Day 1: Universal's Islands of Adventure

After driving for the better part of two whole days... we were ready to get to the fun Florida had in store for us!

Day 1: Universal's Islands of Adventure

Ready for day one!

Honestly, I was most excited for this day myself. If you know me, you know I've been an avid Harry Potter fan since I was in 6th grade. When we were in London, my birthday present was to go to Harry Potter Studios - see that adventure here. So I was naturally very excited to visit Harry Potter World!

The Hogwarts Express!

 Hogwarts

Frozen butterbeer with these sweet girls - the best!

The ride is inside the castle, and even though I thought it would be cool, it really did blow me away with how good it was. If you ever get a chance to go - do it! Even if the line is long, it is so worth it, and a lot of the line is part of the "attraction".

Next, we headed to meet up with Chloe and Anthony at Jurassic Park. Chloe has always loved dinosaurs, and this was a lot of fun.

Just makin' dinosaurs...

And petting dinosaurs..

We had such pretty weather - even if it was a little warm!

The Hulk - such a fun ride. The girls were too small for this one, but Anthony and I enjoyed it!

We all got to go on this one, and it was also more impressive than I imagined it would be!

Stopped to play in the water...

And then really wanted to play in the water! Anthony and the girls went on this one while Mom and I headed back to Harry Potter world to ride Dragon Challenge.

It was a full first day, but we had so much fun at Islands of Adventure! We headed home only when the park closed and got ready to do it all over again the next day!

We're headed to...Walt Disney World!

For several years, we have wanted to take my three nieces on their first trip to Walt Disney World. We were waiting for the youngest, Chloe, to be old enough that she may remember most of it and could enjoy it. Since she would be turning 7, we figured this was the year to go! We kept this a secret for quite a while because we wanted to surprise them. The night before we were scheduled to leave, we decorated the back of Mom's car and headed to tell them the news. They were already in bed when we got to their house, but they made their way out to the car for the fun.

Chloe was the first to squeal with excitement, but of course, she needed Haleigh to read our invitation out loud before she really knew what was happening! She was especially concerned because she thought she might miss her school field trip (to the park). Luckily, she didn't have to miss that... even for Disney World! :)

   

The girls went to school the next day, and then we were off for a week of fun in Florida! Stay tuned for all of our adventures!

 

Love's Gonna Make it Alright

Kody and I started dating 5 years ago on April 10th. It really doesn't seem like we've been together that long, but I'm glad that we have :)

I traveled to Little Rock on Friday afternoon and after getting stuck and having to reroute in the WORST traffic I have experienced to date in the last 2 years he's been there, we got ready to head to the George Strait concert! I bought Kody these tickets after he expressed months ago that if he could see George Strait and Garth Brooks, he would be concert happy for life (if not in those exact words). When I found out George would be playing in Little Rock the week of our anniversary, it made my present choice pretty easy (although, I'm glad I got the tickets as soon as they went on sale -- they were sold out in like a minute - George fans are intense!).

For those who don't know, George is on his farewell tour, and we got to see him during his last big weekend. He is 60, sounds awesome, and is definitely still rocking it. It was so much fun to see a living legend!

Outside Verizon and ready to see George!

Side note: I took my real camera, but of course, the battery was dead. So all I have are blurry Iphone pics :/ BUT Martina McBride opened for George

And then it was time for the man himself!

After a fun Friday night, Kody used Saturday to catch up a little bit on studying (and watch the Master's), and we had a quick trip out to the mall and to a little antique store around the corner from his house. He made reservations for us to have dinner at a restaurant right down the street on the riverfront -- Brave New Restaurant. It was perfect weather to sit out on their deck, enjoy the view, and enjoy the yummy food! We each had pork tenderloins, beef medallion, stuffed quail, and buffalo sausage. So. Good. But the best was definitely the chocolate creme brulee. To. Die. For. Seriously, my mouth waters just thinking about it :)

Enjoying the deck at Brave New Restaurant!

Yum, yum :)

Blurry, I know. I actually have a better picture of us on my real camera, but I haven't gotten around to uploading it. But I love him!

Sunday we decided last minute to go see Jurassic Park in 3D at the IMAX before I had to leave. This was Kody's first time to an IMAX show (crazy, right?), so that was fun in itself. We had another fun lunch and then it was time for me to head back home. I always hate saying goodbye, especially when I don't know the next time we'll see each other, but I'm SO happy that these goodbyes are almost OVER. Kody will move to Fayetteville this summer, and I'm so excited to have him close by all the time!

It was a great weekend of hanging out with my best friend. Happy 5 years of dating, love! I love you so much, and I'm so thankful for you! :)

 

Happy, happy birthday!

I recently got to celebrate four special people and their special birthdays! Let's go youngest to oldest, shall we?

First up - my sweet niece, Jade, turned 9 on March 29th. She is my second oldest niece, and such a sweet girl. We celebrated with a little shopping and a dinner at Marketplace complete with a chocolate mess (I taught her well).

The birthday girl!

Sisters enjoying a chocolate mess!

Sooo good!

My brother, the girls, and me

Youngest niece Chloe

Being silly :)

Next up - Kody turned 25 on April 2nd. Since he is still in Little Rock, I did not get to see him on his birthday, but I was able to send his presents/card via good ol' USPS. We celebrated birthday/our anniversary at a later date (to come in a later post!). Happy birthday, love!

Moving on up -- You'll need a little background:  When I was about 3 months old, my mom went back to work during the day, and I started staying with a woman named Dorothey. I stayed with her just about every single weekday until I started going to school, and then she would pick me up from school, and I would stay with her until my mom got off work. Even as school activities and sports started taking up more of my time, I continued to go to Dorothey's house several days a week -- all the way through high school! She lives right next to the school, and her house was the perfect place for a quick nap, a chance to catch up on homework, or to grab a homemade meal before a game or practice!

Dorothey's first husband, Huse, died before I was born. When I was about four years old, she started "courting" a man that lived in another small town close to ours. Dorothey makes the BEST homemade sourdough bread. She would have me hang the bread on the door of this man's house and we would drive away. She ended up marrying that man, and he is the one this particular birthday is actually about. L.D. turned 90 on March 20th. (Dorothey will turn 90 in August!) His family threw him a big birthday party that we were happy to attend. L.D. and Dorothey have always been just like another set of grandparents, and I love them both so much!

My Papa Ed turned 90 on March 31st. His birthday happened to fall on Easter this year, so although we had the usual family out for Easter and to celebrate his birthday on a smaller scale, we had over 70 guests at our house the following weekend to celebrate! Friends of my grandparents came all the way from Indiana just for the weekend. It was so fun to celebrate with him, our family, and their friends. My Papa is the hardest working man I've ever known - he is a carpenter and continued working well into his 80s! He'll still climb a ladder and get on a roof if no one is looking. Love my Papa Ed and Granny Lou! :)

Wasn't he so handsome? This is Papa at about 20 years old!

We always group family birthdays that are near each other all together - we use the same cake, but sing "happy birthday" to everyone separately!

 Then came the big birthday party!

Mom collected a ton of old pictures of my Granny, Papa, friends and family from over the years and made these picture boards to display. It's so fun looking at old pictures!

These sweet people are the ones who drove all the way from Indiana just to be at Papa's party...they definitely get the "traveled the farthest" award for the day!

Isn't he the cutest?

And so are they :)

From left to right, this is L.D., Dorothey, Papa, and Granny

Such special people in my life - I cherish this picture so, so much.

I'm so lucky all my 90 year olds are still healthy and with us. Love them all so much!

Happy birthday to all these special people in my life!

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Talk about some answered prayers.

On Valentine's Day this year I got two important messages:

1. I had been pre-approved for a home loan.

2. Kody had asked to put his name on the wait list to come finish his last two years of med school at UAMS' northwest campus in Fayetteville. We would know by April 1st if there was any movement on the list -- he was number 3.

On March 14th (exactly one month later), this is what happened:

1. I found a house online I wanted to go see. I scheduled a showing for that night because I knew I would be out of town all weekend for my dear friend Erin's wedding. Kody was on his way up for the festivities, but I figured I would go see the house before he got up here. He ended up showing up earlier than I thought, so we went to see the house with my aunt and mom. (Just in case you're wondering, the house was a no!)

2. Kody and I go to dinner after house hunting, and he tells me he got a spot with UAMS in Fayetteville, he had decided to accept, and he's moving to Fayetteville this summer!

Best. News. Ever. Of course, Kody had been holding out on me for a week before he told me. He needed to make sure he was making the right decision (it is his career, after all) and then he wanted to tell me in person.

After three years of being in a long-distance relationship, there is finally a light at the end of this tunnel! I am so happy that Kody made the decision to 1. put his name on that list, 2. that he actually got a spot (we're talking 18 people out of 170ish+), and 3. that he ultimately decided to take the spot. 

Thanks to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers -- I am SO happy about this outcome, and I'm looking forward to spending more than a few weekends every now and then with my best friend :)

Just remember -- He is good, He is faithful, and He provides.