a mish mash of everything

Life has been a whirlwind lately. My internship ended, my sister got married and I start a new job tomorrow. Oh yeah, and we're also moving into a rental house in a few weeks. Yikes!!! So, sorry if I haven't been able to share much lately....

Memorial Day weekend was the HP Byron Nelson Championship - the golf tournament that I've been planning since last August. It was an amazing time, and I believe the highlights can be summed up in a few bullet points:

*Some nutcase driving on the golf course. IN HIS CAR.
*Getting my picture taken with Adam Scott, our 2008 Champion.
*Fully experiencing the Pavilion. Wow.
*A streaker on No. 18 Green on Sunday.
*Being on No. 18 Green while Rory Sabbatini was awarded the trophy!

It was amazing to see everything come together so well. Everyone did their part, and the media loved our media center. Anyway, here are a few pretty golf shots.





Will's Dad was able to fly down for a few days during the Championship and hang out with Will. I was barely able to see him due to the crazy work schedule, but it was good to have him in town. Hopefully next time we'll all get to hang out a little more!!



And with the end of the Championship, so came the end of my internship at Salesmanship Club of Dallas. What a great organization. I'm going to really miss the Thursday luncheons. SCD = 600+ of the best bosses a gal could have. I bet David Feherty never came to speak at your work on a Thursday afternoon!



Just two days after my internship ended, we flew out to see my sister get married at the beach. Chief didn't want us to leave.



We landed in Savannah, and were greeted by a few inches of rain and a delicious lunch at Vic's (which I have no pictures of). I ate my first raw oyster!





As we drove away from Savannah, the clouds let up and sunshine broke through. On the ride to Hilton Head, Keith and Sara told us about how they read a warning online about the terrible drivers in gold vans from Ohio. Less than five minutes later, I noticed one driving beside us. When we parked to get the keys to our rental house, TWO of them were parked side by side next to our car! I think they're part of a cult.









The beach house was beautiful!! The fam settled in slowly and we all made a quick trip to see the ocean. I always forget how gorgeous it is.







After trying to swim in the COLDEST pool I have ever been in, we went to the grocery store for basically the rest of the night. Well, we went to three grocery stores. After all... the next day was spent cooking. All day. Long. Will and I did wake up early and he took this incredible picture of the sunrise.



And then it began... I have to excuse myself for having such nasty hair in the next few pictures. Whatevs.

My post.


Sara's wedding cake would have been completely lopsided if it weren't for my mom and her awesome cake-sawing skillz.


Will likes to follow me around the kitchen with a camera.


We all made miniature test cakes once the layers were cut. Orange buttermilk cake with raspberry filling and white chocolate lemon mousse filling, and a vanilla buttercream icing. DELISH.



After some wild storms, Will and I went to the beach for a bit to explore. There are not nearly enough pictures of Will in this blog entry. It's stressing me out!



A gigantic piece of driftwood ended up on the beach.





Jellyfish!!



After we got back from the beach, Sara gave me a beautiful bracelet and we all cried and hugged. Oh dear, I love them!



And then Mom and I tackled the task of putting fondant on the cake. We had to dye it a pale yellow as well. It was a great way to get out our frustrations!!!



Here's the finished product. I am taking 2009 cake orders as of now. My price is $34,783,947,983 per tier. I'm so glad my mom was there to help me with this. Phew.



And then it rained on Sara's wedding day. Insert Alanis Morrisette joke here.



But things cleared up, and then it was time for everyone to get dressed up! Everyone looked great. This is where I really wish I had a picture of Will. He was toooo cute.







Vow time!


Here I am blubbering through the reading. I've never looked so unprofesh.



Aww..











We all made our way to the reception. Somehow people started eating before Sara and Keith were introduced, and scavengers downed four lbs. of shrimp in about 20 minutes. Here's a picture of the damage:



After that debacle, we all made our way down for the first dance.



Dad and Keith's brother made a toast.



Bridezilla? No, that's just Sara trying to get her friends to shut up for a sec so she could cut her cake. I love her.







We all woke up the next morning to find Sara and Keith's car decorated stylishly with beer cans and something profane on the front passenger's window.



We all went for a delicious breakfast at Skillets, which later proved to be a bit much for Keith. haha. I was obviously confused by the brightness of my white capri pants.



Before we left for the airport, we made a quick trip to the beach for some last minute relaxation. I miss it!!!



Dave found an awesome conch shell in the water, but the little snail guy wouldn't come out. This picture is actually kind of gross.



And that was that! The wedding was gorgeous and Sara and Keith looked perfect. I'm so happy to have him as a big bro, and so happy that Sara found her missing puzzle piece.

Amy was able to visit for a few days, which was so much fun despite the wild storms that dropped almost six inches of rain on Irving. What!!



We even made it to the pool for a bit!



The weather has been ridiculous here. Yesterday it was 96, but Weather.com said that it FELT LIKE 109!! Who knew that Dallas was secretly Saudi Arabia? Last night I volunteered at the Dallas Zoo and helped little kids make bookmarks. It was adorable.

And then today, we decided to go to Dinosaur Valley State Park to see some dinosaur foot prints and let Chief swim for the first time ever. I think it's pretty obvious that he had a good time.









Notice that Chief likes to bite at the water while he swims!



We also tried to take a family picture. This is how it turned out:



Well, that's all she wrote. Wish me luck on my first day tomorrow!!!!

quick post!

I promise I'll update about the tourney when I get time. For now, here's a picture of the house we're moving into this July!!! Wait until you see the inside, it's adorable.

HPBNC Time!

These are just a few shots taken from the Byron Nelson today. It's the only day where cameras are allowed so this may be all we get from it.

This is Adam Scott, the defending champion.



And Brittany got to stand with a few buddies beside him.



We'll keep you updated if anything else exciting happens.

Help Me, Rhonda

Well I just watched The Preakness. And I just lost money on our bets again. Rachel Alexandra won as expected, becoming the first filly to win in 80 some years. Mine That Bird closed the gap at the end but was just a little too far off to win. Unfortunately, Papa Clem and Big Drama (below) didn't do as well as I had hoped. Ever since I picked Big Brown last year I thought I knew what I was doing, but I guess not! It's still a lot of fun though. Belmont is up next!



Meanwhile, Brittany has been consumed with some extreme work schedules due to the Byron Nelson coming up this week. They are all working pretty hard to get everything set, and it looks like they will. I can only hope all goes as smoothly as possible, and that some young gun wins the tournament and makes the job a little easier for next year. I got a little tour of the TPC Four Seasons last night. Thinking of playing that course makes me salivate.



That's ok though. Poppy is coming to Texas on Friday to experience the big event. We plan on playing Friday and Monday, and going to the tournament over the weekend. I can't wait to take him to all the good bbq, country cookin, and Mexican restaurants around town. Of course, I am most excited about playing The Tribute.



Let's hope it doesn't rain!

We've been on a mad search for a new place to live come July. Our goal is to find a nice house/duplex near lower Greenville Avenue so that we can feel a little more of ourselves on a day to day basis. Also, Chief needs a little run around room to exert some crazed energy. He's up to 28 pounds now. Anyway, it still seems to be a bit early for the lessors to free up their space for us, so we will see!

Hilton Head in three weeks.

May You Stay...Forever Young

First off, I am sure anyone reading this has known/heard about Nick Adenhart. I would just like to keep it brief and say that he was an extremely good friend and made every moment with him about ten times happier. Many laughs will be remembered and many laughs will be missed, but his life should certainly be taken as inspiration for a lot of people. He deserves all the respect in the world, and he definitely has mine.



Unfortunately, we've been extremely distracted lately so we were unable to update. However, we have plenty to update about so bare with the long post and many pictures.

Recently the Orioles came to town to play the Rangers. We couldn't miss that so we went with a couple of friends of ours. Good thing they won, because now Tommy has to drop in on a skateboard ramp. Just so you know, chances are he won't be able to do it, meaning he will be up close and personal to the concrete.

Our seats were really nice!



Don't waste your time Tommy, they're going to lose.



The number one Rangers fan



Rangers Stadium



Brittany and Amanda



Brittany and I made it on the big screen at the stadium onto the kiss cam. This was a first for both of us and Brittany describes the moment as being able to live out one of her lifelong dreams. Let's just say it was intense and I scraped up my knee in the process, complete with a hole in my jeans. It was great though!

This is how pathetic and sad Chief looks when we tell him he has to go in his house. He knows how to make it hard.



During our time home, we tried to take a few pictures of the area for those who have never seen it. Maybe this will help explain that Hagerstown is a little different than Baltimore.

This is Frederick



A new car parked on the street



Some guy dressed up in some weirdo clothes



This is Brittany's high school, she was a Boonsboro Warrior



Some Washington County countryside



The fields of Antietam Battlefield from the tower



Sassin' it up.



A view of the sunken road, aka Bloody Lane



My artistic attempts.



Bet you can't guess which airport this was in.



This is for you Mom, tell me if you need it full size.



Last weekend, Brittany went back home again for a "surprise" bridal shower for her sister. By all accounts, it went well and she had a great time organizing the entire thing. Only a few more weeks until the wedding in Hilton Head, and boy will it be good to get some vacation!

This is a shot of the bride to be.



In other news, Brittany has been offered a job for Exhibitgroup/Giltspur as a marketing coordinator in Grapevine, TX. She will begin after the Byron Nelson is over and when we return from Hilton Head. We are all proud of her and commend her for being overwhelmingly ambitious and determined in her job search. She deserves nothing less.

Everyone get ready for the Kentucky Derby this weekend! We will report back later with the results of our bets. Good luck and have a mint julep.

The Best Time of Year

Let me first say that this week is the best time of the year with respect to sports. It starts with the final four, plays out with the first week of the baseball season (aka the Orioles don't suck yet), and it ends with the best sporting event of all...The Masters. I'm looking for Ernie to finally break through after all those years of irrelevance due to injury and other things. There is just something about that tournament that gets me all revved up.

With that said, recently not much has been going on. I did get to go to a Stars game with Tommy Boy the other weekend. We had 5th row seats (well, they were at least in that vicinity). The Stars stunk but that didn't really matter to me, as long as there are fights! Below are a few shots from the event.

The face off!



Some action!



A little kid at halftime



Besides that, we have just been hanging out. As a substitute for nothing to report, I took a few pictures of Chief recently to show his growth. Kink in his tail has a thing for attempting to carry all of his toys at once. Sometimes he gets pretty close.





Also I have been doing a little bit of research on the horses projected to be in the Kentucky Derby, the second best sporting event of the year. So far, my tentative pick for the literal dark horse is Win Willy. He's flying a little under the radar and we will see how he does in the Arkansas Derby this weekend, but I think he may be a contender! Hopefully the odds are not in his favor so I can win some real money, but if he does win this weekend, I am sure everyone will jump on the bandwagon.