Trip to Spartanburg

This is Mike talking. While we were in the south we had the opportunity to head up north to Spartanbug SC to visit our future home. I was recently accepted to Sherman College of Chiropractic and will start this coming July 2012. I am excited for that new chapter in life. We were given a tour of campus and it was great to meet some of the staff and faculty and get a tour of campus.

I Remember

I remember when I would go to the airport and you could go to the gate and watch your loved ones get on their plane. I loved sitting by the big windows and watching the planes come and go.
I remember when I felt safe and secure in this country....invincible even.
I remember learning about war in 5th grade, thinking I would never experience terror, fear or war.
I remember laughing when adults would say that someday we would probably enter WWIII.
I can't remember what I had for breakfast a week ago...but I remember everything about September 11, 2001.

Ten years ago today I was in 6th grade. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Charleston, SC. I was leaving my 2nd period Spanish class to head to art. I remember seeing teachers whispering to each other. I had never seen adults look so scared and I had never seen them openly displaying that fear to students. I ran to class. The students were whispering and teachers were telling us to sit down and to please be quiet. So we waited and wondered if we were going to be alright.

Suddenly Mrs. Jones, from across the hall, ran into the room to talk to my teacher Mrs. Kidd. Mrs. Jones 5 year old grandson was in kindergarten in lower Manhattan. His dad worked in the North tower. He couldn't reach either of his parents so he called his grandma crying. While on the phone with him, they got cut off. Mrs. Jones was crying as she worried about her small grandson and his parents.

I was only 11 on September 11, 2001 but that day I wasn't worried about terrorists. I was worried that this little boy might never see his parents again. I didn't understand what was happening but I understood that something terrible had happened in New York. I asked my teacher what was happening and she pulled my friend Brittany and I out of class and told us what happened. Moments later, the principal announced that he was sending us home. He said, "Today is a day to be with your family, to be with those you love." I got home and when I opened the door, the second tower collapsed. I remember my mom holding my 5 year old brother and sitting with my friends mom. Joelle and I just stood there in shock and confusion. I was scared and confused.

Their may not have been a happy ending for this country but I take comfort in knowing that on that terrible day, their was good in the world. People were kind to one another and their was unity in this country like never before. The next day at school, Mrs. Jones came to tell me that her family was safe. Her son in law had gotten out of the North Tower safely and he was reunited with his wife and his young son. Mrs. Jones thanked us for caring. She said she was grateful that two young 11 year olds cared about her family that they had never met. Her daughter thanked us for caring about her son and offering to help in any way that we could. So while many families were shattered that day and the country was in darkness, their was a ray of sunshine for this one family.

I love the words of President Monson, “If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us.

“We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.“

Let us have the faith in God today that we had in him on this day ten years ago and always remember those who died, those who went in to save others and sacrificed themselves and above all, let us remember those who continue to fight for our freedom everyday. I'm grateful that ten years later I am married to my best friend and that I have the opportunity to obtain a college education so that someday I can teach children.

I know what fear and terror feel like but I will always remember September 11, 2001 and live each day being grateful that I have been given today.

Happy Birthday Katie

While I was home my little sister and best friend Katie Harley celebrated her 21st birthday. Mike and I spent the day with her to celebrate. We took her out to lunch at TGI Friday's and for dessert at Atlanta Bread Company for cheesecake. Katie and I have a tradition that every time we hang out in Mt. Pleasant we go and get cheesecake together...we decided to initiate Mike into this tradition this time.

After cheesecake which was amazing and so very very sweet, we went back to her house. Mike fell asleep on her couch (too much sugar...poor guy) but that left Katie and I to have some time for some much needed girl talk. It was so nice to just be able to talk with her. She always gives me great perspective on life and makes me feel better. I love my baby sister and I am so happy that we got to spend the day with her and celebrate her birthday! She is my very best friend and I'm so happy that we have stayed friends while being on opposite sides of the country for school.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!

Myrtle Beach

During our vacation to Charleston, Mike and I wanted to take a special trip by ourselves to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. We decided to go to Myrtle Beach, just a few hours from Charleston. It was so relaxing. We were only 3 blocks from the beach and only a 5 minute drive away from shopping. Mike got us reservations in a really nice hotel too. I don't think I've ever been as relaxed as I was there.

So basically we spent 3 days going to the beach and the pool....and the beach and the pool...and the beach and the pool again :) The water was so nice and warm and the weather was beautiful the whole time we were there. Mike had fun playing the nice warm Atlantic ocean and I had fun tanning in the warm sun and looking for sea shells.




(We went to the pool all the time too but I didn't take the camera...)

Ripley's Aquarium is in Myrtle Beach. I had been there but I wanted to take Mike. We went early in the morning so we were able to take our time and get lots of pictures of the animals without tons of people in the way.




The animals were more than happy to pose for our camera. Our first stop was Sharks: Perfect Predators. Luckily we had just watched Shark Week so we knew the names of all of the sharks :)





Mike swimming with the sharks ;)


Next was the tube of sharks. We had so much fun that we did this three times :) Some of the sharks were pretty scary looking and seemed really close.












We also saw a turtle and eels in the tank with the sharks :)



Ever since Mike and I got married, he has wanted to see an alligator. I have seen plenty of them in the wild but unfortunately we haven't been able to find one for Mike to see. So he was pretty happy that the aquarium had 3 baby alligators :)




We also got to see sting rays and of course more sharks :)






And what would an aquarium be without fish :)



On our last night, we decided to go for a long walk on the beach at sunset. I had never been on the beach at night so I really wanted to go. It was so beautiful and relaxing to just walk along the beach and talk.













We also got some nice pictures after the sun went down. You can't see them very well but trust me it was beautiful :)




Along with the beach and the aquarium, we also went mini-golfing. I have never seen so many mini-golf places in one town. I counted 20 on one street. Most of them were extremely expensive, so we found one that was only $5 a person, all day and we could come and go as we pleased. It wasn't the fanciest but we had fun. It was super hot and Mike was sweet enough to carry my back pack.






We had so much fun on our trip. Time seemed to move slower while we were there, the days really seemed longer. Something about the sun and the ocean just made us so relaxed. We can't wait to go back!