Spring Break, So Great

I kind of want to cry as I'm writing this.... I'm just so sad that spring break is over.  Not just any spring break, but my Sophomore one.... OF COLLEGE.  Gosh, where does the time go??  This was my 14th spring break since starting school.  Wow.  All that aside, this might have been my favorite spring break to date.  

I definitely have been on some great family vacations over the years, though.  Last year we went on a cruise to Mexico and Phillip won the jackpot in bingo so we were upgraded to the "Royal Suite" for most of the trip.  That story always makes me laugh.  Thanks again, Phil!  When I was younger, we would take scuba diving trips over spring break.  Those were always so great!  Senior year was wonderful too.  I went with the FBC seniors on a mission trip to Tucson, Arizona.  This definitely was a rewarding spring break.  Mission trips always are!

[Anne, Me, Jessica, and Becca in Tucson]

[Throughout the week, we went house to house telling people about Jesus!]

[Last Year - In Our "Royal Suite" and In Some Car My Dad Rented....]

Buuuut, this year was different!  My best friends stayed with me at my beach house for a week.  I mean, what's better than that??  The weather was beautiful each day.  The only rainy day was omitted from our trip because we slept through the storm.  Whoops.  Speaking of sleeping, we slept in until around 11 or so every day which was SO nice.  With early classes, I can't tell you the last time I've slept that late!  Our moms sent some pretty awesome food that we continuously snacked on throughout the trip.  Somehow, we had tons left and had to throw it out because it wouldn't fit in the car on the way home.  That's a whole other story, though.

BBBIIIIIGGGGGG shout out to the Samford Sigma Chi freshmen! (Alpha Omicron pledge class, to be specific.)  For real, y'all are the greatest.  You are all so sweet and welcoming and personable, and just tons of fun to be around!  And good lookin' of course!  Ok, I MIGHT have gotten a LITTLE teary-eyed when I had to say goodbye Thursday night.  I give everyone who reads this permission to make fun of me all you want, but I get attached to people/things that I like!!

[Some Wonderful People Right Here!]

[Ben and Baker! Great Guys!]

[Jessica's 20th Birthday was Tuesday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!]

[Catherine Gayle and Olivia - Cutest Girls on the Beach!]

[Movie night with Kristen and Carroll Anna!]

Anyways, to sum it all up, this was the perfect spring break.  I love my family more than anything, but being with my precious friends for seven days straight just can't be beat!  Man, I could think of so many funny things that happened this week, but I have a really, really bad memory so i's kinda difficult.  Ever wonder why I'm such a bad story teller???  There ya go.  

Great Food + Sun + Funny Things Happening ("Mini's") + BFF's + New Friends + ZERO School =

HEAVEN on EARTH!

[I Just Love Y'all So Much!]

This song was played at least twice during every car ride, thanks to the coolest guy eva, Jack Poundstone.

The Club Couldn't Handle Us

I've decided that being surrounded by great people can make any day amazing.  This weekend was just one of those perfect weekends!

Jessica and I had been planning a Birmingham/Samford trip for quite a while now.  Friday, we finally made it happen!  I skipped history (best decision ever... that class is miserable) and drove up on Friday afternoon.  

I met my cousin, Lauren, for lunch at Olexa's in Mountain Brook Village right when I got there.  It was the cutest place ever, and the food was delicious!  Lauren, I still laugh when I think about the conversation we had.... :) After that, I picked Olivia up and we did a little shopping then came back to Samford and met up with Jessica and everybody else.

We ate dinner at La Paz.  It was really, really good.  Wes got chicken fajitas.  They came with peppers and squash and rice and beans and everything else that fajitas come with, but he only at the chicken and tortillas.  Picky, picky, picky. (But it's okay Wes, you're still perfect. And cute.)

The whole point of the trip was to go to Samford's famous Step Sing.  If you've never seen it, you definitely should go next year!  I've heard great things about it but it truly exceeded my expectations.  The groups are made up of sororities, fraternities, freshman, independents, and whatever else you can think of.  They do a dancing AND singing routine.  Each one was great in it's own way.  Jessica and I were laughing the whole time!  No offense to all the girls out there, but the boy groups were my favorite.  Something about guys getting out there and performing, giving it their all, just makes my heart melt!  If we came to watch one group, it was Sigma Chi.  Theirs was so heart-felt and sweet.  It was very different from the rest.  That's why I loved it.  And of course, Goodson's amazing voice stood out among all the guys!

After it was over, we went to some of Estes' friends' house (That's a lot of weird apostrophes).  We hung out here for a while then went back to Olivia's room and slept!  The only problem was that it got a LITTLE bit cold during the night.......... Jess and Liv were fine, but I kinda froze.  It's okay though.

So, naturally we wake up Saturday morning wondering what's for lunch.  Estes and Wes picked us up and we went to Rojo.  Seriously, Birmingham has the best restaurants ever.  I haven't been to a place that I didn't love.  Maybe it's a good thing that I don't live there.... After lunch, we went to Edgar's Bakery and got some random desserts.  Wes didn't get anything because the only dessert he likes is chocolate chip cookies.

I think the best part of the whole weekend was sitting outside on Saturday afternoon.  I can't imagine better weather!  The sunshine put everyone in a good mood.  We threw a frisbee and football around (okay not really me but I participated occasionally), and just hung out enjoying each other's company.  Like I said earlier, being with great people just makes everything so fun!

[Best Friends :)]

After a while, when the boys had to go practice, we picked up Lacey who had come to see Baby Jack in Step Sing, and went to the Summit and looked around for a little bit.  Then the Poundstone's took us to dinner at Taziki's.  Jack, you have the sweetest family ever!!  They're just so great!

Sooo, the Poundstone's had two extra tickets for Saturday Step Sing, and let us have them!  The only problem was that Jessica, Olivia, and I were three people.. so we needed one more.  Don't worry though, we used our skills and somehow I snuck in and got a seat near them.  We were there just in time to see Sigma Chi perform again, and were just as blown away as we were the night before!

Okay this is getting long like my posts always do.  After Step Sing, we went to Wendy's with Estes.  This only took about 4 hours.  No big deal.  We listened to a couple of songs over and over.... Club Can't Handle Me, Run This Town, and a little P!nk and Glee mixed in..... Don't judge.  There was a minor accident involving Estes' rearview mirror, but we won't name names.  At least it's still attached a little!  We finally made it to Burbon Street for CLAY'S BIRTHDAY!!!  So fun!

Later on, we went back to Samford, met up with Elisabeth who had come with Tucker, and went to bed.  Elisabeth joined me on the air mattress and we endured the freezing process together this time.  At least we had each other to keep warm!!

On Sunday, we (Me, Jess, Olivia, Wes (hottie), and Estes) went to lunch at a good Italian place but I forgot what it was called.  Jessica lost her phone, but no worries, she found it about an hour later in her boot.. that she was wearing.  We were all really tired, and Olivia and I had to study so we went back to campus, said our goodbyes, and left!

I miss yall already!! I just love being with my friends!!  I mean, what could be better??

Weekend Food with Jessica

Hey Hey Heyyyy!

This weekend has been so fun!  (And it's not even over.. THANK you Martin Luther King!)  Thinking back on it, if I had to pick one thing that stands out the most, it would be the amount of food consumed by all.  Yeah, this is going to be a weird one.

1)  Friday afternoon, Estes made his ten thousandth journey from Samford to Auburn and he, Jessica, George, Will Salter, and I went out to eat at the Auburn Oyster Bar.  None of us had been here before so we were excited/nervous to check it out.  But hey, turns out it was a great choice!  George and the waitress had a little thing for each other, which was interesting.................. But we all loved our food and everything and I'd say it was a success.

2)  After a long and eventful night in Aubs, Little Italy was calling our names.  By this time, a couple of Estes and George's little Sigma Chi pledges had joined us.  (Haaayy Andy and Ben!)  We got some greasy, meaty, greasy pizza and pepsi not coke and after George told some girls that they were in high school, we left.

3)  What's the first thing on our minds when we wake up???? Food of course.  Poor Estes had to leave us (We're all still really really really sad, Estes.), so Jessica, George, Andy, Ben, and I were ready for our first meal of the day.  We had a lot of trouble deciding where to go.  Niffer's was our first try, and the 45 minute wait was a definite "no."  Jessica, brilliant as she is, suggested the Creole Shack.  We drove out to it, weren't sure what to expect when we saw it, and went inside.  The artwork was a little..... cheap. As were the menu's, silverware and napkin holders (aka tape), but hey, we're not complainin'!!  The food was real good!  Thanks Jessie!  That was fun.  I laughed so much.

4)  After we were all stuffed from the chicken fingers, crab claws, fried pickles, pork chops, creole stuff, and whatever else we got, we decided that a little cupcake would be nice.  GiGi's was calling our names!!  The boys might have been a little hesitant to enter, but Jess and I forced them through the doors.  If Estes was there, he wouldn't have cared.  We got our wedding cake and red velvet cake cupcakes with mile high icing, and hit the road.  (If you've never been to GiGi's, you're SERIOUSLY missing out! Ask Annie Stephens!)

5)  A couple hours later, after visiting with some cool Samford kids (minus Estes), we decided it was dinner time.  Soooooooo, Jessica, Kristen, Will Salter, George, Wes, Clay, Owen (Shout out to the new Twitter user btw), and I went to the classic Acapulco's.  Ok, I wanted to go to Fuji, but I wasn't gonna fight anybody over it.  Wes was miserable because after asking for ONLY chicken and cheese in his quesadilla, he found "green things" and onions.  He cried a little but then he was fine.  It took a few days to wash the smell of Mexico off of my body but I managed.  In my opinion, it was good, not great.  That's just my opinion though.

6)  Ok, this was the longest gap of not having food, so it was time for something good.  Jessica and I went to First Baptist Opelika (Woo traditional service) this morning.  Literally within one second, we decided we MUST go to Pannie George's for lunch.  You seriously cannot beat this place.  They have the BEST soul food I've ever had.  The macaroni and cheese?  PERFECT.  The fried chicken, green beans, and cornbread were so amazing as well.  I'd have to say that this is my favorite restaurant in Auburn, and I think I'll have to go there every day for the rest of the semester.  MAYBE Estes will be here next time to go with us.

(Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans, and Cream Corn at Pannie's)

Well, I just blogged about a lot of food.  I feel like Paula Deen.

Anyways, this was a really fun weekend.  Meeting new people, hanging out with friends, and eating good food... how can you go wrong with that??  (It would have been better with Estes the whole time, but we managed.)