This sign is not even a joke to people around here. I thought BYU fans were intense, they've got NOTHING on Gators! Everywhere we turn here in Gainesville, there is something blue and orange or a scary gator staring me in the face. Oy!
In case you haven't figured it out yet, we made it to Florida. Unfortunately, I do not have any of the promised road trip photos. (I spent the majority of the time sleeping or playing 20 questions with Taylor) But, I thought I would at least give you a little glimpse into what our trip was like.
First of all, packing up our apartment was, quite possibly, the most fRuStRaTiNg thing I've ever done. But I've decided that if Taylor and I survived that (plus the 3 day drive), then we will be able to conquer anything else in the future of our marriage. So that's good! Hahaha We had some much-needed help from my little brother, Billy Jett. (and he was handsomely rewarded with most of our furniture and all of the food in our fridge that we couldn't take with us) We hit the road at about 2 pm and headed for Taylor's brother Josh's house in Flower Mound, TX (about a 21-hour drive). My husband was on some kind of inexplicable road trip rush and drove for about 19 straight hours before finally giving up the wheel. It was my job to keep him fed and hydrated and play 186472 games of 20-questions to keep him entertained. We finally made it to Josh & Carol's just before dinner time the next day.
While in Texas, we enjoyed the most amazing barbecue you could ever dream of! We went to a place called Hard Eight in Coppell, TX. If you live AnYwHeRe near one of their 3 locations, get your booty there ASAP! Make sure to try the brisket, the ribs, and the jalepeno corn. Mmmm... I'm drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it. We also had some super yummy Tex-Mex for lunch the next day while the kiddies were at school. We stayed for a day to play with our nieces and nephews and boy am I glad that we did! Holden, Hyrum, Hazel, and Harley are the coolest kids I have ever met! Holden played a few rounds of Rock Band with us and was getting so into it that he would close his eyes while he was singing and get down on one knee to belt out Bon Jovi. Hyrum had us all in stitches one night at dinner when his dad gave him a "Thank you Captain Obvious" and he, without missing a beat, retorted "You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm." This kid is a champ! Hazel entertained us with her mime skills. And my heart melted for 5-year-old Harley as we read books together and played with her Zhu-Zhu pets. (what the heck are those things supposed to be, by the way?!) I miss Texas already, and we cannot wait to go back and visit again.
Onward through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama we went. The south brought us Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits (YUM!), sweet old lady waitresses, and plenty of people with WoNdErFuL accents. :)
Now that we're in Gainesville, we're "settled in" to our extended stay hotel room. We're gonna be staying here for about a month, maybe a little bit more. I'm going slightly insane since Taylor has my car and there's no pool here. But I'm thinking about checking out an orthodontist office up the street to maybe put a bunch of intern hours on my resume. Heaven knows I'm going to go looney without a project, so I thought that would be the best use of my time right now.
So... That's all the news from Gainesville. OH WAIT! While we were on the road, I got an awesome phone call from my mom.. I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE!!! My brother's bride-to-be has a bun in the oven!!! I'm so excited!! And my cute parents are over the moon to finally be Pop-Pop and MiMi! So, congrats Nicky and Kate!! And I can't wait to see you for the big day in a week!!
