Top 5 Pictures- Brie

Just about every summer (minus the one that we got married) my Dad's side of the family and my family go to the beach for a week.  I don't have as many cousins close to my age on Dad's side as I do Mom's, but even though there are more age gaps, we still seem to get along great!  For many of the years, my roommate at the beach was my cousin Brie.  We have been roomies from the time we were in middle school and high school up until college, and we have had many great nights walking the boardwalk together as well.  

This picture isn't from the beach, but it is from Disney World from when I was in high school.  Like I mentioned before, we alternated sides of the family who went with us on the Disney trips, so this was a trip that we spent together.  This specific picture is from the 50's Prime Time Cafe, which is one of our favorite restaurants there where they treat you like you are their child and make you eat everything off your plate and keep your elbows off of the table.

This picture is from when we took our cousin Talia on the boardwalk for the night.  We rode some rides and did sand art, which looking back, we should do again this year!

This picture is from a night on the beach from a ladder golf tournament.  Talia is so stinkin cute and I am not even going to mention the cell phone holster that is attached to my skirt (nice one...)

Each trip to the beach, Gram takes us out to dinner as a big family which is a lot of fun!  This picture is from one of those dinners.  We always seem to pick out interesting dinners, and mine usually consist of chicken fingers, if possible... yes, I'm THAT girl.

This picture is from the beach as well.  We always get dressed up for those dinners that Gram takes us to, so here is everyone all fancy!

As you can see, the beach pictures are the majority of the pictures from Dad's side of the family, and we have such a great time!  I wouldn't miss that for the world, and I know Brie will not be able to attend this summer since she is in grad school, so we will definitely miss her!!!

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!!

Top 5 Pictures- Keyon

On my Dad's side of the family, we are much more spread out in age, but there is one little man who has stolen my heart from day one.  My cousin Kate and Edwin have the MOST adorable little guy, Keyon who has amazed me over and over with how much he has learned and grown in his short life so far!

Look at this little dude when we took him to Chuck E Cheese in July of 2005.  Is he not the cutest??

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.  He was sitting on my lap and literally fell asleep like that, toy in the hand and all.  This one is from November of 2008

This is a tickling war in action.  We were getting our picture together during Christmas of 2007 and we were caught mid-picture

This picture is from January of 2010, and we are snuggling as always, he is SUCH a loverboy!!

Here we are dancing at our wedding in June of 2011, and I'm sure he was telling me a very important story!!  He is hands-down the best information giver, whether it is about the weather report, or how he is feeling, he's one of my favorite people to listen to!!

Keyon has proven the impossible and he has become incredibly smart and an amazing little man!  I look forward to seeing him grow up even more, but of course not too fast!!!

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!!

Top 5 Pictures- Aunt Lee Lee

I am very lucky.  I know everyone says that, but I truly believe it.  I have been blessed not only with great parents, but great aunts and uncles as well.  On my Mom's side of the family, my cousins and I are very close in age, which is something I have always wanted for my future children.  My Aunt Jolene had Trista in October of 1985, my Aunt Lee Lee had Drew in July of 1986, my Mom had me in May of 1987, my Aunt Ileen had Stevie in August of 1987, and my Aunt Jolene had a second daughter Jenna in December of 1987.  Add in my older cousin Lauren as well, and you can see that there were a lot of small children at one time.  Due to my Mom and my aunts schedules, we spent a lot of time together growing up, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I spent a lot of time with all of my Aunts, and I can remember specific things about growing up at my Aunt Lee Lee's, like which drawer in her kitchen that she kept my extra pacifier in and her red see-through cups that we always drank out of.

This is an infamous picture of the time both Mom and Aunt Lee Lee talk about, when Aunt Lee Lee fed me ice cream, well before I was eating real food.  As you can see, I dug right in and loved it.  Mom still doesn't let her live that one down.

For those of you who do not know, Aunt Lee Lee is also a hairdresser, so here she is giving my my very first haircut (Yes, I was that old.... I was bald for what feels like forever, huh Mom?!?)

We have a trend of spending New Years together on my Mom's side, so this is from a New Years, and I believe those are Karli's feet making an appearance as well!

This picture is from Christmas 2008, which is also a tradition on my Mom's side.  We usually have it at my Mom's house, and while some of the traditions have changed, having a great time has not changed.

Aunt Lee Lee has not only cut my hair all my life, she has done my hair for all of my special occasions.  From double french braiding my hair for gymnastics meets, to updos for Homecomings and Proms, to photo shoots, to my wedding day, she never disappoints (even when I am an emotional mess!!) 

 

Haircuts, sleepovers, Black Friday shopping, Gingerbread houses, Glow-in-the-dark Easter Egg hunts, you name it, Aunt Lee Lee is a part of it!  My Aunts are some of the best people around!!  Our family has gone through so many amazing memories and so many tough times, and she is by far the strongest person that I know.  Her faith and her love never cease to amaze me, and I'm SO lucky to have her in my life!!!

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!!

Top 5 Pictures- Emily & Tyler

When I was a freshman in college, I saw a girl in my dorm who was always wearing Shippensburg Baseball attire.  She was always with her boyfriend, and I must admit that I was rather jealous.  It seemed that they were always together and always happy.  I knew nothing of her, but would see her frequently in the girls bathroom getting ready in the morning.

Fast forward a few years, when I started dating Jason, I started attending the baseball games.  I met Emily sitting at a baseball game, which would become our most frequented location.  From games in Shippensburg to planning a surprise trip to see the guys play in Florida over Spring Break, we have spent a lot of time together, so today I combined some pictures of Emily and her now husband Tyler for this post.

This is my favorite picture of us, and coincidentally, the one that comes first sequentially (of course you know they have to come in order).  This picture is from the Rehearsal of Emily's wedding in December of 2008.  We got a smiling picture first and then this was captured second.  It makes me smile every time I see it.

The next day we took this picture at her wedding.  Sadly, I don't have one of the four of us, but Jason and I were both lucky enough to be part of their special day, and we enjoyed every moment of it!!

This picture is from Spring Break in March 2009 when we went to support the guys in Florida over our Spring Break.  You know, the way baseball wives always do ;-)

Imagine this.... another baseball game!!  I love that the other picture was from a completely different season, but here we are in the opposite weather, the cold season!

Last but not least, we were blessed that Emily and Tyler we able to come to our wedding in June of 2011, so we got a picture of us there too!  We enjoyed dancing with them all night long!!

Since college, Emily and Tyler have moved to Florida to pursue their careers and we miss our couple bonding time!!  When we were in college, many nights were spent at each others houses and that isn't possible anymore unfortunately!  Even though miles may now separate us, we still consider them some of our closest friends, and I cannot tell you how many times a day Jason and Tyler seem to talk.  Especially during baseball season, I can find Jason texting or talking on the phone to Tyler about possible trades.  We are lucky to have them!!