Summer 08 Update

We've been very busy so far this summer! At least that's my excuse for not updating the blog in over a month!

In the beginning of July I traveled to Chicago for a business trip. It was my first time in Chicago and I had an amazing time touring the city during my downtime from work. Below are a few pictures from my river and lake tour of the city, along with me at the "famous Bean".

In the end of July we headed to NC to spend 12 days with my family. We had an amazing time both in Chocowinity at my parent's house and in Emerald Isle at the beach house. I have a ton of pictures below from our trip...mostly of the kids cause their just so darn cute! :)

Our frozen wedding cake...one year 1 month and 2 weeks old. We finally got to cut it and then proceded to smash it in each other's faces! (Hey we didn't do it at the wedding so here was our chance!)

Pictures from my Mom & Dad's house before we headed to the beach.....

The Beach...

Fiesta Night....

Casino Night....The sister-in-laws and Mom

Summertime in Galveston

Believe it or not....both Sim & I actually got in the water this weekend!! I have been telling myself ever since I moved here that I would NEVER get in the ocean since it was kinda brownish and the beaches here are not even a teeny bit comparable to the beautiful beaches we left behind in Fort Lauderdale. Well this weekend we drove down to the other end of the island with two other couples and went to Pointe West Resort. It is a beautiful complex with condos and cottages available for vacation rental. We enjoyed a wonderful day sitting by the pool and even "gulp" swimming in the Gulf! Surpisingly it wasn't that bad :)

A Wedding & Other Celebrations!

Last weekend Sim & I were lucky enough to travel back to VA for a wonderful weekend with our families and friends. We arrived in Baltimore early Friday morning and drove straight to Sim's parent's house for a wonderful lunch. It was so nice to see his parents and get to visit with them. Unfortunately we could stay long as we were off to my brother's house! We arrived and got to see Tyler and Alyssa for the first time in 6 months! My goodnes, how much they had grown. Here is Tyler on his Harley...

That evening Sim went to the rehearsal dinner for the wedding we were attending the next day. I was able to go out to dinner with friends and we all met up back at Desiree & Brandon's for a wonderful night. I miss my VA friends SOOOO much. Even though the Coast Guard has seperated us from our friends and family, it has been a blessing to see just how much our true friends mean to us and that they are still such a big part of our lives!

Saturday we went over to Brian's pool for a little bit before heading up to Haymarket for Tommy & Kim's Wedding. It was a beautiful wedding despite the looming rain clouds. The rain held off for the ceremony! Below are some pictures from the wedding:

Sunday was Father's Day! How lucky were we to spend Father's Day with our dads! We spent the afternoon over at my brother's house celebrating both Father's Day and my Mom's 60th Birthday! We headed over to Sims Parent's house in time for Dinner with them. It was a busy weekend but a fun filled weekend. We came home exhausted and content. Thank you so much for everyone who made it such a great weekend. Can't wait for vacation to spend some more time with the family!

Celebrating!

Last night we had such a great time celebrating our anniversary! Sim surprised me when I got home with flowers and an apartment decorated with streamers! haha... It was so cute!

We got dressed up and headed up to Houston for dinner. We were planning on stopping by a local landmark the Houston Water Wall. It's a huge outdoor fountain in a small park area. Unfortunately our plans were changed when we drove by and realized the fountain had been turned off for maintance!! :( I was upset for a few minutes and then quickly got over it when I realized we could just start our dinner earlier now! We went to the Melting Pot. Such a fun place to spend 3 hours eating! haha.. We really did though...3 hours, 1 bottle of wine, a cheese fondue, lots of "cooked" meat, and an amazing dessert later we walked out about 10 pounds heavier. I say "cooked" meat because I swear it still makes me nervous cooking all of that meat, veggies, and everything together in the broth. It tasted wonderful though!

Our 1st Anniversary

One year ago today we celebrated our marriage in front of all of our friends and family in Greenville, North Carolina!!

I can't believe our first year is already behind us. Its been one crazy ride including leaving our jobs and friends in Florida and moving ourselves all the way to Texas to start over again. The ups and down of military life and actually life in general have both tested and strengthened our relationship. I truly feel where I am weak, Sim is strong and likewise. I am so thankful to have found such an amazing partner in life. Happy Anniversary my love......cheers! To many, many more!!