looks like they made it

(sing the title to Shania Twain's, You're Still the One) =)

33 years in the making...

When they walked into the courthouse to get their marriage license, under jobs they wrote:

unemployed and waitress.

Walking out the door, Dad said, "Yeah, I bet they are thinking, 'they will never last.'"

Guess they proved them wrong.

Mom was 23 and had just graduated from the University of Tennessee.

Dad was 25, also a UT grad, and working various jobs.

They dated for two years before tying the knot.

Saturday, June 24, 1977

10:00 am

At the home of their preacher,

With only a few witnesses,

They became Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield.

Afterwards, they met up with friends and went water boggin'.

Seems you don't have to have an extravagant wedding to have a long-lasting marriage....

My parents are my heroes, my inspiration, two of my best friends, and the list goes on and on!

I hope that Travis and I still flirt and interact the same way they do when we have been married for 33 years.

I love you two and hope today is a great day full of love!

See you in two days, at the beach!

heart strings

I just read Nicholas Sparks, The Choice.

My friend, Lauren, let me borrow it the other day.

Like I've posted before....I've been hooked on his books lately.

Every one that I have read, so far, have been great.

I have loved every one in its own way.

The Choice really pulled at my heart strings last night.

My eyes continued to fill with tears.

I was forced to think, "What if this happened to me?"

"How far would I go for love?"

I suggest...

You read this book.

p.s.

Another reason I love this book, the main character's name is Travis. =)

great friends

Late Thursday night, the Tolletts arrived at our house. They came to town for the McShan-Wechsler wedding. Read about their engagement here. We were excited to have them here. Friday morning we went to the Memphis Zoo. We spent most of the morning/afternoon showing Lily all of the animals. She loved looking at the different animals and saying, "shewwy" whenever we passed by a stinky animal.

"It's starting to get hot!"

I only took a few pictures on this trip (my third trip to the Memphis Zoo). I think the Meerkats are the cutest little things alive. Maybe it's because they remind me of my little Reecie girl and how she likes to do tricks.

Of course I took a picture of a monkey!

We went to the Memphis Pizza Cafe for lunch. We were wanting to treat them to some BBQ but we were crunched for time. Thursday night we went to Courtney and Kyle's rehearsal. I switched purses and left my camera...at home. =(

When we got back home, we gave Lily her early birthday present (her birthday isn't until August). I painted her a stool. She loved it. She carried it around and would plop it in the middle of the floor and have a seat. She then learned that she could stand on it and jump off. We watched her do this for about an hour!

Friday morning, the boys went golfing with Kyle and the guys. While they golfed, we shopped. My friend, Julie, joined us on our shopping trip. We only went a few places but we had a great time.

My handsome hubs ready to celebrate with the future McShans.

Best Buddies! Sam and Travis were each others "Best Man" four years ago. Sam and Jill were married 2 months after us.

They really do love each other.

Pretty girls. Doesn't Lily look precious in her ruffles?

Heading to the reception.

First dance as husband and wife. Congratulations friends. We are very happy for you two. Your day was absolutely beautiful. Thank you for letting us be apart of it. We love you both.

Travis and Steven, Crossville Buds!

Travis and the handsome Groom.

Julie and I with the stunning Bride, Courtney.

Love the color scheme Charles and I have going on. =)

"this is how we do it..."

Buds for life.

My Friend, Mrs. Puryear.

Still dancing...

We had a great weekend. We were surrounded by wonderful friends.

Sam, Jill, and Miss Lily, please come back and see us, soon. We loved having you here!

d.a.d.

thank you!

for being so amazing.

for always being supportive.

for loving us.

for always being there.

for making us laugh.

for saying, "I love you!"

Troy helping us pack up and move to Memphis.

Travis and Troy making our Corn Hole game.

My Dad. Playing with Photo Booth. =)

A great day.

I love it when he is here with us in Memphis.

We are lucky to have you in our lives.

Dad loves to dance. Some of my favorite memories are of us four in the house listening to music and dancing. He would always watch and smile when Summer and I would make up a dance routine and perform for him!

I am not very good with words/explaining how much I truly love my Daddy! He is one of my favorite people! Love you Dad!

serious reading...

that's what I've been doing this summer....

I read my first Nicholas Sparks book, Dear John.

I read it while at the beach with friends. I loved it! As soon as I finished it, we watched the movie. Personally, I like the book better. There is one part of the movie that I am glad they changed. You will have to read it and watch for yourself.

I quickly picked up, The Last Song.

I finished it very quickly. It was hard to put down. I passed the book on to my friend, Julie, and she read it in 2-3 days. She loved it just as much as I did. Cannot wait to watch the movie.

Yesterday I finished my third Nicholas Sparks book, A Bend in the Road.

My friend, Julia, is a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. She has many of his books. I read it all yesterday! We headed back to Memphis yesterday so I had lots of time on my hands! It was great! I am quickly falling in love with his books. She gave me four of his books to read. I do not know which one I will read next.

So, here are all of the books I have ready to be cracked open....

One that I am really excited about reading is, eat, pray, love. My Mom, my sister, and I are all going to read it together at the beach. It is somewhere in that stack above.

Happy Reading!

a week in east tennessee

We've spent the last 7 days soaking up family time!

I have absolutely loved my time with Josie B. She is growing and changing by the minute, I know I say that a lot but it is very true.

She loves getting into everything...

Here she is in the pantry.

Saturday we celebrated Summer's 29th birthday. We spent all day at Mom and Dad's.

Josie eating a snack before heading outside.

We love her!

This little guy would not leave me alone.....

Closer look.

Hot Momma! Check out Josie's belly! =)

She did not like the cold lake water at first.

Josie and Anna Reese played together most of the day.

Hayley and Trentyn came over for a little while. He is such a happy baby and cute, too.

Josie telling him, "bye bye".

Sunday was actually Summer's birthday and Troy, my father-in-law's. We headed to Crossville that morning to spend the day with the Siscos.

Troy blowing out his birthday candles. He is getting a little help from one of the cutest little boys ever! Hunter is Travis' cousin, Krystal, little boy.

Some family celebrating Troy's birthday!

After dinner with Trav's family, we visited with his bff, Sam. We played with his little girl, Lily. She will be two in August. She has developed such a fun personality. I played with her for hours. I would go with her to her room and she would say, "sit down". It was so funny. We didn't take any pictures. No worries, they are coming to Memphis this Thursday and I will snap plenty then.

Monday I shopped all day with my Momma. It was a great day. I love those days with her. We talk and laugh nonstop. That night we went to Summer's house to get Josie B. She spent the night with us! Slumber partay.

Like I said, she loves to get into anything and everything....

Josie and Reecie were so funny together. Reecie is doing so good being around her. They are watching Granny Janny sweep the porch.

Bath time, bath time!!

Tuesday, Josie had a play date with cousins Emily and Anna Reese. She loved playing with them. It was so cute to watch her follow them and laugh! She is going to love being with them for an entire week at the beach.

I love stuffed animals!

After her nap, I changed her into her new outfit. I picked this outfit out for her the day before. It is precious.

Reading with the girls.

Being silly with Aunt Kayla.

Tuesday night, Trav and I headed to Knoxville. We met up with Julia and Jack. We went to Brixx and enjoyed some yummy pizza! After pizza, we wanted ice cream from Menchies. It is amazing. You walk around and create your own bowl of yummy goodness. This was our first time meeting Mr. Jack. Verdict...we like him and hope to hang out with him more in the future. =)

Travis was suppose to be taking a picture of us.

This is what we got...

Love you Jewya! Come to Memphis, soon.

We've had a great week with our family and friends in East Tennessee. We are heading back home to Memphis in the morning. We are excited to get back to our house, have dinner with friends, and celebrate with Kyle an Courtney at their wedding this weekend!!!