A "Magical" past few days!

We have had a whirlwind, but very FUN long weekend! On Saturday we watched the Gooding Class of 2011 graduate. During graduation, Wesley received a scholarship! It was a scholarship that is given to the "most outstanding junior." It was a wonderful surprise. Wesley was so honored, and we were both thrilled! It will only pay a fraction of his tuition, but that is just a little bit sooner we will be able to pay off student loans! We are counting down until this time next year when Wesley will graduate too!

How did we celebrate the scholarship?? We went to DISNEY WORLD! Actually the trip with my family had been planned for months, but it was perfect timing to leave right after Wesley got the scholarship! It was Wesley's first trip to Disney, so we wanted to make sure he saw all of the parks while we were there! We all had a wonderful time at the parks during the day, and then my dad treated us all to nice dinners at night. My computer is not letting me upload pictures to blogger right now....it may be a good thing because I took over 350! My parents gave us a new camera for Christmas, and we got to open it when we got to Orlando. I think I captured every single second! I'll try to upload JUST A FEW pics again later! There are a lot on facebook already.

COUNTDOWN!

The countdown is officially on! Wesley graduates CRNA school in one year from TODAY! December 15, 2012!

26th Birthday!

I have definitely felt LOVED and CELEBRATED today and this past weekend! Thank you all for the phone calls, text messages, cards in the mail, voicemail, facebook posts, etc! It has been a great birthday!

Welsey took me out to celebrate this past Friday night. We had dinner at Bonefish, which is one of my favorite places to eat! Then on Saturday we also went out for breakfast (which is something that we NEVER do unless we are on vacation)!

Saturday night we helped host a baby shower that was given in honor of a couple who is expecting their first baby. Hayden is in the CRNA school class above Wesley. I made these baby cupcakes that I found on Pinterest!


Sunday night we went to dinner with Nick, Joy, and Jillian and then went to the Christmas program at church. We were all impressed with the caliber of the show. They used all sorts of lights and lasers. Not at all what I was expecting since we don't go to a huge church!

Then tonight was our Sunday school class Christmas party! We all brought a dish. I made twice baked potato casserole which was a success....again, thank you, Pinterest!

We had a lot of fun playing games. Cami, who I have named our "Class President" came up with games that were inspired from the TV show Minute to Win-It! They were all pretty funny! Then we played a Christmas trivia game and exchanged Secret Santa gifts. We are so thankful that we have found this Sunday School class!







We are going to celebrate my birthday with my family when we all get to Orlando this weekend! Can't wait to be in Disney World during Christmastime...especially since it will be Wesley's first trip to Disney!

A Thankful November!

We have had a wonderful past few weeks and have had so much to be thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving this past week. At the beginning of the month, we went to Dothan with our friends Nick, Joy, and Jillian for the Peanut Festival! I had not been since sophomore year of college, so it was a lot of fun to be back. Wesley rode a Ferris wheel for the very first time! Jillian had the best seat in the house for the Demolition Derby, but she wasn't exactly sure what to think about the Ferris wheel. Her facial expression cracked us up...but she finally started enjoying it after a few times around!



While we were in Dothan we also got to celebrate Amy's 28th birthday with her!

The next weekend, Wesley and I went to Montevallo to visit his mom's mom, "Nanny" and her husband Jim. Jim used to be the Dean of Students at the University of Montevallo . They recently named their new student union after him. We were not able to be there for the ribbon cutting ceremony, so we were excited to see the building that they named after him while we were in town. The inside has recently been renovated and is so nice. We all enjoyed the window box filled with pictures of Jim during his time as Dean.




This year we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving in Dothan with my family. My mom's twin brother and his family joined us. The guys shot skeet and rode 4-wheelers, we played games, and ate a ton of yummy food! I was especially glad to be there since I had to work last Thanksgiving.

It's been a wonderful month, and we have so much to be thankful for!

The Loveliest Village on the Plains!

We had the best time in Auburn this weekend! It was so great pulling off of the interstate on Exit 51 and being in Auburn City limits. I don't think we realize just how much we miss Auburn until we go back!

This was our first trip back to Auburn in a year and it was LONG overdue! On Friday night we went to dinner with our good friends, Anthony and Kelly Cain. Wesley had been craving Niffer's for months now, so we didn't have trouble deciding on a place to eat! On Saturday we spent the morning with the Gilmore's and Wesley got to meet Ali for the first time. I got to meet her right after she was born- when she was still in the NICU at UAB. She just celebrated her first birthday earlier this month! We brought her a cookie jar toy to celebrate! Wesley read her a book while we were there! She is at such a fun age! We could have spent the whole day just playing her!




We spent Saturday afternoon tailgating with friends, and got to see some former co-workers as well! It was so much fun to get to catch up with friends that we don't get to see much anymore!






It was especially exciting to get to see Lindsay and celebrate her engagement with her! She and Jake got engaged the night before...or should I say earlier that morning. Lindsay was absolutely beaming with excitement! I couldn't be any happier for her and cannot wait for the wedding festivities to begin!


(Yes, her ring is on the wrong hand...her left hand was swollen because she slept on it wrong...but that ring is too beautiful not to be wearing!!!)

We went to the game after a fun day of tailgating and Auburn pulled off another win against Ole Miss! We got to sit with Julie and Shipley the first half and then met up with Kelly and Anthony for the second half! We feel so blessed to have such sweet friends and to have had such a perfect weekend in Auburn!

Where has the time gone??

Has it seriously been a month since Labor Day? I feel like time is speeding by...which is not necessarily a bad thing...at least for the next 14 months! The past few weeks have been really great. Two of our friends here in PC had a vow renewal ceremony on October 1st for their 10 year wedding anniversary. We gave Cammie a "bachelorette party" and the guys took Randy out for a "bachelor party" the weekend before even though neither one was a true bachelor/bachelorette!



The renewal was on the beach at sunset and was absolutely beautiful!





This past weekend we went to Guntersville, Al to visit Wesley's grandmother. She is 86 years old and is one of the cutest women that I know! It was so good getting to spend a weekend with her. On Saturday night we took the pontoon boat out for a sunset cruise on the lake. The lake was gorgeous at sunset!




Hope that everyone is enjoying the fall weather as much as we are!

Labor Day Weekend

This long weekend went by way too fast! Wesley's brother Drew flew in on Thursday and left yesterday afternoon, and his mom came down on Saturday and also left yesterday. On Friday when Wesley got out of the OR we took Drew to Seaside! His career involves community development, so he loved seeing all of the "communities" along 30-A! Even though Tropical Storm Lee was brewing in the gulf, it didn't stop Wesley and Drew from playing in the ocean like 2 little boys! We walked around Seaside after sitting/playing on the beach and then Drew treated us to a DELICIOUS dinner at Great Southern at Seaside.




On Saturday, we had our friends Nick, Joy, and Jillian over to watch the Auburn game with us. It was a close game...too close, but we were excited about the WIN! We pretty much stayed in and watched football all day on Saturday. I made several dips and tailgating snacks which ruined our appetite for lunch, but Wesley grilled burgers for everyone for dinner. Sunday after church, we ate at J.Michael's and walked around Pier Park for a little while, but after that we were pretty much cooped in all day because of the nasty weather.

Now it's back to work! We were all thankful for the extra day off and enjoyed our weekend with the beach, football, and family.

"That's why God made Mexico!"

We got home late last night after 5 nights and 6 days at Secrets Silversands. It was an adults only all-inclusive resort. To say that we relaxed would be an understatement! We had the best week together! I got to go on 3 "dates" per day with Wesley for an entire week, and it was absolutely wonderful! The trip was a belated anniversary celebration/ "2nd honeymoon"/ celebration that Wesley's bookwork portion of school was over/ a REALLY good use of our tax return dollars!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the week!









It's back to the real world now, but we are both so thankful for the break! I'm already looking forward to our "3rd honeymoon" next year! haha!

Girls Weekend!

This past weekend we had a reunion for our college friend group in Montgomery! I cannot even describe how refreshing that it was to be with these sweet girls again! It was like being in college all over again....minus the studying! Because we are all spread out now, not everyone was able to make it, but 7 of us were able to get together! We met in Montgomery this time since it is the most centrally located, and it is where Erin and Alisa now live with their husbands.

We did a lot of snacking and a lot of laughing! It was good for the soul. I cannot wait for our next reunion! I didn't take any pics...which I know is shocking! But here are a few from our dinner at El Reys that I stole from facebook :)





In other news....Wesley took his last test in anesthesia school today!!! YIPEE! He ended the semester with all A's, so that means he will graduate with a 4.0. Also, we found out today that Matt (my younger sister's boyfriend who has been a part of our family for 7 years now) made a 31 on his MCAT! I couldn't be prouder if I had made that score myself! He has worked so hard, and it paid off...BIG TIME!

Long time, no blog!

Since I've been back from Seattle, I've been working and Wesley's been in the OR...and that is pretty much all that goes on during the week. Our weekends this summer have been wonderful though! Wesley hasn't had to study nearly as much as he did last semester, so we have actually gotten to spend some time with each other, with friends, and time at the beach!

My parents rented a beach house for the week of the 4th, so we got to drive over to Carillon Beach the first weekend in July to see them.


The past few weekends we have stayed in town and grilled out, gone out with friends, and this past weekend we went to Crooked Island near Mexico Beach. I have to admit, that the down time has been wonderful! We are very fortunate to be so close to the water.

It's hard to believe that August 1st will be here next week, and that marks 1 year that we have lived in Panama City. It's crazy to think that this time next year, we could know where we will be living after graduation!!!! We are going to celebrate the end of the first year by going back to MEXICO for 5 nights! We cannot wait to be here in just a couple of weeks....

Seattle and Whidbey Island, Washington

For Christmas this past year, my parents bought me a plane ticket to go and visit 2 high school friends living in or near Seattle. Alana and her husband are there because her husband is stationed in Whidbey Island with the Navy, and Taylor is living in Seattle for the summer because her husband is doing an internship there with a plastic surgeon. I flew up on Thursday and came home last night. We had a great time seeing all of the sights, eating delicious food, and just catching up and being together! Here are some pics of my trip!

This was the view from Taylor's sister's home in Seattle! Abby and Jeremiah were so kind to let us stay there for 2 nights!






I loved getting to see the Sleepless in Seattle house!
















I am glad that Alana and her husband will likely be in the Seattle area for another 6 years, so that I can go back and do it all again...but next time I am bringing Wesley! I had a wonderful vacation and made a ton of memories! Thanks Mom and Dad for flying me out there!