Key West!

So obviously our trip to Key West was QUITE a party, I'm sure if you follow me on instagram you have some idea of the shenanigans that went down. There is not enough space in this post to accurately describe all the great stories of things that happened there... but hopefully these photos will do it some justice. (be prepared for a heavy one)

It all started with a late flight in to Ft Lauderdale followed by drinks with old friends at the Blue Anchor

Then a little late night swimming at my parents house, and brother Jake getting dressed and ready for the trip to Key West

Thursday we packed and readied all the vehicles for the trek south

Back seat party

The Brides and their son Jack opening up the party box from my Uncle Chris

Peter testing out the beer helmets

All the party van people!

Jake couldn't hold it, so we stopped on the side of the road,  and he proceeded to pee for literally 5 minutes

BEAUTIFUL views on the drive through the Keys!

I got annexed to the front seat for not partying hard enough in the back seat, notice how not upset I am haha

First stop was in Islamorada for drinks at the Tiki Bar, Jake didn't hesitate to test out the water first

Tres Amigos and my father

Aunt Liz and Aunt Cindy

Family :) 

Jake

Kathleen and I reliving out photo from 2008!

After we arrived at the house in Key West and Kathleen and Renee had their ceremony, the party began with barbecuing and this crew of men drinking whisky

and then getting in the pool

in their undies...

and then dancing on the counter tops

Friday morning we all rented bikes and began our adventure around the Key!

First stop was the hogs breath 

to toast the bride with Key lime shooters! These things are dangerous...

two of my favorite people :)

next was our favorite bar in town, The Green Parrot, for beers and pictures with the creepy wall decorations. 

Then it was off to the beach!

We went back to the house to eat, nap and recharge, and then we set out to find a good time (and peter drank vodka and orange juice out of the beer helmet

Tres Amigos at it again

and then Gaynelle got attacked by a green man

Lots of dancing at the Hogs Breath

and more Key Lime shooters

The dart champions

This is one of those photos no one remembers being taken haha

Saturday morning we set out on our bikes again to do some shopping around town

Do I look sleepy?

Family bike riders

I got some new Kinos, and so did my mom and aunt... we're really fancy with our colors haha

Then we had an unintentionally large group lunch at the raw bar 

and then went to the most cliche dude bar in the world. Think... MTV spring break, complete with girls in bikinis wearing heels and a DJ playing dub step

best people watching of my life

Then it was back to the beach because Tennessee is lacking in ocean

Key West sunsets are next to nothing

brother

To see the best of the sunset we met up with the whole wedding crew at Mallory Square

dudes

My beautiful mother!

Chris and Heidi

the beginning of any good family photo

and here's the outtakes haha

getting in to the spirit of the weekend... true lovers

the Bennett/Manwaring family!

my parents

and Keith and I, looking at someone elses camera... oops

My mom and her siblings, just missing one.. my uncle Paul

Getting my chocolate dipped piece of Key Lime pie.. and someone tried to photo bomb me

Sunday morning we had to pack everything up and head back to the north so that everyone could get back home, we just had to get one more shot of everyone on their bike before we returned them

On the party bus on the way home we tormented my cousin Jack a little bit...

and here are a couple photos of the beautiful home we stayed in! it was actually a few houses together connected by a great patio and private pool. 

SO PERFECT for party central. We didn't want to leave at all!

Lastly I leave you with this photo of Jack eating some $50 king crab legs before Keith and I caught a flight back to Nashville... this kid has class haha

Commitment

Two weeks ago Keith and I made the trek to Florida to celebrate something very special and meaningful to us. My Aunt Kathleen who has been like a second mother to me my entire life, and someone that I proudly call a friend and confidant- got married to the love of her life, my Aunt Renee. Their kind of love is one that sparks controversy, especially around election years, but I wish that everyone who opposes them could just take a peek at their lives and see what true love is. They choose to live their lives together even though its HARD and it takes work, they don't stay together because it's the easy way to fit into society. Their relationship is one that Keith and I look up to, and hope to model our own marriage after. We couldn't feel more thankful to have Kathleen and Renee in our lives, and we feel honored to be loved by them every day. Whenever we need something, they are always there to give 110%, no questions asked and no judgements passed. They mean the world to us, and if you don't support their kind of love, I can't understand you.

Thank you Kathleen and Renee for allowing us to be a part of your special day, and for putting up with both of our BUCKETS of tears during your vows haha. We love you always!

Bike Adventures

There is just something about the weekends when the weather is nice that makes me want to get outside and do ANYTHING. Some days are easier than others to muster up the energy to leave the couch, but thankfully Keith is on board for my weekend adventures. Yesterday we caught up on some shows, and then we on a really great bike ride at our favorite park. We had already planned on going to the mall after our ride, but as we got further down the trail we remembered that if you go up and over the bridge you could get to that part of town... or so we thought. I must have forgotten the part where the map said "proposed" trail to Opry Mills. So after we biked a mile or two out of the way and up a hill, we were a little bummed to find out that there was no safe way for us to get the the mall, oops haha. Anyway, it was fun, we got a little extra exercise and when we were all done we still got to make a trip to the mall... just in our car haha.

This is his, "wait I just rode up that hill for nothing" face

Into the Woods

Last weekend I was oddly feeling really sick on Friday night which continued a bit into Saturday morning. Thankfully the weather couldn't have been nicer, and even though I had zero energy, Keith still agreed to take me on a hike to Radnor Lake. I think the fresh air did us both some good, and I always love having some uninterrupted quiet time to talk to Keith. 

. 

and then of course... quiet time to cuddle on the couch with this little bug (when he's not out killing all the cute baby animals in our yard, ugh)

Chipper

At the end of September, Keith got a chance to go to Atlanta to see Chipper Jones' last home game as an Atlanta Brave with his family and even my favorite aunt, Kathleen. I had made other plans for the weekend before I knew Kathleen would be joining them, so I wasn't able to make it to hang out, but I'll live vicariously through their great photos.

LOVE this shot of Kathleen and Keith

and this one of him and his mom

Keith, his mom and brother at the Duluth Fall Festival

While Keith was away for the night, Theo and managed, but it was pretty evident that we missed him a lot:

Theo ousted most of the shirts in Keith's drawer just so he could take a nap in there

but we did get to say goodnight to him

One of the greatest parts of the whole weekend though was that one of our favorites ANNA came to visit! We hadn't seen her since Bonnaroo so it was such a nice treat when she called and said that she would be coming to town for work and wanted to hang out with us. I'm just bummed that I didn't take more pictures while she was here! Regardless, we love her and wish that we got to see her more often! While she was here we drank lots of Yazoo beer and ate at some of our most favorites: Fido, The Pharmacy, and Hattie B's. 

Isn't she just the prettiest?!

Elite

I would like to take just a quick second to brag about my awesome husband for a moment or two: Since November he has been working for a booking agency called Elite Talent Agency and has been doing SO many cool things for them. For at least the past 6 months he's headed up signing and supporting smaller indie bands, and has found some really great musicians that are going to be really fun to follow in the coming years. With a couple of them being local we've gotten a few chances to go and watch (although Keith certainly goes to more shows than I do). Here are two bands that I think you should check out too:

CALEB

The Vespers

Hello!

It's been forever! I've been pretty consumed with my job these past couple of months which has left me exhausted, and with few words or pictures to share from our day to day. I promise that we haven't completely fallen off the map though, and I've got lots of fun things to share with you. Thank you to all the friends and family members who reached out and asked me about when they were going to get to see a new update... I think your persistence helped tremendously with my writers block. For as hard as it may be some days to prioritize writing on our blog, I already know that in the long run it makes a huge difference to be able to look back and see all of the great things that Keith and I have accomplished together.

I guess we can go ahead a call this season of life, "The Year Dana Got A Full Time Teaching Job And Needed More Sleep Than She Thought Possible". I'm also discovering more and more the things that are most important to me, one of them being: spending as much quality time with Keith in the evenings as I can, which means that most nights my beautiful little computer gets left unattended. To which I say- oh well. This is all to stay, that I hope I can keep family and friends updated with photos and stories of what's going on in our lives, but if it doesn't happen as regularly as it used to: don't be surprised. Life is moving faster than we can comprehend most months, but we're HAPPY and in love and couldn't be more excited about all the things that are happening for us right now.

So right now I leave you with this photo of some of the kiddos. This is the face I get 100% of the time that I ask them to smile for a picture... it's like they've never seen a camera before (or maybe I have something on my face?) and it makes me laugh EVERY TIME. Enjoy:

superheros? huhh?