Friends are Friends Forever

My best friend Tiffany and I met in college and were roomates for 3 years. That's a lot of together time! When I graduated, I moved back to Virginia Beach and Tiffany moved to New Orleans to go to seminary. I got to see her a couple times before we both got married. But in the last two years, we've only seen each other for each other's weddings! Ryan and I got married 14 months ago...so that was the last time we saw each other!

Tiffany called and told me that her seminary asked her to be a representative at some conferences in Virginia for a couple of days. She said that she had some free time on Thursday. So, I jumped in the car on Thursday and drove to Richmond to see her!

I met her and her mom Shelby for dinner at Baker's Crust in Richmond. It was so good to see them and spend time with them! We didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but it was definitely worth the trip! I miss her already!

We were trying to re-enact this pose at Camp Little Crossroads. It's one of my favorite pictures ever...

Here are some Beth and Tiffany classics from over the years...

What was I doing with my hair?!?

Aaaandd...this picture pretty much sums up our friendship for some reason...

Love you Tiff! It was SO good to see you!

Happy (belated) Halloween!

I got a little crafty this month and made some cute fall/Halloween decorations!

The first project are mason jars mod podged with tissue paper. The faces are made out of construction paper and the tops are painted black. They look really cool all lit up!

The second project is a fake pumpkin. I used some spray glue to glue a doily to the top of the pumpkin. Then I painted over the doily with paint before peeling it off. It didn't come out that great...but from far away it looks really cool. I then traced an "A" onto the pumpkin and filled it in!

Can you tell that I have some free time now that Ryan's in school?

Just Keep Swimming...

Labs are known for their love of water, or so we hear. Our lab is terrified of swimming. He is a great swimmer when he has to be, but let's face it, he'd rather get his temperature taken than go for a swim. (If you know what I mean.) He likes playing in puddles, with water hoses, and he'll get up to his chest in water...as long as his feet are always on solid ground.

Ryan and I have been encouraging his inner lab to come out, but usually, he'll go out as far as he can stand, and wait for the current to bring back whatever we've thrown for him to fetch.

Last weekend, we went to visit Ryan's parents in Smithfield. While we were there, we went for a walk at Lone Star Lakes. I picked up a stick and threw it in the water for Tyce, and much to my surprise...

Tyce was SWIMMING! Like, feet off the ground, treading water, REAL LAB swimming!!! So what if he had a look of sheer terror on his face the whole time?

Ryan was quite proud!

I guess he's graduated from the kiddie pool then?

Can't Catch a Break

He puts up with a lot...but he's a good sport!

Lauralie

Our dear friend, Tabatha had her little baby girl this past Friday night! Ryan and I got to spend part of the day with them on Saturday at the hospital. Lauralie is so sweet! She was 6 pounds even and 18 inches long.

Everyone, meet Lauralie Ann Jennings!

Lauralie's big brother is our good buddy Gabryel!

Tabatha, Gabryel and Lauralie

U2 360 Tour

U2 was INCREDIBLE! Ryan and I were so thrilled to be able to go! We rearranged our schedules after getting the phone call the morning of the concert and hightailed it out of town that afternoon.

Muse was a really great opening act and Ryan and I both liked them a lot. U2 put on an amazingly entertaining show! Those guys are unbelievably talented!

It was really a fun night and something that Ryan and I will always remember!

Here are two videos from the concert. I wish I could have recorded more, but my camera disc was pretty full!

U2

Ryan and I just scored FREE tickets to see U2 in Charlottesville tonight! My Uncle Jerry (who is HUGE U2 fan) had two friends get sick and need to give their tickets away today. We are the lucky two that got them!

We are pretty much scrambling to rearrange our schedules to get out of town. They're expecting over 60,000 people in little ol' Charlottesville tonight, so it's going to be insane trying to get around. I'm not sure if we have a parking pass or not yet...so it may be more of a nightmare than we're anticipating.

But...did I mention that RYAN AND I ARE GOING TO SEE U2 FOR FREE TONIGHT?!?

Because we are. :)

Framed

I have been spray painting some frames to go in our bedroom recently. I've had them stacked in a pile on the stairs for a couple of days...ok, ok...weeks. The other night, I finally decided to take them upstairs, but on the way, I dropped one. Tyce, being ever helpful and sweet, picked it up for me. When he picked his head up, the frame flipped over his face. I started cracking up and then grabbed the camera. The whole time, he kept trying to give it to me like "here, take it!"

I think he's suggesting who should go in that frame.

What a sweet boy!

Road Trip Part 2

Our second road trip was a whole lot shorter and we stayed in Virginia.

Ryan and I have been wanting to visit each other's colleges ever since we met. They were such a huge part of our lives! And I know that to truly picture Averett...you have to see it. Yes, the whole campus is pretty much one huge building! Ryan was shocked when he actually saw that it was true!

So, on Friday of Labor Day weekend, we made the trek to Danville! While we were there, I got to visit with some of my old professors. We even drove down to North Carolina to visit one of my religion professors, Dr. Nickens. I took about 85% of the courses for my major with him. We also ate some Danville fine dining - Short Sugar's for lunch and Ham's for dinner! Danville has been built up a lot since my college days (which wasn't that long ago!) It's a much busier place now!

My Alma Mater, Averett University

Averett built a new student center and I had never seen my leadership plaques before...so of course, I had to go find them!

Notice my name AND my sister's name on this plaque...

This is one of my favorite spots on campus and I'm not really sure why. You could usually find me running down this path on the way to class. Why? Because I was late. Did you really have to ask?

We drove into Lexington that night and got up early to go see the parade at VMI.

Ryan's Alma Mater, Virginia Military Institute

This is where we could have found Ryan, in the Alpha Company. (aka - the tall kids)
Chapel on campus

This is where Ryan lived. They are doing some major renovations, which we were surprised to see.

VMI was having a home football game, so we stopped by to watch a little bit of it.

Much to our surprise, they won!

I was totally fascinated by VMI. It was so different than my college experience...or anything that I have ever experienced for that matter! I must have asked Ryan a gagillion questions that day. I loved being able to experience that part of his life. I have so much respect for him for having completed four years there.

After this trip, we haven't taken a road trip since. With Disney World and this trip so close together, we were done with the car for a while! But hopefully soon, we'll be back on the road!