The Big 5-0

So...I thought we were on our way back home when I made that last post. Our car has broken down again and is currently in the local dealership shop, so we are here for a few days. I'm not sad...I love my hometown!

Anyway, we have been super busy the last few weeks. Our most recent event was Saturday night, when my sisters and I (with the help of our Aunt Pam, my daddy's youngest sister) threw a surprise 50th birthday party for my daddy! It turned out so awesome. We held it at Aw Shucks down by the river bridge (for those of you local-ites) and let me just say -- the food is awesome, the atmosphere is better, and the service is the best! Our three waitresses (I can NOT for the life of me remember their names, unfortunately) ROCKED. If you don't know my dad, you know he is the quiet type and does not like a lot of attention. When you ask him what he wants for his birthday/Father's Day/Christmas/etc. he just smiles and says, "You girls and the babies are all I need." Well, he might not have NEEDED this birthday party...but we threw it anyway -- and had a blast! The two pictures are from the party. You'll have to excuse his look in the first one -- he had just cried because he had opened our scrapbook my sisters & I had made for him. The first picture is my sisters & I (I'm the really blonde one...and no, my natural color is still not as dark as my sisters! Elizabeth, the oldest at 28, is next to me in the black dress, Kayla, the third at 18, is in the red dress, and Allie, the youngest at 16, is in his lap in the yellow) and the second picture is all of his "should-have-been daughters" aka...the ones we've grown up with. Honorable mention especially goes to Tiffani, the lovely dark-haired sweetheart standing next to me. She has been my older sisters best friend since they were knee-high to a grasshoppers ankle, even when they were a whole country away, and still continues to support her unconditionally to this day. What can I say...we love that girl!

Anyway, we had a live band, raw oysters, and good friends and family...so you can't really get any better than that! Thanks to Aw Shucks for handling all of our needs so well!

Disclaimer: I'm not so sure why I look so orange in the face. I'm not normally like that. And I'm totally re-thinking the zebra print dress after seeing these pictures! And, they are totally stolen from Kayla, who stole them from Tiffani. Mwah!

Out of Comission

We're switching internets and our new modem won't arrive until the end of next week, so look for a big catch-up post next Friday or Saturday! I have exciting things to share. :)

Time for a new 'do!

This is my hair currently (please excuse the mega-fake smile!). I have a hair appointment this Saturday morning, bright and early at 9 am. If any of ya'll are in the Montgomery area....you should definitely check out Brittany with the Cuts By Us on Atlanta Highway. Now, if you know me, you know I usually steer way clear of the "Cuts By Us/Master Cuts/etc." chains...but this girl has been cutting my cousins hair AND my friends hair for a good little bit now, and it looks fantastic. This past month while Michael was away, I decided to give her a try. Well, she definitely rocked my hair! I was extremely pleased, to say the very least. The problem is....I have no clue what I want! I was trying to grow it out longer, but I'm really liking the shorter style now. I'm probably going to go for the bob...I'm really liking that cut lately. Any suggestions??

Yes, we're still alive!!

Sorry I have been MIA! It has been a loooong month, but we are happy to say that Daddy has returned from the desert! He left on the 4th of July and returned last week. We have just been hanging out and enjoying life since then. But now we're back to your regularly scheduled programming!

A recap of our past month:

We headed down to Hometown, Alabama on the 5th to spend some time with Mimi (aka my mother) and the rest of our family. On July 11th, we went to our beloved Lake Martin (really...is there anything better than your favorite lake, a cold Coca-Cola, warm (read: HOT) sunshine & loved ones? If so, I haven't found it yet!) for sweet Aubrey's very first birthday party. She didn't actually turn a year old until the 22nd, but her party was held just a bit early. We swam, played in the sand, got some sunshine, grilled hot dogs, played some more, went canoeing, and finally opened presents & cut the yummy cake. Mmm, I love birthday cakes! Sara turned into quite the little fish -- she has discovered water, and she likes to stick as close to it as she can! She's fearless.

The rest of the month quickly filled up with visits to and from family & friends, revival, and lots of playtime at the local pool. Daddy came home last Wednesday and Sara has been having a blast ever since! She was so happy to see him when we picked him up that she could not say a word. She just grinned from ear to ear! About halfway home the floodgates opened and she talked from that moment until AFTER we had put her in bed for the night...THREE HOURS past her normal bed time! After we had read her story, said our prayers and shut the door, you could still hear her saying softly, "My daddy. My daddy. Daddy. Ohhh, my daddy" over and over. So cute!

I have tons of pictures to share, but for some reason my Internet connection is ridiculously slow and they are not loading. Stay tuned!