Whew...another whirlwind weekend for the Whitakers (say that fast three times). Brent and I realized this past week that we have something going on every single weekend in June: between family/friends visiting us or we're going to visit family and friends, we're super busy in June! This past weekend was no exception!

We had quite a few things to accomplish in our Chattanooga visit this time around: we had to replace our heating and air conditioning unit in our rental house this past week, which took top priority in our visit. We're very fortunate to have both of our families living in Chattanooga, so there's definitely no shortage in places to spend the night, but it can make it tricky to be sure to spend quality time with each part of the family. We've decided to try a different approach to make our visits less stressful: focus on one family each time we visit, alternating families to make it fair.

My parents are gone to Gulf Shores this week (lucky) so we were able to keep Fletcher and Fiona at their house (sooo much easier). When we arrived in Chattanooga on Friday, we got to spend some much-needed time with the Whitaker family at Brandi and JJ's house. We had a great time just "visiting" (as us Southerners do so well) with the whole family.

Saturday morning was super busy: I had a baby shower to attend to for my friend Kristi who is due to have her baby - Nolan - in July. I have three close friends who are expecting babies within the next 4 months!! For anyone who's been under a rock lately, I think it's safe to declare that we are officially in a baby boom.

(I love this gift idea...it wasn't what I gave her, but I love the bucket monogrammed with Nolan's name)

Three Baby Bumps in the Picture - and no, I'm not one of them. Left to Right: Me, Katie (with Owen - due in September), Brittany and Ada, Kristi (with Nolan - due in July), Melissa (with Emma due at the end of June/first of July), and Jessica - my fellow Nashvillian/non-preggers buddy.

While I was with my friends "showering" Kristi and baby Nolan with gifts, Brent went out on the lake with his parents, brother-in-law and nephews. He said they had a blast fishing and riding around in their "big" boat.

That afternoon was pretty uneventful: I went to lunch at Fresh 2 Order with my UTC girls, then headed back to my parents house for a much-needed nap. (We didn't get to bed until 1:00 a.m. the night before and I was up early to get ready for the shower)

Jessica, the Fashionista and Ada - future Fashionista I'm sure - at Fresh 2 Order.

Saturday night was a blast: we hung out with the UTC crowd at Melissa and Dusty's house. We had our typical affair: girls chatting away while the boys entertained themselves with stand up comedy routines and PS2 Rock Band (awesome game btw).

Brent and I had scored free tickets to the CMA Music Fest in Nashville for Saturday night and our plan was to leave early Saturday to make it back in time to see all the amazing performances. However, after getting wrapped up in our friends, we weren't able to make ourselves leave such good times!

We had three birthdays to celebrate with the UTC gang: Brittany (June 8th), Kristi and Brent (both on the 14th) so we surprised them with a YUMMY chocolate cake and a birthday tune (or two or three).


Good times in Chattanooga...as always! Thank you to everyone for being so hospitable to Brent and I while we're in town!

The boys - left to right: Brent, Antonio (fellow Nashvillian), Nathan, Jimmy, Dusty and Kevin


A few things from this past week to comment about...


1. I've had a lot of people asking about how my job is going: it's going great! I am starting to learn more and more and getting used to a COMPLETELY different work environment than anything I've ever done.

2. Brent's stand up: He's trying again this week for stand up! I'm sure he'll post after his performance.

3. We have found this AWESOME park close to where we live. It reminds me a little of Riverfront Parkway in Chattanooga; in fact, the part we start at in Nashville is called River Park. We have started going there in the evenings to either walk or ride our bikes. last week, Brad and Casey went with us and they rollerbladed while we biked. Brent's in DESPERATE need of a new bicycle - he has no brakes on his right now.

4. A HUGE plus about living in an apartment complex: taking FULL advantage of their amenities, including their beautiful pool and gym! We love it and can see why people live in apartments forever.

We hope everyone has a FABULOUS week - hopefully Brent will write about his performance on Tuesday. We have more visitors coming in town this weekend for Brent's birthday: his family!! We are so excited and hope we can snag some pictures to post on the blog.