Uncle Greg and Aunt BJ's Wedding

Hey everyone,

Saturday, June 25, 2011, was my Uncle Greg's wedding to his girlfriend BJ. Let me start off by saying that of all the girls my uncle has ever been with that I've known, BJ is my favorite (thankfully, she's his favorite too :) BJ and Uncle Greg have a lot in common, and BJ is very easy to get along with. She's nice and considerate, and my Uncle Greg's two sons seem to love her, too (and she loves them... which I say is pretty impressive since she didn't have to lol ;)

I was a bridesmaid in their wedding at Anchor Baptist Church. On Friday night, we had a rehersal, and we set up the reception hall and had dinner. The following day, my mom and I arrived at the church at 11:00 even though the wedding didn't start until 2:30. (My mom was a bridesmaid too) We got ready, and then it was time for pictures. We took pictures for a while, and then it was time for the wedding. I don't have a whole lot of pictures from it yet (they had a professional photographer who is supposed to be giving them their pictures shortly), but I do have some. My dress was "Key Lime Green", and I had a pretty bouquet. But BJ looked the best out of all of us. She had a holter-top grown that had pearls and different little white-ish jewels sewn in designs across the dress and the train.

I ended up walking down the aisle with my cousin, GW (my uncle's oldest son). During the reception, we kept acting like we were going to beat each other up, but we behaved during the ceremony.

The reception was great, too. I must say that I was loving the "Wedding Party gets first dibs on the food" rule. The DJ was also really good.

Here are some pics:

Uncle Greg and Aunt BJ dancing the first dance

Aunt BJ and Uncle Greg at the Reception Hall

Aunt BJ, Uncle Greg, and Uncle Greg's Best Man, Uncle Jim

Uncle Greg and Aunt BJ cutting the cake

The epic cake topper, that is more truthful than you'd think ;)

Aunt BJ

Uncle Greg and Aunt BJ stuffing cake in each other's faces

Uncle Greg and Aunt BJ

Uncle Greg and Aunt BJ cutting their cake

My bridesmaid dress

The shoes I had to wear

Me in my dress, with my bouquet, with my hair and makeup done for the wedding

My beautiful bouquet :D

My Uncle Jim (my Uncle Greg's Best Man) and me

The Grandkids (l-r): my brother Bowen, Cousin Zac, Me, Cousin GW, Cousin CJ

Uncle Greg's side of the family (l-r): my dad Jay, my mom Tina, my brother Bowen, my cousin GW, my cousin Zac, my grandpa Dan, my uncle Greg, my aunt BJ, my grandma Becky, Me, my cousin CJ, my aunt Arleen, my uncle Jim

The Ceremony (l-r): my mom Tina, me, my aunt BJ's niece Amber, my aunt BJ, my uncle Greg, my uncle Jim, my cousin GW, my cousin Zac

Ciao!

Happy Anniversary To My Parents! :-)



My parents at the French Market,
May 14, 1994

  

Hey everyone,

Well, today is the 16th wedding anniversary of my mom and dad (yes, both are biologically my parents). They actually started dating on March 19, 1991. They were both 13 years old and in the eighth grade. They wanted to get married on March 19th, but that fell on a Sunday in 1995, and they wanted the wedding to be on a Saturday, so they went with the day before.

Well, my dad took my mom out for dinner and a movie to celebrate their anniversary (after he bought her roses, a helium filled balloon proclaiming "Happy Anniversary!" and a big, fancy card that cost like $5 (that's a lot for a card)). I babysat my brother while they went out. Well, it was more of, Bowen will sit and watch TV or play his video games and I'll read or play on my laptop. I cooked us both pizza, but he ate most of it.

Well, happy anniversary Mom and Dad! :-)

My Awesome Family :-)

Hey everyone,

Nothing much has really been happening today, so I figured it'd be a good day to blog about my family, who I've been meaning to blog about for a while. So here I go:

My Dad

 My dad's name is Jeramie, but he goes by "Jay" most of the time. He's 33 years old, (34 in July), and he's one of the strongest (physically and emotionally) people I know. He's the one who always told me that I could be anything I want and could achieve anything I tried for as long as I did well in school, and stayed true to the person I am. Everyone talks about how I don't get into trouble- and my dad is one of the main reasons why. He loves to play video games, and watches the news every night. Less than a year ago, he didn't even know how to turn on a laptop, but now he loves his iPod touch, and can navigate it like a pro :-). He also loves to listen to Country, Rock, and basically all music between the span of 1980-1999. He also loves a lot of classic rock. I inherited a lot of his music interests. My dad is a plumbing supervisor, and has been very successful with his work, even in this economic housing slump. He loves bringing the family together, and often takes us all out camping, ATV riding, or to amusement parks. He's been married to my mom since they were 17, nearly 18, and says that marrying her was the best decision in his life. He also loves Ford Mustangs, and owns two. He takes pride in his car Yelenor, which was featured on the cover of the December 2006 issue of Mustang Enthusiast. More than anything, I love the times when my dad and I can just talk about anything around the campfire-life, friends, school, anything. <3

My Mom

 My mom's name is Tina, and even though for some stupid reason people always seem to think that's short for something, it's not. Her name isn't Christina or any other name with the ending -tina. It's really just Tina. Anyhoo, my mom is basically everything I want to be. She's been happily married to my dad for almost 16 years, and has been in a relationship with my dad for 20 years. Yes, that means they've been together since they were 13. My mom is 33 (34 in May). She is very successful in her job as an accounting supervisor (not a job I want, but I still want to be successful like her). She is myopic (nearsighted) just like me, and usually wears contacts. She always has advice for any problems I have. My mom and I are very open with each other. I hear about all these teens who have problems with the parents, but I don't. My parents treat me like a young adult (except for the letting me go wherever part- which I completely understand), and I try my hardest to not make them regret that. She, just like my dad, has always told me that I can be anything I want to be. I love to shop with my mom, and watch cheesy chick flicks with her. I got her hooked on reading in 2008, and she's been a bookworm just like me ever since. She has a lot of the same music interests as I do, and clothing interests, too. Sometimes we'll even borrow each others tops. I'm okay with that, because we wear the same size, and my mom has a great taste in clothing :-) <3



One of the "embarrassing" photos I have of my brother

 Where do I even begin when talking about my baby brother? Well, how about with saying his name is Bowen, and he's now 10 years old. My baby isn't quite a baby anymore :-( He's grown so big, so fast. Anyhoo, there's a lot to be said about my brother. First, he hates the picture I posted to the left, because he thinks it's embarrassing. For the record, the blanket is mine, and it was the only thing he had to cover up with and he was cold. Or so he claims ;-) He loves Pokemon, Bakugan, Beyblade, yu-gi-oh and many other anime cartoons. He's tried out a football, basketball, and baseball, and has been playing football since he was six. He loves to ride his four wheeler and loves the mud. He complains a lot at chore time, and I often have to get on his case about not messing around, but hey, a kid will be a kid. He's in love with fruity pebbles cereal, and bagel bites. He's in the fourth grade, and is doing pretty well. His handwriting is awful, but it's slowly improving. He loves to irritate me, especially by shooting Nerf sponge bullets at my head, but at the end of the day, he always tells me he loves me before we go to bed. I love telling him about the challenges I faced in elementary school to help show how he can do anything. I think my baby brother has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to see what successful future awaits him. <3



My Dog

 My dog's name is Cobra, and she's a black lab/ mutt. Her birthday is actually on Monday, and she'll be five years old. I've had her since she was a puppy. I got her for Easter when I was in fifth grade. She was a puppy of my uncle's dog. Originally, my cousin had called her Pepper, but my little brother wanted to name her Cobra. So we decided to call her Cobra. I hated the name at first- what kind of a name is Cobra for a dog?- but then it started growing on me. It's actually kind of amusing, her name. It's like the exact opposite of her personality. A Cobra is a ferocious snake, while our dog is the biggest chicken you'll ever meet. She doesn't like loud noises, or new surroundings. For the most part, I'm her favorite. When I'm not around, she likes to follow around my mom. When I am home, however, she likes to follow me up to my bedroom and sleep on my floor (as shown in the picture of her). But earlier this year, I redid my room in blue and green, and now my pink rug (her favorite), is no longer on my floor. Did I mention she doesn't like new or changed surroundings? She eventually got used to it, and now likes to sleep literally right at my feet or pressed up against my closet doors. As I'm posting this right now, she's sleeping against my closet doors looking exactly like that picture except she's lying on her other side. Love you, Cobe <3

Now you know a bit more about my amazing family! :-)

Music to My Ears (Literally)/ Grandma's 65th Birthday

Today in English class I finally received a blog assignment that I'm excited to write about: Music! Music plays an extremely important part in my life. My iPod headphones are almost always in my ears, and the music I listen to helps me deal with things like stress.

I was raised listening to two kinds of music- country and rock. As contradictory as that sounds, those are the two primary music genres on my iPod. I also listen to a lot of Alternative, Punk, Metal, and a small amount of Pop (nothing new). The music that is very popular now like Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, Kesha, Lady Gaga- I hate just about all of it. And I hate rap and hip-hop, with the exception of a few old rap songs from the 90s (I like the song "Just the Two of Us" by Will Smith for example).Anything newer than say, 2000, that is rap or hip-hop is generally on my hates-to-listen-to list.

Rock/Alternative/Metal/Punk:

I have many bands that I love in the Rock/Alternative/Metal/Punk genres. I love (in alphabetical order because that's the order they are on my iPod lol)

AC/DC (who doesn't?) ("Hells Bells")
The All-American Rejects ("Dirty Little Secret", "Gives You Hell")
Anberlin ("Feel Good Drag")
Apocalyptica ("I Don't Care")
Avril Lavinge ("Nobody's Home", "Forgotten", "Keep Holding On", "My Happy Ending")
Blue October ("Hate Me")
Boys Like Girls ("Thunder", "Hero/Heroine")
Breaking Benjamin ("I Will Not Bow", "Diary of Jane", "So Cold")
Bush ("Machinehead", "Glycerine")
Candlebox ("You", "Far Behind")
Creed ("My Sacrifice", "What's This Life For", "With Arms Wide Open")
Crossfade ("Cold")
Evanescence ("Bring Me To Life", "Call Me When You're Sober", "My Immortal", "My Last Breath")
Fall Out Boys ("Hum Hallelujah", "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs")
Five Finger Death Punch ("Bad Company")
Flyleaf ("All Around Me")
Green Day ("Wake Me Up When September Ends", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams")
Hinder ("Lips of an Angel")
The Killers ("When You Were Young", "Mr. Brightside")
Korn ("Freak on a Leash", "Alone I Break")
Linkin Park ("In the End", "Numb", "New Divide")
Live ("Lightning Crashes")
Matchbox Twenty ("How Far We've Come", "Long Day", "Real World")
Metallica ("Sandman", "Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters")
Muse ("Time is Running Out")
Nickelback ("Photograph", "Rockstar")
Nirvana ("Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Lithium", "In Bloom", "Heart Shaped Box")
Oasis ("Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back in Anger")
The Offspring ("Gone Away", "Self-Esteem", "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid")
Papa Roach ("Last Resort", "Lifeline", "Time is Running Out")
Paramore ("Ignorance", "Brick By Boring Brick", "That's What You Get", "Misery Business")
Pearl Jam ("Last Kiss")
Radiohead ("Creep")
Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Dani California")
Seether ("Broken", "Fake It")
Seven Mary Three ("Cumbersome")
Shinedown ("Sound of Madness", "Second Chance")
Sixx: A.M. ("Life is Beautiful")
Skillet ("Whispers in the Dark", "Hero", "Monster", "Falling Inside the Black")
Smashing Pumpkins ("Bullet with Butterfly Wings")
Staind ("All I Want", "Mudshovel", "Outside", "So Far Away")
Stone Temple Pilots ("Plush", "Interstate Love Song")
Three Days Grace ("Never Too Late", "Over and Over", "Riot", "Break", "I Hate Everything About You")
Weezer ("Troublemaker", "Say It Ain't So")
3 Doors Down ("Here Without You", "Kryptonite", "When I'm Gone")
30 Seconds To Mars ("This Is War", "Night of the Hunter")
That's not all, but those are the major ones...

Pop:

The bands/signers in the Pop genre that I like are closer to Alternative/Punk than anything else. For example, Jem is a singer I absolutely love. I posted about her music in November. Others I love (In alphabetical order also) :
Cascada ("Everytime We Touch")
Jem ("24", "They", "Falling For You", "Missing You", "Flying High", "Save Me", "Stay Now")
Lenka ("Trouble is a Friend")
Michelle Branch ("All You Wanted", "Everywhere")
P!nk ("U+Ur Hand", "Sober")
That's not all, but those are the major ones...

Country:

There are many country bands that I love also. I love (In alphabetical order, of course lol) :
Alison Krauss ("When You Say Nothing At All", "Whiskey Lullaby")
Brad Paisley (She's Everything", "Whiskey Lullaby", "The World")
Brooks & Dunn ("Believe")
Bucky Covington ("A Different World")
Carrie Underwood ("Before He Cheats", "Just A Dream", "So Small", "Jesus, Take the Wheel")
Chris Cagle ("Wal-Mart Parking Lot")
Craig Morgan ("That's What I love About Sunday")
Deana Carter ("Strawberry Wine")
Dixie Chicks ("Cold Day In July", "Cowboy Take Me Away", "Without You", "You Were Mine")
Faith Hill ("This Kiss", "I Can't Do That Anymore", "The Way You Love Me")
Garth Brooks ("This Dance", "More Than A Memory", "We Shall Be Free", "In Another's Eyes")
George Strait ("Check Yes Or No")
Gretchen Wilson ("Here For The Party, "Redneck Woman", "Homewrecker")
Jamey Johnson ("In Color")
Jaron and the Long Road to Love ("Pray for You")
Julie Roberts ("Break Down Here", "Wake Up Older")
Martina McBride ("Concrete Angel", "Independence Day", "I Love You", "Wild Angels")
Miranda Lambert ("Gunpowder and Lead", "White Liar", "The House that Built Me")
Reba McEntire ("Fancy")
Sara Evans ("Suds in the Bucket", "Backseat of A Greyhound Bus")
Sherrie Austin ("One Solitary Tear")
Steve Wariner ("Holes in the Floor of Heaven")
Sugarland ("Baby Girl", "Stay")
Taylor Swift ("Change", "Enchanted", "Fearless", "Love Story", "Speak Now", "Tim McGraw")
Terri Clark ("Girls Lie Too")
Tim McGraw ("Don't Take the Girl", "Indian Outlaw", "It's Your Love", "My Little Girl")
Toby Keith ("Courtesy of the Red, White, And Blue", "We Were In Love", "Beer for my Horses")
Trace Adkins ("Arlington")
The Wreckers ("Leave the Pieces")
Zac Brown Band ("Chicken Fried")
That's not all, but those are the major ones...

Wow, that's a really long post. Lol, Oh well. Now everyone has an idea about my taste in music :-)




This is a picture of my Mamaw last year <3



Now....That was the post I was required to do today. I also wanted to post today about my Grandma's Birthday! :-) I usually call my Grandma "Mamaw" and today she is the big 65! She was born on January 25, 1946 in Gallia, Ohio. She's kind and sensitive, and is very religious. I love her <3

My Mamaw's name is Becky Wallace. Before her hair was gray it was an aburn color, almost red. She said she used to get teased for being a red-head. Now her hair is primary gray and white, but she does have a bit of auburn left.

Whenever I need help, she always gives good advice, and she always seems to know what to do. She's helped me with my driving, and has helped me to become a better person. She's always concerned about her grandchildren, and loves to spoil us :-) She also loves to bake us her famous No-Bake Cookies (On which I posted about at Thanksgiving). So Happy Birthday Mamaw!

Brother's Birthday/ Asked to be a Bridesmaid

This is a picture of my little brother, Bowen.

Hey everyone,

Today my baby brother turned 10! His birthday party lasted from 12-3 pm and he had quite a few friends over. He got a lot of different Bakugan, Yugioh, Beyblade, and Pokemon stuff. He's a big fan of that Japanese Anime stuff, and is addicted to the TV shows. My brother also likes a lot of the shows on Nickelodeon. He loves Big Time Rush, Avatar the Last Airbender, Spongebob and iCarly. I have noticed that whenever Big Time Rush comes on, he likes to jump up and down and sing-along to the music, so I got him the Big Time Rush CD. He was talking about getting it uploaded to his MP3 player.

My brother, Bowen, and Me in Florida.
I was nine- going-on-ten when this picture was taken,
 he was four.

My little brother is very annoying most of the time, but I love him more than he knows. He's somewhere around 5 feet and 2 or 3 inches, and weighs around 100 or 110 pounds. He has sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. He's hyper most of the time, and loves to make weird poses in pictures. (When he was on his Power Ranger kick he always wanted to pose like the Rangers). He's in the 4th grade, and is a pretty good student. He hates his art teacher, but other than that gets along well with his teachers. He's had some trouble in the past making good friends, but I think that's mostly due to the fact that he's kind of naive when it comes to character. He's such a good person that he takes for granted that other people are too. He does have at least one true friend who lives on our street, though I don't know enough about his friends at school to figure out whether they're good friends or not. He always tries to make other people happy, and he tells me that he always misses me, even when I'm simply spending the night at a friends house. He's still a boy though, and he likes to barge into my room univited, shoot nerf darts at me, spray me with silly string, and bang on his drums really loud when I'm trying to concentrate on something.

This is an old picture of my Uncle Greg and his boys,
my cousins, G.W. (hiding) and Zac (grinning).
It was taken at my brother's 4th Birthday Party in 2005.

Today, while at my brother's birthday party, I was asked by my Aunt-to-Be, BJ, to be a bridesmaid in her and my Uncle's wedding. I really like her, and I think she is much better suited for my Uncle Greg than his previous wife, my cousins' mom. I told her yes, that I would like to be apart of the wedding. They're getting married in June, and I'm going to post more as everything gets set into stone. (For example, in about five weeks we're supposed to go look at dresses). There are going to be two other bridesmaids, BJ's niece Amber, and BJ's friend Teresa. I'm excited to get to be apart of the wedding. I have been apart of one other wedding, and that was when I was five. When my mom's other brother, Jim, got married, he asked me to be the flower girl.