Nature is the art of God. ~ Thomas Browne

I had so much fun snapping some nature shots from Mrs. Wilder's garden that I grabbed the camera and headed outside to my yard (notice I say yard, not garden) and took some pictures! One day I'm going to have a beautiful yard and garden! Can't wait till it gets to that point!

Moving Day

I know it's been about three weeks since we actually moved but I promised myself I would blog about the day... so here we go! Miguel rented the largest UHUAL truck and he and our friend, Jason, spent the morning packing it full of our furniture and other objects. We got up really early so the first thing I did was make a breakfast run to get us some food and coffee. 

McDonalds...Best way to start your day... (rolling eyes) ;)

Luckily, there was a ramp right next to our apartment, so that made the moving the larger objects go a little bit smoother. The dogs hung out on the balcony and had a fun time watching the guys go back and forth, back and forth. I think they would have helped if they could. =)

Unfortunately, the sprinklers came on right as they guys were moving things to the truck. I suppose this would have been nice if it had been a little later in the afternoon when the sun was out and blazing. But getting wet over and over again at 8 am isn't so great. 

Thanks for being such a trooper, Jason!

While the guys were loading the truck, I was inside packing some stuff and taking apart our bed. I almost lost it dealing with that bed. I had to use an allen wrench to take apart the whole thing. My fingers turned black and blistered, but it felt good when the whole thing finally all came apart! And, honestly, if that is the worst part about a moving experience, then there really isn't much to complain about. 

After a couple of hours the truck was all packed up and the guys headed over to the house. I took some small things in my car and the dogs and I followed the guys to the house. Since I had the camera with me trying to document our move, I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the dogs, particularly Jack, enjoying the car ride. That dog is such the definition of "dog". I swear his favorite thing ever is sticking his head out the window. Emma enjoys it too, but brings her head back in the car once we hit a speed over 30 mph. Jack, on the other hand, doesn't care how fast the car is going. =) 

 

Once we got to the house we all started unloading the UHAUL and Jason's truck. It was a lot of work and we appreciate Jason's help more than I can express. There are some items in our house that I literally would not have been able to help Miguel move. I'm just simply not strong enough. 

Notice how I already packed up all of Miguel's athletic socks... he had to wear work socks rolled down. Sorry, babe!

The guys finished unloading the truck around 6. It felt so good to have our stuff in our house! I am so happy to be a home owner. I'm already finding it easier to take care of the house than the apartment. There is more pride in something you own!

I also want to mention that we have pretty cool neighbors. The neighbors to our left planted this beautiful hydrangea plant... but on our property! Score ;) The neighbors to our right are a pastor and his wife. He is the pastor for the church right outside our neighborhood. Amy is the wife and she is very friendly. When I met her for the first time she wrapped me up in a big hug. 

Just this past weekend our doorbell rang. It was our neighbor, Amy. She came over to bring us a welcome to the neighborhood gift. Such a nice thought! But what was even cooler is that the gift was a blanket she had knitted herself! She made it red, white, and blue since it is close to the 4th of July. I am so impressed that someone can make a blanket out of just yarn and am touched that a stranger took the time to create it for us! 

I love the zig-zag ends!

Since I waited so long to blog about the moving day, this is all that I can recall! We are so thankful to Jason for his help and are thankful that God has blessed us so much! I'm looking forward to the happy years we're going to spend making memories in this house!

Miguel's 25th Birthday! -- Part Two

I completely forgot half of Miguel's Birthday post... I blogged about Miguel's birthday HERE but left out his gifts... Oops!

Miguel is well loved... which is obvious by the amount of friends that showed up for his celebrations, but it is also obvious in the generous gifts he received! Miguel opened his presents when we got home from Atlanta on Sunday night. Miguel had four cards in the mail. One was from my Uncle and his girl friend Linda, one from my grandma, one from my sister and brother-in-law, and one from my parents.

Thanks Sarah and Jared!

My grandma gave Miguel a generous check and my sister and her husband gave Miguel a much needed gift certificate so he could buy some new clothes. Miguel needs some new shoes but doesn't like spending money on himself. So this gift card is a good thing! 

Look at the puppy! =)

Miguel was so surprised and excited when he opened the card from my parents. They gave him Sunday tickets to the PGA in Atlanta! He was genuinely surprised and so happy! It's hard to surprise Miguel! Way to go, Mom and Dad! 

Miguel's face when he opened the card from my parents =)

Miguel's parents also gave him a very generous gift... A Big Green Egg! If you know anything about these grills, you know how obsessive some people can get about them. There is definitely a cult following of sorts =) The Amadors have two and I have eaten many meals cooked in them and I can say from experience that it turns out wonderful flavor. For the virgin grill Miguel made us some yummy salmon! The only thing we learned was to next time move it away from the side of the house. We grilled right next to the only part of the house that isn't brick... and completely melted our siding. It is all deformed and catawampus now. Oops! That's alright... I think it's part of the learning curve of being first time homeowners.

Well there you have it! It was a good birthday for Miguel and he feels loved and is enjoying his generous gifts! =)

Miguel's 25th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Miguel and Juan!

A couple of weeks ago Miguel and I packed up the dogs and headed to Atlanta to celebrate Miguel's 25th birthday. We had a wonderful weekend seeing family and friends. We seriously don't get to see some of our friends frequently enough! The only hiccup from the weekend was a speeding ticket I picked up on the drive home. Ugh, just made the miserable trip on I-16 even worse. BUT, we had a great weekend regardless! 

We started out the birthday celebrations at Red Brick Brewing Company. You pay eight dollars and get a glass and four free beers. They had live music as well as ping pong and corn hole and opportunities just to hang out with friends. After enjoying our drinks we all headed over to Tin Lizzies in midtown. We had so many friends show up that we had to get two tables... after we filled up a table of 20! Miguel and Juan are well loved! After dinner we headed over to Rí Rá Irish Pub for some drinks and dancing. I know Miguel and I both enjoyed the evening and spending time with friends. 

Saturday night we had a big family dinner at the Amadors. I love nights at the Amadors house! We sat out on the porch... all 15 of us... and smoked cigars and talked and laughed. We always have great appetizers too. My favorite was the home grown tomatoes with a basalmic vinaigrette glaze! We had some cuban dinner and flan for dessert. 

Sunday morning the boys woke up early to play golf with their dad for fathers day. I know the guys had fun and I know they enjoyed having guy time with each other. I hate Sundays because it's the day we always have to go back home =( 

I wish I had taken pictures of the weekend, but I only remembered to snap a few pictures at the brewing company. Anyways, I loved spending the weekend celebrating my husband and I hope this year holds a lot of happiness and blessings in his life! Check out Miguel's 25th Birthday Part Two by clicking HERE!

Jacob and Stephen

Me, Sarah, and Anne. 

Nice face, babe.

Chase and Nathan.

Jack Meet Water. Water Meet Jack.

Sunday morning Miguel and I took the dogs to Fort Pulaski. Jack had never been swimming before and we were really excited to show him the water! He was a little hesitant at first, but that quickly faded. He L.O.V.E.D the water! Taking the dogs to the "beach" (Tybee doesn't allow dogs) is so much fun! I adore watching Emma and Jack run around, so happy and free. They love playing with each other. It's so cute to watch their interaction with one another. They always need to know what the other is doing and always want to go too where ever the other is headed. Jack and Emma ran up and down the beach and would then spring full speed into the water. They wrestled and played the entire time, even though it was miserably hot... but I guess the water helped cool them down. I'm looking forward to bringing them again. It's just too bad we live about an extra 15 minutes away from the Fort now. Trips to the water will most likely be a weekend thing from now on. But the drive is well worth it. The dogs had so much fun and they are both sleeping like logs. We took loads of pictures. Here are a few below. =) 

Splish Splash

A little blurry, but awesome that Jack's feet aren't touching the ground!

It's so much fun to run with Dad

Birds of a Feather...

This Sunday morning Miguel and I woke up ready to get some things done today. We were going to take the dogs to the Fort so that Jack could see and play in the water for the first time and we planned on doing chores and yard work. Before we got the day started Miguel decided to go for a run at a local trail/park. About 45 minutes after he left I got a phone call. Miguel's car wouldn't start. So the dogs and I jumped in the car and were to the rescue. While Miguel was making his battery start and fiddling under the hood of the car I grabbed the camera and snapped some shots of the birds enjoying the lake. 

Zzzzz

NKOTBSB - Hell Yeah!

"HOWIEEEEEEEEE! HOWIE! HOWIE! HOWIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" - Sarah Wilder, 23.

12 years ago my best friend and I went to the Backstreet Boys concert when they played at the Georgia Dome! Well, Wednesday night we got to recreate the experience. Sarah's uncle hooked us up with some AWESOME club seats. We got to park under the Philips Arena and walk in this door that said "Authorized Personnel Only". Once in the door, we got to walk down a private staircase and then got escorted to our seats. We totally felt like ballas. Our seats were in the first couple of rows behind the floor seats. I actually really loved those seats because, unlike the floor seats, we didn't have to look up and the guys were eye level. It was like sitting at the 50 yard line. 

The Staircase down to our seats.

Jordan Sparks opened for the boys. Sarah and I were really impressed with her. She looked totally beautiful and we really enjoyed her performance! We had heard Matthew Morrison was going to open too, but he never came out. Pout. 

Okay, I can honestly say that I can't describe how amazing this concert was. I don't think I have the words. I know we sound incredibly dorky, but I so don't care. It was so much fun to scream like we were 13 again. We sang to all the Backstreet Boys songs. They sang all the songs we really wanted them to sing! We were surprised how much we enjoyed the NKOTB though too. They put on a really good show! It was funny because you could completely tell which audience members where there for which band. Everyone acted giddy, though, despite the average ten year age difference between the fans.

At one point they turned on the overhead lights and we got a glimpse at how full the arena was!

All the guys still have "it"! They sang the whole thing 100% live and danced around as if they were all young men again. Whoever thought to put both bands together is totally genius. The concert was really long because the guys could take breaks. Both Sarah and I keep saying we wish we could go back right now!

Nick!

Hello, Donnie! ;)

My only regret is not bringing my good camera. Next time! =) I am soooo thankful I was able to go, and especially grateful that I was able to go with my best friend!