Stone Mountain Christmas

Tonya and I had a Stone Mountain Christmas this weekend. We felt like kids again while riding the train and watching the laser show.  We had a blast!

Hometown celebrity

Chris and I had a blast at the Corey Smith concert Sat. night. He is our local rockstar since he's from Jefferson. He gave a benefit concert at Jefferson HS and raised over $10,000. I kept thinking that it must have been awkward for him to sing "Let me love you on the back roads" with his grandma in the front row! I am sure some of you know him by the song "Every Dawg has it's day". 

Churchill Downs

                                 All of the cousins hanging at Nanny and Papaw's
Nanny and me at Churchill Downs
cousin Taylor, sis Catherine, sis Elizabeth, me

Our immediate family traveled to KY to see the extended family this week. I had a great time at Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) on Friday! Mom's entire family, including great-grandma and 2nd cousins, started a tradition the day after Thanksgiving where we rented tables and bet on the horse races and ate all day.  What a cool way to see everyone! My family is so much fun! 

Everywhere we turn, there are more babies!

We got to spend this evening with Jessica, Shane and Kensleigh Hewatt!  Kensleigh is such a doll and has the perfect little lips! Jessica and I laughed as Chris and Shane as they went off shopping by themselves with Kensleigh in the stroller. What a cute couple they make!!

Welcome Baby Liam!

Amie delivered Liam Elijah Kirk on Monday, Nov. 3rd, at Gwinnett Medical. He was a little early at 32 + weeks due to preterm labor, but he's doing great and breathing on his own! He weighed 5# 6 oz! He's big for his age. Amie is doing well too! Keep them in your prayers! 

My week

Chris and I had a horrible kayaking experience this past week. It was supposed to be a 3 hr trip and ended up being 6 1/2 hrs (and we never did finish) b/c Chris didn't realize how low the river was! It was so low that we pulled ourselves (in our kayaks) the majority of the way through the rocks. At one point, I got so frustrated that I slammed my ore down on my kayak and popped my shoulder out of socket!  It started to get dark and cold...I couldn't feel my feet...Chris' cell died when he dropped it in the water...Chris's mom was waiting on us at the end...but we didn't know how far the end was... it was 3 hours past the time she was supposed to pick us up...we got out and walked (dripping wet and cold) to an old lady's house. She drove us to meet his mom (in the mean time, she calls the police and his whole family). They were all waiting on us, with tears, when we got there! I told Chris that it will be a long time before I kayak again (if I ever do)! We laugh now, but that night there were a few harsh words! 

Family Fun Weekend

Last weekend, Chris and I joined my dad, Linda, and brothers in Tennessee for a weekend of camping and horseback riding. It was Chris' 2nd time riding a horse and he said it might be the last time (at least for awhile). His butt was so sore after the 1st day, that he didn't ride the next! That 1st day, we all rode horses down to a hostel/restaurant that had no electricity and the only way there is by horse or hiking. We ate food, that was cooked on a wood burning stove, beside oil burning lamps. It felt like Little House on the Prairie times!  It was a good time with my family and spending quality time together. 

Mountain Retreat

Kim and I took our annual trip to the mountains to relax. We had a good time lounging at Terry's (Chris dad's) cabin and making each other laugh. The 2 of us always have a fun time together and find each other very funny!  We were brave enough to go fishing and we even put the worms on the hooks all by ourselves! We went hiking at Fires Creek Park in Hayesville, NC. Mom and Catherine came up Saturday night and we enjoyed sitting on the front porch together and watching movies. The leaves were just starting to change color and they were beautiful. It was fun just having girl time! It needs to happen more often.  

Mom's Birthday

We celebrated mom's birthday last night. We went to the Iron Wok and embarrassed her to death. The waitresses came and sang her Happy Birthday and made her wear a little beanie hat. What made the night was that they posted her picture on the Birthday board as you walk in the restaurant! Mom does not like having her picture taken! We laughed so hard! Everyone was there for dinner, except Elizabeth. We missed her, but I know she's studying hard at GSU!!! She got a bike for her b-day so that she can come ride it out in the country with me! 

Can you believe it! Yes, I have started a blog. I never thought I would actually do this, but it is actually kind of fun. Recently, we took a trip to Hawaii and had the time of our life. We flew to Honolulu (thanks to skymiles!) and cruised on Norwegian cruise line from island to island for a week. We cruised to Oahu, Kauai, Big Island, and Maui. Each island is different from the next, but I will have to say Kauai was our favorite. It's the mountainous (is that a word?) one in most of the pictures. Our most favorite adventure all week was the helicopter ride...I got tears in my eyes seeing all the beauty God put in one place...We got to see the sunrise atop a volcano one morning. Yes, we woke up at 3 AM to drive to the top of the Haleakala volcano to see the sunrise above the clouds... Well worth it though. In Maui, we were brave enough to go to a nude beach! We embarrassed ourselves so bad...no we didn't get naked, but we saw a man surf naked and an old woman do yoga in the sand. Everyone knows I couldn't keep a straight face while seeing a bunch of naked people! Those people take their nudity seriously. On the Big Island, we saw a black sand beach and lava pouring into the ocean...While snorkeling, I unintentionally swam with a 6 ft. shark! I never knew I could swim so fast back to the boat once I spotted it below me... Well, I could go on all day about Hawaii. I do suggest everyone goes once in their lifetime!