The Journey of Parenthood…

Gainesville Visit

I’ve been promising Brandon and Chrissy that I’d make a trip to Gainesville to visit for awhile now. Between the move and all our travels it’s hard to take the time to go down there and I hate asking Mrs. Charlotte to keep Kye anymore than she has to. I considered taking Kye with me for the day but it’s an hour and a half there then another hour and a half back and when you figure in the time he’d spend napping what would be the point? Instead I got a baby-free day to just enjoy my brother!

Once I arrived I got to check out their “new” place. I mean they’ve been living there awhile now but I hadn’t seen it yet so it was new to me (Zach even got to see it before I did…on his Bachelor Day with Brandon).  They are renting out the 1st floor of an OLD house and it’s so, so cool. Hardwood floors throughout and pretty word work and doors and such. I loved it and I could tell that Brandon is beyond happy there and that’s what counts most. Wednesday is his day off from work so I went for that reason last week since we all know my weekends are booked solid (literally we don’t have a free weekend until NOVEMBER!). It was unfortunate that Chrissy had to work that day and that Zach couldn’t come with me, but at the same time when do I EVER get alone time with Brandon? Usually we’re only together in big group settings with the whole family so I really, really appreciated the quality time together.

We spent a couple of hours just sitting at their place. He showed me around and went through all their weddings presents and things that he has from Nana which was neat to see. We talked and caught up then at Chrissy’s lunch break we picked her up and went to eat at this AWESOME pizza place! It’s decorated like a junkyard and the food was super yummy. Plus they had one of those cool stores out back that sold a bunch of eclectic type things (I almost bought a statue of some Saint that you bury in your yard to help you sell your house but I knew Zach wouldn’t approve of idol worship haha). It was really neat and I can’t wait to take Zach there to show him! I know he and Mom would both LOVE it!

pizza time!

After lunch we took Chrissy back to work and Brandon took me to the BEST place I’ve ever been in MY LIFE. It’s this frozen yogurt place called Mochi and it’s incredible. Like life-changing. You pay by the ounce and when you walk in you can sample all the yogurt flavors then you pick a cup and fill it up with AS MUCH AS YOU WANT! The best part? ALL the toppings. Like every topping you can IMAGINE. If you know me at all then you know I love ice cream and I adore toppings (remember my nightly ritual?). I seriously put over 15 different toppings on my yogurt and they even had Hershey’s Cookies and Cream candy bars as toppings and those are my favorite candy bars (I’d eat them on the reg when I was pregnant). Just writing this makes me crave some Mochi again (I think I’ll go buy myself a Blizzard to hold me over!). It was so sweet too because Brandon paid for mine! As a big sister moments like that make me proud 🙂 The girl behind the counter cracked up when she weighed mine…it was 12 oz!!! The total was only like $5 though, isn’t that awesome? I SERIOUSLY want to open one here in Valdosta. We don’t have cool places like that and with 3 colleges in our town wouldn’t it be a hit? And it can’t have a big upfront cost either! Who’s with me????

guess which one was mine?

I love my brother!

We left Mochi and drove around Gainesville a little bit. I am a Gator-Hator hardcore so I’m very anti-Gainesville but I have to admit it’s a really cool town! There are a TON of inexpensive things to do there and I really am hoping Zach and I can find a weekend to go back to take Kye with us. I’m so impressed with Brandon and Chrissy and how much they love their town. They actually were voted Cutest Couple in Gainesville and were on the cover of a local magazine! They both really get to know where they live and it’s such a great way to be because they know all the cool little hot spots and fun things to do. Brandon takes such pride in whatever city he lives in and I love that about him (even if he is a stinkin’ Gator!).

I had to head back at 5ish so I could get to church on time but I had SUCH a nice day! Well worth the hour and a half drive 🙂 It’s such a rare opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Brandon and I really did enjoy it so much. It reminded me how important the sibling relationship really is. Someday our parents will both be gone and we’ll need each other for support and comfort and to be able to “remember when” from our childhood days. We get to see Zach’s sisters SO much and sometimes it’s easy to just wait until the next family gathering to see my brother, but I want to make visiting each other more of a priority. 

Mrs. Charlotte kept Kye for the day then dropped him off to Zach after he got done working at 5ish so I was eager to pull in the driveway to meet this excited boy! He was THRILLED for Mommy to be home and I loved it. You working mommies must LOVE being greeted by such loving, adoring children each evening!

He had his book bag on all ready for church (we take his pjs and such on Wednesday nights in the book bag so we can change him into sleep clothes before heading home). This picture makes me SAD because he legitimently looks like he’s heading off to school!!!

Yay for a fun day, but no matter how fun a time I may have I LOVE getting home to my family!

Emily Parker
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