Long Time Gone

Has it really been over a month? Guess I've been busy (or preoccupied). Will give an update soon...

Sarah Lately...

What happened to Spring? I think we completely skipped it this year & went straight to summer. Anyway...we've been loving it! Will & I have stepped up our work-outs here lately. We did a 5 day trial at BodyPlex in Athens & another one at the Omni. I have LOVED getting back into some aerobics classes & I know Will has enjoyed lifting weights, too. Other than that, we've just been enjoying being outside, running, laying out at the pool, & cooking out.

A couple of weekends ago I went up & spent the night at Alli & Casey's house in Gainesville. Alli, Joy, & I had a girls night...we went & ate at Recess in downtown Gainesville, had some Merlot, & some fun conversations. I always have so much fun hanging out with the ol' roomies!

After dinner, we went back & spent the night at Alli's. We were mad at rude Mary Susan for ditching us! =(

This past Easter weekend, Will & I enjoyed a bright & sunny Athens! Will had Good Friday off so we packed up & went & had a picnic at Sandy Creek Park. This park has a beautiful sandy white beach on the lake. We set up our blanket & enjoyed turkey sandwiches, chips, fruit salad, & carrot cake in honor of Easter. And yes...those are the napkins from our wedding. We still have tons left over three years later!

Will even packed some bread so we could feed the ducks. We went on hunt to find some but were unsuccessful. We only found some turtles sunning a log...

So we packed up & tried a different park in Athens that is right up the street from where we live. We had more luck there...

This park has a wild life exhibit! Will was in HEAVEN!

They also have a big pond & a dog park, too!

Anyway...I finally found some ducks! I was happy! =)

After the park & cooling off a little bit, we went & saw The Bounty Hunter in theater! It was so cute!!!

On Saturday, we made some pina coladas & layed out at the pool for awhile! After that we came in & made some Easter eggs!

Of course Will had to make a Braves Easter egg!

I turned our little Easter eggs into deviled eggs!

Will cooked out that night...first cookout of the year! It was delicious as always!

That night we had an Easter egg hunt inside. I hid the eggs for Will & then we switched. I think Bella had the most fun out of everyone!

That cat LOVES Easter eggs!

On Easter Sunday we went to Lakewood & then had lunch at Kathy's house. After lunch Will & I went & ran the course for the 30K relay race we are doing this month. It wasn't as hard as I was thinking it would be, but I definitely have work to do before the big day!

So that's what's been going on lately! I'm looking forward to this week...it is Spring Break for my mom & my other teacher friends! Tomorrow I'm going to spend the night with Mary & Wednesday mom is coming to Athens to spend the night with me! It's gonna be a good week...

Ahh...the weekend!

This past weekend I ran my 3rd 5K of the year. Will & I ran the 3rd annual Dawg Trot at UGA which benefited the alumni association. This was, BY FAR, the hardest 5K I've done, yet. I see why they chose the course -- it started at the Coliseum, went past the football field, through campus, and then ended right past the baseball field. Obviously they are trying to take runners past these "landmarks" on campus to gain alumni support. I get it! But seriously -- the hills were a killer! We had to walk in two spots of the course but still finished just a few minutes past my best time. I just knew we would finish somewhere in the "40s" so I was happy with our time. There were some serious champs running it, though! Before we even got to mile marker 1, there were some guys SPRINTING around the first loop and up the first hill (which was about half a mile ahead of us). They were ridiculous!

That same night we went to Gainesville to meet Anna and Emily Buffington to eat for Danielle's 26th birthday. Of course we went to El Sombrero -- Danielle's absolute favorite place! We were there for almost TWO HOURS! I was in Phi Mu with Anna & Danielle & we were inseparable at North Georgia. Now that I live in Athens & they both work full-time, I don't get to see them as much as I'd like. I see Danielle occasionally for an El Som dinner date when I'm in Gainesville, but Anna lives and works in Kennesaw so I don't get to see her very often at all. It was so good to see them both & catch up!

The cat is mighty dignified until the dog comes by...

Little Miss Bella is fitting into our family so perfectly...

She's getting more comfortable with the dogs, being more social, & isn't nocturnal anymore!

Who Do You Think You Are?

So this new show on NBC, Who Do You Think You Are?, has really gotten Will & me into researching our family history. The show partnered with Ancestry.com and each week takes different celebrities through their family history and tracks their genealogy all over the world. The first episode looked at Sarah Jessica Parker's family. One of her ancestors was traced back to the 1849 gold rush in California. Another ancestor of hers (I think her 10th great-grandmother) was traced all the way back to the Salem witch trials! Fascinating! Tonight's episode traces Lisa Kudrow's family back to the Holocaust.

So like I said, it has really fueled a curiosity in where we came from so I registered for a month on Ancestry.com. After gathering all the known family history from our parents & grandparents, so far we have traced our families back to England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Wales, and France. We have found ancestors who fought in the American Revolution, Civil War, both World Wars, the French & Indian War, the Irish War of Independence, and even different religious battles. We have also found ancestors who were Captains, Judges, Farmers, and Ministers. The website even allows you to connect with other people who are searching for your ancestors, many of which, post pictures and stories! This is just a small portion of what I have found so far...

This is my mother's paternal grandfather. I had never seen this picture before, but when I checked with my grandmother, she said that was definitely my grandfather's father, Carl Alvin Cosper.

This is the headstone of Mary & John Roquemore. The name Roquemore comes from my dad's maternal great-grandmother, Mary Jane Roquemore. My grandmother always told him that the Roquemore's were French Huguenots. Sure enough, I traced them all the way back to France and found several stories & pictures on the Roquemores. Mary & John Roquemore are my fourth great-grandparents and as pictured, were born in the 1700s!

This is a picture of Jesse Washington Souther, Will's third great-grandfather, at his home with his brothers (I think). The Southers come from Will's maternal grandmother's family line. Jesse Washington Souther was a farmer and brought all of his produce from the mountains down to Gainesville in a covered wagon to sell.

Like I said, this is just a TINY bit of everything I've found and I'm sure there is so much more for us to uncover...

Meet Bella...

This weekend, we welcomed a new member into our little zoo.

Mary Susan came to the decision that she could no longer keep her beautiful, little, white kitty anymore. She didn't have the time to take care of her & was getting tired of all her shedding. Will & I immediately fell in love with her about a year ago when we met her for the 1st time at Mary's apartment. Mary had adopted her from the Lumpkin County Humane Society (same place Missy & Tini came from) last January. She was a one-year old kitty & the SWEETEST little thing on this earth! So loving, so social, so sweet, & a definite lap kitty! We, of course, said yes! So on Sunday, we made the long trek home from Gainesville with Missy & Tini in the back seat & Bella in a box in my lap in the front. =)

Poor little Bells didn't quite know what to do with two new doggies curiously following her around. Especially with Tini stalking her every move. For about the 1st two hours or so, Bella just hid on our bookshelf.

She eventually came around, though, & before the end of the night I had all three of my girls snuggling on the couch together! =)

Tini is OBSESSED with little Bella!

She already loves her and started licking her little ears!

Being in a new place she was being very curious. For some reason we just couldn't keep her out of the fire place! Before we could stop her, she came out with a black face & paws!

She definitely hasn't fully adjusted to her new home, yet. She didn't sleep most of the night & has been crying a lot. She cried a lot throughout the night, tried to knock my cup of water off the bedside table -- twice, & then started crying again this morning at 6:30. She's used to waking up with Mary around that time to eat her breakfast, but when we tried to feed her she wouldn't eat. So my other two girls & I just woke up SUPER early this morning to try to make Bella comfortable.

I think she was just lonely & wanted to play...yes, at about 7:00 this morning! This is Bella's little house that Mary's mom gave her. She LOVES her house!

Tini doesn't quite understand what that thing is hanging from the ceiling. She's scared of Bella's house!

She sure does love her new little kitty friend, though. More than anything, she just wants Bella to chase her & play with her. I'm sure they'll be running around together pretty soon...

So around 9:00, I went back to bed with my two dogs (seriously I'm not used to waking up so early...& I'm embarrassed to say I've taken three naps today) She cried a couple of times, but I finally heard her eating -- finally! And for the rest of the day she has slept under our guest bed. I mean she has been sleeping HARD! Poor little thing must not have slept at all last night (& neither did I!)