We have a place to live . . . .(for 3 months)

So, we have signed a lease for 3 months in Franklin, TN and are very excited! We decided to go with a furnished apartment so we don't have so sleep on an air mattress or floor for 3 months. :-) Now that we've made our decision, I'm getting really excited! It will be nice to have some place to go home to at night that feels like a home and not just a hodge podge of odds and ends.

We are taking off in both cars on Saturday morning and checking in to our place when we get there! Bryce, Toni and the kids are going to come over to see us off.

Check out the link to the complex below:

http://www.alarafarms.com/

Also, we have people coming to look at our house tonight and this is the third day in a row we have had showings! Our realtor is holding an open house on Sunday as well. We're crossing our fingers! :-)

Happy Trails to Us

So we got together with some of our friends and my brother's family at the Fishers concert series where Dave and Rae performed on Friday night. It was to celebrate us leaving (but let's not talk about that). It is a happening place, and you feel kind of out of place if you don't have a kid. So, I'm glad Abby and Luke were able to come to keep us entertained (once they warmed up to everyone)!

Abby & Luke not quite warmed up yet ha

Abby & Luke helping us open our gifts

Toni, Abby, Bryce & Luke

Jill, Angela & Heidi

John & Heidi brought this delicious cake from Classic Cakes

John, Steve-O, Angela, Heidi, Jill, Kris, Chris, Stacey, Kurt & Jamie

After the concert we all hit Fionn MacCool's Irish Pub across the street (http://www.maccoolsirishpub.com/). They had an Irish band playing and even had bag pipes! We will miss this place! :-(

Thanks to everyone for coming! I know a lot of people drove quite a long way, but we had a lot of fun! It was a great send-off (but let's not talk about that).

Just Being a Kid at Cedar Point

I was 9 years old the last time I visited Cedar Point (http://www.cedarpoint.com/). I can't believe its been that long.... 25 years. Are you kidding me? It feels like it was just yesterday that I was there with my family for the first time. I was terrified of roller coasters then. Time sure has changed......

Last Thursday, Josh (my brother), Alex (a friend of Josh), Russ (a friend of Josh), my parents, and I decided to go to Cedar Point for the day. We all were excited that morning. We were acting like little kids. We decided that we needed to show up early so we could maximize our experience. We arrived at the park at 9:45 A.M. with the park opening at 10:00 A.M.

My brother, his friends, and I sprinted to our first ride. We decided to make the 1 mile run to the Millennium Force..... Just let me tell you. This was worth getting my heart rate up for. This coaster reaches 310 feet and goes 92 mph....One of Josh's friends suggested we wait the extra 30 minutes to sit in the front seat....Holy Cow.....By far, the best roller coaster I have ever ridden....A very smooth ride. My glass even stayed on for the entire race. Now that's smooth.

We decided to head over to Top Thrill Dragster. While in line the ride broke down. That didn't discourage our group. We decided to wait it out. It was worth the wait. The coaster reaches 420 feet and goes 120 mph. Are you kidding me?

We spent the whole day riding most of the roller coasters at the park. We ended up riding the coasters 13 times. The last hour we were running back and forth trying to ride as many as we could. We finished up the evening (10:30 P.M) riding the Maverick. A great way to finish off the day.

I really enjoyed my day with my brother and his friends, and my parents. It was fun to be a kid again....

I did fine myself thinking about the first time I went to Cedar Point with my family. Now 25 years later I was here with my family again. Life is sure GOOD.

The Stephens Inn for Sale

In Real Estate News......The Stephens Inn officially went up for sale at 7:00 P.M. on July 21st after operating continuously for five and half years. The owners have decided to move to Nashville, TN for the warmer weather.

The Inn was conceived and built in 1993. On December 2, 2002, the Inn was purchased by bootlegger Chris Stephens, who changed the name to "The Stephens Inn".

Over the years, the Stephens Inn has hosted some of the biggest and craziest parties known in the Indianapolis area. The Inn has had the distinction of hosting the famous "Hillbilly Days" for the past four years.

For listing details, go to

http://mibor.mlxtempo.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1978038619&s=INR&t=INR

Triathlon

T R I A T H L O N....I have more respect for this word after this past weekend........What a grueling day it was.....Unfortunately, the nerves kicked in early and I was wide awake at 2:30 A.M. on race day. The race wasn't starting for another six hours and I couldn't go back to sleep.

I believe my brother and I touched everyone that swam that day. It was very strange. Just imagine swimming 500 meters in a lake with 550 people. The groups left in 4 minute intervals and we were in the last group with a bunch of Young Bucs. The group in front of us consisted of 30+ females and 50+ males. I was warned by my coach, Hillary, that this group would frustrate me. I was trying to figure out why.....The first 200 meters felt great. I was really cruising. It felt like old times. Well, I hit the first buoy and things changed drastically. I quickly figured out what Hillary was talking about. I had caught up with the group ahead of us....Just let me tell you.... I literally swam over people. It seemed like every 6 to 8 strokes I was running into someone....The funny thing I even swam up on a lady that was swimming backstroke.

Throughout the race I kept seeing my brother right by me. It was great to know that Stephens Brothers were causing havoc in the water. Finally, we hit the final buoy and we end up catching another group. More people to swim through....We finally make it to the end and Josh and I end up getting out of the water at the same time...

(A Body Double)

I was so thankful that I wasn't riding 10 miles through the ALPS of Eagle Creek. I have to say that I admire my nephew and sister for taking this challenge on. This was a very difficult bike course. I didn't realize until Saturday that Indiana had Hills.

Well before I could even recover my nephew came buzzing around the corner. The look he had oh his face was priceless. He was smiling from ear to ear and he was literally running with the bike through the transition stage. Absolutely amazing....He quickly makes the exchange and my brother takes off running. I quickly realized that my sister wasn't behind him. I asked him, where's your mom. He responds with, "I left her behind. She's about a mile back". He was smiling the entire time he was telling me...For a moment I thought I was looking at a smaller version of me...As we are catching up, I see out of the corner of my eye, my sister. She doesn't look too happy. I can tell it was a rough ride and she was experiencing the rubber legs that come with trying to run after riding. We quickly make the exchange and off I go. At this point my brother is a good minute ahead of me. I'm thinking there's no way I'm catching him. Up the big hill I go and around the corner I see my brother. I was excited to see I was catching him with every step.....It literally came down to the wire. I made one last dash at the finish line and came up a little short (1.5 seconds). My family was shocked that I was even this close. One family member even shouted out at the finish line, "Oh my gosh, there's Chris".

I am so grateful that I was able to do this with my brother, my nephew, and my sister. Better yet, I'm glad we had the best cheering section (Stephens and Williams clan) and photographer (Jenny Schnieders) at the event. This is made it so special having everyone there.

To the Finish

Finally we topped our week off with the Triathlon, which most of you know was to raise money and awareness for Chiari, which Chris' niece Chloe has. It was a great end to the week and we were so proud of all of them; Chris, his sister (Crystal), his nephew (Jesse - who is only 12!), & his brother (Josh).

My favorite moment was when we were all waiting for Josh to cross the finish line since he had taken off a minute before Chris in the run and next thing you know we see Chris charging up behind him! It was so neat that they came across the Finish basically a few feet apart.

There are LOTS of pics since our photographer, Jenny, was there. But here are some of my favorites, and I have included a link to more below.




Chloe (Chris' niece)

Crystal & Ben (Chris' nephew)

Ben & Chloe



Jesse



Chris (right before the start of the swim)



Jesse coming to the finish!

\

Josh starting the 3 mile run



Chris starting the run



Coming across the Finish together!



Chloe (who stated she was exhausted when it was done - ha!)



For more pictures:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8FbNGLVq4aDo

Boiling Point

So to continue our crazy week, Friday night (7/18) we had everyone over for a spaghetti dinner so the participants could get plenty of carbs. Both families were there and it was fun to watch all the kids play together. Note to self: buy a large pan. Making spaghetti for more than 15 people in regular pans takes way too long. Note 2 to self: never open a restaurant, or the people will go hungry waiting on me since I'm so slow!

Once everyone ate we had fun hanging out outside. The kids all made posters for the triathlon that turned out really cute!

Lunch & Dinner with Friends

Thursday, July 17th was a lot of fun also! The girls at work took me to lunch at Bravo (one of the items on my list I will miss about Indy). We all came to the conclusion that we are just in denial that Chris and I are leaving. :-)

Ann (pregnant with twins-can't wait for pictures!), Holly, Jenny, Angela, me & Heidi

Then Chris and I met my parents and Abby for dinner at Charleston's with their friends (and ours!) the Mitchells. Notice Abby is wearing her sunglasses at dinner for the 2nd night in a row. She loves those things!

Erin's Birthday!

So, I have to catch up! This week was crazy, but SO much fun. :-)

It started on Wednesday with Erin's birthday (my 17 year old cousin from Louisville). We went shopping at Nordstrom and drooled over the heavenly bed. Then we met everyone at McCormick and Schmick's for dinner downtown and an impromptu carriage ride. (My parents, brother & his family, aunt, uncle & Erin were all there.)

We ended the night with a cake from Taylor's shaped like a Tiffany's box for her and then my family broke into dance in the middle of the kitchen (doesn't everyone do that?). Abby picked her favorite songs - Low & Too Late to Apologize! Chris and Bryce proceeded to try to get Luke to say "Get in my belly!" as he was eating his cake. They were somewhat successful as he said something along the lines of "da da da bubu." It was such a fun evening! Erin, thanks for picking Indy to celebrate!

They put her name on the menu!

Mom, Abby, Luke & Dad

Abby & Toni

Chris, Luke Bryce & Abby (hmm I forget that horse's name!)

Erin, Chris, me, Mom & Dad

Aunt Pat, Luke, me & Abby

Erin & Abby

For more pictures:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8FbNGLVq4aCs

What I will miss about Indy . . . .

Just thought I would include a few things I will miss about Indy (in no particular order). :-) I'm not including people, so if you know us and know that the main things we like to do is hang out with family and friends and go out to eat . . . well that pretty much leaves food on my list:

1. Greek's Pizzeria http://www.mygreekspizzeria.com/ - Our favorite hang out on Friday nights. We'ver closed this place down a few times in busy season when we would get there so late after work.

2. Puccini's http://www.puccinissmilingteeth.com/ - Where we had our first date in Fishers! Classy :-) Chris looked all cute in his brand new collared shirt and black sweater he bought for it. No clue what I wore, so as usual he probably looked better than me. ha A good guess - black, right?

3. Scotty's Brewhouse http://www.scottysbrewhouse.com/ - Our favorite hang out - no smoking and TV's at the tables!

4. Conner Prairie http://www.connerprairie.org/ - The outdoor theater in Fishers that Chris surprised me and took me to 3 years ago on July 4th. The sympony played the 1812 Overture with real cannons and had a huge fireworks show at the end. I found out how organized and always prepared he is on that day - he had turkey wrap sandwiches, wine, cheese, crackers, etc. The cooler was so heavy we laughed the whole way back to the car because we couldn't carry it! We took our parents back the next year because we loved it so much.

5. Target & McAlister's being within about .2 miles of the house!

6. Bravo http://www.bravoitalian.com/ - do they have those in Nashville!?

7. Fishers Concert Series - We will miss planning and getting ready to attend Dave and Rae and it getting rained out 3 years in a row!

8. Working with Chris - Sametiming him at the last minute to get lunch on a really bad day or a really good day & being able to ride comatose in the passenger's seat while he drives us to work! ha

9. Birthday cookies at work every month

10. Keystone Art Cinema http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Indianapolis/KeystoneArtCinemaB.htm - I found this one a little late, as I only got to see Sex and the City there with Heidi. You can buy drinks in the Indie Lounge and take them into the theater. It was perfect to see this movie there, UNTIL we had the worst storm in years and the electricity went out with 15 minutes left in the film. A bunch of angry women in a dark theater with booze . . . . it was a little scary! But besides that, it was so much fun! We got a free ticket to go back, so Heidi, Kelly and I just headed back another night . . no biggie.

My last week!

I only have 4 more days of work at EY! It is exciting and scary, because I know that means we are getting closer and closer to having to leave everyone. :-(

Luckily we have a very busy week ahead of us to keep my mind off of it! My parents are staying with my brother, Bryce, and his family here in Indy all week. They are watching the kids for them a couple days while they are at work, since the babysitter is on vacation. I've already been over 2 nights in a row and it's only Monday! My dad grilled out and we had an amazing dinner. Poor Chris was at the gym working out all night, so they all sent him a plate of good food which he just now ate! He is for sure going to live longer than me since he can pick exercise over food. I don't have that willpower.

I have so much fun hanging out with everyone, but then I get sad thinking how it won't be this easy to all just get together at the same time . . . in the same city.

The family invasion continues tomorrow, when Pat, Tom and Erin (my aunt, uncle and cousin) come in town to start the celebration for Erin's 17th birthday on Wednesday! She wants to hit Tiffany's, Nordstrom & McCormick and Schmick's. She has pretty good taste, huh? So, I'm taking the afternoon off on Wednesday to join in the fun.

The Stephens group comes in on Friday to stay with us! They have to get in and get rested up for the triathlon on Saturday. We plan on throwing a big spaghetti dinner on Friday to get some good carbs in all of the Stephens' participants. :-) They are going to have a big support group to cheer them on, including Jenny (the photographer). So, we'll have plenty of pictures to add for that entry. :-)

THEN on Saturday my Grandpa Williams and our family friend Betty come all the way from Elizabethtown, KY. How fun to have so many people here this week to celebrate so many different things!

July 19th Triathlon at Eagle Creek

Wow....Only 8 days away and I will be participating in a Triathlon with my older sister (Crystal), my younger brother (Josh), and my 12 year old nephew (Jesse). I'm very excited to participate in this event with them. This is definitely a first for my family,to have all of us participating in the same event. Watch out!!!

We have decided to tackle this challenge in teams. We figure we will spread the pain and torture over two people instead of one person. The first team, Dynamic Duo, will consist of my sister and me. That's right. We had to bring her out of retirement for this special event. I plan on doing the swimming and running and she is going to do the bicycling. The second team, Young and Restless, will consist of my littler brother and my 12 year old nephew. We had to ask race officials to make an exemption for him due to being 12 years old. Come race day he will be the youngest and smallest participant. However, he's very confident and cocky like his two uncles so he won't have a problem. He did tell me that he can pedal for days and not to worry about him. Josh plans on doing the swimming and running and Jesse will be bicycling with his mom. I look forward to seeing you looks in better shape after the bike stage. .

People ask me why I'm participating in a Triathlon. You probably notice the picture that I have included. That's a picture of my niece, Chloe. In 2005, my niece, Chloe, was diagnosed with Chiari on her 2 year old birthday. Her symptoms progressed and in March of 2006 she underwent decompression surgery. The surgery is not a cure for Chiari, but to help relieve some of the symptoms. Chloe has had some relief from the surgery, but still has headaches, neck pain, visual disturbances, fatigue, tingling in hands and feet, and seizures.

In an attempt to raise awareness, increase research, and advocate for more support for those who have Chiari, my sister, my brother, and my nephew, and I have committed to participate in this Triathlon

Please visit http://www.chloescourage.blogspot.com/ for details on how to help us in our mission.

Chuck E Cheese

This past Sunday at the last minute we took a break from fixing up the house and met Bryce, Toni, Abby and Luke at Chuck E Cheese. I have to say I have never been there and it was too much fun. I'm not sure if the adults had more fun or the kids?

Bryce (and soon after Chris) figured out precisely when they needed to drop the token on one game in order to get the grand slam - meaning about 175 tickets off of one token. In Chuck E Cheese world that is like hitting the lottery. So, they just kept hitting it over and over again until we racked up 2,000 tickets to get Abby and Luke prizes. They even had an entourage of people standing around watching them. That takes skill . . .

I was the only one not to win a jackpot because I had too much fun playing ski ball, which had an average return of about 4 tickets. :-) I think it was the game itself, and had nothing to do with my ski ball skills.

Moving to the South

Moving to the South....I'm definitely excited about this move. It's not going to be easy to leave behind family and friends. I know that we couldn't do this move without all of your support. Better yet, I couldn't do this without JILL. I wish I made enough money (a goal of mine) to take everyone with US. We could just have Hillbilly Days all year.

I do look forward to being in SEC Country though with all of the other SEC fanatics....I will miss the days that I had to argue to get the Kentucky games on TV at the local bars. I know Jill will miss me complaining about how the Minnesota - Penn State game was on instead.

I look foward to finally fitting in with my Southern accent. At least I'll be a little closer to the State (5 hours) that people believe I'm originally from. One less question I have to address.

What I hope for....I hope Jill doesn't run into Kenny and runs off to the Bahamas with him. It would burn me up if she left me for a VOLS fan. If that happens you will find me at Ashley's Farm. Move over Dario!!!! I hope that Jill and I don't end up in a Mental Hospital. Moving just sucks.....What I really hope for is that everyone that we know stays in touch... Just remember your always welcome at the Mountain INN.

Southbound

For the few that don't know, we are officially moving to Nashville! It is scary and exciting all at the same time. I just try to remember (and Chris has to remind me often) that it will all be fine because we are doing it together! Which I know is true, it's just all a little overwhelming. :-)

I have accepted a position with Crowe Chizek in Brentwood and Chris will be transferring with EY. So, next on the list is getting the house on the market! We met with a realtor today and houses seem to be moving pretty quickly in our neighborhood, so things are looking good. Considering I start work on August 4th, we have a lot to do!

Now if I can only figure out how I am going to leave these cute little faces in Indy behind . . .

To blog or not to blog

I have decided to start a blog in order to help stay in touch with family and friends and keep them updated on what is going on with us as we start this exciting new adventure! I'm also hoping it is a way to keep me sane (and therefore keep Chris sane) as we work through all of the changes we are going to experience together.

I was inspired by the blog of my brother's childhood friend and his wife (Arthur Adventure - http://arthuradventure.blogspot.com/). I started reading it over a year ago and would check it off and on when I ate my lunch at work. I think it was a combination of his wife's way with words and the excitement of them expecting twins when I started checking it that just made me want to know how they were doing. Even though I probably haven't seen him since I followed him and my brother around and begged to play soccer with them in the back yard 20 years ago, I felt connected to them through a blog!? Who knew . . .

All I know is that I smiled and then cried my way through her blogs as I took a "journey" with them as they had twin boys, one of which had a heart defect which took his precious little life a couple months later. In between those 2 major life events, she lost her mom to cancer. They were events I could not even pretend to relate to, however through her entries I feel that I grew from their strength, faith and positive outlook on life. I just know that takes some pretty incredible people to do that through a blog!

On a lighter note, they most recently followed their passion by moving to Minnesota where he could work for the Mayo clinic. I enjoy reading their entries as they go through their move and it helps me prepare for what we have ahead of us in our move to Nashville!

I hope that this is a way to share our upcoming journey with family and friends, and maybe make it feel like everyone is coming with us. Bear with me, as I am a numbers person and not an English teacher! :-)