Sunday, July 31, 2011

Weekend Update!

Weekend Update on the weekend?  Last weekend's update, that is...better late than never!  Let's see...my weekend went a little like this:

Friday night -- Worked another hot, sweaty Nashville Sounds game.  It was actually kinda fun and a great way for the Nashville Junior Chamber to raise some money...therefore, I guess it wasn't ALL bad...This had a bit of a dramatic ending.  A 13 year old boy with Downs Syndrome was missing for what seemed like an hour (who knows how long it actually was).  Thank goodness he was found in the parking lot looking for his Dad's car.  It was quite a reunion between he and his father...so sweet!

Saturday -- I spent a good amount of time on Saturday morning doing household chores (ya know, the same chores that I never have time to do any other time of week).  I also made it to the pool to try out my new float that I mentioned here.  Later in the day, it was time to head to Stacy and Andrew's wedding festivities.  It was a very pretty wedding and Stacy was a beautiful bride!  I'm excited for her and Andrew, but sad to see them move to Atlanta!  Guess that just means we will have to start making an annual trip down there!  Here are a few pics of the event:
The Bride leaving the church!

Me with my hot date!

So excited to catch up with Casey and Dennis!

Chase and Emma

Chase insisting on a toast to start off the evening!

First Dance!

Father/Daughter...such a proud dad!

Everyone was trying to get to the air machines all night!


Having a great time on the dance floor!

Patrick was pretty camera happy at this point!

This guy became our tables new friend!

Uh, oh...the tie is officially a headband!

Kickball buddies!
Sunday -- Despite having too much fun on Saturday night, we were up bright and early on Sunday to head up to Mammoth Cave, KY with Alysia and Ed to go ziplining!  Patrick and I have been before and had a lot of fun, but this place was wayyyyyy better!  We had a great time, and can't wait to go back for the Night Zip...which sounds like a great fall trip to me!  Here are a few pics we took of the trip:
Patrick had a great time at Big Mike's Rock Shop on the way up there...Also known as the only public restroom we could find!

Group shot before the day began!

Yep, that's me!

Alysia

Ed

Patrick

Group shot of us on the smallest platform ever!

This is better...with all feet on the ground!

Excited for my last zip!

Patrick taking a self portrait!
After eating a yummy dinner, it was time to head back to Nash-Vegas where we relaxed for a couple of hours.  Then it was time to head to our kickball game, where we won 8-2...woohoo!  Winning is so fun!

Now that the current weekend is almost over, I'll be back in a day or so with this weekend's update!  Ah, weekends...don't you wish life was one big weekend?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Project 365 -- Week 14

Sunday, July 17, 2011 -- Zoey's First Dog Park Trip

Monday, July 18, 2011 -- Nothing Beats a College Meal

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 -- Holly the Honda has a Milestone Birthday!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 -- New Pool Float

Thursday, July 21, 2011 -- What happens when Zoey gets out of her crate!

Friday, July 22, 2011 -- Late Night Dinner

Saturday, July 23, 2011 -- Stacy's Wedding

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What I'm Loving Wednesdays!

It's Wednesday!  And despite what a stressful, exhausting, and not so fun week this has been, there are still PLENTY of things I am loving this week:

1.  That I am finally back to blogging!  Like I said above, it's been some kinda week, and I have really missed my favorite pasttime!  I promise to be back soon with my most recent Project 365 and Weekend Update!

2.  That in less than 3 short months, my beau and I will be headed here:


That's right!  We are heading to an all inclusive resort where we plan to do nothing but relax, eat, drink and work on our tans!  I. CAN'T. WAIT!

3.  That this time next week I will be packing for my trip to South Carolina to visit my sister!  Can't wait to go shopping with my mom and Laura and catch up with 2 of my favorite women!
Please excuse this photo!  I was quite the fatty!
4.  That next week Zoey begins her Obedience Classes at PetSmart!  I'm NOT loving that I will have to miss the first class because of my trip, but I know Patrick will take care of her...I have no doubt that she will be the teacher's pet...literally and figuratively.  =)
5.  And last but not least, because he's making me dinner even as we speak, I'm loving this guy!

Head on over the Jamie's blog and tell us what you are loving on Hump Day!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Summer I Went to Europe - Day 4

Finally, after what seems like forever, I am back to my Europe posts!  I have been so busy blogging about other things that I'm sure some of you (Mom, I'm talking to you) thought I was never going to finish.  Well, I'm not going to lie...it may take me awhile, but I promise, I'll eventually finish the entire trip.  =)

At 7:00 on Thursday morning, our ship arrived in Civitavecchia...don't ask me to pronouce that...all I know is that it was about an hour long train ride to Rome.  After catching a quick bus ride to the train station, we jumped aboard the Roma Express and were on our way:
This little train was too cute, and it was very cozy!

Me, super excited to be heading to another new city!
After getting off the train, we were only a short walk to Vatican City.  I am not Catholic, but I have to say there is something so spiritual about being in Vatican City.  It is just beautiful and there is such an air of religiousness.
A view of the Vatican

Another View...

The arches we walked through to enter The Vatican from the train station

The 3rd door from the right is the Pope's Office...it looks like he was in that morning!
Since Patrick and I had gotten online the night before and reserved tickets later in the day for the Vatican, we decided to try to fit a few more things into our day.  On our way into the city, our tour guide suggested that we should purchase tickets for one of those hop on/hop off buses.  I am so glad we took her up on that, because it allowed us to see so much of the city that we wouldn't have been able to see otherwise.  We got on the first time right outside The Vatican and started on our journey to see the city.
Patrick, on the bus with the Vatican behind him.

Who knew there was a such thing as a Ferrari Store?

The streets of Rome!

I can't believe how many scooters there were in Europe!
Our first stop along our bus route was my favorite place in all of Rome...the Trevi Fountain!  I had never even heard of this place before this trip, but I think it may be one of the top 5 places I've ever been.  It was beautiful, peaceful, crowded, and cool.  Just wonderful!
View #1 of the Trevi Fountain

Me with My Beau!

View #2 of the Trevi Fountain

Patrick and I spent a LOT of time here!
Legend has it that every person who visits the fountain should throw a coin in to ensure that he/she will one day return to Rome...Well, you better believe Patrick and I were on that...although Patrick (the cynical one) said that the chances of us actually coming back to Rome were pretty slim, I still thought it was a nice dream...  =)

After the Trevi Fountain, we decided to walk back to The Vatican to meet up for our tour.  Along the way, we saw the most glorious site I had seen in a few days:
Of course because we wanted to make a couple of other quick stops, we didn't hunt it down, but it was very exciting to see a piece of home!  We also walked by this during our walk:

Yep, that's right, it's a store that sells priest attire...honestly, I would have thought I would go my whole life without seeing such a store...how interesting!
Our next stop was the Pantheon where we spent a very short amount of time:

Beautiful courtyard surrounding the Pantheon!

Isn't it amazing?

Outdoor dining was such a big deal in Europe!

In case you were wondering, that over the shoulder purse was the best thing I took on this trip!
While we were in Rome, we really started enjoying taking videos of each of the places we visited.  At the time I thought this was so funny, but looking back on it, I'm so glad we did this!  It really shows the fun we have together and will also help us remember this amazing trip!
By this point, we were really in a hurry to make our Vatican tour appointment.  Therefore, instead of eating another nice Italian lunch like we had intended, we had to grab something quickly...HOWEVER, because of this, I was able to drink my first European Fanta:
I had heard how different Fanta tasted in Europe, but I didn't believe it...let me just say, it's AMAZING!
After FINALLY arriving at Vatican City, we began our tour through the Vatican Museum.  It was really a beautiful place, but honestly, it took SOOOOO long.  As you can see from the following pics, it was gorgeous, but it just took forever!




I will say though that once we finally got to the Sistine Chapel (the most famous chapel in the world), it was definitely worth the wait!  It was so beautiful and surreal...we didn't realize it at the time, but apparently you aren't supposed to take pictures.  There were soooo many people taking pictures though...and yes, we were 2 of them:

Like many things in Rome, the pictures don't do it justice!

The famous ceiling of the Chapel

The alter of the chapel!
After finishing up at Vatican City, we decided to hop back on the bus and take a relaxing ride to the Colosseum.  If the Trevi Fountain was my favorite thing in Rome, then the Colosseum was definitely my 2nd favorite!  It was so big!  The weirdest thing to me is that you can be walking through this city that's very similar to any large US city (i.e. Chicago, NYC, etc); however, you turn a corner and all of a sudden there's this huge structure that was built almost 2000 years ago!  It's so amazing!

First view of the Colosseum

I couldn't believe there were men up that high working!

And another view...

Patrick being silly

And another view...

And a close-up view...

And another view...

As you can see...we were pretty impressed by this stop of the day!



And finally, a couple photo...
And now, for my favorite video of the entire trip...


After seeing everything one can possibly see in Rome in 12 hours, it was time to get back on the ship.  Because we knew the next day would be an easy day at sea, we decided to stay out late and live it up that night.  Well, we did our best, but SOMEONE may have had a little too much fun too early on and that someone's boyfriend MIGHT have had to take care of her and put her to bed kinda early...I mean, I'm just saying it MIGHT have happened...we still enjoyed the evening though!
Since it was the night of the midnight buffet, I got lots of pics of the food!

Another food pic...

I'm pretty proud of my ship-shaped drink!

Gotta love the one-armed self portrait!
As we were calling it a night, our room attendant had made the best towel animal I have EVER seen!
I mean, who doesn't love monkeys?
 Well, that's it from Italy...it was amazing, but now it's time to focus on the next stop...BARCELONA!!!!!