 hours straight last night! It was awesome!

- w.a.g. Wash & Go bath wipes 

 (I totally stole this from you Krystal!- Thanks!)

Again, totally worth $10! I feel like I ripped them off. haha. My guess is that the company who does the boxes gets samples from companies and that is what is sent to us. Great way to advertise! and great deal for us!

6) New Glasses- I have needed new glasses for some time now. My prescription isnt that different, just slightly, but my old glasses are SO scratched. With all the mold issues, I have to wear my glasses more often because it makes my eyes hurt and wearing the old ones was becoming a problem. So I finally ordered some new ones- they are red and black and look awesome :D SO excited :D 

Friday Favorites

I feel like this week has just flown by! That's good I guess. The weekend usually goes by fast, so I guess it's nice the week did too this time. lol. 

1) Iphone 5- I am SO excited that it has been announced. My phone is broken and after 2 years it's on it's last leg. I've been trying to hold out for the new one and yay! it's finally here. SO blessed that UM is buying it for me! Since I've had mine for so long and it's broken just from wear, they said they would. HUGE YAY! Plus, the phone is going to be AMAZING!

2) Pumpkin Spiced Latte- THEY ARE BACK! and delicious. and a few too many points than I care to spend on coffee, but one every now and then really makes it a little bit more fall-y down here:D

3) The Girl Who Played With Fire- SO GOOD! All I want to do is sit and read. :D 

4) Pumpkin Beer- (you know fall is approaching when two of my posts are about something pumpkin ;D). Anyway, we bottled our pumpkin beer this week! It should be ready in a few weeks :D Just in time for my birthday! woot!! We also brewed our oatmeal stout- YUMMMMMY. 

5) A Wolfpack win- DUH.

6) Treadmill- I LOVE having it. I have seriously used it every day since we brought it home except for 2- one was a rest day and the other we kayaked for 3 hours and I didnt have energy. It's so great to be able to go home and jump on it and be done. I have also discovered that I love to watch TV while running. I wasnt sure at first, but it's great. 

7) Fantasy Football- I kicked some booty this week! meaning, I'm in first place! YAY! Hope I can keep it up.

Now, I am on duty so I expect to get less sleep than usual (i got calls about every 2 hours last night). Oh well, I cant complain. We really are not on duty that often. Here's to hoping this weekend is good even with all the calls. Or by some miracle there are not any? ha! yea, right...

Happy Friday y'all! Enjoy your weekend!

Monday? Already?!

I feel like the weekend FLEW! It was a great one though :D 

Saturday, was of course full of football! John and I got up, ate some breakfast, and then got ready for some Wolfpack ball. During the game I prepared some fun tailgating snacks which included buffalo celery, jalapeno poppers, and mac and cheese bites- YUM! all of course were weight watcher friendly ;D. After a great WIN (we didnt play the best, but a win is a win!) we watched MORE football. haha. Really Saturday was very relaxing and great time spent with the hubs. 

GO PACK!

 MMMmmmm...

 Next time, I'm gunna add bacon to the bites. They were really good though!

Sunday, we slept in again and after lounging around the apartment we decided to try out our kayak! We drove two blocks down, parked, inflated the kayak, and set out south down the canal. A few years ago we never would have dreamed of doing something like this- just goes to show how much we have grown while living down here. 

The weather was beautiful and it was really cool to kayak behind the houses on the canal. They were ridiculous. These houses were seriously gorgeous and most had boats docked out back. One of the houses had lights set up and I couldnt really see what they were for, so I got out and walked up the walkway and saw a tennis court! and next to it, a huge covered pool. Seriously, I need some of these peoples incomes! haha. The houses kept getting bigger and bigger and some of them were just breathtaking. I am trying to convince John to find out which houses are for sale and have open houses so we can check them out. haha. 

Anyway, we were having so much fun that we kept wanting to see what was around the next bend and then the next and then the next. haha. After awhile we just knew the ocean had to be close so we kept going and then boom! the ocean was there. It was beautiful. We could see Key Biscayne, downtown, and one of the big bridges. Just so pretty. After enjoying the view for a bit and resting we decided to turn back and make the long journey home. In total we went about 5 miles and it took us just about 3 hours. We were/are exhausted after that trip! Next time we are going to bring more water and snacks. oh and sunscreen. If I had known we would have been out there for so long, I would have put some on. The original plan was to be out there for about an hour. whoops. lol. We had SO much fun though. And the kayak held up well! when we were done we deflated and walked to our car. It was pretty neat. I am so glad we bought it!!!

We are going to take Carter next time to see how he likes it (we definitely wont be gone for that long though, he would get bored). I will also remember to bring my camera next time. I am SO mad I forgot it. :( I guess that just means we'll have to take that route again;D.  Hopefully, it wont rain this weekend so we can go. SO MUCH FUN!

Atlanta Trip!

First of all let me say that I am STOKED football is back in season! We kicked off this season by making plans to travel to Atlanta for the Chick-fil-a Kick-off Game :D

Wednesday I worked a half day (which ended up being NUTS! but why wouldnt it be when I'm trying to leave town?). When John got home from work we loaded up the car and started on the first leg our trip. Our plan was to stay in Gainsville for the evening and visit with the Chase's. We also really wanted to see The Swamp!

 Ricky's Birthday was  a few days earlier so we brought him a present too 

He was TOO cute opening it..

 Touring the stadium- they keep it open all the time! You just cant go on the field

We had some fun ;D

 TIM TEBOW!

 

 GO PACK!

 The Swamp.

 :D

 We ate dinner at a place called the Swamp Restaurant. The food was delicious!

 Love these people!

The next day we got up and headed to Atlanta. We got there the same time Josh and Krystal did (even after a short detour to the wrong hotel. lol). We cleaned up, got some Bojangles, and headed off to SweetWater Brewery for a tour. We ended up getting there super early, so we took some pictures, reserved ourselves a space ;D, and went to burn some time at a local watering hole. When it was finally time to do the tour, we drove back and our spot was still reserved! haha. The tour was mediocre but the beer was good. It was a great time to catch up with Krystal and Josh. After the tour we headed back to the hotel and decided to take the MARTA to find some dinner. We ended up in the touristy part of town. We were not much fans of the area, but by that point it was so late we just chose a spot. The food was just okay- but again- at least it was fun with Kyrstal and Josh!

  Our "reserved" spot....haha

Friday was GAME DAY! We got ready, went and got supplies, and took the MARTA out to tailgate. We met up with Megan Eure and her family. It was BEYOND hot. We were on black asphalt too, so it was just that much hotter. We had a ton of fun though. It was so great to be surrounded by NC State people and southerners! I sure do miss the south. lol. Towards game time we headed into the Dome and found our seats. It was nice to be in air condition for the game! Unfortunately, we lost :( But at least the entire experience was fun! Here's to hoping we play better next weekend.

The gang

 Me and hubby! it was really bright out!!

 Inside the dome

 Our band!

Saturday we slept in a little and then headed to my Mawmaw's and Pawpaw's! John and I havnt been to their place since we stopped down on our move, so I was excited to visit them. Of course Mawmaw made a huge delicious dinner with an amazing dessert to top it off. Then we went to the tv room and talked some. We decided to watch a movie and ended up stopping it a little way through and talked for hours instead. It was so neat to talk to them about their past, working and living in Miami, my mom, etc. We went to bed kind of late (oops!) and had to get up real early for church the next morning. Mawmaw and Pawpaw were excited for us to go to their sunday school classes (they both teach!) and visit their church. They are always talking about their classes, so it was neat meeting the people they talked about so much. Mawmaw would introduce me as her first grandbaby that was born on her birthday and named after her :D I could tell she was proud and it made me feel really good. After church we went to lunch with them at a southern buffet place. SO. GOOD. I was literally in pain when we left because I was so full. haha. On our way back to their place, they showed us where they used to live and a little around the area. We REALLY enjoyed our time there. It really made the amazing weekend we already had, even better :D 

We were super lucky that it was a 3 day weekend and we had Monday off too. We just relaxed all day. I always say I need a vacation after vacation and it was sorta like we got it this time! haha.