Christina's Wedding

I had the great pleasure of being Matron of Honor in Christina's beautiful wedding back in June.  It was a gorgeous wedding for an amazing couple.  Unfortunately, being in the wedding didn't allow me to capture nearly enough pictures but I will share a few that I have.  The ceremony went perfectly and the reception held tons of fun with dancing, eating, and catching up with old friends.

Rehearsal time...

with hubs

bride + maids

bride and groom with bride's parents

Wedding day...

ready to go!

first dance

gorgeous cake

friends!

bride + M

love you!

Home for Labor Day

We were fortunate enough to make it to Florida to get to spend the first Gator game in the Swamp.  Last year we failed to make it home for a single game and I refused to let that happen again. 

ellie was SO excited.

with my Mom!

It was great to spend some time with my Mom, get some Gainesville eats, and enjoy the excitement of game day.

we tailgated by lake alice and saw tons of gators!

at the tailgate spot

obligatory self portrait

life size jenga? need this!

gator buggy.  need this too ;)

albert and alberta

here come the gators!

some of the crew

love.

second half

check out the dance moves.

celebrating the win

The original reason for our trip was to attend a pig roast hosted by Mike's bro's family.  We drove (farther) south on Sunday for the event.  It was great to see everyone and, of course, to get our hands on this little guy.  He has changed SO much since last time and keeps getting cuter!  We failed to take too many pictures, mostly because we were busy hogging Ryan snuggles. 

grandmom with Ryan

the pig!  any ideas what M is doing back there?

i think they usually seem happier when playing cornhole

Ryan and his Uncle Mike

Despite the intense amount of driving the weekend held, we had a such a great time and only wish we could have spent more time with everyone!

The most wonderful time of the year

I think the excitement that goes along with the start of football season ranks up there with that of the greatest holiday seasons.  This past week or so I have frequently found myself daydreaming about game days and all that goes along with them. 

Many of my greatest days and favorite memories center around game days in the Swamp.  Not many things can top a full day of orange and blue wearing, bags tossing, hot dog grilling, solo cup drinking tailgating spent with the best of friends. 

I can never forget the Saturday's we've spent screaming until our voices were gone in the student section while attending UF (and a few times since).  I absolutely love the craziness of the fans- refusing to sit for just one down and all breaking out in a simultaneous "GATOR BAIT" after some random guy makes the opening noise. 

I love the deafening noise when the other team has the ball on 4th and 1 and the feeling that your yell makes all the difference. 

we look SO young

I love the "aaahh-ooo" we shout for kickoffs, the many variations of the chomp (baby gator, anyone?), and the battle of orange versus blue.  

I love the singing of "we are the boys" when you wrap your arms around the people next to you regardless of the fact that the 100 degree temperatures and 100% humidity have left you completely soaked and disgusting. 

I love that as everyone funnels out of the stadium after the game, we are all still cheering "It's great... to be... a Florida Gator!"

I love being a Gator.