Fourth of July!

I am slowly getting caught up on all of our July fun! We had a wonderful fourth of July! Jim was off work so I had someone to hang out with. We started the day at BEST BUY!! Bet you can guess what we did there, buy a new camera!!!! Thanks to some birthday money from family, I was able to get the one I really had been eyeing. This was my first picture:

Annie girl! 

That evening, we headed to the Milners for a cookout. I was excited to try my new camera out on Adam and Carlin's sweet boys. 

Sam helping his daddy grill! 

Jim and Sam hanging out

So sweet! 

On another note, I am almost done with my classroom. Yay! I can't believe another school year is upon us. Maybe I'll finish updating the month of July before it begins:) 

Welcome to 25!!!

On July 3rd, I celebrated my 25th birthday! I can't believe I am a quarter of a century old, ha! I actually still feel really young like I should be in college or something. Sometimes I still think I'm 21-22ish. I felt like I was that age for a long time. 23 and 24 has flooown by! I'm sure it doesn't slow down from here.

This was the first birthday that I was away from my family. That may not sound like a huge deal, but for me it is. I mean not seeing my mother on my birthday??! Depressing. Luckily, I have some great friends here that made my day very special.

First, I met my best bud/teacher friend/adopted older sister, Kelli. and her children for lunch at our favorite spot, NEWKS! She always says she is old enough to be my mom (so not true, only 12 years older than me!) but I refer to her as my big sister! She has been an answer to prayer! Not only does she keep me sane at school, but she takes good care of me :)

We did some hobby lobby shopping for our classroom afterwards and met up with Jules!! The one person, other than my family, who has probably been with me every birthday! That night, Ginny, Julie, and our husbands went to a mexican restaurant to eat. We had a great time and I loved spending my birthday with 2 of my oldest and most dearest friends in the entire world (and the husbands, too haha!) I am so thankful we all live in the same town again.

And to top it off...Jim suprised me with ELTON JOHN concert tickets!! I am so pumped. It was the most exciting birthday present ever. He is coming to Jackson in September and I cannot wait for this date, best husband ever!!!!

Here's to year 25! It is going to be a great year! 

New York New York!!!

I have been way out of the blog loop because we have been out of town therefore I have many many blog posts to catch up on! I know everyone is dying of excitement, haha yeah right!!!

The day after our anniversary, I ventured to tobie en route to NYC!! I was soo thrilled. I had always always wanted to visit the city but had never had the opportunity. I was beyond excited when my mom, sister, and I decided to take a girls trip there. The city was everything I'd hoped it would be.  Most of you know that I am a huge planner. Naturally, I wanted to make sure our time in New York was spent wisely. My fab friend, Margaret is amazing at planning trips. She knows all the secrets and places to see. She created an itinerary for us to go by. It was great! I am so thankful she helped make our trip so smooth. Some of my favorite things about the trip were:

1. NBC studios!! I am a HUGE news nerd. My favorite is the Today Show. We went to Rockefeller plaza twice. I love it that much!! 

2. Mamma Mia on Broadway. I was excited to see this play because I loved the storyline. The show was even better than I expected. The acting was out of this world. So much talent, I enjoyed it so!! 

3. Shopping in SOHO. I love small stores and businesses. SOHO had it going on! I could have shopped there the entire trip. 

4. Ground Zero/ St. Paul's Church. I was very interested to see ground zero. A friend had recommended that I walk across to St. Paul's church. The church served as a place for the nypd and other relief workers to sleep and rest during the clean-up post 9/11. The church also serves as a memorial and tribute to the lives lost, survivors, and those who helped to bring relief. One of the neatest places I've ever seen. 

These are just a few of my favorite highlights, but honestly I enjoyed everything about the city. I can't wait to return! Hopefully sooner rather than later. Pictures from our girls vacay: 

I love that you can buy fresh flowers on the street corner. Why can't we have this in MS?!

At a store in SOHO. Some of the best tabletop displays I've ever seen and I have been to market! Nothing like NYC! 

Mom and I eating fantastic pizza at Lombardi's in SOHO 

Of course the accounting teacher wanted to see Wall Street! 

Hey Matt and Savannah! 

Love NBC studios. 

A view from Central Park, another favorite spot in the city. 

Times Square, lots of people and chaos.

Rock Center! I looked for Brian Williams, no luck. 

The Poe girls on Broadway

I recommend everyone take a girl's trip to NYC!! It was amazing, the perfect way to celebrate the ending of graduate school!)