A day out with the niece...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Today we took Katie Anne out for the morning at a place called Bounce N' Beans. We had a GREAT time! She is so much fun and we are sooo glad we got the chance to take her out and hang out with her! After playing hard for a while we went to eat at CFA for some yummy nuggets and fruit =) We hope to do this again soon because we both (and hopefully her too) had such a fun time! We both said we can't wait to do stuff like this with our own kids (in several years)! Thanks for letting us have some special time with her Katie and Saunders!!

Better late than never...

Birthday Leprechaun

So...I'm a little late on posting this BUT on St. Patrick's Day we celebrated Greg's dad's birthday (even though his bday his only 4 days after mine...but, again, better late than never)! We all dressed in green (duh) and had a ufn time eating some very delicious food and telling all about our Italy trip! Cindy had the house decorated for the double celebration (St. Patty's and TD's bday). After dinner and gifts we moved into the living room to show some Italy pics before all heading home. Cindy also surprised the rest of us girls with new purses (which I have put to good use, it's now my school bag)! We had a really great time seeing everyone after being gone for a while and catching up! I hope Thomas had a great birthday!!

Traveling Leprechauns

Queen Leprechaun


Princess Leprechaun


Gangsta Leprechaun


And the wee lil leprechaun

Still alive...

I'm still here and I need to do a post on Thomas' birthday (I would now but my camera is in the car) and I have to leave in a few. Last week was insanely busy and this week is just as crazy! I have SOOO much going on with school right now that I'm about to lose my mind trying to keep up with everything that is due! However, the semester is coming to an end soon thank goodness! I register for summer classes on Thursday for another crazy summer schedule and then for my fall classes on the 1st. Fall will be my last semester before TOSS! Which means I'm getting soooo close to be finished and I CANNOT WAIT!!! But anyhoo, sorry this is so short and picture-less. I am off to keep Karis and Laurel!

Some pics of Italy...

We had an incredible time in Italy! It was an awesome honeymoon and I am SOOO glad we got to experience such a historical city together! We had a fantastic time just walking the city streets and exploring Rome together. We loved not having any set agenda and being on our own time and not having to watch the clock or be anywhere...it was just us, doing whatever we wanted with no obligations and it was AWESOME! The city and the food were not what we expected but we still had an amazing time because we were doing what we love most, spending time together! I just loved being at such historically significant sites and looking over at Greg and thinking about what an incredible experience to share! We both are sooo glad we took this opportunity while we are still young and don't have kids yet because it is definitely not a city for kids (not to mention the 11 and half hour plane ride)! We really enjoyed our time together and here are some more pictures from the trip...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Finally Home...

Well, we got an extra day in Italy! This must just be the month for bad flight experiences (Leah and Kyle have had terrible experiences in the past few weeks too)...however, after finally being able to get on the plane, it was AWESOME! Here's what happened, we got to the airport on Saturday morning at 6:30am for our 8:50 am flight. We were at our gate and they make an announcement that we are going to board in 10 minutes. Well, 5 mins later an announcement is made that the flight is delayed until 9:30 and we will board at 9:10. At 9:25 an announcement is made that the flight is delayed until 10:30...later it was delayed until 12:30....then finally cancelled. The plane was apparently having technical difficulties and they had to fly a mechanic and an inspector from the states to come look at it. Awesome. Like I want to be on THAT plane! So they tell us that Delta is putting us in a hotel for the night and will cover all of our meals and that our flight is rescheduled for 8am Sunday morning. As we are lining up to follow the attendant to baggage claim to pick up our stuff and head to the shuttle that is taking us to the hotel, an announcement is made that our 8am flight as been delayed until 12pm. Awesome. So we get to the hotel that is in the middle of Rome's residential area aka ghetto, and just stayed put in the hotel all night. Well there were poster's put up all around the hotel saying that a shuttle would pick us up at 8am and at 9am to take us to the airport for our 12pm flight. Well, Greg and I decided to get some coffee in the lounge and overheard someone saying that they were going to be in the lobby ready to go at 6am. Hmm. So we asked why so early, and they said because they were going to try to make an earlier flight. Well, we went back to our room and signed on to the internet to check our itinerary and noticed that there wasn't even a scheduled flight for 12pm on Sunday, there was an 8am and an 8:50am flight. So we called Delta and got our flight switched to the 8:50 flight so we wouldn't end up on the messed up plane. We got booked on that flight ANNNNNNND got upgraded to first class!! It was AWESOME!!! It made an 11 and a half hour flight a breeze!! We were also very glad we switched because that other plane kept getting delayed and they did not take off until 4pm yesterday! I'm just glad we didn't have any connecting flights! But all that aside, we are very glad to be home and we were SOOO happy to see our puppies =) I'll write more about what we thought about Italy later...this is long enough AND I have midterm at 2 that I have yet to study for..oops =)

Italy: Day 7, Last day...

Today was our last full day in Rome =( We are sad to be leaving but very happy to be going home as well! We got an earlier start than usual this morning so we could fit what we wanted to into the day. We started with breakfast and then went to a church nearby that we were looking for because of a famous statue that is inside that Greg read about in Dan Brown's, "Angels and Demons." Next we headed to the Pantheon so that we could see inside (the other night it was closed). Then we went to the most famous gelateria in Rome for one last gelato experience near the Trevi Fountain. After that we went back to Vatican City to find another monument from the book Greg read. We shopped a little on our way back across the river and stopped for lunch at the best place we've eaten all week where Greg had the penne carbonara and I had orrechiette arrabiatta. They were both really yummy! On the way back to the hotel we went back by the Spanish Steps to look around and went by a few more shops before getting back to the room. We put all our stuff up and then went to dinner at a restaurant near the restaurant we went to on our first night. I had pizza and Greg had a calzoni and we both had the wine (as with every other meal we've had...it's the same price as water lol). We stopped for our last italian coffee and dessert on the way back to the hotel to finish packing. We had such a nice day and night and it was the perfect last tour of Rome =)

Me inside the Pantheon

Greg in front of one of the churches

Italy: Day 6...

Yesterday we went to Florence for the day. It was a 3 hour bus ride through the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Our first stop on our walking tour was to see the Statue of David. It was very impressive, but sadly we were not allowed to take pictures! We only stayed a short time at the gallery and left to see the third largest cathedrals in the world. It was very ornately decorated on the outside but very plain on the inside, which was very odd. In Rome, most of the cathedrals are modestly decorated on the outside and VERY ornate on the inside. After walking to a few of the main squares we stopped with the group for lunch. We had spaghetti and some sort of meat dish. Aftwards we had an hour to walk around on our own. We were somewhat unimpressed by Florence as well. We enjoyed seeing it however, I don't think it was what we expected. However, we stayed pretty close to the area we were supposed to meet our guide so maybe we didn't get to see "Florence." We had a good time walking around together! We got back on the bus and headed back to Rome where we got off at the Trevi for dinner. One thing we have noticed about are eating experiences is that the service is terrible and apparently the only people it annoys are the tourists. After dinner we got some gelato for our walk back to the hotel =)

Us in front of the Town Hall


In front of the church where Galileo Galilei is buried

Us in front of the main river in Florence

Italy: Day 5...(PICS)

Today was our lazy day! We woke up at 7:30 to go eat breakfast in the hotel cafe and then went back to the room to sleep in. We woke up around noon and took showers and went to grab some lunch and the cute cafe we found last night. We both ordered pizza and I'm sure they thought we were fools because they brought us out two big pizzas lol! So we boxed some it up and took it back to the room. We walked around and window shopped some and then went back to the hotel to rest and watch TV/read. Then we went to see the capitol building but this crazy rain storm came and literally turned the city black in about 20mins....it was crazy! And in case you didn't know, in the recent years I have developed some sort of crazy phobia of storms so I of course began to panic and wanted to find shelter, so we went in to the same cafe we ate lunch in and had dinner. This turned out to be quite entertaining! There were about 10 Englishmen in there who came in right as we did. This one guy (the leader of the pack) who was 54 (we were told this repeatedly) talked to us the entire time we ate and bought us drinks haha! He was hilarious and I think he was permanently drunk lol...but very nice and funny! It's very interesting to hear what people from other countries think of Americans and what's going on with our economy! After chatting for a bit and letting the rain pass, we left and went to another cafe for dessert and coffee! Now we are back at the hotel, Greg is reading and I am blogging before bed. We have another early morning tomorrow because we are going to Florence (for real this time)! We are very excited about it and are glad that it is supposed to be nice weather!

PS- My last post was my 100th post. Apparently when you have your 100th post you are supposed to write 100 interesting things about you...so when I get home I will try to do that (I'll break up into 25 things at a time like Leah did so ya don't get bored...and it will be about me AND Greg)....so be looking out for them =) However, I did 25 facts recently and I had a hard time coming up with 25....I dunno if I can think of 100!



Me with the pizza not meant for one





Gregory with his caffelatte



all the sugar we needed to be able to drink our coffee =)...It's rather strong!




The sky when the crazy rain clouds were rolling in

Italy: Day 4...(PICS)

Well, we got the the tour station this morning ready to leave for florence and then realized... today we were going to Naples and Pompeii...THURSDAY is Florence! Oops! We had a great time visiting the ruins of Pompeii. It was incredible seeing all of the things restored and the remains of the buildings after such a tragic even but also just seeing things after ALL this time! It was really neat! We were not very impressed with Naples, it was very dirty and there wasn't much to see so we weren't upset that we only stayed for less than an hour. After the 3 hour bus ride back to Rome, we headed towards the Trevvi Fountain to get dinner and then go the Gelateria we really like. On our walk to the hotel we stopped in a really cute cafe for cappuchino's and to watch futbol (soccer) with the locals. Tomorrow we plan on sleeping in and having another fun day in Rome!

Me in front of some of the ruins

Greg with "New Pompeii" behind him

Us =)

Ruins with Mount Vesuvius behind it

Italy: Day 3...(one PIC)

I don't have much time to write this because we are getting ready to leave for the bus to Florence in a few but yesterday was another fun but long day! We went to the Sistine Chapel and were both amazed by everything in there! The history is incomprehensible! It was so incredibly beautiful! We ate at a cafe outside of the Vatican and had our first pizza..MMMmm!! We walked back to catch a bus to the Colosseum and got there just after sunset to take some pics..it was gorgeous! We went on our first day but of course lost the pics, so I was glad to get some when it was so pretty out! We had a great dinner at this outside restaurant on "Piazza Barbarini" which is one of the best shopping areas in Rome...it was soo yummy! Well, it's about 5:30am, we are leaving in a few minutes but I'm not sure how we are going to make it...we are both zombies at the moment =) But we can't wait for the beautiful Florence!!

Italy: Day 2...

Yesterday was a fun, loooong, exhausting day of walking and sightseeing! We went back to several of the sights we went to on the first day so that we could take the pictures that were erased from Day 1. We literally walked ALL over Rome! We had a great time though and enjoyed the beauty of the city and each other's company! We went to Vatican City and sat in on a mass in St. Peter's Basilica and saw the tomb of Apostle Peter which was pretty amazing! We after dinner we walked all over looking for a cannoli, we finally found them in a cafe near our hotel so we stopped for dessert and coffee...in retrospect we should have skipped the coffee. It is VERY strong here and we went to sleep and then woke up at 1am and were up until almost 4!! This mornin we got up and ate breakfast in the hotel cafe, where Greg set a croissant on fire...literally, it went up in flames. It was HILARIOUS!!! But don't worry, we didn't burn the hotel down =) After breakfast we went back to sleep for a bit and are now on our way to catch the bus for a hop on hop off tour to head to the Colosseum and other sites that we didn't get to yesterday! I'm going to try agai with adding a few pics from yesterday...see you soon!

PS_ A funny story from our first day, we stopped to eat in this small family owned restaurant and these two American women walked in after us. I heard them talking while Greg was in teh restroom and asked where they were from...GREENSBORO, NC...how crazy?! AND they had friends in Kennesaw...what a small world!!!

Greg over looking Rome

Me on a bridge in front of Vatican City

Us in front of the Trevvi Fountain

The Vatican...Beautiful!

Italy: Day 1...

Hello from Rome! We got in yesterday around 8am (2am US time) and were exhausted! We took about a 3 hour nap and were on hour way to explore the city! Rome is unbelievably beautiful! I really can't describe it! We were nervous at first and are getting more comfortable, but it is a HUGE city and the Americans definitely stand out. We went to the Colosseum on our own and walked around a few areas but we also took an illuminated tour of Rome and stopped at the Trevvi Fountain last night. Before the tour we ate our first Italian meal...and nobody's lying when they say the food is exceptional! It was SO good! We both got the Fettucine Alfredo (surprise lol) and it was DELISH! However, I've found probably my favorite part of Italy so far...the gelati (gelato in US). Oh. My. Gosh. SOOOO good! I had two cones yesterday and am already planning my flavors for today...it's that good =) After struggling to keep our eyes open on the tour, we came back to the hotel and past out on our super comfy bed (that last part is a lie, but we were so tired we didn't care...the bed is VERY firm)! This morning we slept in until 9:30, went to get breakfast in our hotel's dining area (sooo yummy) and then came back and went back to bed. It's 12 pm and Greg is still asleep HAHA (but in his defense, it's only 6am US time)! But we're about to start getting up and going and we are going to visit Vatican City today. We are having an awesome time! I am going to try to post a few pics (it wouldn't let me before), but we took over 200 yesterday =).....****This last part is a lie. We loaded all the pics on to the comp and then it crashed...therefore, we lost ALL the pics from our first day in Rome...AWESOME! So, today(I'm writing this on Sunday) we "recreated" most of yesterday and took new pics...Ooops!! So we'll wait to post pics when we get home!****

AMMMMAZING...

I don't even have words to describe how awesome this concert was!!! But it was AWWWWESOOOME!

And now we are OFF TO ITALY!!!

Can't let go...

Of my youth...

For Christmas, Greg got me tickets to go see Britney Spears in concert!! I was/am SOOOOOO excited! Sure she's gone off the deep end...a few times...but the above image is the Britney I danced to in our living room in 5th grade when "Baby One More Time" came out and that is the Britney I will always remember! I went to her first concert tour and am now going to probably (who knows) her last concert tour and I am STOKED! I am sooo gonna be re-live my 6th grade year at this concert! But anyhoo...tonight is the concert and tomorrow...

We leave for ITALY!!! We are SOOOOO excited!!! We are just about finished packing and ready to go! I have an 8am class in the morning where I have to go and take a test and then we are off ot the airport! Wish us luck and pray for a safe trip and nice weather =)

My Album cover...

Katie tagged me on Facebook to do this...fun! Click here for instructions on her page and enjoy creating your own album...