Recovered Pictures

About one month ago, Chris and I went to Tampa, FL for business and we received a call from our photographer and she was so excited cause she had finally recovered about 80 more pictures that we thought were lost forever. I was so happy that I almost started to cry. I knew it would be awhile before we got to see the actual pictures, but I was just so happy that she had recovered some very important photos. 

The top two photos that I posted are just a couple of the ones that I thought were lost forever! Don't they look great! She also recovered some fun pictures of the reception. I really don't have anything to say except that I am so happy to have these photos. I am going to post just a few more of the reception that I just loved. I hope you like them, too!

Pumpkin Carving :)

Chris' Pumpkin

My Pumpkin

Nanna and Nannu

Chris and I had been talking and trying to plan a visit out to Omaha, NE to visit his Nanna and Nannu (grandma and grandpa). Well for me it would be the first time that I would meet them. You see they weren't able to travel to come to our wedding, which was really hard on everyone. So we tried a couple of options but with Chris's work it just seemed like the time was always wrong. Then one day he comes home and says okay we can go this weekend if you get it set up. WOW! Talk about last minute planning, finding a flight, taking the time off work for me, making sure that his Aunt Vicky and Uncle Tom could house us, just lots to do in a short amount of time. But I did it. I was so excited about finally being able to meet them that I wasn't going to let it pass us by.

So Saturday came and I was all packed and ready to go, just waiting for Chris to get home so that we could take Marta to the airport. As everyone knows, there is always a hiccup that happens whenever you travel and ours happened right away. We got to the airport and our flight was delayed, which meant that we wouldn't make our connecting flight into Omaha. Well luckily for us our lay over was going to be in Fort Worth, TX, where are good friends Maria and Joe live. So we gave them a quick call and asked if we could pop in on them that night while we wait for our next flight the next morning. It was great :) Our trip now included seeing friends that we hadn't seen in awhile and meeting his Nanna and Nannu. Even though it was short, our visit with Maria and Joe was wonderful.

So finally we made it into Omaha, NE and Uncle Tom comes to pick us up from the airport. His Nanna and Nannu, at this point, didn't even know that we were planning on coming so we met up with Aunt Vicky and them at a restaurant, where his Nanna screamed when she saw us around the corner. It was a great surprise for everyone. The rest of the few days that we got to spend there went great! During the day, we just spent time with them at their home and ate lunch with them. Then in the evening we would go back to Uncle Tom and Aunt Vicky's to have dinner with them. The time we had with everyone was short, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I hope that Chris and I can do that again very soon.

If you would like to see more pictures of our visit please click on the flickr to the right.

My Parents

For me this is a surprise to be writing about my parents. I say this because growing up in there house wasn't always easy. I was the baby of the family so I did have it a bit easier then my brother and sister, I guess I wish that I would have realized that when I was young. Instead of being such a pain in the a**. But my parents have always been there for me in all my doom and gloom. I just really want to say "thank you " to them. The choices that I have made in my past have not always been good ones and my parents just kind of let me figure that out for myself. Now don't get me wrong they always put their two cents in. And when I found myself in a bad situation they were always there to help me out. For that, I am really and truly grateful! I just hope that when I start having a family that I can be just like my parents. Our family in a whole aren't as close as I would like it, so that is why I am so happy that my mom and my dad keep close and involved even though I live 12 hours away.

My parents have laid a great foundation for me and my new marriage to Chris. Watching my parents love grow over the years and the devotion that they have for each other has made me want that for my marriage also. I have learned a great deal from them and now I am ready to use that in my life. So again 'THANK YOU" mom and dad for all the love and understanding that you gave me to grow into the woman that I am today.

Fourth of July Weekend at the Lake House

Our Fourth of July was spent at Brian and Julie's Lake House (Chris's brother and wife). The weekend consisted of us, Brian, Julie, Miller (their 7 month old son), and Murphy (their lab), Lauren (Chris's sister) and Sully (Lauren's dog), Tom and Geri (Chris's parents), Terry and Melinda (friends of the family), and Eric (friend of the family). ALOT of people in a 2 bedroom lake house. Chris and I ended up sleeping on an air mattress in Brian and Julie's walk-in closet. Next time we have that many people I think we need to bring tents and set them up for people to sleep under the stars. It was nice though to be able to see everyone and have a good time. We brought lots of games to play at night. The best game of the weekend was "catch phrase" I highly recommend that one for any family.

So Friday we spent the whole day out on the lake. Brian took a us on a boat ride to the other end of the lake. Just traveling the 4 miles to the other end is so beautiful and so relaxing. When we got back to the swimming area, we all had a bite to eat right there on the boat. Julie and I packed chicken salad sandwiches and beer and chips for everyone. When lunch was over, some of us went swimming like little Miller (check out those pictures on my flickr), and others went tubing behind the jet ski. That was alot of fun. Eric and Lauren both went flying off at one point. Terry even had a good time tubing. He wasn't sure at first, but after he got the hang of it he really enjoyed it. When everyone was done tubing, Chris took me for a ride on the jet ski down the lake and back. After our day was done down at the lake, alot of us went up to take showers and start making dinner. Most of the boys stayed down at the lake to go fishing. All in all that day was really nice!

On Saturday, we woke up to a cloudy day. We all thought that we would try and go into town and either just tube down the river or possible go white water rafting down the Ocoee River. When we got to the rafting place we asked if there were any openings for today to go rafting. And to our surprise there was one more trip and only one boat left for that trip. So we took it! I had never been white water rafting before. I was alittle nervous about the whole thing, but Chris assured me that I would have a great time and to not worry. Well he was right, it was the most fun I had ever had. The ones that went were Brian, Chris, Julie, Tom, Terry, and me. We all loved it! Saturday night we were all woken up by a huge storm that had blew in. The thunder was right on top of the house and so loud, and the lighting was amazing. We all got up and watched it for awhile.

Sunday morning we woke up to having no water cause of the storm. That was not fun but I was so glad that I took a shower the night before. So we pretty much just tried to pack things up and eat what needed to be eaten so that we all could get on the road. The weekend was really great! It was really nice to be able to catch up with everyone. Can't wait to do it again!

Hickory, Never Forgotten!

June 24, 2008, Was the 1 year anniversary of our dear old friend, Hickory. He died last year from old age and a mass that was found in his abdomen. I only knew Hickory for 2 years prior to his death, but for my husband, Chris, and his family, Hickory was their pet from birth. Chris's family owned Hickory's Father, Nugget. And once they bred Nugget they took the option to keep one of the pups and they picked out Hickory.

Our dear old Hickory was laid to rest at my brother-in-law's lake house. We had him cremated so that we could spread his ashes in the lake. You see if we would let Hickory he would stay in the lake all day long. He loved to go swimming and fishing!! He made a really good friend in Murphy (Chris's brother's dog) while we lived with them for our first year in Atlanta. I just wanted to write something in remembrance of a very special dog that was loved by a lot of people. He is greatly missed everyday!!

I thought I would give you a story to leave you with that Chris tells everyone about his dog, Hickory. Chris says that while he was growing up, Hickory would walk with him to the bus stop before school and watch him leave. Then after school when the bus was dropping Chris off, Hickory was right there waiting for him to walk with him home. Oh I have to tell this one too cause I think it is really crazy, Chris's family had a swimming pool in the back yard and Hickory was known for going to the pool and laying out on a raft in the pool. Chris said it was the funniest thing to see a Hickory floating around the pool like he was sun bathing. Okay I hope you enjoyed those stories. Here are some pictures of Hickory right before he passed away.

WEDDING PICTURES.....how frustrating!

So Chris and I have been married for almost 4 months now (July 8) and I still have yet to see my wedding pictures from our photographer. Okay I know that these pictures should take some time to do, but when your given dates of when they should be done and they are not it gets really frustrating. I have been told three or four different dates now and still have no pictures. I am really over it now. I don't even know what to think or do about it anymore. I mean this whole thing is out of my control anyways cause it is all up to my photographer to produce them for me. I really liked our photographer, she took a ton of pictures and she is really nice and I know she just wants them to be perfect for us, but right now I just want to see them!! All I can really say is thank goodness for all the family and friends that took pictures that day and have shared them with me. It was really great to see how great my real ones could be. So as time goes by I will keep you updated on our pictures. I really can' t wait to have them and show them off!!!