july

I don't know where July went but it was a good one...here's a little taste of our July in the {wicked} hot Carolinas.

the fourth
The Fourth of July just might be my second favorite holiday of the year. And this year was one for the books. I'm not gonna lie...my first few Independence Days here in the south were a little disappointing. I'm a firm believer that small towns do it up right for the Fourth of July...and I LOVE Charlotte but it's just not the same. Last year, my sweet husband and I were in Rome on the Fourth of July. They don't see the need to celebrate our independence so much over there. ; ) So that one was a little non-existent. We were determined to make this one good (and I think P-dubs was tired of me whining after the fact about how I missed everything about the Fourth of July on good ol' Lake Winnepesaukee). A few highlights of this AMAZING weekend...

Friday Night
Art show for the talented, adventurous, and oh-so-adorable Laci Wong.

Saturday

P-dubs went to see the new Transformers movie which has become somewhat of a 4th of July tradition for him. Me, not so much. I went with him to the first one back in the days before we were officially dating but the previews were enough for me to know there were robots, explosions, and Shia Labeouf saves the world. {Sounds A LOT like the first one...and the 2nd one...} We were supposed to go see fireworks with his family but I fell asleep. These babies must have been having a growth spurt because I slept for 12 hours straight. Woah, Nelly.
Sunday
Pops in the Park!! I have lived in Charlotte for five years and this was the first time I've gone to hear the symphony play in the park. It was just great...I'm patriotic as they come (mostly thanks to my sweet Papa) and hearing all the patriotic classics and songs for the different branches of the military gave me goosebumps and made me pooly. This, however made me laugh...

Ok...it's hard to see but beyond Paul in the background you can see some girls setting up their blankets...and tables...and pillows...and crystal dishes and...SERIOUSLY. They all wore big hats like they were off to the Kentucy Derby and put all their food out in crystal dishes--with little twirly gigs to decorate them. They were definitely the extreme but they weren't the only ones channeling their best Martha Stewart. People all around us had tablecoths and red~white~blue centerpieces and a spread of food that made you wonder how they carried it all in there. Our little cooler with sandwiches and lemonade was just fine for us. But for next year, I will know to bring a crystal dish for my ginger snaps.

AND we got to go with these two magnificent people. Everything's better with Brandon and Laci.

 

Fireworks display number one...

Monday

Fried chicken and a Charlotte Knights game. Nothing says all-American like some southern cooking and baseball. We had some good ol' fried chicken and coleslaw and biscuits at P-dub's parents' house and then headed to the Knight's stadium with Dionne and Gabe, Brandon and Laci, and Jess.

 

Matching Fourth of July shirts from my mom! We expect nothing less. Also, it appears I was confused as to where the camera phone was...not really sure what I'm looking at...

So much Laci in one weekend! Love it.

Second fireworks display=awesome. It seriously went on forever.

the lake house

The next weekend we headed on down to Georgia to spend some time at my aunt and uncle's lake house.

Six people and two dogs in a Taurus station wagon. We love it.

The engaged lovebirds...only a few more weeks!!!

Aunt Lou and Noney Baloney. They are too cute.

Howie not only barks on command (his ONLY trick) but he also makes a good pillow. Maybe that can be his second trick.

Karen's turn to be clueless.

Cousins : )

Wills...poster child for Florida.

epic wedding

Megan Speicher got married, y'all. The next weekend I headed to Idaho to see one of my dearest friends get married. She's the friend I'm bound to break down with on ANY and ALL road trips. She's the one I can count on to think my crazy ideas just might work...and that's good because I usually encourage her sometimes even crazier ideas. She's the one I can spend hours in a coffee shop with talking about one verse from the book of Daniel. She's the one I can miss flights with,jump off moving trains with, put myself in certainly quetionable if not dangerous predicaments with, laugh with, cry with...ugh. She's just so special. And her wedding was nothing less than that. She left two years ago to teach school in Bolivia and found herself a handsome (and sweet, kind, godly) man. Their wedding weekend was wonderful and I felt truly blessed to be able to be there.

But let me just tell you, getting to Idaho is not that easy. It's truly a case of "you can't get there from here." I met up with Erica, Erin, and Jenny at the Boise airport and just loved my life that I got to see ALL of them in ONE place for the first time since everyone scattered off across the world a couple years ago.

Me and the twins. And my REALLY vein-y hands. Apparently, blood flow increases when you're pregnant. I am now more vein-y than most body builders.

Erica meeting Haddon for the first time...

Erin meeting Bo for the first time...

Happiness.

Umm...this will be my life. Except there will be hairbows. I love it and am terrified at the same time.

I had NO IDEA that Idaho was so beautiful.

What?!? Megan's married and I have two babies in my belly?!? We've come a long way since our train jumping, passport losing, pastry eating days in Paris.

Charleston



We spent the last weekend in July with these crazy kids in Charleston.

And this happened...

There are no words...and, yet, too many words...all at the same time.

Here's to August being just as love-filled, friend-filled, and mustache-filled as July.