Splish Splash

My brother-in-law Quinton sent me this video of Gibson and I had to share.
You can hear Q explain. It's kinda slow on Blogger but hopefully you get the idea! Enjoy!

Isn't he soooo stinkin cute!?! I love him...

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was wonderful...(except for the fact that the Spurs beat the Lakers, not gonna get into it right now.) Rod and I decided we would actually go and DO something in downtown ATL! It's about 37 miles away and traffic here is HORRIBLE so we haven't really had a reason to be down there except to go to the airport. We decided to hit up the World of Coca Cola on Monday & to our surprise it wasn't super busy! PHEW! It took about an hour & 1/2 to get thru the 20-acre complex and most was self-guided which was nice bc I'm not very patient.

Rod imagining he's taking a cold one from the pharmacist that made it all possible- John S. Pemberton himself!

I want this thing in my house - it's a super old soda fountain made of solid marble. Atleast that's what I think they said - wasn't paying attention, I was daydreaming of being able to have this thing filled with crushed ice and gallons of vanilla Dr. Pepper....

They have these different fountain drinks you can try with different Coke products from around the world like Europe, Latin America, Asia, etc. I'm here at the African station sampling their "Stoney" - this pic is for you Meg! Most were filthy...but Rod and I enjoyed watching the foreigners gather around to sample the United States fountain drinks! HAHA! We did get a bottled coke at the end but Rod was a little disappointed when he found out they didn't have the cane sugar bottled coke like you get in Mexico...what the?!

Afterwards we walked down to the CNN center to get some lunch and ate at this place called Don Juan's. Mexican food is few and far between in these parts. There is no such thing as Filly-B's here, Gecko Grill is a foreign concept and Costa Vida never seemed so far away either!

We took a nap when we got home and then went and saw the new Narnia too. And what better way to end a day than with a Route 44 VDP from Sonic...the perfect ending to a pretty perfect day.

I cried during American Gladiators

Yes, you heard me - I cried during American Gladiators yesterday. John Siciliano competed yesterday and I had so many mixed emotions over this guy last night! Background - he was in a car accident when he was young and lost his leg b/c of it. They didn't go that easy on him in the events, but the Gladiators were nice enough to help him up to get help get him going again.

I didn't watch the beginning of the "Eliminator" b/c I knew there were some tough obstacles to get thru and I wouldn't have been able to handle my emotions...but I watched the end and oh my gosh, I just started bawling! So inspiring watching his determination to finish this event that ppl with TWO legs have a hard time doing! Just had to share...def. the best American Gladiator episode I've ever seen.

This pic is awe-inspiring...love it.

Care Bear Square Hair Turned 22 Yesterday!

Well this post is a day late but I had to give a shout out to my girl CARRIE ANN for turning 22! I will share a few of the MANY things I absolutely LOVE about this fine lady...


classic Applebee's bathroom photo op

mall photo booth

TP'ing Jenn's truck

Bachelorette party in Vegas

Meeting up at the ATL Airport

*She is by far the BEST shopping partner I've ever had! Our mall routine is an art! We always know exactly what store we are going to and in what order. We may go our separate ways in the store but always meet up at the dressing room to try things on, give our HONEST opinions, and then check out. Beautiful...

*Carrie makes ANYTHING fun...it doesn't matter what we're doing, who we're with, or why we're even there....a fabulous memory is ALWAYS made!

*I love going to visit Carrie at the salon. We always get Rosati's or Capriotti's for lunch and I know I'm gonna walk outta there with the hair color/style I was wanting! She is always so good about working with my sched to get it done - even if we end up being there til midnight!

*She has an AMAZING voice...one of the thing's I miss most is being in the car with her and singing whatever song we had on at the top of our lungs!

*We can, and usually DO, finish one another's sentences. And if we can't use words...we always have "the nudge". haha!

*If we go out to lunch or dinner, and there's spinach artichoke dip on the menu...we're getting it. No doubt.

*She is super creative! Always has some idea on how to make something...or how to "enhance" it!

*Without fail, if she goes on a trip - she will bring something back for me! From toothpick holders, to fake birds perched on petrified wood, to dinosaur statues made completely of seashells to D&G purses..my list of random goodies is unimaginable.

*I love that she names her personal belongings...her car, her iPod, the dangling crystal that hangs from her review mirror...and it's normal to us!!!

*Carrie is there when you need her, & she knows exactly what to say or do to make you feel better and can always make you laugh! I am so thankful to be able to call her my friend...I don't know what I'd do without her!

You're the best babe! Love and miss you like mad!

Our "Suwanee Ward" Debut

So today Rod and I spoke for the first time in our new ward. We've been there for 5 months & we thought we were totally safe! They threw us into Nursery pretty quick so we were able to "hide out" for quite some time. Well 2 weeks ago...Rod decided to go find a member of the bishopric to give our tithing to cuz we had the kids eating their snacks and we always have a tough time finding someone after church to give it to. He was gone for 5 mins...and he came back with the 2nd counselor by his side...yep, busted. There are so many new ppl moving into the ward so we were only "new" for about a week!
Anyways - I guess it was inevitable. My talk went well...I always get really nervous for some reason and I'm pretty sure my voice was a little shaky the entire time, but I got the congregation to laugh twice during my talk which helped me relax a little! PHEW! Rodney did amazing! He acts so calm and his words just flow so elegantly, kinda makes me sick. :~)
I guess the good thing is we won't have to give another talk until we move back to AZ! YAY! And don't worry...we are still believers in paying our tithing...but we now recommend MAILING it instead!

My trip to Jacksonville, FL

This past weekend I hopped on a 48 min flight and headed down to Jacksonville to meet my pals Shannon & Amanda Gillespie for a weekend in Florida! A guy named Gil that Shannon taught on her mission was going thru the temple for the first time and that event was pretty much the main reason we went out there. Orlando is the closest temple to Jacksonville and is only a few hrs away from where we were staying. It was an AMAZING experience and it was so cool to see the excitement & happiness in his eyes.

There were a lot of supporters there, some that drove almost 4+ hours to get there! Even his best friend who is a recent convert himself, drove 2 hours and was outside to greet him as he came out of the temple. So after lots of hugs and about a million pics, all 18 of us headed down to Olive Garden to celebrate!

We visited Gainesville - the home of the University of Florida GATORS, which was Non's last area of her mission. I went to the single's ward with them and tried my best to blend in! It was pretty nice outside - so we decided to walk campus and see some of the sights. The campus is HUGE and they are pretty hardcore there...there was a gas station completely painted blue and orange to represent the school colors. Talk about school spirit...

Everything there was pretty spread out, we spent a lot of time driving to get where we needed to but it was def. worth it! One of my fave places we went was Fernandina Beach. Met up with a few more converts that Non taught and WOW - they were probably some of the nicest ppl I've ever met! Some haven't even been members for a yr and you could tell they had rock solid testimonies! And what was even more amazing is they were in a branch - and it blows me away how devoted and faithful they are even when the majority of ppl around them are inactive or not members. It made me feel a little disappointed that I haven't really considered what a blessing it is to have been born and raised in the church!

Monday came around and it was time to head back to our respective homes...for the first time in my LIFE of flying - I heard the words that no one wants to hear in the security line - "BAG CHECK". They scanned it twice and the guy had to take me over and check the contents of my backpack which contained a book, my iPod and my purse with all my crap.
Carrie - guess what they were suspicious of...MY OVERSIZED D&G PURSE ZIPPERS! Had to laugh about it though...I guess that's the price you pay to own a sweet purse! :~)


The trip was a success, made life-long memories and that's the most important thing. So what better way to end a trip, than in a random rocking chair at the Jacksonville Airport.

Early April Fool's!!!

Rod and I just got home from our SURPRISE Easter Trip to AZ! Thank you to my extremely resourceful brother-in-law Quinton, who managed to get us buddy passes 2 days before so we could be there for the holiday and Gibson's blessing!
We surprised ALOT of our friends and family and the trip was so fun! It was especially nice to be in 80 degree weather for a change!! Not too many pics were taken...I decided I really need to be better about that! I will try and get some from my fam of Gibson in his 5 piece suit he wore for the blessing...ADORABLE! We got to go to the Easter Pageant too where my sister Danna is a multitude child and my dad is a Roman soldier as well as the "over-actor" blind man! You can always figure out which one he is b/c he's the only Roman that wears his bluetooth before the show starts and
right after it ends.

We had a BIG EASTER FEAST after Gibson's blessing with all of our family & friends and it's always fun to play our very competitive family games later that night...I think we may take it a little too seriously at times. Especially me.
Oh and since our first stand-by flight was overbooked and we had to wait 2.5 hrs for the next flight, we'd like to send a big thankyou to the "O'Neal family of four" who missed their connecting flight from ATL to PHX - you don't know us but my husband and I occupied your seats and we are forever indebted to you! :~)

New Job...New Gym...New Trend???

It's def. been awhile...I have no new pictures that I can think of and Rod is in the other room playing "Call of Duty 4" on Xbox Live w/ his brother that's in Texas...so I'm in here...trying to pass the time. A couple of new things that have happened since getting back from AZ:

I started working with a new company....and it just so happens to be for....

That's right - the same company that has employed my husband for almost 7 years now! It's really close to our apartment, the office staff is small - like 4 of us and I get to see Rod ALL DAY LONG! haha! Some ppl may not think this is such a good idea but I've successfully worked & lived with ppl simultaneously and never had a problem...I'm hoping for the same this time around! :~) He may be the boss at work...but we ALL know who's boss at home!

So after a LONG day at work - together ofcourse...what better way to spend the evening than at

!!!!
It's true - we joined a gym and it's about dang time! We drive by it every day so we figured it was meant to be. I was and still am very intimidated by the establishment they call a gym...but I feel much better knowing that Rod is there too. They have super nice raquetball courts and we took advantage of that tonight. This weekend we bought the raquets, the raquetballs and goggles...yes...goggles. I wear gas permeable lenses...aka "hard contacts" and if that ball comes back and hits me in the face, I will basically have an imbedded contact in my eye....no thanks. So as flamer as it looks to wear protective eyewear...I'm gonna sport it. Besides...there are plenty of other ppl that use them. Balding, middle-aged, tanktop loving men mostly but I'm willing to start a new trend! :~)

And Carrie, I know you requested a picture..but my camera battery is dead - soon enough my friend...soon enough.

Trip to AZ - Part 2

It's good to be back in Georgia with Rod! The 2 1/2 weeks in AZ were WONDERFUL! I didn't get pictures of everyone and everything but it's probably b/c I was too wrapped up in the moment(s)!

Some of my favorite:
*I got to see and spend time with my Grandpa J. and the rest of my Julander cousins!
*I had lunch/dinner dates with a friend pretty much every other day
*The fabulous Sonic crew at Lindsay & McKellips welcomed me back w/ open arms :~)
*Even though it's months early -Carrie, Jenna & I held our traditionanl birthday breakfast @ The Good Egg.
*Failed attempt at star searching in Scottsdale, getting harrassed by and then exchanging some choice words with a Ukrainian bike-cart man and then meeting your friends outside the big tent party that they somehow managed to sneak into and retrieve VIP passes for - good times.
*I had Costa Vida a total of 6 times while I was there...sounds a little much but we don't have ANYTHING like it out here!!!
*My mom's cooking - I don't even care what it was, it was fabulous b/c I didn't make it.
*Spending time with my younger sisters/family - probably more than they bargained for but I enjoyed it!!
*The warmer temperature & getting to wear sandals! YAY!
*Had the chance to play with my old Bunco group - and was a sub for another group too!
*The chill nights with the girls - we don't have to be doing anything in particular and it is ALWAYS fun!

A few pics:

The proud parents - Kara & Quinton

One of the outfits I got for him - look at that lil' face!

Tempe Town Lake - we missed Boys Like Girls but hoped Counting Crows would deliver. We were wrong.

The fireworks were FABULOUS! Better than any other show I've seen!

I think we love going to Sonic mostly to confuse anyone that takes our order:
Diet Dr. Pepper ~ Dr. Pepper w/ Vanilla ~ Regular ol' Dr. Pepper


I miss AZ and everyone there but I missed Rod too! I had so much fun & couldn't have asked for more. Being far away def. helps me appreciate all the ppl in my life more then ever! So for now...it's back to the dirty souf. Miss & love you all! I'll be back soon!

Trip to AZ - Part I

Rodney and I came out for a few reasons:

1. He had business meetings and since corporate is in AZ - I naturally tagged along!

2. One of my best friends Shannon Gillespie got home from her mission (the same day we landed at Sky Harbour!)

3. Kara and Quinton had their first baby!

4. I missed my friends and family a ton! But I guess that should be a given!


My Grandpa Julander and his one and only great grandchild

Nallie, Non and I at the Open House

Cuddling with my baby nephew Gibson Quinton Jones. Why is he so much tanner than me?!!?


I made these for his room - pretty sure I did it the hard way but it got done! Thankyou Natalie Ballantyne for the inspiration! :~)

I'm still here 'til Feb. 9th so I'll be posting more of my extended stay!

Rod - if you're reading this - I love and miss you! :~)