My Precious New Niece

Ava Lou Alsup was born August 12, 2010 at 3:32pm. She weighed 7lbs 14 oz. She is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen! I was at the beach when Matt called and said they were on the way to the hospital. So I rushed home and made it to the hospital a little after 1:30pm. April is such a trooper! I really think she was born to give birth! She has beautiful baby girls and looks good while doing it! Here's a picture of my precious niece, Ava! I love you Ava! I can't wait to babysit you and Alexa!! DOUBLE TROUBLE!

One of my Favorite Quotes

When I read this quote by Mother Teresa it really made me think. I think it's one of the best quotes I've ever read. I immediately thought of my mom and I know she would want me to live my life this way! Enjoy!

People are often unreasonable and self centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It never was between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

Carolina/Clemson Game 2009

Patrick and I were so excited we were both off work and able to go to the USC game last weekend. All three of my best friends from Pharmacy school were there. Nancy flew in from Philadelphia, Becky from Tampa, and Stacey lives here! We got to our tailgate at 8:00am! VERY EARLY!! We drank, ate, and talked the whole day! Oh yeah, and we watched the game! HAHA!! It was so nice for us all to be together again. Considering we used to see each other every day, pretty much all day long! Stacey, her husband, and all of her friends we were tailgating with are Clemson fans, so it was really nice to pull off a WIN too so we could rub it in really well! Can't wait to see my best friends again! Love you girls!! 

Family Trip to Disney World

This was my first trip to Disney World! I soon realized why my dad never took my three brothers and I. Everything is so expensive! It was no less than $10 per person every time Pat and I ate. I had to realize that's just the way it is, so I wouldn'tfreak out about it every time we ate. As soon as I got over that I had the best time of my life! We went as a surprise as it was my brother-in-law's birthday.He had no clue we were coming and we surprised him at breakfast. Patrick and I were really excited to be there with everyone and especially Alexa. We hadn't seen her in a couple weeks and now we were able to spend 5 whole days with her! We went to four of the parks. Epcot, MGM (Hollywood Studios), Animal Kingdom, and The Magical Kingdom. We did a park a day. It was soo much fun! We rode just about everything! My favorite rides were the Aerosmith in-door roller coaster, and the Tower of Terror. The rides are so amazing and well put together. I love all the animation and the story lines. The food at Disney was very good too. One night we ate at a German restaurant in Epcot which was really good! All in all we had an amazing time with our family. We can't wait to go again! Maybe one day when we have kids! =)

Honeymoon-Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

 We left for our honeymoon to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic the Monday after our wedding. This was probably the best decision I've ever made. We were well rested for Pat's first flight! hahaha! He did very well! I think I was more nervous than him. We got to the airport in Punta Cana and then rode a bus to the resort. This was the most beautiful resort I have ever seen. The resort was very open and they catered to our every need! It was awesome! We decided that we wanted just a relaxing trip. So we had lots of fruity drinks, we lounged by the pool, and had a couple's massage. We did get brave and we went zip-lining on the second to the last day. That was terrifying! We went on about 10 different lines and we had to hike to the next one. It really was a lot of fun once we got used to it. Of course Pat was a pro! I was nervous until the about the 6th line. Then I realized..ok..maybe I'm not gonna die. The week flew by but we had an amazing time! If only life could be that easy all the time!

The Best Day of My Life

May 30, 2009 was the best day of my life. On this beautiful Saturday afternoon I married the man of my dreams. I woke up about 8:30am and I was still very sleepy. You see, we had an amazing rehearsal dinner and didn't go to sleep until 2 or 3 in the morning. The rehearsal dinner was at a little Mexican restaurant called, Salsarita's. We had great food, karaoke, and a lot of dancing! That was probably my 2nd favorite day of my life. So, I was still very sleepy and really wanted to go back to sleep but I was so excited and nervous about the day that I couldn't. Plus I had a hair appointment at 11:00, make-up appointment at 12:30pm and a lot of other things to do! After I went to all of my appointments all the bridesmaids met up at my house at 3:00pm to start taking photo's. We had an amazing photographer, John Wrightenberry, who got there at 3 as well. Just having all of my wonderful friends in my house felt so good. We were all there having a great time. Our hummer limousine thing came to pick us up at 4:00pm. I felt so good as I walked with all of my beautiful friends to the limousine. The weather was so nice. It felt like 80 degrees with a nice breeze and the sun was shining! We piled in the limo and headed to the church. I tried to just take a deep breathe and take it all in! I knew this would be the best day of my life. We arrived to the church about 20 minutes before the wedding started. Everyone looked so beautiful! We took a few more pictures and the florist handed us our gorgeous flowers. The flowers were one of the best parts of the wedding! They truly were amazing! My matron of honor, and my sister ( what I really think of her as) bought a blue locket and put a picture of mom in it. She attached the locket to my bouquet and as I walked down the isle that is who I thought about, my mom. The tears started to come as I was about half way down the isle. Well ( I'm lying) the tears actually came in the limo on the way to the church. The radio was on a fast, up beat song and then some one changed it to a slow, emotional song and I started crying! =) But I guess the real tears, the I really wish my mom could be here tears came as I got half way down the isle. I kept telling myself over and over that she was here. For all I know she was sitting on the first isle or standing beside Patrick and I. I knew she was there in spirit. The church just had this feeling about it. It was so calming and warm. I felt so safe up there with Patrick. We said our vows and I continued to cry (happy tears of course), people sang, and bible versus were read. It was a beautiful ceremony and I wouldn't have changed a single thing! The wedding started at 5:30pm and by 6:15pm we were Mr. and Mrs. Alsup. 

Now, on to the reception. We had the reception at Riverbanks Botanical Gardens! It was BEAUTIFUL!!! We entered Magnolia Hall ( the room the reception was in) and my eyes lit up! There were HUGE flower arrangements of beautiful flowers on all 10 tables, candles lit on every table, perfectly arranged slip covers with bows that looked and matched my colors to a-t, and a  BIG, beautiful, white wedding cake with our initial in it, A. I was so surprised at how amazing everything looked. I guess you expect things to go wrong and they do but just forget about them and move on! I danced my little heart out and I think everyone else did too!! We ate, drank ( my little Get Your AL-SUP and dance concoction), and we were VERY MERRY!! 

The only thing that we didn't really organize was how we were going to get home! I just thought we would drive home and stay at our house. Honestly I was so tired of planning stuff I just didn't want to think about it! haha! Well, our awesome friends arranged for another limo to pick us up and to take us to the Whitney Hotel to stay the night! We were so shocked and so happy! This just put the icing on the cake! We are truly blessed to have the most wonderful friends! Thank you for everything you do for us! We love you!!

May 30, 2009 was the best of my life for many reasons. I married an amazing man who is honest, compassionate, caring, giving, and would do anything in the world for me! I spent the evening with people who love and care about Patrick and I more than anything in the world! We were surrounded by nothing but love and we felt every minute of it! My entire family was there watching and supporting me every step of the way! I LOVE YOU ALL MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW! I wish this day for everyone and can't wait for another day like this one! I love you Patrick! I've always loved you and always will!