"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Cody celebrated his 26th birthday on August 7! Happy birthday to my best friend, my forever love, my Heffalump!
Celebrations included: Dinner at Chico's Cody's loves Mexican food, which is not really my favorite, so we rarely go eat a Mexican restaurant. We always go out to eat for our birthdays, and this year he decided he wanted to go to Chico's to get fish tacos. (I ate my chicken caesar salad, as usual.) They even sang to him and brought him a free fried ice cream to celebrate his birthday!
A Night of Outdoor Fun For Cody's birthday party, we decided to do outdoor games. (Little did he know that he would be getting a Cornhole game for his birthday.) We ate pound cake, made by Cody's mom, opened presents, and played Cornhole! The bugs were biting pretty bad, but we still had a great time!
A Day at the Beach Cody's mom, cousin, and his cousin's friend were all visiting for the weekend, so we packed up the Pilot with all of our beach gear, and set off for Atlantic Beach for the day. Unfortunately, it rained a little when we first got there, but by the end of the day, the sun was shining. We ended the day by stopping at Dairy Queen on our way back home.
As part of Cody's birthday celebration/vacation from work, we went on a bowling date. We used a coupon to play for 2 hours, with unlimited games, and shoes were included, for only $6.99/person. We ended up playing 6 games--which will really wear you out. Who knew bowling could be such a workout? By game 4, I was bowling granny shots and throwing the ball backwards through my legs. Cody won all 6 games! I almost won the last game, but I let him win since it was almost his birthday. ;)
Getting ready for the big competition!
Why Cody calls me Twinkletoes...
Look at that form....this was a strike!
Love birds!
Might as well try something new since my score is already shot!
Hershey found a ball in the yard the other day. He spent about 20 minutes, just pawing and sniffing at the ball, with his tail wagging about 50 mph. I spent about 15 more minutes outside, throwing the ball for him. I took some pictures of him, just because he was so cute!
We still have not found the owner of this cool toy. I hate to think that some doggie is missing his/her favorite toy. Please let us know if this is your ball, and Hershey will return it. Hershey says, "Thanks for sharing your toy with me for a while!"
Cody and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last Thursday. I can't believe it has been four years since we got married, but it has been four great years! I love you baby!
Our wedding vows: I, Melanie/Cody, choose you Cody/Melanie to be my husband/wife. Today I join my life to yours. From this day on, I will be your partner and companion, for you are my dearest love and best friend. I look forward to the joy we will find in each other’s separate successes, as well as our shared ones. I welcome the challenge of whatever obstacles we encounter, for I know that whatever we face, we face it together. In times of celebration, I will share your joy. In times of sickness, I will give you care. In times of sorrow, I will help carry your burden and be your refuge of strength in times of uncertainty. I make this covenant with you this day and ask God to help me fulfill my promise as long as we both shall live.
Cody/Melanie, I give you this ring, as a sign that I will love you and honor you, make you laugh, wipe your tears, and hold your hand all the days of my life. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Our wedding day (6/17/2006)
Eating our anniversary dinner at University Chophouse (6/17/2010)
Cody and I took a week-long vacation to Myrtle Beach this past week. This trip was a celebration for Cody's graduation and our 4th anniversary (coming up on June 17). We stayed at a new place located in Cherry Grove, called Towers on the Grove. It was very nice and was in a wonderful location. It was far enough away from all the hustle and bustle, but still had restaurants/grocery stores/shops nearby. We had great weather; there was no rain the entire week. Here is our condensed (at least I tried) trip itinerary:
Saturday After dropping Hershey off at the Hoffman Haus, we arrived at our hotel around 12:30 p.m. We checked in, got unpacked, and went to pick up a few groceries. We decided to go on to Broadway at the Beach and put our name in for dinner at Margaritaville, since there is usually a wait. Dinner was very yummy and it set the tone for a very relaxing vacation!
Sunday After sleeping in, then spending a long day on the beach, we went to eat at another one of our favorite restaurants at the beach--Johnny Rockets. It is a 50's style restaurant that serves diner style food, like hamburgers, milkshakes, flavored colas, and yummy french fries. We walked around Barefoot Landing, then went to play putt-putt at Lost Treasure Golf. Cody chose this putt-putt place because he wanted to ride the train. He's such a big kid--I love it!
Monday We decided to make a quick spaghetti dinner at the condo after spending the day on the beach and going down the slide at the pool. We found some great deals at Tanger Outlets, then we went to get some Heath bar ice cream at Painter's Homemade Ice Cream. (I have been going to this place for as long as I can remember. It is a must go-to-place when we are at the beach, and it's too good to only go once!)
Tuesday We were able to sleep in every day while we were at the beach due to our bedroom being, as Cody says, "a bat cave." It was still so dark in the room at 9 a.m. you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. However, this morning we choose not to sleep in. We got up early, sat on the balcony to listen to the waves and talk while we downed a cup of coffee. We took a walk on the beach towards the Cherry Grove pier during sunrise. It was so beautiful! Then we went to Dino's Pancake House for a hearty, homecooked breakfast. It was an amazing morning, and quite possibly, my favorite part of our entire trip. We have decided that this will be a new tradition for us when we go to the beach.
For dinner, we ate some of the famous ribs at Damon's and then went back to Tanger to finish up some shopping. I love it that Cody likes to shop just about as much as I do!
Wednesday Another great day on the beach, ended by a relaxed, casual meal at Atlanta Bread Company. Then some more shopping at one of my favorite stores--Marshall's. (Oh, how I wish we had one here in Greenville.) After a quick stop at Rack Room Encore to get Cody some more dock shoes, which we had been looking for about all week, we went to Painter's Homemade ice cream. I indulged in a scoop of banana pudding ice cream, and Cody ate orange pineapple.
Thursday Our beach day was cut a little short so that we could get ready in time for our dinner at the Dixie Stampede. I had been to see this show many years ago when I was a kid, but Cody had never been before. We both had a great time watching the magic guy in the preshow, stuffing ourselves with tons of food (we each got: a whole rotissere chicken, pork loin, potato wedge, corn on the cob, biscuit, creamy vegetable soup, and an apple turnover), watching the animals, and pulling for the south (what a shocker...they lost)! Afterwards, we played a couple rounds of putt-putt at Mayday. I won a round, by luck, and Cody won the other round.
Friday It's always a sad day when you know it is your last full day at the beach, but it is even worse when you don't feel well enough to enjoy it. I wasn't feeling well this day, so I spent most of the day in the condo. Cody was sweet enough to stay with me for a while, until I finally convinced him to go out and enjoy himself for a while. Thankfully, I felt well enough to go out for dinner at T.G.I.Friday's and ice cream at Painter's. We went back to the condo to pack and then enjoyed sitting out on the balcony.
Saturday As sad as we were to leave the beach, we couldn't wait to get home to pick up our little baby! Hershey was so glad to see us! It was nice to be home, but we sure did enjoy our vacation!
A couple weeks ago, Cody surprised me with a brand new bicycle. When I pulled in the driveway coming home from work, we both had shiny new bikes sitting there, just waiting on us to ride them. I was so excited! We had been talking about getting bikes for a few years, but we didn't have a place to store them. Once Cody got his storage building, we knew we had that problem solved, but bikes aren't cheap so it was something that was just going to have to wait. Cody received a check in the mail from the award he won at graduation, and he was willing to share it with me by buying us both new bikes. How sweet!
We hurried up and ate dinner, took Hershey for a walk, and got ready to ride our bikes through the neighborhood. Uh oh...my bike was too tall. "No problem," Cody said. "We'll just lower the seat." Uh oh...the seat was already down as far as it could go. Apparently, I am too short to ride a full-size 26" adult bike. When I sat on the bike seat, my feet couldn't touch the ground, by about six inches. You know, I have lived with being short my whole life and usually it's not that big of a deal to me. I have to get most of my pants hemmed due to them being about a foot too long, and I have to have Cody get things out of the cabinets on the upper shelves; I expect all that and I am used to it. But I didn't expect not to be able to ride the bike. It was so sad, because I was so excited about having a bike and going riding.
Well, we returned that bike to Wal-Mart, and went out in search of a 24" bike. It seems that this size of bike is rare, but it is even more rare when you are looking for something that doesn't look kid-ish. We had no luck in finding a bike that I would be happy to ride in any of the stores we looked at, but we did find one online at www.walmart.com. It was a great deal--you got free shipping and a $20 gift card. Plus, it's a pretty purple color! It only took about a week for my bike to arrive. Cody put it together for me as soon as it came so we could ride that night when I got home from work. Luckily, this bike fit perfectly. (But I couldn't be any shorter...the bike seat is down as far as it will go on this one!)
Most nights after dinner and Hershey's walk, we'll go riding through the neighborhood. It is a great way to relax and get exercise after a long day.
Cody and Melanie were married on June 17, 2006. Cody is finishing his last year of residency at Vident Medical Center in Family Medicine. Melanie is a stay-at-home wife and mommy. We have three children--Madelyn, who is almost one year old; a baby on the way; and a cute little brown dog, Hershey. God truly has blessed our family!
