sister/cousin trip 2010

This year's annual sister/cousin trip was in Nashville!! Everyone was sweet to come my way from Texas and California this year, since I can't travel too far from my doctor at this point in the pregnancy.

My mom came a few days early. We had lots of fun hanging out, marking things off of my pre-baby to do list, cooking, washing Carson's clothes, and making homemade laundry detergent, thanks to Laura!! I'm excited to save money by only spending 14 cents a month on laundry detergent!!

We rented a house in Franklin for a few days, and my sister, Misty; aunt, Paula; cousin, Nicole; cousin, Staci; and Staci's two sweet kids, Wyatt and Raquel joined us!!! We had a wonderful time together. We talked, played games, saw the sights of Nashville, and ate some Tennessee favorites. They even got to come to church with us that Sunday and be here for my baby shower (shower pics coming soon!)

my sweet mama and me

I am blessed to have the best mama/friend ever!

I'm so thankful for her!

I hadn't seen my sweet sister since December, back when Carson was about the size of a bean:)!! It was so much fun to spend time with her!!

When we lived in Abilene, Misty and I hung out several times a week, so we did our best to soak up every minute of our sister time while she was here!! I love that girl!

me, Misty, Staci, Raquel, and Nicole before church Sunday morning

There were lots of funny photo ops in our tour of Nashville:)

cowgirls

biggest ice cream cone EVER!

Staci and I got matching sunglasses

Raquel and her grandma, Paula

could that sweet baby girl be any cuter?!!

cute big brother, Wyatt and his aunt, 'Cole

the whole group!!!

sweet Texas friends

Since moving to Tennessee, we've been blessed by sweet friends from Texas coming to visit!!! It has been so special to spend time with these sweet friends, introduce them to our church family, and show them our new home. We've had fun showing them around Music City, and our tour guide skills have improved a little bit each time!

January: Mark and Tara

Keith and Mark were roommates at ACU, and he and Tara have been dear friends of ours ever since. We always pick up right where we left off, stay up late, and have the best conversations with them! This visit was extra special because Tara and I were both pregnant, so we had lots of conversations about becoming parents:) We can't wait to meet sweet Jaxon!!

rockin' out!

waiting in line at Pancake Pantry on a cold winter morning....totally worth it:)

March: Spruce, Jacquie, Lynlee, and Kyndall

Jacquie and I were in club together at ACU and had lots of education classes together. We started hanging out with her and Spruce soon after we got married. We would hang out at least two or three times a week, playing games, watching TV, cooking, and sharing teaching and ministry ideas! They are such special friends. We've spent several spring breaks with them since they moved from Abilene a few years before we did. It was sweet of them to make the long drive to spend their spring break with us this year! We absolutely love their precious girls, Lynlee and Kyndall!!!

family pic at the Loveless Cafe...a Nashville hot spot with the most delicious biscuits ever!

the sweet girls were adorable in their matching coats:)

Jacquie and Kendall

Lynlee and me

May: Nick, Lauren, Emmy, and David

Keith and Lauren became friends when Keith's family moved to Jackson his freshman year of high school and have remained friends since then. Nick and I easily joined the friendship when we started dating the two of them:) During our last six months in Abilene, Nick, Lauren, and Emmy moved there!! It was such a blessing to have such good friends in town! We had lots of fun game nights and learned some great recipes from them. They were even sweet enough to help us with our home renovation!! Emmy was always such a joy, and after we left Abilene, they had sweet David! This is another precious family!!

family pic while David naps

Keith and Emmy

me with both precious kiddos!

July: Augie and Ashley

Ashley and I have been best friends since I moved to Roby in eighth grade and she invited the new girl to her slumber party:) We've remained friends since high school. We had fun working summers at BCEC together during college! Ashley and I have shared so many special parts of life together. We've had lots of serious conversations and had more than our share of silly moments, too:) We stood beside one another on our wedding days. Ashley and Augie got married last October. They make such a great couple! It was neat to spend more time getting to know Augie!

We picked them up at the airport and we matched:) Here we are at the factory in Franklin.

Ashley was brave and asked Waylon if we could have a picture with him at the Outlaws' game!

4th of July...everyone else went with blue and white, and I was the loner sportin' red and white...at least all three colors were represented:)

Loveless Cafe for some coouuntry ham and biscuits! We matched again without planning it:) I guess that's what happens when you're friends for SIXTEEN years!!!

october

I always have such a hard time choosing my favorite season, because I really do love the special things that each of them offers, but I am LOVING my first fall in Tennessee!! In addition to my usual favorites: scarecrows, pumpkins, candy corn, boots, sweaters, and yummy-smelling candles, the weather has been cool and crisp, and everything is absolutely beautiful! The many shades of red, yellow, and orange almost seem pretend they're so pretty!! In addition to the amazing weather and gorgeous foliage, October brought my mom, dad, and sister to Hohenwald for such a FUN visit, Oktoberfest festivities in Hohenwald, a quick trip to Texas for Ashley's wedding, fall fun with our church family, and trick-or-treaters galore!!!! It has been a fabulous fall so far!!!

This picture does not do them justice, but here's an example of our BEAUTIFUL trees!

They are so pretty, I made wreathes for the people at the nursing home with the kids at church. They did a great job and the wreathes turned out beautifully! Tonight, we went and gave them to the sweet people at the nursing home and my third-graders were PRECIOUS! It was an honor to watch them imitate Jesus!

I was out of school for a few days in early October for fall break!!! I know, I know, soooo FUN! They used to not have a fall break here, but Oktoberfest has become such a HUGE event that all the teachers were asking off and the buses couldn't get through because of all of the traffic!!! Lewis County quadruples in size during that weekend every year!! It is CRAZY! People are EVERYWHERE! There are massive traffic jams in our little town! Needless to say, it was FUN and a little Stars Hollowish;) Because I was going to be out of school, my parents and sister decided to take a vacation and come see us!! We had such a great time together. We played, shopped, talked, relaxed, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together!!

Misty and I at the Grand Ole Opry on her birthday! Sooo FUN!

I drove back to Texas with Mama, Daddy, and Misty to be there for my sweet friend, Ashley's wedding. We had lots of fun visiting in the car and playing childhood car games. I was honored to be part of Ashley and Argimiro's special day as her matron of honor!! It was so much fun! Ashley and I became best friends right after I moved to Roby in eighth grade when she was thoughtful enough to invite the new girl to her slumber party! Thanks Ash:) We've been BFF ever since!! Her friendship is so special to me, and we have so many wonderful memories together. We used to talk and dream about our future lives...and though we're not next door neighbors in Buffalo Gap like we once dreamed;), we have both been blessed with precious husbands who love and honor us, and we got to stand beside with each other when we said "I Do."

What a precious friendship!

After the wedding, I flew back to Tennessee and it was COLD!! Several of us from church went to a haunted hay ride and corn maze! Once again, it felt a bit like Stars Hollow! Corn mazes are all the rage around here in the fall, and I was so excited to participate! Those of you who know me well and are familiar with my direction disability, don't worry, I did not go in alone! In fact, Kaye and I had Anna, our fearless second-grade leader!!

While my sweet mama was here, she helped me decide on a FUN costume idea for Trunk-or-Treat at church! Then, she and Misty helped me make our costumes! I thought they turned out really well! Everyone was surprised that Keith was going to dress up as a crayon, but I didn't even have to twist his arm, he was a great sport! Then, with the help of my cricut, I made our trunk decor:) We had fun passing out crayons and candy! Thankfully, some friends warned us that our neighborhood was the happening place on Halloween, so that we could stock up on candy, because they were not kidding!! We had about 250 trick-or-treaters....sooo fun!!

Hope you are all having a happy fall!