Mission Rome: Day 1

Today was the first day of Mission Rome with SABC and I was elated to get to help with this project! We are running a day camp for The Boys and Girls Club during the day and helping out in the community in the evenings. The first day of camp was unbelievable. The kids were wonderful, and the "Big Buddies" had so much fun spending time together. This afternoon, we helped Habitat for Humanity paint a house in South Rome. I had never painted a house before, so it was a first-time experience for me! Here are some of the pictures from the newspaper article on our work:



And here is the link to the article. Habitat for Humanity is an amazing organization to help put our community back together. I look forward to helping out with this organization in the future!!

Puppy Blues

Sadly, it is time for our little vacay to end. Although we are sad, I think Noah and his girlfriend will be the saddest of all...

Thunderstorm Damage

Tonight, we got a late call from Dukey's parents, saying that a tree had hit their house. We rushed over to see what we could do to help. Here is the damage:

We spent the night helping them clear off the trees and watching Dukey's cousins get the tree off the house and tarp the house up. At least they got a free sky light in their bathroom!!

Lake Vacay

We were posted up all day at the lake today and here is our gorgeous view!! It's okay to be a little bit jealous...

Lake Day

We had quite the day out on the lake today!! We swam...


Were skeptical of swimming in the lake...
Laid out...
And spent time with our new friends!!


We are already planning to go back SOON!! :)

Lake Night

Usually twice a week, we get caught up outside talking to our new neighbors (well, they're not really "new" anymore). We decided to carry on our conversation time to Centre, Alabama. We invited our neighbors to spend the weekend with us and took off to the lake. Lake Weiss is surrounded by absolutely nothing, so we were pleasantly surprised when we found a new restaurant. It was truly an experience, for sure!! The waitresses wore referee uniforms, basically cut down to their belly buttons and teeny-weenie shorts. It's safe to say our new friends got a good welcome to Centre! Since it was so late by the time we got to the lake, we stayed in and played games all night. We brought UNO, and our neighbors brought Boulderdash... quite the combo. It was so much fun getting to know this sweet couple and just having a laid-back night.

Margarita, Anyone?

I spent the day at the pool while Dukey worked. Isn't that just pitiful?? Mom & I soaked up the sun, chatted up a storm, and binged on Margaritas!! Fargaritas that is...


Crystal Light in Margarita flavor!! Best. Idea. Ever. I heard through the grape vine that they also came out with Mojito and Strawberry Daiquiri flavors. YUMM... Perfect solution to those hot summer days... Good tip to know especially since today is the first day of summer!

Bachelorette Babble

We spent the night watching The Bachelorette, of course. Well, I spent the night watching The Bachelorette. Dukey spent the night making fun of it. Hardy har har! I have to admit, this season is trying my patience because of, "Bentley, Bentley, Bentley..." If she doesn't get over this guy, she's going to hate herself when she watches the season. A lot of these guys are really sweet, smart, and funny. So far, my favorites are...

J.P.

Ryan

and Ames
Word on the street is that Bentley is coming back next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed she can kick him to the curb!

Father's Day

On Father's Day, we had more than enough reasons to celebrate our wonderful Dads. We have learned so much from both of these men and we couldn't ask for anyone better!!

We celebrated in style by cooking...


Giving gifts...

And by spending hours laughing, talking, and enjoying our time together.

To my Daddy- for always pushing me to chase my dreams, always spreading your love everywhere you go, & always being the source of laughter in any room.


To Dukey's Daddy- for continuously instilling positive morals in values in your home, for chasing your dreams, & for still opening your wife's door when she gets in the car. You trained him well :)

Rome River Jam

SPOTTED: Darius Rucker. Rome, GA. Rome River Jam. Performing at Ridgeferry Park AND golfing at Coosa Country Club!!!

I was so sad we had to miss it because of my stinky old test. Oh well, better luck next year :)

Georgia Aquarium

Today, I traveled to Atlanta with the SABC day camp to visit the Georgia Aquarium with our sweet campers. I had never been before, and we had a great time! On the way there, we watched Finding Nemo... how appropriate! When we got to the aquarium, we realized how crowded it was & I pretty much kept the death grip on my girls until it was time to leave. Here are some of the fun things we saw...


Please excuse the quality of these photos, as they were taken with my Blackberry. I highly recommend this aquarium for a fun outing! The aquarium was laid out really well, with different sections to go through. There are also little tunnels that you can crawl through, which the kiddos loved. And yes, I had to squeeze in the tunnel, too. Wonderful trip & fabulous day overall!!

Award-winning Photo

Our wedding photographer notified us that she won an award with this very picture from OUR wedding!! She titled it "Kids Being Kids". She captured the perfect moment between our two sweet ring bearers. This was definitely a moment I was glad to catch a glimpse of when we got the pictures. Here is the link to Katherine's blog so you can see what the judges had to say.

Wedding Pictures

We just wanted to share the link to access our wedding pictures. Here is the link and the password is duke. We are working on uploading all of the disks we received, but it is a slow process, as there as so many disks. More pictures to come!!

Guilty Pleasure

We watched.. and watched... and watched more sports this week than I can handle!! So... we both watched my guilty pleasure tonight. We had a hot date with the Kardashians!! Pretty gross, I know, but I can't help it!! Keeping Up With The Kardashians is the most drama-filled television show I have ever seen, and I think it's hilarious! Season 6 premiered tonight and it did not disappoint in the drama department. Confession: I even watched it twice. The shame!

Gone Fishin'

We woke up bright & early this morning & went fishing!! We had so much fun talking, laughing, & enjoying time with each other, even if we didn't really catch anything.


Dukey's parents had a little more luck than us (I love, love, LOVE this picture of Dukey's dad, by the way).



Probably because I was using the fake jelly worms... I can't bring myself to watch a real worm die! Eek!


The weather was absolutely beautiful & we couldn't have asked for a better day!

New Siblings

We both received text messages from Dukey's mom, with the subject, "Meet your new siblings". She got TWO new puppies today!!! Her best friend saw the advertisement and picked them up. Pictured is Dukey's nephew, Ian, holding the two pups. Dukey's mom is trying to decide on "famous couple" names, since one is a boy and one is a girl. So far, the winning pair is Sonny and Cher!! How adorable!

A Paper To Be Proud Of

Today, my Mom brought over a little surprise...



And I was so happy to finally get it!! We are framing it just like my diploma from The University of Alabama to, someday, hang on the wall of my office together. I will always remember my time at UWG fondly. I learned so much about life, leadership, and counseling there. I had the chance to serve the school in many ways, and it turned out to be such a positive opportunity. Funny how that piece of paper reflects all of the hard work I put in in my two years at The University of West Georgia. It definitely deserves some showing off!!

Library Cards

Dukey had the day off today, so we decided to do a few things we had been putting off for a while. One of those things was getting our library cards!! We are such dorks, but we were so EXCITED to get this done. During the past two years of school, I have definitely not even had time to crack open a book that wasn't counseling-related, much less finish it. We made lists of all the books we want to read over the summer, and I have already began taking it down! Here is my list...


Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews


Promises to Keep by Jane Green

And the entire Shopoholic series. Yes, I know, it's shameful that this has not already been done.


And Dukey is starting off with Steven Tyler's new book!!

We will update as we check them off the list!!


"I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card." -- Laura Bush, First Lady