Dear Blog....

Dear Blog,
I am so sorry that I have neglected you for the past month or two. The life of a teacher makes August really difficult to manage with that whole school thing starting back.  When I have time to breath a few breaths of air and catch up, I promise to show you some tender love and care. Until then, please know that I have not forgotten you though it appears as though I have neglected you. Please be patient.
Much Love,
Kelly

In a nutshell...

The past two weeks have been a little busy! I don't have many pictures to accompany my post (except for ones I stole from other people), but I thought I would fill you in on the events!  Here's the recap in a nutshell...

- I met up with quite a few of my teacher friends from school to head to Blowing Rock for lunch at Makoto's and to shop at the outlets! Adrian happened to be working in Blowing Rock at the same time so he swung by and picked me up!

- I was able to visit my precious friend, Sarah, who lives in Franklin, NC. It was great catching up, playing with her little girls, and going to see David Crowder in concert. (I stole this picture from you, Sarah! Hope you don't mind! :))

- Saturday, Adrian and I went to the Elledge Family reunion at my Uncle Jack's house! It was great to see everyone and catch up on life! I stole a few pictures from my dad as well! ;)

My adorable grandparents - Joe and Betty!

Uncle Jack (my grandpa's brother) and his dog Zorro!

Adrian and me!

My lovely mom!

Brothers! (My grandpa and his brother, Jack)

My dad and my 2nd cousin, Scott.

There's always joking involved when the Elledges get together! Pictured here are my mom and Donna (Scott's mom) in the front, with my uncle David (my dad's brother) and Aunt Gerri (Jack's wife) in the background.

- After we left the family reunion, Adrian and I headed to pick up my cousin Ashley.  She came back to our house and spent several nights with us.  We watched The Phantom of the Opera, went to church, lunch with my mom at Zaxby's, went to a movie - Grown Ups, and stopped by to visit my grandma on the way home! It was a fun weekend! I forgot to take any pictures, so here's one of Ashley and me from Father's day weekend!

Sugar learns to read!

A few days ago, I was reading a book while Sugar slept beside me.  However, within a matter of minutes, Sugar had learned to read! I am sure that you can guess who was behind these pictures!

My reading is quite intense in this picture!

"I love to read, just like my mom!" - Sugar

July 4th Festivities

Okay... so I'm a little behind on the blog! Oh well... We celebrated the 4th of July on three different occasions! On Saturday, July 3rd, we went with Adrian's parents, sister, and niece to a cookout at the home of some friends of the family. We enjoyed great food, fun games, and fireworks! (see the pictures below) On Sunday, July 4th, my parents came over to our house and we grilled out! My dad made some fabulous ribs, and Adrian grilled the chicken! After eating, we played a game of dominoes, which Adrian for all purposes won (we stopped after several rounds because it was getting late). Finally, on July 5th, we headed over to Adrian's parents' house where they grilled out and had some friends over. It was a great holiday weekend! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the latter two to post.

Makenzie and Joe (Adrian's dad) showing off their fist pump skills!

"I love chocolate cake!"

Smile, Adrian!

Allison (Adrian's sister) and Makenzie chilling on the grass!

Joe and his friend won the water balloon toss!!!

Makenzie and Joe with matching necklaces!

Susie (Adrian's mom) and Allison getting ready for the obstacle course! Ride a little pony...

Adrian getting ready for the chubby bunny contest!

Me stuffing marshmallows in Adrian's mouth! He won the contest with 14 marshmallows!  I think his winning had something to do with the extraordinary skills of the stuffer!!! ;)

Mak loves her uncle Adrian!

Everybody sing along!

A few weeks ago, our life group from church came over and we played guitar hero/rock band! Fun times! I never knew there was such talent among our group! Here are a few pictures from the night!

Brian takes a turn on the drums!

The next boy band is born! Look out Backstreet Boys!

Kevin breaks it down to Hilary Duff!

Mullet man! One of the many costumes/wigs Adrian modeled for us!

Tim on guitar, and Adrian on the drums!

Tim and Shannon! (and my hand and Sugar...hehe)

This week we had our Life Group back at the Cravens house and we started a new series for the summer called Travel the Road ( a documentary that follows the lives of two young men who engage in extreme missions). I am so thankful for a group of believers that we can meet with each week, read God's Word, and talk about life!

Playtime with Mak!

A week or two ago, Adrian and I went to visit the Patton's (Adrian's sister, brother-in-law, and niece) at their house.  We had such a great time, and Makenzie enjoyed showing us all her cool stuff and tricks! We took Sugar with us, which Makenzie specifically requested.

This is where Sugar always sits when we ride in the car! She loves her momma!

Cookie time!

Mak showing me her teeth! :)

Tea party! Makenzie even has a special song to sing with her spoon... stir it, stir it, tap it, tap it, and put in on the side.

Makenzie's very own obstacle course and flipping arena!

Makenzie, Allison, and Sugar! Pretty girls!

Makenzie showing us her stretches!

Look at us with our sunglasses! This picture was actually taken another day, but I couldn't resist putting it on here! Fun times!

POOOOL PARTAAYYYYY!

 Last week, our Life Group from church got together and had a fun-filled pool party! We had a fabulous time (after the rain/storm cleared through) with fun, food, and fellowship!

Shaun and Maddie-Moo peaking over the edge!

Jeannette - our wonderful picture taker and adopted life-group member! Jeanette is actually in another life group, but she's been sneaking off and coming to ours!

  

 Kevin and his famous donkey smile! You know... donkey from Shrek!?  See the resemblance?

Adrian and the fishy float! Ever since I first met Adrian, he's always been trying to fit into kid-sized floats!The first outing I went to when I first started going to Christ Church was a Lake Party, and guess who was in a Power Rangers Inner Tube!?!?

 Here I go, Here I go, Here I go again!

 Andrew lounging by the pool! After jumping off the diving board with no swimmies on multiple times, it's time for a break!

 Laura, Maddie, and Adrian with the fish float! Maddie got a kick out of Adrian's silly faces! I mean, who doesn't, right? 

                          

Stay tuned for this week's exciting Life Group adventures... guitar hero fun!

Biscuits, Anyone?!

So, I decided to try to make biscuits! The first batch that I made ended up quite flat... but biscuit-making-try-number-two produced some yummy fluffy biscuits!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Just a quick post of my daddy and me on Father's Day! Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!

Tiebreaker, anyone?

Our Life Group had a fun-filled game night... guys vs. girls! The first game we played was Taboo, which the girls definitely dominated! Next we played Mad Gab Multi-Media edition, at which the guys totally rocked (however, I must mention that the girls had one less person, and unbeknownst to us, there was an easier side to the mad-gab cards)! It was a fun-filled night! This week's activity... pool party!

Shaun and Laura

The guys after their mad-gab victory!

The girls after our mad-gab defeat...

The Taboo score card! Go girls!

Guys lost = Kevin!  Girls Won = Jeannette!