Memorial Day Memories!

Memorial Day weekend was packed full of fun plans! We started the weekend off on Saturday afternoon at Piedmont Park. I love this park! The plan was to picnic, play around with the football, throw the frisbee, then head to Park Tavern for dinner. We got about half-way through those plans before the heavens opened up. I've never gotten caught in the rain until Saturday. We got so wet that it literally did not have a dry spot on us!







Eating yummy Jimmy John's! If you haven't eaten there you must go soon...the best subs!







Sara kept saying, "man, those clouds look like rain." But we all kept saying, "nah, it will blow over." Looking back, this is when we should have started packing up...




Like a bunch of idiots, we still thought it would blow over so we all huddled under a tree. Funny thing is, a tree only provides so much shelter....until it becomes soaked and the drops are bigger than the rain. Look at all the rain puddled on the sidewalk.




Last picture before we put the camera up to ensure it didn't get ruined. We were soaked!!

Plan B: go home, get dry and meet up for dinner later. Sara lives in California and had never been to Atlanta. So, we tried to ensure that we hit all the great Atlanta places to eat. First stop, South City Kitchen for drinks and appetizers. She had never had fried green tomatoes!! What?!?! "We need an order of those on the double-time!" I love the food at South City!

Next stop, Muss & Turner's. Heaven, really. This local hot spot is by far the best, most original food I've ever had. All fresh, organic ingredients. They don't have any freezers or microwaves...everything is made fresh every day! YUM! Here Sara had her first glass of sweet tea. Can you imagine?!? ...28 years old and never having tasted the sweet yumminess of sweet tea!! I think that is sinful, right?

Final stop, Cafe Intermezzo in Atlanta for some huge, yummy desserts!!

Monday, Curtis and I hosted everyone for a barbecue. We had burgers, chicken and grilled shrimp...along with a load of yummy sides! Below is the grill master himself.

Even Lilly played host....

Doesn't she look like she's smiling? Lilly loves a party!

Brandon really wanted to make his grandmother's sweet potato pie. I had never had it, so I welcomed the dessert offerings. One bite and I was hooked!

After we stuffed our bellies, the rain came. A perfect excuse for the guys to play Tiger Woods Golf on playstation 3. The girls huddles on the coach and looked at wedding books. It was a great weekend!!

"California knows how to party!"

After went spent two days in San Diego, Curtis and I drove up the coast to visit with Tony and Lia before all the madness began. They were engaged for 15 months and Lia used that time to have a lot great details. Everything was so thought out! Someone needs to write an article for her wedding and publish it for a bride's magazine!

A lot of long-time friends from Atlanta flew out and we had the best time together. We all went to high school together and maintained our friendships through college. It was like old times! I seriously forgot about life!

Enjoy the pictures....

Thursday night, we all met up at this great pizza place in Laguna Beach right across the street from the ocean. Seriously, the best pizza I've ever had!

The morning of the wedding, the Atlanta crew all went to breakfast at this awesome place in Laguna Beach. SO yummy!

Rehearsal...

Lia was about to leave the rehearsal dinner and I said, "one last picture before you get married!" Maybe they thought I meant one last grope?!

She is the most beautiful bride!

Crazy wedding party!

Love Lia!

Finally married!

Courtney and Manuela again.

At the reception...

Courtney and Brandon...

Look at this dinner! Steak, prawns (in the shape of a heart), mashed potatoes and veggies. Also, notice the picture frame. That's me and my beloved Gus. She made these for every guest and it was all placed on a table and on the back it had your table assignment. So darn creative!

Tony, Cindy (Lia's mom) and Lia...

These to clowns only posed like this in our wedding. Every picture they were in they made this pose.

(Sorry it's blurry.) Father/daughter dance

Josh, Curtis and me....

We've been friends for a long time and he was actually in our wedding.

The gang all together Sunday morning at the bunch her parents hosted. We all cried because we didn't want to leave...well, all the girls cried.

"San Diego..."

“…breathe it in. It always goes down smooth.” – Ron Burgundy, Anchorman

For 15 long months, we’ve been planning our trip to California to celebrate the wedding of our friends, Tony and Lia. A wedding in San Clemente, Cal. is a great excuse for a vacation! And a much needed one at that… We stayed so busy that I could hardly find the time to think about “life”.

First stop on the trip was San Diego. It’s official. I love this city! The weather was awesome, the city was fantastic and frankly, I didn’t want to leave. After we landed, we headed straight for the famous San Diego Zoo – home of the sleeping animals.

This animal lover was sorely disappointed in the overrated zoo. No offense if you “heart” the San Diego Zoo. First, it’s HUGE! HUGE! HUGE! HUGE! Definitely didn’t wear the right shoes… Aside from that, the map was really, really hard to read. And not just for me. Curtis, who is the map whiz of the family, even had a tough time finding his bearings. Lots of adorable animals, but the large majority of them were sleeping. The real kicker is that we got there early – 10 a.m.! But we made the most of it. Take a peek at our pictures…

"Cooler than a polar bear's toe nails..." By, far my favorite exhibit. This guy was so fun. He was trying as hard as he could to get the female's attention...jumping in the water, splashing around...but, she didn't care. Obviously, same story different day. So funny how similar it was to real-life!

"I hope she notices me..."

Check out how big this eagle's nest is! Apparently they can weigh up to a whopping 400 lbs!

Wrestling monkeys

Sleeping Hippo...

"Do you think I need to pluck?"

Love tigers! Well, cats in general. How cute are his stripes?

Him so cute! I wanted to kiss his stripes.

This guy was mean! He was floating like this and suddenly he got made at me, flipped around and bit at the glass. Yikes!

Then he just starred at me like this...

"Pretty bird." -- Dumb & Dumber (Don't say it, I know...I quote too many movies.)

This panda was, of course, sleeping. Big shock. However, look at how he fell asleep. Is that funny or what?!?!? It's like he was right in the middle of deep thought. Apparently, that's his favorite nap spot.

Sleeping koalas...

Honestly, camels are disgusting!

Is that the ugliest thing you've ever seen? It just looks like it should have a cigarette hanging out of it's mouth.

Sleeping, laughing hyena...

Baby giraffe...

About to make another baby giraffe! No lie...and frankly, no words for what these eyes saw. I might need counseling one day. Don't you know that poor momma was thinking, "Not now! Everyone is watching!!"

Shocker: They're sleeping! "Gasp!"