NGCSU

Now known as the University of North Georgia.  The chow hall is different.  The gym is different.  The biology building is different.  The bookstore is different.  There's a Starbucks, but not a Chick fil A.      

Many things have changed, but this remains the same.

How is it that I just helped move this baby sister...

into this same building I moved into over 15 years ago?

Even Lewis is different.  There's an elevator now for goodness sake!  But I know she'll make many of the same (but different) memories I made when I was there.  We were even there for her inaugural trip to the Dahlonega Wal-Mart!

Kandace and mom on move in day!

Kandace and Kelli (and Carrigan)!

Me and Kandace.

Good luck Bud!  Here's to a great first semester!

The Aftermath

I love the aftermath of Christmas.  The decluttering.  (Mike will laugh here.  Because he can't stand clutter and even when I "declutter", it's "cluttered").  The organizing.  The giving away of unused toys.  The playing.   Last year, our aftermath pictures were the pictures of the day or two we weren't sick in bed.  This year, our whole family made it to every planned family function.  Yay!  I spent an entire afternoon to find the kids preservative free flu shots this year. They were the first flu shots we've had since Collin was an infant and got so sick afterwards.  The verdict is still out on if I think it worked/helped.  So far, yes.  Half of Collin's class had the flu on the last day before Christmas break this year.  Collin didn't get it.   Anyway, here are some cute pics from the first few days after Christmas...

Kate loving her My Little Ponies

Collin and the air hockey table!

Katelyn trying out her scooter!

I took them to the park while the Falcons lost the championship game.  Collin did learn to ride his scooter a few days later at Nanna's house!

My favorite present and my daily reminder :)

Princess Katelyn :)

Hello Kitty Karaoke!

Over the river, and through the woods...

Okay so I'm finally catching up.  After Christmas this year, we went out of town for the first time during Christmas break.  Grammie and Grandpa bought a home in Gulfport, MS this year, and we got to visit there for the second time a couple of days after Christmas.  Gulfport has always been a special place.  It's where we spent lots of time with Mike's family before Hurricane Katrina.  It's where we got engaged.  It's where we left our trip alone down there a day early to outrun Katrina.  Until this year, we hadn't been back.

So thankful for the family time.  The crab legs.  The pai gow poker.  The shrimp.  The 21-31.  

Here are a few pics from our trip:

One night after a yummy dinner, we went to the Beau Rivage to look at their Christmas decorations.

The kids loved the decorations...

but they got really tired of me trying to take pictures!

They were actually in really rare form

and I can't believe we even got any pictures worth posting!

This pretty much sums up most of the picture taking attempts :)

Cheese!

Katelyn is a little helper in the kitchen.

She loved helping Mimi and Grammie cook the entire trip.

Play doh with Uncle Virgil!

For some reason, they were really entertained with Grammie's clothespins!

It was freezing, but they were begging to go the beach the entire time!

We lasted about 5 minutes...

before they settled on a trip to the souvenir shop instead.

Thanks to Mimi, we got to spend New Years Eve with Joy and Virgil.  I can't lie...it was a fun night that led to a long ride home the next day. 

Looking forward to our next trip!