What We're Up To

I've had all sorts of questions lately about what we're up to - and so I'll tell you all at once! We live in Athens, but two months ago Paul started working at a law firm in downtown Atlanta. He loves his job, and it's been such a blessing that he found a job that he is so happy with, but his commute can be well over an hour one way to work. I am still a student at the University of Georgia - I am planning on finishing my degree next year (or I might just be a student for the rest of my life ...!), so I am working away on campus every Tuesday and Thursday while Mary goes to play at her friend's houses. Luckily she LOVES going to play with other people twice a week, so it's been great for her. With Paul working in Atlanta and me being a full time student, we are BUSY and the free time we do get together is wonderful! The best part is - my parents are buying  a new house, but they aren't quite ready to move out of their old house yet, so we are renting from them until they kick us out. So we are living in a beautiful house, in a great neighborhood, with entirely too much space for our sparse furnishings. We are loving it while it lasts, and it definitely makes the commute well worth it for now! 

 

I've had plenty of people ask us when we're moving to Atlanta - which is a good question, and one we're definitely working on. We want to buy a house and we'd like to move around the end of this year, so we're starting the house shopping process and saving for the down payment. It is a little overwhelming shopping for houses in Atlanta - we've got 90 miles of city to sort through and since neither of us are attached to any one particular part, we have been looking ALL over and it's kind of tiresome. We thought we had a particular area narrowed down, but after going to look at houses last week - I completely changed my mind. Unfortunately, the places we would love to live are too expensive! As of this week, I am looking in the Powder Springs area, but who knows where next week will find me. I'm sure this whole business will be much easier once we actually decide on an area to live in. If anybody has ANY advice about where to live in Atlanta, feel free to give me all the details. I want it all! 

So there you have it . . . I'll get back to you when anything changes! 

Helping in the Garden

I know our garden looks a bit like a hugely overgrown weed patch, but it's Paul and Mary's pride and joy in our yard. Every evening when Paul gets home, they are outside together watering the garden and bringing in anything that's ready to pick. Our little garden actually popped out tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, peppers, and all sorts of herbs this summer. It's pretty fun being able to eat food from your own backyard. 

Kind of makes me want to be a farmer. 

Beach Trip Number 2 - Tybee Island, GA

Last weekend found us back at the beach - this time for a weekend trip with my two brothers. Becky, Devin's girlfriend, had NEVER been to the beach (she's from West Virginia), so we took the lovebirds down to the Georgia coast for Becky's first beach experience. 

Our weekend was definitely "an experience." Wow. 

Just a few highlights from this trip...

*I got my very first speeding ticket, ughh

*The entire city of Savannah was out of power our first night there

*Our hotel that was advertised as "newly remodeled" had tiger striped carpeting!

*A drunk man offered me $5 to hold my baby

*Paul got food poisoning and threw up all night Saturday night. 

. . . I feel like I'm forgetting something!

As messed up as this trip was - it was still definitely a fun weekend. I made some new favorite memories - I took Mary out to walk on the beach under the full moon Friday night and she ended up heading straight for the water, swimsuit or not. I'll never forget how HAPPY she was splashing in the water and running from the surf all in the moonlight that night =). With extra hands around after Mary went to bed Saturday night, Paul and I got to walk on the pier and watch the lightning storms over the ocean. Sometimes I forget how fun it is to just be the two of us sometimes! We also watched Michael Phelps win his 7th and 8th gold medals - can't leave that out! So, there you have it - what a trip!

Taking a Snooze

Extreme Home Makeover

"Hey Mom, I found your bronzer. Like what I've done to my face?" 

Girlfriend got into my make-up this week, she thought bronzer just looked stunning when applied again and again to her right cheek. It doesn't show up so hot in the pictures - my flash is broken and I have stick her next to a window to take a picture, so it kind of washes out her awesome makeover. But she was pretty proud of it and talked about her face all morning. Lucky for me it was much easier to clean up than lipstick, and lucky for Mary, she never knew that wet washcloth took it all away. 

St. Simon's Pictures

I'm getting bad at this blogging business lately! But I DID upload or beach pictures HERE. We had so much fun at St. Simon's, I think we're headed back to the beach this weekend . . . that's all we really want to do, hang out and go to the beach every weekend. I'm okay with that. 

St. Simons Island

We just got back from a wonderful weekend on St. Simon's Island - a much needed getaway for the three of us. We had such a  ball at the beach, and I'm already ready to start planning our next vacation =)! We woke up this morning with some sort of nasty flu business, so while I've got bags to unpack, a car to clean out, a pile of laundry, and sand in just about everything - I think I'd rather hang out on the couch and watch Oprah until Mary wakes up! I'll post more pictures soon.