We Are Here

Here's a quick update on us (I promise I'll write a longer one very soon and post pics!):  We are now in KC, mostly unpacked.  James has been in class for 2 weeks and I've been working for that long.  We are all adjusting to our completely different life.  But we have been truly blessed along the way which I will share when it's not so late on a work-night.  For now, I will testify that God has been faithful even when I'm weary.  God has gone before us in a mighty way even when I may not see it at the time.  God is beside me even when I miss the life and the friends back in our old town.  God has allowed us to be close to my family to help with the pain of goodbyes...He knows what He's doing.  I'm trying to rest in that.  Yes, I'm a little more teary-eyed at this point, but joy comes in the morning.  I have no doubt we are where He wants us to be.  I will choose joy. I will.  Please bear with me while I absorb all the changes.  My posts may not be quite as regular as they were before we moved, but you went on this journey with us and I want you to continue it as we move into this next phase of life.  Much Love, -E-

Update on Life

We are now about 2 weeks away from our "big" move.  That thought is kinda scary, but so much has happened in the 2 weeks since finding out about his acceptance that I can't help but feel that God's got this.  I just need to follow His leading. 

I was hired for the job I interviewed for.  I will be working from home which sounds amazing...crockpot recipes will still be happening =)  I start my job June 5th.  It is very similar to what I did before staying at home with the kiddos so I'm confident that I'll be able to pick up the job fairly quickly.  As of yesterday, we found a place to rent (we may buy a house next year...long story!)  The house is in a great school district, close to Samara's daycare (the same one my nieces go to), and about 15 minutes from my family. 

Our house has been on the market for a little over a week.  We've had 2 showings and a couple had additional questions about our house. We have another showing tomorrow morning.  It was be a h-u-g-e relief once this house sells. 

Tomorrow night my "girls" are throwing me a good-bye party...a blog post just on these exceptionally awesome women will be forthcoming.

God has been so very faithful to us.  Praise Him from who all blessings flow...

New 'Do, New Porch, Free Landscaping and an Old Friend

For the past 2 summers, Malachi has asked for a Mohawk.  This year we appeased him and James gave him the new 'do yesterday.  Oh boy!

The new porch is finally finished.  Yesterday I finished applying the stain.  It looks great!

Recently, we discovered that our landfill offers free mulch.  It's not as decorative as the mulch you buy in stores, but did I mention it's FREE?  So James took the trailer and came back with a few loads.  We put it in the flowerbed/pots and planned on putting it a few places around the yard where growing grass is challenging.  Yesterday our neighbor told us about another neighbor who needed to get rid of decorative stones.  Again, for FREE!  James borrowed a wheelbarrow, made a few trips across the street and placed the stones in a few spots.  I was in charge of filling the areas with mulch.  It was tedious, but the end result was worth it.  In addition to the rocks in the front, we also placed rocks on the sides of the house with mulch.  Hopefully, the prospective buyers will appreciate this added FREE element ;-)  Now we just hope and pray that the grass James is planting will come in A-S-A-P!!!

Last night a dear friend from high school was in town for a wedding.  She came to our house to stay the night and hang out.  Because I wanted to be able to catch up without 3 little ones trying to get her attention, we escaped to a restaurant and enjoyed some sweet potato fries (my fav!) and I had a spinach and artichoke quesadilla; she had eaten at the wedding.  It was so nice to hang out with some from the past and she lives in KC so we are already planning on our next get-together.  Old friends are great!

No news yet on the job.  The interview went as well I could expect and I really hope that I get it.  But, if I don't, then it's not what was meant to be and I'll be ok with that =)

Change is A'Comin'

If you've been a reader for awhile, then you know that James has been trying to get into med school.  It's been a 3 year journey of pre-reqs, MCAT's, applications, interviews and waiting.  Lots and lots of waiting.  This "interview season" James had 3 interviews and was placed on 3 wait lists.  But a few weeks ago James received an email from KU (one of the wait list schools).  They were extending an invitation for James to apply to their Post - Baccalaureate medical program.  Basically, he will take grad level classes for a year and if he doesn't flunk, then he is guaranteed a spot in next year's med school class.  Only about 50 students who interviewed at KU and who didn't immediately get accepted (also met certain criteria) and had a strong essay/interview were given an invitation to apply.  Then out of those 50 only 15 were given a spot.  James was told he had a very good chance of acceptance into this program.

And so we waited a few weeks to hear the decision.  Then yesterday around 4:30pm I received a text from James I had been praying for.  "I'm IN!!"  Those words have rocked our world!  Everything in our life is going to change. And FAST.  James' classes begin June 4th up in KC.  Relocation. I have to find a job, we have to sell our home, buy a home, find a daycare, etc.  But, I believe that God is in the details and He brought us to the here and now and He will not leave us nor forsake us.

Today I woke up and was overwhelmed at the daunting task that was ahead.  Where to begin?  I decided that I would apply to a job I saw listed last week.  It's pretty much the same position that I had before I resigned to stay home with the kiddos.  I loved the job; loved my co-workers.

At 8:30 this morning, I officially emailed my resume.  At 9:15, the hiring manager called me to screen me a little further for the position. He said it would probably be next week before I would hear if I would get an interview. But, at 10:57, he called again to invite me for an official interview!!!!!!  The department I would work for is based mostly around the Columbia, MO area (the manager lives in St. Louis), but it sounds like this is a new position that is based in Kansas City.  The interview is THIS Thursday from 10:30-12:30.  He will interview me first and then I will have a peer interview with the rest of the team.  I will leave for KC tomorrow evening and then drive to Columbia on Thursday morning.  I was just blown away about this prospect.  I was not expecting to hear back from any job for at least a week or two.  But the same day?!?  It would be a huge weight off of my shoulders if this was "it". 



Since I'll be up in KC, I will also be looking at a few prospective homes.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  Our home will go on the market on Saturday and it's our prayer we will get an offer ASAP. 

It will be a stressful time, but I am confident this is where we are supposed to be.  I have cried and will continue to cry about those we will leave behind.  I have smiled and will continue to smile about those we are moving to.  Bittersweetness.   
   

First Dance Recital

This morning Samara had her first dance recital.  We were blessed with family driving from all over to attend her 1 1/2 minute long routine.  My grandpa had never been to our house and my dad graciously offered to let him ride along (my mom had to work, but sent a beautiful picture frame for her dance picture to be in.)  James' parents and older brother made the trip down as well.  After the recital, we had cookies and punch at the reception and then came back to our house to hang out and eat lunch.  We had a wonderful time and Samara did a great job.

I couldn't zoom in on video.  In the beginning, Samara is the last dancer on the right.  After the teacher leaves the stage, she is the last dancer on the left.  Just in Samara fashion, it wouldn't be complete with a little of her personality.  At the ending, she should be on her hand and knees.  Instead, she is on her side and placed one hand on her chin for a pose.  Adorable!

James' mom took a lot of pics and I will post them once I get a copy.  Below is a picture of the girls in Samara's class.  Samara is on the left.

Out with the Old...In with the New

Two weeks ago I purged.  And it felt great.  Nothing like getting rid or bagging up toys that have been neglected because the kiddos have outgrown them, left you frustrated because they are cluttering up your house, or simply are broken but still managed to escape the trashcan.  Samara and her bedroom has always been a source of, hmm...how to say this nicely.  It's been a source of tension between us.  Yes, even at the young age of 3.  I don't mind toys being out, but she manages to get e-v-e-r-y item out.  Not just toys, but clothes and blankets, too.  I have to walk past her room to get to my room and there's times that I keep my focus straight ahead because my blood pressure may rise if I see the state of her room.

I decided that enough was enough.  She simply had too many toys (even though technically she had enough space for all of them.)  I knew that she had a core group of toys she daily played with.  Those items I kept.  Everything else was fair game.  But I couldn't stop at just her room.  I had to do the same thing with the boys' toy closet, too.  She has a bad habit of sneaking their toys into her room so I knew that if I didn't do their room, then I wouldn't achieve my goal.  It took most of the day, but I came out a much happier Mommy.  She hasn't kept the tidiest of rooms since, but the amount of disorder has drastically been reduced which has helped my state of mind.  Pics below to illustrate:

Samara's Room: View from Door

View from Inside

Her Toy Closet..Yes, with clothes

Ahh, MUCH Better!

You Can See the Floor =)

Very Few Toys in the Drawers

Boys' Toy Closet

Only the Favs Stayed

Last weekend the family did yard work. James worked on putting in our new porch while the kiddos and I cleaned the flowerbed in the backyard and planted some new flowers.

I consulted with Malachi on how the flower pots in the front should be arranged.  This was his recommendation.  The other side of the porch is identical. (Overlook the grass...James killed it to plant new grass)

Running Behind

And so I'm behind again on my blog.  It's been a crazy few weeks, but I wanted to get you all caught up on the happenings at the Dinkelberries' home.  A couple of days before Easter our dear, elderly neighbor brought over her specialty cake she made for the kiddos.  It looked amazing and tasted soooo delish!  We are truly blessed to have her across the street.

Sweet Bunny Cake

Unfortunately, our Easter celebration was hampered by James being extremely sick.  He ended up going to Urgent Care on Easter and was diagnosed with pneumonia.  So, he won't be featured in our Easter pics below.

Malachi was out of school for 5 days for the holiday so I wanted to have some fun while he was off.  Good Friday was spent playing games, reflecting on what the day truly meant and also dying some eggs.  (Samara may be a bit confused on the holidays because she insisted on wearing her Santa dress!)

Hard at Work

CHEESE!!!

Silly Face and Bunnies

 That Saturday I treated the kiddos to a trip to the donut shop.  Initially, it was going to be the shop in town, but it was closed so we headed into Wichita.  They had their first experience at Krispy Kreme.  I love me a good donut!

Sunday morning the kiddos and I went up to my aunt, uncle, and cousin's house in KC for an Easter celebration.  My parents along with my sister's family were there.  We had amazing food, awesome company and of course, an egg hunt.  When a kiddo found a "special shiny" egg, they got a big prize bag filled with a puzzle, cool drinking cup, bubbles, coloring book and other cool prizes.  I loved to watch all the kiddos race to snatch up an egg before the next kiddo came along.  It was also so nice to be around family if only for a few hours.

Precious Stella Has Quite the Loot!

Busy Guy

Grammie Helping Out

Malachi is on a Mission

Sweet Cousins

Last Tuesday night was the beginning of preparation for Isaiah to enter Kindergarten. <GASP!>, tear up, and take a deep breath.  I knew that once Malachi started school then the year would go by so quickly and before I was ready, Isaiah would begin his academic journey.  I took Isaiah to Kindergarten Round-up. The teachers took the *almost* students to a classroom for cookies and coloring while the parents received information and necessary paperwork.  It was very low-key, but still it was hard to walk beside this boy who is growing up way more than I would like to admit.  He is no longer a little boy, but a boy. Wow.  When it was over, he came rushing out at me and in the way only Isaiah talks, exclaimed, "It was AWESOME!"  Yeah, he's ready.

Throughout last week I kept a close eye on the weather forecast.  There was a growing possibility for severe tornado weather on Saturday.  Ever since the Joplin tornado hit last year, I have taken these warnings way more seriously.  If I have the time to prepare my family for the worst and don't, then I would feel like I failed them.  So Thursday and Friday I cleared and cleaned out our "safe spot" in the basement.  I brought down a few chairs, had extra blankets, packed a few bags filled with toys, food/drinks, important paperwork, shoes, clothes, phone charger, etc.  Yes, you may shake your head at me, BUT if we were ever in a situation where we needed the above listed, then you would thank me for being a little over the top!  Anyway, on Friday, I went over to our dear elderly neighbor to remind her that if the sirens went off to just come on over and head to the basement.  Since finding out that she and her daughter do not have a basement, we have invited to come over any time the sirens sound.

Saturday afternoon I spent watching all the tornadoes pop up all around us.  The air was thick with moisture and very ripe for tornadoes.  Late in the afternoon the meteorologist said that we would need to pay close attention to the storm coming out of Oklahoma.  This was going to be our best shot at a tornado coming up in our immediate area.  It took hours, but I watched it slowly make its way to Wichita.  Once the warning was issued for Wichita, I got my running shoes on and grabbed my purse.  We were the next county and the storm was tracking our way.  A little before 11pm the tornado sirens went off.  I went upstairs and grabbed sleeping Samara and rushed her to the basement, under the stairs.  I then woke the boys up.  They were very confused about what I needed them to do. I had earlier warned them about this possibility, but it took a few minutes for them to grasp the seriousness of the situation.  Our neighbor and her daughter came over and we all huddled in the basement.  It was dead silent outside; no wind blowing.  The meteorologist said that it was headed straight for our town.  We knew that it had brought extensive damage to parts of Wichita already and so it was a little frightening to think about it coming down the highway right at us.  All of a sudden, we hear a wall of rain and wind.  I was trying hard to hear that distinct "train sound", but didn't hear it.  A few minutes went by and the meteorologist said the tornado was now north of town.  Praise God we were fine and from what we could tell, our house was fine.  We said goodnight to the neighbors and the rest of the family went to sleep.  There was one more severe storm system headed our way and I watched it approach until it no longer had tornadoes forming from it.  It was close to 2am before I slept; I was exhausted.  We later learned that right before making it to our town, the tornado went back up in the air and didn't make contact with the ground until it was north of town.  We were definitely spared!

Monday night there was a "Go Green" night at the middle school.  Local agencies promoting a "greener" environment had booths and Malachi's Green Club he is involved with after school on Mondays and Tuesdays made a poster for the event.  I went with Malachi to look at the displays, eat a snack and see the handy work of his club.  Here he is with one of the Green Club's sponsors.

Malachi by Green Club's Blue Poster

   Ok, so I think you are now up-to-date on our lives.  Hope you're having a fabulous week!

The Tooth Came Out

So at last we have a toothless little boy.  He was eating his cereal and felt the tooth in his mouth.  He came running all excited and I was pretty excited that I didn't have to pull it ;-)  He even had to make up a song about the day.

Loose Teeth Scare Me

I remember growing up that certain "individuals" in my house were freaked out about loose teeth.  I wasn't one of them.  It didn't phase me to twist the loose tooth until it finally gave up and came out.

Now that Malachi has his first loose tooth I am taking a more distant approach with the situation.  He came running out of Green Club to tell me about discovering his first loose tooth.  This occurred after biting into an apple.  He said that it was the best day ever...well, besides Christmas and his birthday.  I admired the tooth, but certainly didn't want to wiggle it myself.  He could barely contain himself when James walked in the door.  Oh the joys of a loose tooth.

I warned him that once the tooth is out there will be blood, but I know how to get it to stop bleeding so no worries.  He also showed me how he was going to sleep because he would hate to lose it in his sleep and swallow it.  I wonder if he's more excited about the impending hole in his mouth or the money that he will "earn" by the loss of the tooth.

Regardless, I hope that either he pulls it himself or James does the honors because I really want no part in that process besides being an onlooker and his #1 cheerleader.

The Ultimate Coupon Experience

If you've followed my blog for any period of time, I'm sure you've discovered my love for a bargain.  But 2 nights ago was the absolute, most unbelievable experience.  There are items that I buy that I'm happy if I find on sale or clearance, but I never ever thought I would have coupons for these things (plus find them on sale at the same time!); but this scenario played out and it still blows my mind.  My shopping buddy came across this CRAZY deal and we were super pumped =)

In the paper, there were manufacturer's coupons for an assortment of games (never came across these type of coupons before.)   THEN, Target had matching store coupons for the same games, AND some of the games were ON SALE!!!  So, we were able to use both coupons on the games that were on sale (and some weren't on sale, but were a great bargain with just the coupons.)

Here is the break-down:

Chutes/Ladders Game  Reg. Price  $7.79                     Paid $1.79                 
Simon Flash  Reg Price $24.99 On Sale $15.00 (+ free card game) Paid $5.00
Play-Doh Swirl Shake Reg Price $17.49  On Sale $9.99    Paid $3.99
Star Wars Figurines   Reg Price $5.99                        Paid $1.99
Sorry Revenge Game Cards   Reg Price $6.49         FREE
Neutrogena Face Wash Reg Price $5.99 On Sale $4.76   Paid $3.26
                                                                                                TOTAL: $16.03
Saved: $68.74

This will be amazing gifts for birthdays/Christmas/whatever!!!  Yay for bargains!

Meet "My Honey"

Late last week Samara wanted to have a tea party.  She invited a puppy dog my sister gave me when James and I were first married.  I desperately wanted a dog, but we weren't allowed to have pets at our apartment so Sara gave me this dog.  Recently, Samara discovered this puppy in my closet and has been playing with it. 

For the tea party, she wanted the puppy to dress up.  So she put her "Tangled" dress on it and thus started a darling ritual of Samara dressing the dog for the day and also in jammies at night.  Samara has named it "My Honey."  My Honey has traveled with us in the car (I had to buckle her up in the passenger seat).  Samara has "fed", "bathed", and "disciplined" My Honey as well.  She has also said that the dog is her sister. It is incredibly adorable to see her attachment with the puppy grow.  Welcome to the fam!

My Honey and Samara in their Jammies

Both are dressed for the day

Final Four

Holla!  KU just beat North Carolina to advance to the Final Four in New Orleans next weekend.  Of course, if I was made out of money, I would book my tickets right now and join the team there.  But, alas, I will be content watching it at home.  It feels great to be a Jayhawk...oh snap, where are the other Big 12 teams?!?  Oh, they didn't make it; my bad ;-)

Enjoy the sidelines, Roy!  Bill is a keeper.

Sweet Home Alabama (and Nashville and Everywhere in Between)

Thursday morning at 6:00am I started out on my over 2000 mile round trip to Nashville and Gulf Shores, Alabama.  The night before James printed out directions to J.M.'s condo in Nashville.  I was bummed because the directions were to go through St. Louis and down through Illinois.  A route I've driven before.  So he found a "back way" that took the same amount of time, but the scenery would be new.  I was nervous that it would end up being a lot of country 2-lane roads, but I was up for the adventure.  And so I started out.  There were 36 different steps I needed to do to get from my house to her house.  I decided that I would mark off each completed step so I wouldn't get confused on which one I was on.

I was doing ok (missed one turn because the road wasn't marked how the other roads were).  At 1pm, though, I encountered a problem.  I was in Mountain View, MO (yeah, you may need to Google it because I'm sure it's not a well known epicenter of activity.)  I tried to find the road for my next turn.  For 20 minutes I tried.  I finally pulled over and put the needed highway into my GPS.  The highway's name was not recognized.  I decided that I would travel back into the little town and ask for directions (and get a Subway sandwich while I was there.)  I asked the Subway workers and a customer if they recognized this particular highway.  They didn't and the other customer tried to locate it on his phone and wasn't successful.  I decided that I needed to scrap trying to find this road and recalculate a new set of directions (Thanks Google Maps for making up an imaginary road!!!)

In a few minutes, I was back on my way with a different set of directions and hoped that I could make up some of the lost time. Everything was going great until I was forced to drive over a type of bridge I am absolutely scared to drive over.  It was incredibly narrow (I could have touched the semi coming straight at me.)  I went s-l-o-w-l-y which probably irritated the drivers behind me, but I couldn't help it.  I'm not sure I breathed while crossing it...probably not the wisest idea.

About an hour left of the trip, the skies darkened and I had to drive through a huge thunderstorm.  Fortunately, I didn't have to endure a traffic jam, but I did drive by a red Viper that had flipped over.  Right before 7pm, I made it to J.M.'s condo.  What sweet relief and I was so excited to see my dear friend.  I quickly changed and freshened up.  We then went to downtown Nashville for dinner and entertainment.  We ate at Margaritaville;  I had their Jambalaya which was fabulous.  We then walked up the street to a "Honky Tonk", but the live band wasn't very impressive so we went to Tootsie's and enjoyed a really good band.  When they were finished, we headed home so we could get up early to head to the beach.

Friday morning we were greeted with torrential rain and couldn't wait to get out of it!  It was an 8 hour trip and we arrived in Gulf Shores right before 5pm.  After unloading the car, we walked on the beach for about an hour.  It was dinner time so we chose to eat at Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant, Lulu's.  They were packed, but we found 2 spots at the bar so we ate there.  We struck up a random conversation with an older man sitting next to me.  He wanted us to be on the look-out for any women close to his age who didn't weigh over 200 pounds and didn't have huge hair.  (He also asked for our mothers' phone numbers, but we didn't oblige him.)  Lulu's had a live musician who was the most horrendous songwriter/singer you could imagine.  He sang a song that had the following lyrics: "I own a bank.  Its name is Piggy."  And then he sang about mirrors and a vampire.  Not exactly impressive!

I jokingly asked the bartender how much money it would take to get the singer to stop.  The bartender said that the singer was married to "one of the sisters (we think to one of Jimmy Buffet's sisters) and he was a really good guy.  I told him that I was sure he was a nice guy, but not a great entertainer.  I left it at that.  We were planning on staying there to watch the KU/Detroit basketball game, but the bartender said they closed at 10pm.  He suggested a great sports bar down the road.  J.M. and I thought it would be fun to watch the game with others so we made our way to the other place.

We were NOT prepared for what we encountered.  It was a mixed crowd of 60-80 year old men and 40 year old women (with 2 random 20-something women).  There was no good place to fix your eyes upon because there were couples making out or 4-5 women dancing with one old guy.  And to top it off, they didn't have the KU game on any of their TV's.  It was so unbearable that I didn't even finish my drink and we got the heck out of there.  We joked that we hoped we didn't catch any disease by sitting on their chairs.  It also crossed our minds that maybe the bartender at Lulu's referred us there because of my negative comment about the singer.

The next morning we got up early, ate breakfast and made our way to the beach.  We only had 4 hours before we had to get ready for the wedding so we wanted to enjoy every possible second.  We were under a Dense Fog Advisory and so we didn't think that we would get a tan.  It was a nice cool morning and we laid on our chairs, talked, laughed, and enjoyed the morning.  We were bummed to leave the beach, but were excited about our evening.  It wasn't until we were inside our room that we discovered we both got burned.  J.M. had put some sun tan lotion on, but missed some spots.  I, on the other hand, was burned from head to toe only on my front side because I never rotated sides because I didn't think I was getting any sun.  To top it off, I had a sunglasses burn line on my face.  I was mortified, horrified and in pain!

The wedding was about 30 minutes away.  It was a beautiful ceremony and then we made our way to the reception.  It was a beach theme and fortunately, we sat at the back of the room.  I was getting redder and redder as the night wore on.  I was stopped by many people telling me in their sweet Southern accents, "Oh honey, you need some Aloe Vera."  Or, "You should try some lavender Epsom Salt dear."  The groomsmen we met jokingly asked what SPF sunblock I used.  But it was worth every joke because I got to witness C.R. get married!

J.M. and I danced to the Cupid Shuffle and the Cha-Cha Slide.  We were in our element.  Back in college, we were constantly wanting to dance.  The groomsmen recommended a great place to go dancing and they had a live band, too.  We went back to our hotel room to change and headed to "Live Bait" which was right down from our hotel.  We stayed for a few hours and got our groove on just like old times.

Early Sunday morning we made our way back to Nashville.  We were tired and J.M. wasn't feeling super great from a cough that had started a few days before.When we got to her condo, we had enough time to shower and get ready to eat at a local sports bar where we could also watch the KU/Purdue game.  I was quite surprised and elated to find that the place was loaded with other KU fans.  The ending to the game was amazing and we all chanted the "Rock Chalk Jayhawk, KU" song that follows every win.

I left Nashville at 6:30am on Monday.  I was exhausted, but still had a long way to drive.  Since the route I initially took was full of country roads (and made up highways), I took the St. Louis route.  It was only 14 steps as opposed to the 36 steps.  I was doing ok until I got into St. Louis (which makes me very nervous to drive through).  It was during noon-time rush hour traffic and a motorcycle beside me did a pop-wheelie and then zig-zagged all over the lanes.  He then exited and stood on his motorcycle with his hands in the air as he was going down the ramp (without a helmet, protective gear, etc.)  I was so disturbed and frightened by this that I couldn't wait to get out of this city but the city seemed to go on and on and on.

About an hour and a half later, I drove into torrential rain that lasted all the way through Kansas City (during evening rush hour traffic) and I didn't get a break from the rain until I got home.  I was so thankful to have survived =)

This was such a rare opportunity to spend some quality time with my BFF J.M. (and see C.R. even if it was for a brief amount of time.)  I love my friendship with her.  We reminisce about the past, but make a bunch of new memories, too.  There were so many moments where our stomachs hurt and we were crying from laughing so hard.  These may not seem funny to you, but we cracked up.

  *J.M. was talking about being easy to please (not being high maintenance).  She then said, "I'm easy, spread the word!" I told her I would do no such thing. Before we left, she got a spray tan and had brown on her hands that made her hands look dirty. Then, we both left our razors in Nashville so we got a cheap razor from the hotel that butchered up our legs.  We both had a horrible cough that sounded like pneumonia and we were popping cough drops throughout the trip. Finally, she was concerned that her dress for the wedding was too short and looked "skanky".  We put all of these things together and came up with: "Easy, dirty, hacking up a lung, butchered up skank."  Even though that was the furtherest from the truth!  We laughed so hard that our make-up started to run before the wedding.  We repeated this the rest of the trip.

  *On the way down to Gulf Shores, we drove through Florida.  We saw a sign there that said, "We accept out of town cash."  Uh, because our cash is different from theirs?

  *Also in Florida, there were huge lilac bushes.  I was thinking it would be nice to dig up a bush to bring home.  J.M.'s initial thought was she wanted to roll around in the bushes. That created a lot of laughs!    

Since I had to travel through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama, I thought I would share some observations:
*Missouri has plenty of drivers who don't think that when there is torrential rain it would be a good idea to use their head-lights, slow down and not tail-gate.  
(and they have crazy motorcyclists as mentioned earlier!)
 
*Kentucky needs to clean up their road-kill on the side of the road.  I can't count
the number of decaying creatures I drove past

*Alabama...oh Alabama.  To begin with, the speed limit signs are the starting off
point for speed negotiations.  We were probably the only ones that followed the signs.

If they had signs for upcoming road construction, it's a good bet that they wouldn't really have road construction. There were only 2 spots that actually did have road work going on.

I think they should pass out "I Survived Alabama Drivers" T-shirts once you cross the state line.  They are a crazy group of drivers if ever I saw some.

*Florida posts signs once you come across the border from Alabama warning you they mean business about enforcing the speed limit.  Hmm...I wonder why?!? 

I am ever so thankful to have shared these memories with J.M. I will treasure them always.  Enjoy the photos!

Downtown Nashville

Margaritaville!

Honky Tonk

At Tootsie's listening to music

Random Space Rocket to greet you in Alabama

Toes in the Sand

Pretty Lady

Silly Girl

Beach Babes!

View from our hotel room

Fried Green Tomatoes

Yum!

Had random bar guy take our picture. He asked if it looked ok, we said "sure"

Waiting for food

Morning on the beach

See, it was really foggy!!!

Chill-axin

Ahh...this is the life

Ready for the wedding

Oooh-la-la

Me and the Groom

KU fans in Nashville