Last 25!

I didn't forget, I've just been busy! Here's the last of my list of 100 things worth remembering! Check back here if you'd like to read 100-25!

24. Trick or Treating around Grandma and Grandpa McNeish's neighborhood when I was young.
23. Filming my last day of high school.
22. Weekend shopping trips with Mom and Maw Maw.
21. Having grilled cheese and tomato soup lunches at GCHS-my favorite!
20. Paw Paw pulling me around on a sled in his flat front yard when it snowed.
19. Watching Troop Beverly Hills over and over...
18. Watching our wedding video together for the first time and feeling so blessed and loved.
17. Having everyone caravan to our new home right before we got married to pitch in and help paint, clean, and set-up! That was one of the best weeks of my life--all the people I ♥ most, together all day!
16. Participating in my sorority's recruitment process.
15. Learning I got the job in GC and then also learning I'd be making lots more $!
14. David's and my first kiss ♥
13. Sunday morning Hardee's breakfast runs with David and Niko Harper.
12. Practicing cursive with Maw Maw to get it "just right."
11. Driving around, looking at Christmas lights every year with my family.
10. Supporting Maw Maw every step of the way to beat breast cancer!
09. Hearing my best friend Brett sing 'Sweet Child O' Mine' to me on my 18th birthday!
08. Dancing the last dance at Senior Prom.
07. Celebrating my 20th birthday with my best friend Emily...this would be the last time I would see her before she died. The memories are still so vivid.
06. Maw Maw and Mom surprising me and taking me to see Phantom of the Opera--I loved it so much I cried!
05. Saying 'I Do' on Makena Cove in Maui, Hawaii.
04. Pulling off my Mom's surprise 50th birthday party at our new home. She was so happy and surprised. We got her good!
03. Winning VP my senior year of high school and feeling so proud!
02. Taking family vacations with Mom, Maw Maw and Paw Paw and never wanting them to end.
01. I just can't bring myself to write a #1, it's like the list is done and I don't want it to be--so here's to many more memories like these to come... : )

Life as I know it {part 3}

Here are my moments worth remembering, numbers 49-25! Check back here & here for #'s 100-50.

49. David, Sarah, and I roadtripping to Tennessee on a whim during one of our college winter breaks.
48. Going to the pumpkin patch with Dave, Cori, and Brian and realizing we'd be friends for life.
47. Easter egg hunts at Grandma and Grandpa McNeish's.
46. Riding the 4 seater bike in Virginia Beach with Maw Maw, Paw Paw, and David.
45. Anna's and my roadtrip to Chicago and riding the "L-train {as nervous tourists}" and eating Chicago style pizza!
44. Telling all of my sorority sisters I was engaged at a Candle passing.
43. Riding around Maui,top down in our convertible, with my new husband.
42. Playing donkey basketball in highschool and hearing all about Maw Maw and Betty almost peeing their pants at the sight!
41. Walking into my apartment{seeing rose petals, flowers, candles, and hearing our song playing in the background} and thus realizing I was about to be proposed to!
40. Chicken and Beer dances.
39. Jeannie's, Melissa's, and my 5+ hour conversations about any and everything.
38. Going with Paw Paw to pick up my red dodge avenger.
37. Planning and throwing my mom's 50th birthday party--seeing everyone who made the trip to surprise her and watching my mom's face as we yelled "surprise!".
36. Summers when my Aunt Marg babysat me and we'd go to tropical sno to get fuzzy navel sno-cones.
35. Emily and I driving to Borders to get the new Jewel cd, half way there Em realizing she had forgot her purse, turning around to go get it, and then driving back to Borders to get the cd!
34. Being terrified to ride go-karts for the very first time in Branson, Mo., but doing it anyway.
33. Drinking grandma McNeish's sweet tea.
32. Maw Maw "sneaking" me to get my spiral perm while visiting relatives in Michigan.
31. Delivering food baskets, every Chirstmas, to persons in need with Student Council.
30. Graduating from SIUE with Summa Cum Laude honors!
29. Riding through the "It's a small world" ride at Disney World and making everyone go on it again!
28. Playing catch phrase in highschool with all our friends!
27. Having my dad, paw paw, and step-dad walk me down the beach "aisle" in Maui on our wedding day.
26. Opening presents at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's every Christmas Eve until the wee hours of the morning.
25. Filling up my gas tank for $8 and taking the left over $2 to Taco Bell for a nacho supreme and Dr. Pepper!

Numbers 1-24 to come. As always, please share yours!

Life as I've lived it {part 2}

Here are my moments from 74-50! Enjoy and remember, I'd loooove to read yours, so if you blog them, let me know! Just a refresher, go here to read numbers 100-75!

74. Picking up Niko Harper and bringing him home...and watching Dave fall in love with him.
73. Sarah and I driving around at night {during highschool} and "stalking" our usual suspects!
72. Feeling the rush of pairasailing with my mom for the first time.
71. Laying out with Emily in PCB, FL and spending hours on the beach talking about our futures.
70. My 16th birthday surprise party trip to Chicago.
69. Sarah rolling her incredibly too small and too short handled suitcase through the airports {when we were already running late} during our flight changes on our way to South Padre Island. I will never forget this image and laugh out loud every time I think of it!
68. Accepting a bid to be a member of the best sorority ever: Alpha Sigma Tau.
67. Viewing a double arch rainbow directly in front of me on my way to school one day--so beautiful!
66. Staying up late to watch the series finale of 90210 with my mom.
65. Maw Maw's and my trips to Cracker Barrel and St. Claire Square on days off school.
64. "Slumming" with Carolyn and Tonya through the streets of So-Il. What bad influences ;-).
63. Racing for the Cure in StL!
62. Riding the Tube in London.
61. Falling in instant love with Maui, Hawaii.
60. Emily and I singing {and crying} 'N Sync's "Bye, Bye, Bye" with my car windows down and radio blaring on our last day of highschool.
59. Experiencing the beauty that is the Road to Hana in Maui {twice :-)}
58. Getting Mr. Twist for the first time during a GC summer.
57. Having girl talks while walking the park in GC.
56. Hearing my best girls scream "Get it, Girl!" as I took my bow during my homecoming court curtsy.
55. Taking an entire weekend to work on gradeschool science projects with Paw Paw and now appreciating and loving how he put up with my perfectionist, diva self, at such a young age!
54. Traveling to Hawaii with 31 of our closest and dearest family and friends to watch Dave and I get married. {I will never be able to thank-you enough}
53. Driving 18 hours straight, from Illinois to Texas, to move Sarah and almost running out of gas in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma & watching Sarah freak out.
52. Being a dolphin trainer for a day {my dream job}.
51. Getting Little Caesar's pizza after my dance classes and riding to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's to eat it on their living room floor.
50. Playing the card game, Nerts, with my family and watching everyone be so competitive and funny.

Please, take the time to do this--you wont be dissappointed, and then make sure and share them.

Stay tuned for Numbers 49-25!

Life as I've lived it

One of my favorite bloggers, Chelsea from Life is Beautiful, posted this idea from one of her favorite bloggers. It entails making a list of 100 things that were worth doing in your life and reflecting upon them. As Chelsea put it, I hope these events are those that pop up should my life flash before my eyes. Here's my partial list! And, these are definitely in no particular order.

100. As a child, waking up to the words "Hi Joi" {written in the sand by my mom and her best friend} and viewing them from atop our tall Florida balcony.
99. Having my first taste of dark chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory after thinking I didn't like cheesecake.
98. Watching my Dave {who was just a friend at the time} roll around on the ground and sing "Like a Virgin" at a restaraunt's karaoke during highschool Homecoming week.
97. Riding the banana boat with my girlfriends during our Senior trip to South Padre Island.
96. Riding the Screaming Eagle roller coaster at Six Flags backwards!
95. Getting strawberry shakes at the same St. Louis Steak n' Shake on my way to my dad's house.
94. Signing the papers to our first home.
93. Finishing my last undergrad final at SIUE--what a relief.
92. Learning I got hired at EHS.
91. Seeing NKOTB at Busch Stadium with my mom from the 9th row--I thought I was hot stuff
90. Watching my best friend Emily act like she was drowning in my waterbed.
89. Highschool hockey games.
88. NHS camping trip and one of the last times we would all be together as friends.
87. Eating fresh home grown tomatoes with salt in the summertime.
86. Being chosen as May Carousel Queen by my fellow peers and teachers during senior year of highschool.
85. Getting my first "grown-up" pay check.
84. Realizing Sarah would be a friend for life during our 6 Flags trip in highschool.
83. Putting trash {and complete room "mock-ups"} in friends' frontyards during the summer before college--and thus starting the "trash war".
82. Bawling like a baby after watching Armageddon and then speeding the next night to see it again with Emily.
81. 4th of July fireworks in GC.
80. Riding to DQ in the bed of Tonya's truck {with the extended family} on the eve of every Braggs' family reunion.
79. Denny's trips senior year of highschool {and all the free food--too bad the waitress got fired for feeding all of us for free!!!}.
78. Finding what would turn out to be one of the best dogs in the world {Dodger-dog} perched upon a snow mound at Amoco in the dead of winter during 6th grade.
77. Eating Maw Maw's famous biscuits and gravy-yum!
76. Paw Paw's and my jam sessions on his and Maw Maw's organ.
75. Swimming with the dolphins in PCB, FL--and feeling so blessed to be so close to my favorite animal.

Stay tuned for the next installment, and I challenge you to blog, journal, share, or reflect on your own!