Hola Amigos!

Ryan and I just got back from Mexico. Could you tell by the title of this post?! About a year ago, unbeknownst to Ryan, I started secretly saving for his upcoming 30th b'day. He had surprised me last year on my 30th with a trip to Boston, so I wanted to do something special for his decade-turning year as well. Well.. he "found" the secret, birthday stash and had the grand idea to use that money (and add a little extra to the pot) to make it a 30th b'day/5 year anniversary trip to Mexico. So, with little lady in tow, we traveled to the ATL, dropped Campbell with my family for a week we like to refer to "Camp Atlanta", and we flew out for a 5 day hiatus! It was wonderful to say the least...

We stayed here--




And, to sum up our week... 1. We ate ALOT! Seven amazing restaurants, any genre you can imagine, ALL-INCLUSIVE. 2. We snorkled 3. We sun-bathed 4. We SLEPT for LOOONNNNGGG, uninterrupted hours 5. We drank fruity drinks 6. We ziplined through the jungle (and I consequently pinned a small, Mexican instructor into a large tree b/c I couldn't stop properly or safely for that matter) but that is neither here nor there, and is for another post. What would one of my vacations be without BRUISING, right? 7. And most importantly, I got to spend unbelievable quality time with my very best friend.


And, Campbell, you ask? Do NOT feel sorry for this little sweetpea whom we orphaned to skip town.


She was showered with love, gifts, kisses, treats, you name it. My wonderful family all "shared" her for the week, and needless to say, she came home much loved and much spoiled. This picture says it all after a week with all her cousins who adore her. ( I think she is still trying to catch up on her sleep).

Surprise!

Pardon this belated post, but this was too fun not to share...

Two weekends ago, Ryan and I had the pleasure of hosting a SURPRISE, 40th Anniversary party at our house for my sweet in-laws. To their complete surprise, myself (and Ryan, who was a big help) and my 2 sisters-in-law planned a dinner for immediate family to celebrate 40 years of wedded bliss. Nicole (my wonderful friend and sis-in-law), who truly spear-headed the whole shin-dig, was amazing with the details, down to the centerpieces in the colors that my MIL had at her wedding 40 years ago-- peach and cream! The children each gave toasts, which were all very touching and special, and to round off the evening, Nicole had even put together a video slide-show.

It was a wonderful picture to view as an "outlaw"... to see how much their children value and strive to have a marriage like their parents. To see how a Christ-centered marriage has a strong foundation like no other. To see the legacy my sweet in-laws have left to their children and GRAND-children. I felt very honored to be part of such a special family and celebration. I wish my in-laws so very many more years of happiness and love! Congrats, Mimi and Poppa!! We love you SO much...




Here are some pictures of the beautiful set-up, generations of wonderful women, the Green kiddos, Campbell with her Mimi and Poppa, and me with Mindee (my sister-in-law) and Campbell's youngest cousin, Cate.

Labor Day Weekend...

I love a good Labor Day. Fall is somewhat in the air (if you delete the 100% humidity down here in LA), college football is gearing up (and is the only thing on my screen, sorry Elmo), and I start to break out the sweats/sweatshirts (with definite shout-outs to Alpha Gam and the glory days in AU)!

To sum up our weekend, we did a little of this....


ALOT of this...





And, introduced the Little Lady to this...



Now, I have to be transparent and say that being from Atlanta, and growing up going to the ATLANTA ZOO, I was slightly snobby when I heard that our closest zoo was literally named, "The Little Zoo That Could". Sad, huh?! But, did my ego ever have a bruisin' when we saw approximately 10ish TIGERS!?! BEARS!!!!? LIONS?!?!! What?! I was very impressed at what Gulf Shores puts out in the area of exotic animals. And, to say that Campbell was enthralled is the understatement of the YEAR! She LOVED it. She kept saying, "Hi" to all the animals. Her favs were the goats, deer, donkey and sheep. Bless her, she even kept humming the beginning stanzas to "Bah Bah Black Sheep".





The end result... a sweaty, exhausted, red-cheeked, curly haired toddler who can't keep her hands out of the dog bowl to "feed" the "petting zoo-like LAB" whom we adoringly call our dog, O'Malley. That will be an interesting lesson to attempt to teach after our zoo activity...




I hope that everyone's Labor Day was wonderful and that you were able to enjoy a "day off" with your loved ones.