Last Half of 2013

The past few months have been very busy but exciting! We finished out the summer in Panama City for the Brinkmann family reunion, although it meant we had to miss Michelle and Jonathan Linn's wedding in July. David had to leave on a patrol shortly after the trip, but we enjoyed our vacation time together. I started back to school in August 2013 at St. Alphonsus Catholic School with a group of 11 Kindergarteners. They have been keeping me busy, but the second year of teaching is already much easier. I attended the Conscious Discipline workshop in Hattiesburg over the summer as well, which really helped with my classroom management skills. On September 1, we went to Ryan and Samantha Huebner's wedding in New Hampshire and had a blast! David was a groomsman in the wedding and her bridesmaids included me throughout the weekend, which was very thoughtful. We also attended Hillary and Nick's wedding a week later on September 7 in Mobile, Alabama. On November 9, I went to Mackenzie and Nader Wahba's wedding in Marietta and also got to celebrate my 24th birthday with family in Marietta, although David was not with me. I later attended Mallory and Jason Williams' wedding in Cairo, GA a couple weeks later on November 23, which was great to see all my college friends. It is definitely wedding season! I am very excited to be a bridesmaid in Brittany and Michael's wedding on March 29 and an honorary bridesmaid in Mare and Daniel's wedding on August 16! Lydia and Wryan will be getting married on July 5, 2014. We are also looking forward to Chris and Anne's wedding sometime in the next year. They just got engaged this past Saturday, January 25! Congratulations to my brother-in-law and his soon-to-be wife!

David got home right in time for Thanksgiving this year, but it meant that we couldn't make it to Marietta in time. Instead of going home for the holiday, we had both sides of the family come here to Mississippi! We had 10 people at our two-bedroom apartment on Thanksgiving day, although my family did stay at a nearby hotel for the two nights. It was a lot of fun having everyone together here! Come Christmas time, David and I had fun decorating our tree, sharing Christmas stockings, and going to Christmas parties. Although David had duty on Christmas day, we did celebrate together going to Mass on Christmas Eve, making Christmas dinner, and opening presents. We left the day after Christmas for Marietta to see family. It was great to see Gigi and Papa John, Grammy, Mom and Dad B, Mom and Dad McP, and Chris, Andrew, Sean, and Mary. We spent New Years Eve in Atlanta with Amanda and Ryan and some other friends at an apartment party downtown. Later in January, we headed back up to Atlanta for Brittany's Bachelorette party and David's mom's birthday. I spent the weekend with the girls in Atlanta and David went cabining at Red Top Mountain with his family. It was a lot of fun! Now we are back in the swing of things, with an unexpected day off today and tomorrow due to the snow here. It is also David's birthday, but unfortunately, he has duty and should be home tomorrow once the roads are safe to drive on. That's the latest update here! 

Mississippi Girl

It's been a while since I posted on here, so I wanted to give an update as to what's been going on in our lives the past year.  David was away for my 23rd birthday last year so family came to visit me on Friday, November 10, 2012.  We celebrated my birthday at the Hard Rock Casino buffet and had a great time! For Thanksgiving, I went home for the part of the week that we were off school to spend time with my family.  Although David was underway, I got to receive a phone call from him, which was such a special treat! He came home early December so we got to spend Christmas in Knoxville and Marietta.  We surprised his Dad and the rest of his dad's side of the family for Christmas in Knoxville.  Then we spent a few days with my family in Marietta for the rest of our time off.  In January, we celebrated David's birthday with a homemade meal and a visit to the Infinity Science Center at John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.  It was a lot of fun! 

In the spring, we went backpacking on the Tuxachanie Trail and we took sailing lessons and were able to rent out the Hobie Wave and Hobie Bravo catamarans at Keesler Air Force Base to go sailing.  We have been sailing many times since then and we really enjoy it! I finished up my first year of teaching on May 24, 2013.  It was a very successful year and I am really looking forward to another year teaching Kindergarten starting in the fall.  My sister Mary graduated from high school on May 25, 2013 and I was able to drive home just in time to attend her graduation from KMHS and her graduation party that Sunday.  After that weekend, I came back to Ocean Springs to close up my classroom and then I was able to spend almost two weeks with my family after that.  We went to get my grandmother's house ready to sell in Hilton Head, SC for about a week, but otherwise I just spent time with family in Marietta.  I returned to Ocean Springs in mid June right before David came home, and we celebrated our one year anniversary at the Beau Rivage right after that.  We stayed one night there and got to have lunch at the Terrace Cafe, we hung out at the resort-style pool overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, went to dinner at the Italian restaurant Stalla, and we danced at the night club that Friday night.  The next morning we had a champagne brunch buffet and then spent some time on the beach.  It was like a mini honeymoon and such a nice way to celebrate our anniversary.  

This past weekend, my family came to visit and we had a great time! They arrive on Thursday and just left this afternoon.  We went to the pool, visited David on the boat while he had duty, walked around downtown Ocean Springs and got gelato and pastries at French Kiss Pastries, and we went had fun hanging out playing Wii Sports, watching movies, and playing Settlers of Catan.  We also went to eat out at Bay View Gourmet restaurant for brunch before picking Sean up from the Gulfport airport and going sailing at Keesler AFB.  We got ice cream at Quake's Ice Creamery afterwards and we went to dinner at Phoenicia Gourmet Restaurant later that night.  This morning, we went to church at St. Michael in Biloxi, went to Half Shell Oyster House, and rested before dropping Mom, Dad, Sean, and Mary off at the airport.  We had an amazing time this weekend and we are looking forward to seeing them again! 

Labor Day in Charleston

Over Labor Day weekend September 1-3, 2012, I went to visit David in Charleston, SC while he was there for boarding officer school.  I flew out on Saturday and returned home on Monday.  This was right after Hurricane Issac had hit the Gulf Coast, so I was concerned that the flight would not go out, but by then the airports were open.  His parents were also visiting that same weekend and we had a great time with them! David and I stayed at the Charleston Place hotel on Meeting Street and we felt like we were on our honeymoon again!  It was a beautiful hotel and the location was perfect.  Our hotel was also close to where his parents were staying in a cute bed and breakfast down the street, which made it very convenient to meet up with them.  After I arrived on Saturday, we walked through the farmers market in the Marion Square and then walked through all the vendors on Market Street before heading to lunch.  We tried to go to S.N.O.B (Slightly North of Broad), but it was closed for lunch, so we ended up eating across the street at Magnolias.  It was a very nice restaurant but it took a while.  After lunch, we decided to go to the 5:15 pm mass on Saturday night at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  Then we went to Old Towne Grill and Seafood for dinner and got some gyros and seafood.  It was delicious! Afterwards, we went our separate ways and David and I went to the Noisy Oyster  restaurant for drinks to end the night.  It was crazy downtown and many of the other clubs/bars had a cover charge.  We also saw about five Bachelorette party groups, one of which I had met on the plane ride to Charleston from Atlanta.  

On Sunday morning, we slept in until noon so completely missed the morning hours.  We met up with his parents and went to West Ashley to see the apartment where Mr. and Mrs. Brinkmann first lived when they were married 30 years ago.  Then we headed to Isle of Palms for our Charleston beach experience.  We had lunch and drinks at Coconut Joes Beach Bar and Grill before going out on the beach.  We played with kites, frisbees, and inflatable inner tubes in the ocean.  It was a lot of fun! After the beach, we went back to shower up before dinner at Bocci's.  We split calzones, white pizzas, and cokes.  It was late when we finished dinner so we showed his parents our hotel and then went our separate ways.  We had to be up fairly early to catch the 9 am flight out to Atlanta.  It was such a great weekend and we had an amazing time! But nothing compares to having David home now! 

Newlywed Life in a Nutshell

Well, it's been a while since I last posted on here, but a lot has been going on in our lives.  First of all, David and I both graduated back in May, David from the Coast Guard Academy and me from the University of Georgia.  I was able to go up to Connecticut for David's graduation right after I graduated, and we spent about a week up there.  Then, David and I drove two days to get back home to Georgia, where we had about two weeks until the wedding.  Despite all of our planning up to this point, there was still a lot to do leading up to the big day, so we stayed pretty busy.  Before we knew it, it was June 1 and we had the rehearsal dinner that night.  The rehearsal in the church went very smoothly, and then we had the dinner in Marist Hall at the church.  We had delicious barbeque catered from Jim N' Nick's, and it was great to spend time with out of town family and friends.  Then, it was the big day, June 2, 2012.  Everything went so smoothly throughout the entire day, it was a fairytale wedding.  We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family that made this day so special. 

After the wedding, we spent the night at the Hilton Marietta Conference Center Hotel before driving to Port Canaveral to get on the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship.  The whole cruise was amazing and we had such a great time together.  Once we were back in Port Canaveral, we made a trip to the Kennedy Space Center before heading home to Marietta.  It was a great way to end our honeymoon! We spent a few nights in Marietta before leaving for Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  When we got there, we signed our apartment lease, and we moved into our new home! Unfortunately, we found out that our things would not be delivered for another week, so we had to make do without furniture or much at all, but we managed.  We bought a queen sized bed, couch, and a TV in the meantime, so it wasn't so bad.  Eventually the movers came with all of our things, and it was great to finally feel settled in.  Meanwhile, we made lots of Walmart shopping trips to get all the things we needed for our new apartment, and we started setting up my Kindergarten classroom at St. Alphonsus Elementary School.  Between the apartment and my classroom, we were kept busy.  But of course David had to start work too.  He is stationed on the Coast Guard cutter Decisive and I am so proud of him for his commitment to our country.  We recently celebrated the 4th of July, and I am proud to be an American, and honored to be a Coast Guard wife.  So far, this first month of life as newlyweds has been amazing, and I am looking forward many more months with my husband David.  

Message in a Bottle

At one of my bridal showers, all of my friends wrote a favorite memory or well wishes in a jar for me to read later.  I really enjoyed reading all of these, and I wanted to record them for future reference: 

Beth: "I'll never forget those fun nights in the Alpha Gam house with you! You always were there for me with the best guy advice! Best wishes to you and your hubby! I am so happy for you!"

Mare: "Like my grandmother always says, "Never go to bed angry!" Congratulations and I wish you and David the best!"

Amanda: "I love you with all of my heart.  You are my best friend and my partner in crime.  I have way too many amazing memories with you to pick just one.  You are an amazing woman and David is so lucky to have you.  I'm so happy for you guys!"

Mom B: "Look for love and humor in every situation!"

Katherine: "Oh Sarah! There is so much to say! However, what always sticks in my mind is how sweet and enthusiastic you are! You never have a mean or negative thought! I know you'll take this warmth and positivity into your future marriage.  You are going to make an amazing wife.  David is a lucky man.  I feel you don't need advice! You have got it all figured out.  I wish you the best of luck in your exciting new future!"

Mary Margaret: "One of my favorite memories of you is playing in the snow freshman year and then warming up with hot chocolate.  My favorite memory about David is when we went out to eat on Spring Break 2010 and David kept throwing butter at people. Then he randomly got in my car (without Sarah) and goes grocery shopping with Kristin and me.  I kept finding butter packets in my car for two weeks after that! Love you both!"

Jennifer: "I can still remember the first time I met you.  We realized we both had a love for ballet and became instant friends.  It was so nice to have someone to talk about plies and pointe shoes with.  Our friendship has expanded since then and I am so happy to have known you for the past four years.  I wish you all the happiness in the world with David and wanted to leave you with a little advice: 1. Even though you will always be right, let him think he is sometimes.  2. Don't be a cover hog. 3. Perfect the cooking of his favorite meal for emergency situations.  4. Wait at least a year to pee in front of each other.  5. Don't go to bed mad and without saying, 'I love you'." 

Angelique: "From the very beginning, I've loved being your friend and I've known you and David were meant for each other.  I'll always remember you both helping me move in my entire carful of stuff.  My only advice is to keep smiling, laughing, and be happy!"

Mom McP: "You are lovely.  You are beautiful.  Take care of yourself so that you can take care of David (and your family when you have one).  I love you!" 

Marissa: "Marriage advice for you, even though I don't have any experience haha, but never stop doing the small silly things.  Leave post-it notes on the mirror in the morning with sweet messages, buy a nerf gun and have nerf-gun wars, and make sure you set aside at least one date night a week! So happy for you!"

Kathryn: "Memory- Waking up in the wee hours of the morning to you and Brittany giggling and snuggling with me after an Alpha Gam social.  I will never forget it! Advice- Don't sweat the small things.  Enjoy this time in your life!"

Melissa: "I can't give official marriage advice, but my best relationship advice is don't go to bed mad, don't sweat the small stuff, and always make time for cute romantic nights out! My recent favorite memory of you was watching you find out from David where you're living! You were so cute and so excited.  I am so amazingly excited for you!" 

Gabby: "Memory- First time we went to a frat party.  We went to ATO and she loved the hunch punch.  Two cups in Sarah was happier than ever.  She was too cute and funny! I think the Sarah giggle started there.  Sarah, I have been so blessed to have you as a friend.  I know you will be a wonderful bride.  Advice- laugh everyday with David! It makes life better!"

Mallory: "No matter how long you're married, never stop trying to wow David! aka. Always shave your legs! Memory- Your teeny tiny phone, Brittany always impersonating you, how much you love teaching, and walking up and down Brumby hill together." 

Natalie: "Remember- Two heads are better than one, God shows us little miracles when we least expect them, smile and laugh everyday, enjoy the small things, and always love and appreciate each other!" 

Rebecca: "Memories- Spring break sophomore year-fun, fun, fun! Picking you up in the car when you got cramped up on your run--so random, but a good conversation came from it.  All the times downtown- you are always so happy! My favorite was this February when Nick talked about how you were the greatest, nicest person.  He talked about you all night. I agree and thought him sticking up for you was the best.  Advice- Do all things in love."

Kristin: "I don't even know where to begin! I will say that my advice for you is limited, but my memories with you are endless! I have had such an amazing time living with you in the house (EPIC!) and now living with you again in TC 37! Through our many 'heart-to-hearts' about life and God, through two hospital visits in the span of two weeks, and through sharing one tiny closet for all of our clothes, you have become one of my best friends and hold a very special place in my heart.  I love you so much and I am truly blessed to have such a special friend in my life.  I can't wait to see you grow into a beautiful and incredible wife.  Congratulations!" 

Senior Events

On Sunday, April 15, we had a nice senior brunch at the sorority house and then we went to take senior pictures around campus.  I cannot believe that we are graduating this year.  These past four years have flown by, and on May 11, 2012, I will be graduating with a degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia.  I finished up student teaching this past Monday, so now I am getting ready for graduation and the wedding.  This is such an exciting time with graduation, the wedding, moving to Mississippi, and finding a new job.  2012 is a good year! 

Bridal Shower

On Sunday, March 4, my bridesmaids Brittany, Kylene, and Kristin hosted a bridal shower and it was so amazing! The food and drinks were delicious, including homemade bruschetta, chicken salad, baked brie, fruit, cheese, crackers, cupcakes, sangria, and lemonade, along with many other treats! They decorated the house beautiful with blues, pinks, and many pictures of David and me.  When everyone arrived, we at some food and chatted for a while.  Then, we went into the living room to start playing a few games.  The first game was a questionnaire.  They had previously asked David some questions and I had to answer the same questions about David based on how I thought he would answer them.  For every question that I missed, I had to eat a piece of double bubble gum (my favorite)! I did pretty well, but I also had to have a few pieces of gum...I learned some things that even I did not know even about David, including the fact that his favorite dinner is grilled catfish (Mom knows best)! After the questionnaire, we split up into three groups and the girls had to choose one person to create a wedding dress made out of toilet paper.  Then I had to choose the "best dress."  They were all really creative and good, especially since they were made out of toilet paper! After that game, we opened all the wonderful gifts from my friends.  I am so thankful to have received so many nice things! Thanks everyone! I had such a wonderful time at the shower last weekend, and I am so blessed to have such great friends, family, and bridesmaids! With just about three months until the wedding, this is the beginning of all the spring wedding festivities! It is such an exciting time for us!