T's 34th Birthday

T turned 34 yesterday. He was born at 5:10 a.m on August 28, 1976. My mother in law told my sister's mother in law repeatedly at one of my showers that he was 5-10. Gari responded with, "so he was a preemie." Pat kept saying, "no, no one told me that. He was 5-10." Now Gari knows what length/weight parameters constitute a preemie. She was befuddled by Pat's insistence that he wasn't, although he was 5-10. Pat told me later that she just couldn't get it straight what she wanted to say. He was born at 5:10 in the morning. As I know Gari is my most loyal reader, I hope that clears things up!

I have to share Trinity's birth story. He was born in a hospital in Memphis, TN on August 28, 1976. When Pat's parents came to visit at the hospital after T's birth, the nurse brought in a baby all wrapped up and swaddled. When Pat unwrapped him she had a precious black baby in her arms. Pat's parents were a little stunned. Eddie yelled for the nurse. "This child isn't our son, " he proclaimed. The nurse retrieved the child and came back with another baby. This one had blue eyes and blonde hair. Patsy's parents started claiming that this child looked just like their daughter. To their surprise this time, Eddie once again yelled, "This one's not our child either!" After another embarrassing situation, the nurse returns with a tiny, dark haired, hairy, hairy baby. He was covered in hair. Earl and Bertha were still recovering from the shock of two wrong babies when Eddie proclaimed "That's my boy!" Trinity Cameron had arrived.

Eddie and Pat arrived yesterday to celebrate with us. Trinity decided he wanted to go to the Sun King Brewery for a tour and tasting. He loves their beer and we had never been there. Sweet T pulled one of his famous "I left my wallet on my dresser" stunts. Usually that works well because I have to pay for dinner. It wasn't so great for a birthday boy who wants to taste beer to have no ID. Despite lots of affirmation from his mother that she had given birth to him 34 years ago that day, he was not allowed in the tasting room. Here he is, standing looking quite forlorn.

This was the lobby where non ID fools have to stand.

Eddie was thrilled about purchasing growlers.

We went to Harry & Izzy's for their famous shrimp cocktails.

This stuff clears out your nose with a whole lotta horseradish.

A family portrait, with quite a mix of prints.

We then moved on to a great new bar in town, The Ball and Biscuit. They have great, original drinks.

Robeghan joined us.

What is a birthday without a Tennessee Volunteer cake?

Late night cake noshing. Thanks Eddie and Pat! If you two fools hadn't fallen in love and procreated, I wouldn't have a fabulous husband. Oh, and dinner and drinks were great!

Ah...DG!!!

My pledge sister, Alison, posted some funny pictures on Facebook from college. I may have mentioned that I spent 3 years living in the Delta Gamma house. I loved every aspect of that experience. I loved sleeping the cold dorm, where the windows remained open all winter and I had to sleep under a down comforter, 3 blankets, flannel suits and a sweatsuit. I spent my days practicing bulletin boards as an education major. I worked out a lot. I went to parties and thought I was just wild. I was not. Life was carefree.

I had to giggle about some of these pictures. I worried about my weight all of the time in college. As I look back at these pictures, I think I was being a little nutty. My shoulder is smaller than my elbow.

Fashion has changed a bit since 2001. Look at those shoes. Really? God I remember those black slides. They were Banana Republic. I was awesome. I think only my Doc Marten sandals from high school were uglier.

Don't try it, J.Crew. These fugly shoes look oddly familiar. $198? Adding a heel and a janky elastic strap does not make these clodhoppers any cuter than they looked on my version above. Oh, and stop putting ankle socks with your heels. I'm over it.

Bob

There's a guy who wrote a book called "Sh** my Dad Says." It's all about the ridiculous stuff his father has said throughout the years. I feel like I could write about "Sh** my Dad does for us out of the blue, that is really nice, and sometimes kinda funny." My dad is the most dependable man I know. He's predictable. He's methodical. He likes routine. As kids this was great. We always knew what Dad would do and how he would react. He was always calm and his feathers were never ruffled. My mother, in contrast, seemed like a total loose cannon, seeing as though we could get her riled pretty easily. As an adult, I realize that I am more like my mother. My sister Katie is also like my mom, and seems to enjoy getting worked up. Brother Rob must be checked moment by moment to make sure that he has a pulse and is breathing. He's definitely like our dad.

Dad is a doer. He does things like go to Starbuck's Coffee for all of us when we're home, or run to Square Donuts, one of our childhood favorites. When he finds something he likes, we all benefit. For example, about 8 years ago, Dad discovered Apple products. We call him iBob. He has it all, the iPad, iPod, iPhone. As a result, all three of his children have received Apple computers. The man knows what he likes. Case in point, a random phone call I received yesterday evening after work, that went something like this:

"Liz, I was in town today for work, and I went to a place called Five Guys Burgers. Ever been there? It's where President Obama takes people when they come to D.C. I figure, if it's good enough for the President, it's good enough for me. So I tried it. You know what, it's amazing. So I bought you and Trinity a gift card, and your brother and Meghan one too. Now I think you should go to Five Guys Burgers as soon as you get the chance."

Ever the dutiful children, the four of us went to this highly acclaimed burger joint last night. The whole experience on the whole was great. I had a grilled cheese, which was fabulous with mushrooms. We laughed and chortled over Dad and his oddities. If you haven't been to this little burger mecca, you should go. It would make iBob happy.

Mexican Riviera Honeymoon

Trinity and I left the day after our wedding for our honeymoon. This was unpleasant. I was a tad overserved at my wedding, so I was feeling less than ready to board an airplane the next day. Fortunately, I was feeling better by the time we left Atlanta and was pretty normal when we arrived in Cancun. Our all-inclusive resort was located about 20 minutes from the airport, and was just lovely. I apologize in advance for all of the swimsuit photos, but we seriously lived in them for a week. The weather was fabulous.

Trinity poses by the pool.

This was my best accessory for the week. I'm not interested in skin cancer,nor am I interested in looking like an old leather shoe face when I'm 50.

We floated around in the pool like obnoxious honeymooners, hanging all over each other. Trinity's quote of the week, "Bets, its awful hard to kiss you with that big lid on your head all of the time."

Here I took a brief reprieve from my lid.

The water was so clear that I actually wasn't afraid to get in it.

We spent a lot of time on these double cabana things. Trinity took many naps on these.

My man in a hammock. He has a hammock radar. He loves these things. This one was perched over the pool and shaded, which made it perfect for him to swing, and swing he did. A lot.

"Take a picture of me, honey. I'll pose like I'm Daryl Hannah in Splash, except without the mermaid tail and amazing abs."

I also discovered a love of Monopoly on this trip. There was this great lounge with an open bar and board games. I have never been a huge board game player, one need only ask my friend Courtney to confirm this fact. She whines that I never play board games with her. Well, game on, Court. I'm hooked. This was perfect when it really got too hot, even in the pool.

My husband enjoys historical sites. Since I am a child of a history lovin' father, I've seen my fair share of Civil War battlefields. I do enjoy history too, but just not when it is like 102 degrees in the shade. I show you....Chichen Itza, ancient civilization of the Mayans.

It is hot and I'm miserable.

Here's the happy historian.

We did learn from our tour guide that the Mayans were very brutal. To establish class among the people, heads were key. The shape of one's head and facial features indicated social status. They put pressure on their babies' heads to shape accordingly. This often cut off oxygen to the brain causing mental handicaps. I was horrified. The guide said fortunately extreme practices such as face/head shaping are now extremely rare in the world.

Really, tour guide? It seems to me that there are plenty of cat breeders in the midwest who engage in the practice of flattening faces. Meet my own Mayan kitty, Kashmir.

As part of the tour we had the option of jumping in a sinkhole to swim. Trinity was front and center. I declined, thanks.

We finished our touring with this beautiful church.

Lastly, I leave you with this little parlor trick. The pool had a hidden ledge. I liked to pretend like I was walking on water and doing amazing things.

The Reception

I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to a party. I am the one whining to go home at 10 p.m. I shocked myself by the amount of energy that I had at my wedding reception. I literally did not sit down the entire evening. Some couples might spend all of their time mingling with their guests. I did that a little bit. Then I danced. A lot.

sister Katie and brother Rob

Dad

Meg, Nic and Kate

Court and her character of a boyfriend, Nick

Here I am instructing the band

Katie and her crew

shenanigans

Favorite Wedding pics

Our beloved Welie getting her corsage from Pat and Trinity's Aunt Shirley.

Tiny Kate in her photographing glory. She was making me laugh so much as she stood behind the photographers with her little silver Canon taking the same shots!!!

This was right before we were sequestered in the back.

I love pink! I love these girls, who are my besties in the world.

Kate, Nic, Katie, Court, Jamie and Meg

I think this looks magazine worthy-

Trinity and his mom and aunt

My momma, who now realizes that I was right about growing her hair out for my wedding.

Caroline's chubby little baby hand

T's mom and dad

my parents

T looking at me. He loves me, he really, really loves me!!

This was my favorite part of my dress.