.

.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Happy July!

OK...I know it's been well over a month, but I truly feel like I've had a good excuse for not updating this blog!  I finally finished my Anatomy class last week!  Yay!  It was an online class for 6 weeks, and so I was sitting at my computer every night for a solid 2-4 hours doing assignments, and I just couldn't bring myself to look at that screen any more than I had to.  So, now I'm done with school for a few weeks and I finally feel OK about turning the computer on again.  :-)

Because it's been well over a month, and we have been more busy than the average bear this summer...this update could take weeks to type out.  With that being said, I'll give a bullet point rundown of our summer thus far.  Suffice it to say, it's been a busy one!

June 19 - Wedding in Charlotte.  My friend/coworker/sorority sister Caroline Pierce married her high school sweetheart Josh Norris that weekend.  It was a beautiful ceremony in Davidson, and the reception was at The Point Yacht Club on Lake Norman.  Every thing was planned to perfection, she looked stunning, and we got to hang out with some fun people.  Earlier that day, we spent the afternoon at my co-worker Jenny's lake house.  We were able to bring Buddy with us and he experienced his first swimming adventure.  He was exhausted.  :-)



Barrett forgot his shoes...had to go with his "dress flops"


Me and the Child Life crew


With the happy couple
:-)


Buddy's first swimming trip!


Go Buddy Go!


Happy boy...


June 26 - Wedding in Maryland.  Barrett's fraternity brother Philip Nesheim married Nicole St. John in Kent Island, Maryland.  We drove up to Richmond Friday night, stayed with Matt & Lora, and then the four of us drove to Maryland Saturday.  We got there around 11:30, had yummy MD crabs at this cute little crab house on the water, and then headed to the wedding at 3:00.  The reception was at Nicole's family home on the Chesapeake Bay.  It was truly breathtaking.  It was by far the nicest wedding I have ever had the pleasure of attending.  The location was beautiful, the flowers and decorations were second to none, the food was delicious, and we got to spend some time with great friends we hadn't seen in a while.  It was a long 8 hour ride home on Sunday, but well worth the trip.


Lunch at Harris Crab House


Lora and Matt


Yum


Chesapeake Bay


The beautiful home


Feeling Fancy


Our table




Kappa Sig boys


Boys with the Bride


Happy little lemon meringue pies


Happy little dessert 3 of 4...sorbet on a stick :-)


Week before the 4th - My dad and Sondra made a last minute visit to NC from LA!  It was a quick trip, but so fun and so good to be able to spend a couple of days together.  They got into town on Wednesday night and we went out to have yummy burgers at Big Daddy's.  The next day, we went to the National White Water Center and did a little rock climbing and white water rafting.  We were all thrown out of the raft at least once...the last time we had a couple of injuries the led to some bumps and bruises...but, it was still a really nice day.  We had a nice dinner on the deck and called it a pretty early night...rafting will definitely take the energy out of you!  :-)  The next day, Barrett and I were heading to EI for the 4th, so my dad and Sondra headed to Raleigh to spend a couple of days with Rachel.  It was definitely too short of a trip, but we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to being able to get down to LA to visit soon.



National White Water Center



Me & Barrett


Dad & Sondra


4th of July - For the Fourth, we headed down to Emerald Isle to stay with the Venters crew.  We just love going down there.  We always have such a great time and Phyllis always makes us feel so welcome.  We got to spend a nice long weekend (Friday-Monday) and had great weather the entire time.  It was nice to be able to spend some time with Barrett's aunts and cousins (Venters and Duffys) and to spend time with Grama Doris.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the weekend Phyllis! 




Sarah & John


Sunset on the Sound


Shelly floating


Enjoying some fruity frozen drinks on the dock


Grama Doris

 
July 10 - This weekend, Barrett went to Raleigh for an engagement party for Brandon Comeaux & Amanda Davies.  Barrett is a groomsman in their wedding in September.  I stayed behind in Charlotte with Buddy.  I just couldn't bring myself to travel another weekend.  I felt really run down and like I was possibly getting sick...so, I stayed home and got some much needed rest.  Congratulations Brandon and Amanda...we can't wait to celebrate with you in September!  :-)

July 17 - Barrett went to Nags Head for Brandon's bachelor party and I took a road trip with Buddy to Richmond to see Lora.  Matt (Lora's husband) was going to the bachelor party also, so we thought it would be fun to have a girls weekend with the dogs.  :-) Matt & Lora have a 4 year old black lab and a 10 month old golden retriever.  Put those two together in a house with Buddy, and you're in for an interesting weekend.  Cody (the black lab) was super excited to have Buddy around because that meant that Duncan (the golden) had Buddy to terrorize.  :-)  Buddy LOVED having a dog to play with!  He was unbelievably exhausted when we left, but it was good for him to get a little exercise!  Lora and I had a great time together...we went out to dinner, went shopping, went to the pool, drank wine, and just spent some time catching up.  From what I hear, the boys had a blast too.  We'll spare you the details.  :-)


the beginning of a beautiful friendship


So happy to be here


Exploring the yard


Exhausted

 
July 24 - This past weekend Barrett was at another bachelor party (I know right?) in Myrtle Beach for another one of his fraternity brothers Meade Bradshaw.  Back at the ranch, Matt, Jenna, and Landon came to Charlotte to visit!  They came down to spend some time with Jeff and Cindy, and I was able to spend some time with them too because they stayed at our house.  Landon is getting so big/cute/talkative/fun!  It's sad that we don't get to see them as much as we'd like (4 hours is kind of a long drive) but I am so happy we got to spend a little time together.  We'll get to see them again in a few weeks for Meade's wedding in Greenville, SC.  Again, I hear the bachelor party was fun...surprise, surprise.  :-)

So now...here we are at the end of July.  Can you believe how fast the summer is breezing by??  It makes me sad!  Barrett & I went to the pool on Sunday and it was the first time we'd been all summer!  Luckily, we're going to be in town for the next two or three weeks, so we have big plans in the works.  Pool time, painting time, getting ready for football season :-)...

A little late on these....congratulations to Brooks & Nickie on the birth of their baby boy Cole!  Happy three weeks of life little man!  Congratulations to Lauren & Kenny (30 weeks), Katie & Jeremy (20 weeks), Aundrea & Michael (14 weeks), Ashlyn & Trey (16 weeks), and Sarah & Jason (8 weeks) on their baby news!  So excited for all of you!  :-)

Hope everyone is feeling great and having a wonderful summer!