Roadtrip to Paula Deen

On Sunday, mom, Mary(Nick's mom), Christy (Nick's sister), and I all jumped in the car and roadtripped to Savannah, GA to visit Paula Deen's restaurant. For those of you that do not know who Paula Deen is, she is a cook on the food network that is famous for using lots of butter and always says "Hey Ya'll". We drove all day and night (10 plus hours) on Sunday and arrived in Savannah at 2:00 AM Monday morning. We got up the next day and hit historic downtown. We did a bit of shopping that morning, but mostly ate!! We stopped at every candy store they had (there was about 5) and had free samples and then bought some to go. Pralines and salt water taffy were the big hits!! We then decided to go on a tour of the historic downtown by horse and buggy. We learned about the history of Savannah and got to see the historic buildings that were still standing from years ago. We were upset though because the bench from "Forest Gump" was removed and put in a museum so we were unable to sit on it to take pics. Mom and I had a whole page in our scrapbook that we envisioned with the bench that we could not do because someone decided to mke money. Crappy!! Anyway, I did take a pic of where the bench wold have been if it was still there today. It is called Chippewa Square!! That night we ate a The Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). Everything was amazing, especially the banana pudding and pecan pie made with real whipped cream. After stuffing ourselves like pigs, we shopped at her store and bought some souvenirs and cookbooks to made the memorable event. We then decided to do a haunted pub crawl. Savannah is known for their paranormal activity so I wanted to see what it was all about. We walked the entire historic district and stopped at 5 different haunted bars and listened to ghost stories for 3 hours. It was a lot of fun!! Mom and I kept takin pics to see if we could get a paranormal in our pic. I got something that was not normal, but dont know what. Mary and Christy said it was a street light, however there was no street lights around!! Freaky!! The next day we went to the beach at Tibbey Island. I could have stayed there all day, but we had other things to do. We went back into historic downtown and again stopped at the candy store and then boarded a boat for a dolphin excursion. We got to see a handful of dolphins in their natural habitat following a shrimping boat, eating the leftovers. They did a couple jumps for us, however they were too fast to get many good pics. That evening we made one last trip around downtown and then went back to the hotel to get rested before having to drive the entire next day to get back home. The trip was short, but it was a lot of fun.

4th of july

Nick is the operations manager for three campgrounds in IL and MO. So for the 4th we went to one of them, HoneyBend Resort in Litchfield, IL so he could supervise the activities. We played tug-of-war, and slip and slide or rather we laughed our butts off watching the campers do these activities. After all the fun and games, we went out to eat at a cute little historical cafe on the historical Route 66 called Ariston Cafe. It was pretty good. After stuffing ourselves full of good food and of course dessert, we went back to the campground for some fireworks. The show did not last long, but they were pretty good. The next day, nick and I went to visit Gail and Dave Johnson at their new home in Springfield, IL. I graduated with both of them from Maryville and Gail was my roommate in college for 3 years and was an usherette in my wedding last year. Needless to say we have a long history together. I did not get to attend their wedding in June because we had another family wedding the same day so Nick and I decided to go and see the new house and catch up since it has been awhile. It was so good to see them and their house is adorable!! After catching up with Gail and Dave, we drove back home. We were going to go and watch some fireworks at the mall, but instead we walked the neighborhood and saw everyone else's firework show.

Happy birthday and Fathers Day Dad

Happy Birthday and fathers day, DAD!! My father turned 47 on June 19!! Nick and I got him a headlight to wear on his head because he ducked taped a flashlight to his head many years ago and we still remember that and give him hell for it. He loved his gift!! We took a pic but I unfortunately do not have it, so mom you need to send it too me so I can post it because it is hilarious. For fathers day all of us kids bought the whole family cards tix. We go in September!!

off to college

So I know that I am really behind on all of my blogs, so I am catching up today!! Mallory, my lil sis, graduated in May and is off to pursue a career as an RN at SIUE. I still remember the first day that I met her. She came home on my eighth b-day and she was the best gift a big sis could ever get!! Cant believe she is old enough to be starting college in the fall, but the best part is that she will be only 45 minutes away so I can check up on her!! Good luck Mal!

Farewell to the bug :(

It is a bitter sweet day at the Joggerst home because we just purchased a new 2009 Chevy Traverse. This thing is loaded with leather, 2 sunroofs and a DVD player!! It is a pretty sweet ride. However this means that I am selling my beetle bug. I am very sad about getting rid of my bug, but I cant see the point in keeping it and letting it slowly die because it won't be driven. It still has many lives left and I want it to make someone else just as happy as it has made me for the last 5 years. It will definitely be missed!! We have been through a lot together. We buzzed in and out of crazy traffic on the way to Florida, Tennessee, Springfield, IL and Terre Haute, IN not to mention the many miles I put on it going back and forth from STL to Newton!! I have decided that I will own another beetle bug in my lifetime. A convertible!! That way I can buzz around once again. This car was perfect for me and I received more compliments on the car than I can even count. So farewell to the beetle, you have been a wonderful car and you will be missed!!

Happy Birthday Gabi

Happy 3rd birthday Gabi!! For those of you that do not know who Gabi is, she is my godchild and flower girl for our wedding last year. Nick, Mallory, Shelby and I will be going to Disney World at the end of this month and Gabi and Izzi will be coming with us for a day. Can't wait to see how big you have gotten!! See you in a couple weeks.

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is me and Nick's one year anniversary. I cant believe that it has been a year already. I still remember all the preparations for the big day and wondering if we would ever make it there without killing eachother and here we are one year later. Most of the day went by so fast it was a blur, but I will never forget the look you gave me and the words that came out of your mouth when I made it up the aisle, "You look beautiful" than it was followed by "why are you crying". Good times and good memories. I finished the wedding scrapbook so now we can look back and remember every moment from the beginning!! For our anniversary I ordered a cake since we ate our top tier at 6 months. We are both inpatient when it comes to dessert!! Nick went to pick up the cake from McArthurs bakery and did not pay any attention to what it looked like. When he got home he opened it and took a closer look and discovered that our anniversary cake said "Happy Birthday Anne". It makes for a good laugh. We took a pic and ate it. Anne, happy birthday, your cake was delicious and I hope ours was too!! Since I ordered the cake for Nick he got me chocolate covered strawberries, my fav!! I ate them all by Saturday afternoon!! Saturday night Nick took me to Dierdorf and Harts Steakhouse at WestPort. I was very good!! Afterwards we took a pic by the water fountain which happens to be the same one we were at last year before the wedding reception. I am a dork and thought that was sort of fun and romantic!! On Sunday, the actual anniversary, I had planned a picnic lunch, however a huge storm came our way which reminds me of the storm that came through on our wedding day also. They say that it is good luck if it rains on our wedding day, but what do they say if it rains on the wedding day and the first anniversary? I guess we will find out. Happy Anniversary to my best friend who I love more every day. I cant wait to see what the next year brings!!