Beautiful Azaleas

Thanks ALOT

I just wanted to send a friendly "thank-you" to everyone I saw yesterday. All the receptionists, nurses, patients, gas station attendants, lonely bystanders, and doctors... Especially the FEMALES... Thanks alot for NOT pointing out to me the fact that I had a big ole "LARGE" sticker on my brand new sweater all day long. Oh yes, the little sticker on the outside of your shirt you are supposed to take off before wearing... however, I aparently didn't see it and walked around all day long with it on. NO WONDER I got some weird looks! And of course to make matters worse it did say LARGE!

one year ago today...

Ben and I got engaged!!!! most of you probably already know the engagement story, but for those of you reading who don't... here it goes!

Saturday March 24, 2007 Ben and I were supposed to be headed from the Mobile Airport to Key West, Florida for Spring Break with all of his friends for his last spring break. Instead, when we were in the airport parking lot, he surprised me and told me that we were going skiing in Colorado! In the back seat of the car was a completely separate suitcase for me, all packed with winter clothes rather than beach clothes! After frantically changing over my necessities to the new bag (which Natalie had so kindly packed me) we were headed to Beaver Creek, Colorado!

ON THE PLANE....NOTICE THE INCREDIBLY SUMMERY OUTFIT I WAS WEARING
Honestly, as soon as Ben told me the change in plans, I knew he would be proposing on the trip.... well, at least I had a good idea that he wouldn't have done this if he weren't proposing and was hoping he would! There were so many clues though.... Ben acted quite nervous ALL day long... like by saying "this black briefcase is MINE and you can't look in it because it has ALL of the reservations and surprises in it." I'm thinking "the ring is in there!" I am NOT one to want to know a surprise though so I did everything to follow his instructions. Then when we got to t he hotel he scurried off putting our "valuables" in the safe... asking me for my watch and jewelry... I NEVER put my stuff in a safe at a hotel, so I knew what he was doing then too... THE RING! :)

So anyway, we had dinner reservations at a restaurant on the top of the mountain and we had to wait right outside the hotel to catch a "snow sled" that takes us up to the restaurant. The meal was incredible, a 4 course meal if I remember correctly, and actually, during dinner we talked about potential wedding party members and other wedding related things... which was NOT uncommon, we were ALWAYS talking about getting married at this point, but Ben INSISTED that he would NOT propose until after he graduated in May.

ON THE SLED ON THE WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN

So he didn't propose at dinner, but he takes me outside after dinner while we are waiting for the sled to take us back down... it was beautiful with the snow covered forest around us, drinking hot chocolate... but still no proposal.

DURING AND AFTER DINNER

When we get down the mountain, we start walking back to the hotel lobby. However, as we were walking Ben suggested "hey let's walk back this way, by the fire pit".... I'm thinking "oh how cute he's going to propose out here by the pretty fire!" Well, things didn't quite go that way. Our hotel was a "ski in, ski out".... so as we are walking along we hear these kids screaming.... We notice a few people sledding down the hill which sent them riding down near the walkway we were on. Next thing we know, this kid comes FLYING down the slopes, and he SLAMS into the brick wall bordering our walkway. We first thought it was funny then thought "oh goodness this guy could really be hurt!" He was fine, but that kinda ruined the mood!

So we get back up to the hotel and as soon as we walk in the door I start thinking to myself "Well, you were officially wrong... he didn't propose, so if he didn't propose the first night of the trip, it's probably not going to happen at all on the trip!" Well, right then, I turn around and Ben is down on one knee!!! I LOSE it!! Right when you think you have everything figured out, he SURPRISES you! So of course now I don't remember everything he said, but I know that I immediately got down on my knee with him! I just remember him looking so far away from me with my heels on during such an emotional and special moment so I got down there to kiss him and say YES! I did remember to say YES immediately... and then the tears came on... and then I saw the incredible ring that he got custom made just for me.... everything was perfect!

So, the rest is history! One year later, here we are! Everything worked out perfectly and he did a WONDERFUL job planning every bit of it! Here are some more of my favorite pictures from the incredible and most memorable trip.

Green Thumb?

or maybe a black thumb...?

This Saturday Ben and I decided to tackle landscaping. Since moving into our new house we have pretty much neglected our yard with the exception of cutting the grass. You know, pulling weeds, pruning bushes, and knowing what plants go where has just never been something I have had to learn, therefore I didn't (I'm not really sure why though... because my mom is an incredible horticulture-ist)!!! I can't say that Ben and I did any research or got any advice to try and learn, but decided to give it a go anyway!

We loaded up 2 buggies at Home Depot with flowers of all kinds, a few azalea bushes, lots of vegetable and herb plants, and a few tools to do the job. Now, not only did we decide to plant these things, but we also "transplanted" a few plants from one part of our yard to another.... with no research done, we're just praying they live!

This is the backyard where there used to be 2 jasmine vines... and that's it (except for that tiny tree that resembles a skeleton)!!!! We dug up both jasmine vines and put them in the back 2 corners of our huge, square, non-tree-filled, grassy backyard. See it in the back right of the picture below? that's one of them. (and by the way, we haven't tackled that huge "flower bed"/ugly falling apart stone wall with weeds growing in the middle.... save it for another weekend!)

Then we raked up all the wood chips (while low maintenance, there are quite ugly) and planted 4 azalea bushes along the back wall. Then I planted purple and pink petunias. In the back right corner is a Sago (sp?) Palm... There were 2 in our front yard, flanking the walkway up to our front door. Only problem was that one was dead. So we dug up the dead one and chunked it, and transplanted the other to the backyard. So here's that area's finished product!

Next we planted a few flowers by our side door... I think that I should have bought a few more, it's looking kinda weak...

OK, so you know I mentioned a few veggie and herb plants.... We had to find a really sunny spot that wasn't in the backyard because Harper would surely eat them up! So in the "front/side yard" there was a big empty space behind some existing azaleas... so we started planting and it ended up being red clay rather than soil, and being as inexperienced as Ben and I are here, we planted them anyway! So maybe some TLC will keep them alive! Here are our 3 different kinds of tomato plants, 2 kinds of jalapenos, oregano, cilantro, basil, rosemary, and parsley.

Well, that's it. Next weekend we plan on putting down pine straw in all of the beds (it will definitely make it look more finished off). We are also going to get that black edging stuff so that our front yard beds won't blend in with our grass.. and so we can take down that stone/cinder block wall around that tree in the back yard i mentioned earlier up in the post, and have that finished off.

I'm kinda laughing at myself now because it looks so funny and DEFINITELY not done by a professional. We had SUCH a good day together though, feeling all husband and wife-like, with our puppy eating a whole bunch of dirt along the way.

Happy Easter

"Jesus is Risen.... He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!"

We had a wonderful Easter this year!

We started it out by going to the Setzler house Saturday night to celebrate. Momma and Daddy, Natalie, Stephen, and Bennett, Rachel and Hollis, Ben and I, and puppies: Harper, Gus, and Sam were all there! We had an incredible meal (of course, b/c momma cooked it) of Lamb, mashed potato casserole, a salad with scallops, and coca-cola cake for dessert! Then the Easter bunny visited us "kids" a little early. It was the first time ALL of us had been together since Bennett was born, so it was nothing out of the ordinary... a GREAT time together!

Sunday morning, Ben and I went to Dauphin Way United Methodist Church. Natalie, Stephen, and Bennett were there as well, but the church was packed so we didn't get to sit together. The service was beautiful and full of joyful hymns!

After church, Ben, Harper, and I went over to the Kennemer's house for Easter lunch. Don and LeJean, Adam and his puppy Beezley, and us were all there. We had an excellent lunch of smoked turkey and ham, pulled pork, green beans, potato casserole, dressing, peas, rolls, carrot cake, and fun-fetti cupcakes! After lunch the Easter bunny visited AGAIN. We had a good time playing outside with the puppies and Beezley and Harper sported the bunny ears for a while!

After we got back home later Sunday afternoon, the Easter Bunny finally visited Harper.... he definitely racked up this year, but wasn't too thrilled about posing with his toys... he would much rather chew and play with every single one of them!!!!

We hope that all of you family and friends had a wonderful and blessed Easter as well! Alleluia!

Learning...

What Harper's been up to the past month...

Cutting the grass with Daddy Learning to get "on your rug" when we tell him toPlaying with Will's dog "Lily"
Digging holes in the backyard (see it over there on the left? it was pretty big)
Learning to "heel" and walk on the leash
Playing fetch at the neighborhood park

Making his mommy very proud and happyPracticing his Show Dog stance... hahaWondering what the deal is with fire hydrants?

Puppy Photo Shoot

AKA.... snatching Natalie's camera to take some "quality" pics of Harper! Isn't he PRECIOUS!?

(my camera's picture quality is horrible, so I am dying to get a good camera like Natalie's, Summer's, or Samantha's so I can enjoy all the photos I take at a better quality!)

We're Back

Well, we've been out of town for a week, or atleast have felt like I've been off the globe for a week, but we're back! Check below for two new posts about what we've been doing....

Thank you so much to Natalie and Stephen for babysitting baby Harper while we were gone. When I got home, this is all Harper would do....

he must have been playing with Steele ALOT and got pretty tired out!

Napa Valley, California

Sunday, March 2nd at 6AM Ben and I and my mom and dad caught a flight out to Napa Valley, California for some vacation (yes that meant only about 3 hours of sleep after Katie's wedding night)! My parents go out there atleast once a year, and took Natalie and Stephen a few years ago. We had to wait our turn until after we were married, so now we got our chance! The first night, we had a dinner fit for kings. We were in the exclusive new restaurant's own wine cave. Everything was excellent and you can see at the end of the table the almost 10 bottles of wine we all drank. What a great way to start out the trip, with friends, family, winemakers, and winery workers (16 of us in all). The second day was "limo day." A very smart thing to have a driver when from 8AM to about 9PM we were drinking wine! This was Ben and my first winery to visit, so we got the crash course on wine making, an incredible and long process. This is the housing for some of the barrells at CAYMUS... My jaw dropped to the floor when we walked in the door.... The flowers were in full bloom Everywhere and BEAUTIFUL... I can't wait for our Alabama Spring Time! Later in the afternoon we went to Del Dotto.... I can't even describe what an incredible experience this was. The owner of the vineyard, Dave Del Dotto, invited us to his personal home. Then he walked us over to his brand new caves and tasting room.... this below is NOTHING like ANY other cave we went into (typically dirty, moldy, dark, old)... this was pure italian marble, italian chandelliers, marble molding, tile floors and walls, that opera boticelli guy (or whatever his name is) was playing on speakers throughout the cave, and the owner himself was pouring us tastes of about 30 wines STRAIGHT out of the barrels. Not to mention, that the place was CLOSED, so it was just us in there... incredible... Cheers to Dave Del Dotto for the best tasting ever, of the greatest wines, ever. (We were there until about 7PM, even in his own personal cellar, and I even knocked my purse into one of his wine glasses an broke it... quite embarrassing, but he didn't seem to mind one bit... i cleaned it up, i promise!)The third day, Tuesday, we drove ourselves to several wineries. Another amazing day, including a tour of an antique car collection (which Ben loved) at the winery Far Niente in the picture below. My mom took most of the group pictures on her camera, so when they get home from San Franciso I will get them from her. We had such a wonderful trip and loved every second of our mini-vacation. I have to say that I probably gained a few pounds because not only were we SO full of wine all day, but we ate some INCREDIBLE food. yummy yummy... this was the wine menu at a restaurant we went to... kinda the theme of the tripI took over 400 pictures, so the entire album is posted on Picasa Here.