Did you write that down?

This past weekend, the Gibbs girls hit Asheville for a little fun and relaxation. It is slightly embarrassing how much we drank and ate, but we did manage to get in some good reading, shopping, a workout and some relaxation at the spa.

Our family scrapbooker, Emily, created a scrapbook for my mom that has all of our girls trips in it. There are a few pages for each trip and they contain pictures, quotes from the weekend and little memories from each person. We bring it on each trip to look through and laugh at all the fun memories. It was hilarious to look back through the years and remember all the funny things that came out of our (mostly mom's) mouths.

I love these trips with my mom and sisters to reconnect and catch up on life. As usual, we started planning our next girls trip-woot! Here are a few of the many pictures I took.

This is what happens when mom holds the camera

It's the small things in life

This is how I feel when I eat cookies too...

I love that little cheese ball!!

Road Trippin'

Tomorrow cannot come soon enough. Em & I are hitting the road to meet Lora & mom for our annual Gibbs girls weekend!! We pick a new city/state every year and the destination this year will be good ol' Asheville, NC. We will be enjoying some of our favorite local restaurants (my mouth is watering just thinking about Tupelo Honey), partaking in a wine crawl and who knows what else we will get into. I'm just excited about spending some quality time with my mom and sisters. Happy weekend!

I miss my long hair...and having a tan

Weekend of Champions

I think I would rate this past weekend one of the best since we have moved to Knoxville. It might have something to do with the beautiful weather and us being outside every second. In true Charlotte fashion, we hosted a "Build Your Own" party on Friday night. Apparently this is a new idea for the Knoxville crowd but they LOVED IT!!! We also introduced them to Firefly...to say that it was a hit would be an understatement. We got dough from Brixx and bought way too many toppings and let every have at it. The night was a success and I think we already have a BYO party lined up.

Chris won for the most amount of cheese
Sweet flowers from the hubs

Saturday morning started with our usual walk along with river.
We decided to let O'Malley go for a swim since it was starting to get warm. He raced to the water and jumped right in. We played fetch for a little while and then dragged him out so we could finish our walk. He was one happy dog!We then headed to the courts to see if we still remembered how to play tennis. The rest of the day was spent shopping, washing cars, reading outside, friends and grilling out!

Sunday was the big day...after church and a walk, we got ready for the big golf tournament. Yes, you read that correctly. Mike & I "played" in a new members golf tournament Sunday afternoon and boy was it a gorgeous day. We got paired up with a really fun group so I had a blast getting to know everyone. I did actually swing the club a few times, but mainly just drank and socialized. But let's be honest, my favorite part was riding around looking at all the beautiful homes. At the end of the evening, I found myself signed up for a women's golf league- comical, I know! They have promised me that it's mainly a social time with some golf lessons involved. I'm all for meeting new people and making my hubs think I might play golf with him one day. I don't think I have the patience to be a golfer but we will see. It was a great end to the weekend. I finally feel like solid friendships have been made and we continue to be blessed with new ones. Hopefully this weekend was an indication of the great spring and summer ahead! Feel free to visit us anytime in Knoxville...and play some golf with my hubs.

Extreme Couponing

Has anyone heard of this new show?!?

The new series will premiere tonight at 9pm on TLC. Prepare yourself-this show will be intense! I love couponing but I don't think I could ever be that extreme (I hope). I saw a preview a month ago and these people are spending 30+ hours a week finding/researching coupons-WOW! I am going to watch the 1st episode and see if I can handle it. I hope I can learn a few things from these extreme couponers.

My only hang up thus far (since seeing the preview episode), is the stuff they buy JUST to use a coupon. I am not going to buy over 100 candy bars and/or 200 cans of beanie weenies b/c I know I can get them for free. I like a good deal, but not that much.

I'll let you know how the first episode goes...I might get hooked!

Here's the link to read more: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/extreme-couponing

Rollercoaster

Boy, it has been a rollercoaster the past few weeks.
The biggest craziness has come from trying to buy a cute, old house. We were so excited when our offer was accepted and we were going to be able to completely renovate the kitchen, bathrooms and redo the floors. Picking out whatever (within reason) I wanted in a kitchen was a dream come true.
Then the inspection report came back and I was not prepared for the 25+ page report. We met with our realtor to walk through the house & report to figure out the "must fix now list". After a lot of talk and prayer, Mike and I felt like this wasn't a good decision and said we wanted to pull out of the deal. The owner offered us even more money for renovations, but we still didn't have a good "gut feeling". After more talk and prayer, we officially walked away. It was so hard b/c that house was a gem and we could see ourselves loving it. But in the end, we thought it was best to trust our gut and knew the Lord had a another plan.

But, I feel like I'm actually getting a new house without having to pay the mortgage! How you ask, well Robby & Kel are buying a SWEET house in Charlotte. Since I live with them a few times a month, it's like I'm getting a new house too. haha! If only Kel would let me decorate my own room...I'm working on it though.

In between all the house drama, we have had a good few weeks with Knoxville and Charlotte friends. Got to experience some new bars/restaurants in Knoxville, celebrate a 30th birthday, play time with Emerson & wine with Ellen, and a great trip to the Given's house to celebrate mom's birthday. I LOVE playing with my sister's kiddos and want them to stop growing up. Nate and Abby are hysterical and you never know what they will do or say next. Hopefully we will get in lots of playtime before they move to AL.
Enjoy some pictures from the past few weeks.

Miss Hollywood walking with Em & Nanny

Sister time

Sword fight time

This girl seriously loves her jewelry

I could just eat her up!

Our crazy dog enjoys spooning my husband

You know I love free samples...even if it's beer

Happy Birthday Nanny!

I cannot stop laughing at Abby and Nate's reaction to Nanny's birthday cake.
She doesn't know what to think of this amazing birthday cake that we just brought out...or maybe she was scare of our singing. You would think these kids have never had dessert. But don't worry, these two kiddos enjoyed every bite of their cake.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

If you click on the pic to make it larger, you can really see Abby's reaction

Sweet Story

I love a good proposal story...warms my heart. My friend, Patrick, proposed to his girlfriend last weekend in Wilmington. He hired a photographer to capture every moment-LOVE IT! What a special memory they will have for years to come. Their story was featured in the Charlotte Observer this morning- you can read it HERE. In other news- I have lots of updates to share. More to come later this weekend. The SUN is out so it's going to be a great Friday!