High Falls Camping = Terrible, Tri= GREAT

Kyle and I had a very mixed weekend, and we are so glad to be home right now sitting in the AC in our pajamas. Chris had his half ironman race this weekend in Macon, GA on Saturday, so Kyle and I thought it would be fun to go camping around there and then be there to watch the race. We reserved a spot at High Falls Campground, and unfortunately it wasn't anything we wanted it to be. I guess we should have known it wasn't peak season for tents, since it was 96 degrees outside, but we were basically the only ones. We got there, and on the way to pick out a site we let a big RV drive by us AND he didn't swing wide enough and scratched Kyle's entire bumper. So that was fun having to switch insurance information, etc.
The sites weren't nice at all, and there was NO privacy and no trees. On top of that there was a playground 40 feet from our site with tons of kids, and we were sweating profusely putting up our tent. Kyle wanted to go to a hotel but I insisted we stick it out camping for a night since we had already paid for it... bad decision. Neither one of us got any sleep because we were trying to sleep ON TOP of our sleeping bags and STILL sweating, plus Tyson kept growling at all the noises he was hearing. So that was our camping experience :( Oh and our extension cord wasn't long enough to reach the table, so we had to cook our grilled cheese in the back of our car... ha.
We woke up at 6:00 this morning to take showers and head to Macon for Chris' race. We picked them out of the crowd while they were waiting for their group to enter the water, so I got to take a picture.
Chris' friend, Adam, also competed in the Half Ironman. Adam is hilarious and his mission was "to not die". If you all don't know a half ironman is swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, and running 13.1 miles. It's insane and we were so proud of Chris & Adam for doing it! Here the whole group of white caps (ages 25-34) going into the 1.2 mile swim:
So here is Chris smoothly going through all the steps, like no big deal and posing for all my pictures. He could TOTALLY have done the whole Ironman!

Running up the hill from the swim to the transition area:

The transition area where he's getting out of swim clothes into bike:Coming back from the 56 mile bike ride and feeling strong!

Off to run 13.1 miles:Kyle & Chris afterwards:

We are so proud of you Chris and glad we could go and watch you complete the Half IronMan! (When Chris crossed the finish line the D.J. announced that Chris was getting married in a week... Kyle told him to!)

Okay so after Chris' race, we went back to the campsite and packed up. Even though we had booked it for Saturday night as well, it just wouldn't be worth it! So we got home around 5:00 and went up to the square because they were having a Wing & Rock Fest. One of Kyle's friends, Chris Dimelio from the ASU Hockey Team actually works for the radio station that was hosting the event, so we decided to go up and give it a try. There were about 3 different bands that performed and there were booths set up with all the local wing places, where you could pay money to try some of their wings! It was nice and relaxing for sure!

All the people on the square for the event:

100th POST!!

Well we have officially blogged 100 posts, SO you all know what that means! Actually you might not, because I had no idea until Sara & Joe's blog, so let me explain the rules. On your 100th blog post, you are required to post 100 things about your life. I am following in Sara's foot steps & feel like 100 right off the bat would be extremely boring, so we'll break it up into 25's.

Okay here goes nothing, we'll start from the beginning:

1) Kyle knew from day one that he was going to go to App State for college. He even applied early admission.

2) I was accepted into App & Meredith. I chose App because it was pretty & I didn't want to go to an all girls school.

3) When Kyle and I met (in a freshman English core class) we both had significant others.

4) The first time I spoke to Kyle was asking him if he knew my significant other. Kyle was pretty disappointed that I chose that as our first topic of conversation.

5) Kyle moved chairs in our class to sit right behind me after the second day of class.... smooth.

6) We started to meet for "bagel time" in the student union after our English class to talk more. Kyle actually had a class right after our English class, which he chose to arrive fashionably late to a lot because he wanted to spend time with me at our "bagel time".

7) We took a lot of trips up to the parkway. I watched my first sunset with Kyle.

8) We started to really become best friends, having wonderful conversations and learning a lot from one another.

9) I told my parents I could never date Kyle because he had brown hair. NO JOKE ask them yourselves.

10) I made an A- in our English class. Kyle made a B+. HA. Okay I admit I was supposed to get a B+ as well but I went and showed the teacher all my past grades, and how much I had improved since the beginning and that I thought I deserved an A. She caved, gave me an A-, and I've rubbed it in Kyle's face for years :) (Do you like that big run on sentence I just did or what?? haha)

11) We took a beach trip with Chris & my girlfriend Morgan. That was our first and last trip we took having the title of "just friends".

12) By the end of the semester Kyle had broken up with his girlfriend and confessed to me that he wanted to date me and could no longer be my friend.

13) A couple weeks later I broke up with my boyfriend.

14) Kyle got a bad hair cut, so he went home and buzzed his hair. I was instantly attracted to him. No joke it didn't hit me until he shaved his head. We started dating the next week.

15) Kyle wore plaid shorts on our first date to Canyons in Blowing Rock... I thought he looked so cute. May 13th, 2002. That night Kyle helped me study for my final exams, all of which I passed. He forgot that he had exams as well, and got the worst grades ever that semester. Sorry cumulative GPA that is my fault!

16) A couple days later we had our first kiss. We had spent the whole day out on the lake and my face was sunburnt. Kyle had put aloe on it and was blowing on my face b/c it was burning my skin, and he kept getting closer and closer then finally kissed me. SMOOTH.

17) Kyle first met my parents when he and Katie Sayre were on their way in his jeep to Tennessee to buy lottery tickets.... niiiiccceeee!

18) The first time Kyle met my grandpa, Grandpa said he was "the one". I thought he was joking.

19) Kyle & I went home for the summer... luckily our homes were only 40 minutes apart. I worked at a summer camp every summer, so Kyle and I would only get to see each other on Saturdays, and even then I was sick or sleeping the whole day. Sweet sweet man for staying with me.

20) Kyle gave me a bear for my 19th birthday. Very cute. 7-13-2002.

21) Our sophomore year our dorms were right next to each other which was so much better than opposite sides of the campus like freshman year. (Winkler & LLC)

22) Kyle came to every basketball game (and even sometimes video taped our performances!) and walked me back to my dorm afterwards every night... such a gentleman.
23) Kyle split his head & a teammates head open in a flag football game one night. On the way to the hospital I tried to hold a bandage on his head but I was shaking too hard to do a good job. Man that was a scary night.

24) Kyle got to take his first trip to Hawaii with my family for a week one summer. We had a ball.
25) Kyle & I also took a road trip in my dad's suburban with Chris, Kathleen, and Mr. Guenther to Telluride, Colorado. 35 hours driving straight... we made it, but took MANY pictures like this to keep ourselves awake:
Alright we'll post more a little later... hopefully the pictures helped you last through 25 facts about us!

Congratulations to Tiffin, Lauren & Juliet!

A big congratulations to Tiffin & Matt who got engaged yesterday night! I first met Tiffin in Charlotte working as a graphic designer for Sports Business Journal and Tiffin was/still is the photo coordinator for them! Tiffin wasn't my official photographer at our wedding, but thanks to her we actually have wonderful pictures!! She's been such a good friend, and we are very similar with our love of scrapbooking,movies and cats! Kyle & I are so happy for you both and can't wait to congratulate you in person!!

Also I don't think I ever mentioned on here a congratulations to Lauren & Justin who also got engaged a little while ago! I first met Lauren through the dance department at ASU, when one of our teachers paired us up because we danced so similar.... we were also the same height... and looked alike :) So if all those similarities weren't enough, we found a BUNCH more and decided to be roomies in the cabin our last year there!
Lauren & Justin are getting married December 6th, of this year and we are looking so forward to their wedding day! (sorry Lauren I tried REALLY hard to put a serious pic of us on here but the funny ones are just so much better! ha!)
I also wanted to say congrats to Juliet & Josh! They are engaged and getting married October 11th of this year! Juliet and I met at App our freshman year when both of us tried out together for the ASU Dance Team. (we were SO nervous hahaha) We got so close those 4 years on the team together... she was my saving grace! Even though she didn't have the title of "co captain" she basically was mine and I don't know what I would have done without her!
Juliet & Kyle actually had a lot of business classes together as well and would always kill their group projects together because they both are so smart! After graduation Juliet made the Panther's dance team, the Top Cats, and now lives in Charlotte, NC. We are so happy for Juliet and Josh and know their wedding will be such a great day for them both! Hopefully we'll get to see you soon!

Last Day

Just wanted to let you all know that today was my last day at G. M. I'm very proud of the work that I have created, and am so grateful for the experience. I am going to miss my co-workers the most, and even got teary-eyed saying goodbye to some of them! (They brought me flowers, cards and a cake... so sweet!) On the other hand, I've been so at peace the past couple weeks knowing that I'm making the right decision and a positive change is going to happen soon. The stress and dissatisfaction that I've felt for a while has really taken a toll on me and even Kyle. I start with my new job on Monday June 2nd, and will update you all then on how it's going.

Memorial Day Weekend!

What a wonderful weekend we have had, spent here just the two of us in Marietta! The past couple days we have cooked/grilled wonderful meals together (filets, pork tenderloin, chicken, fresh corn on the cob, etc!), gotten so much done around the house, and had the chance to catch up on much needed sleep. Our master bathroom is finally painted to match our bedroom, and we love it! I got all my pictures back from Walmart, put them in the window frames and then Kyle hung them above our bed! We found a HUGE mirror (it's a really big wall) to put above our console table downstairs, which we feel makes the room feel ten times bigger. (When you need a mirror go straight to Garden Ridge!)
Today though we had a lot of fun! Kyle and I agreed we would devote Monday to being outdoors, and man did we. We went to the Kennesaw Battlefield around 11, and got back to the car around 4! Starting at the Visitors Center, there was actually a reenactment going on showing how they shot cannons in the battles they had there.
I've ALWAYS wanted to watch one of these, and it was definitely neat to see on Memorial Day, when we are honoring all of the men and women who have fought for our country.

Here is a video... it's pretty slow at the beginning, but gets better:

Sorry about the shake at the end... I get scared pretty easily :) Kyle, Tyson and I hiked up Kennesaw Mountain, then little Kennesaw Mountain, then Pigeon Hill and that brought us to our other favorite part of the Battlefield off Burnt Hickory where we bring Tyson to swim in the creek.

Tyson & I on the trail:

We had packed a picnic lunch, so we had that while Tyson cooled off. It was gorgeous weather, and since we were in the woods most of the time it was nice and cool. We then headed back a new way that went around all the mountains, which was a little longer but MUCH easier hike.

Tyson & Kyle on the easy path:

All in all we think we went about 7 miles today and had a great time doing it! The last mile we actually jogged through the woods, I have no idea how we (okay I) had the energy but we did it! Great work out and great weekend :)

Congrats Dr. Dew!

Just wanted to say a huge congratulations to Jamie, our brother-in-law, for earning his Ph.D. this weekend! The commencement ceremony was Friday morning, which unfortunately Kyle and I could not attend, but the rest of the family got the chance to sit in the 4th row of Binkley Chapel (where Kyle and I were married) and witness! After years of hard work and hours upon hours of studying, Jamie is officially a Dr.!

Getting "hooded":

We are so proud of you, Jamie! Congrats!

Master Bedroom Makeover & Luau

SO if you have ever been to our house, you might remember that in our master bedroom I had about 4 different paint swatches on the walls and I had repainted the master bathroom twice. ALL with hideous green colors that I absolutely hated and wasted money on. Well this weekend while Kyle was at a Bachelor Party for Chris (we'll post that as soon as we get some pictures!) I finally picked the right color! And since I have finally decided I have no clue about interior design, I left it all up to the wonderful designers at Pottery Barn :) Online, you can shop rooms and it will tell you the paint color used. So I found one that I loved, walked into Benjamin Moore Saturday morning and it was way darker than it looked in the picture, so I picked one similar but a little lighter. SO I painted our entire master bedroom and part of the shower part of our bathroom on Saturday, and I am finally satisfied with the color! I went with a light brown, which is a great backdrop for our new duvet cover! (I fell in love with one at pottery barn as well... bright white & green... can't wait till it comes in!). Sorry no pictures until the room is done! (p.s. I had never used Benjamin Moore paint before b/c of the price, but man is it nice! It coats everything so well and it even smells good when you are putting it on the walls... NO JOKE!)

So then I started to work on everything for the walls! I went by Hobby Lobby and bought matte board to cut it all myself (try to save money that way, since I have all the tools from school). I then blew up a 16x20 image from our wedding, and framed it with one of our many blank frames that we had in storage. We unfortunately don't have that many great pictures from our wedding, so the ones we do have I like to blow up!
A couple months ago Chris came over and brought all these window sashes from his work that they were going to throw away. He knew I would figure out something to do with them, and that I did! I painted them the color of our trim this weekend, and have ordered images to go in each of the 8x8 window frames. We're going to hang both windows over our bed, which I'm excited about that as well! It's coming together... I'll post more pictures as soon as we get it in order!
Kyle & I bought a new sofa table a couple weeks ago and I forgot to post it! It matches our dining room table, since we love it and it's held up so well with all of our animals! We are still looking and saving for a mirror to go above it, but we love it!
So when Kyle returned from the Bachelor Party, we went to the Newly-weds Hawaiian Luau/graduation party. After you've been attending the class and have gone through all 13 lessons, you graduate and form small biblestudies.
So Kyle, Chris, Kathleen and I all carpooled and ate Ribs and other delicious food. Sadly the two couples who are graduating are our favorites, so we are going to have to plan to hang out with them separately! The reason why I'm blogging about this is because they had a limbo contest at the end of the party and the winner gets a free catered dinner for 4. Kyle and I immediately smiled at each other because I'm pretty awesome at limbo :) God gave me a very flexible back and it comes in handy for spontaneous limbo contests!

So I won and did a celebration dance... WOO HOO!

New job!

Hey guys, just wanted to share the wonderful news, I was offered a job with the ABC yesterday! I sent out my resume & portfolio site to about 8 companies a couple weeks ago. The next day I received an email from Aspen asking if I had time for a phone interview. That Friday, the morning of Lauren's bridesmaid luncheon I sat out in my car trying to get a signal on my cell phone and had my phone interview. The next Friday (last friday) I went into their office for a second interview with my portfolio, where I got to meet everyone and see the office. Then I got a phone call yesterday offering me the position! So that was the process!

TABC, actually has 2 brands:
KA and BA.

Both companies are wholesale favor and gifts companies for different occasions. Where I work now, GM, we actually work with KA and have some of their favors in our shop. It is a great transition from companies for me. So what will I be doing? This is my job description:
The Graphic Designer is responsible for redesign and creation of websites and print collateral as well as helping to develop the skills of more junior graphic designers. Our company, The ABC, designs and manufactures favors for all life events including bridal and baby favors and gifts. We have been in business since 2004 and we have about 60 employees in our Norcross office. We offer our employees a wonderful culture, interesting work, competitive pay and benefits. In return, we seek talented, creative, hardworking people with positive attitudes and willing personalitites. We'd love to have such people join our team!

So yes this whole interview was for a Graphic Designer level. Turns out that the senior designer who just left had 20 years of experience... and I have 4! (a little intimidating). Talking to Donna, my future boss who is the Marketing Director, decided to give me the title of "Graphic Designer" and let me earn the title of Sr. over the next year. There will be a junior level graphic designer underneath me, which will be great having experience managing another person but also having someone else there to bounce ideas off of! The pay is unbelievably better, I'll have more vacation time, and better benefits.... YEAH! I am giving my 2 weeks notice tomorrow to GM.

Every job search Kyle and I have both gone through, God has provided in such an unbelievable way and we are so blessed. Thank you all so much for your prayers, that's what did it!

Mother's Day Weekend!

This weekend we actually stayed in Marietta because Kyle had a summer intensive class for his MBA program that counted as 3 credit hours, going from Wednesday-Sunday 8:30-5:30. Since Sunday was Mother's Day, the entire class voted to just stay in class on Saturday from 8:30 am till 10:30 pm, so they could have Sunday off. It was a crazy couple days for Kyle with group projects and presentations, but all in all he really enjoyed the class and the people who were in his group. His presentation on Saturday night couldn't have gone better... the teacher wanted a copy of the presentation and all their notes so he could use it in the future! Kyle is now officially a quarter of the way through his MBA program... time is flying by for sure! He's gotten A's in all of his classes so far.... GO KYLE!!

While Kyle was in class, I decided to finally get going on our bedroom, and paint another swatch to see how this new color worked. We now have 4 different greens on our master bedroom wall, all of which I hate. SO I have officially given up on green, and we are going to go with some sort of brown. I'll keep you posted on that! I slept a lot and got the chance to go grocery shopping and clean the house... great weekend for Leah! Sunday, since Kyle wasn't in class, we finally had the chance to go play some frisbee golf outside. Tyson loved running around, and since it was a "holiday" there was no one else on the course! We also bought a new console table to go in our living room, another on sale World Market purchase!
Back home in Raleigh there was a lot going on. Tara & I have been planning mother's day for a while now for mom. There is a Beth Moore conference in San Antonio, Texas in August where she's actually having a meet and greet after one of her lessons. Tara, Mom and I haven't had a girls weekend in a long time, so this seemed perfect. Kyle & I were on speaker phone when mom was opening, and Tara videotaped so we could actually see mom's expression. Here is a link to Tara's blog where she posted the video. Mom is super excited about the trip, and so are we!

Some more Pictures & Happy Cinco de Mayo!

My dad just sent me more pictures from Lauren's wedding that he took... I also added in our Cinco de Mayo festivities pictures!

All the handsome men in our family at the wedding:
(Jamie, Dad, Nick, and Kyle)

Tara, Mom & I:

The kids: Lauren & Matt's Wedding cake: I thought it was really pretty!
Grooms cake: Lauren & Grandpa... she's like another grand daughter to him! Grandpa actually took off a week of chemo so he would be feeling okay at the wedding!

Cinco de Mayo... kyle came home with 2 sombreros: haha

We knew it would be crazy if we tried to eat at a Mexican restaurant, so we made our own! Kyle picked up a flank steak on the way home, which we spiced up a bit, grilled, then cut into strips to put in tortillas with our favorite quesadilla cheese! It was absolutely delicious! (Kyle cracked all of our neighbors up by grilling our flank steak on our deck in his sombrero.... haha!)