Sam's adventures in Bainbridge

We had a wonderful time with the Harpers. The girls adored Sam.

They are going to be such great big sisters to the TWINS !!!

It is so cool that Sam will soon get 2 new best friends!

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Coby-James tucked Sam into bed with all of his furry friends.

Shelby and Bay helped keep Sam cozy too.

Where's Sam?

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Sam also had a blast with my mom and dad.

Sam likes to show off all of his cute faces.

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One of Sam's favorite things to do is take a bath.

My mom and dad loved every minute.

And here is Sam with one of his girlfriends, Sara. She is 3 weeks older than Sam. I know they knew each other in heaven because when they first saw each other they just stared and then Sam smiled and Sara reached out and held his hand. Pretty sweet.

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Smokey Mountains

I am trying to fit as many trips in as I can before little monkey boy is born. We met up with my folks and our dear family friends, the Kirkseys, at the Smokey Mountains. We stayed in our favorite cabin on top of the mountains. Dad would sneak away at all hours of the night to jump in the hot tub. Wayne cooked all of our meals and made us the BEST steak we have ever eaten (minus Ryan who ate bar-b-que chicken, of course).

Before I could marry Ryan, he had to have an interview with Wayne to be cleared and threatened. I am so glad he passed!

Here is our newest Smokey Mountain Ranger.

Other pics:

Family in Alaska

Unfortunately, this is not our adventure. But I was pretty impressed with all of the fun my family has been having without us. My brothers and sis-in-law (Bran, Claire and Brady) are living in Alaska for the summer and recently my parents went to visit.  Mom said they were out everyday hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing, cruising, touring and zip-lining. I am so jealous.

On the road to Athens

... Athens Georgia that is. I lived in this apartment with Jenny for a semester. What great memories! We would stay up late listening to Lenny Kravitz and watching Party of Five.

Next was our tour of campus.

My parents have really taken to retirement. After sushi, Brady wanted to take us to the Georgia Theater to watch a band. Ryan and I were tired at 10 p.m. and ready to go to bed but Mom and Dad were up for a concert. The first band, Jar-e, was great with an awesome saxophone. Next was a D.J. or mix master and finally Toubab Krewe.
By this point, it was packed. We thought smoking was outlawed indoors in Georgia like 5 years ago but it was a total hot box in there. Mom and I saw someone light up a joint right next to us. We were a little concerned about wearing our coats into church the next day.

Finally, we had our own concert at Brady's place. Mom and Dad rocked on Guitar Hero. Brady was a great host and it was fun acting like a college student again.

Island getaway with the folks

Jekyll Island is off the Atlantic coast of Southern Georgia and used to be the vacation home for the Carnagie's and the Rockefeller's. So, naturally we said YES when mom and dad asked us to meet them their for a weekend getaway. The last time I had been there was when I was 9 or 10 and have a memory of building sand castles with Branagan and Brady.
One of my favorite parts of being an adult is that it is so cool to hang out with my parents. Even though my parents' joints are aging with arthritis, it was difficult to keep up with them. Tennis, bike rides, and beach walks.... oh my!

The Folks

We have no friends:

#1. Because we left such great ones behind, no one can compare.
#2. We are in a new area.
#3. We are pretty anti-social.
#4. I think it is harder to find a couple that we both enjoy.
#5. My R.S. president told me that some people won't bother to get to know us because we are apartment renters, therefore, not permanent. And she informed us that we could NEVER afford a house in ward boundaries. Ouch.

Since we don't have any friends here, we have to ship them in. My mom and dad came up for the weekend. Not only do they say and do all the right things, but we got to hang out with friends. We got to all the normal things that friends do: play games, go hiking, tour museums, try new restaurants, listen to conference together and have heart to hearts. I was devastated when they left.

So, we are ready for our next visitors. Anyone?