Pi Phi's at Lake Burton

Since returning from our honeymoon- quite possibly the best vacation ever- Danny and I have been fortunate enough to pack in multiple weekend getaways, all of which have been a complete blast! This past weekend was no exception to the fantastic summer, and it was also one of our favorites.

Friday we Linengers had the other Linengers (Sr.) over for dinner, our first time hosting them as a married couple. Danny dazzled them with his new margarita machine, and don't you dare think he didn't make that a pivotal point as we planned the menu and he conveniently decided on enchilladas. Mexican and margaritas, a perfect Friday night! We had a great time with them and they enjoyed seeing our work to the condo.

The next morning came early, but completely on purpose. We wanted to pack in as much lake time as possible! One of my Pi Phi girls flew in from Boston to host us all at her boyfriend's lake house in the mountains at the beautiful Lake Burton. Jonathan and Jackie greeted us with boat drinks upon arrival, and the excitement continued throughout the day as the other guests arrived. We gorged on a pot-luck lunch, enjoyed a pontoon ride, and a nap on the boat house deck. The boys kept themselves busy making up many water games (who isn't competitive in every thing they do?) and we all enjoyed dinner at La Prada's on the Lake. Saturday night was filled with Kat's cupcake birthday celebration and a little dance party. Sunday everyone slept in and awoke to a beautiful day once again. The boys did a little fishing before breakfast and afterwards we all spent the afternoon in the water. The boys were kind enough (or forced) into paddling the canoe while we all held on to a rope and formed a chain of rafts. It ended up with six girls in tow as they paddled way across the cove to let us jump on a water trampoline. I'm sure they're a little sore today as it was close to a full hour tour!

The story behind our Pi Phi group is pretty neat. We all went to college in separate states and ended up friends here in Atlanta because of our sorority connection. Each of the girls are really special in their own way, everyone adding something to the group. We don't do many things with the boys but after this weekend we will be sure to do more. They all got along so well and are each equally as caring and fun as their girlfriends/wives/fiancees. Every time we Pi Phis get together is full of laughter, and adding the boys to the mix provided even more entertainment.

We couldn't be more thankful for Jonathan opening up his family's house to us all, and we're even more excited to know that it's now referred to as the "First Annual" Lake Weekend, inferring that he's sweet enough to plan the same great thing again for next summer! Next time we hope that Julia and The Jenney Family (including little Parker, due in Novemeber) will be able to join us!

Introducing Kevin & Dawn Wandra

The last two weekends have been centered around Danny's sister, Dawn, and her fiance, Kevin.

Last Friday Danny and his two brothers took out Kevin and his best man, Mike, for a low key night at Taco Mac and then ended up at Flip Flops in Midtown until wee hours of the morning. The following night Dawn's high school friends from Chattahoochee and myself dined at RA Sushi and then danced the night away at CosmoLava!

This weekend we enjoyed the company of extended family in town for their wedding. The Linenger Crew came in from Michigan and I was extra excited that my parents came to stay with us. Friday night the wedding party enjoyed dinner at Cinco's in Smyrna. Saturday Kevin and Dawn's wedding took place at Holy Spirit Catholic Church and the reception was at Maggiano's in Buckhead. The food was excellent of course, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a late night of dancing, the DJ played lots of rap music...my calves have yet to recover! Kevin and Dawn escaped early Sunday morning for their honeymoon in Mexico. They're staying at an Excellence Resort like we did, so I have no doubt it will be wonderful for them as well.

Danny and I were happy to host his family for a couple hours on Sunday afternoon. They all came over to see our house, now that the renovations are 99.9% complete, then we headed to Felini's for dinner before they traveled back to Michigan! They are a really fun group of people and it was so nice to spend time with everyone. Danny's Aunt Judy presented us with the most incredible scrapbook; she's been working on it for months! We got a sneek peek back in April but since then she added many pages documenting our wedding festivities. I can't explain how wonderful this book really is; we're so impressed (Danny even took it to show at work today, haha)!

After two weekends of partying, Danny and I are pooped. We're looking forward to a low key week and resting up for fun at the lake next weekend!

all the cousins

Florida 4th of July

Our friends, Brooke and Jonathan, invited us to spend the 4th of July Weekend with them at their beach house in Panama City. Halfway expectant of nasty tarballs, we were thrilled to arrive and see perfect white sandy beaches and enjoy beautiful weather all weekend long.

Jonathan's family has been vacationing in PCB for many many years, so we got the full vacation experience, starting off at Gator Stop near Eufala, Alabama. Danny came out of the convenience store with a can of Vienna Sausages to feed the gators that roam behind the gas station. Presently there is a fence between the pond and the parking lot, but Jonathan said there used to be no separation and gators would come up to people filling up their cars with gas! Boy are we glad the fence is there now. This gator sure was hungry...atleast for those Vienna Sausages, nearly eating a turtle to get the little bite of meat. And let's talk about one brave turtle!

We spent Saturday and Sunday lounging at the beach, reading, tanning, and taking brief dips in the water. That kind of relaxation only comes at the beach. After spending so much time on the bathroom renovation the past couple weeks (we're almost done) Danny and I were in Heaven doing nothing. Well, nothing...and eating. We enjoyed a nice dinner at The Boat Yard Saturday, one of the Duckett's favorites, and spent July 4th watching fireworks off the Pier while dining at Margaritaville. After dinner we headed to Tootsie's, a country bar made to look like the original historic one in Nashville. We had an absolute blast! Brooke & Jonathan are so wonderful to be around, we really enjoyed the chance to spend some time with them, and could not have been more grateful for our weekend getaway!!

PS- It was our 3 year dating "anniversary" this weekend, and while we now have an official marriage anniversary to celebrate, there is no way I'll let a July 3rd pass without reminding/teasing my sweet sappy husband that he called his mom to say, "the fireworks started early this year!" after our first kiss on July 3 '07.