Here are some pictures from the first 5 days...only four, I'll add more later.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
On a separate note...
We want to send our condolences to the Ben (cousin) and Astu (grandfather) and their families. We know their loved ones will be missed. You and your families are in our thoughts and prayers.
Apples vs Oranges...
And the winner is Apple!!! That's right ladies and gentlemen, I, Lauren Atchison, just bought an Apple computer! A laptop to be more exact. I've been looking at them for probably at least a year or more and with the bonus I received from work, it made it possible. I'm pretty thrilled about it and I hope to have it next week. I picked a MacBook Pro 13inch, bumped up the hard drive to 320, and splurged for a remote. I could see the usefulness in the remote so I went for it. I debated on Microsoft Office but decided to wait temporarily. I just wanted something a little more sleek, lightweight, and smaller to carry with me as we travel. We both looked at the 15inch but after comparing, the 13inch was the way to go for me. I was really thinking about the iPad. I've recently gotten kinda hooked on their "power" but ultimately, I decided to wait---not to mention I love that Flight Control game. (We go into the Apple store just to play the game. I know, I know. Sad.) Anyways, I feel like the next generation will have a web cam in it and I would like to wait for that.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Been meaning to post this...
So I talk about my family at work. You know I love ya'll and that's just the way it's gonna be. We were talking about the "impromptu" family reunion and how many people were there. This was still after explaining that it was just Mom's side and that Dad's side could rival in numbers as well. Claudine, my coworker, had this to say:
"You don't even have a big family. You have a small country."
Well it makes me giggle and I appreciate it. It's good to know you have people you can rely and count on. I truly feel blessed to have a large family with so many aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. It's like I have my own personal army/band that will fight/cheer me on when needed. What a great gift! Love you!
"You don't even have a big family. You have a small country."
Well it makes me giggle and I appreciate it. It's good to know you have people you can rely and count on. I truly feel blessed to have a large family with so many aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. It's like I have my own personal army/band that will fight/cheer me on when needed. What a great gift! Love you!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
What a weekend...
I can't believe it's already been a month since we've been home. I'm not sure how the month has gone by so quickly. To be honest, I don't even know what has kept us so busy to allow the month to pass so fast. Anyways...we have a few congrats to get out there. Congrats to Ellie! She was baptized on July 25th. Congrats Brian, Janie, and Sam! I know you are proud of your little girl/sister! We welcome her with arms wide open! Our second congrats goes to Libby & Greg!! We can't wait to welcome Baby Mink to world in March. Aim for the 17th and then there can be double funfetti and even more green beer! Our third congrats goes to my co-worker, Claudine and her now fiance. We are so excited and like your mama said "It's about time!" :)
This past weekend Celi came down to spend the weekend with me while Daniel headed to Boston to have a man weekend with Jason & Ben. Celi arrived Friday evening and we had a quiet night at the apartment. We cooked yellow curry chicken and attempted to color my hair. It's a little darker/browner but not much. I don't think it set long enough before I rinsed it out. Saturday, we headed to Hershey for the day. We checked out the Hershey Story Musuem, had a chocolate tasting, took a gander at Hotel Hershey and finally ended the day at Chocolate World before heading back. On Sunday we went to church, spent part of the afternoon in the town center, and then headed downtown to Zengo for dinner. It was soooo delish! On Monday we did a little shopping at the Outlets before Celi flew out. An hour later, I was picking Daniel up at the airport. Now I'll let Daniel fill you in on Boston.
Got into Boston around 2 Friday afternoon and Ben and Jason met me outside the airport where we got on the subway and made our way to Jason's apartment near the MIT campus. We decided to take it easy that night, so Jason made jambalaya (very good) and we watched the Red Sox game. On Saturday, we took a tour of the Sam Adams brewery around noon, had lunch, and then made our way to Fenway Park for the Sox game. It was pretty cool to watch a game in one of the most famous baseball stadiums. After the game, we went to a Tibetan restaurant near Jason's apartment, which was pretty good. It had some similarities to Chinese food.
On Sunday, we went to the Cheers bar for lunch and then went walking around downtown to see some historic sites around the city. We also went out to see the USS Constitution. Perhaps my favorite part of the city was the Italian section. I had some pretty good gelato from one of the places there.
On Monday, we just took it easy until it was time for Ben to head to the train station and me to the airport. Overall, it was a really fun trip and would love to take Lauren there and see some more sites.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
4th of July
I can't believe it's already been over a week since we were in Alabama, time flies! We really enjoyed getting to visit with our families in the short time that we were there. Here's a recap of our trip and I'll get around to putting some pictures in this post later:
Thursday 7/1:
Our original Delta flight was cancelled (seems to happen a lot with Delta) and we were, at first, put on a flight the next morning. We were lucky to get one of the few spots on a flight an hour earlier than our original flight and that put us in Huntsville about 2 hours earlier than planned, so it didn't work out too badly. Once we got to Huntsville (around 7:30 PM), we got our rental car (the ugly Chevy HHR) and headed to Leeds.
Friday 7/2:
On Friday we went and visited with MawMaw and Mr. Gene for a little while and saw their really nice garden. They had a lot of cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes. We also went by the bank so I could close out my checking account that I hadn't used in a long time. When we got back we spent some time with Dad since he had to go to work that night. That afternoon, we (Mom, Lauren, and I) went over to Steve and Susan's where we got to see our new nephew, Luke, and Elizabeth (and Steve and Susan), swam, and had a ton of food (a ton of food seemed to be the one constant throughout our trip). Brian and Cindy were also able to make it out there, so it was great to see them too!
Saturday 7/3:
We had originally planned to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast this morning, but Mom made the mistake of asking me if there was somewhere else I wanted to go. She then gave me some options and me saying "Wherever you'd like to go" was not an acceptable answer. It's tough for me to turn down the Pita Stop in Southside (B'ham). So, after being indecisive for a little while, I finally decided on the Pita Stop. I always get the chicken kabob platter when I go there and I am never disappointed. The food was really good (as always)! I recommend it to anyone.
Once we got back home, it was time to leave for Florence. We made a quick stop by MawMaw and Mr. Gene's and headed north. We got up there at about 5:00 PM, just in time for Lauren's grandfather's birthday party to start. I think there were around 75 of her Mom's family there for the event and it was a great chance to see everyone. I'm glad it started later in the day so that the afternoon heat had a chance to cool off.
Sunday 7/4:
We went to church at St. Michael's this morning and stuck around afterwards for the 4th of July BBQ and Chicken Stew that they cook each year. It was really good and they were selling out of everything by about 1:00. Brian, Janie, Samantha, and Ellie were at the house when we got back (Michael, Jackie, Chloe, and Jolie had been there since Saturday) and we all had lunch.
That evening, we all went over to Lauren's aunt and uncle's house for the family reunion. In total, there were about 105 people that came for it. I got to meet a lot of her family from New Orleans, Mississippi, and Texas, along with her family in Florence and close by. Again, tons of food and again, thankful that the event started in the early evening instead of the afternoon! We didn't get back until about midnight. It was great to see everyone and hopefully, we'll be able to see them again soon!
Monday 7/5:
Monday was mostly a lazy day until we went back to the airport. We went back over to Lauren's aunt and uncle's to help eat some of the food that was left over from the reunion (still a lot of food!). After that we were on our way back to the Huntsville airport. Once we got to the airport, we were notified that our flight was overbooked (Delta is not high on my list of airlines to fly, right now). So after a little while, we were able to get the Delta staff to put us on an earlier, direct flight into DC. This turned out much better since we got in at 8:00 PM instead of our originally scheduled 10:20 PM.
I'll put some pictures up soon! It was great seeing everyone and we hope to see you soon!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
We're Back!
Sorry it's been so long since our last blog post. We forgot about it for a while there. Hopefully, we'll be a little more consistent in posting new stuff up here in the future. We were in Alabama last weekend (Thursday - Tuesday) and were fortunate enough to be able to see lots of family and friends. We stayed at Uncle Jim and Aunt Judy's condo in Orange Beach, AL, with Ben and Celi, Thursday through Sunday for Kevin and Amanda's wedding in Fairhope. The weather was
great on Thursday and we were able to get out to the beach for a little while that afternoon.
We came back to Virginia on Tuesday wishing we had more time to see family. Hopefully, next time we're down there we'll be able to make it around to more.
That night, we all met up with Amber and her mom for dinner at Lambert's, where they throw the rolls. The rolls were really good and I probably could've made a meal off of those (the other food was good too).
On Friday, Lauren and Celi went to the Bridesmaids' Luncheon in Fairhope while Ben and I went for lunch at Sea n' Suds. That was my first time to go there, it's a staple for Ben. It's right on the beach in Gulf Shores. We both had the shrimp sandwich (recommended by Ben) and it was really good, a lot better than I thought it would be. I never thought of making a sandwich out of shrimp before, so that was new to me. That night, we all drove together to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner in Fairhope. The weather was not very good and several booms of thunder shook the foundation of the church. I guess it was good to get all of that out of the way before the big ceremony. The church was right on the Mobile Bay, all you had to do was walk out the doors and you were there. When rehearsal was finished, we all went to Wintzell's, a (go figure) seafood restaurant. It was a lot better than I was expecting (I never expect a lot from seafood restaurants) and Lauren thought it was good too, though she stayed away from the seafood options.
Saturday was a really busy day (mostly for the girls). Lauren and Celi left early to go get their nails and hair done. Ben and I sat around and watched the NFL draft. We all met back up at the church for pictures around mid-afternoon. The weather looked a little ominous and it was raining lightly around the time of pictures but, fortunately, the rain went away and some sun came out for the wedding. The ceremony was really nice and afterwards, we went to the reception at the Fairhope Inn.
On Sunday, we drove to Leeds to see family. It was great to see a lot of people at my parents' house for dinner that evening. We were able to see Mom, Dad, Brian, Cindy, Steve, Susan, Elizabeth, MawMaw, Mr. Gene, and we were very glad that Brian, Janie, and Samantha could come out that way! It was really nice to visit with everyone and spend time with them.
On Tuesday, Jackie drove down to Leeds with Chloe, Jolie, and Jackie's nephew Landon. It was great to see them and was my first time to see Jolie, so that was really nice. Chloe has grown a lot since I last saw her!
We came back to Virginia on Tuesday wishing we had more time to see family. Hopefully, next time we're down there we'll be able to make it around to more.
We've been really busy with work lately. Lauren and I have both been putting in extra hours. I worked some yesterday and will be working a lot more today/tonight. Hopefully things will return to normal soon, we'll see. We're really looking forward to going camping at the Hershey campground for Memorial Day weekend, I can't believe it's already May! We noticed that the circus will be there that weekend, so we may check that out along with the theme park they have there. And, of course, we'll check out all the chocolate offerings they have!
We're gonna try to make an effort to get on Skype more often, as we've neglected that for a while due to our work schedules. We'll try to be online more often so that we can see family and talk with them a little more frequently. Hope everyone is well! We'll post more often!
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