We're half way there...livin' on a prayer

Excuse the Bon Jovi song...it's stuck in my head and it seemed appropriate.

Please...don't be offended I didn't tell you sooner. We have had a rollercoaster of a pregnany so far - I will post that story at a later date. I told my Young Women today so before any comments hit my facebook - I figured I'd better announce it myself!
I'm 20 weeks today and due May 1st! I'm feeling great and it's a BOY! We have a few names in the works...which I won't post on here b/c there are way too many ppl having babies before me! (Not that I think THAT highly of my names that someone will steal them...you know what I mean tho!)
Pics to come.

Georgia on my mind....

A year ago today we had our Penske loaded up, our snacks and Sonic in tow, as we headed back west. I've been thinking about Georgia A LOT lately, so I thought I would highlight a few "What I'm missing most" like I did awhile back about AZ when I was freezing my tail off!



Fall. As in Autumn. You know, the season that barely shows it's face here? It's cooler for sure, but that's the only indication we know it's upon us. Granted...it's 88 degrees today. Fall in Georgia is incomparable!

Dinner/Game night with our friends. We miss spending time with their cute kids, eating a fabulous meal - rarely, if ever, prepared by moi...which is why it was always delish and playing Settlers or Sequence or Speed Scrabble til late! Ok, did any of the games we play start with a letter other than "S"???


Driving in the country. I'm a city girl at heart, always have been, always will be. But every once in awhile I wish I could take that 2 min drive from my apartment where there was nothing but vast stretches of green fields and tall trees. I do not miss the roadkill tho. Ew.

Extended Hoodie season!!! I own more than the average Arizonan I think. Unless over 25 isn't alot? I always had an excuse to buy more b/c it was colder longer!

GA home architecture. If i could load one up and bring it over here on a flatbed, I'd do it right now. I can't think of seeing a single house that had an ounce of stucco on it! Love love love!!!

Southern hospitality (totally real), thick accents and having someone end your phone call with, "Have a blessed day!"


Ray Charles pretty much sums it up for me right now:

Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I'm sayin' Georgia
Georgia
A song of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pines

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

I said Georgia,
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

Georgia,
Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I said just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Brand New

I've finally gotten brave enough to add pics back onto my computer. The majority of these are not edited, I'll never post if I have to take the time to Piknik them!

New House

Rod picked it out all by himself - didn't he do fabulous?! These are pre-decor photos obviously.


Love my house, love the neighborhood and LOVE my ward.

New Puppy

I've literally been obsessing about getting a Great Dane for almost a year now. Rod went back and forth on it with me but I was determined! However, my wise young friend Andrew Peacock once told me, "If you keep on asking for something, you'll always get what you want." (hehe!)

Introducing - Chief Kane Crumpton
(Yes my dog has a middle name, we also went rounds with his name but that's a whole other story!)

7 weeks - 13 lbs.

11 weeks - 28 lbs.

To die for right?!


New Unions

April was wedding month
My old "236" roomie Dano Bigler married Conley Rogers. Rod and I just played on a co-ed softball league with them and it's obvious they are head over heels in love with eachother!

Square and I at the reception


My cute cousin Winnie was next - she married Chad Groscost on the 29th. They had a beautiful sealing and the rest of the wedding/reception was gorgeous as expected!

Meghan, Stoney and baby Penny looking all matchy-matchy!

Cheeks...love em


(Almost) New Bro-In-Law

Anais and Chad are getting married July 10th. Here are a few of their engagements...



And even tho these pics have some pretty amazing backgrounds - I'm still not a fan of Utah. Just saying.

I'm done for now - this made me feel somewhat caught up so I'm calling it good! Oh...and one more thing!











Is that a repeat three-peat I smell coming on???

Pampered Chef Party

Come for the food, bring a friend and have some fun!

Please join us for a
Pampered Chef Party!
We will be making:
Fast and Fresh Fajitas with Homemade Salsa
in the Deep Covered Baker!

Hosted By: Jasmine Crumpton
Thursday, March 25th at 7pm
(I will email you my address) :~)

So that we have enough FOOD,
please RSVP by Wednesday the 24th.

BRING A FRIEND (or an order) and receive a FREE gift!
Bring TWO (2) Friends and get FREE shipping!!
Presentation by Ashlie Leavitt
Contact: 480-747.2356 or mailto:ashleavitt@hotmail.com
Place an order online by typing in Ashlie Leavitt: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/leavittcookin

March Guest Special: FREE Bamboo Spoon or Spatula Set with a $60 purchase!

Wipe out

Last week I looked at my external hard drive and thought it'd be a good idea to get some stuff loaded onto it. Well my computer must've heard my thoughts and decided it'd be funny to get stuck in a boot-loop, causing Rod to do a system recovery...basically all my pics, docs, and some of my programs are GONE!! Lovely. We already took it to see if the computer nerds could salvage anything and it's been overwritten!!
Welp, that's it for now - I haven't loaded any other pics on here but I'll put new ones soon of the new house!

Mixed Emotions

I have em. I really do. I admit I cried countless nights the first couple of months here. I had just gotten married, moved across the country and didn't know a soul! Oh, did I mention I don't like change? I can't pack up, ship out and have the time of my life without a plan or a friend in tow. Props to ppl out there that have the courage to do that. . .that just ain't me.

Here I am, a week away from driving back across the country to a new house and all things familiar…and I’m sad! Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally excited to be going back to the AZ but these past few years in GA have really been AMAZING! I have made some wonderful lifetime friends. I’ve lived and traveled to unbelievably beautiful east coast places. There are some great memories here that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Most importantly, living in GA was probably the greatest thing for Rod and I. Everyone said it’d be so great to get away from everyone and everything and just “BE US”. I didn’t know what that meant, but looking back I see…that if I had gained nothing else out of this experience – THAT alone would’ve been worth it. I remember getting into a little scuffle with Rod a few weeks after we got here, snatching up my keys, slamming the door and hurrying down to my car. I started the ignition and then it dawned on me, “I have nowhere to go.” Awesome…turned the car off, went back upstairs and worked it out. I’m not gonna get all blog-mushy about my hubby, but he really is the most kind-hearted, level-headed, unbelievably perfect man I could’ve asked for. I know I didn’t do anything to deserve him...so the only other logical explanation is that he must’ve done something horrible to end up with me. Either way…he’s all mine! Mwahaha!

To my GA friends: I love you, I’ll miss you, please don’t forget me…I promise I will NEVER forget you.

To my AZ friends: I love you and I’ll see you soon…who’s meeting me at Sonic?

Baby Shower Invite Etiquette

I may regret this post later, but for now - I'm letting my Asian bluntness take over!

My sister Kara and I have chuckled for the past few months as we've shared stories of the untactful ways of LDS women. I realize we are in no way perfect, so this is not a "holier-than-tho" moment by any means. I'm also aware posting something like this is def. going to offend someone but please be aware - it's not about anyone that will be reading this. (I would've made my blog private if I were worried about that!) :~)

I received an email last week for a baby shower. Ok, no big deal - an emailed invitation is acceptable in my book. Postage isn't cheap. I totally get it. But please tell me WHY it's ok for someone to use the Relief Society list that's intended for RS announcements, etc. - for an email blast for a baby shower?!?! Not only did I not know the woman they were honoring, I didn't even know the person that was throwing the shower! Am I the only person that finds this absolutely ridiculous?!

I'm fully aware that some women that have multiple showers are more often than not offered by someone in the ward and instead of declining and offending that person, (which happens way too often in the Church) they accept. I'm fine with multiple showers, especially if you're having a new gender. But if you already have 3-4 kids and the oldest if of babysitting age. . . you probably shouldn't be having/expecting someone to throw you a shower. (True Story)

Someone's offended huh? I love us Mormons. . .

THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

So long sweet summer...

ARIZONA TRIP

Jeff and Non tied the knot July 24th! It was a beautiful wedding...so freakin hot though!! They are def. troopers for still looking absolutely dashing on their big day!

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Lamont Porter

The Porter Family is very musically inclined and they put on a lil' show for us at the luncheon. Jeff sang 2 songs that he wrote just for Non and I got a little teary-eyed from his heartfelt performance - seriously adorable!

Here's my girl still lovely as ever! Love you Nonners, thank you for letting me share your special day with you as your M.O.H.!
Side note: Non's sister Amanda and I kept trying to figure out if "Maid" or "Matron" was the correct terminology. I was decidedly named the Matron and Amanda the Maid - apparently b/c I'm married and matronly? :~)

Can't get enough of this curly-haired cutie!! I spent any time I was home with this guy! I was so scared he wouldn't remember me...imagine my surprise when I walked in the door fresh off the plane and he comes right up to me and gives me a hug! AWE!

Sisters at Sekai


Ok so I realized I took hardly ANY pictures in AZ! Man that's annoying!!! Thank you to everyone I got to see, and to those of you I didn't - don't feel too bad, it won't be long! :~)

A special and GIANT THANKYOU to Square who made the most delicious dish for Non's shower! They were a HIT and I can't begin to thank you enough for doing that for me! And to mi madre for helping cut up all that fruit! Couldn't have done it without you!



So after I got back from AZ, Russ & Erin were in ATL for a visit. We had a BLAST with them! We did some shopping, went out to eat and had fun going night swimming too! First time in our complex pool! HA! (They always have parties going on and I hate sharing a pool with strangers and a bunch of eye-wandering old geezers.) Thanks again guys for comin' to see us - we miss you already!


1st Annual Ronnie & Elaine Crumpton Family Reunion
Port Aransas, Texas

The original plan was to have all the boys get together for a fishing trip, but then they realized how boring it'd be without their women and kids!!!! Ok...we all know the REAL reason we were invited but just humor me here. Rod and I spent hours finding the perfect place for 18ppl to stay and found a super sweet beach house right around the corner from the water! It was Elaine's birthday that weekend too so we surprised her with a cake, some bday gifts, went and got our nails done and had everyone write down something they loved about her and put it in a pink balloon for her to pop! (Idea credited to Rod.) The ocean water was wonderful, it was hot outside but I LOVE the beach and coulda stayed out there all day long!! The trip was wonderful and we can't wait for the next one!

Lack of pics once again - thanks Ronnie for sending these ones so I have something to show for it!

Rod and reel - BAHAHA!

He makes fishin' look good.

Ronnie Paul, Bryant, Russ, Robert, Rod and Ronnie

Thanks again Ronnie and Elaine for a FABULOUS time! We love you!


Stone Mountain

The Peacocks have a family pass and told us they were going, so we decided to invite ourselves! :~) As we are walking up to purchase our tickets, a lady offers us an admission that they said was an extra one that they didn't need. SWEET! We tell the lady in the booth we need one more adult pass...she looks at the ticket and noticed it was for a 2-day entry so she just gave us the other ticket for FREE! We saved ourselves an easy $50 - not including the parking fee we would've had to pay, and the lunch that Kristin made for everyone too! Wow...what do we contribute to this friendship!?


Top of the mountain with downtown ATL in the background.

Rod and one the goats at the petting zoo.

Hard to tell but that's a giant crevice I managed to squeeze myself into.

MUAH!


Thank you Peacocks for helping us cross this one off the list! We had a blast and also loved going to Outback where the entertainment continued! HA! :~)

Why I married a pest control boy...

For the past few weeks I had seen some weird black things on the garage stairs but didn't really pay much attention to them. I pointed them out to Rod one day and he noticed there was a hole in the side of the top stair and figured they were mouse droppings. Ok...just a few mice - no biggie. WRONG! I really wish I had taken pics of our repeated attempts to catch them! DO NOT use the white sticky pads - they are completely ineffective! Every morning they were moved, chewed, or were covered with hair b/c the mouse had gotten stuck but always managed to get away! I swear we had mighty mouse living under our stairs!
Anyways, I wasn't too bothered b/c I knew they were in the garage and atleast they weren't in my apartment! That is ofcourse until one Sunday I was cleaning up after dinner and turned around and saw something scurry across the floor and underneath the kickboard of one of our cupboards. OH HECK NO! Rod immediately set up snap traps loaded with peanut butter...one inside and one in the garage. Next morning we woke up and found the mice had helped themselves to our PB and the snap traps didn't' SNAP!!!! UGH!!
That's when we decided we had to bust out the big guns...The Catchmaster 48R's. Complete with peanut butter and just for fun...a half-bitten mini Snickers bar. (Rod's idea)


Finally - SUCCESS!!! Yes, they are babies and I felt bad ok?


We have set these 4 times...and have caught a total of 7 mice!!!!! Usually in pairs which we thought was weird?! Rod did make a good point...he said, "You'd think they'd be able to communicate with eachother a little better or atleast give eachother some warning to stay away!!" HAHA!

We think we've caught all of them - who knows. Unfortunately we have some pretty unkempt neighbors downstairs that I'm blaming for the problem so we'll see!



So today was a FIRST for the Mondays!!! That's right...a snake decided to pay it's favorite pest control office a lil' visit. The office complex we are in has some wooded areas so it's not surprising but I've never seen a snake in this type of setting before!
Sorry Carrie - I'm about to one-up your snake story...


This bad boy was atleast 4.5 feet long - CREEPY lookin' huh?!

Rod decided to be brave and touch it...no one was expecting that thing whip around as fast as it did! So after he almost got his hand bitten off, I decided to Google it and found out it's a Black Rat Snake - not poisonous (good thing I checked that first right?) and emits a foul smelling odor when threatened. Lovely.

If you can't stomach watching some real life road kill - do not play the video below. Infact, after videoing this I had to go inside and sit down b/c I really thought I was gonna lose it. DISGUSTING! Please excuse the ANNOYING commentary - I was needless to say a little anxious to get this thing taken care of...

FYI - Bulwark DOES NOT condone this type of "treatment". We don't even treat for snakes so this was strictly...experimental!?!!?

VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED FOR THE TIME BEING -SORRY!

What? Did you think I married a Bug Boy for his money?!?!?! :~)

Oh they say when you marry in June...

Just a line from one of my favorite musicals - has nothing to with this post. Wow - June has come and gone, can't believe it! A LOT has happened...here's the not so condensed version of my month.

Girls Camp - went up for the last day/night and had the luxury of sleeping in a pop up camper. If you wanna know my REAL feelings on camping, my sis. Kara posted on the matter and it pretty much sums up my thoughts perfectly. Check it out HERE. This picture was captured while we sought shelter from a freak thunderstorm that rolled in after it had been sunny and HOT all day! Gotta love that GA weather! Enjoyed the car rides there and back with the Sonic stops in between. We had lots of fun in the short amount of time. The girls are fabulous and have such sweet testimonies!
Oh... our ward was split last week and Rod and I are in a brand new ward. I absolutely LOVED the girls and the women I worked with. I can't talk about it too much b/c it makes me sad but I know it had to happen - needless to say I will miss them terribly!!

Dad came to ATL for business and it was fun having him here. We drove up to Greenville, SC one day and had dinner at Saskatoon (a restaurant franchise we usta rep). Edmund (the owner) was so good to us! We ate all kinds of wild game - it was tasty! Def. not a place for a vegetarian tho!

Kara and Q stopped in for a few days on their way to Key West. We had to go to Hard Rock b/c Kara is a VIP member and I thought they'd shut the place down for us but apparently she hasn't reached that status just yet... :~)
Kara and I got pedicures & did a little shopping while the boys played XBOX (lame). We also got together with our friends to have Father's Day dinner and played Settler's...always a treat!

Traditional pilsner glass complete with a chocolate shake

Love him

JAX came to visit!!! I had to take her to a GA Sonic or it just wouldn't be right! There's just one face missing here...we missed u Jenna!

Braves Game!!! FINALLY!! Lived here for 1.5 years and just now going to a game...pretty pathetic I must say. Ofcourse we had to get our Chipper Jones jersey's to make it official! Had good seats, ate the stadium served cuisine, cheered for the home team (Jax is a retired cheerleader so she really knows what she's doin) and had a BLAST!


Jones is the man

I had Jackie teach me to make her famous cinnamon rolls and how to use my Bosch that I got from my mom! I'm pretty sure it's a sin to have one and not use it on a regular basis. I'm quite embarrassed about it myself! It was tricky finding enough space to roll out that dough but she's a pro so we got it done. Ofcourse we had to wear out matching aprons!!! Jax and her mom made them - aren't they adorable?!

The aftermath...YUM! Totally worth the pile of dirty pans...

We played Settler's at night, Jax caught on real quick and did so good! There were some words exchanged but we're all still friends.

Thanks for the great company we've had thus far!!! Russ & Erin - we can't wait to have you guys out here in a few weeks!