Photo Friday...

The boys in their Halloween costumes =)

Our Cruise...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well...we are home! Needless to say, this vacation was amazing!! We had such an incredible time together doing absolutely nothing! It was actually really hard for us to do nothing and try and relax...but we eventually got over that =) We had so much fun enjoying all the neat things the ship and the ports of call had to offer.

Some of the highlights from the ship: walking around together and exploring all around it, sitting in the hot tub on the main deck watching movies on the big screen, playing giant chess while watching football on the big screen, getting to sleep in every morning, the delicious food (calories were OUT THE WINDOW on this vacation and it was FANTASTIC), the shows in the main theater, going to watch karaoke and laugh our heads off (we hid it well...no one was embarrassed...at least not by us lol), watching the couples compete in the Marriage Show (sooo funny), trying our luck in the casino and Greg winning $50, having dinner with Ruthy and Jose each night (our table mates form Puerto Rico...Ruthy is a 3rd time breast cancer survivor and very interesting woman. On the second night they brought us an ornament that said "Our First Anniversary, Carnival Freedom 10-18-09" and had the servers sing "Happy Anniversary" to us...sooo sweet), getting to hang out together with no interruptions (i.e. cellphones, computers, tv's, etc), and much much more!

Some Highlights of our stops:
Key West: This was a cute town with a lot of character. We wish we had more time to walk around here! We walked the main shopping districts and stopped at Jimmy Buffet's Maragritaville for an appetizer and drinks. It was beautiful weather and so much fun walking around!

Grand Cayman: We were supposed to go snorkeling here but a storm came in and it got rained out. However, we still had a good time seeing bits of the island and scrambling to stay dry =)

Jamaica: This was one of our favorite days. The weather was beautiful and so was the island. We went to Dunn's River Falls to walk up the falls together. It was amazingly beautiful. We took a waterproof disposable camera and they came out a bit blurry but the picture do not give this place justice. It was gorgeous! The water was freezing cold but it felt nice compared to the hot, humid air. We shopped around a bit before heading back to the ship.

I am so glad that we were able to have this time together!! This was a wonderful vacation and on of the best anniversary surprises ever!

Early Anniversary Surprise...

A few weeks ago we made a promise that we would NOT get each other anniversary gifts, the cruise was a gift for the both of us. However, I still wanted to get him a little something because after all, he planned the cruise! So, apparently, for your first anniversary you're supposed to give paper but I couldn't think of a book Greg wants so I bought him Season 2 of "Dexter" (this crazy show that we've become absolutely addicted too). So when Greg came in from mowing the grass I add a surprise bag for him said that since we promised not to give anniversary gifts, I wanted to give him a "just because" present. He was very happy because he really wanted this Season! After a few minutes he says, "So, I guess I should give you the gift I got for you too?" LOL! We are both TERRIBLE at surprises! But anyway...here are a few pics from the exchange...

Greg with his new Dexter Season 2 DVD

Me after I opened my eyes (he made me close them and hold out my hands)

Opening the surprise...

SURPRISE!!! Beautiful diamond earrings to go with the diamond necklace he gave me on our wedding day!!

Is he not INCREDIBLE!!! And yes, I did feel like crap because his gift was 100000x better but I'm used to that by now lol! I am so lucky and blessed to have such an awesome husband!!! (however, gifts are not what makes him awesome....he just is)

Tomorrow we will be leaving for our anniversary cruise! We CANNOT WAIT!!! I won't have a chance to blog until we get back, so be on the look out for picture overload next weekend!!

Joy's Bday...

The Mays

Last night we celebrated our friend Joy's birthday that was last week. Jeremy surprised her with the whole thing! She was so happy and surprised when she got to the restaurant and then saw the rest of us there. We ate at Maggiano's which was FANTASTIC as usual! I got the eggplant parm with whole wheat penne and marinara, and Greg got the Rigatoni "D" which was very tasty as well! We had such a great time talking and laughing and eating! After dinner we headed next door for dessert...MMmm! What a great way to top a fun night!

Kelly and Paul (Joy's Sororiety Sister)

The Glawsons =)

Me and my Red Delicious Apple Martini...which was both red AND delicious =)

Where we went for dessert...our favorite!!

Karis' 3rd Birthday...

Yesterday Karis turned 3! It's so hard to believe! She is at one of the best ages ever and I am so incredibly lucky to still be her nanny! Since her parents had a church meeting in the morning, I got to take the girls to Monkey Joe's, where we met up with Amy (a friend who also nannies) and the twin 18-month-olds that she keeps, and her sister Danielle with the 3 yr-old and 14-month old that she keeps. We all had fun chasing after the little ones but it was SO crowded so we stayed for about an hour and half and then headed over to chik-fil-a for lunch with everyone! Karis and the twins had a fun time playing on the indoor playset there too! Everyone was worn out by the time we made it home...including Laurel, who fell asleep walking to the car in the parking lot at CFA. It was a fun morning out and I am sure Karis had a fun 3rd birthday with a full day of celebration! Happy 3rd birthday Karis!!

The first craft from the craft crate!

Pretty Laurel ready for Monkey Joe's

Karis flying down the slide

Me and Laurel hanging out =)

Me and Karis...this is her new smile for pictures, CHEEESE =)

Here's a better example of it =) What a silly 3 yr old!

A Fun Gift....

Karis' 3rd birthday is Saturday and I usually get her clothes...you all know I'm obsessed with buying little girl clothes! Maybe it's because I nanny for mostly girls, maybe because I have two neices or perhaps it's because in my gut I feel like I'll end up with all boys...who knows haha. Anyhoo, Karis is so into making crafts now so I wanted to get her something artsy. So, I thought I would just buy a few craft making materials and put it in her own special box! She has tons of crayons and markers and coloring books and all sorts of other stuff at home, so I wanted to put in a few new things to play and create with. I thought this was a cute kid gift that's easy and something they would enjoy (well, at least I hope) so I wanted to share!

Happy 29th Saunders...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

On Sunday we celebrated Saunders' 29th birthday (which is actually tomorrow) at P.F. Changs. We had never been there before so it was nice to try something new and so delicious! I got the Kung Pao Chicken and Greg got the Sesame Chicken which were both so yummy...they also made great leftovers! My favorite part was the tiny desserts that they had to choose from...I got the s'mores and it was SO good! Saunders got lots of fun gifts: several new Wii items, a new Wii sports game, a bottle of Gentleman Jack, new shirts, and some money! I hope he enjoyed his birthday dinner with everyone!! Happy 29th Saunders!!

Our new favorite restaurant...

Last night while driving around Barrett trying to decide where we wanted to eat, Greg turned around and hopped on 75-S and said he had decided where we were going and I would find out when I got there. We have been wanting to try Chow Baby for a long time now and just never got around to it, but man were we missing out! It is AWESOME! It's a stir-fry bar and when you are seated you are given a small paddle to write your name on and you take it up to the bar and take a black bowl and fill it with either noodles or rice and all the veggies and sauce you want. They have all the nutritional info. for the sauces on a wall, which I LOVED! Then you get a red bowl and fill it with all the meat you want (chicken, beef, calamari, tilapia, and scallops) and whatever spices you want, then they have these colored sticks that you stick in your bowl if you want a wrap made out of your creation, or soup, or bread, or if you want them to add shrimp, etc...then you place your paddle in your bowl and your bowls on the counter and go back to your table. They cook up your creation then bring it to you. It was SOOO yummy! I want to go back and re-create mine, but maybe a bit less spicy...it took my head off! I got brown rice, bean sprouts, cabbage, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, broccoli, peas, eggplant, garlic, chicken, scallops, and calamari with kungpao sauce and teryaki sauce and a comination of spices (obviously too hot lol). Greg's was similar minus some of the veggies and he got noodles instead of rice and chicken and beef instead of seafood. I didn't have my camera with me but Greg took some with his iPhone but it was kind of dark in there so they didn't turn out great...

Me with my Coco-Pina Margarita...it was worth the empty calories...MMmm

Me looking like a hot mess with my yummy meal

Greg with his creation...

Greg's plate afterward...it was good =)

Needless to say, we will definitely be going back!!!

Sunny Saturday...

Yesterday was so incredibly beautiful and we wanted to take advantage of the awesome weather, so we took the Jackson and Chance to the dog park. There is this huge park about 5 minutes from our house that has the most awesome playgrounds (one for 5 and under and one for 5 and up), a skate park, 2 dog parks (one for dogs under 30lbs, the other for bigger dogs), a huge track, a gigantic lawn to picnic or play games, and tons of walking trails. It was crowded but nice to see all the families having fun together! We were nervous about taking the boys to the park because they're hardly around other dogs and the ones they are (like the Jack Russells next door) they try to terrorize and have a bark-off at the fence every day. However, they did GREAT! They were SOO happy to be there! They were friendly to everyone, never barked (which is a shocker with Chance), played nicely with the other dogs, and wore themselves completely out! We stayed for a good bit just to let them run around and enjoy that large area and for us to enjoy the weather as well. After that we took two very tired pups home and so I could go run some errands and Greg could watch the UGA game. Then we went out for a FANTASTIC dinner...but it deserves it's own post so that will be up in a bit! Here are some pics of yesterday's fun...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Words of Wisdom...

Where was this song ten years ago?! Every time I hear this song I tear up because of the beautiful lyrics that are so incredibly true, that I would aim to say all women can relate to! For those of you with daughters...pass it on, I certainly hope to one day!

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true
And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you
There could never be, a more beautiful you.