Happy Birthday...times 3

It has been a week of birthdays and we all know how much I like birthdays!!
In honor of these 3, I thought they deserved a special post!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHIT! (7/29)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT (7/30)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!! (7/31)

Becca & Ben's Wedding Weekend

Well how do I put into words the fabulous time we all had in Florida??
I decided before we left that I was going to be "laid back" and "go with the flow"...I tried my hardest and only did minimal planning. That might depend on who you ask though :)

Thursday afternoon, Mike and I packed up the car and met Kessler, Terry, Ellen, Kat and Matt...our travel buddies! After a quick stop for dinner and gas, we were on our way to FLORIDA!!
Highlights of the trip down- me "borrowing" 65 purel wipes from chickfila, kesslers 15,000 itune songs, Mikes question book, the spelling bee, would you rather, kessler phone date in the back seat with Eller and finally the GOASIS!!! I probably should do a separate post about the "GOASIS" but I'm going to spare everyone. Let's just say it was the Ritz Carlton of gas stations...amazing! (exit 28 off of I-95 if anyone is interested)

Friday was beach day!! We all loaded in our cars, stopped at 3 places for breakfast and finally made it to the beach. The events included reading, laying out, football, Frisbee, volleyball, body surfing, Kat trying to get Ellen and I to sing with her, mini rain storm and playing in the ocean! Perfect time at the beach. Mike and I left early to head to Belk to do a little shopping for his new work wardrobe...I had so much fun finding good deals for the both of us.

Friday night we all cleaned up and went to Jacksonville landing. First up was the Twisted Martini for drinks and appetizers. Then we headed to Benny's for a great dinner. Mike ordered his first ever crab cake dinner. Everyone's food was soooo good! A few members of the group were our entertainment for the evening due to the amount of alcohol they consumed (they will remain nameless).
Saturday was pool day for the girls while the guys went to play at the beach. From what I heard, they played and beat some Navy college guys in beach football! Get it guys. I had a great time with the girls. I got a chance to have some good girl time with Kat, Ellen, Helen and Whit! Then it was time to get all dolled up for the Spencer/Davis Wedding. We arrived early because there was a gay and lesbian parade outside the church...awesome!
The wedding was very sweet and a true tribute to the Lord. After the wedding, we all jumped in cabs and headed to the Yacht Club for the reception. Their reception was the most beautiful, amazing and extravagant reception I have ever attended. The food was delicious, the flowers were gorgeous, the wine was tasty, the band was awesome and the location topped it off! Becca and Ben looked so happy and I was glad to share this celebration with them.
We were handed boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts and a hand full of rose pedals as we left the reception. We cheered as the new Mr. and Mrs. Davis were driven off into married life.
As we drove home on Sunday, we passed the exit for Jekyll Island and I got SOOOO excited about Kelly and Robby's wedding! The next year is going to be full of planning and I can't wait.

CELEBRATE II

Dinner was FABULOUS on Monday night. All of us were together for a few hours and had a great dinner.

Tara and Nate arrived first with Sadie. Sadie is living with me right now until they get back from Hawaii. Mike came next and got his "welcome to bank of America" surprise. Matt and Melissa arrived with all the yummy BBQ that Matt smoked. I am not a fan of BBQ but it was really good. The "W's" arrived next. Abs had her "ghetto" cooler so her famous coleslaw would stay cold. Man, that girl cracks me up.

Kelly and Robby rounded out the group and we all started to dig in.

After stuffing our faces with dinner, we had cake to celebrate Melissa being preggers and Tara and Nathan moving to Wilmington! Both of them are starting new chapters of their lives, and we are excited to see how the Lord works in both situations.

After the clean up, everyone left so we could go to bed. I had the pleasure of taking Tara and Nathan to the airport at 4:30am on Tuesday morning...for the LOVE!

So Sadie has been living with me for the past couple of days. She and O'Malley sleep together on the bed in my guest bedroom. yes, they are sluts I tell you! It actually is really cute though. I want to use O'Malley's shock collar on Sadie but I promise Tara I wouldn't. I'll just have to beat her instead.

As a side note- we also got to celebrate Mike's new job at BANK OF AMERICA! Yes, he is joining the cool people and moving to the bank. He has no idea what he's in for...living and working with me and Kelly, that could be a bad idea :)

I love these women (and their husbands)!!!!

Abs getting ready for America's next top model...as usual

We gave baby Morrow his/her first baby book! M&M, you better read it every night!

The W's getting ready to head back to "the dash"


Family Portrait- Kelly and Fats the cat

CELEBRATE

Tomorrow all the west girls and their husbands are coming into town for dinner. Tara and Nathan are flying to Hawaii Tuesday morning and they are dropping Sadie off at my house. Yes, Aunt Becky gets to keep Sadie for a week. She and Malley will have lots of fun I'm sure.
Since Tara and Nathan are moving to Wilmington in a few weeks, we thought this would be a great time to all hang out before they leave.
So tomorrow night, we will all be celebrating 2 occasions...Tara and Nathan's new adventure in Wilmington AND hearing the first heart beat of baby Morrow!
More pictures and stories to come...but I am so excited I had to post!

On Post

One of my favorite shows is "Army Wives." Yes, you are all allowed to make fun of me but I will continue to watch this lifetime television wonder!
I'm a little embarrassed to say that the only images and knowledge I have about the Army comes from watching that show. Pathetic I know considering my cousin is in Iraq serving right now.

I'm sure you are wondering why I am blogging about Army Wives. Either my life is that uneventful or I have gone crazy. Well, I am happy to report that I got to visit my first Military base this weekend...FORT GORDON.

Mike and I went to Augusta, Ga to hang out with his brother, Tim and sister in law, Bente. Tim is stationed at Fort Gordon until the end of August. At the end of August they are moving to Germany where they will be stationed for the next few years.
Tim and Bente asked if we wanted to take a tour of the base and of course I was super excited.
They had to check our ID's when we entered the base. The guy checking our ID's made fun of me b/c I smiled like he was going to take a picture of me or something. I was just excited to see the base. They drove us all around the base and it was really interesting. It was much larger than I expected (my tainted views from watching Army Wives). After our grand tour, we went to the bowling alley on base...how cool is that?!?! Please note, they also had the following on base...The biggest satellites I have ever seen in my life, horse stables, pool, burger king, huddle house, liquor store and a dinner theatre. Those are just a few of the highlights

I would call myself a decent bowler but I think I forgot to show up on Saturday. I am slightly competitive and wanted to beat Mike in bowling. Well that didn't happen and he certainly didn't let me win. I think I need to hit George Pappas and practice before I embarrassed myself again!

I wanted to take pictures while we were touring the base, but didn't want Tim and Bente to think I was a complete nut case. But don't worry, Mike and I modeled our shoes and socks. (we had to borrow socks b/c we wore our flops)
After the bowling catastrophe, we went to dinner at a fabulous Mexican restaurant. After dinner, we headed back to their place. Tim showed us where they were going to live in Germany which was very cool. After that, Mike and I headed back to Charlotte. (for the record, I only closed my eyes in the car for 15 seconds max).

Scooter Man

This post is dedicated to Terry Michael Jerome Bruce...aka Scooter man.
I was trying to get ready Friday night for our double date with Kelly and Robby. I heard some knocks on the door and figured it was Kel. I ran downstairs and there he was, the scooter man. Terry was standing on my front porch with a big grin on his face. I asked what he was doing and he replied, I just wanted to show you my scooter. I wanted to die laughing. He was so stinkin cute riding his "all terrain" scooter around the hood. I had not seen this birthday gift yet and was excited to see its coolness. Terry pointed out a few adjustments that need to be made in order for it to be top notch.

The funniest part was when he was getting ready to leave. He was trying to start her up and it wasn't working out. Terry put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a bunch of tools. He said he brought them along just in case he broke down!!! Who throws tools in their pockets "just in case." TBruce- I love your scooter and you looked so cool riding it. Thank you for stopping by and making my evening.

Here are a few shots of scooter man and his prized possession.

Wet Dogs

Friday morning Mike and I headed to the lake for the weekend. We had a lot of stuff, so we needed to take 2 cars. Mike took the dogs in the back of his jeep and I followed behind to make sure Malley didn't jump ship. I thought the dogs were too cute in the jeep and once again I decided to take pictures..

O'Malley has only had one lake experience and it didn't go so well. He fell off the Weber's dock his first time at the lake and didn't really show interest in the water after that. Zoe on the other hand loves the water and Mike can't keep her out. I was hoping she would rub off on O'Malley once we got to the lake. I left O'Malley on his lease and walked him into the water. After a few minutes, he started to deal with himself and like the water. He and Zoe played Frisbee in the lake the rest of the day. I was SO happy he loved the water...he is officially a lab now.

We had a great weekend hanging out at the Russo's house and Weber's house!

Pops in the Park

Terry and Ellen get all the credit for introducing me to this fabulous event. If you grew up in Clemmons, your family probably attended "Music at Sunset" during the summers at Tanglewood. Our family went with tons of others every summer growing up. I remember eating yummy food, getting sprayed with smelly bug spray, running around with glow sticks, throwing the softball with our dads, laying on the blankets watching fireworks and hearing the symphony in the background. "Pops in the Park" is the Charlotte version and just as much fun.

The final Pops was held on July 3rd and I think everyone in Charlotte decided to attend. Mike and I were tasked with "reserving" our spots on the lawn Thursday morning. We loaded the blankets in the car and headed to SouthPark Thursday morning. As we turned the corner and saw all the blankets already laid out, I started to panic. (please remember this was at 8am) After Mike talked me off the ledge, we found the 2nd to last patch of grass to laid our blankets on. It ended being a great spot that we all enjoyed later that night.

Once everyone arrived at Pops Thursday night, we shared food, drinks (maybe a little too many), and lots of laughs.

Side note- Chid brought FROZEN shrimp cocktail to share with the group. After thawing for 5 hours, they were able to be eaten at the end of the night. Thanks Chid for putting a lot of thought into your side item.

Ellen, Kat and I thought it was a good idea to take shots in honor of Matt and Kat paying off their student loans. Peach vodka is not very taste by itself. I got to reminisce with Jason Whitner on dating Emily back in high school and dealing with good ol Rick Gibbs. I also misunderstood the announcer and stood up as people cheered for the veterans.

The night ended with a great fireworks display and sparklers courtesy of Ellen Bruce...I'm sad that Pops is over for the year.

Here are a few highlights from the night..

Wine Snob

This is what I want to be when I grow up. My dear friend, Kat, is my inspiration. She knows everything about wine but acts like she doesn't. Ellen, Kat, Whit and I went to a FABULOUS new restaurant called Andrew Blair's last week. If you live in Charlotte, you must eat there! It was half price wine night so we all decided to split a few bottles. They asked which one I liked and all I cared about was if it was red or not. Real sophisticated huh!?!

Kat decided to show Whit how to taste the many favors in the wine. Whit, please don't kill me for posting this picture...it was hilarious to watch!

With Kat's help, we are on our way to becoming the best wine snobs ever. But until that day, I will have to settle for being a "wedge snob." I know a good from a bad wedge and where to find the best one in Charlotte. Should I be proud of that? Andrew Blair's had a killer wedge and of course I had to take a picture of it!