Front Yard Makeover

This beautiful weather has put Jackson and me in the mood to do a little yard work. While the back yard is out of the question while Rosie is still young and destructive, the front yard is ready for some help! We have been itching to get rid of some of the trees. While I don't have a very good before picture, this one shows the trees somewhat.

There were four trees that really prevented grass from growing very much and added little (actually nothing) in curb appeal. Three of the trees were the same and one was a different type. We decided to keep the different one and eventually work a bed around it. Luckily, Jackson's friend, Justin, is an awesome landscaper and was so helpful in getting the trees down and planning for what we could do with our yard in the future. Here are Jackson, Justin, and Wil working to pull up the final tree.

This is the finished product! We can't wait to have a yard with actual grass!! I'm so glad Jackson has such handy friends.

The tree we kept all pruned up.

Birthday!

Well, I'm officially a 28 year old. It sounds old, but at this point, I really enjoy every birthday. Each year brings so much change and excitement and I really love experiencing it all! I've always been a big fan of my birthday timing since it falls on or close to Labor Day. It is great to get a long weekend to celebrate that is not a "big deal" holiday. I was born on actual Labor Day, which I've always thought was neat (my mom was in labor on labor day) and it fell that way again this year. Another perk is it's usually the first college football weekend of the year. Everyone is in high spirits and ready to celebrate!

This year I feel like I've been celebrating birthday for a long time. On Monday, Jackson couldn't take it anymore and went ahead and gave me my gift from him: a cute Auburn dress and new rainbows (badly needed). I got a great opportunity to wear the dress to the game in Auburn on Saturday. It was so fun to see Auburn with a positive outlook again putting up the first W of the season! Here I am tailgating with my friend Casey. I'm so glad I got to see her since she is back in ATL now!

On Sunday morning we got up and went up to the lake with Rosie. We lucked out and Sunday was beautiful! Rosie had the best time running around and swimming and riding in the boat. Jackson spent the weekend as "grill master" so we had amazing BBQ and ribs.

We also celebrated my birthday with cake and ice cream :)

My parents had already taken me shopping for some new work clothes on Thursday, but they still got me a Toomer's oaks bracelet. I'm obsessed! I love having something to remember not only the oaks but the great time Dad and I had at the last rolling. You can see the bracelet and other Toomer's oaks jewelry here. 

I love birthdays because I get to celebrate with and hear from so many people that I love. One of my favorite birthday wishes came from my two nephews. I just had to share because they are SO cute! I'm not sure it will work or that the quality will come through because I don't know about posting videos, but I tried!

All in all, I had a great weekend and feel truly blessed. I'm looking forward to celebrating even more this week!

Our Home

Two years ago, Jackson and I bought our first house. I can't quite wrap my brain around that. However, I can say that we are so happy with the decision we made! Our little plot in Cahaba Heights feels like home. I know that whenever our family begins to grow, we will grow out of it rather quickly. Regardless, when I picture my future family, I always picture us here. I think a big part of that comes from the work we've put in making it seem like ours. Happy two years to our first home!

Indy

Last weekend, I took a quick trip up to Indianapolis, IN for a visit. My cousin, Hailey, one of my very best friends, has made Indy her home for almost a year. It was high time I went to check it out!

I got in Friday around 11 so Hailey took a half day to show me around. We grabbed burgers with a crew of her work friends and then headed down to the beautiful canal. People from Indy (Indians? Ha!)  love to go down the canal to walk, run, kayak, paddle boat, or sit and people watch. I can certainly see why.

Indy, like Birmingham, is making a major push toward downtown and Hailey conveniently lives right in the center of it all. We were steps away from the canal. After a day of visiting friends, shopping, and becoming familiar with the city, Hailey and I got ready for dinner at Mesh and drinks at Libertine. They were both amazing. But mostly, it was just fun to catch up with this girl after too much time apart!

The next day Hailey and I did some sightseeing in downtown. We lucked out with great weather so it was fun to walk around the circle and see the capitol. 

Later on we went out to the IMA and took in the culture and art. The building entrance has this incredible colored windows that are an art piece themselves. The IMA has done an excellent job acquiring pieces you recognize (Van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir) as well as local Indy artists. 

That night Hailey and I went to Harry and Izzy's for dinner. The rumors are true! It is delicious and the shrimp cocktail will leave you on fire in the best way. After dinner we met up with some of Hailey's friends to check out the bar scene. 

The next day was my last so we were pretty low key. We went to brunch at Patachou, which is in the bottom of Hailey's work building, Simon. That gave us the perfect opportunity to check out Hailey's office as well as the incredible views from the building. This is Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts were about to have their first preseason game as seen from the terrace at Simon. 

All in all I had a great trip to Indy and can't wait to visit again soon! Thanks, Hailey, for showing me around. I loved getting to see you most of all!

Fishy

If you've been wondering why I haven't updated the blog much lately, the answer is the bar exam. However, after a very long three days, I finished on Wednesday and have returned to the world of people who can be happy. In short, bar exam = real life dementors. My soul was sucked right out. But, since results don't come out for a while, August began my summer and I could not be more excited about it!

While I was in Montgomery, Jackson headed out with my brothers and dad for the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia for a fishing trip. They stayed at one of the West Coast Resort lodges called Englefield Bay. You can read more about the resort here.

The guys stayed in Vancouver the first night and all loved the city. Jackson thought it was beautiful! From this picture, I tend to agree.

From Vancouver they took a plane to a small airport where they jumped on a helicopter. This picture is from that plane.

The helicopter that took them to Englefield Bay.

When they got there, this is what they saw. I can't even imagine.

In this picture you can see the weighing station and all the boats that the guests take out. My family went out in twos each day and had a guide along. I can't even believe these tiny boats were rocking along in whale infested waters. I have intense fears about whales so I don't know that I could have handled it. Jackson said they saw some Orcas but they were pretty far away and you could just see a black something and whenever they would blow out their blow holes. 

The weighing station and gong you got to ring if you got a fish of a certain size (Jackson didn't fill me in on the specifics). Scott was the only one who got to ring the gong.

Just wow.

This is the lodge as seen from the helipad our front. The area consists of two barges. This one housed the guest rooms, dining hall, etc. The other had rooms where the staff stayed and where they processed all the fish. We now have a freezer full of fish filets.

Close up of a boat

One of the guides that the guys had was Haida so they got to hear all about his culture. This is a sign with daily information for the guests.

Every view is just stunning.

The lodge provided water proof waders and jackets for the guys to wear. They said they got really lucky with the weather and were mostly good with a long sleeve t-shirt. But they still put on the gear to keep dry in the 6 to 9 foot swells.

A boat coming in for the day.

Jackson was very taken with the bald eagles. They were everywhere because they knew they might get a snack if they hung around. The guides would toss back pieces so they would swoop down. 

Even though my Alabama fan husband took these, the Auburn girl in me can't help but think, "War Eagle!"

All the guys wound up catching a bunch of fish. Together they brought back around 240lbs. Here are a few of Jackson's

Carter and Scott coming in from fishing for the day.

Scott with his 30lb gong worthy spring salmon.

Hitting the gong! If anybody knows my competitive brother, he loved every minute of this!

Finally my husband made it in a picture! Here are all the guys: Carter, Dad, Scott, and Jackson. They all look like they are having fun!

The helicopter coming in to land on the helipad.

Jealousy

This is the view from the helicopter on the way out. Jackson took several pictures from the air. I seriously did not know what I was missing by having never been to Canada.

Last night they all made it to their next destination (home or Denver for Carter) safely. I'm so happy to have my husband home. However, it makes my heart happy that he has such a good time and good memories with my dad and brothers.