Summer??

Where has the summer gone?  I never promised when I started this blog that I would be very consistent at posting on a regular basis but July has just flown by without me knowing it! 

Coming soon.... hydrangea update (for those who read that post), kitchen pictures that I promised to post a while back and never did and Martina McBride concert pics. 

In the near future... we are leaving for a 7 day cruise with my parents Saturday (yay!!!)  so lots of pics and stories from vacation, then on Aug 10 we find out what Baby Candler will be :)  Lots of things to keep me busy posting if I will just sit down and do it. 

Hope everyone else has had a wonderful summer!

Sara Evans!

Yay for summertime!  This past weekend we drove to Monroeville to celebrate my dad's bday (June 7) and Father's day (this coming weekend).  While we were there Saturday night we all rode over to Atmore to Wind Creek Casino (none of us had been before).  Tommy had given me Sara Evans tickets for my birthday so he and I went over for the concert and Mom and Dad just spent some time trying to figure out bingo slot machines - WAY more confusing than it has to be!  After the concert, Tommy and I played a little but we all left without losing too much and just enjoyed getting out for the night.  The amphitheater there was great!  We felt like we were right there at the stage but actually were in the back section.  I'm now trying to order Martina McBride tickets for July :)  Here are pictures of the casino/hotel and the concert.  So much fun!!

Alabaster Cityfest

Saturday my parents drove to Alabaster and surprised me by coming to visit.  Tommy knew but kept the secret... so we went to pick up some lunch and there they were, yay!  We had so much to get done this weekend and it was so good to have their help.  Last weekend we ordered new appliances to be delivered this weekend and there was alot of work in installing these, if it were left up to Tommy and me we would have strangled each other by the end I'm sure of it!  I'll post pictures soon of the new appliances and the kitchen updates.  Saturday night though we took a break, had dinner and walked over to Cityfest.  Vertical Horizon played first (I knew a couple of their songs but not many) and then Craig Morgan played.  He did such an awesome job, I LOVE me some country music so I knew just about every song that he sang.  We had a busy but great weekend.  Tommy took a couple of pics during the concert but didn't tell us he was taking them (obviously). 

A green thumb?

Me, not so much.  Tommy has been doing a great job.  He loves to work in "his" yard and flower beds.  I absolutely love flowers, all kinds but I think that lillies are my favorite.  Calla lillies, stargazer lillies... they are all so pretty.  The problem with all this is that I don't want to do the work required because I have a ridiculous fear of lizards and snakes.  I'm so paranoid that something will jump out at me in the process of gardening.  Fortunately, Tommy loves it and I can enjoy all the pretty flowers.  A few weeks ago we went to Lowe's to pick out some new flowers for the planters out front.  I had the hardest time deciding and Tommy was about ready to leave when I saw some Hydrandeas.  After purchasing the flowers we learn that these are difficult to keep alive and our planters are not quite big enough for them.  Too late, they were already purchased and we were going to give them a shot anyway. Well... we have our first little bloom!!  :)  Please, ignore the brown spots on the leaves.  Tommy got some insecticide yesterday to start treating those and hopefully that will go away. 

Up close

It's small but it's a start!

I'm pretty sure that the color on the tag was supposed to be a bright pink but purple will be just as pretty.   

Wedding #5 Congratulations to JP and Lindsay Troha!!

We forgot to take pictures at the wedding, I hate when I do that!  It was a beautiful wedding and wonderful reception with all of our friends in Atlanta.  While in Atlanta we stayed with one of my closest friends Megan.  We don't get to see each other often but I sure do love it when we get together. 

Tommy had class until late Friday night so we were especially late getting to Atlanta that night but were up pretty early ready to head to the pool.  The first time I met Megan was in Tuscaloosa laying out by the pool, definitely one of our favorite things to do.  Tommy had to do tons of school work while we were at the pool as he was going into the last week of his mini-term.  He finally took a little break and we headed off to a delicious restaurant, Roasters.  It was a meat and 3 type place, so good!!  That afternoon we had to do a little shopping because of course I forgot my shoes to go with my dress for the wedding.  No worries, DSW was right down the road... sooo many shoes, ahhh just makes me happy haha. 

That night it was off to the wedding (in case the rapture occured we all felt pretty good about being in church, ha) and then the reception.  Everyone had a great time and I even enjoyed it minus any drinking.  Baby Candler and I were the DD for the evening.  We were late getting in that night too but thank goodness so was Megan.  I would have felt terrible if two nights in a row she had to wait up for us. 

Sunday morning we were up and headed off to another fabulous restaurant near Megan called the Flying Biscuit.  Let me tell ya, I love just about any kind of grits but these were definitely at the top of the list.  On one weekend we were introduced to two great places that we will have to return to the next time we're in Atlanta!

Wedding #4 Congratulations Graham and Andrea!

We had a great time in Evergreen at the Ward/Lemmond wedding.  It was nice to travel to Monroeville for the weekend and just ride over for the wedding. 

Wedding #5 Congratulations to Cory and Hayley!  We were not able to make it to the wedding but wish them the best!

Aunt Aspen

I have been meaning to post pictures of Aspen's cute little nieces.  My aunt and uncle breed huskies and they bred Aspen's brother to another husky they have, Vallie.  I had forgotten how fun and cuddly they are as puppies!!  One of them (Andi) is just down right naughty but so stinking cute.  They are all three black and white females so my cousin named them after the Black sisters in Harry Potter - Bellatrix (Bella), Narcissa (Cissa) and Andromeda (Andi).

Andi and Bella

Cissa (she's my favorite!)



They are worn out from their photo shoot and just napping with Mom. Well, all except for Andi in the back.

This is Basil, their dad and Aspen's brother.



It's so fun to play with Basil because he and Aspen have the same mannerisms and facial expressions.  I love the similarities knowing they grew up completely separate.  Nature vs Nurture has always intrigued me, even in dogs!