Barrow Christmas!

Greg and I have a set plan of how we divide up spending time with our families over Christmas.  We will do up to Christmas eve with one family, Christmas eve night to whenever we go home with the other family.  We rotate every year.  We feel like it is important to be able to spend time with both our families, and we try to make it very fair so that no one gets their feelings hurt.  Living so far from our families can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse when it comes to holidays.  Luckily, I was able to take a few days off, and then I had the whole week between Christmas and New Years off.  We were able to spend a really good amount of time with family.  It was much needed!

Our Christmas vacation began on Tuesday, December 20 when I got off of work.  We decided to make the drive to Alabama that night.  It's just so much easier to get there at night when there is barely any traffic, and Greg was able to take a pretty big nap that afternoon so that he could drive.  We made great time and arrived at Greg's parent's house in Childersburg, AL about 1:15!  I was so excited to be there!

Greg's mom had to work a half day on Wednesday, but we were able to catch up on rest that morning.  We enjoyed spending Wednesday just hanging out around the house!  Thursday we spent with just Greg's parents.  We went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 (which was fantastic), did a little shopping, and then we had to eat at Greg's favorite bar-b-que place (Jim 'n Nicks).  It was a wonderful day with the in-laws.

Friday afternoon Greg's sister, her husband, and their kids came over.  It was SO good to see them!  It had been too long!  We also did presents with everyone that night, and we ended out the day playing Scattergories with the adults, which always provides lots of laughs!

I am so proud of myself for actually taking pictures this year!  Here are a few of my favorites from Christmas with the Barrows:

We got Tanner a Transformers action figure 

We actually bought this box at the Thrift Store and made it into a jewelry box for Kayleigh. 

We made a bunch of sweet treats for Nathan! 

Greg made this dry erase calendar for Liz! 

We didn't get this for Liz, but I absolutely love this picture of her!  She was SO excited! 

We collected those sea shells while on our Thanksgiving vacation for Linda- she loves shells 

This could be my favorite picture from our Christmas trip.  HA!  We made coasters for Ralph and he was super excited.   

Greg got a drill and tool kit.  He and Tanner were clearly having a deep discussion about the tools. 

Merry Christmas, part 1!

Our New Home

December 3, 2011- we moved... again.  That would be our 5th move since June 2009.  WOW.  We are almost pros.  As most of you know... I hate hate hate moving.  It's truly one of my least favorite things in the world to do.  On top of the fact that we've had so many moves... None of them were short moves.  Tuscaloosa --> Savannah, GA... Savannah--> Charleston, SC (moved all our stuff into storage) and Birmingham, AL... Birmingham---> Charleston, SC... Charleston, SC--->Durham, NC.

This time was different!  We moved a few miles down the road into a cute townhome.  We are absolutely loving it, and making it our own.  We just got done painting the living room over the weekend, and I'm looking forward to sharing pictures with you as we get everything put together.  For now, I'll show you the outside.

Thanksgiving, part 2 (finally)

Hi everyone!  I have no clue where the time went between December 1 and today.  I never got around to doing my second post about Thanksgiving.  So, here we go.  To refresh your memory... We went to Carolina beach for our Thanksgiving break.  We took the dogs, and rented a beach front condo, and it was absolutely perfect.  We did a ton of relaxing.  We watched football.  We walked on the beach, and we played with the dogs on the beach.  Here are some pictures!

The beach house.  We were in the unit on the bottom right, and we were the only people there!

Sunset the first night we were there- beautiful

Hershee loved chasing the waves as they crashed on the shore.

Penni loved digging in the sand.

Another beautiful sunset.

The morning that we left.  My favorite part of the trip was sitting on the porch taking in the view.

Thanksgiving, part 1

Hello everyone!  I spent this month diving deep, and thinking about what I am thankful for this year.  I feel like Greg and I have had a really great year.  We have faced so many changes, I feel like we have found a place that we love living, and we have also been dealing with a lot of challenges. 

Throughout the month I wrote down things that I was thankful for with the intent to blog about it, so here it is:
- I am thankful for my very sweet, caring husband.  I am so happy that I have found someone like him to face the world with, come home to at the end of the day to, laugh with, travel with, and grow old together.  Greg and I balance each other out perfectly, and I am thankful that we met at Camp Sumatanga the summer of 2006.
- I am thankful for my wonderful parents.  They are a constant support to me, and I know that I can always call them if I need to talk.  I am thankful for Skype and FaceTime so that the months in between visits don't feel so long.  I always love having conversations with my Dad on my way home from work some days, and I love being able to call my Mom to talk about anything from a crappy day to how to make a beautiful bow for our door.  I am so lucky to be able to call them my Mom and Dad.
- I am thankful for my fantastic in-laws.  I feel like I won the in-law lottery.  They are so supportive of us!  I love talking to them, and I love when we are able to make a trip to see them.  Although we don't skype with them very often, it is fun when we have the chance to.  I know that they love us, and they set a wonderful example of how to really grow our marriage.
- I am thankful for my big brother Guy, his wife Andrea, and my sweet nephew Justin.  In college, I was super close to Guy and throughout the years we have kind of drifted apart.  I am thankful that this year we have had the opportunity to rekindle our friendship.  I am so happy that Andrea and I have had the chance to spend more time together in person, and we have spent a lot of time texting and chatting.  And of course how could I not be thankful for Justin?  This is the first time I've been able to experience being an aunt of an infant!  It's crazy to me how much I can love such a little human that I've only known for 2 months!
- I am thankful for my big brother, Ben.  We have certainly had our ups and downs throughout the years, but I am so glad that we have recently reconnected.  I rarely get to see Ben because he is usually working when we are home, and because we live so far away.  I am looking forward to seeing him at Christmas!
- I am thankful for my very sweet sister-in-law, Liz.  I know that if I ever have questions when it comes to cooking or baking that I can call her and she will have an answer for me!  She is a brilliant cook, and I'm so glad that I can rely on her in a disastrous situation in the kitchen! I am also thankful for her wonderful kids: Kayleigh and Tanner.  I was just thinking the other day that I can't believe how grown up they are!  I feel like it was just the other day that I was meeting them, Kayleigh was a sweet 6 year old and Tanner was a toddler!  It's crazy how time flies, and I am thankful to have you in my life!
- I am so thankful for my loving pups.  They make coming home at the end of a crazy day so happy.  They are always thrilled to see me when I walk in the door, and they are always willing to give me lots of loving and snuggles!
- I am thankful that Greg and I have found a cute townhome to move into.  This will be the first time that we have lived in something besides an apartment!  I am super excited to have something that feels more like a home!  Although I hate, hate, hate moving... it will all be worth it.
- I am thankful for Mark, Kate, and baby J.  I am so happy that I met Kate, and I am so thankful that they welcomed me into their home to take care of baby J.  Making the transition from a daycare to being a nanny has been fantastic, and none of it would be possible if they had not trusted me to love and take care of their sweet baby.  I wouldn't have the job I have now if it hadn't been for Kate... which leads me to...
- I am thankful for Bryson, Lauren, and baby B.  I am so happy that they trust me to take care of their sweet baby boy everyday.  Hanging out with B is so much fun, and I enjoy getting to know Lauren and Bryson more and more.  I am so looking forward to watching B grow and learn!  I am thankful that they have allowed me to come into their lives!
- I am thankful that cooler air has finally moved into North Carolina!
- I am thankful for days when I come home to a cooked meal!  It doesn't happen that often, but I cherish the evenings when I walk in to a hot dinner!
- I am thankful for college football.  This year has certainly made things interesting!  It's been fun to watch and wonder what will happen throughout the season.  I also love the fact that college football generally means that Greg and I are going to hang out all day and eat yummy comfort food!
- I am thankful for people who list their moving boxes on Craigslist for free!  I am also thankful that they weren't really kidnappers/murderers.  (ha)
- I am thankful that in the midst of a bunch of car break-ins in our apartment complex... that we have unappealing cars to criminals. 
- I am thankful for the opportunity to take an amazing vacation over Thanksgiving break.  We had such a nice, relaxing time!  I will be blogging about our trip later.
- I am thankful for reruns of Grey's Anatomy, Friends, and Will & Grace!  
- I am thankful that we've found our way to Durham, NC.  We absolutely love it here!  I am looking forward to staying here for a while, and hopefully growing some roots in this city!
- I am thankful for the time off that I am going to have at Christmas!  Greg and I are looking forward to make a trip home where we will actually have more than 2 days with our families. 
- I am thankful for Christmas decorations!  They make me so happy.

This is by no means everything in the world that I'm thankful for, but these are the ones that I wrote down throughout the month.  I am overall very thankful for the loving support of our friends and family.  They are the most important thing to me in the world, and I feel like I've been blessed with a great group!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving break!  I'll be updating soon with pictures from our Thanksgiving trip!

Meeting baby Justin!

Last weekend Greg and I loaded up the car and headed to Knoxville, TN for the weekend!  We were going to meet our new nephew.  Justin was born 5 weeks ago, and we had originally planned to go this weekend, but I had last Friday off so we pushed it up a week.  I was super excited to get my hands on him!

This entry is going to have a ton of pictures... sorry in advance.  BUT it's of an adorable baby, so there shouldn't be an issues with having to look at all the pictures.  :-)

On our way to meet Justin!

This is right when we got there- please excuse my double chin.

So happy to be holding him!

I was so nice.  I even let Greg hold him!  I feel like Justin is looking at him like, "who are you?"

This is one of the gifts I sent Andrea.  It's a Moby wrap.  It is amazing, and if you are having a baby you need to get one!  This is the total inner hippie momma coming out. 

Penni and Hershee didn't quite know what to think!

Andrea and I gave him a bath!

He had to get his Auburn stuff on to cheer for them against LSU!

I stayed right there with him asleep on my chest for 2 hours!  SO sweet!

Greg loved holding him too.

 Watching the Auburn v. LSU game

We had to get him changed over into his Alabama gear!  He had to help us cheer for Alabama against UT

We were all cheering for Alabama!  Roll Tide!

CUTIE!

On our way home.  This is exactly how the car rides go.  Penni is totally calm and laying down, and Hershee is crazy and panting the entire time.  

We loved getting to meet our new nephew!  It's amazing to hold and love on a 4 week old.  He's absolutely adorable, and I am not biased at all.  I can't wait to see him again at Christmas!

NC State Fair

 
The North Carolina State fair was in town the last week and a half or so.  Greg and I decided that we really wanted to go because neither one of us have ever been to a state fair.  The fair in Alabama isn't in the best part of town, and so our parents never let us go. 

The main reason that we wanted to go was to experience the food!  We did not even ride any rides.  We thought about doing the Ferris Wheel, but it was SO expensive. 

Greg has heard about a Krispy Kreme bacon cheese burger that he was dying to try.  Gross, I know.  We searched all over the fairgrounds looking for this place.  Greg finally texted a friend who had gone the night before, and he told us where it was.  Greg ordered it, and it looked disgusting.  I mean, so gross.  He loved it.  Right next to that places was a hand-dipped corndog stand.  I was pumped about getting one of those!  It was so good!

After we ate those, we decided to walk around and play some games.  We didn't win anything, but it wasn't a huge deal.  Greg kept talking about trying an elephant ear and a fried snickers.  We found a station that was making the "elephant ears".  It's basically a funnel cake, but solid.  We had a brown sugar and cinnamon one.  It was so good!  Then, Greg got his snickers (didn't get a picture of this, but use your imagination). 

We had a good time!  It was nice to get out and do something fun!

Midtown Music Festival

Greg and I headed down to Atlanta last weekend for the Midtown Music Festival.  We had so much fun, and it was fantastic to see some of our good friends!

The headliners for the festival were The Black Keys and Coldplay.  Greg and I absolutely love Coldplay, and anytime that they come remotely close to us we will make an effort to be there.  If you haven't been to one of their concerts... I think you should try to go the next time they are anywhere close to you!  It's an amazing experience!  I have seen them three times, and I can't wait for number 4! 

Here are some pictures:

This was the main entrance 

 This is the main stage that The Black Keys and Coldplay played on- there was another stage to the left.  Bands rotated all day from the left stage to the right stage.

 Greg and I during The Black Keys (we actually took pictures!  I am so proud of us!)

Coldplay!

Coldplay!

This was my favorite part!  This is when they played Lost.  It was so cool!  

There is the recap for you!  We stayed with my dear friend Maria and her boyfriend in Kennesaw, and now that I think about it... I wish we had take a picture together!  We had brunch with her and Brad on Sunday morning, and it was delicious!  Then we drove down the road to see our friends, The Slighs!  It was so good to be able to visit with everyone, and we can't wait to head back to Atlanta soon!