Happy John Giles Day!!

My big brother cleans up nice!

Ok so I am actually a day late on this one but I didn't get a chance to do this yesterday and really wanted to. Yesterday my big brother turned 35! He is such an amazing brother and person in general! So not only was yesterday "Take Your Pants for a Walk Day" but it was also John Giles' Day. My big brother has been such an inspiration to me in so many ways. I am so proud to be his baby sis!

Jack and John last year on his birthday.

John Giles...
...you are someone I admire.
...you are the best big brother a girl could ask for.
...you are the reason I think every girl should have a big brother, blood or not.
...you always make me feel safe (and small) when I am in your arms.
...you put up with Laura and me tag teaming you on several occasions.
...you taught me how to do so many things, some mom and dad probably did not like.
...you worked with me on my goalie skills in the yard when I was in high school, I ate grass numerous times!
...you are the true example of a southern gentleman.
...you were the peacemaker to many a fight between Laura and me.
...you were my protective second father when I started dating, more protective than dad actually.
...you are an opinion that I always value.
...you are a heart who has always shown me how important I am and I just want you to know I love you and truly wish I could be home to celebrate with you.

Oh yea, he is a great uncle too! :)

I love you big bro! I hope your birthday was one of the best, and that you got to take your pants out for a walk? ;)

Snails anyone?

Okay so it has been a while. I have been keeping myself a little busier over the weekend. Of course, the day I return to my blog I learn someone crazy made today "National Escargot Day." GROSS!!! I am not real sure why anyone would want to celebrate snails, much less eating them! YUCK!!

So anyhow, Saturday was the Marigold Festival in the little town of Winterville, where my parents grew up and where we went to church growing up. It is an event I looked forward to every year when I was younger and as I grew up. My dad was the announcer for the parade because he is just that awesome. Of course it is always fun to walk around the different booths that are set up in the park from the staple sand art to the surprising booth with huge turtles! Of course the day was not complete until dad and I had split a cup of delicious boiled peanuts and each of us wrangled our own share of homemade ice cream in different flavors. I managed to get away with a new book for a buck! Here are a few pictures from the festival, the rest will probably get uploaded when I get back to Germany. :)

Ok, well it is only letting me upload one picture for some reason! Saturday I also got to spend the afternoon with my old college roomie, Bray, at her baby shower. She is expecting her first, a baby boy, in July but will probably not last until July because the baby would be around 9 pounds if she waited. Bless her heart, she is ready! It was so good to see her and be able to celebrate with her at this exciting time in her life!

Later on Saturday we got a chance to celebrate my cousin, Tiffany, graduating from high school with some family. I know this is an exciting time in her life and we are proud of her. She is still unsure as to what God's plans are for her so please be in prayer about what her next step might be.

Sunday I spent the day with my mother-in-law's family. We went to church, had lunch, and just spent time together. Meme, Jonathan's grandmother, was not having a great day. Her throat was bothering her a lot so please continue to pray for her as she undergoes chemo treatments.

Monday and part of today was spent with Laura and the boys at her house and then we all headed into Athens Monday afternoon so Laura and I could meet up with my big brother John for a Giles siblings only dinner. It was a lot of fun to get together just the three of us. I can't think of the last time we have done that. It was definitely a nice treat on the visit home. Jonathan will get here Saturday afternoon so obviously I am very excited about that! We are looking forward to our time together at home before heading back to Germany.

Things I Miss the Most

Okay so I have been formulating this post in my mind for quite a while now and am finally taking the time to put it in writing!

1. Family & Friends: Obviously family and friends back home are what I miss more than anything. I hate that I can't just call someone up. I have to first do some basic math to figure out what time of day it is back home then decide whether it is important enough to pay the cost. I can't wait until our home phone gets set up and that second factor goes away. I think something I miss more than others is hanging out with my super cool nephews. I mean how many of you have an almost 3 year old nephew who pees on the Florida gator and sings Justin Beiber!?!?!? I am willing to take a guess that there are not many of you out there! I just hope my sweet nephews do not forget me and understand I still love them even though I do not see them as much.

2. Having a vehicle: Okay this is a temporary state but still, try going without a vehicle of any kind for two whole months. Believe me your patience will be tried!!! Jonathan and I are looking for some type of small SUV to drive mainly because the insurance is a little cheaper and we would feel safer! lol. In the meantime we do have Jonathan's scooter when we have to go run a quick errand but I am entirely reliable on my dear sweet friend Chrystal when it comes to grocery shopping. She allows me to tag along!

3. American ambulances: No, you did not misread that last one. I miss the sound of an american ambulance. I have attached a brief youtube video of an European police car going down the road. All sirens sound like this here! Mannheim is a fairly busy city so I can only say that I wish I could count on one hand the number of times in one day I have to listen to this awful sound!!! I never could have imagined wishing to hear an american siren!!

4. Walmart: Yea I said it! I miss Walmart. I miss being able to do all the shopping I need to do in one place! Even at its worst Walmart was still the most convenient place to go whenever you needed something.

5. Mexicali Grille and Chik-fil-A: My two favorites have been on the brain lately. You want to know how badly? I had a dream one night that I discovered that we had a Chik-fil-A on base and I was mad that I had not discovered it sooner!!! Yes, in my dream I was not delighted to have one but angry that I had not found it sooner!! I miss the cheesy beef quesadilla from Mexicali like crazy!!! In fact I must stop talking about these establishments before I go crazy!

6. Teaching & Coaching: Lastly, I miss having a classroom full of little minds to love and learn about. I miss the amazing teachers I worked with and how they made that place my second home and took care of me for two years and were with me when my baby was gone and encouraged and supported me all along. I also miss all the wonderful students I had the honor of coaching in volleyball and tennis. I got to know some amazing young people who are incredible people who I genuinely enjoyed spending time with! And not to forget the awesome coaches I worked with!!

Germany is different and I am glad we have the chance to be here but there will always be things about home that I miss and these are just a few of those things.

5 weeks

Well 5 weeks from now I will be getting ready to drive down to Jacksonville to pick up my hubby and I am so excited about it!!! It has been such a blast here at the beach but it has been a little bittersweet. I have loved spending this time with my family but it has also been sad to not have Jonathan here with me. He has been a real trooper though making himself available on Yahoo to talk to me whenever for the most part. He is such a sweetheart!

Well the week has been great and here are just a few more pictures of some of the moments dad captured. I sadly left my camera at home so I was dependent on other people's cameras. None the less, I am slightly ready to get back home and finish getting everything ready for when Jonathan gets home.

Laura and I decorating the golf cart.

Jack and I checking out the fish.

John, mom, and I on the beach watching the lighting!

39...At the Beach!

We are in the 30's now and what better way to celebrate than being at the beach with family. We arrived here in Myrtle Beach late Saturday afternoon. We got in a round of golfshoes, a game invented by our family. Dad and I teamed up together and proved to be doing well until a tragic ending where we were robbed by Laura and Josh.

Sunday morning we got up and have the breakfast of champions: cereal of course! We went to the beach and I read some of my latest book. We attempted to get Jack involved in making sand castles but he was slightly more interested in the demolition process of the sand castle building. Regardless it was a fun morning. It was very packed at the beach but we are hoping some of that dies down today since it won't be the weekend.

Sunday late afternoon we all, but dad and Jack, ventured to the outlets to look for some good shopping deals. I made a few purchases that I was pleased with and know I will get a lot of mileage out of them. We went to a nearby restaurant called Duffy Street for dinner. When I say nearby I mean John, Lisa, mom, and I put in our name and the others drove over in our golf cart limo from the beach house. Josh and Laura decided to rent a golf cart for our trips to and from the beach. They planned on renting a 6 seater but the company delivered an 8 seater. So we literally look like we are driving around a golf cart limo. Laura and I even decorated it with fourth of July decor. Dad has unfortunately not gotten a picture of it yet. After dinner we made homemade ice cream and took it down to the beach for the fireworks off the pier.

The fireworks show was a much anticipated one because we had seen it the last time we came here and loved it. The fireworks look really neat over the ocean. Plus they had some really neat fireworks last time that we had never seen done before. They did kind of like a waterfall of fireworks down falling under the pier. It was pretty neat. However, this year the fireworks were much more anticipated because they were supposed to start at 9:30 and we didnt have any fireworks until at least 10:15. :( The fireworks were pretty though. Here is one of the shots dad got with his fancy camera.