TEXAS

So this was so funny... We laid Avery down for a nap and I guess before she fell asleep she found my sister's makeup bag! Luckily she didn't put any of it on but it was hilarious to walk in on her conked out with a pile of makeup all around her! You still have a few more years Avery!!!

Avery with Grandma and Grandpa Grebe! We already miss ya'll!

The lovely couple! My sister and I flew in for a quick trip to TX for one of our very bestest friend's wedding! Joey wasn't able to come with me because he had a lot of school work and midterms, so it was Avery and myself on a plane! Luckily, it wasn't difficult at all; the nicest lady sat by me on the way there and she slept most of the plane ride back. We had a great time!

Bridesmaids!

Robyn's Wedding Pictures. They have a cute story.... they met at EFY four years ago (she had him from the time he heard her TX accent) and he still had her contact info. that luckily had not changed! They found each other four years later and here they are married!!!

My beautiful sister Renee! carrying on the Varsity cheerleader tradition in the Grebe family! Love ya and miss ya!

Avery was all decked out to support the BOBCATS!!! What a CUTIE!

My Mom, Avery and I at the Hallsville High School football game vs our rival Pine Tree, it couldn't have been a better weekend for some TX high school football. It was fun and I got to see some of the people I had graduated with!

Ryan, Rachel & Avery, Robert, Rosanne, and Renee (all my siblings and Avery) I love them so much!

Weekend with the Cousins

Fun with the cousins! The first night we made little ghosts. They are nutter butters covered in white chocolate and chocolate chips are used for the two eyes and mouth. Avery was sleeping when we did this activity but it was probably best. She would have been a mess. We'd all drop them in the chocolate and I'd pull them out for them to embellish with the chocolate chips. mmmmm......They tasted so good! (I wanted a picture of them before we ate them, so I had to get Joey to take the picture fast!)

More pictures with the cousins!

Avery is growing up so fast and catching onto everything. Whenever I say, "Avery its time to go bye-bye", she immediately walks to the front door and if I'm too slow to get there she'll start tapping on it. The other day I was doing some reading for school and she brought her shoes to me. I took them from her and sat them on the couch. She picked them up again and handed them to me this time by grabbing my hand and putting the shoe in my hand. I couldn't help but laugh. She wanted her shoes on. So I put them on and she walked to the door. I quit my reading and walked outside with her. I love these little moments that she brings to my life! It's amazing to watch kids grow and learn!

Joey took Avery and Jill's boys Nikki, Anthony and Christpher to our favorite park and they had a lot of fun! Avery just kept trying to keep up with them.

Football = Religion in GA!!!

I love the Texas Longhorns, but the first time I sat in Sanford stadium at kick off when all the fans yell, "Gooooooo Dogs sick 'em" and started barking you can't help but feel the passion these people possess for their team. I got chill bumps and after 3 years of living here and attending the games I'll confess if the Dawgs played the Longhorns, I'd have to cheer for the BULLDAWGS!!!!

Is this not one of the most beautiful places you've seen?!?!?! 92,746 Dawg fans all in black! (well with the exception of the 'bama fans who wore white)

Just a couple of pictures of Joey and I. We look tired in all these pics but we sure had a fun filled day. We got to see Lee Corso and Kirk Urbstreit (sp?) then head to the blackout game that night. The only way it could have been better was if The Dawgs had won; but it's ok we'll see 'Bama at the SEC championship game in Atlanta!!!

So we got up around 5:30AM (yes we are crazy I know!) and headed down to where gameday was set up. When we got there the line was already forever long but we stood and waited to get in. We didn't get in but we were lucky enough to get right on the fence. There were crazier fans than us who said they'd waited since 1AM! I love it! Around 10am campus and everywhere surrounding was flooded with tailgaters. Kids of all ages throwing footballs and getting geared up for the game. IT'S INCREDIBLE!!! Jenni came out and watched Avery so Joey and I could both go. We had a blast acting like kids again staying up late and running around campus yelling for the BULLDAWGS!!!

This is the actual picture that college gameday took for us!! The picture of Knowshon hurdling Nick Saban Jason made! Everyone seemed to love that poster!

Here are a few of our favorite signs from gameday that were appropriate to post! We absolutely love Knowshon Moreno in this house! It's so fun to see him on TV as this big star and then as an everyday guy walking around campus!!!

So here's our crew heading off to the game! The girl next to me is our friend, Samantha, and I love her because we both share a true passion for football. She had a ticket to the game but about a week and half before gave it to her husband to use! A couple days later the Bulldogs called for a "black out" and also announced that ESPNs gameday was coming to Athens. At this point she was wishing she had her ticket back. The Thursday before the game USC (who was ranked #1) lost to Oregon St. (hahaha) and she couldn't bare it! She told him oh I wish I was going and he told her she could have her ticket back. She unhesitantly took her ticket back and came with us to the game! (Joey was taking the pic)

Before the game we went to the Dawg Walk which is a ton of fun! The band plays and Coach Richt and the players are there! The fans form around as the players enter the stadium. It's just a really great way to get the fans and the players pumped up!!!

So, the game in the second half was a bit more fun than the first half when they basically manhandled us! This was the last pic we took of the night because we wanted to remember nothing after this point. The good news is they were able to spring back from the loss and beat Tennessee and Vanderbilt and as of right now the Bulldogs control their own fate, so Let's start by declawing the LSU Tigers!!!! As for the black jerseys..... and the black out I don't think they'll bring those back out this season.

Weekend Fun

This weekend the weather was so nice, so after watching college game day we headed over to Memorial Park. We didn't know until after 1 1/2 years of living in Athens that we have a little zoo. It's small but it has black bears, otters, bobcats, and many different birds including a bald eagle. We took Avery and she had a blast. They also have playgrounds and a a big pond with ducks and geese they allow you to feed.
She loved the swings!!!

She becomes more and more independent everyday. As we were walking the trails to see the animals she did not want me to hold her hand, she wanted to walk by herself.

Later that day Kimi and Taylor came out to watch the game with us. (and we hi-lited Kimi's hair) Avery is so lucky because she has so many cousins (12 first cousins)that no matter what the age are happy to play with her. Taylor and AVery were exceptionally cute last night. While we were watching the UGA vs ASU football game (which was awesome) Joey put Shrek on in the bedroom for the girls. Avery did not want to watch the movie she wanted to play. Well, she doesn't know how to play so nicely yet. I go and peek in on them to make sure everything is ok and Taylor says to me, "Rachel, can you get her to be quiet please and watch the movie?" I couldn't help but laugh cause she was so sincere, I thought to myself I wish I could and she understand me...

So, next Avery decides she wants to play with Taylor's hair by yanking it. Poor Taylor, she was such a good sport. I tried to show her it wasn't nice, but still she just doesn't understand yet. So Taylor puts the blanket over her head so Avery can't pull it anymore. This was just the remedy because...

she got Avery to lay down and watch the movie with her.(at least for a lil bit) THey were so cute the whole night!!!Thank you Taylor for being so patient!

I LOVE BEING A MOMMY

I got this from a friend of mine and fell in love with it:

The Girl I Used to Be
Author unknown

She came tonight as I sat alone,
The girl I used to be,
And she gazed at me with her earnest eyes,
And questioned reproachfully,
Have you forgotten the many plans,
And hopes I had for you?
The great career,
The splendid fame,
All the wonderful things to do?
Where is the mansion of stately height,
With all of its gardens rare?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you,
And the shining jewels in your hair?
And as she spoke,I was very sad,
For I wanted her pleased with me,
This slender girl from the shadowy past,
The girl I used to be.

So gently rising,
I took her hand and guided her up the stairs,
Where peacefully sleeping,
My babies lay, innocent, sweet and fair.
And I told her that these are my only gems,
And precious they are to me.
That silken robe is my motherhood,
Of costly simplicity.
And my mansion of stately height is love,
And the only career I know,
Is serving each day in these sheltered walls,
For the dear ones who come and go.
And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,
She smiled through her tears at me,
And I saw the woman that I am now,
Pleased the girl that I used to be!

TRIP WEST

An elk we saw going through Yellowstone Park and Tower Fall!  So I'm still catching up, I get the Utah and Idaho pics up soon! I am still figuring this blogging thing out!  I couldn't get this in the order I wanted it, but don't want to redo it!!! I've learned for next time.
Mommy and Avery in front of the cabin leaving and off to see Josh, Kim and their family in Idaho Falls!
Joey really enjoyed scenic Montana and all the wildlife.  He and Ben wanted to see a bear so bad!  My Aunt two cabins down left some food in her car and the windows half down just two nights before we got there.  Somehow a bear got into her car and completely devoured her driver seat, middle console and the entire back seat.  She said the funniest part of the story was the call to the insurance company.  So, Ben and Joey woke up one morning at 5:30am to set out and find some wildlife.  They didn't find any bears but they saw 6 moose that were only about 15 ft. from where they were 4-wheeling.  


Spending time with Rachel's grandma and grandpa.  They are 90 years old and have been married for 69 years. They still act so in love!!!  They are adorable... While we were there I gave my grandma a much needed perm and haircut.  After she was all ready for church my grandpa said, my goodness I get to take that beautiful thing to church with me!!!  I love them so much!!!
We rode up Daisy pass and ventured off on some small trails to an old gold mine.  Ben and his fiance came up for a day and Joey and Ben were determined to find some real gold!



We did a lot of four-wheeling!  Avery even had a good time and was fascinated by all the new things around her.
They caught a little fish in the river in front of the cabin, she is definitely a daddy's girl... I 

put bows in her hair and dress her up and she yanks the bows out and gets so messy:(  but she'll sit and watch football or go fishin'

with daddy!

More pictures of Montana/ Avery & Daddy fishing by the river in front of the cabin


July 31, 2008

Our trip began immediately following Joey's Biology final (which he aced!).  We then drove straight to Lincoln, Nebraska and arrived at 4:30 AM.  It took about 15 hrs and Avery was AMAZING!!!  She did not fuss the entire trip in the car except for when she was hungary and we would make her a bottle and she was fine.  The only problem was that when we would arrive to our destination, Lincoln for example, she was ready to play!  We finally got her to sleep at about 5 and then we got up and hit the road at 8:30 AM and headed for Montana!

August 1, 2008

The drive to Montana was a long one.  It also was about 15-16 hours, and the drive across Nebraska was brutal.  then in Wyoming Joey was pulled over and got a ticket for going 12 over (we just wanted to get there) but the cop gave us a $10 discount for wearing our seat belts!  and the ticket was only $60 in georgia it would have been over $150!  Anyway so we stopped in Cody,Wy before going up into Cooke city, Mt to do some grocery shopping because there isn't anywhere to in Cooke City.  Then we arrived to Cooke City around midnight.

August 2, 2008

We woke up and had breakfast and We took a 4-wheeler ride around paradise acres (the land that Rachel's family owns) and then took the 4-wheelers up some of the trails.  The picture above was one of Joeys favorite places called Sheep mountain.  The lens on the camera was dirty so it is kinda cloudy and the picture just doesn't do it justice.  Standing up there we could count over 10 different lakes! the picture is looking just to the right there are more to the left.

Avery's 1st Birthday (Time flies)

Digging into the yummy cake:)

Avery and Daddy (she is definitely a daddy's girl)

It feels like just yesterday we brought little Avery Madison home from the hospital. Now she is running around everywhere and into everything! She has blessed our lives in so many ways and is more fun than we imagined! As we celebrated her first birthday it made me stop to realize how important every moment is cause they grow up way too fast!!! We had a little party for her at Grandma And Grandpa Graham's and she had a blast! (of course she loved being the center of attention) Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for letting us have it at your house and all the other sweet things you do!