Ashley's Surprise Party

Last week Rebecca messaged me to tell me we were having a surprise party for our fellow Team Elite family member, Ashley's 29-ish-ish birthday. Now, I can keep a secret, but I am very impatient thus making me the worst person to invite to a surprise party. It was hard to keep that cat in the bag. Every time I spoke to Ashley I just knew I was going to accidentally spill the beans.

We met Sunday at Taco Mac at the Mall of Georgia to celebrate Ashley turning one year older this coming weekend. Rebecca did a great job of decorating with some of Ashley's favorite things--mason jars filled with flowers and UGA. 

Ashley's best friend, Amber, was in charge of getting her there. When we finally heard they were on their way, we got even more anxious for the surprise. The look on Ashley's face when she saw all of us waiting for her was worth all of the almost slip-ups that each of us almost made. She had ZERO idea.

Look at that face!! 

We may or may not have started a small-ish fire with our candles and decorations. No big deal. We have it under control, ya'll!

If you know this girl, you know she loves her head pieces.

A ring she had apparently been drooling over

Adorable plates Amber made for her with different style H's on them. (Now I want a set)

It was so fun meeting all of her and Shane's friends and family that I had heard and read so much about. I can easily see why she loves all of them so much. They are such fun, sweet people to be around. Heck, I think I may have to join the family I loved them so much.

Mark your calendars and head over to Ashley's blog, Baseball-Diamonds & Hairspray,  Friday to tell her Happy Birthday!!

Billy's 26 Birthday Cookout

Saturday Billy turned 26! Apparently we've gotten old now that going out seems like such a miserable time. Instead, we decided to grill out and have a few friends over to celebrate with us! It rained all morning and I was completely worried about how it may not ever stop, but it it finally did just in time. It was still a little cold, so we weren't able to enjoy the patio, but we still had a good time anyway! 

Look how big Addie has gotten!!

unfortunately I didn't think to get any pictures of his birthday presents -- a new pair of Oakleys, Sirus Radio for his truck, and everyone's favorite, cash!

Year Four

WHEW! Finally made it to our most recent year together. Holy Cow, where has the time gone? Have we really turned into grown ups?! 

This past year seems like we've totally gotten into a groove. I celebrated my first year of a full-time job. Billy continued working on his masters and coaching baseball 3 seasons out of the year. So ultimately, absolutely nothing new.. or really, I've kind of lost track and I know that no one really cares at this point, we're all just in it for the pictures.

It's crazy to think that Billy and I have spent four years together. I am happy that I am still as crazy over him as I was from the very beginning. I hope we never lose this feeling. But I hope I do a better job of documenting more of it ;)))

Year Three

Our third year together absolutely FLEW by! I spent the spring interviewing for jobs in Atlanta and finishing out my final semester of classes and completing my capstone for graduation. In March, I was finally offered a GREAT job with incredible benefits and pay that I accepted on the spot. Billy continued subbing, working at the sporting goods store and coaching baseball. I believe it was right around then that he began his master's program for education. I enjoyed my last fleeting moments of being a college kid and so looked forward to being closer to Billy again. 

I graduated from our beloved Alma mater in May 2012 with a degree in Management Information Systems. I am only a mere 2 electives shy of having a degree in Management as well now. I gotta finish that. The next day, I said goodbye to my roommates and moved into my Atlanta apartment. The next Monday I started my career in the tallest building in Atlanta. It was great being able to see Billy on more than just weekends and not through a chain-link fence.

As I said, that year just passed us by without us even blinking. Billy had school. I had work. Billy also was juggling his multiple teams at that point. Apparently it was also at this point that I stopped taking pictures for an extended period of time. 

We celebrated weddings of friends.

We of course visited lots of braves games

I drug him to more concerts and Average Joe's Ent. events that I could even begin to list. But goodness they were fun!

Year Two

We rang in our second anniversary with breakfast at Waffle House before he headed out on a road trip. Oh, the romance I tell you.. 

Year two was the beginning of big changes for us. I declared myself as a double major, and Billy was finishing up his Senior year. Of course, most of our time was spent at the baseball field. I loved every single minute sitting up on that hill watching the team play. 

I swear I only wore that shirt because I was trying to get tan.

When we weren't at the field, we were with my roommates or out with our friends. There were so many nights of laughter and fun times. Even back then, we still did trivia every. single. week.

Trivia night at Pickle Barrel. This was also the night we celebrated Billy's 23rd birthday.

Apparently I also wore these boots a lot.

Casey Michelle grew up on us.. Besides no longer having a puppy, everything was just right in our world.

Our anniversary, which is Valentines weekend. February 2011... No, Billy didn't actually buy be all of those roses.

Easter 2012

Billy graduated in May 2011 with a bachelors degree in Mathematics. About a week later, he moved back home. I stayed behind to finish my last year of school. Again this summer, I went to see him every chance I got. I had just purchased my first car that my parents didn't help me with, and I added the miles on it fast.

Billy started his first year coaching baseball with Team Elite. He loved it! I loved it.. sorta. It took up a lot of time, but I was willing to overlook it as long as I could tag along. I actually think our very first fight was right about this summer, over how time consuming summer ball was. No, we never fought and rarely still do.

Oh that heafty guy over on first, that's Billy. Summer ball and all of it's fast food has a way of adding on the pounds.

When we weren't at the field, we were at the cabin. This was when I realized how in love I was with that place. Like every year, we spent the 4th of July there. Eating fried chicken and watching the fireworks on a blanket during the hot summer nights has always been one of my favorite memories.

At the end of that summer, we took our first trip together, just the two of us to Pigeon Forge, TN. We were so broke at the time and were doing it on a tight budget, but we still felt like we were such adults being off on our own.

That year, I went back to school without him. Billy started working at a sporting goods store while he "took a year off." I worked 4 days a week and absolutely loved my job. I started heavily interviewing for jobs basically anywhere that would schedule an interview with me for post graduation. The good news about that, it gave me excuses to go to Atlanta to see Billy. Billy continued coaching with Team Elite in the fall, so rarely was he ever able to come visit me. 

We visited our first corn maze

Apple Festival Weekend 2012

We continued splitting holidays with my family and his--lunch with mine, dinner and the rest of the weekend with his. Christmas was the first time that I was around his ENTIRE family at once. I must say, I adore them all. They are such a fun bunch to be around and we never have any time to get bored.

New Years Day 2012 - Stanley Creek

I started back to my final semester of college and I was working my butt off in class, at work, and to find a big girl job. In January, Billy started coaching high school baseball and working on his Masters in Education. We celebrated Year 3 in February 2012 with Sushi (I think) in Milledgeville.