Beth's move

Dane and I helped move Beth to Nashville on Friday August 6th and Saturday August 7th. Mom and Dad got us all a hotel near Nashville for Friday night so that we could drive down on Friday and move Beth in on Saturday. Friday night we had a great time. We ate dinner on the rooftop at Rippy's. There was a live band of 3 guys playing guitars. We also road on in a horse drawn carriage for a little tour of Nasvhille :).

Saturday we moved Beth in from 12:00-2:00. They had blocked off an elevator for us to use to move her bed, couch, etc. Before we moved her in we all went to Target and Beth bought a few hundred dollars worth of essentials. I really think if I had to pick one place to shop forever, it would be Target.

Leaving my sister in another state was an overwhelming rush of emotions. I was so excited/anxious/happy/proud while at the same time lonely/sad/tearful. I really can't believe that she lives in another state. Dane tells me that I can't think about it like she is so far away. She is just living in another town. I am happy for her. She bought a webcam and now we can skype too.

Oh! And mom, aunt Julie, Sam, and I are going there in a couple of weeks to visit her.

I love you sister! :)

Happy Birthday Angie

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. She is the sweetest lady. She has always loved me and treated me like her own daughter. We are very blessed to have her in our lives. She is always smiling and is always ready to help us in anyway that she can. Last week she helped me make Beth some napkins on her sewing machine. I also love her for raising my sweet husband.

We are celebrating her birthday (and saying our goodbyes to Corey) by eating dinner at Who Dat's in Bald Knob tonight. I am excited about seeing everyone. :)

Family Reunion Pictures

Julie and Gran with Rocco

Cousins

Dane holding Rocco

Rocco laughing. Such a heartbreaker!!

Dane and I with Gran.

Beth feeding Rocco with Rocco's mom Kristin.

Families are Forever. Twilley Family Reunion 2010.

Last weekend Dane and I spent Friday night - Sunday morning with my Gran's family. Gran was a Twilley before she was a Webb. Gran has a very large family. Her parents spent most of lives near Mt. Pleasant. Many of her siblings spent most of their lives in other states (California, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Missouri, etc). They all come together once a year. For the past 2 years we have had the reunion at the Timberridge Lodge (where Dane and I had our wedding reception). It's a great place for a big group of people and they have a pool and wonderful food! We also get to see people that we only get to see once a year.

This year we had a very special treat. My Gran had 2 brothers. Her younger brother's name is Charlie and he is married to Nancy. They have a daughter Kristin who is married to Ryan. Kristin in Ryan live in Nashville. They both went to Belmont. This year they brought their precious new baby boy (only 1 month old!) Rocco Christian Gore. He is such a sweetie!! He was just an angel. He let anyone and everyone hold him. Needless to say he was the highlight of the year.

I feel like I can't write this post without thanking my Gran who worked so very hard (making salads, pasta, homemade italian cream cake!!, etc) and did all the preparation work reserving the lodge and taking care of this very important weekend. We love you Gran. I hope you know how much it means to me that you value your family so very much.

From left to right: Gran's mom (Edith Twilley) and dad (Elza). Edith is holding Gran as baby. Wasn't she a cute baby? Elza is holding Gran's oldest brother Bo. Next are Peggy, Betty, Rudy, Martha, Louise, and Juanita (the oldest). The Twilley siblings also have 2 other sisters Doris and Mary and a brother Charles Ray (who were not born yet).

I absolutely love this picture! I had not seen it until the retreat (which is odd because I have seen several great family pictures).

I have some great pictures of the retreat, including a laughing Rocco that I will upload as soon as I can access some faster internet.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my mom's birthday!! She is a great mom and I am sad that I didn't get to see her today. I did see her Saturday at Sam's pool party and I will see her Thursday for our family reunion.

She is a great person to talk to. She also listens to my (somewhat boring) stories about school, life etc. She is always excited to see me and she cooks all of my favorite meals! I am very thankful that she is my mom.

I love you momma!!

Happy Birthday Sam!!

Christmas with Pop

Today is my cousin Sam's 13th birthday. Wow. That's fun.

I was 12 when he was born. It was pretty much the most exciting day ever. Ha. He was a sweet baby and a fun toddler. ("Beth.. Can I have this... this... look....")

Today he is a teenager. He is such a fun and witty teenager too.

Telling jokes on the way back from Florida.

Jill- " I've got one.....Wait a minute"
Sam- "What - are you looking it up on your phone?"

;)

Destin 2010

With Beth and Julie

Dane's I love seafood face...

Beth at AJ's

Mom and Dad with Beth

Tyler, Lauren, and Sam

The first time that I went to Destin, Fl I was only 4 years old. Needless to say, it's a very special place to my family. It was really complicated for us to get to go this year. I had to miss 2 days of school (which nearly took a letter of necessity) and we still only there for 4 nights. We had the best time. My parents, sister, Gran, aunt Julie, and cousins Sam and Tyler went.

Gran, Julie, and Mom

Beth working on her giant turtle. This was before the legs, head, and tail.

Sam and our cousin Lauren who lives near Sarasota, FL

Dad and Dane relaxing in the shade.

I will try to do a quick recap of the various things that we did. My dad drove mom's Honda Pilot and Dane drove Julie's truck (he had driven in a previous year and loved it so much that he bought one of his own). We left our house 4 am and arrived in Destin at 4 pm. Mom and I had packed sandwiches that we ate in the car. We also a bunch of junk food and sodas. When we made it to Destin we checked out our two rooms. One of the rooms was very modern with a bright coastal style and the other had very traditional decor. That first night we went to the beach and walked around and then ate Pizza Hut Pizza (tradition #2). Mom, Julie, Gran, and I then made the trip to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries for the week. We were so pooped after the drive that we all went to sleep fairly early. The second day it rained. Which actually turned out to be amazingly fun. Dane, Sam, Tyler, and I played in the ocean (and oil...) all day in the pouring rain. As cheesy as it sounds, it was so liberating!! Needless to say, we had a blast. We also went to Silver Sands (tradition #3) to do a little outlet mall shopping. Sam got a henna tattoo that said "Sam" on his back. Finally we went to eat at AJ's Seafood and Oyster bar. The third day it was beautiful outside! Dane sat up the tent that his family bought on their Florida vacation to provide a little extra sun relief. It was just a great day. Gran, Tyler, and I started the day with a long long long walk on the beach. Beth had gone on the walk the previous day and Tyler suggested that we try and beat her. We had a great time just the 3 of us. By this time Gran's sister and her husband and granddaughter had arrived. That night Dane and I cooked stir-fry for everyone. We also went on a crab hunt (tradition #4). The last day we basically just realized and enjoyed the sunshine. Beth made a giant sea turtle in the sand.Everyone stopped by to take pictures of it. She always has been the artsy one. For lunch we went to eat at the Crab Trap (tradition #5). The food was great. Did I mention I love seafood? The last day I was so sad when I left. I have so many great memories there. It always makes me sad to leave. I am thankful for the time I've spent with my entire family there and the way that my parents and grandparents always dedicated the time and money needed to take us. I think this trip was particularly memorable. I felt like I had my own live SNL skit thanks to my awesome cousins Sam and Tyler. :)

Gran and I at Destin Commons after the fireworks on July 3rd