It’s been more than a month since my last blog post, but it seems like much more time has gone by… The last month has been such an insanely busy month–one of the busiest I’ve had in a long while. There is too much to update on in one blog post, so I am going to break it down into 2-3 posts, updating in chronological order.
In this post I am going to focus on the highlights from my visit home at the beginning of July (30 June-15 July).
1. Meeting baby Cason: I can’t believe how cute this little booger is and how much I already miss him. After spending 2 months seeing pictures of baby Cason on Facebook, talking to him on Skype, and getting telephone updates on him, I could not wait to meet him. I still remember when I got to the Birmingham airport and first saw him. He is such a good, sweet, happy baby, and he is growing so fast. I loved getting to feed him his bottle, watch TV with him (because he loves to watch TV), and just enjoy his company 🙂 Two weeks was NOT enough time to spend with him and I cannot wait to be home again to see him…
meeting each other for the first time
smiling at mamaw
blowing bubbles
saying goodbye 😦
2. 4th of July: As is normal in my family, when there is a holiday, we get together, eat good food, play games, and celebrate together. For the 4th of July, we ate some wonderful barbeque and spent the afternoon playing chicken foot, watching silly YouTube videos, and having some quality family time. I was so glad, too, that I finally got to meet my cousin’s new baby, Hudson (and was sad baby Winter wasn’t there to meet as well)!
After a great afternoon at my aunt Glynda’s, some of our cousins came back to our house and we had a fireworks extravaganza–what a blast! It’s been a long while since I’ve bought and shot my own fireworks 🙂
grandaddy, Kylie, Kole, and baby Hudson
the whole family 🙂
3. Pre-wedding Festivities: As with any wedding, there are lots of events that happen before the wedding to pre-celebrate. The first of these events was the bridesmaids luncheon at the Cheesecake Factory in Birmingham. I’d never eaten there before, but it was a great lunch (and awesome cheesecake) and I had such a blast being silly with my sister and all the “girls” participating in her wedding.
Bridesmaids Luncheon
Me, Mom, & Holly after the luncheon
Baby Cason and all his admirers…
Later in the week, we went out for my sister’s bachelorette party–we did a super painting at Sips N’ Strokes, spent some time goofin’ off atop Vulcan, and then had a 3am breakfast at the Waffle House. I love my sister so much and am so glad I got to help her celebrate her wedding in so many ways while I was home.
All ready to paint at Sips N’ Strokes
With our finished paintings…
Having our EARLY morning breakfast
The last pre-wedding event was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. As with any rehearsal, I think, there was lots of laughter and nervousness, but everyone was full of energy and optimism, ready for the big event. After the rehearsal, we ate at Joe’s Italian in Alabaster–what an amazing little restaurant. If you haven’t eaten there, you definitely check it out.
About to rehearse!
Rehearsing
All in position…
Rehearsal Dinner
4. Family time: I LOVED spending time with my family. I got to spend lots of late nights watching movies with my brother, Houston. Of course, I fell asleep several times, but it was fun nonetheless. My first week home, we had lots of time to hang out–I went dress shopping with my mom, mamaw, and sister and got to eat lunch at the bakery/cafe that was making my sister’s wedding cake (Olexa’s), and what a hoot that was. With these 3 there is never a dull moment 🙂 I also got to peruse the outlet mall in Leeds and have a WONDERFUL dinner at the Fish Market with mom, dad, Houston, and Cason one evening. I can’t believe I’d never been to the Fish Market before. It’s great! I also got to spend some quality time with two of my cousins that I hardly get to see anymore–Susie and Brooke. It was so good to have them with us for a whole week. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to catch up with them and hear about what’s going on in their world. It was a much need catch-up. I also had the chance to watch some fantastic old films of my mom, mamaw, aunt, grandaddy, and other family members thanks to my uncle Charles. They were films of when my mom and aunt were super little (newborns to 5-6 years old) that I had never seen before. And, of course, I relished the time I got to spend just “being” with my family around the house, running errands, etc… I am so blessed to have such an incredibly wonderful family. Two weeks was not enough time with them, but I did my best to soak up every second I had to be with them.
5. Holly & Zac’s Wedding: I think perhaps the most special part of my visit home was watching my sister get married. Holly looked absolutely gorgeous, as did the entire ceremony, decorations, and reception. Holly made a beautiful bride, and I am so happy I got to be there to see my dad give her away. I never thought my baby sister would grow up so fast, but I am so proud of the incredible woman, spouse, and mother that she has become over the years and though I am sad to be so far away from her, I enjoyed every minute I got to spend with her while I was at home and will cherish all of my pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding memories…
Wedding pictures
me and my sister goofin’ off
the whole family
the kiss
mine and mamaw’s caricature
I enjoyed every single minute I got to spend with my friends and family from having a lazy day by the pool, to hosting a shrimp boil, to shopping with my mom and mamaw, to eating out with close friends, to watching late night movies with my brother Houston. It was all more then fantastic and ended much too soon. Living far from your family is not an easy task to undertake, and every time I go home it gets harder and harder to leave my family behind…
I can’t wait to see them all again in December. Until then, I’ll keep these fresh memories close to heart.
Transatlantic Adventure 
Posted on 07/08/2012
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