Zoo Atlanta

Yesterday evening when I got off of work, I drove into Midtown and met Shane at his work. We rode together to the zoo. Cindilu and Bill invited us to join them at a reception to celebrate the zoo's 125th Anniversary!

We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. The food and drinks were delicious, and I loved being able to experience the zoo without any lines! It was a very unique experience.

Cindilu and Bill showed us their bench. 

Shawna and I always have so much fun together. 

The elephant was so close to us!

My sweet date :)

The tigers were very impressive!

Sun Bear. 

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Pandas!! 

Weekend Update

This past week has been very hectic at work, so on Friday night I told Shane I needed him to take me on a date. :) He was very sweet and gave me a hug and off to Olive Garden we went.

Saturday morning I elected to be very lazy and watch TV and cuddle with Rocky. When Shane woke up we took the dogs on a walk and saw a neighbor I met at a cookie swap a few months back. They invited us over later that night for a bonfire. I went grocery shopping while Shane studied and did a few things around the house, and then we headed to the neighbors to hang out. We had a great time with them.


I spent Sunday morning cleaning and let Shane sleep in until 11:30. He has been under the weather, so I knew he could use some extra sleep. When he woke up he helped by vacuuming the whole house and doing the laundry. We also helped me get all of the food ready for the Taco Bar. We had several family members over to celebrate some March birthdays. It was so fun to spend time with one another. We laughed and shared stories. I filled a basket with toys, stickers and coloring books for Rowan to play with. She liked her stickers a lot! She walked around showing everyone a printed out picture of Makenzie. She loves her cousin so much! When it was time for dessert, I told her she could have a little of each of the 3 pies and some cookie cake, but she asked for carrots and a banana instead. How weird is that?!

By the time everyone left, we were so tired. We relaxed and watched TV the rest of the evening until it was time for bed.

Lazy Saturday snuggles

Date night

Birthday celebration

My sweet Rowan

She is so great at coloring in the lines.

Recently, David hear her sing "Whoomp There It Is" while going potty, and she tore up a dollar bill to make it fit into her ninja turtle piggy bank! Hahaha! 

Girl's Weekend

I LOVE spending time with my girlfriends, and the longer we go without seeing each other the more we crave a girl’s weekend! Last weekend we all got together to celebrate Ashley’s 25^th birthday, and we. had. a. blast!

Friday night everyone met at my house and Shane dropped us off at a local bar. We had a great time witnessing Ashley cross things off of her “25 things to do” list! We finished the night off right with a trip to Taco Bell. The next day I found a 10 minute video on my phone. Apparently, I accidentally set on my phone and started recording a video as we were going through the drive-thru, so we now have audio of the entire ride home. All I can say is Shane is a saint for driving us around town. 5 girls packed into a Prius… bless his heart!

Saturday morning I made breakfast for everyone and then we started to get ready to drive to Rome to check into our hotel. 3 of us were able to get tickets to the sold-out Sam Hunt concert. Sam stayed at our same hotel and he heard that one of our girls didn't have a ticket. He came by our hotel room to personally apologize that he couldn't get us one more ticket. While he was in our room, I showed him the sign of things that Ashley had to complete and asked him to pick one and Lord help us, he sang “Happy Birthday” to her right there on the spot.

We went to a local Mexican place for drinks and dinner before going to the concert. While we were at the concert I met a few people from Philly and New York, and Shane and I plan to meet up with them during our road trip this summer! 

We had such an incredible time. Between the eventful weekend festivities and the time change this past week has been very exhausting, but it was all worth it. We are already planning our next girl’s weekend!

Friday night before heading to Mazzy's

I was so glad Mali could join us!

Sam freakin' Hunt. He was so nice and humble.

Dwarf house.

Walking to the concert. 

Front row baby!! 

Baseball, Boy's Night and Birthday

What a busy weekend! On Friday night, Shane and I went to Jackson's first baseball game of the season! We love spending time with our next door neighbors!

Saturday I cleaned up the house a bit and then headed to the salon to get my hair done. Shane took Macy to her new home and ran some errands. I went to the store on the way home to get some snacks and a cake for Shane's party. He invited his guy friends over for a stock the bar/whiskey tasting party, and some of them brought a plus 1, so I enjoyed spending time with the girls! By the end of the night we were all sitting by the fire sharing funny stories and singing (well they sang and made fun of my singing... typical)

March 1 was my sweet friend's birthday, so of course I had to FaceTime her! We will celebrate her this weekend @ the Sam Hunt concert!!

Success

27 candles 

Sunday I made breakfast for those who spent the night, and then Shane started on some yard work while I did some chores in the house and went grocery shopping. It was a gorgeous day, so I enjoyed sitting with Shane outside while he dug holes and planted a few new things.

We went to visit Nana on Monday. She is recovering well and in pretty good spirits. After visiting with her, we met Cindilu and Bill and Shawna and Matt for a birthday dinner.

It was a busy few days, but we had a wonderful time spending it with friends and family.

Valentine's Day

I hate when people say that Valentine's Day is just a way for the card companies to make money... sure they benefit from all holidays but how could you  not want to take full-advantage of a designated day to show your love for those you care so much about? Life gets so busy and hectic, so I am grateful that Valentine's Day reminds us to slow down and simply love one another.

Last year was our first married Valentine's Day, and I had just returned from a girl's trip to Helen. I was CRAVING Brunswick Stew, so we went to Sonny's for dinner. I surprised Shane with Country Megatickets last year which lead to some incredible concerts and wonderful memories singing and dancing in the lawn!

This year, we kept it simple because our week was crazy with the snow storm. When I was finally able to get out of the house on Thursday afternoon, I was so excited to see all of the balloons and decorations at Publix. I got Shane a sweet card and bought salmon and asparagus to make him a special dinner. I also got the ingredients to make his favorite dessert!

Last year, he surprised me at work with flowers and a big balloon and took me out to lunch. It was so sweet and thoughtful. I knew this year he and I both had meetings at lunchtime so he wouldn't be able to do that again, so I was shocked when I saw him in the hallway just outside my office on Friday afternoon. He was able to leave work early to come surprise me with flowers, and that made me feel so special! I introduced him to some of my friends at work and showed him my office. It was so sweet of him to stop by! I could tell he rushed a bit because inside the card he gave me, he wrote "Happy Vantine's Day". It made us laugh so hard!

When I got home on Friday, we each had a drink and spent some quality time together while I cooked for him. I shared some exciting news that I received on the way home from work. We ate in the dining room and then sat by the fire for the rest of the night and talked. No TV, no phones... just us!

^^ This is our FIRST EVER Valentine's Day. 

We went to Olive Garden and to a movie, and I sent him on a scavenger hunt around Athens. 

This is a picture from Valentines Day 2013 

when he surprised me at work before taking me to lunch at Tin Lizzie's.

We were snowed in... for the second time this year! 

So pretty!

Better Than Sex Cake

Fancy dinner

"We love because He first loved us" 1 John 4:19

Barn Door

Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting Shane’s father, so when I hear someone mention his name or share a story my ears always perk up! When I see a picture, I sit in awe of their resemblance. Recently, Shane and I went to his mom’s property to get some wood for Shane to chop for fires. We went to an old barn in the middle of the property to look for an axe, and I found the most amazing treasure.

I have been to this barn once or twice before. We actually used a barn door for our southern style wedding décor. However, I had no idea that Shane’s dad actually built the doors. I figured he was handy… afterall, Shane had to have learned from someone, right?

[This was the door from our wedding]

We had a pallet above our fireplace before, and as soon as I saw the dutch horse stall door, I knew the pallet had to go. Shane asked his mom if we could have the door, and I was so thrilled when she agreed. Now we have a piece of Mr. Pat in the center of our home. 

Polar Bear Run

In my 2013 Recap I said, "My resolution is to be healthier. I take advantage of the fact that I can eat anything and never work out, but I am not in healthy shape... at all! I want to concentrate on eating better, exercising, and stretching more." The catch is, I don't want to lose any weight because all of my business professional work clothes fit me just as I am. 

I have been better with my portions. For example, I am not eating an entire box of gushers or two bowls of ice cream. Instead, I am eating just a pack (or 2) of gushers and a few scoops of ice cream. I am also eating more fruits and vegetables. 

On Saturday, I ran my first 5k since highschool. When I ran cross country, I averaged in the high teens/lower twenties. That is certainly no longer the case, but I didn't expect it to be since I haven't worked out in years. 

My time was 30:18, and I had a lot of fun. A group of my co-workers and I got together to run the race, and we plan to do another one soon. I was VERY sore the days following the race, but I plan to do some yoga to help with my stretching.

I have also been walking the stairs at my work. I walk up and down the 18 flights of stairs a few times a week. More than anything, it is nice to step away from my desk for a few minutes.