On Sunday(Aug.9th) we headed to my parents lake house on Lay Lake for a little fun in the sun & to celebrate my mom's b'day. This time we took Lyndsey & Daniel with us. We had SOOOOO much fun!!!! We left out on the pontoon boat at around 10am & found a nice spot to anchor down for a few hours. After we ate lunch, we went straight to the "swing" where Lyndsey & DC both went off of it(I got pictures but I was too far away & its hard to see them), then Bradley & I hopped on the SeaDoo and met the others at the "rock" where we anchored down for the rest of the afternoon.

We took Sam out on her 1st ever boat ride...she was really anxious at first but once she got used to the ride, she LOVED it. When we got to the first destination, we all got in the water & I think this made her really nervous. So I got back in the boat & sat with her for a little bit then I noticed that she was panting really hard. So what does a good mommy do?? Well, I zipped(& buckled) Sam up in my mom's life vest & told her to go get Daddy(who was in the water), she would go to the end of the boat & start whinning then bark, then she would walk backwards & do it again, over & over...it was so funny...finally I got Bradley to come closer to the boat & I gave her a little nudge. She swam around for a little bit then she swam to Bradley, he put his hand under her to hold her up a little & she would just lay there...floating & relaxing in the water. It was quite hilarious! When we went to the last destination & all got in the water, she just layed at the steps & watched us...I even caught her dozing off a few times. By the end of the day, Sam was POOPED & she LOVED the water. She was such a good girl the whole day & I am very proud of her for that!

Now on to the "little" dogs! As soon as we got back to the house Lyndsey & I got back in the water with Kobi & Rex(my moms Yorkie). I began working with Kobi on his swimming skills, Lyndsey & I really got a kick out of watching him swim back & forth to each of us...but HE DID IT & I am one proud mommy...but I dont feel comfortable just letting him loose yet! My little brother Brandon rescued his cute puppy TC(The Cuteness) about 2 months ago, she was skin & bones when he found her but now she is a healthy 5 month old Sheperd mix...& she has the cutest personality!!

After leaving the Basket Shower, I went home to pick up Bradley & we headed over to Josh & Beth Alford's Housewarming Party. They bought their first home a few months ago in James Hill(Ross Bridge)...and it is so cute. Congrats Josh & Beth!!

On Saturday(Aug 8th) I went to Katie Parker's Wedding Basket Shower, everyone had a really good time & she(& Dusty) got some really cool baskets. I was assigned the Wedding Day basket which included all of the necessities the Bride & Groom will need on their wedding day. Congrats to Katie & Dusty!

Today Bradley & I have been married for 2 years & it is really hard to believe. We celebrated by going to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House...Yummy! We have experienced a lot together over the past two years & I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us! *In the past two years we: bought a brand new house in Ross Bridge(LOVE IT), we got 2 more wonderful puppies(Sam-12/2007 & Kobi-12/2008), and we both got new cars. *We have traveled to: Riviera Maya-Mexico(Honeymoon), San Francisco-California, San Juan-Puerto Rico, Disney World-Florida, Milwaukee-Wisconsin, Panama City Beach-Florida & we are going to the Cayman Islands in October. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband, thank you for two beautiful years.

Due to the busy summer & the rainy weekends, we have not been able to hang out at the pool as much as we would like to. We finally had a free Saturday & invited some friends to join us...and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Trent brought his little boy Jack & girlfriend Leigh-Jack was so funny & was making all of us laugh so hard while watching him play fight with Clay, my little brother Brandon & his friend Jeremy came, my other brother Blake & Amanda stopped by, Matt & Erin Parker came, and Brittney was in town for the weekend so she came. We had a lot of fun and are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Well, it's that time again for NMFN's Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, WI. I was especially excited to go this year because Bradley was being recognized on stage. I took over 300 pictures during the 5 days we were there so I made a few collages to sum up the events.

~DAY 1 - July 18th
We flew out of Birmingham at 10am & landed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin around 2pm. We headed to the hotel to check-in then went straight to the Midwest Airlines Center to pickup our registration bags & look at the exhibits. Notice: My hubby is on one of the big exhibits, I will give you the details on this later.

We had dinner with Trent H, Clay & Trent G at The Capital Grille, they have the best filets ever. Then we all hopped in a cab & went to our "traditional" spot, LUCILLE'S Dual Piano Bar...and of course we had a blast as always.


~DAY 2 - July 19th
This morning was the annual Roots & Wings 5K/10K race (note: we walk the 1 mile & meet everyone afterwards, haha!!), bright & early at 8am. This year the Klement's Racing Sausages were there, waiting at the finish line to greet the runners. We then walked over to The Astor Hotel for the annual breakfast.
-The middle bottom picture is the Riverwalk...with lots of great restaurants, breweries & shops, and I took the bottom right picture to show how cool the buildings are there...and look how clean this city is!!

And then, the annual Garden Party at the Milwaukee County Zoo...this is always my favorite & its so much fun!!! This year they used a pirate theme...see the bar area below(bottom left square, top right picture). There are tons of tents set up with different food, drinks, & entertainment in each tent...one food tent had entertainment by the Trinity Irish Dancers & another food tent had entertainment by "The Love Monkeys." We headed over to the zoo part & saw the flamingos but didn't continue through because a lot of the animals were no longer there so we decided to head back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep for the early morning meeting.

~DAY 3 - July 20th
This morning was Bradley's big day...we first went to the Christian Fellowship Breakfast(7am) with entertainment by Roddy Chiong & The CFB Band(they sing "Days Go By") and the speaker was awesome too! We snuck out a little early & headed over to the Bradley Center to get a good seat for the General Session. We had wonderful entertainment by the STEP CREW(from Canada)...they were AWESOME & so entertaining, and RONN LUCAS...he is a ventriloquist, and was so funny! The speaker this morning was TONY DUNGY, former head coach of the NFL Indianapolis Colts...he also did a great job!
*NOW for the awards ceremony, Bradley was recognized as the #2 Rep in the NATION for new reps...YAY!!! I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!
-You may ask why the reps are wearing the ribbons? Well, each ribbon represents an achievement made within the calendar year(August-July, I think)...it doesn't matter "how many" ribbons you have, it is " the meaning" of the ribbon that matters.
*After the meeting I went to lunch with some of the other wives at Watts Tea Room, we go here every year & it is always so delicious. Then I headed back to the room for a much needed nap while Bradley attended the afternoon meetings.

Later that evening, we walked to the Milwaukee Theatre for Trent's award recognition...Congrats Trent!


~DAY 4 - July 21st
I met BR, Clay & Trent for lunch after their morning meeting. Then we headed to the Milwaukee Art Museum...I do not have may pictures from inside the museum due to the photography laws but I did get a few cool pictures.

Later that night, we met the other reps/spouses from the Hoover office for dinner at the Water Street Brewery...good looking group huh?! After dinner, we went to the "Company Show" featuring DANNY GOKEY(from American Idol) & KOOL AND THE GANG(they sing "Celebrate Good Times, C'mon"). The show is always an awesome ending to the trip!!!!!

...that my niece, LONDYN, is already 6 months old! I went to visit my sister Kaitlin & niece Londyn on Sunday(7.12.09) and I just cannot believe how big Londyn has gotten. She turned 6 months old on 7.16; she has cut a few teeth, she can roll over(from stomach to back), & she tries to crawl but hasnt quite mastered that yet. Londyn is so full of personality & she makes so many different faces(see below). She is just a very happy baby!!!!!

I AM ONE PROUD AUNT!!!! I love this little girl so much & cannot wait to see her again soon.

We went to Panama City, FL with our best friends Lyndsey & Daniel for the 4th of July weekend. We had so much fun, as always...
**Day 1: BEACH...I'm upset to say that after taking about 3 pictures the lens on my camera decided that it didnt want to open & Lyndsey didn't have her camera with her so I only have the few pictures below. After a long day at the beach, we went in early to get ready for dinner at Angelo's Steakhouse. It was so delicious...Bradley & DC got a HUGE Porterhouse & both of them ate every bite...YIKES!

**Day 2: BEACH...we literally stayed on the beach ALL day & had so much FUN...this time Lyndsey took her camera to capture the memories!! BR & DC were always in deep conversations & it was so funny to listen to them...there is never a dull moment when us 4 are together!!

We headed back to the condo at about 5:30pm to get ready then went to the gazebo for some pictures...I think they turned out GREAT. {By the way, Lyndsey is now officially doing photography...she specializes in maternity, newborn, family & wedding photography. Check out her photography blog: lyndseycunninghamphotography.blogspot.com}

After eating a quick dinner at HUNGRY HOWIES (yes, that's right...still as good as it was when we were in school @ Auburn) we setup camp on the beach for the fireworks show. This time I took my big nice camera & of course it died after taking a few pictures(I forgot to charge the battery).


The beach was absolutely beautiful & the weather was perfect. I wish we could've stayed longer but it was kindof a last minute "much needed" vacation. I cannot wait to go back again! We had a blast with the Cunninghams...we love you guys!!!