Life Lately

Life has been super fun lately. We went on a girls' trip to Wilderness in the Smokies (better known as WILDerness). We had an underwater camera too-can't wait to see how those pics turnout!  Imagine-water slides, goofy girls, a wave pool, and an underwater camera. Those pics will most def be hilarious!  I know I say it often, but I can't say it enough. I LOVE MY GIRLS!!!!

Lindsey loves America!

First stop:  Mexican for dinner!!  Julie, we missed you!

We swam, we laughed, we ate, we ate, we prank called Julie, and we ate some more!

Last weekend we spent lots of time with friends. What a fun weekend it was!  I got to go visit my cousin in Chattanooga and have some girl time. I rode with my aunt and let me just tell you something-we had so much fun chatting while we drove down there!  I'm so blessed to have such wonderful women in my family.  

Brandon and I got to share some meals with some of our couple friends. Lots of laughs were shared. I just love my friends and husband so much. :)

We also made it to the dog park and met mom, dad, and my brother Jared with their dogs. Needless to say, THAT was an adventure!  

Cheyenne would chase frisbees and jump in the pond all day long if she could.

THEN, there was this hilarious dog and his owner. She thought he was so naughty, and we couldn't stop giggling. 

Meet Dennis the Menace. No joke, that's the dog's name!  He was cute!  He barked at dad's scooter and slobbered on him. His owner just couldn't handle his shenanigans. Haha!  Dad loved every minute of the dog park. It was too sweet!  

Cheyenne after the dog park. It's a ruff life. (See what I did there?). Not pictured:  Coco Chanel. She was painting her paws or taking a bubble bath or something girly to pamper herself after such a traumatic experience around all those stinky dogs at the park. 

It was also Julie's birthday weekend. We started off her birthday with an afternoon workout. 

Julie and Samuel. Happy 27th, Julie!

Workout buddies!

Julie spent the remainder of her birthday at my house. We watched football, ate dinner, and relaxed together. I love my bestie so much!  She's such a blessing to my life.  

Haley and I are going swimming at the YMCA soon!  Should be an experience!

Can't wait to see her play basketball this weekend!  She just doesn't understand why I'm not very good at basketball. What she doesn't know, is that in my short two years of rec league basketball, I never scored a basket!  Ever!  Needless to say, I just stuck with cheer and dance. 

Until next time, stay warm!  I don't know about anyone else, but I'm ready for warm weather and a tan!

Coco is ready for the lake too!

In honor of Alice.

Last week wasn't the greatest. My sweet Aunt Alice battled ovarian cancer for five years and she passed away early Monday morning.  I had hoped to go see her Monday afternoon, but she just didn't hang on that long. A friend of mine was so encouraging this week by saying, "God knew your heart. Perhaps he didn't want your last moments with her when she was suffering. Remember all of the lovely times you had together instead."  What an uplifting thought. She's right, you know. For I turn into somewhat of a basket case in situations as these.  Had I made it there on Monday, I would've been a hot mess. 

Aunt Alice. She was so beautiful inside and out. 

We grew up going to "Aunt Alice and Uncle Randy's" often. They lived on the lake on a houseboat. A floating house. On the lake. What's more fun than that?!  They had jet skis, paddle boats, canoes, water bicycles, and the list goes on. I had many birthday parties there. My cousins and I used to play barbies for hours at that house. I learned how to do a flip off the roof into the lake too. One summer, my aunt paid me to come and dust all of Uncle Randy's memorabilia/model cars/figurines. He had so many that the top of every cabinet was full of his stuff. Aunt Alice is the one that taught me how to paddle in a canoe. She taught me that in the summer, there was no need for a shower. A quick dip in the lake with a bar of soap and bottle of shampoo would suffice. 

They later moved on from the lake house to a house in Knoxville. Of course, they still had a pool. One must be able to catch some rays somehow, right?  I have many fond memories of enjoying time by the pool with her, family, and friends. They later moved to another house out in Corryton. The house in which she and my uncle cared for my sweet grandmother until she passed away. Alice was a hospice nurse by day, then came home to care for my grandmother daily once she couldn't live on her own in her apartment anymore. She was so selfless. I think what resounds the most are the afternoons and evenings I spent with my grandmother over there until Alice would come home. We would share meals together often, laughing and playing cards until my uncle came home from work. She also was generous enough to host a wedding shower for me at her home a few years ago.  And somehow, no matter what the occasion, there was some kind of ice cream in the freezer. 

Alice was a fighter. She loved life. She was a busy-body.  She was active. She was a grandmother.  A mother. An aunt. A wife. She taught me what marriage looked like. She was compassionate. She was spunky. She was late often. She was a bad driver (like me, according to Brandon). She was fun. Charismatic. Caring. A sister in Christ. She took in her patients' animals when they passed away. One was a blind poodle. Another time she took in two ferrel cats. Whenever she was around, everyone was sure to have a good laugh and see her smiling. 

I'm going to be completely honest. This week has sucked. I've been in the ugliest of moods.  Not only did my aunt pass away, but I have a few friends dealing with their own struggles and hurting too. Haley moved out to Mascot too, so until they're back in Knoxville, being able to hang out will be much more difficult. Thankfully, my sweet husband has been there everyday for me. I don't deserve him. I really don't. We have been through so much together. Although we've been married a year and a half, we've been together for almost a decade. We've been through several family and friends' deaths. New life. Dad's stroke. Remodeling a house. Wedded bliss. Crazy new puppy antics. Vacations. The list goes on.  And through it all, I cannot think of a single person I'd rather do life with. He's absolutely amazing. For better or for worse.  In sickness and in health. Til death do us part. 

Wearing blue, in honor of Aunt Alice's battle with ovarian cancer. I love him. :)

Happy 2014!!

The past few weeks have FLOWN by! My sister-in-law, Hannah, graduated from UT. Our Aunt Carolyn came in from Texas-she is so much fun! When she's around, there's NEVER a dull moment. We're always busy doing something or going and eating treats somewhere. We managed to squeeze a Dollywood trip in while she was here. Lots of laughs and memories were shared during the week she was here. One of my favorite nights was a night we went to my grandmother's house to enjoy some dinner. We all just sat around the table telling old stories, laughing, and crying together. Here are a few pics we managed to take while she was here.

Dollywood fun!

More Dollywood!

We celebrated Aunt Carolyn's birthday the day before she left. 

A few weekends ago, Brandon and I took the dogs for a little walk through the Fourth and Gill neighborhood. (Historic old old homes in North Knoxville) It was hilarious because the girls still don't LOVE walking together. Coco might be a little snobby. It was so nice to walk through the neighborhood and check out all the old homes to get some ideas for the big remodel that Brandon is tackling at my parents' home. I also enjoyed exercising together and laughing about life. I just love my husband. :)

Christmas was a fun few days of eating, visiting family, baking, and eating some more! Last year we celebrated Christmas at our current house, but moved in on Christmas Eve. (I know, we are CRAY CRAY!!) Anyways, we didn't have time to put up a tree or anything, so it was Christmas, but just wasn't Christmas-y since we were missing a tree and the holiday baking (we didn't have countertops or a sink when we moved in...we were a little antsy to move!) This year was so NICE! Brandon and I got to sleep in and enjoy the morning together. Although, he was kind of sick on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, so that was no fun for him. We used the other time we had off of work to just be lazy and rest up. Sometimes you just need a day to do nothing. So that's what we did last weekend. It was glorious! We're suckers for Netflix and Tv on DVD, so we caught up on a few of our favs.

My brother-in-law, Drew, modeling his tacky Christmas sweater. 

Myself and my sweet niece, Taylin. She's a cutie!

I was blessed enough to go to Dollywood a few more times in the last few weeks. One trip was with Julie. We had so much fun!!! Lots of laughs were shared. The next trip was with Haley, Doug, and Toni. I was a little apprehensive, because I had no idea if Haley would like DW or want to do the roller coasters. Ya'll. She. had. a. blast. Here are a few pics of us, thanks to Doug. He LOOOOVES taking pics to document life. Thanks, Doug!

Dollywood with friends. 

New Years' was fun. We celebrated with some friends. I got to see these beauties. I just love their souls.

Emaleigh and me. 

Lindsey and me. 

Me, Linds, Jess, and Marna

I also made some of these delicious cinnamon rolls. Shout out to Liz, my co-worker, that gave me the recipe. If ya'll like cinnamon, butter, and a little cream cheese icing, holla!!! I've got the recipe here for all my baking friends.

Clone of a Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough:
1 c warm milk (110 degrees)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 c butter, melted

4 1/2 c AP flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 c white sugar

2 1/2 tsp yeast (or 1 pkg yeast)

Cinnamon filling:
3/4 c brown sugar, packed 

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/3 c butter, melted 

Cream cheese frosting:

1 (3 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/4 c butter, softened

1 1/2 c confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Mix dough ingredients in stand mixer with dough hook for ten minutes. Let dough rise for 45 minutes to one hour. (My girl Liz suggests that you preheat your oven to its lowest temp, then turn it off prior to putting your dough in to rise.)

2. Mix cinnamon filling and set aside. Take dough out and roll flat onto a floured surface. Spread cinnamon mixture onto flattened dough. Roll up dough longways and slice into 12 rolls. 

3. Place rolls in a glass dish and put back in oven for 30 - 45 minutes or until doubled in size.  Bake rolls at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil to avoid burning and bake another 10 - 15 minutes or until center roll is approximately 180 degrees. While rolls are baking, beat cream cheese frosting together and spread on warm rolls prior to serving. 

Seriously. These suckers won't be in the pan long. Share with your friends. They'll love you even more than they do now.

The other day, Brandon mentioned something about how old I'll be turning this year. 27!!! Whoa baby, next stop is the big 3-0! Its funny how when you're a child, you can't WAIT for your birthday and then once you hit 23 or 24, you're like, whoa life, slow down!!! 2013 was SUCH a fun year. We've almost finished remodeling our current home. We've begun remodeling at my parents' home. (When I say "we", I mean Brandon remodels, and I pick up lunch. I help when I can. I'm just not very handy. At all. I try, so that counts for something, right?) Friends had babies. People graduated high school and college. Our marriage has grown. We've celebrated our first wedding anniversary. I've found a new love of cooking. Brandon has found a love of doing woodwork. We grew another year older together. We got a puppy-we're a family of four now, peeps! We've welcomed a new child into our lives. I cannot begin to share how much Haley has touched my heart and she just loves to hang out with Brandon when he tags along. I began a new job and passed my certification test. Brandon's business grew. We learned the joy of blessing others together, as a couple. And God has blessed us more than we could even imagine.

I am so very excited to see what 2014 will bring! More babies, more marriages between some sweet friends, and many more exciting events! I hope to cherish everyday, since, hey, I'll only be 26 a little while longer! One of the first events of 2014? WILDerness in the Smokies with my girls!!!! Every girl needs a good set of girlfriends, and I am so blessed to say that mine are the BEST! I've known these girls since we were practically babes. We all cheered together through Baby Bobcats, middle school, and high school. I am so pumped to laugh, swim, laugh, snack, and laugh some more at the indoor waterpark!!! Julie usually comes too, but the holidays fell weird this year so she'll be missing it. However, she's going on a cruise in a few weeks so she has plenty to celebrate! Lucky her!

Going forward, I hope everyone has a wonderful 2014. Remember to always enjoy the moment, because before you know it, you'll be turning another year older wondering where the year went. Oh, and PLEASE wash your hands. The flu is TERRIBLE this year. I've had several friends and their family members get sick in the last few weeks. For the sake of everyone, wash your hands and clorox everything you touch!

It snowed tonight on our way home from dinner. If y'all haven't tried it, Starbuck's salted caramel hot chocolate is like heaven in a cup. Yummmm