Senioritis

via here

Senioritis- noun. A crippling disease that strikes college seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as graduation. (Urbandictionary.com)


MY LIFE! (And Andrew's I will add.)


1. I used to be really good about dressing decent to school. I figured I'm about to enter into the real world so I should start practicing. That's been out the window this last week. T-shirts and athletic shorts everyday.


2. I haven't attended class since Tuesday. And it's Friday I might add. I know! It sounds so bad. But let me explain myself. Wednesday, class was cancelled. Thursday, I have no excuse except pure laziness. And today, Both classes are presentations by my class mates. BORING! (I blame canceling class on Wednesday. It gave me the taste of missing school, and it tasted good.)


3. I HAVE stayed on top of my work! I'm still turning in all my work on time and with excellent grades. Thank you very much!


4. I feel like I deserve to treat myself to a chill end of my last semester considering all my hard work I've put in. 


Instead of school, I've filled my time with:

kyzer's cuddles

dog park adventures

time with God

 and friends!

This weekend, the senioritis continues. Andrew and I are going to Teen Prom! I'm so ready to hang out with my high school friends and get down on the dance floor. Andrew's the DJ for the party along with his BFF Stephen. And I'm of course the "awkward mom" handing out punch in the corner. It's going to be awesome!!

Monthly Update?

Graduation is right around the corner!! Andrew and I are beyond excited. He already ran around the house in his cap and gown. Is that bad luck like it is for weddings!? Anyways, both of our families will be in town for the occasion. The in-laws are even staying with us in our small apartment! Dog and all. I hope Shammy and Kyzer get along.

what a happy boy at the park with his BFFs

Kyzer is growing!!! He's almost 50 pounds now and only 5 months. We are still working on obedience and training with him. All I have to say is Cesar Millan knows what he's talking about! Because of him, we are going to have a well mannered doggy.

just look at the size difference from the top picture
(the first couple weeks of having him) to the
bottom one (last week).

Andrew was the birthday this last weekend! We had a very relaxing weekend enjoying good food and the company of friends. 

what a cutie

we've always wanted to try this place. and we finally made it

our friends hosted a cookout for him. cake and keg included

my birthday boy!

Our plans for life after graduation are still in the works :( but we will be sure to keep you updated. I'm not going to lie, I was hoping to know by now. AND I'm partially surprised at how calm I am at the fact of not knowing. Very excited to see what God has planned for us.

Weekly Update

Once you grow up, does life ever seem to slow down again?

That's the question on our mind these days. We feel like we haven't had a day (or even a minute) to just breathe. 

On a good note, however, we've had a pretty fun week looking back on it. (I so easily forget the good things in the hustle and bustle of life) We got a new dishwasher!

This is how it started...TJ was teaching Andrew for future knowledge.

But after 5 minutes....this was how the dishwasher
was replaced.

How do people survive without a dishwasher!? We were without a working washer for 2 weeks. I don't understand how some people do it. Just another thing I'm now truly grateful for. Just like the car. :)

Jaxon came for another visit. It wasn't as luxurious and fun for him like last time though. Kyzer wanted to eat his tail the whole weekend. He thought he was a giant fluffy toy.

A rare loving moment between the two of them. They
ended up taking a nap together. :)

But in reality...this is what it was like...

We had friends over to play a super fun game of Quelf. 

Play this game with good friends cause you might get caught having to stick your finger up your nose and yodel until you role three 2's (ehm, Andrew).

Kyzer learned how to pick up a frisbee.

And how to catch his ball in his mouth when we toss it.

The weather has been off-and-on beautiful here. Sunny and so warm I've had to switch to shorts mid afternoon. Earlier this week, it was one of those days so Kyzer and I enjoyed a "peaceful" afternoon with the windows open.

(By peaceful I mean Kyzer nibbled on a bone and napped while I worked on school stuff for 4 hours straight.) 

This weekend we get to play our second round at being hosts! Friends of ours, Stephen and Alise, are coming to stay with us Saturday night. I'm so grateful to have a second bedroom so we can offer our home. What a joy.

And lastly....7 days to Spring Break '12! Our last one ever!

Playing House

Remember this room?

The storage facility. Organized Chaos. Whatever you prefer.

Well get a look now!!

sorry the lighting is so terrible

This weekend, Andrew and I had our FIRST house guests. Brittany called me on Friday, asked if she and her husband, Casey, could stay with us for the next weekend, and my crazy self said sure, why not! (Please refer back up to the first 3 pictures)

I knew I had to get the room ready within the next couple months anyway so what other motivation than my best friend, who I hadn't seen since her wedding back in September, coming to stay with me in less than a week.

Remember Lauren? She's getting married! Brittany and Casey came into celebrate with her and her future husband, and out of it we got a super fun weekend. They treated us to breakfast at Mama's Boy, the boys worked out while the girls chatted, we went to Lauren and Zach's party, and we had a sleepover. I always love getting to spend time with her and Casey. And it was especially fun to be able to host them in our home! I've always dreamed of Andrew and I being hospitable in that way, but I never thought it actually happening in our small apartment.

In Casey's own words...."Chateau de Chase". So for anyone who wants a place to stay in Athens, please don't hesitate to ask! Now that we have a guest room instead of a storage room....we want to use it!

Africa Part 1: We have arrived!

You know, just because a country speaks English doesn't mean you'll understand anything their saying. South Africa....one of those places. I absolutely loved their lingo, though. Please don't hold me on the spellings, but you'll get the idea:

robots = traffic lights

cheers = good bye

costume or cozi (for short) = swim suit

bucky = truck

slip slops = flip flops
braai (pronounced br-i) = cookout

All of these said in accents to die for. We asked them what we sounded like. "Just like the people from the TV!" Haha! AND I was told my accent was one of the "thickest" American accents of the group. I didn't even know that was possible. 

We had so much fun learning the lingo from the most wonderful South African family, the Stockdales.  Ian and Bronwyn hosted us along with their daughters Phoebe and Paige. 

hanging out with Pheobe (right) and Paige (middle)

We sadly forgot to get a group shot of all 6 of us, but I'm confident we'll be seeing them again so don't worry your little hearts. You'll get to meet them, too, through our future photo.  

We didn't start the camp right away. And thank goodness! We were all walking zombies with swollen ankles. We arrived Friday morning, met up with our families, and recuperated from our traveling. The Stockdale's took us to a traditional African restaurant to get the full experience.

they came to the table to wash your hands

and painted your face :)

2 hours of sleep people...2 hours!

Saturday was a day of exploring. We went to a lion park where Andrew and I made some memories for life.

the lion den

it was nap time when we arrived

but Zara got playful when we came in with her "mom"
(the woman who has taken care of her since birth)

she just liked laying on top of Andrew and licking his head

Later that night we rang in the new year with the Joburg Church with an epic dance party and had a midnight communion service. The African's taught us some cool dance moves while we returned the favor. We ended the night praying in African, English, and Zulu.  It was such a powerful experience.

Sunday was a designated day to relax. But we don't know what relaxing means when it's our first time in Africa! The Stockdale's invited my brother's host family over and we had a braai. Lots of meat, swimming, and RUGBY!

it started off a small backyard game

but then we got serious and went to the park down the street

and I couldn't come all the way to Africa and not play for a little bit

So to recap, in 48 hours, Andrew and I discovered Africa, made friends with lions and tigers, ate tons of African meats, learned how to play rugby, prayed in different languages, learned how to dance Africa style, and made life long African friends. Living a dream.

Long Time (literally) No See

I'm so sorry it's been such a long time! Trust me, every night I go to bed thinking about posting a blog to update all of you on our adventures, but I'm always too tired. Since coming back to the states, 9 pm has been a constant "I'm ready for bed (yawn!)" time. So my usually blogging time slot has been preoccupied by some zzzzz's. I hope you can forgive me.

I've been trying to figure out how I wanted to share about our month of adventures on here and I'm pretty stumped. If only I could tell of our journeys in one blog post. But that is physically impossible. I'd be here all night and into tomorrow typing to tell you about it. And well, to be so honest, I know neither of us have the time to type or read that long of a post in our busy days.

So to start somewhere....

My husband and I celebrated our first Christmas together! Throughout our entire relationship (2 years) before marriage we never spent a holiday together. 1. Because our families didn't live in the same city. 2. It was few and far between when we got just "family time" with our families so we didn't interrupt that. And 3. Because we wanted the little things like spending the holidays together to be special when we truly became our own family.

And I'm so grateful we did it that way. This Christmas was spent with my family in Cocoa Beach. We had a nice lay/nap by the pool, ate lots of yummy food, and went to the infamous Harry Potter World!

We of course broke our fast. AMEN! With some Ihop. 

Might I recommend the pumpkin pancakes. They were perfection. And don't judge me...but I ate every last bite. You would too if you hadn't touched sugar, bread, chocolate, and coffee in over a month! 

Anyways....

Next Christmas, we plan on spending it with the other side of the family. I can't wait! Of course kind of sad because I've never spent a Christmas without my parents but exciting because spending holidays with in-laws means I'm married, which means I have a husband, which means all my dreams have come true. :)

Til next time, I'll begin to share about the trip that gave us so much joy. And that took me away from here for a month! 

Side note, I saw this today on Pinterest and I want one. 

I want to have this up in our home and put a pin on all the places we travel to. Not in such a way that we are showing off to people, but in a way that always reminds us of where God has taken us. As a way to always remember. And be grateful. 

Next stop......Germany!

First Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful week giving thanks and spending time with loved ones. Andrew and I did quite a bit of traveling to celebrate our Thanksgiving.

First stop.....

Atlanta, GA

We had such a wonderful evening with some close friends of ours. Most there were friends that once lived in Athens but have moved to Atlanta after graduation. Not only did we feast, the person who invited us stood up and shared why they were grateful for us. So encouraging! Thanks to by BFF Lauren for inviting me and the husband! The 2 hr. 30 min drive there was totally worth it.

Next stop....

Macon, GA

Took Lydia ice skating. It was her first time ever and she had a blast! "Two more times!" "One more time!"

Her and I also have a common bond of playing the violin. She was so excited for me to hear her play and play for her. I couldn't really do much on her tiny person violin but she was so cute. I think Andrew had the most fun out of us all playing the violin. He was the one who didn't want to share. Now I know whenever he complains of being bored I'll just pull mine out and he'll be content for hours. Who knew!?

We had such a wonderful time there. Always feel so loved and taken care of by his family. 

On Thanksgiving day, we made homemade chocolate chip waffles and watched the beginnings of the parade. We were able to watch just long enough to be graced with Daniel Radcliffe's singing and dancing. HA!

Then we left that morning to drive to Florida for...

Stop #3...

Cocoa Beach, FL

I forgot to take pictures of the feast but my mom did a top notch job! It was so nice to see my grandparents and aunt and uncle there. The wedding was so rushed that I barely (or not at all) got to spend time with them. 

While down there, Andrew golfed for the first time and I helped my mom with this ridiculously hard puzzle. It's still no where near done after hours of time put in.

And we set up the Christmas tree. The fam will back down to the beach shortly for Christmas as well.

Then final stop...

HOME!

After the 10 hour drive home, we put up our first Christmas tree. It's pretty puny but who cares. We were excited! Got to go get more ornaments this week. It's a bit bare.   

So now it's on to tests, project, and programs to finish out the semester. We are and will continue to be bogged down with books for a couple more weeks. So close! But based on the weather today...I feel Christmas coming up soon. Thank goodness for warm coats, socks, slippers, and heated homes.