Memorial Day

We had such a great long weekend. Made it hard to get to work this morning, but I was so grateful for the few days off.

Scout, hanging out on the front porch (in his favorite spot!) after the storm

Wake surfing at the lake

dock jumping

wake boarding

Victor's very first time!

me + Jess

oh, hey Brad

cornhole tournament

755 Club, Braves Game

Atlanta skyline

our row 6 seats

(shout out to E for the tix!)

ESPN hanging out at Turner Field

not only did we play this weekend, but we were also pretty productive

around the house. here's a sneak preview of a little project that's almost complete!

let me toot his horn

Jamie is probably the most under-the-radar, non-attention-seeking person I know. I'd like to call it humble, but then he would say that he doesn't deserve such a word. You get the point. [For the record, yes, my husband is a much better person than I am.]

All of that to say, I was tempted to not even tell him that I was going to blog about this, but I thought that wasn't very nice. So, much to his objection, I've got something to share with you.

This article.

If you have the time, read it! But, if not, I'll do a little summarizing for you.

• J. Mack Robinson is a hard working, well-established older businessman.
• He's given back to his University (GA State) in numerous ways, including scholarships.
• One of his best friends is Peter Blum.
• Peter owned a piece of real estate next to GSU that they had been eyeing for a while, in hopes of expanding the campus in one location.
• Peter was hesitant to sell.

And then, this blurb...

The job of winning over Blum fell to a young alum connected to Robinson through his diploma. Jamie Hargather, an agent of Wilson, Hull and Neal Real Estate, was a 2005 graduate of the Robinson School of Business. Hargather was both professionally and personally driven to help shape his alma mater's geography. A soccer player for the Panthers, Hargather saw loyalty and trust as his keys to business success, much like Robinson had at his age. Hargather was already banking on his patience to make the deal eventually happen.

The deal eventually did happen, and that piece of land will eventually house the J. Mack Robinson School of Business, along with GSU's law school.

I love my husband for so many reasons, and one of those is the way he does business. He's loyal. His motivations are in check. He does what he does to invest in a city that he loves, and to make it a better place to raise his family. He's patient. He's hard-working. He doesn't often allow his work to interfere with our family. And he loves what he does. It's hard not to be proud.

Kelly's 2-5

This past weekend, we had so much fun celebrating Kelly and her 25th year of life! We planned a luau, hosted at Sue's new home, which was perfect!

the food

(from my sneak previews in the last post,

I did the BBQ, BBQ sauce, and the sangria)

sauce labels

these guys were ready to party

and so was the birthday girl

Tyler wanted some Scout lovin'

the husband + me

and one final birthday celebration (on her actual big day)

We also managed to get a few things done around the house...one being...hanging our headboard! Can't wait to show you guys the final product!

weekend plans

We have some really fun things going on this weekend, and our days are packed. One of them might just be celebrating my favorite sister-in-law (who's really more like a sister), as she turns the big 2-5 on Sunday!

I spent some time in the kitchen last night, and here are some sneak peaks.

Happy weekend, friends!

talent

Now, I'm no expert...but I can keep a tune and every now and then I find myself on stage w/ a mic (currently, it's pretty limited to weddings and funerals :). That being said, in this past year I have kinda quit listening to the radio. Other than talk. Yep, I said talk radio.

"What has happened?" you ask.

Well, to be honest...there's a whole lotta talent-less people out there who are topping the charts.

[I could go on a long tangent (yawn) on our culture and how we make celebrities out of people who have no talent at all, but that's not what I'm here for.]

Anywho, what I am here to do is to share with you some pretty amazing talent that I happened to stumble upon via the world wide web.

Anybody ever heard of Karmin? They're a girl-guy duo made up of Amy + Nick, and they are uber talented. I have to admit that I haven't heard any of their original songs, but they do a ton of covers (check out their YouTube covers page). Be warned: some of those covers are better than the originals! The most surprising part? Amy raps. Really darn well. I had so much trouble choosing just one video to share, so here are two.

I mean, her hair!

And then there's The Voice. I love it. I don't even love the four judges, but I love the way they work with the show. Seriously. This duet was the best one in the Battle Round, and it totally worth sharing.

Now, that's some talent!

Random-ness

Sorry for the lack of posts, but here's a little series to catch you up....

Two weeks ago, we headed to the mountains with the good looking group pictured below.

We considered this our wrap up weekend of an amazing year with some amazing freshman. We spent the weekend hiking, watching movies, roasting marshmallows, and just hanging out. It will be bittersweet picking up a new group next year, but then again we had no idea what we were in store for this go 'round. And it was awesome.

And Scout got his first taste of lake water!!

Last week, co-worker Blake brought his son, Blue, into the office. Blue was bound and determined to teach Scout a few tricks. However, Scout just couldn't pick up "shake." Maybe next time.

Jay Jay watching on as Blue tries to teach Scout

This weekend, we went to Charleston to celebrate Mimi, Jamie's grandma's, birthday. We surprised her on Friday night, watched her perform w/ her local choir, spent some time on the beach, and took her out to a nice dinner.

Happy Birthday, Mimi!

I even tried some paddle-boarding. So fun!

Just about the worst view, but you get the point

guess who's been joining me at work lately?

Tuesdays + Thursdays, we're easing Scout into joining the Unboundary family of dogs!

[please pardon the mess that is my desk]

ah...the weekend

Don't you just love weekends?! J and I are really trying to be intentional about staying in town. As much fun as weekend trips are, it's also nice to spend time at home, work on the house, and hang out with friends.

[Sidenote: I remember how Jamie and I used to hear how our older, married friends spent their weekends working in the yard/on the house, and how we thought "that's so lame...we're never going to be like that!" Well, we are, folks. And we love it! There's nothing like the satisfaction of getting things done around the house, and we all know that the work never ends!]

Scout and J taking a break from cleaning out the gutters

On Saturday, we did take some time to have a little lunch-time cookout with some good friends. There's nothing like warm weather, good food, and great friends!

the table and spread

the Hargathers, Tarquinios, and Nalleys

Things accomplished this weekend: gutter cleaning, mopping of floors, cleaning of Master bath, pricing for more landscaping, drawing out the landscape design, a new plant for our front porch, de-pollening the front porch, lots of good food, evening neighborhood walks, and catching up on pictures, video, etc. of the royal wedding!