Cosmic Bowling

Friday night Dave and I had a wonderful time with some of our most precious friends!

Luke and Juilianna joined us for a little dinner at Logan's and while we were there, we all decided that bowling was in order. Granted, this is NOT a sport that I am good at, nor have I played since probably high school, but I knew a good time would be had by all!

Bama Lanes is one of the two choices we have for bowling and was something none of us had done in quite some time. We were surprised, to say the least, at the average cost of bowling in Tuscaloosa, but had a blast none-the-less.

Dave and Luke, of course, dominated the first game, but JV came back and gave them a run for their money on the second one! I almost beat Dave in the second game, but after a few gutter balls I had blown my lead :( He did finish in third behind Luke (1st) and JV (2nd) - and I must admit, I was still excited about that! We ALL know he is a very competitive person when it comes to winning, so to have a GIRL beat him was pretty funny!

...And the Savage's Surprises go to...

Remember the special surprise Dave and I picked up LAST Friday? Well, I am going to let you all in on a little secret: This is how I asked to three special people to be in mine and Dave's wedding (with these "sweet" little surprises)! Box One was the reason for our trip to the Post Office! We needed to send a special package to Sweet Amelie! She lives in NYC so I had to make sure the cookie got to her fresh and unbroken! I wish I had taken a picture of what it looked like by the time Dave and I got finished wrapping it in bubble wrap, but the good news is: She got it - in one piece! YAY! I also wish I could have given it to her personally, but, we have to do what we have to do and the phone call I got "post opening" the package was just as great!

Box Two was a special delivery to Miss Sarah! We managed to catch her still roaming around Bham and luckily on our way home from the wondeful basketball game! These were meant to be cute, happy little surprises but so far, I'm two for two on my special friends crying... Then laughing hysterically :) Sarah, more or less, is the reason Dave and I are together, so I couldn't imagine anyone more fitting to be a part of our special day!Box Three was the hardest to deliver! My Dearest Abigail, with her super busy schedule, had to be caught! Dave actually ran into her meandering to class on Monday, but I didn't get to deliver her surprise until Friday. I knew she had a jammed-packed schedule with her dad being down for parents weekend, so I had decided to just drop by the house to either drop it off by her door or, as I was praying, that I would bump into her :) So, Dave and I went by the house Friday afternoon and it just so happened I ran into this pretty lady right as she was leaving! She loved the cookie (as I knew she would), and I was happy I had finally gotten to ask my last sweet friend for such a special favor!

I was hoping to have pictures with everyone, but sometimes life throws us all a few curve balls. Never fear, though, there will be many more opportunities soon to come!

We've Been BUSY!

You might be noticing a few different elements to our page :)

And you would be right... We have been busy! We started thinking that we would eventually need a different website to keep wedding planning information updated on along with somewhere to keep our registries. But then I got to thinking: "That's a huge hassle - for EVERYONE"!

So, I looked around during my breaks from studying today and found out how to make "buttons". Please, don't get too excited, it was nowhere near as easy as I first thought it to be, but between me AND Dave, we managed to get it done!

You'll notice that you can simply click on the picture and it will take you to the corresponding website, complete with our registry! On some of the sites you will have to enter specific information, but never fear, I have made them ALL the same. It usually takes my name (Loren Brown), and the wedding date (May 14, 2011). Sometimes the state is thrown in there somewhere (Alabama), as well.

Ideally we wanted to be able to keep people reading our blog AND updated on wedding information all in one place! :) Now you can have up to date information as we venture out to find our location, set times for special events and everything in between!

Please be patient with us as we tweak things, though :)

Game Day and The Good Luck Charm!

Sunday presented to us, The Main Event!

Jana's game was to be played at two in the afternoon, and boy were ALL the Ashley's excited (as was I)! We kicked the morning off with a delightful breakfast with everyone, but me, in true George Mason colors! Dave was pretty upset when I pulled out my outfit choice for the day. (**Quick Flashback: Last year around this time, Dave and I made a trip to D.C. to visit with Jana. It was their Pink Meet so I was instructed to pack all things pink for the game. Please understand, I do not own very many things "pink". This color has NEVER been something I chose to wear often. Mason won that game a year ago, when I wore my "all things pink" and so I decided to try my luck at this game. Please say tuned to the conclusion of the post to see how things worked out!**)

We made our way to gym (after the valet attendants made themselves look rather unorganized and baffled about their job) with great anticipation for the game! I was pretty excited. I hear about all of these girls throughout the year and very rarely do I get to put names to actual faces! I knew a few from last year's visit, but there were some new faces on the team as well.

I must mention, though, there is this one player - Jannae - that will forever be known by a different name from me, and I'll tell you why... Ninnie made a peach pie special for her (due to a yearning desire for Southern food, peach cobbler specifically, on a particular basketball trip and being forbidden to eat it!). This lady was SUPER excited and gracious about her special made peach cobbler! Therefore, to me, she is known as "Peach Pie".

OK, back from my rabbit trail! The Game...

The game was nothing short of action packed! There were ups and downs (like in every good game), good three point shots and some fouls, but the last five minutes were my favorite! I saw a team go from nine points behind to making some good plays. They got a few fouls, but also made ALL their baskets to bring themselves home a W-I-N! That's right, George Mason girls took home a BIG win this weekend! And you want to know why? It was because I was there and wore my PINK :) Not really, but it's nice to think you could be part of some type of "luck" floating around our universe! Talk about pumped. I know these girls were so excited, Jana definitely was (Congrats Coach J Rae!)! A win for Mason and a win on Ninnie's special birthday celebration weekend put the cherry on top of everything!

Once again, I feel so blessed to be a part of this family's special day(s).

Happy REAL Birthday, Ninnie!

Yes, that is right! Saturday was Ninnie's actual 80th birthday. But in TRUE celebration form, we celebrate birthday "weeks" in this family... and in Ninnie's case, the WHOLE month of February! This birthday was proving to be a special one, just wait!

Our (mine and Dave's) day began with a visit to the Post Office. We then set out for Atlanta because Jana's basketball team was making a trip down South and we were super pumped about it! Dave had the whole morning planned out to a "T", time-wise, because after all, he is ALWAYS going to have your flight itinerary - I don't care who you are or where you are going!

While driving on I-20, we see this HUGE dog hanging out of the back of this 4-Runner! Dave fell in love!

We made a few detours along the way, but got there - almost on time - to begin our special weekend :) (**Please Note: I did have a hand in altering the "schedule" slightly, because I had some issues at the Post Office. But, let the record state, that it was Dave's idea to eat Chick-Fil-A for lunch, AGAIN, which lead us to the half hour detour in Douglasville! And he COMPLETELY agreed!**)

Ninnie, Mike and Sandye arrived not too long after we had made our entrance and the festivities began! To practice the basketball kids went (Jana and Dave) while the rest of us meandered over to Atlantic Station for a little perusing! We managed to score an incredible parking spot on the street and proceeded to enjoy the sunshine while we "tried" to stay warm walking from store to store.

After shopping/practice to dinner, to dinner we went! We had 7:45 reservations for McCormick and Schmick's! We were completely unaware, though, that there was a Jay-Z concert at the Dome that night as well, and we managed to run in to quite a "crowd". While minding our manners and following the appropriate crosswalk indicators, we made it to the restaurant and awaited our table for dinner! Our waiter was wonderful and the menu's... Well, let me just tell you about the menu! Dave was examining the choices and all of a sudden pop's up with, "Hey, The menu says it's Minnie's birthday!" Sure enough, it did! In all actuality though, it was supposed to say "Ninnie"... but for the evening, we pretended Ninnie was Minnie :) It was such a special surprise!

Ninnie with her girls!

Dinner was wonderful and the company was even better! To celebrate Ninnie's 80th birthday was so special!!!

Special Friday

Yep... You got it, folk! We set out on another adventure this weekend, and it always begins with gas and cleaning the windows.
...And my sweet partner in crime working hard for that C-L-E-A-N windshield that will probably get dirty the moment we get back on the interstate :) But, hey: "If it makes you happy"!
Friday had a LOAD of surprises, stops and things on our "To Do" list! Even though we already had plans for the weekend, there's always room for extras! One extra: Stopping by Savage's for a VERY special and sweet surprise (*to be touched on in a later post, so check back*)! This particular bakery holds a very dear place in my heart! Background: My mom has ALWAYS baked our birthday cakes... unless, that is, we had a special request! And IF I ever had a special request, Savage's had the honor of baking my requested birthday cake - the most wonderful carrot cake I have ever tasted! Chick-Fil-A was a must for lunch, though I didn't document this particular visit :( That has become a regular for us - especially on my test days (it's good luck after all)! We made our way to my humble abode and into my family's loving arms in enough time to make a few more errands possible! Before the afternoon came to end, though, a trip to Wal-Mart was made. Please Note: I LOATH Hell-Mart, especially where I live! It's congested and you run into EVERYONE. Getting fully dressed is a MUST before going, so don't ever think you can just "run in" for a quick item. NOT GONNA HAPPEN! While we were hunting for this one "item", Dave figured out that Wal-Mart sells everything one would ever need to have a wedding... sort of. Like this pre-made, artificial bouquet! It's it pretty (ha)! He felt it was a must to have a quick picture, so I humored him! We made it out ALIVE, and with only running into a few people! Mom made her amazing spaghetti for dinner and we wrapped up our lovely, adventure filled Friday with the BEST suspense-thriller, Law Abding Citizen, I think we've seen in a while! I would suggest this movie to anyone. I would TOTALLY pay the video store the outrageous $5.00 they are charging these days to rip you off for renting a movie :) I mean, come on! I remember renting movies for $1.99! What happened to that?

Happy Birthday Sister!

Today is my sister's birthday :) YAY!

HAPPY BURFDAY, Sis-I!

I hope you have the most AMAZING day! Enjoy the sunshine!