school's out forever

When I think of reunions, I think of how either people love them or hate them.  Either you've gained a bunch of weight, or don't have the best job, or Mr. Popular is now Mr. Balding!  So many emotions run through my head.  I think of fun times and I think of the bad times.  Mostly I think of how I thought I knew it all and I realize, 10 years later, I have a long ways to go!  Kyle had his 10 year reunion this past July.  Here is his story: 

Yes... I am alive on the Blog world!  I don't blog enough and I have to give much credit to my wife for doing a great job.  Lets get a few facts straight, I grew up in a small town and I graduated from Kemper Academy with a whopping 25 people in my class.  So needless to say it was not a tough challenge to get the reunion organized.  I started a facebook page and began looking for my former classmates online. It escalated from there and I would have to thank Amanda Harpole Snowden for setting everything up in Meridian. We had a "social" or as I call it a get together at my parents house in Meridian on Friday night as we grilled out burgers and had a good time catching up. I think we had 10 or so people come and it was a good time. We had our actual reunion at Crescent City Grill and had 14 classmates show up. I had a great time and it was good to see some of the people I spent 13 years or more of my life with.  Hopefully we can organize a 15 year reunion and have the same or bigger turnout.

We took our children with us on the trip and they were good dogs on the ride down.

Hanging out on my parents patio catching up

My wife telling everyone what I have been up to for the last 3 or so years.

As I found out that weekend not much has changed with everyone. Felicia still uses her hands to talk!!!

The is the restaurant we had our reunion at.

The group photo of us at the Crescent City Grill. It was so good to see everyone!



• Let's rewind to Angie's 10 year reunion that was in October of 2007.  Since I was an offiicer, I got to help plan my reunion.  This was before facebook was real popular.  MySpace was catching on and there were only about 25 of us on there.  I graduted with about 250 students. It took a while to find people but we tried all we could!
• Friday night: We had a cookout at Bolton High School and toured the school since it has changed/built up so much.
• Saturday night: We rented a place downtown and had a DJ and such. 



Me, Heather and Kima touring our high school on Friday night.

We had a really fun time.  I can't believe how much it has grown! They've added so much!  I really enjoyed seeing where I use to practice, learn, and be a kid!

Kyle and I just got engaged a few weeks before! Whew, glad a had a date!

Curtis, Jimmy, Kima, me, David hanging out at the flying saucer.  I miss those crazy guys!

Wow, Kyle looks a little different? Oh wait, he is 60 lbs heavier! But still a hottie!

Some of the girls from back in the day.  My how times have changed.

We had a pretty good turn out.  I am a little jealous that all Kyle had to do was send a facebook message to 25 people and go to dinner.  I guess that is what happens when you have a c/o 250 compared to a c/o 25!

We got the award for newly engaged couple!

millions of peaches, peaches for me

Kyle and I went to Atlanta on July 4th weekend to run the Peachtree 10K.  It is the largest 10k in the world with over 55,000 registered walkers/runners.  The process to get sign up is crazy!  You only have a 2 hour window to sign up online on a certain day and time.  All other people mail in their form and are picked at random.  We "got in" so we set out on our Atlanta adventure!




See that palm tree? We stopped to have dinner in Inverness, AL (outside Birmingham ) at a Mexican place. I really felt like I was on vacation seeing that!!!

 We stayed with Chirag and Reena Shah on Friday night.

Here we are hanging out where the Shah's had their first date!



Here is a view from the Shah's balcony overlooking either Buckhead or Marietta. Such a cool place!



 Saturday we went sight-seeing!  1st stop...IKEA

I had to get a picture of Kyle in the 340 sq ft room!  I could totally live there if I had to with all the amenities of IKEA.

So if I did spend 3 days in IKEA, I would've slept there as well.  I love how they have "rooms" set up.  You can see how they've made it possible for an 800 sq ft room livable! 





I'm not one to shop all day, but IKEA is another world! Everyone must go at least once! The prices aren't bad either!



Next up: The Varsity

This a a jumbo sonic!  I really don't do fast food but everyone said we must go there so we did. Kyle was happy.



The cashiers get you in and out like no body's business. "What'll ya have?" You better know what you want or else!

We drove around Atlanta and there is just too much to see in a day.  We must go back!  So after seeing the sights, we headed up to Roswell (a town in north Atlanta) to stay with the Mancusos.

it's a cruel, cruel summer

the band ace of base sang "cruel summer" but i would substitute cruel for HOT....
we started off june singing the blues....
our dear friend lindy turned 30 and she had the blues....psstttt, 30 is great! but she had the blues so we all wore blue to her party.

here is lisa, gillian, me, august, and betsy about to eat! i love that lisa and betsy wore blue wigs!

kyle and i having a great time! we love our lindy lou, even when she's blue!

lisa, august, lindy (bday girl), me, and betsy living it up!

the b-day girl and i! she looks great for 30!! she wears it well!

june, you tricked me. every year it is always extremely hot in june for about 2 weeks and you didn't fail this year. how was i to know that the heat would stick around ALL summer!? you got me! you really did! so when kyle and i signed up for the renaissance half marathon in ridgeland mississippi, we knew it' would be hot! we had that in mind. but we didn't know how HOT!

it was HOT! even at 6am at race time! i complained before about hot races. but oh man! there was a lady that gave out ice and told me to put it in my sports bra and for kyle to put his in his hat. AMAZING! it kept me going. however, our official time was 2:46. not a good time for us.

even though the race was miserable, we had a good time. the race was in the same city where kyle's mimi lives so we had some family time. for example, we were at mimi's on race *eve* and the phone rang.  mimi said "hello?....hello?....HELLO?....kyle this is a salesman and he wants to speak to you."  kyle and i looked at each other with wonder.  she handed kyle the phone and low and behold it was an automated phone service telling all the residents of the road closures for the race the next day.  mimi was amazed that they knew to call her house.  she said "how did they know you were here?!!" i just love that woman!

around mile 8, i had really bad knee pain. so every mile after mile 8, I had to stop and stretch.(maybe it's my IT band??) i have never been so hot during a race! but we did it!

resting with my friend lauren! she did great! and i'm pretty sure she finished with her best time! she was fast!  we ran the first 7 miles together.

june continued to be hot. le bonheur children's hospital had its grant opening ceremony. it won't open until december but they wanted to have the celebration on the original birthday of le bonheur.
http://www.lebonheur.org/lebonheur/About+Le+Bonheur/The+New+Le+Bonheur+Building/Grand+Opening+Celebration

le bonheur knows how to put on a show!

april and i trying to stay cool. i really needed a shower afterwards.

next up: cardiac kids camp! my department loaned me out for a week so that i could be a counselor for le bonheur's heart camp. it was held at lakeshore about 1 hour from jackson, tn.

the camp really surprised me! most of the cardiologists and heart surgeons came to teach or just hang out with the kids. here is dr. goldburg drawing a picture of the heart!

he did an amazing job! he actually told us he had a heart defect himself. the kids that attend this camp range from ages 8-18 and all have some sort of heart problem.

look at all the wine glasses the kids decorated! time for my plug!  i am a member of TWIGS, an organization that raises money for le bonheur.  we put on the enchanted forest: the festival of trees. http://www.theenchantedforest.org/ basically, organizations in the community decorate trees (a lot of them!) and it is held at he pink palace.  santa is there as well for the kids to see!  back to the wine glasses.  TWIGS host a preview party the night before the enchanted forest is open to the public.  these wine glasses are sold at the party to raise more money for le bonheur.  if you would like to come, it is nov 19 and tickets are on sale now.

such a pretty view! sorry i didn't post any pics of the kiddos.

the docs had pig hearts the kids dissected.  fun! 

some of the awesome cardiac le bonheur people i met!

i really learned a lot about the heart! 

jenni and i:  she came up for the day!  we work together.

we didn't just dissect hearts, listen to power points, etc...  we rock climbed, swam, hiked, and much more! this was my 1st rock climbing adventure! i was a little nervous.

 see this girl on my left? well, she beat me!  i didn't even make it to the top but i did the best i could. she also beat me to heaven. she ended up passing away a month later due to compilations from a surgery. she had an amazing spirit and i've never seen an example of Jesus in a teen as i saw in her. her faith was contagious and i know she is dancing with Jesus today.

may makes memphis marvelous

kyle's department at work let me come to the suite at the redbirds game!

and let me say this, that is the way to watch baseball. not real sure i can go to another game knowing how the "other" people watch baseball. sometimes it is better not to see the grass on the other side! it is greener there!

it's that time of year again. our favorite time in may! bbq fest!

however, it only sprinkled!

the next night was the sunset symphony. the brasher sisters are ready for another rain storm.

after a night of fun, we ate at the arcade at the corner of south main and ge patterson. http://www.arcaderestaurant.com/
it is the oldest restaurant in memphis and it is still going strong!


sunset symphony time!

i didn't tell my mother-in-law that was the 4th annual zombie walk night! what is a zombie walk you ask? well, in big cities around the states, people dress up like zombies. in memphis the walk is from south main to beale street. if you put a black X on you, they will bite you and thus, you become a zombie as well. she was stunned by the masses of zombies. http://ilovememphisblog.com/2010/05/what-do-we-want-brains-the-memphis-zombie-massacre-returns/


my rain boots came in handy. memphis in may needs to be called memphis in rain.


my mother-in-law came down for the last weekend in may to join in the festivities. we took her to the south main trolley tour. http://southmainmemphis.net/trolley-nights/
it is the last friday night of the month, and the trolley runs in the south main district for free. all the shops stay open late. the art galleries have wine and cheese and bands are playing in the streets. it is a very fun (and free) time in memphis.


a beautiful sunset.

alas, the sun came out. kyle is sporting his t-shirt from cindy brasher for the event. and this is a re-gift. cindy got it from our re-gifting party we had back in january (see re-gifting party blog)


however, it rained on our parade. see kyle wearing a UT poncho? kristy krotzer was very happy about that. we decided to truck it down to the park anyways. kyle and his momma: she really enjoyed it! i think she was amazed at how many people came out to enjoy the show. next year my father-in-law must come!

we are dancing to/with k.c. of k.c. and sunshine band. so maybe his new name should be k.c. and no sunshine. another great weekend for the record books!

we love our mommies!

so for mother's day, we told kyle's mom that we would not make it down to celebrate with the family. well, we lied. kyle had not spent a mother's day with his mom since we've been married.

on saturday morning, my mom had a mother/daughter banquet at her church. good food and a good message from the preacher's wife.

my mom knew what we were up to! so after the lunch, i headed home to pick up kyle and head to meet his family for dinner 3 hours south. only his sister and dad knew the plan! wahahaha!

kyle and i got to the restaurant right in time for dinner. we hid by the door and said "well hey ethel ann!!" her look was PRICELESS!!! she definitely didn't see us!! i had a new do as i had just chopped off 10 inches of my hair to give to locks of love! double shock!!! (i had to play the part! ha!) we are sneaky people!

we had dinner on the reservoir in jackson, ms. i had no clue the reservoir had such a pretty view! why did it take 3 years for kyle to take me there? i might have moved if i would've known it was this pretty (yeah right!)

on the way home we passed by where the tornando hit yazoo city. YIKES! so glad i was not on I-55 when this twister hit!

MOVE it mccoys

M-O-V-E! that is what the mccoys did on april 17, 2010. it was also another special weekend for us. kyle and i celebrated 2 years of marriage...apart! well, kinda.

what angie did: i signed up to run a 1/2 marathon in jackson, tn. i don't run to win, i run to stay in shape and so that i can eat ice cream! i burn about 1,300 calories in every half i run. that equals a lot of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream! OR reese's OR nutella and peanut butter bagels. ok, i need to stop. i'm making myself hungry!

amanda king aka stewy, her high school friend, and i after the long run. it ended up being a perfect day to run. it was in the 50's and cloudy. i was very nervous. i went up that friday and stewy drove me around the course. SCARY!!! half the race was in town and the other half of the race was on back roads. since it was a small race (400 runners...that included the 5k, half, and full marathoners) i was petrified that i would get off the course and would end up in a pasture with the cows. luckily i didn't and i made friends along the way. and congrats to stewy and her friend, they completed their 1st half marathon!

since i was *half* way to martin, i decided i would go the *full* distance and drive to my college town...ut martin! my friend betsy was in town for some alum activities so i stayed with her and her parents, the brashers, in sharon, tn. (about 10 minutes from martin) i have known the brashers since 1997. i met cindy and betsy in college. we were in alpha delta pi together! mr. joe, mrs. phyllis, besty, and i hung out by the gazebo: a very relaxing place to chill after running 13.1 miles!


yee haw! the rodeo was in town!!! http://www.utmsports.com/fullstory.cfm?id=4399&sport=Rodeo i went to 1 rodeo in college and thought i would give it a whirl again. i don't think i'll be going back. not for me. those poor animals! however, i was VERY excited to see a Mississippi State guy there competing. of course he lost, but i was excited to see my hubby's team representing! i had a great time relaxing and an enjoyable visit with the brashers.

what kyle did: he went to super bulldog weekend. http://www.alumni.msstate.edu/s/811/index.aspx?sid=811&gid=1&pgid=252&cid=1960&ecid=1960&crid=0&calpgid=15&calcid=1002
somehow, it fell on the same weekend as our anniversary and since we spent our 1st anniversary there last year, i decided not to go and kyle decided to go. our real anniversary was on that sunday so we did get to spend that day together!

kyle has really gotten into this whole running thing and enjoys it! so much that he talked his parents into doing a 5k! kyle told me he remembers his dad running when he was little and he is currently an avid walker. his mom had never completed a 5k but kyle talked her into doing it! they walked/ran the cotton district 5k that is held during super bulldog weekend.
http://www.starkvillearts.org/events/cdaf.html


kyle and his parents before the race: one happy, healthy, fit family! i was very proud of my mother-in-law! she beat kyle's 1st 5k time! kyle said she even jogged down some of the hills! she said she now wants to complete a 10k. kyle had a personal record....25 minutes! i was STUNNED! i have created a running monster!!! his 1st 5k was around 45 minutes...and he jogged it. now he running about 8 minute miles! i'm very proud of him!
bailey came with him and joined in the fun as well! she was in the pet parade! we hoped she'd win fluffiest dog but she didn't. i think it was rigged!
whew, we had an active weekend! we will all have to do a race together. *time for my plug* maybe i can get them down to memphis for the pumpkin run for le bonheur. http://www.pumpkinrun.org/ Everyone needs to sign up! email me and you can be on my team as i am a team captain. i have not picked out a name yet so more details to come. it is time to MOVE it people! walk-it, run-it...i don't care...just get to moving!!!
Also....Le Bonheur is having a T-shirt design for the 2010 Pumpkin Run. The winning design will be featured on the 2010 Pumpkin Run T-shirt, and the winner will also receive a $100 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods. Artwork should reflect the Pumpkin Run theme - harvest, fall, running, etc. - and bold colors are recommended. Paint, marker and graphic art are acceptable, and all of the artwork must be entirely original. Each submission should include the name and date of the event: Le Bonheur Pumpkin Run 5K, October 9, 2010. For more information or to submit an entry, contact Joanie Taylor at 287-5988 or taylorj@lebonheur.org. Entries may also be delivered in person to the Le Bonheur Foundation, 850 Poplar, Bldg. 2. The deadline for all submissions is Monday, Aug. 23.