A WEEKEND AT HOME

I just love being home. After living in Atlanta and being a plane ride away from my family, I absolutely love, love, love that I am only a drive away. This past weekend was the Illinois-Miami of Ohio game and since a ton of my Champaign friends went to Miami, it was an obvious time for a reunion. It was such a short trip, but as always it was wonderful being with my friends. We are in Nashville, DC, Cincinnati, and Chicago, so reunions are few and hard to come by. We had a great day tailgating with our families and friends, watching Illinois crush Miami and then the Dawgs take on the Tigers (Go Georgia!). We played beersbie at the Hobbs, scarfed down Monicals pizza and Custard Cup, and fell asleep way earlier than planned. Sunday brought church and relaxation with my family, and it went by all too fast! I headed back to Nashville sad to be leaving such wonderful people, but very blessed to have them all in my life.

Happy Tuesday!

LIFE LATELY PART TWO: FOURTH OF JULY

Without a doubt, one of my favorite holidays is the Fourth of July. I love grilling out, summertime, and fireworks, so it's an obvious match. It's always been a holiday that I spend with my family and friends, and I have so many fond memories of watching the parade, greased watermelon and coin dives at the pool, and scrambling to make it to the big pine tree in front of Memorial Stadium to watch the fireworks. I also love the Fourth due to growing up going to our country club's 3rd of July party which is always a guaranteed good time of fireworks, live music, and non stop dancing. Being in Hilton Head and Atlanta for the past 4 summers, I've missed out on these good times at home (although I always made up for it - not to worry) but this year, my five best friends and I finally managed to get to Champaign for the holiday. It. Was. The. Best. Since the Fourth falls on a Friday next year, I think we are going to have to make a repeat performance.


 We all got into Champaign by Wednesday so we didn't miss the 3rd party. So much fun being with our families and family friends!

A highlight of the night might have been when the band finished playing (last song was questionable) and we broke out in Camp Tecumseh flag pole songs. Completely normal. And no night in Champaign is complete without a stop to Steak N Shake, which we totally did. Double steakburger, please!


For the Fourth, we drove down to Southern Illinois to spend a couple days at the Sullivan's lake house on Lake of Egypt. It was so relaxing and just what I needed for a mid-summer vacation!

 

Years ago, Kaitlyn and I stayed up till 3:00 AM to finish a clock puzzle. We didn't see it anywhere in the house (completed puzzles typically get framed) until we played some beer pong and Kaitlyn started screaming. It was such a joyous moment!

We were also lucky that more family friends from Champaign were at the lake at the same time, so we had a great time having happy hours with them and playing on the water trampoline with the kids. Eight year olds at heart, I'm telling you!

It was such a great extended weekend and holiday - but I'm definitely ready for another vacay soon. Luckily I'm heading to Hilton Head with my family in 2 short weeks. Cannot wait!

On more happy news, it's Friday!! I have a few fun plans for the weekend and I hope you all do too! 

Hooray weekend!

PEACE OUT!

Wheeeeeeee it's the weekend!!!! At the beginning of the week, I planned on staying around Nashville and enjoying what is supposed to be a sunny and rain-free Saturday and Sunday. On Wednesday my mom called me to see what I thought about coming home since both Jane and Peter are home and it's rare that we are all together. Not to mention, Illinois is hosting the men's tennis NCAA championship this weekend and as a former Illinois tennis groupie (more on that another time), it's pretty much necessary I go. So I'm headed off to the wonderful Champaign for the weekend!  And can I just say - I love that I can just drive home for a random weekend and it's not a huge ordeal!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend doing fun things!

Weekend Review - Home Again

There really is nothing like going home and seeing the friends and families you grew up with. This past weekend, I was home for a wedding, but it was so wonderful to be in Champaign, even if it felt like hardly any time at all. While my time was incredibly limited, I still managed to pack in a lot. On Saturday morning I woke up early to spend time with my mom, tour her garden, and eat waffles with the family. We went to our favorite girls' soccer game and watched both of them score goals. I saw my two friends get married, and in between the ceremony and reception, stopped by the Hobbs' for a Derby party to visit with more family and friends. By 6:00 we were back to the country club for an evening of - no joke - non stop dancing to Maggie Speaks. Sunday brought church and brunch on the club with the family - so wonderful. It was such a lovely and perfect weekend, and reminded me of how lucky I am to have such a great hometown to go back to. I'm not sure when my next visit will be, but hopefully it is before Thanksgiving! That's just a little too long to go without some Champaign loving :)

Our two soccer stars

Mint Juleps in honor of the Derby

My horse bets

Best friends dancing to Maggie Speaks... Christy couldn't look more beautiful!