One for the Books!

I was so excited last week, I think every blog post I wrote mentioned I was headed back to Clemson for the game this past weekend.  And y'all-- it did not disappoint!  I graduated from Clemson and it's just like a second home to me.  I spent a lot of great years there, met my husband there, and my best friend, too!  Essentially, the foundation for the rest of my life began there, ha!

Anyway, it was a beautiful day for football!  The game didn't start until 8pm but we got there bright and early (10:30am) so we could tailgate, spend some time at ESPN Game Day, and walk around downtown a bit.  

*Obligatory "we're on our way" car selfie*

Clemson played Louisville and it was a huge #4/#5 match-up, so it was a big game!  ESPN has come to Clemson frequently in the last few years and it's always an exciting time.  I'm not sure how many people actually watch Game Day, but at the end of the broadcast, they always pick who they think will win the game.  Lee Corso always dons the mascot head of whichever team he chooses.  When it comes to Clemson, anytime Corso chooses against us, we win.  Anytime he chooses us, we lose.  So when he pulled out that Clemson Tiger mascot to put on , the entire crowd booed!  Hysterical, I tell you! #corsocurse

We set up our tailgate, ate some snacks, and hung out for a bit, but we honestly walked around a lot Saturday.  We had lots of friends we wanted to see and we couldn't leave the babes for an entire day without bringing them something back, so once we fueled our bodies, we headed out.

*Mommas and their boys...love this little boy smiling at his Mom!*

*Game Day with my creeper of a husband*

*The pretty lady on the right is the reason I went to Clemson!  She used to take me to the mother/daughter days until Em was old enough to go.  I used to babysit Em when she was one and now she's a junior in college...what?!*

*Baby snugs*

Surprisingly, 8pm came pretty quickly.  We used to have season tickets and gave them up when we had Griffin, so we haven't been to campus in a while.  It was nice to be back and the day seemed to just fly by.  Our seats were in the West End Zone, like 9 rows up from the field--pretty perfect!

*Love the guy mean-muggin us in the back....dude, I'm a girl.  I take pictures instead of watching football.*

It was an amazing game.  Amazing.  It pretty much came down to the last play of the game and Death Valley was electric.  We didn't get home until really late (or really early!) and we were walking zombies Sunday, but man, was it worth it!  #corsocurse no more! :)

And while we were at the game, Grammy kept the babies for us!  Hadley had a birthday party for a little friend from school and Grammy took both kids!  She said they were great and I think all involved in that set up had a great time.  

*It was a fireman theme, so they had firetrucks and water hoses out there!

*Blue-eyed handsome boy*

All in all, it was a weekend for the books. I didn't take nearly enough pictures (the sign of an awesome weekend!)  and now we are kicking ourselves for getting rid of our season tickets! :)

Five on Friday

Whew, I've done a slew of "link-up" posts lately and it's exciting to connect to other people, but I also want to make sure I'm documenting my days because my kids might want to read this someday (yeah, right!) and I'm sure they don't want to read all about what we ate! (Although, after recently talking to my mom, I can only remember like 4 meals she made when I was growing up, haha!)  But it's Friday so I am linking up with April for another Five on Friday post:

ONE

My grandparents came Wednesday (H&G's great-grandparents!) and loved on my kiddos (and me!).  None of our family live here, but they live close enough to make day trips and I always love when they do.  It makes me so happy that my babies get to experience great-grandparents who are still so active! They get to love and be loved by my people and that is very dear to my heart!

TWO

I loathe group work.  Make it online group work and I loathe it even more.  I'm an overachiever and I like to get things done.  We are smack in the middle of some "group" work for our doctorate program and I volunteered to put all the info together for our final presentation and when asking for feedback from the group....[crickets]

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I mean, what is up with that?? You are getting the highest level degree for your career and you can't turn in your work in a timely manner???  Ah, my anxiety is through the roof.

THREE

I'm doing a joint birthday party for my babes this year.  I'm thinking it may be the only year I can pull this off, but invitations went out yesterday so I need to get my butt into party-planning gear!  Hubs is very handy with computer stuff and he made the invitations to my specifications.  We are having a "sprinkle" themed party because Hadley is really in to adding sprinkles to everything.  And that seemed pretty gender neutral to me.

*David made this for us because he's creative, but a similar one can be found here on Etsy. 

FOUR

I'm looking for a dress for some fall weddings/christmas parties/etc. we have coming up.  Surprisingly, we haven't had many fall weddings recently and I have no fall wedding attire (that fit post-baby bodies!).  Here are some I've narrowed it down to.  I had originally planned for a navy dress because I'm blonde-haired and blue-eyed, but this mulberry dress is kind of calling out to me!  What do you think?

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FIVE

I am so ready for tomorrow!  We are headed to Clemson for the big game!  It will be nice to be back on my home turf, see some familiar and loved faces, and watch the game.  The last game we went to was two years ago and Hadley wouldn't sit still.  I had to take her to the stadium entrance/concession stand area and let her run around.  I missed pretty much the whole game, but the police officers sure were entertained by her! *No children will be accompanying us on this trip!*

Happy weekend, friends!  And Go Tigers!!

What's Up Wednesday

Today, I'm linking up with Mel, Sheaffer, and Shay for their What's Up Wednesday! I've never done a What's Up Wednesday post before so I hope I do it justice! ;)

What We're Eating This Week:

(I don't really take pictures of food?? Momma ain't got time for all that!)

Monday: Six Sisters Stuff chicken bacon ranch sliders with macaroni and cheese

Tuesday: sloppy joes with sweet potato fries (so we can use up our leftover hamburger buns!)

Wednesday: herb roasted pork loin with sweet potatoes and field peas (my grandmother is making dinner tonight--hallelujah!)

Thursday: chicken pasta (store-bought roasted chicken that I toss into a pot with bow tie noodles and my grandmother's homemade tomato sauce.  Yum!)

Friday: tacos with mexican rice and refried beans

Saturday: tailgate food!  We are headed to the Clemson game, so we will be sure to eat our weight in tailgate yummies.

What I'm Reminiscing About:

Our anniversary was Saturday and this time 5 years ago, we were on our honeymoon in Hawaii!  Best. Vacation. Ever.


On top of Diamond Head looking over Honolulu


Sunset on Maui!  Take. Me. Back.

Also- we are coming up on my baby's first birthday.  This time last year I was in the final weeks of my pregnancy.  Time flies, y'all.

What I'm Loving:

Pretzel m&m's.  My mom brought a bag this weekend and I can't stop eating them.  It's actually a little embarrassing, ha!

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My 25 square prints from Artifact Uprising.  In. Love. with how they turned out!

What We've Been Up To:

iPhone pictures make for terrible quality photos, but it's pretty much how I capture our day-to-day events.
We've played outside a bit now that it's cooling down.



I've been working on my photography skills--hard when neither subject will sit still!

Hadley had her first homework assignment so we've worked on that as well!

What I'm Dreading:

Is it too early to say flu season?  Hadley was sick pretty much every other week last fall/winter and I don't want a repeat!

What I'm Working On:

Discussion questions, quizzes, and papers for my doctorate coursework.  I pretty much look like this every morning, nap, and post bedtime:



Also working on this baby blanket for my sweet boy!

What I'm Excited About:

Being back in Clemson on Saturday!  Some of my favorite years were spent on Clemson's campus!

What I'm Watching/Reading"

Watching: This is Us (cue the tears),

 Shameless (raunchy and hysterical),

 and The Polar Express on repeat.  We are taking Hadley on The Polar Express train ride in December, so we introduced the movie to her and that's all we watch these days!

Reading: Still trying to make my way through "A Prayer for Owen Meany". It's not a bad book at all, I just have no time to read.  Womp, womp.

What I'm Listening To:

Michael Buble's Christmas album.  I'm a christmas freak and I'm not ashamed.

What I'm Wearing:

I busted out the fall sweaters and boots this week!  Even though it's 80 degrees outside, it's FALL and I'm going to dress like it, dang-it!

And if we are honest, a lot of my days look like this...kids hanging off me everywhere.

What I'm Doing this Weekend:

Pretty much already covered this but....heading back to my old stomping grounds for the Clemson/Louisville game!  Aaannnnddd it's ESPN game day!  So essentially I picked the best game to go to this year. :)

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

Oh both of my babies have birthdays in October so it is going to be a fun month of celebrations with a little "corner crying" going on!  Birthday parties, pumpkin patches, Halloween....October is just a really fun month around here!


*Last year at Hadley's birthday.  She turned two with a double ear infection and my little nugget was only a week old!*

What Else is New:

These good-looking people are my grandparents and they just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary by hiking trails in Canada.  They have given us a wonderful example of a beautiful marriage!

This is how we eat pancakes at our house....don't you?

What is Your Favorite Fall Recipe?:

The recipe we use is a photocopy handed down, but this Betty Crocker recipe is pretty much the gist of our recipe!  Hadley and I made this pie after we picked apples a few weeks ago and I'm already wanting another!  I mean, what's more fall than apple pie baking in the oven?

Thanks for stopping by!

5 Years

Happy Anniversary to my even-keeled, perfect opposite, partner for life, and father of my babies!

David and I have been together for 10 years, and as of today, married for 5 of those.  I had no idea when we met all those years ago what was in store for us.  There were so many things that had to line up perfectly for us to meet on that stairwell in college, that it can only be described as God details.  When I look back at pictures of that naive couple, I smile at them and think, "you have no idea what is in store, but it's so worth it."  We have had ups and downs, trials and wins.  We will have more of both, but these last 10 years seem like a whirlwind and I'm so glad he chose to do life with me!

In honor of 10 (and 5!) years together, here are some pictures from each year:

2006


(Our first picture ever!)


(First time he came to visit me!)

2007


(Eddie Money concert at Clemson!)


(After one of his soccer games [David played soccer at Clemson])

2008


(First beach trip! I had braces for jaw surgery.)


(Our "furst" baby- Marley! His first Clemson game.)

2009


(Beach vacation with David's family.)


(Before his first work trip to Germany.)

2010


(Rain or shine we love our Tigers!)


(October 30, 2010- we're engaged!)

2011


(Engagement pictures in Death Valley.)


(Our wedding: September 24, 2011)

2012


(Visiting our old stomping grounds.)


(2nd Christmas as a married couple!)

2013


(We're expecting!)


(Hadley's first christmas.)

2014


(First snow day as a family of three!)


(Easter family photo.)

2015


(Easter family photo again!)


(Surprise!  Baby #2 is on the way.)


(He's here! Our family of four.)

2016


(Easter family photo- they just keep getting better!)


(Family beach trip. June 2016).