World's Cutest & Most Tolerant Baby

Taylor was the only baby in our 8 bedroom cabin all weekend and we all fell in love with her! She is the little girl of Heidi's friends Kim & Todd. I think she fooled all of us childless couples into thinking parenthood is easy, because she was so good. Not to mention how cute she is! Had to share this picture . . . .

Mr. & Mrs. Roy!

We had a blast last weekend at Heidi & John's wedding! I think it was an amazing idea to have it in Gatlinburg. The setting was beautiful and we got to spend the weekend with some amazing people!

Both of their families stayed in 12 bedroom cabins right next to each other and then we were down a little bit staying in an 8 bedroom cabin with all of their friends/bridal party, etc. The families took turns cooking, so all we had to do was walk down to their cabin each day and decide how full we could get ourselves on everything from chili dogs, baked spaghetti, egg rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans, and on and on. Chris was still talking about John's dad's gravy yesterday from his biscuits and gravy on Saturday morning. :-)

Their families were so kind and welcoming, and we had so much fun with their friends we want to make them our own. :-) I think all the guys bonded over the big screen TVs, Foosball, air hockey and pool tables. However, I must say the women all held their own in their events! The guys weren't too happy when we had to turn the pool table into our ironing spot for bridesmaid's dresses on Friday night.

After torrential downpours on Friday, we were a little concerned about the weather on Saturday. However, it was gorgeous and perfect for their outdoor ceremony. There was a maze on the facilities made out of bushes for the kids that was awesome! I knew if I lost Chris I could just go check there. Then there was a wood burning fireplace right next to our table at the reception just creating an awesome atmosphere.

After seeing all the details Heidi planned I started to get nervous though and realized I better get started. ha

I was told one of the funniest parts of the weekend was due to a moment by yours truly. I had kind of a "blond" moment you could say (what's new). When we got back from getting our hair done on Saturday morning we were in a hurry and feeling rushed to try to get to the ceremony site, so Heidi's sister dropped me off by our cabin (or so I thought). It ended up she couldn't pull up any further and I was actually in front of the cabin right next to ours that looks IDENTICAL! (Yes, really - no differences at all I promise.)

So, I ran up the steps and was rushing inside to go get ready. I passed all these people in the kitchen as I ran through and waved and just thought "oh these must be new people I haven't met yet here for the wedding." Being the introvert I am, I waved and ran by focused on getting my bridesmaid's dress on since my hair was ready and in an up-do.

As I got to our door I didn't see the pretty sign Heidi had made for our room that said "Chris & Jill" and my mouth dropped wide open. I started cracking up and so did "my friends" in the kitchen. One guy closed the door and goes "get her!"

I apologized over and over and ran back out the door to go get ready. As I was running away a guy came out the door and said, "Wait, we want to get a picture with you!" I told them I didn't have time, but I also didn't want the evidence . . . . I'm sure they wondered who the crazy girl was in the zip up sweatshirt and up-do coming in their cabin.

Chris just rolled his eyes because he is used to me by now and quickly pointed out that they were all Alabama fans . . . he must have been checking out their license plates and sweatshirts earlier.

Some other highlights:

• Dixie Stampede & John & Heidi getting pulled as volunteers!
• Kelly doing karaoke
• John's Dad dancing to Baby Got Back
• Driving up the mountain for the first time and thinking we were going to fall off
• Burt's speech to John
• Enjoying our stocked kitchen with bagel bites and frozen pizzas
• Giving Heidi her scrapbook from the bridesmaids
• Dancing to every country song under the sun when Chris was playing DJ at the house and Erin saying "1968 called and wants Charlie Daniels back"

Additional Pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=1667d58eeea018e0&sid=8FbNGLVq4aOc

Watch Out Michael Phelps........

A month or so ago I contacted my coach at Kentucky and asked him if he could send me a Kentucky Swim Cap. I wanted one so I could show my CAT PRIDE at the pool.

Well a couple of weeks ago I received a Kentucky Swim Cap from my former coach. He told me to wear it with PRIDE...

Scott (my former college roommate) and I have decided to swim in a meet next March. We have been swimming 3 to 4 times a week since the move to TN. Last week we even decided to swim before work......There's nothing worse than diving in a cold pool at 6:30 A.M. in the morning.

Today we swam 3,000 meters in a Olympic Size Pool. What was I thinking........I really don't know. My brother even asked me what got into to me. I have not swam this much since college. In college we use to swim 12,000 to 15,000 yards a day.

The Perfect Engagement Gift...........

Last Thursday we went over to the Adams household to have some dinner, to see the kids, and to get Jill's dress tailored for Heidi's wedding....Well to our surprise, Colin brought out an enagement present for Jill and I. This is what we received........If you click on the pictures you will be able to see the message........

Dedicated in Memory of Harrison Stephens

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about how Ralph Stanly II dedicated his latest CD to the memory of my grandfather, Harrison Stephens. Well, here it is. It is a little hard to read, but it says "This Album is Dedicated to the Memory of Harrison Stephens". If you click on the picture you will be able to see it better.

Lexington Road Trip

This post is a little late, but last weekend Chris' brother, Josh flew in and we all went to the UK game in Lexington. Unfortunately they didn't win, however we still had a really good time with all of his friends. Scott and Barbara (Nashville) went, as well as Louise and Greg (Louisville) who are also newly engaged. We drove back on Sunday to get Josh back for his flight, but made a quick stop for lunch at one of our favorites . . the Wildhorse Saloon. :-) Here are some pictures . . .

Congratulations Kris & Stacey!

We just want to congratulate Kris and Stacey on their new baby girl!

Kris was sending me updates all day yesterday and I woke up in the middle of the night to check on if there was a little one yet and had a text and this cute picture of Briley Lynn Layton!

We are so excited that they have a vacation planned in Nashville the first week of December. I can't wait to meet Briley! How appropriate that they will be staying right off "Briley" Parkway out by Opryland when they come. ha :-)

Briley Lynn Layton 20 1/2in 7lbs 11oz born at 1120pm

More Eddie Beavers........

If you read this blog you need to check out the music of Eddie Beavers. Its just amazing. I believe Dreams Do Come True in Nashville....................(http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=283946311)

Here's some more Eddie, performing with Tammy Phillips..........Listen to the 3rd Song......(http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=279097568)

Amy = No Bridezilla

First, I just have to say that you really need to listen to Eddie Beavers song "I Need You" if you haven't already from Chris' link below. Amazing! I know the name is kind of humorous, but I don't think any of us have heard someone sing with that much passion. We got cold chills up and down our arms hearing him do it in person. There's a story behind that song, but I don't know what it is. I guess that's what makes it though . . .

Secondly, I just wanted to say that Amy is going to save the day! I was recommended to use Amy as a wedding coordinator for the wedding by a lady at work. Her husband did the flowers for Sara Evans wedding and works with her a lot. When we first met her we walked out of there and Chris said "sold!" And that was exactly the way I felt. She is so laid back and easy to talk to . . . exactly what we need!

I've had some doubts about if I was doing the right thing . . . is the extra work and stress worth the money we would save doing it ourselves? What would people think? Well I got over that really quick after our meeting last night! I walked out knowing 100% we made the right decision. She met with us for an hour and a half discussing our thoughts on how we want everything and started to plan the timeline of the wedding and reception.

I think the point I knew it was a perfect match was when she asked if we had a vision or "theme" we wanted for the wedding. I looked at Chris (as I did on many of the questions once I had exhausted my choice of words - about 5) and as he tried to describe our taste including the words "sophisticated hillbilly" she started laughing and put a big star next to it on her paper. She said well if I ever lose our vision I will refer back to this. :-) She is all for my black and white color scheme with a deep red being an accent color, which is a plus also since most people have looked at me like I'm crazy for it. :-)

Most importantly I think is that Chris and I both walked out excited about the wedding and not stressed. If she has the ability to do that at every meeting and get things done I am all for it!

Next we meet with her to check out Save the Dates. Then the meeting I am most excited about is the one in January where we get to meet/try out a bunch of vendors. I think it involves eating and trying out cake, so I'm sure Chris will enjoy that one!

I found the Man, Eddie Beavers.........

I just let out a battle cry....I can't believe that Mr. Beavers has a MySpace page. Check it out. The first song he played that night at Legends. (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=283946311)

Good Food, Good Times, and Good Music

I was summoned by the higher powers to publish a post.....

Last Thursday night we went out to eat at the Palm Restaurant in downtown Nashville (http://www.thepalm.com) with my Uncle and Aunt. This is a popular place to take people to for steak and seafood. A lot of celebrities, including Jill and I, love to dine here. This was our second trip. I don't know where it ranks on my all-time favorite steak places, but its up there.

We were having a wonderful dinner (9 ounce steak, 3 pound lobster, three cheese potatoes, cheesecake) there until I smelled a foul odor in the room......Holy Stink!!! I asked my Uncle if he had taken a shower that morning because it was that bad....We quickly realized that an individual (who was in town for the Bluegrass Festival) at the table behind us had decided to take his shoes off to adjust his socks. I checked my phone immediately to see if I had Odor Eaters on speed dial to enter him in the Rotten Sneaker Contest (http://www.odoreaters.com/). Unfortunately, I didn't so I quickly ordered a cheesecake to get my nose off that awful smell.

Our next stop was Broadway. We stopped by to see if Jill's future husband, Scott Collier, was playing at Tootsies. To our surprise he wasn't playing.... Jill was so bummed. We ended up heading down to the World Famous Legends (http://www.legendscorner.com/index.htm) to hear some Honky Tonk Music.

A little side story, a couple of weeks ago Jill and I went to Legends. Well the band played a couple of songs. Before we knew it, a random patron had convinced ($100 tip) the band to let him get up on stage. The guy introduced himself as Eddie Beavers. He told the audience that him and his friend Dewy (sitting at the bar) had driven up from Alabama to sing on Broadway....I almost fell out of my seat. I'm like you can't make this stuff up. Only in Nashville does this happen. Honestly, he was better then the band. I'm was so upset that I didn't get his information so he could play at the next Hillbilly Day Party.

The next day I met my Uncle and Aunt for lunch. While standing outside the hotel, I ended up meeting Ralph Stanley II (the Son of the famous Bluegrass Singer Ralph Stanley and a Friend of My Uncle's). The evening before my Uncle had informed me that Ralph Stanley 2 had dedicated his latest CD (listed in the CD) to the memory of my grandfather, Harrison Stephens. My grandfather was a big Ralph Stanley fan and here I am meeting his son exactly a year after my grandfather passed away....I wish I would of told him one of his famous jokes.

Date Night

Last night we had date night at the Wild Ginger (http://www.dinewildginger.com/). It is right down the street from our apartment, but it makes you feel like you are on vacation or something. I went there a couple weeks ago with my aunt and her family (Pat, Tom & Erin), and wanted to take Chris back so he could see it.

It was a gorgeous night, so we got to sit on the patio where they have live music and torches lighting up the patio next to an infinity pool. Love it! I even ate some sushi!

Heidi's Last Fling Before the Ring

Last weekend I took off for Louisville for Heidi's bachelorette party and Chris took off for Erie, PA to visit his brother at med school. We both had a really good time. I will let Chris blog about re-living his college days though. :-)

I got to stop at my grandparents house in Louisville on Saturday morning (Mom and Papa). They treated me to fish from the local fish fry. It was so good! My aunt showed me how to get to our hotel in downtown Louisville. It was a little sketchy at first, but once all the girls got there I don't think we even really noticed! Then Sunday I got to stop at my grandfather's house in Elizabethtown, KY on my way home to have a late lunch with him and Betty at O'Charley's. Basically there was a lot of eating this weekend!

Heidi's bachelorette party included dinner at Avalon on Bardstown Road (http://www.avalonfresh.com/), opening presents back at the room and then we went to 4th Street Live to dance (http://www.4thstlive.com/)! It was so much fun, and a good preview for how much fun their wedding is going to be!

We had lunch on Sunday before we left at a restaurant on the river overlooking the city. It was a perfect day to sit outside.

George

George is Bryce & Toni's dog (my brother & sister-in-law) that they have had for 9 years. Unfortunately he bit my brother last week pretty badly, which is not like him. They think he was getting stubborn and impatient in his old age, but it was not something they could take a chance with having him around the kids going forward. So, my mom was able to find a very special organization that offered to take George in Findlay and find him a "forever home" - Teddy's Mission.



They evaluated him and kept him "quarantined" for a while. We are so excited that one of my mom's ex-students is most likely going to adopt George. He has another dog that needs company, and he was going to look at George when he heard about him and didn't even know that it was my mom that was trying to find him a home through Teddy's Mission! That's a small town for you. :-)


I've watched the heart-breaking Oprah shows about all the dogs without homes, but this really hit home this week as we were trying to find George a home. We are SO excited that there are people out there like the people at Teddy's Mission and that we may be able to somewhat keep in touch to hear how he is doing if my mom's student adopts him.




I think George could always sense that I was somewhat scared of big dogs, so he would always jump on me and grab my arm with his mouth when I would walk in the door (playfully, not hard). It was always comical when I would have to take care of him when I lived with Bryce and Toni and they would go out of town, because I think he was in more control than I was! One time he took off between 2 fences behind their Broad Ripple house and I was crawling on my knees in this space that was about 2 feet wide to try to get him. He came back, I think he was just messing with me. Then he knocked me down in the snow one time as I was trying to let him out before I left to go meet friends and I had to go change my clothes. Oh George. :-)




If you would like to make a donation to the Mission's vet (who performs TONS of services for rescue dogs coming in through Teddy’s Mission by drawing funds from a “Teddy’s Mission” special account!!), please send to…

Animal Medical Center
15028 US Route 224 E
Findlay, OH 45840
or call: 419-424-9737

Write … "Teddy's Mission in Honor of George Williams"
on the “memo” line at the bottom of the check.

Nashville Sunset

Just thought I would include this picture I took off of our balcony the other night when I got home from work: