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!!

Top 5 Pictures- Kelly

Now these pictures took a little work to get into digital copies so that I could do this post.  There were TONS and TONS more, but I picked some of my favorites.

I had never had a friend that I was so comfortable with that I brought her to family get-togethers with me, until this friend.  My little cousins all knew her by name, because of course they loved her since she has always been a great babysitter and they opened up to her naturally.  I can still remember Jordan calling her Kally all of the time.  We have been through our shares of ups and downs, relationships and break ups, gains and losses, and even though our lives have become separated, I still consider her to be one of my truest, and most real friends.

This picture is from our Senior Class trip is 2005... we look like such BABIES!!!  We went to Florida for our senior class trip and this was one of the nights before we went to Downtown Disney!  That trip was such a great time, and I was happy to be able to create some memories with her!

This one is from the senior breakfast at the "Pizza Lunch Church."  Those of you who went to West York know where I am talking about.  We spent the morning of graduation together and then all went through graduation, which such a surreal moment.  One door closed, but lots of others opened as we all went our separate ways for college.

This picture is from my graduation party and also includes one of my other favorite people-- Kelly's Mom, Cathy!  Now that is a wonderful woman who raised some pretty awesome kids!  I always enjoyed spending time with both Kel and Cathy-- such great people!!

This picture is from the infamous fireworks at Sunset Lane park where we watched from Kelly's driveway.  Some years we'd walk over to the carnival for some entertainment, but many summers you could find us on her driveway, watching the conclusion together!

Gotta add my picture with Cathy from that night too <3

Now I am sure you can put two and two together and figure out that this isn't Kelly in this picture, so let me let you in on a little secret-- it's NOT!!!  In September of 2010, Kelly had a beautiful little girl named Mackenzie.  This past summer, I got to spend an evening with the two of them, and Mackenzie awed me with how smart and creative she was!  She was shy of course at first, but she opened up and showed me her true personality pretty quickly, which I loved.  

So I not only got Kelly out of the deal, I got a mini-Kelly too!  I can't wait to watch Kenzie grow up and hopefully spend much more time with Kelly, Cathy, and Kenzie (Cath-- we should re-do the spelling of your name so you fit the K theme) in the near future!!!

Top 5 Pictures- Ashlee

 You know how you can distinctly remember that roommate you had in college that you NEVER got along with??  Well I had one of those, but it definitely wasn't this girl!  My sophomore year of college, I met a girl who introduced me to Ashlee and her friend, and Ashlee and I ended up living together for not one, but two years of college.  We have gone through the ups and downs of life together and even been a part of each others weddings, and she is truly irreplaceable.

This picture was from a Halloween when I was a bee and she was a bunny.  It was one of the first times we went somewhere just the two of us instead of going out with some of our other friends, and it was a lot of fun!

This picture absolutely cracks me up.  It is from one our get togethers at our house, and we were making strawberry daquris and as you can see, they were spilled all over me.  Ash was in charge of pouring and I was in charge of holding the cups, and well.... you can see how that one worked out!

This picture is from my 21st birthday when Ashlee and my other friend Jessicca took me out for my birthday.  This picture was from the beginning of the night.  I was so thankful to have Ashlee that night because she made sure I was a-okay that night and that we made it home safely

This picture is from our college graduation from Shippensburg University.  At this point I was graduating with my Biology degree, and Ashlee was graduating with her teaching degree.  She started teaching the next year and I stayed at school to follow in her footsteps and get my teaching degree as well.

This picture is from June 2011 from Jason and my wedding and Ashlee was one of my bridesmaids.  She was a great bridesmaid and helped plan my amazing shower and helped the day go really smoothly.

This picture is from two months later when the roles were reversed.  In August 2011, Ashlee and Aaron got married, and I was one of her bridesmaids.  I love that the pictures are in the same order, just the roles are reversed!

True friends are hard to come by, and I'm really lucky to have Ashlee!  Not only do I get to spend time with her, but our husbands get along amazingly, so that's always a good thing too :-)

Top 5 Pictures- Jordan

Today I decided I would pick my cousin Jordan to share my pictures with her.  On my Mom's side, I have many cousins, but Jordan was born far enough after me that I truly remember her being a baby and watching her grow up.  When she was born, I was 11, and now she's a big bad high school student!!

This picture is one of my favorites of us, and it brings back a lot of memories.  Like I said before, we went to Disney very regularly, and we alternated which side of the family came with us.  This year, it was my Mom's side, and before we went to Downtown Disney, Jordan asked if I would put makeup on her.  Now, at the time I was a middle schooler and all I wore was lip gloss and mascara (which is still true) but MAN was her Mom mad when she found out I put mascara on her.  Oops :-)

 I also mentioned that we take a beach trip with our Grandpa in September, and this was from the year Stevie made us all matching shirts that said Stallionettes on them, and Jordan was walking the boardwalk with us.  She was growing up fast!!

This picture was from Christmas 2006, and she's starting to get some grown up teeth and look older!!  (Wow, I must be just like my Mom... I referenced her teeth).

 

 This picture is from Christmas 2006 and she is still so adorable!  She's definitely losing the baby look and becoming more of a grown up girl!!

I am not sure who took this picture, but I love it.  She is always dressed so cute, so I love her little hat.  I think we were looking at something on my phone.  This picture is from New Years 2006 into 2007

  Jordan and I needed to get a picture together since our shirts were similar.  Of course in this picture she is standing on a chair to be as tall as me, and now she is the same size as me, but that's a whole different story.

And NOW look at her!!!  This was homecoming this year, and to see how much she has grown up makes my heart happy and sad at the same time!!  She has become such a BEAUTIFUL little high schooler and has a great head on her shoulders!  "Uncle Jason" and I love you J!!!