Smith Graduates & Backhoes

Last Thursday, while I was in Alabama my family and I headed down to Montgomery to watch my cousin, Smith Ann graduate from High School! I feel so old writing that, I remember when she was a wee little one in diapers and when I took her to her first Britney Spears concert!

But before we left I got to spend a few precious minutes with my nephew, Liam!

Every time I see him {which is only once or twice a year} he knows exactly who I am, which is hard to do considering he has identical twin aunts! He even called me Aunt Lauren this time!!

Lindsey told me the cutest conversation that she had with Liam. It went something like this:

Lindsey: "Liam, what did you dream about on your car ride to see daddy?"

Liam: "Backhoes"

Lindsey: "Who was driving?"

Liam: "Me"

Lindsey: "Whose lap were you sitting in to reach the pedals?"

Liam: "GRANDDADDY'S!!!!"


What can we say, Liam LOVES any sort of farm equipment (tractors, backhoes, etc) and loves visiting his granddaddy's farm!



Smith Ann only had about 70 people in her graduating class which is tiny compared to my 600+ graduating class. Needless to say, it was very different than my high school graduation experience! 70% of her graduating class received scholarships to colleges around the country!! I seriously couldn't believe it, talk about a great education!

Here is Smith Ann with the Owens clan minus our better halves!

And the cousins: Blake, Lauren, Smith, Lindsey and Forrest

Another funny story after they graduated they just left and I asked my Uncle why they didn't throw their hats in the air {because doesn't every graduate throw their hat?!} Uncle Rick responded with "This ain't no public school darlin!" Apparently private schools aren't as wild and crazy as us public school kids. ;)

Smith receiving her diploma, I'm SO proud of her!! She is going to Samford University in Birmingham in the Fall. I think she is going to love her college experience!


I'm so glad that I was able to get some Liam time in and watch my beautiful cousin graduate from High School while I was in town! After graduation, Lindsey and I headed down to Destin, FL for our best friend Katie's Bachelorette party - stay tuned for that post next week!

In the meantime, I hope you have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!! Garrett and I are heading to camp in Twisp for the long weekend!

SURPRISE!

Hello is anyone still reading?!

I'm so sorry I have neglected the blog for over 2 weeks now. I usually pride myself on updating at least once a week. I do have a great excuse though. On May 15th, with the help of my amazing* Dad, sister and brother in law, I flew down to Birmingham {a few days earlier than my Mom expected me to} then drove down to Lake Martin to give my Mom the surprise of her life.

And boy was it the surprise of her life, she'll tell ya herself! We hadn't seen each other since November. And it was just what we both needed, obviously. She screamed and cried and did everything I hoped she wouldn't do since we were at a wedding. Yes, I'm officially a wedding crasher. But it's okay, the bride didn't mind at all when she saw me and Lindsey standing there together!

The surprise crew minus Justin with Mom! We spent the rest of the weekend at the lake then Mom and I spent the beginning of the week doing our favorite things together, walking in the morning at the park, shopping and cooking/eating at our favorite spots! It was wonderful to spend that much time with her since I am usually going like crazy when I'm in town.

*Honorable mention goes to my best friend Katie who was able to pick me up at the airport and deliver me to my sisters house where her car was waiting for me to hop in and drive to the lake. Thank you Katie!!

Hanging out

We are watching Halley this weekend while Melis is out of town. She loves to sit perched up on our couch watching the birds out the windows!

Baseball Season is Upon Us!

On Friday, Garrett and I had a date night to the Mariner's game. It was Felix Hernandez bobblehead night so we decided to head down a little early and grab a bobblehead and then have an early dinner at Pyramid.

Because who doesn't need two Felix Hernandez bobbleheads?!

It was a long, slow game.

But we were happy campers...

I was especially happy for my first GARLIC FRIES of the season! YUM!

Even though we lost in the 12th inning, it was a fun game. Moose lifted our spirits and kept us cheerful.