Felt Good On My Lips

Yep, that's right Tim McGraw felt good on my lips. Just kidding, but singing his songs did feel good. We went to the Tim McGraw concert last weekend and happen to score VIP passes through a contest I entered for a private performance before the actual concert started.

Needless to say it was A-MAZING and one of the coolest experiences I have had.

We were so close to him it was crazy. The event was held in this small tent next to the arena, where less than 100 people were invited to attend.

Just so happy to be there, we really didn't know what to expect when we won the passes, but we are so glad we made it in time for the event. It got a little dicey there with traffic and all.

I will say, it was unusual to start a concert off with such a high note. I could have gone home right that moment and been completely satisfied. However, luckily for us, we still had a whole night of shows to go!

Like seeing the Band Perry, one of my new favorite groups.

And Luke Bryan. It started to get dark, so getting a real photo was difficult. His performance was really great. At one point he busted into a Metallica song, which was a lot of fun.

Then it was Tim time again and our friends Kristin and John met up with us to enjoy the rest of the concert. The Tampa Amphitheater is a great venue where the lawn seats are still great seats and the weather turned out nice, making it a perfect night for an outdoor concert.

It was a awesome birthday gift! I especially loved at the end when we were all taking bets on what song(s) he would end with, and I said he has to do Indian Outlaw - everyone thought I was crazy, but sure enough Indian Outlaw it was! I think he might have done one more song after that, but I can't remember, so we will just say he ended on that one.

Birthday Surprise!

Last weekend, Robert and I decided to surprise Kayla for her 13th birthday, so we flew up to Georgia for the big reveal! She was super surprised. My sister and her family also came down for the weekend to celebrate Easter and par-tay.

Here's the boys doing what they love to do, looking at Pokemon cards. Robert loved spending time with the kiddos and the kiddos loved uncle Robert. Every time Robert went missing, I knew where to find him.

We were super busy all weekend trying to get everything in!

We squeezed in some egg dying time.

Here we are getting in touch with our creative side. We made some really colorful eggs and tried tie-dying some as well.

Following that we were able to go see Keaton's soccer game. Right when we pulled up, he put a goal in from half field! He was a super star, he ended up scoring 2 goals for his team that day. Go Keaton!

After his game, we drove over to a different field to go and watch Kayla's game. Unfortunately, it was a really hot afternoon by the time we made it to Kayla's game. She looked great in her uniform, but her team wasn't able to pull out the big W. It was a fun game to watch against their rival team, Spirit, who is number one in the league.

We rushed home, changed our clothes and headed up to the ATL for dinner at Maggiano's to celebrate Kayla's birthday and eat some dinner before we went to the Atlanta, Georgia Temple open house.

We got the birthday dessert just in time before leaving. Of course, we were running a bit late for everything that night, so we sung happy birthday to Kayla as we were leaving the restaurant.

The boys kept themselves entertained playing Angry Birds during dinner.

Dinner with great friends and family. Yum, yum!

We made it! The Atlanta Temple has been closed for almost 2 years while they renovated it inside. Luckily for us, we were able to hit the last weekend they were holding the open house for tours through the temple before it was rededicated tonight.

It was a great experience, and I am so grateful for the knowledge I have and the blessing of eternal families.

After a busy night out, the Easter Bunny came a bit too early for the adults, but the kids didn't seem to mind. They were excited to find all the treats the Easter Bunny left them.

Afterwards, let the egg hunt commence...

Bringing up the rear...

Happy Easter!

After going to church and enjoying all the fun Easter festivities, we had a deliciously dinner prepared by Lori. Of course, we capped it all off with another party for Kayla.

What else would we do?

It was a fabulous trip spent with some of my favorite people. I'm glad my sister and I both had the feeling that we should spend our Easter weekend in Georgia with my brother's family. It was a blast and well worth the trip. Now Robert has to kick it in high gear as he tries to prepare for his finals this week. Thanks babe for letting me distract you a few times during your reading period.

Trip Highlights (not mentioned above):

* Texas Roadhouse, need I say more?

* Going to Kroger to get Kayla her large oversized balloon and seeing the look on Jason's face when I brought it out of the store. :)

* Random shopping excursion to Old Navy right before the store closed to use a coupon that didn't end up working. lol

* Friday night we spent playing horse in the driveway, drawing on the sidewalk, roasting s'mores in the backyard, jumping on the trampoline, playing ping pong, and laughing a lot.

* Tennis - I was able to demo two new rackets. Still trying to find a racket I like. Jason, Kayla, Robert, and I were able to get in two hours!

* Kayla's lovely gift for Robert on the tennis court. "Excuse me, do you mind if I..." haha!

* Robert, Ben, and Jason playing some intense Xbox FIFA Soccer games, while the rest of us played Xbox connect.

* Mama T sent us all an Easter package, which was so nice and thoughtful. We love Mama T.

* Cookie dough and Grease 2 date with Kayla the night before I left.

* And last, but not least, the "whippoorwill"

Feast

After our wonderful and magical trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom on Friday, we were able to spend the next two days watching General Conference (http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2011/04?lang=eng). Before the first session on Saturday, we made a large yummy breakfast to enjoy. I love General Conference weekend because I am able to forget about all of life's stresses and responsibilities while I feast on uplifting and relevant counsel from inspired men and women of God. To summarize a friend, it never ceases to amaze me how happy and energized I feel after conference. I feel empowered, humbled, rededicated, loved, grateful, and blessed.

Here are a few thoughts/impressions I learned from this past weekend:

1. The greatest joy we receive in this life comes through following the Savior.

2. Children can teach us so much about faith, forgiveness, love, and testimony.

3. We need to be service minded and find opportunities to do good. It really is better to give than to receive. Service and consecration refine us and draw us nearer to our Savior.

4. No sacrifice is too great to receive the blessings of the temple.

5. You can tell a lot about a girl from her purse. :)

6. “Those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him.

7. “Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here.

8. The Church Welfare Program is truly miraculous.

9. The husband is the head and the wife the heart of the home.

10. I am not fighting life's battles alone.

11. My future is as bright as my faith.

12. We can always ask God for truth.

13. Desires -> Priorities -> Choices -> Actions

14. Actions + Desires = Who I become

15. Charity begins at home with the "Golden Rule."

16. The heavens are open and God speaks to prophets and apostles.

17. I need to be someone the Lord can rely on. God meets His children's needs through us.

18. We can't have growth without challenges.

19. The pure love of Christ is selfless service.

20. The Gospel is simple. Focus on those things that matter most.

21. We need to keep the Sabbath day holy

23. Marriage = Happiness

24. Expressions of love and simple heart-felt gifts are always important.

25. Righteous love is the base of an eternal marriage.

26. Christ can make us holy if we have an attitude to willingly accept and seek correction.

27. You don't need more money to pay tithing...you need more faith.

28. The atonement truly is a miracle that allows us to put mistakes of the past behind us.

29. Love one another.

30. Christ lives and He directs His church. The Church is True!

Disney, I Love Thee

Last Friday was probably my most memorable and favorite trip to Disney. Most likely because it started off with a spontaneous idea that a co-worker inspired and a text to Robert at 3 pm saying, "Disney today?" and a response that said "Let's go!"

So we did. Robert and I took off from work a bit early, sat in traffic and eventually made our way to Disney around 6:30 pm. The park was full of people, but that can't stop these pros. We know exactly how to navigate that park in order to fit everything in.

We had fun riding all the rides and just being out of the house, spending time together.

Even though we go to Disney frequently, this time made a lasting memory for many reasons. One, I was sad to see they had closed down part of the park for remodeling. Next time we go to Disney in 2012 it will be a different park than what we have been so used to for so long. They even took out one of my favorite little rides, the Barnstormer.

Secondly, it was a gorgeous night and the park was open until 1 am, so we didn't get back home until 3:30 am.

Third, it truly was a magical night. We watched the electrical parade together and fireworks. I almost even got teary eyed. (don't laugh, dreams really do come true!) To cap it all off, we watched a brand new show that they display on the castle, which was AMAZING! We loved it. Disney always makes us feel so happy and uplifted.

Fourth, I finally buckled in and bought some Mickey ears for myself.

Fifth, we ate lots of yummy snacks: cinnamon roll from the bakery and even popcorn for the parade.

Sixth, we walked on to lots of rides and rode some for the first time like the steamboat.

Disney World, I love you. Thanks for giving Robert and I so many memories. I understand why so many people come here, everyone just wants to be happy. On a sad note, our passes expire in a week. :(

Congratulations

Spencer & Hayley on getting married.

Two weekends ago, we were up in Jacksonville for Spencer & Hayley's wedding. Robert grew up playing baseball with Spencer. They were even born on the same day at the same hospital. They continue to be close friends to this day.

I haven't known Spencer without Hayley. They started dating about 6 months before Robert and I got together. They are perfect for each other and make a wonderful couple.

It was a perfect day for a wedding and Hayley looked beautiful.

The wedding party:

Austin and his girlfriend:

The family:

It was a beautiful reception and we had a lot of fun celebrating.

We are truly excited for you both and look forward to spending lots of years double dating together.

Over the Hill

It's official, I'm now 25 years old! Last week, we celebrated my big 2-5 (all week long). That's how you're supposed to do it, right?

To kick it off, we went out on my Birthday Eve for dinner and ice cream. Robert said he would eat a sweet treat with me each night during my birthday week. That's big for him since he really doesn't care for sugary, chocolate covered delicious items like I do. Can you tell?

On my actual birthday, I stayed home and worked of course. However, Robert had a little surprise for me. He made this card for me...

So, for lunch we hit the beach.

Where I enjoyed my second dessert for the week, Key Lime Pie. Yum! Did I mention it was an absolutely gorgeous day out? That was one of the best presents I received.

It was nice to actually have Robert home on my birthday. Wednesday's are usually his late nights at school. I'm a lucky girl!

After I finished work for the day, we hit the tennis court, came home, and then got ready to officially commemorate my birthday by blowing out the candles on dessert number 3, Texas sheet cake, which I made for myself. Following that, I got to open all my cards and presents.

A few presents to highlight:

Lots of money for shopping trips and of course for our trip to Europe

Books from my sister

Movies Mulan (from Sherri) and Tangled (from Jeff & Laura)

Kitchen serving set from Shular

Jewelry and tulips from Robert

The party didn't stop there...

At Young Women's the following night, my counselors and girls got this cake for me. One of my counselors, Sherri, loves Disney and I told her I enjoyed the movie Mulan a lot, and wanted a copy of it, so she kind of made my birthday a Mulan theme. She is so thoughtful, I can't believe she even remembered that I said that.

Here's dessert number four:

On Friday night, we got together with our group of friends for some corn hole playin',

front porch sittin',

dinner and talkin',

and some game playin'.

We love hanging out with our group of friends that we have made through Stetson.

And Spring Break season has finally arrived...

To cap off the entire week of celebrating my birthday, I got to enjoy some fun in the sun with my best friend from high school who was in the FL area for a wedding.

It was a fabulous birthday spent with some fabulous people, and I hope this year continues to be a great one.

Winning

Robert just won his 5^th intramural championship in a row! It was a 3 hour long grueling tennis match, but he came out the winner! What we have established from all of his championships is that he is extremely athletic or playing against extremely unathletic law students. We like to think it is more of the prior than the latter, haha!