MIA...sorry about that

Brian, Flat Stanley, and me cutting some watermelon


On our way to celebrate our one year dating anniversary



What a couple! HAHA




EEEWWWWW GROSS

We buried him in the sand

Brian is such a cutie.... hehehe

Flat Stanley loved seeing the Smoky Mountains

We were pretty excited too!

Brian got to drive a bit, but they wouldn't let me! HA

I know my loyal readers (I think there are maybe four or five of you out there!) are probably wanting an update!!! I am sad because the Internet isn't working at my apartment...but I shouldn't complain because I only "borrow" it...I know I know! I'm at my parents getting ready to head out of town tomorrow morning...so I thought I'd share a little more about the Myrtle Beach vacation... Take a look at the pictures above...

Family Fun with the Higgins Clan

We went to Steak-N-Shake before taking Jared and Jacob to meet up with their parents. I couldn't resist this picture of Jacob!


I was rowing the boat for Jared and Brian...yeah me doing all the work!??!


Tyson is adorable! I love his hat!!!


Brian's sister-in-law Jackie and nephew Jacob

Uncle Brian with Logan and Jacob

Joyce with the babies, so much fun to hold the boys

Logan asking Jared lots of questions

Tyson and Jacob

Logan has a cute smile!

Brian and I visited Jackie, Greg, and the boys my first day of vacation

I started my first official trip of the summer visiting with Brian's family. We went over to Greg and Jackie's on Saturday to hang out and have lunch with them. Logan and Tyson are growing and changing so much. It amazes me at how fast they are growing! Logan has such a great personality and Tyson is a cutie pie!

We headed to Brian's parents afterwards to help them with Jared and Jacob. They were staying with Grandma and Grandpa while their parents were on a vacation in Cancun. We took Jared to see the Shrek movie but I was disappointed because we missed the first twenty minutes of the movie (give or take a few minutes) because we had the times wrong. Bummer! Oh well it was still a great movie and fun to see it with Jared.

We all went to Mass together on Sunday and I got to take Jacob out when he was fussing. We helped entertain both boys throughout Mass, which was a different feeling, and I thought they did very well. I'm not sure how much I got out of the Homily though! :)

We went back to his parents and waited for Greg, Jackie, and the boys to arrive. We had a nice family cookout and got to spend time with all four nephews. I definitely get my "baby/toddler" fix when they are all around! We ate lunch and then played outside for most of the afternoon.

A great way to start my vacation for sure!

I'm Back!!!!

I have lots of blogging to catch up on...I'll do that as soon as possible... Being gone for two weeks was fun, but it is nice to get back to Stronghurst/Macomb for a few days...

Enjoy just four pictures of some very special little guys! :) Brian has the best nephews in the world and I love them all so much! :)

First vacation of the summer...

I am heading to Brian's tomorrow morning! YAY! I am getting up early, like 5ish, and heading down south! I'll stop by Brian's and then we are heading to Greg and Jackie's for the afternoon! I am so excited to hang out with them and see the boys! The last time I saw them was Easter, so it will be great to spend some quality time with them. I bet the boys have changed so much!





After we hang out with Greg, Jackie, Logan, and Tyson we are heading to Joyce and Glenn's. They are watching Pam and Jason's boys while they are on vacation. So...I guess you can say I am super excited to see all four of Brian's nephews! HIP HIP!





On Monday I am going to hang out with Jen and Christine. Jen lives down in St. Charles and is going to have her first baby in August. I can't wait to see her baby belly and spend some quality time with the girls. Christine is visiting from Ottawa, Illinois. She and I have been friends since undergrad at Monmouth. I introduced her to her now husband, Erick. They celebrate their 1st Anniversary on June 13th. :) Jen and I met through Christine when they lived in Macomb for Grad School.





Brian and I leave for Myrtle Beach on Friday. We are going with his parents, which I know will be lots of fun. I am just not looking forward to the L O N G drive! I think it is like 14 hours from St. Charles. I'll take the fourth Twlight book and I'll be just fine.





I am super excited for this trip! YAY!!!

Norma Jean, may she Rest In Peace...

My Great Aunt Doris and cousins Peg and Cindy are here from Florida and we have been taking them all over Western Illinois the past two days... Here is a picture of Mom and the ladies at the Henderson County Covered Bridge.

I have lived in Henderson County my entire life and have neve visited Norma Jean's grave. She was an elephant in the circus who died after being struck by lightning in 1972. Mom had to take Jon and Tiffany's Marriage License to the Court House so I took the cousins and Aunt Doris to see Norma Jean. Very educational. I will have to take Brian's nephews when they are older... :)

Seriously, how could I have never visited this wonderful memorial?!?!?!

I had a doctor's appointment to remove some stitches behind my ear this morning. Long story short, I had a mole removed and it came back okay. Several people commented on the stitches at the wedding because they could see them with my updo....I think they thought it was a tatoo at first...HAHAHA....

Mom brought the cousins and Aunt Doris down so we could do some antique shopping. YAY! I actually enjoy antique malls, flea markets, and yard sales now. We had a blast. I even found a new collection. I had started collecting enamel tea kettles last year and have found quite a few. Well, today I saw an enamel coffee pot and thought I'd also start collecting them! HAHA... I saw three that I liked, but Mom loves to remind me that I am poor and going on vacation starting Saturday. Maybe Brian can find me some for our 1 year dating anniversary. :) More on that in a few...

We stopped by the Amish store on the way back to Mom and Dad's. I think I wore everyone out, because they were all napping in chairs and in their rooms. Too funny. I got into my pajamas at 4:00 this afternoon! They have been great company and I think I might get Mom and Grandma talked into visiting them next summer at some point. Peg lives in Orlando and Cindy and Aunt Doris live in Gainsville. I think it would be awesome to see them and the other family down there. We shall see.

I guess we are going to be going to Myrtle Beach next week. 14 + hours in the car, not so sure about that! I already warned Brian to give me sleeping medicine because I am not a very good car rider... This will be a great test to see how we are on a longer trip together...hehehe we'll be fine, right? :) Greg any pointers for me here? I am super excited to get away. I haven't been to a beach in years. I will probably be a big baby and not want to get into the ocean. I have some weird thing with fish swimming at my feet. I'll get over it.

So yeah, as I mentioned earlier, Brian and I are coming up on our 1 year dating anniversary. WOW! I am so happy with him and with our relationship. Now if I could just figure out what to get him. He is no help in this area. :) It seems like just yesterday we started talking to each other. I can't believe a year ago we were planning our first date. UGH! I just had a memory of walking up all those steps in Hannibal together. :)

Well shoot, I was very wordy tonight. Off to watch some television and enjoy my summer vacation! :)

Wedding Recap

The girls during the ceremony

I gave them advice from 3rd graders :)

Grandma Snyder

Grandpa Keimig

Chairs the night of the rehearsal before the storm

Bridal Party at the Park

Mother and Daughter having a moment

Dad, Jon, and Mom over at Grandma's house

The Groomsmen with Grandma

Bridal party in front of the barn

Posing with Brian

Wait a second...I need to go grab some kleenex.... (leaves for 2 minutes then returns with a big box) :) I am still floating on Cloud 9 after this weekend. It is official, Jon and Tiffany are married! I tried to hold back the tears, but knew when I cried on the way to Tiffany's parents that it was going to be an emotional day. Let me warn you now, this post is going to be filled to the max with words and pictures! :)

Thursday- I finished the school year at 11:00 and was out the door at 11:05! I headed straight to Mom and Dad's and started helping with decorations. Everyone worked so hard all week long to make it extra special for Jon and Tiff. Mom, Aunt Kris, and I took Bob over to Grandma's and then headed to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures. We finally crashed about midnight or so...

Friday morning- The weather forecast wasn't great. 40-50% chance of rain for the day and even higher chances for Saturday. We said some prayers that it would hold out until Sunday, but no such luck... :( We finished decorating, making trail mix, finishing up last minute things, and then relaxed before we had to get ready for the rehearsal.

Friday evening- Everyone started arriving around 5:00 and shortly after the rain started pouring down. We had to rush to the garage to avoid getting soaked. Dad and Jon weren't that lucky, because their dress clothes were drenched! Oh well, the show must go on. After the rain passed, the guys went out to set the chairs back up and we lined up for the rehearsal. The skies weren't looking too hot, so we hurried through. :)

Mom, Dad, Brian and I all rode over to the dinner togther. Mom read through her prayer and started choking up. It was precious. So then I asked Dad if he wanted to practice his speech and he said he wasn't planning on crying...hahahaha....he is a true Keimig after all... so fast forward twenty minutes...Mom said the prayer and didn't cry. Dad was next, and the tears flowed. It was so sweet. I gave a little "advice" talk that my third graders had put together. Everyone laughed and the things I was saying. :)

Saturday morning- 1:30- I woke up because I couldn't sleep and I was very thirsty. Dad was up cleaning or something. I let him go, little did I know that he only slept three hours that night and never went to his room. :( I think he probably slept a total of 13 hours in three days time...

I was up for good by 6:00 as I watched the rain. I was so sad. It rained most of the morning, so the guys started moving all the chairs inside the tent. All I could do was pray that the rain would stop, at least for the ceremony so it could be outside. I headed over to Tiffany's parents after Jeanie did my hair and makeup (it was gorgeous) and guess what!!! The rain decided to stop for the time being.

Saturday afternoon-We hung out for a little bit, got our dresses on, and then the limo came to pick us up. We met Jon and Tiffany at one of the local parks and had pictures taken. It sprinkled a little, but for the most part the sun was shining. The limo drove us over to Mom and Dad's and we had outdoor pictures. It was hot and muggy and I was a little stressed because people were in the house that weren't supposed to be. I had a few moments of tears because I wanted everything to be perfect for Jon and Tiffany's big day. I got over it (especially after Jon told me to) and the ceremony went on...

Saturday evening- The chairs were moved BACK outside and set up for the ceremony. It was looking a little hazy, but the rain held out until after the ceremony. It was absolutely amazing and one of the best moments of my life. I cried and cried! Of course they were happy tears. Tiffany had mentioned a little surprise she was planning for Jon. He loves the song Amazing Grace and bagpipes as well....so Tiffany got ahold of Tim Tibbetts from Monmouth College (Go Scots!). We hid him in Mom and Dad's room and no one knew about it except me, Mom, Dad, Tiffany's Mom, and Brian. Tiffany asked Brian to be the point man to let Tim know when to play. Jon instantly started crying, and I mean real tears! It was so precious and of course I cried. Shoot I'm tearing up just thinking about it. The tears were streaming down his face. Several of us girls were sobbing. So sweet. Mom mentioned later that it was a special tribute to my late Grandma Snyder. He and Jon were very close. He passed away when I was in Second Grade and Jon was in Fourth. The song Amazing Grace was played at his funeral and everytime Jon hear's it he thinks about Grandpa. Special memory.

The rain started again right after the ceremony. Jon and Tiff were greeting people and so they ran into the house and we all headed out to be announced. It continued to rain/storm throughout the night. The power held for the most part though. I guess tornado like clouds were in the local area...which scared a few of the bridesmaids. We had a blast though.

Sunday morning- We had a brunch with several family and friends. Everyone stayed and helped tear down the decorations. Jon and Tiffany opened up gifts and then we surprised Mom and Dad for their 30th Anniversary. We had a special cake made with a picture from their wedding. Tiffany had a frame made for them, and we gave them a gift card to use when they went out for dinner. They were surprised. :) Secret #2 I was able to keep! I am impressed.

Sunday evening- My relatives from Florida came over and are staying with Mom and Dad until Wednesday. Peg and Cindy are Mom's first cousins and their Momma, Aunt Doris, are a lot of fun! I love their southern accents! I'm catching myself talking with an accent! :)

Vacation update: We are no longer going to Navarre Beach because of the oil spill....plans are in the process right now...hmmm....I think we might try to go to the Atlantic Ocean somewhere...maybe South Carolina.

I am heading down to Brian's area on Saturday and spending some time with his family and my friends for the week. We leave a week from this Friday (I think).