Happy Birthday Casey!

Casey turns 1 year old today! We love her so much! Dog people understand how special these animals are-- she's like our child for now. Our family wouldn't be the same without her!

Here she is when we brought her home last January. So tiny!

And here she is today (in desperate need of a grooming)

Enjoying (but being very protective) a special treat!

APPState vs. Elon

Brooks and I FINALLY got to go to an App game this past weekend! Tickets to the game at Elon was part of my bday present (sweet husband). It wasn't Boone, but App fans were out in force! We had just as many fans as Elon- it was almost like a home game! Of course we won and now automatically go the playoffs. Yea!

All the App fans! We took up half the stadium!

Me and the hubby :) App flag- wouldn't be a game without one!

It was great to see them play and be around the BEST fans in the world! I know all sport fans are loyal and supportive of their teams, but there's something different about App fans. It's like we're a family- we love Boone, our university and of course our football!
It's so GREAT to be a MOUNTAINEER!!!

Hillridge Farms & Meg's baby shower

The past few weekends have been really busy! Brooks & I went to Hillridge Farms last weekend with Brock, Julia, Olivia, Jessica, Jesse & Ethan. We'd only been once before for Meg's wedding rehearsal so it was nice to go again. It's such a neat place for kids!

Olivia found her pumpkin!

Brock, Julia & Olivia on the hayride

Playing in the corn house!

Then today I was fortunate to share in the joy of Miss Lily Kate! Some of Meg's family and friends hosted a shower at her church. It's so fun to celebrate this exciting time. I can't wait to meet her in December!

Our standard roommate picture!

Opening presents

Some of the cute decorations




And just for fun... an updated picture of our Casey! She's almost one year old!

One year ago today, I married my best friend

Brooks & I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary today! My how times flies! We enjoyed relaxing today, just spending time together. We even treated ourselves to a yummy dinner at Outback! I'm thankful for Brooks and our relationship every day. Looking forward to all the years to come!

Brooks got me a clock, the "modern" 1st year gift. It's engraved and says "A picture is worth a thousand words, but I only need three: I love you" Awww!! (excuse my outfit- I was still in PJs)

I gave Brooks the traditional 1st year gift of paper. This is a picture of the sky in Wilmington on the night we were married. So cool!

My sweet husband also got me flowers- the same kind I carried on my wedding day (in the vase Brooke & Kevin gave us as a gift)

And our cake before we ate it! Surprisingly, it wasn't bad! I was worried after it being in the freezer for a year!

Our house!

After almost a month of living in our new house, I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures! We still have a lot of work to do but all our boxes are unpacked- we're getting there! Come visit us please!!

Part of the kitchen. Still have to paint, change all the appliances to stainless and eventually change the countertops & floor.

Dining room. Pretty much finished!

Living room. Still need to hang the curtains and paint.


The office. Need some more stuff on the walls I think. This will eventually become the nursery (fingers crossed).

One of the bathrooms. Just need to hang a shelf and it's done! :)

Family Vacation

Brooks & I spent the past long weekend with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece at Myrtle Beach. It was nice to get away and spend time with the people we love!

We had to write our last name in the sand!

Brooks & I on the beach

Brock, Julia & Olivia

Cutie pie on the beach. She liked to pour the sand all over herself!

And of course she loves the pool!

Packing and the New House!

We've been very busy packing and getting ready for the big move. On Wednesday, July 29th, we will officially be homeowners! There is quite a bit of work to do so look out for before and after photos. Here are some pictures of our new place.

Just some of the thousand boxes we've packed!

The new house with the red bullet in front!

Part of the living room

Deana's new best friend! The walk in closet!

Brooks' new play space, the backyard!

Everything happens for a reason

Disappointment seems to always lead to something better... the contract on our house fell through b/c the current owners dragged their feet on fixing some things found in the inspection. Things seemed a little shady so we moved on and found another house! It's in the same neighborhood but it's three bedrooms and not much more money! It definitely needs some updating (stuck in the 60's BIG time) but we're excited! Hopefully this time it'll work out! Pictures to come! :)

Our new house!!!!!

The perfect little backyard for Casey. It needs some TLC!

I always wanted a house with a fireplace!

Love the kitchen! It's very open and doesn't need much updating!

Here it is from the front! Hard to see I know. That huge tree is going to be cut down eventually!

It's official! Brooks & I made an offer & it was accepted! We're moving at the end of July into this townhouse! We're super excited and can't wait to get into our new place! :)

Good news!

After MONTHS of uncertainty, I found out today that I have a JOB next year! Until the final budget is passed, I can still be let go at any time, but my supervisor thinks we'll be OK! So... now Brooks and I can finish our house search and get out of this apartment! We were pre-approved for a loan today so it's house hunting this weekend!

A trip to the zoo

We went to the zoo this weekend with Brock, Julia, Olivia and our good friends Jessica & Jesse and their son Ethan. Brooks and I hadn't been in years and it was so cool to see the faces of those who had never been! The day started off rainy so a lot of the animals were "hiding." The ones we saw were beautiful and it was all around a great day!

My beautiful niece and I!

The elephant was so close!

Brock, Julia & Olivia

Scrapbooking

After almost 8 months of marriage, I finally got around to doing some scrapbooking! It's still a work in progress but it's getting there! Here are some of my favorite pages... now I can move on to pre-wedding festivities and the honeymoon!

My attempt at gardening

I'm one of those people who LOVE flowers and cute stuff in the yard! Being that Brooks & I are in an apartment, it's killing me to see all the fun things in stores-- so I'm improvising the best I can! I've crammed as many plants/flowers as possible onto our tiny deck and front door area! I'm even attempting to grow some herbs. Hopefully it'll work out and we'll have chives, rosemary and parsley to use in our cooking!

Updates

It's been WAY too long since I've posted! Life has just been so crazy! Here are some updates of what's been going on...

Casey is getting so big! She now weighs 8 lbs. Here she is after her first grooming! It's hard to tell from this angle- but she's so cute!!!

We jump at every chance to hang out with our niece! She has such a personality now! She LOVES our Tupperware cabinet! Auntie Deana always has quite the mess to clean up after she leaves!

Casey's 1st Snow!

Helping daddy clean off his car

Checking things out

Back inside! Isn't she cute??

Today was another snow day off from work! Brooks had to work 1/2 of the day so Casey & I hung out- napping & playing in the snow! She loved it! I thought she'd be scared but no way!!!!