Mullet Toss '10

Mullet Toss is an event that we have come to look forward to every year.  This was our 3^rd annual trip & our group almost doubled in size (2008 post here & 2009 post here)!  Most of us headed down to my beach house late Thursday night.... the car was loaded down to the point that Stephanie & Austin couldn't even see each other in the back seat! 

In addition to Austin & Stephanie, we were joined by our regular Mullet Toss attendees Register & Gracie, their friends Ashley & Neil, and Katie (Jody was coming later on Friday).  Bright & early Friday morning we were ready to go & started out with our routine breakfast at Tacky Jacks.  Then we stocked up on food at Publix and were ready to hit the beach.  Normally the Mullet Toss festivities are on Saturday, but there was a HUGE thunderstorm projected for Saturday, so we decided to go on Friday instead, when the weather was nice..... SEE:  

Enjoying the Sun: Ashley, Gracie, Erin, Stephanie, & Katie

Late that afternoon when the weather turned, we headed in to the FLORABAMA bars..... There were bands & drinks.  These guys had a good time (this picture may be the last evidence of Ben's sunglasses).

A lot of us... after Jody arrived (and before I figured out how to use my little camera)...

It was a good thing we went on Friday, because it rained ALL DAY on Sunday... the poor puppies did not like hanging out on the porch (Harper with Register's dog Mollie)

After our lazy rainy Saturday we all got dressed up & went to dinner at COBALT.... 

THE BOYS: Neil, Register (didn't get the blue shirt memo), Austin, Ben, Jody

The Girls: Ashley, Gracie, me, Katie, Stephanie

Ben & I at COBALT

All 10 of us after dinner... what great friends & a great fun weekend! 

After dinner, we took a quick detour before going back to the house & picked up my hilarious younger sister, Rachel, who had been at the Florabama all day & was ready to leave.  We came to her rescue & were glad to have her come back for our little house party & spend the night!  My wonderful friend Molly, who was down at the beach with friends, came over to the house to say hello as well!  It was so great to catch up on each others lives & visit after not seeing each other for so long. 

On Sunday, a lot of us weren't in any hurry to get back home because the weather had turned gorgeous again.  We stayed around the pool & laid out in the sun (I got a little TOO much sun of course) before cleaning up the house & heading back home.  We'll be looking forward to 2011 & missing Register & Gracie who will be on their honeymoon at that time next year! :)  

Doc's Birthday

My Dad’s Birthday was April 16^th & the whole family got together & went to dinner at The Bull (this is the same restaurant that Ben & I went to w/ his family recently & were so excited about going back).  Everyone’s food was amazing & we had a wonderful time celebrating together.  

After dinner, Rachel & Hollis, Ben & I went across the street to “the Corner Bar” for a little while. 

Just For Fun...

I saw this on Lyndsie's blog & thought I would fill it out too just for fun!

1. What are your middle names? Erin ELIZABETH & Benjamin CHRISTOPHER

2. How long have you been together? 9.5 years since we became best friends,  8 years since we 1st dated, 7 years inseparable...

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? we knew WHO each other were for years because we went to the same school & our siblings were friends, but really knew each other about 1.5 years before we started officially dating

4. Who asked who out? Ben asked me

5. How old are each of you? I am 26, Ben is 25 (yep, got me a younger man!)

6. Did you go to the same school? YES, for 11 years we were at St. Paul's at the same time

7. Are you from the same home town? yes

8. Who is the smartest? definitely depends on the topic. I made better grades in school, but there are some things now that Ben knows way more about (like banking, haha) & I have no desire to learn

9. Who majored in what? I was Business- Marketing & Ben was Business- Finance

10. Who is the most sensitive? ME!!!!! extremely

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? our honeymoon in Cabo, Mexico or Las Vegas (in the picture below)... (I just googled this & Las Vegas is actually further than Cabo was... crazy!)... Napa, CA is technically furthest but that wasn't just the 2 of us

12. Who has the worst temper? well I don't want to point fingers but, Ben... he comes by it honestly :)

13. How many children do you want? probably 2, but we will just wait & see when the time comes!

14. Who does the cooking? mainly me, Ben does grilling... and if Ben decides he wants to cook something, he wants ZERO help!  

15. Who is more social? it really depends on the situation & where we would be going... Ben doesn't like going to weddings/planned events like I love to... but I don't love going "out" to bars and things like he likes to

16. Who is the neat freak? definitely me... my OCD annoys him :)

17. Who is the most stubborn? it's a toss up!  we're both VERY stubborn & want our way!

18. Who wakes up earlier? definitely Ben!  I've been called narcoleptic before, haha.  what can I say, I love my sleep!

19. Where was your first date? is it bad I don't remember?  well, we didn't have the normal beginning of a relationship.  we were just friends first & just kinds hung out so there weren't "real" dates... I bet if i went back & looked at my calendar it would tell me the 1st place we hung out away from school though.  Our 1st "date" that led into us dating again once we got to college was KD Christmas Cocktail date party & Ben & I went to dinner at Loco's beforehand & talked for like 3 hours (the picture above is from THAT night!)!

20. Who has the bigger family? ours are exactly the same size!  original family of 5 + 2 married siblings + 1 niece/nephew on both sides!  EXACTLY the same!

21. Do you get flowers often? in the beginning Ben was HUGE on giving flowers, gave me roses, specifically, for every occasion, but now I cant even remember the last time I got flowers from him.  After a while he realized they die... but they ARE fun every now & then ;)

22. How do you spend the holidays? every year (we've got 2 yrs in so far!) we switch between Christmas morning w/ 1 family & Christmas eve or night with the other... luckily we're all in the same town so it has worked out, but it's tough when you try to fit EVERYONE in to 1 day

23. Who is more jealous? not so much an issue now that we're not in high school/college anymore... so i don't know?

24. How long did it take to get serious? when we got back together in college December 2003 (after the Christmas party & dinner at Loco's) I knew it was serious from then on, no turning back :)

25. Who eats more? I hope Ben, but honestly some meals I can probably eat just as much as him, I hope I just choose not to!

26. What do you do for a living? Ben is in banking & I do pharmaceutical sales

27. Who does the laundry? me.... it was part of the marriage agreement (haha jk, sorta)

28. Who's better with the computer? definitely me... Ben hates technology (computers, emails, texting, blogs, etc)

29. Who drives when you are together? Ben (YAY)

30. What is your song? "My Best Friend" Tim McGraw


Let me know if you fill this out too so I can learn more about you & your "sweetie"! 

Harper vs. the yard

.... they are usually at battle with each other....

but these days they have been getting along! I hope I don't jinx it, but he hasn't dug anything up or eaten any bushes yet. I think he is enjoying Spring!  It might be time to put the baby pool out on the back patio for him, too. :)

Before & Afters

AND we're done!  After Ben going out in the yard a few afternoons after work to lay pine-straw & then us both getting everything finished up for a few more hours on Saturday... we finished our landscaping overhaul!  I personally think everything looks SO much better!  We have already had a few compliments on our yard & had 1 person call about our house for sale (I guess a little yard work made out For Sale By Owner Sign all of a sudden noticeable! haha).  

I am especially happy w/ the front door area (except for my wreath, I don't like it at all, but I haven't found or worked on creating a new one yet) w/ new flowers planted & in pots & the lanterns on either side of the door:

Backyard before & after (azaleas blooming & knockout roses planted):

Backyard before & after (planted knockout roses around that big tree & you can even see how the all the trees have bloomed):

Roses & side of the house before & after (I accidentally took these at different angles): 

(NOTE: you will notice, especially in that last picture, that the grass looks brown.... we have a company that is coming to revitalize our grass so they are doing chemical treatments to it & the 1st few sprays are killing all the weeds so that the correct kind of grass can grow.... hence the dead part, but they say it will be good as new with a little time!)  

Front beds before & after (trimmed bushes & planted some holly bushes & flowers):

Trimming the loropetalums (the pinkish red crazy bush) made them not a colorful pretty, but did make them more manageable & clean looking!  


Ben enjoyed using his new toy for a lot of the work...

So that's the gist of it!  These pictures make it look like we barely did anything, but oh my goodness was this A LOT of work!!!  I am really enjoying all the things we have done to our house recently.  We are coming to terms with the reality that we may not be able to sell our house any time in the near future.  There are currently 29 houses listed for sale in our neighborhood with an average of 1 house selling per month.  We met with a realtor and she pretty much recommended not moving unless we HAVE to or are willing to lose a pretty good bit on money... sigh ... I'll continue to pray about it & know it's out of my hands & be grateful for the wonderful roof I have over my head.... even if it is about 25 miles from where I wish it were located. :)  

EASTER SUNDAY

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday with both of our families.  We got to see Natalie, Stephen, & Bennett at church before they went to spend the day with the Roe family.  Then we went to my parent's house for lunch.  They are in the process of re-landscaping their backyard & adding on a screen porch so we enjoyed the new patio furniture & outdoor living space for the gorgeous afternoon.  My Aunt Becky & Hollis' mom joined us for lunch as well.  
"Rachel Cottontail"

Rachel & Hollis

the beautiful Easter table... we enjoyed lamb chops w/ mint jelly, fingerling potatoes, asparagus, Aunt Vivian's cole slaw, deviled eggs, rolls.... I think I'm forgetting something?  It was heavenly!  

Later that afternoon, we headed over to Ben's parents house to visit with his family.  His grandparents were there & Leigh was looking most adorable in her handmade (by Amy's mom) Easter dress & bonnet.  

She even tried on my bunny ears! 

You know how households go when there's a baby in the room! :)  

We enjoyed a late afternoon/early evening dinner with the family before returning back home.  We were glad to get to make the rounds & see everyone in one day & it was actually very relaxing!  The weather was beautiful as well, and we feel very blessed.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter.  

He is Risen!