fun weekend

Since I'm not even sure who reads this blog, this is kind of funny. I'm trying to be better at taking pictures, so this blog is proof of that. It's going to be really long and full of pictures.

Our great weekend began Friday night for me with Alex's bachelorette party! It was so much fun to hang out with the girls and celebrate with Alex! Here's our Bible study, the "Newcleus" :). These girls are the biggest blessing and the best confirmation that David and I are supposed to be in Chattanooga!

Next, David and I spent Saturday morning laying out in the pool at Becca & Keith's house. It was SOO fabulous and we are so thankful for their generosity. However, neither of us wore sunscreen and are still reaping the effects of a mere 2 hours in sunlight. My skin freaked out. After we got fried, we cleaned up and headed out. After window shopping for potential patio furniture for a long time and eating a scrumptious [and free, thanks to "entertainment shower" gift cards] meal at Olive Garden, we stopped by our house to check out the progress. Above you can see our sidewalk and the makings of 2 steps (aren't you so excited to be reading my blog about concrete?).

Garage. Duh. But, garage with driveway and driveway with retaining wall! Yipee!

Screened in porch and deck that will be 2x as long when they redo it, kindly :)

Yeah!! We love each other and our house! And, I'm so so red.

Next came Sunday, and yes, I'm still writing. You can just look at the pictures if you want to. We went to church at North Shore Fellowship and it was awesome. It's been a while (due to travel) that we've been able to worship together, and it was much needed. After church we ate lunch with a bunch of random people who were really cool. However, David and I learned that making new friends is an interesting thing and something that we need to be prepared to put some effort into. After lunch we went up to the Bryant's so I could hang out with MS and hear about her trip to Costa Rica with SCORE International. She had an amazing trip and 125 girls came to know the Lord through their soccer ministry! It was really encouraging to hear about her growth! After a while, we all piled up and headed to the lake for the afternoon! Here are some pics:

Thanks for tuning in :)

David got a JOB!!

Yeah!! David just found out that he has a job with Gordon Biersch!! I am SO proud of him and excited for him! He is starting on Monday :)

The Mystery of the Missing Laptop: Solved

It's true. The "stolen" laptop was merely hidden in the Accord. In fact, I put it there. Yep. Oops. We were packing 2 cars full of stuff and people in Birmingham and I moved it to my car to give my mom room to sit. I did tell Ashley where it was going, but as you can imagine, it got lost in the shuffle. So, just in case you were losing sleep over Ashley's missing laptop, you can rest at ease :).

So, tonight (after much deliberation... I'm such a bad decision maker) I'm going to Alex's lingerie shower! It will be a fun time to hang out with some girls, and David and I will get to hang out Saturday night and Sunday. David is going to the lake with some of his old campers (Woo), Will Bishop and Matt Pirkle, for the day on Saturday and I'm praying that it doesn't rain for a little bit so I can lay out at the pool and get some sun!!! We'll see how that goes. I'm just SO excited for a completely travel-free weekend! Get this- this is the first weekend since APRIL that I haven't had to travel! PTL for being in one place!

no more

So, Ashley's laptop is gone :(. Tuesday night as the Jenkins' household was winding down, the doorbell started ringing kind of out of control. It was a little bit disturbing, so we looked out all of the windows (for approx. 30 mins.) and called the police to just drive by and check it out. I guess we should have been more clear because that's exactly what the police officer did- drove by. Not even slowly! Anyways. We figured everything was fine and at most we might find a brown paper bag of poo on the door step in the morning. Unfortunately, the "Slow, Children Playing" sign in the yard was ripped down and thrown in the woods and Ashley's laptop is missing out of the back of her car. Granted, her car was unlocked so they didn't break anything to get in, but its gone nonetheless. So, the Jenkins (hopefully having a fabulous time despite my somewhat panicked phone calls) are at Disney and Ashley is filing a police report (from Columbus). Boo robbers.

On a lighter note, I think my blog posts are boring without some pictures. So, here are some pictures:

Me & HayHay

What the heck is wrong with my neck?
And whoa, I need a tan. Pray that it doesn't rain on Saturday so I can get one.

Is it Friday yet?

Sisterly love. I promise, that's what you're seeing here. Plus, we match. Plus, we're twins. Ok not really, but lately everyone has been thinking that we are! Isn't that strange?! I am loving having Ashley here! Please don't leave, SisterKate! She's spending time getting acquainted with Chattanooga and all of the important landmarks (particularly in relation to the wedding festivities), hanging out with her soon-to-be brother (yeah!!) and helping me think about some wedding stuff (she has a meeting with the florist at 1 today :)). Also, we got to take Ashley (and Shelby!) inside our new house last night and they were a huge help in talking through where stuff will go and what we need, need to do, etc.

Here we are standing inside the front door! Yeah!! We will live here in less than 3 weeks! Actually, I will live here. David will live with the Bryants until after the wedding. What a trooper! Though, here's a picture to demonstrate how living at the Bryants won't be half bad for him:

David (with really short hair) and Johnny boy. They love each other and love playing together. It will be fun for everyone!

PS- Just so I can vent a little... Ashley and David are spending the day picking out our new appliances, meeting with the florist, going to the mall, and picking out our towels... I am spending the day in my office. This stinks!

Another big weekend!

Well, this weekend marked the last shower (#5!), and the last weekend to travel for a while!! Friday after work I got to see Sarah who was beginning her recovery from wisdom teeth removal (ouch!), but she is a trooper! Then, David and I helped Forrest and Alex (along with the help of RayRay) begin to move into their new home!! It is so cute and it was so much fun helping them out! The five of us walked to dinner at The Pizza Place and then got dessert at an adorable little shop next door. It was such a great night! Then, Alex decided that she was too wired to go home and go to bed, so she came back to the Jenkins' and spent the night with me! We kept Shelby up way too late boring her with wedding talk and then talked for several more hours after we had gone to bed! We slept in Laney & Ellie's room with them, so we all enjoyed a full-out sleepover! It was awesome!

[I just realized you might not want to know every detail of my weekend... but oh well... this is kind of fun.] Saturday morning we got up and went to the Clothes Closet and I got a J.Crew sweater and a skirt from Target for $4 total! It was really exciting! The rest of the day was spent cleaning out, moving, and unpacking at the Walker's, which was really fun!

Sunday, I got up and headed to Birmingham! I made a stop at my house there and then met up with my family at the house Ashley is going to live in next year. It needs a lot of work, but once they get it all fixed up it's going to be awesome! After that, Ashley, Mom and I headed to Sheri's house for the shower!! It was so much fun and so nice to see my sweet friends. Here are some pictures from the day (Laine- will you email the ones from your camera??):

Ashley and Mary Beth (who came all the way from Columbus!)

Me with the "Tussie Mussie" that Judi gave me.

Pretty bowl. Fat arm. But seriously, I love the bowl.

Wonderful Birmingham friends! We've got: Ashley, Laine's (friend, co-worker at Samford, running partner, photographer extraordinaire and hostess for the shower) little head poking out, Christy Allen and Taylor, Meredith Haughton, Suzanne McAdams, Judi Aucoin, Sheri Ransome (sweet friend, boss at Samford, Nathan's mommy and hostess), Mary Beth (bridesmaid, friend from home and Samford!), me, Sharon (bridesmaid, friend from Samford), and Bonnie Hamiter.

What a wonderful blessing these people are!

We have a HOUSE!!!

Yeah!! That's right! David and I accepted the counter offer letters today and we will close on July 14! We are soo excited and relieved to have this living situation squared away! The Lord has truly blessed us and we are so thankful!

Here she is:


This is the one from the listing online... it's super fuzzy (obviously), but you get the picture.


David just sent me this one- they have added topsoil to the front yard so they can make the steps off the front porch and start paving the driveway and the sidewalk off the porch.

Stats:

• It is on Lawson Street which is so fun because one of our ring bearers (a kid I babysat) is Lawson and we love him!
• It's only 4 1/2 minutes from Amigo's (definitley a selling point).
• It is in a really great location between downtown, the foot of Signal, and the 153-Northgate area.
• 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths (and yes, this means we want guests ALL of the time!)
• front porch (obviously), back screened-in porch and back deck (but not much of a back yard at all)
• and a bunch of other details that aren't really important

It is brand new and the construction isn't finished yet, but they assure us that it will be ready for our July 14 closing! That is 3 1/2 weeks away!! Woo hoo!
David and I will be married in 52 days and living in our new house! TOGETHER!!! AH!