Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra

There is nothing that reminds me of Christmas more than 24 hours of "A Christmas Story" (hence the title of the post). I have probably watched this movie at least 50 times in my life. It is such a classic, and makes me think of my Granddaddy Walt. He LOVED this movie, and we always watched it around Christmas time at his house (or all year long...). We all missed him this Christmas, but I am glad to have all of the wonderful memories of him with me always. We had a wonderful Christmas! We started with a Christmas lunch at the DuRant's house the weekend before Christmas. There is nothing more fun than being around little kids at Christmas time.

Our niece and nephew, Emmie and Walt, PRETTY excited about opening some Christmas presents.

Our nephew, William

Walt and Uncle Paul

Emmie and I playing with her new magnet doll set that we gave her.

Emmie got a Hello Kitty sleeping bag, and Riley thought it was very nice of Nana and Papa to get that comfortable sleeping bag just for him.


Christmas Eve we headed down to Charleston to stay at my mom's house. My granddad, Geno, taught me at a very young age how to gamble. We played A LOT of black jack, and the loser would be responsible for bringing dessert to the winners. My parents would come home to their 4 year daughter yelling, "bet it all, or sleep in the hall!" His lessons payed off, because Paul and I won the whole pot during the family poker game.

Paul, me, Riley, Grandma Fran, Geno, Dustin, Mom, and Henry (the dog) at her house Christmas Eve.

Our family :)

On Christmas Day, we headed to Wild Dunes to my Dad and step mom's beach house. We had a great time hanging out, eating dinner, and playing some apples to apples!

The newest addition to the family, my step sister, Jen's, baby Finn! So cute!

Paul and I on Christmas night.

Dad, me, and Dustin

Grandma Jane and her grandkids

It was a great Christmas. I was glad to get to spend some time with my family, especially my brother before he moves all the way across the country to San Francisco. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, fun, loving family. I can't believe that 2010 is almost over! Time sure does FLY by. I am looking forward to an even BETTER 2011!

Happy Halloween!

If you didn't guess- this is supposed to be Riley. I was never too great in art class. I have great ideas, but unfortunately, I can't deliver. Happy Halloween everyone!

Attack of the cuddle bug

How can you not love this face??

In sickness and in health

I went through about a 4 year period where I would get strep throat every year. It was awful. When I was in college, every year for homecoming my sorority would pair up with a fraternity for a homecoming competition. I am not sure what the point of this was really, other than for bragging rights on campus. We would perform in competitions and attend events the week of homecoming to earn points. The organizations with the most points at the end of the week would be announced the winners of homecoming at the football game. So, each year I would sign up to be in the dance competitions. We would put in numerous hours working to perfect our routine for the competition. Then, inevitably EVERY year I would get strep right before the competition and have to sit out, bummer. So, my senior year I decided I would not compete, and what do you know- no strep!

So, for several years now I have been strep free! Until...I woke up on Tuesday morning with an incredibly sore throat. I looked in the mirror and went ahead and diagnosed myself- strep. I went to the doctor and sure enough I was right. He gave me antibiotics and said no work for 2 days, darn. But, my boys have been SO sweet to me while I have been sick. Paul has woken up each morning, made me coffee, brought it to me in bed, cooked me breakfast, and brought me anything I have asked for. He really is a great nurse. Riley has LOVED that I have been sick. Paul has taken him out in the morning, and then he has cuddled with me ALL DAY LONG. I really have never known a dog that likes to cuddle as much as this one does. He is definitely a mommas boy, and knows how to make me feel better. It is times like these that I think about how lucky I am to have such a sweet, caring husband (and dog...).

In case you haven't heard

...the Gamecocks beat the #1 college football team in the country this weekend!! I was soooo excited! USC hasn't beaten a number one team since...well, NEVER! Luckily, I love my friend Blaire, because she decided to get married during the biggest game in USC's history. So, we did not make it to the game. I had Paul texting me updates while we were getting ready at the church. All of us were going nuts as we kept getting the good news on my phone. But, it was a beautiful wedding, and I am SO happy for Blaire and David.

Paul and I at the rehearsal dinner.

Blaire and I getting our hair done before the wedding.

Mr. and Mrs. Elmore!

Paul and I at the reception.

Introducing...

...drum roll please....our new rug!

I can't tell you how long I have wanted a rug for our living room. I love hardwood floors, but there is something about a rug that makes a room feel so cozy. I have been searching for the perfect rug for a while. Pottery Barn is one of my FAVORITE stores, and a place that I frequently online window shop :). I found this rug a couple of months ago, and when it went on sale and FREE shipping...I couldn't resist. There is another family member that loves this rug as well, Riley. When the rug first arrived I unrolled a little corner to see what it looked like in person before we put it down. Riley thought we bought the rug JUST for him. He made himself comfortable on that little unrolled corner. But, needless to say, I LOVE our new rug!

Can we say spoiled?
(He also thought we purchased this sofa just for him as well. It is his favorite spot to lay. He has a great view of the street where he makes sure to alert us if any other dogs are invading our territory.)


This weekend we went to my friend Lauren's wedding in Sumter. It was such a pretty wedding. Below is a picture from the reception.

I'm Back!

I realize it has been a while since I updated my blog! In my defense, I have been having computer issues and did not have the time to wait an for hour for pictures to upload. Luckily I have a smart, computer savvy husband who made it work again- yay! So, I am back! In my absense I realized that my cute blog background dissappeared, so I had to go find a new one. My header does not match my background at the moment, but that will be the next project. Obviously we just celebrated a huge milestone, our first anniversary! It was wonderful. We went down to Charleston (surprise, surprise), and stayed at the beach house for the weekend. We went to S.N.O.B for dinner, and it was delicious! I had amberjack with pimento cheese grits and green bean salad- yum! My mouth waters just thinking about it. Prior to dinner we went to a cute wine bar and had a couple glasses of wine. It was the perfect night out. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

the beautiful roses and card that were waiting for me on Sunday morning

I had the top part of our cake re-made. Who wants to eat year old frozen cake??

Out on the balcony before dinner

Happy at dinner!


Yummy!


At dinner

For labor day weekend, we stayed out at the lake house ALL weekend. It was so nice. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was also Paul's birthday that weekend, so we celebrated that as well. You will notice there are no pictures of Riley on the boat this time. I have decided that I think he really does not like the boat. He certainly does not like being left alone, but every time he is on the boat he acts like he is miserable. He is just not cut out for life outdoors :).

Captain Paul!

Then of course football season has begun!! So, we have been going to football games, or watching the away games on TV.

Paul and Chris at the game.


Go Cocks!

Williams Brice!

Summer, Summer, Summertime!

I love everything about the summer- the warm weather (ok HOT in Columbia), the beach, the lake, concerts, weddings. This is pretty much what we have been doing this summer: going to the beach, lake, concerts and weddings! I attended my first Phish show on July 2. For those of you who know Paul well, you know he is a Phish fanatic. I, on the other hand, am not their biggest fan. It's not that I don't think they are talented, I am just not so much into the whole "jam band" thing. But, I agreed to go see what all the fuss was about. We had a really great time, but I am not dying to go to another Phish show any time soon :) (or ever).

Paul and I tailgating in the lot before the show. (Naturally, Paul had to wear his Michael Jackson shirt since it was a couple days after the anniversary of his death.)

We had 3rd row seats- not too bad!

For the 4th of July, we went out to my Dad and Francine's lake house. We had a great time. We took a long boat ride during the day, then Paul and I cooked dinner for everyone (yes I helped cook dinner). We also got a free fireworks show, because it seemed as if our two neighbors were in competition.

Riley gave us quite a scare while we were on our boat ride. Riley had made himself comfortable in a spot under my Dad's feet. He was driving the boat, and Paul and I were up front. We were all talking and all of a sudden my Dad and Francine asked us, "where's Riley?" At first I thought he was joking, because he knows how crazy I am about my dog. I quickly learned they were not joking- he was no where in site. My heart stopped and we started searching the boat. I knew if he had jumped out, he was a goner. There were tons of boats out, and it would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Luckily, he had found a little crevice under the steering wheel where he was sleeping.

Riley and his Daddy swimming in the lake. (I promise we do not torture him, he does willingly go into the water!)

Last night, we went to my good friend and college roommate's wedding in Greenville, SC. It was absolutely beautiful. This is the first wedding that Paul and I have attended since our own. It brought back memories of that wonderful day. Megan made a beautiful bride, and I am so glad that we were there to celebrate with her and Bryan.

Paul and I at the reception.

The lovely couple, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Davis.

DuRant Beach Vacation/Father's Day

We dropped Riley off at his great grandparent's house (Geno and Grandma Fran) and headed to Garden City for Paul's family beach week last Saturday. I had really been looking forward to taking some time off work and catching up on some r&r at the beach. We had a great time. I am blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. We all have a great time together, and I especially enjoy getting to spend time with our niece and nephews. I hope that our kids are half as perfect as Walt, Emmie, and William. The kids are especially taken with Paul as he can still be a kid himself sometimes. Paul cooked us all a tenderloin one night, and it made his day when Walt told him, "Uncle Paul, you make the best steak in the world." It puts a smile on my face when I see how sweet and fun he is with all of the kids. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Me with all of our nephews and neices (Walt, William, and Emmie)

Boyd and Rutledge
(photo courtesy of Walt-he is quite the photographer)

Paul playing with Walt in the ocean

Maggie with William on his first trip to the beach!

Me and Paul on the way to dinner :)

Baby William

I also wanted to give a special shout out to all of the wonderful dads on Father's Day. I have a very close relationship with my dad, and I thank God everyday for blessing me with such a wonderful father. He loves his kids more than anything in the whole world, and this is apparent to anyone who knows him. I appreciate everything that he does for me. I don't know what I would do without him. I love you Dad!