The Smalley Adventures

Sawyer's Nursery

2012-01-22T15:31:00.001-08:00

Josh and I have been working on Sawyer's nursery quite a bit in the past few weeks trying to get some things finished up before his grand arrival. I know that he's not scheduled to be here in +/- 16 weeks or so, but if you know me you know that I like to be prepared waaay ahead of time.

For the bedding I give full credit to my sister, Bentley. She came down to visit over the holidays and put her mad sewing skills to work by making all of the bedding you see on the crib, she also recovered the rocker that you see in the picture. Crazy I know, but she puts the "Pioneer Woman" to shame when it comes down to it.

Most of the furniture in the room we found either on Craigslist, or it was some extra stuff we had around the house that we painted white to match suit. All of the painting that was done is fully credited to Josh. He wouldn't allow me to "breath in the fumes" and needless to say, I didn't argue with him. :)

There are still a few things that I'd like to add over the coming weeks, but over all I'm very happy with how it's turned out!

As a side note, you may have noticed the "BOB" stroller in the corner? Yeah that was a must have for me since I refuse to give up running even if it means I have to push a stroller along with me. This is just another sign of my over preparation, but I already love it and can't wait to put it to use!

Our Biggest Adventure To Come

2011-09-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

Although you probably can't tell it in these pictures, there is a little tiny baby in there! Our baby! Our wonderful and perfect baby!
Josh and I got to go in and hear our baby's heartbeat this morning for the first time! And boy, if it wasn't real to us before it definitely is now! What a special moment for any parent to get to hear that defining proof of a little life that you have been blessed with for the rest of your lives. A complete and total blessing from the Lord is the only way to describe it. And Josh and I are both extremely excited and abundantly happy to have this amazing gift!

So far everything is going very well in the pregnancy. My hormone and progesterone levels are very very good for where i am in the pregnancy. The baby's heartbeat registered at 154 heartbeats per minute which is also very good (normal is 130)! Today they gave us a due date of May 15th! I know time is going to fly, so we're trying to soak in every moment as it goes by. I will try my best to keep the blog up to date with any knew news as the baby grows!

A Preview Of Our Home

2011-08-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our New Address. 210 Sweetbay Drive!

A view of the front Garage/Dukes new hangout spot.

Backyard Attic. We have future plans of closing this in and making a bonus room up here. But for now, reeeaallly great storage!

Office looking out on the backyard.

Spare Bedroom (this room is still a work in progress)

Hall Bath (also a work in progress)

A view of the Living room from the hall (sorry for the weird shadows).

A view of the living room from the front door.

Living room from in front of the fire place looking at the front door.

Front Foyer area.

Formal Dining room.

Eat-in kitchen area.

A view of the kitchen from the dining room.

Master Bedroom (it was hard to get a good shot, so here's one of our bed:-) ).

Master bath (also a hard one to get a good shot of. It's actually a lot bigger than this picture shows).

I'm sorry for the poor picture quality and bad picture angles, but this has taken me over an hour to upload these photo's so it's gonna have to do for now. I'm gonna try to get some photo's on here of the lake area across the street, but just didn't have time today. Enjoy!

Pics to Come, I Promise.

2011-08-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

So I know that it has been over a month since I've posted a blog, but life in our house has been pretty hectic lately. Let me just recap the past few months for you: At the end of May/First of June, Josh and I went on a vacation to TX with my sister and brother inlaw (Adam and Bentley and the girls) and spent a week there on the South Padre Island beach. It was alot of fun, but like all (and I do mean ALL) of our trips that involve flying, our flight to TX was delayed a day (no, not an hour, a day). Of course that meant spending the night on a couple of comfy cotts with some airplane plankets in the Dallas Fort Worth airport (wouldn't have it any other way!). But hey, it wouldn't be a trip without airport/flight drama would it?
As soon as we arrived home from our week in TX we started our hunt for houses. We had decided that we were ready to settle down somewhere and it just seemed like, despite our efforts of searching for Josh a new job elsewhere, God just wanted us to settle down right here in Maylene/Alabaster, Alabama. Now that we've let ourselves accept it, this place really feels like home to us and we wouldn't have it any other way.
After about 3 weeks of solid house hunting and praying, we finally found a house that we both really liked and found at peace about. After all, this is supposedly one of the biggest decisions/purchases you make together as a married couple, so we were not taking it lightly in the least! The next step of course was to put in an offer (which of course was imbarrassingly low, but ya never know right?), the sellers came back with a counter offer that of course we didn't accept, and we came back to them with our final offer. Offer accepted! Annnnd yada yada yada...we closed on the house about a month later, moved in about 2 weeks after that, and the rest is history.
Point of the post is: We are now homeowners (YAY!!), and it is my plan to have pictures posted of it least most of the house sometime over the weekend. There are still some rooms that need to be painted (the old home owners were ever so gracious to leave us with screaming bright blue and lavender) but we're working on that as we have time. Keep a lookout!

Furniture Makeover!

2011-07-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

Over this past 4th of July weekend while Josh and I were starting the beginning stages of packing the house up for our big move, we found our old cedar chest in one of the guest bedroom closets. We bought this thing over a year ago at an estate sale with every intention of refinishing it. I really wish I had taken a picture of it when we first bought it (completely covered with floral wall paper and painted in puke green-it was a cheap price for high quality furniture though!), then you would really be able to see it's true transformation. However; after striping off the wall paper and sanding down the paint we kind of lost interest in it and reverted to sticking it in the closet.

After making our recent rediscovery I told Josh that I had a new plan for the old piece, forget "refinishing" ('cause lets face it, that'll never happen), lets paint and distress! He was cool with the idea, so I dug out some old white paint out of the garage we had for painting trim work. Also, I thought I'd mix in a small amount of the green paint that we had left over from painting the kitchen to tone the straight white color down just a tad - it worked perfectly for future reference!

It took about 4 coats of paint to completely cover over the wood surface (that's painting a coat, then lightly sanding the surface to take the brush strokes out, then painting the next coat. etc.,). After the painting process was complete, we went back and used a fine grain sand paper to do a little touch of distressing to give it some character, and viola! We were both very pleased with the outcome. Looking forward to putting it in our new home!

Before shot of the top (with Duke posing).

Before shot from the side

After- front

After

Auburn The Great!

2011-04-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

Our first stop when we got to Auburn was of course the Forestry building. Hasn't changed at all since we left. We also got the chance to go in and Visit with one of our old professors, Dr. Gallagher. It was really good to see him and catch up, It's been over 2 years!

Josh posing with the eagle in front of the old Colisseum.

Walking around campus just like the old days.

An outside view of the new Colisseum.

We were able to sneak in and take a quick tour around the new coliseum. It is so NICE!

Toomers Oak. This is the one they are projecting to survive.

And of course we had to go by and see Josh's old trailer site in Gentilly. Different trailer, but everything else is the same

A bad hail storm his Auburn on Friday night. It was crazy how much fell, it looked like snow everywhere!

Toomers Drugs

This is the exact spot where Josh Propose to me back in December of 2008. On the Agriculture side of the Samford Building. It was neat to get to take this photo on our 2nd anniversary weekend. We had not been back here since the proposal!!

The new Track and Field facilities. Also very nice!

These silo's and barn were right across from the new track. I thought it was pretty scenery. Don't you just love Auburn's campus?

Getting ready for the A-Day game to get started.

Gus Malzahn Coaching the guys before the game

Trooper Taylor getting the guys pumped up!

Who's that cute guy? The great Gene Chizik!

Doing what he does best!

Taking it all in.

For our 2nd anniversary (which is going to be this coming Monday the 18th), Josh and I took a trip to Auburn for the A-Day game, and just to hang out in our old "home away from home". Neither one of us had been to Auburn in over 2 years, so it was such a sweet return for both of us!

We have sooo many great memories of Auburn. It's more than just where we went to college and earned our degrees, it became our home in the years we were there! Auburn is where Josh and I met, and over the years I got to know him better than I had ever known anyone before. He became my very best friend during those years and the best friend I could have ever asked for. While we were in school we spent a lot of time together. Not only in classes everyday (and studying for class at night), but I really believe we explored every single inch of that city together. Whether it be canoeing in the Saugahatchee, cruising the trails of the Tuskegee National Forest and the old back roads of Auburn in the green machine, hiking around Chewacla State Park or just going on walks around campus, we did it all. Every single memory we have of our college career is one that I know we will cherish forever. And to think we were "so ready" to graduate and leave. What were we thinking?!?

Going back to Auburn this past weekend just confirmed how much we really miss it there! I don't know why we've waited 2 years to go back, and I know we won't wait that long for our next visit. In fact, if we could we would move back there in a second! Needless to say, it was a wonderful 2nd anniversary weekend. It was just what Josh and I needed to remind us of old times, and of how we met and fell in love. Every single road, park and building has a story behind it. It might sound like just another college romance to you, but to us it is a very sweet and special story, in a very sweet and special place!

Mentone on The Mountain

2011-04-05T18:38:00.001-07:00

My Apologies for not posting a blog in nearly a month. Things have been a little hectic lately and to be honest, there hasn't been very much to post about our little lives other than just normal 'ole life itself. However, Josh and I did go on a little weekend trip to the great Mentone this past weekend to visit with the Smalley's for a few days. Our "visits" to Josh's hometown are hardly ever a relaxing time spent with the family. Nope, they are almost always spent working on at LEAST one project if not more. For this recent trip we had three.

First and foremost is Josh's little project. We'll call it project number one: Building a rack to plug into the hitch receiver on the Jeep so that we can carry even MORE junk with us when we go places (now don't get me wrong, this thing is pretty nifty). This little project of Josh's took nearly 2 solid days of cutting and welding metal to complete (one that he estimated to take around 3 hours or so. You know, the usual).

Project numero dose: Breaking the horses. This one required the use of my little horse professional sister, Emmaline. She came down Friday night and spent all day Saturday working with the 8 horses that Larry has recently acquired. She rode a few, saddled a few and helped Larry decide which one's were keepers and which were no-go's. She did a superb job with the horses and really impressed me with her horse training knowledge/capabilities. Turns out the few horses that are broken and only "green broken". But Emmaline seems to think that they could turn out to be really good horses with a little work.

Project # 3: Building the floor to the playhouse. Now this project is really the main reason we even went to Mentone in the first place, but of course it got pushed back to the last thing we got around to (sorry about that Larry). Larry has been working on this great playhouse out in the middle of one of the pastures and I think it is going to turn out to be really great! When they finally did get around to putting the floor down on it, it turned out to be the fastest and easiest thing we had done all weekend.

Although we stayed extremely busy (as always), we had a great time on our little weekend getaway. We got a lot accomplished and got to visit with the fam a little bit too. Thanks again to Emmaline for coming up to help with the horses, I hope you're planning on making another trip up soon! And Thanks to Larry and Gail for sharing your home, farm, shop and time with us :-)

Cruisin

2011-02-26T17:17:00.001-08:00

Can you say no to that face?

Focused.

This big canyon is part of some park property down the road from our house. This is the most "off-roading" the Jeep has seen thus far.

In All Of It's Glory

Although it's still February and we're the only crazies driving around with the top off, I just wanted to show you that we are thoroughly enjoying the Wrangler. Bought it in January, took the top off about 2 weeks later and it's been off ever since! Yep, we're the real deal. And Duke loves it too by the way, quite a true riding dog he's become.

2011 Mercedes Marathon/Half Marathon

2011-02-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

Gearing up for the big race!

A shot in front of the official "start" line.

Waiting in the chute ready for the race to start.

Still waiting...

And we're off!

Josh shortcutted through the path to get some action shots during the race. I believe this was around mile 5?

Finishing the last leg.

Another action shot going through the finishing chute. Hey...it was mile 13, give me some slack.

Crossing the official finish line. I know the clock says 1:59.03 but because I started the race towards the back of the crowd I didn't actually cross the start line until a minute after the race officially started. My actual finish time was 1:58 flat. Barely made it under 2:00!

If you finished the race under a certain time they gave you these medals. It kinda makes you feel important I guess.

The after-race party was really nice, hosted by Jim N' Nicks. I don't believe I've ever tasted a BBQ sandwich quite as good as this one.

I view of the Auditorium in downtown Birmingham where the after race events took place.

Okay so since Josh took all of the pictures I thought it was only right for him to write this blog, but he insist that blogging is MY "thing", so I'm left writing a blog about myself and feeling a little bit strange about it so I'll just give you the main details and we'll call it good.

The race started at 7:03 this morning (not sure why 7:03?), so naturally we woke up at 4:00 to get ready and head to downtown Birmingham (Josh was a trooper). Got there by 6:00 and waited around for things to get started. This was the 10 year anniversary of the Mercedes Marathon and there were over 7,000 runners! There were runners from every state in the U.S as well as 7 different countries! These facts of course made me just a little intimidated and by the time I made it to the chute before the race started I had a major case of stomach butterflies!

The officials line you up according to your running speed so I lined up to run at a 9 minute mile pace hoping that this would allow me to finish in under 2 hours. As soon as the gun was fired and I crossed the start line this weird feeling came over me that I can't really describe and I broke out in chill bumps all over. I think it was the atmosphere and the people lined up all the way down the streets cheering for you, and when I looked straight ahead at the mass of people running for as far as I could see, it was quite exhilarating to say the least.

Anyway, I was able to maintain a 9 minute mile throughout the race (slower on the uphill, faster on the downhill but averaging 9). I stopped at every single watering station (probably cost me 5 minutes in all but i was afraid of what might happen if I didn't drink, and drink a lot. So I drank A LOT). I finished the race at 1 hour and 58 minutes, so I was very pleased that I met my goal of running it under 2 hours. I place 322nd out of around 5,000 that ran the half marathon so that wasn't too bad either for my first go at it.

I'm thinking about trying another race sometime soon. Maybe traveling to run in another state for some different scenery. I'm also trying to talk my wonderful husband into running one with me one day....one day.

Christmas Time (a little outdated)

2011-01-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Duke loved his first Christmas!

The Chambers Fam. (minus Adam, Bentley, Ella, Lizette and Amanda-taking the picture)

Enjoying the Gadsden snow on a beautiful white Christmas!

Josh gearing up for some fun in Mentone!

More fun in the Mentone snow

Horses on the farm. So pretty!

And then the real fun showed up! Josh feeding his niece, Corrine.

Miss Corrine (aka "Snooter") enjoying her new book with her Grandad

Duke inhaling his biscuit from his Uncle Marc and Aunt Trish!

Corrine and her cousin Duke checking out her new wagon.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post some Christmas pictures, things have been super busy around here since the holidays. Well, really since about the first of November it's been nonstop for us every weekend but I won't get into all of that.

Anyway, this Christmas was alot of fun for us! We started out with our own little Christmas at our house in Maylene on Christmas morning before we packed up the gifts and the dog and headed north to Gadsden for my side of the family's festivities. The farther north we drove, the whiter the ground became. By the time we made it to Gadsden, it was a full-blown "White Christmas" for sure! After opening gifts, enjoying the snow, eating lunch, and visiting with my family for a few hours we packed up even more gifts, grabbed the dog, and headed even farther north to Josh's side of the family in Mentone, AL.

Talk about snow! When we arrived in Mentone it was a good 2 to 3 inches deeper than it was in Gadsden, and it was still falling heavily. Although I was feeling some sickness coming on, I just had to get outside and explore around a little after we had arrived that night. So we did, and after an entire day spent in the bed the following day due to the fact that my body refused to move, I was able to get out and play in the snow a little bit. Josh and his dad broke out the 4-wheelers and we headed out to some empty pastures on the farm to cut some doughnuts, and watch Josh's uncle Andy show off a little bit (watch the video I posted to see him in action).

The following day Josh's brother and sister-in-law (Marc & Trish) and their little girl Corrine arrived to Mentone from St. Louis, MO. We had alot of fun getting to see Corrine and how much she's changed and grown up over time! She's quite the little cutie and completely FULL of personality (not shocking at all considering where she came from!). Marc and Trish always spice things up a little bit around the farm whenever we're all together, so we enjoyed hanging out with them and playing Marc's ever- so- infamous board games (always a good time).

After another good day of playing and sledding in the snow with Josh and his brother, it was time to pack things up and head back Mayberry - I mean Maylene, AL. Christmas was great this year! We're looking forward to seeing what 2011 will bring for the Birmingham Smalleys. I'm sure there's much in store for us, we'll just have to wait and see!

Our Trip to Big Canoe & The Biltmore

2011-01-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

A view of our home away from home for a few days in Big Canoe, GA. This house was such a wonderful place to go and relax for the weekend and take in the beauty of God's creation (Thank you so much to the Grissett family for sharing you home with us)!

On Friday morning Josh and I decided to go and check out the Amicalola State Park, which was located about 5 miles down the road from where we were staying. This is a view from the bottom of the mountain, and if you look real hard at the very top of the picture you can see the top of the water fall!

After climbing half way up the mountain via trail, we made it to the beginning of the 600+ stairs you had to take to make it to the top of the falls. This was the first flight.

This is Josh (very proud of himself for making it up the first 175)

Us half way up the mountain. The falls were gorgeous!

We made it the 2nd flight of steps. 425 to be exact. Josh was less than thrilled.

Conquered the mountain. And the view was completely worth it!

Hey...he made it...

The next day (Saturday morning) we started off to Ashville, NC. to go see the Biltmore Estate. About an hour into our (what should have been) 3 1/2 hour trip we ran into some less than ideal driving conditions. The roads were covered in ice and snow and we seriously considered turning around to get back to Big Canoe, but the lady in the SUV in the above picture stopped and talked us into sticking to our plans and moving forward. She said that she drove these roads everyday, and this was going to be the worst of it. Well, It wasn't the worst of it. Our 31/2 hour drive turned into about 51/2 hours of creeping along the icy roads. But the longer we drove and the closer we got to the Biltmore, the less willing we were to turn around. So as crazy as it sounds, we just kept driving..

We finally made it to our destination. This is a view of the road to the Biltmore Estate. As you can see, our driving conditions only got worse. But to our surprise, the Biltmore was open for the day (we were really fearing that we would finally make it there and everything would be closed due to the ice and snow)!

And what a beautiful sight it was driving up on this beautiful house in the snow! Definitely worth the 5+ hour drive.

Josh's first trip to the Biltmore!

I snuck in a few shots of the inside..
We got up enough courage to walk around the gardens of the estate a little bit. It was freezing, but the sights were so amazing all covered in snow.

I took this picture of a beautifully shaped American Beach Tree on the estate. Just couldn't pass it by without snappin one off. It turned out really well, we're thinkin about framing this one.

Some more views of the gardens.

Josh in the Conservative area of the gardens.

Another view of our drive around the estate. Possibly another framer.

Josh and I had such a blast this past weekend on our little get away trip to the mountains! The views of the mountains and different sites and parks around the area of Big Canoe were absolutely breathtaking. We could have stayed for the rest of the month and still not have had enough time to take it all in.

Although our trip to the Biltmore probably shouldn't have happened considering the conditions, I'm so very glad it did and that we made it there alive. God was definitely watching out for us. And even though, round trip we drove 9+ hours and only had a little over 3 to take in the sites of the estate, it was still completely worth it. Even the drive to and from Ashville, NC was absolutely gorgeous the whole way.

Side note: On our drive home from the mountains we had to leave GA at about noon on Sunday so that we would miss the bad weather that was in the forecast for the southeast, supposed to hit early Sunday night. We made it through Mentone to pick up the Dukester, through Gadsden to drop off a few things, and all the way to Springville, AL before we ran into any sign of ice. But once the ice hit, it hit hard! We had to drive about 30 MPH the rest of the way home, and even doing so we came inches away from T-boning another vehicle on the interstate after it had started spinning out of control on the ice. I nearly lost my dinner, and just started praying from that point on for us to just make it home without an accident. Again, God was watching out for us. I think we may have passed 30 or more vehicles on our way home that had either run off the road, or had some sort of accident (some fatal). Thankfully we made it home safely, and don't plan on leaving any time soon!

Alabaster Christmas Parade 2010

2010-12-04T11:35:00.001-08:00

Josh was amazed at how many different baton twirling groups there were. Welcome to the south.

Not sure who these girls were supposed to be?

Mini 18-wheeler.The Thompson High Marching Band.

While Josh and I were spending this lovely Saturday morning out yard selling (one of our favorite things to do on weekends spent at home) we ran upon crowds of people lining up on the side of one of Alabaster's busiest roads (Hwy 31). To see what all of the hype was about we pulled the car over and joined the masses. Turned out today was the big Alabaster Christmas Parade and I'll bet you every single one of the residents of the town were there. Josh and I enjoyed people watching and seeing the excitement of all of the kids around us grow as the parade marched closer and closer to us. They all had their plastic grocery bags with them to store all of the much anticipated candy that the paraders (I think I made that word up) threw out to them as they came by. I think I may have embarrassed Josh a time or two when i had to fight off a few of the children to get to the good stuff (you know; Snickers bars, Butterfingers, Starburst, etc.). By the end of the parade, if someone dared to throw out a simple Peppermint or Tootsie roll to the crowd they were extremely frowned upon by the kids (and myself of course:)), I think I may have even seen a boy or two throwing the bad candy back at the paraders, not sure but I think I saw it happen.

Nevertheless, the parade was a hit! Josh is already talking about getting the old green machine down here for next year so that we can be in the parade, and maybe throw out a few Tootsie Rolls ourselves! OH the memories.

Oh How I Love Christmas Time

2010-11-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

Our DIY Christmas reeth that we made using the scraps from our tree and some left over ornimants that we didn't use on the tree. It turned out to be pretty cute.

Christmas time is here again and I couldn't be more thankful! I love this time of year and I love decorating for it too. After spending a long weekend with our two families, Josh and I broke out all of the Christmas decor this morning and went hard at it. Josh was excited about putting up lights around the outside of the house (since this is our first house together) and I love fixing up the inside with the tree, stockings, etc.

Althoug it's still a month away, MERRY CHRISTMAS anyway!

Josh and Duke Play

2010-11-27T14:13:00.001-08:00

This big field in our subdivision is one of Dukes favorite places to run and play. I remembered to bring the camera along with us today to catch Josh and Duke in some action. This is a typical day at our house with these two.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-24T06:25:00.001-08:00

This is a giant canyon that Josh and I took my Bentley, Adam and Patton to before the rest of the group got to our house. Patton decided it would be fun to run down to the bottom of the canyon and almost killed himself in the process. This is a picture of him at the bottom.

If you look really hard you can see Patton at the bottom. This is with the camara zoomed out.

Duke was kind enough to share is house with Ella for the weekend.

Here are some pictures of my family's Thanksgiving this past Sunday. I didn't do a very good job getting pictures of everyone so about half the group is missing, but i posted what I had.

Smalley Made-Smalley Owned

2010-11-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

Isn't she a beauty?! My father-in-law (Josh's dad, Larry) actually made this table for us using the lumber from a Poplar tree cut right off of their very own farm. These pictures really don't do the table much justice, although you can still see the beauty of the wood grain and the quality of how well this table was made. I also love the benches that he made to go along with it!

When Josh and I were in Pottery Barn a few weeks ago we saw a table almost identical to this one for about $1,500. When I saw this table after Larry had made it I was in shock at how well it turned out (no offence at all to your craftsmanship Larry ;-)). I'm thinking he might could make this into a side job? If anyone is in need of a beautifully crafted, solid wood dining table I have the hook up!

Annual Pumpkin Carving 2010

2010-10-29T07:22:00.001-07:00

Duke had to join in on some action too.

I'm the witch and Josh is the scull.

Last Sunday Josh and I picked out some pumpkins, broke out our pumpkin carving equipment and continued on our new tradition of carving pumpkins for Halloween (although it is a little childish for two grown adults who are childless). We started this little tradition on our first Halloween of our dating years in Auburn, I believe in 2007 or maybe 2006? Believe it or not Josh actually gets WAY more into this than I do, so in return I make him take and pose for corny pictures that I get to post on here. I think that's a fair trade, eh?

Anyway, here they are and I think they turned out to be not too shabby.

Our Boys Growin Up!

2010-10-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

I took Duke down to Old Town Helena today so that he could go for a swim and do dog stuff. I wanted to take some pictures while we were down there because I realized that we don't have any recent pictures of him. He's grown up quite fast in the 6 months that we've had him, but isn't he just the cutest?!

Vacation Please?

2010-10-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's FINALY that time of year again. Fall is in the air, the leaves are turning their vibrant colors, football has kicked off another season, aaannnd Josh is back to working 60's for the rest of the year. Poor guy. Josh loves this cooler weather more than anybody I know, and as soon as it starts to feeling good outside his boss puts him to work like no other. We have been getting onto ourselves for having never made it down to Auburn for a football game since we graduated, but now that the season is in full swing again we remember that it is because Josh is always working. He's doing good to be able to get home in time to watch the games on TV. I believe this hard working man deserves a vacation when he can get a break. We're wanting to go somewhere within driving distance, but somewhere maybe in the mountains in a cabin with beautiful landscape. Anyone have any ideas on such a place? I'm trying to do some research so that we can book a place fairly soon. I would love to hear any comments you may have!

WHATADEAL!!!

2010-10-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

I know how crazy it must seem that I'm actually taking my time to sit here and blog about a silly desk, but I'm just so excited about this deal that Josh and I got the other day that I had to write about it!

The other night Josh and I had decided to go browse around this furniture outlet store that is just down the road from our house. We were actually there to look at couches (we're getting ourselves a new couch for Christmas) but we ran upon this desk and I fell in love with it. (We have not had a desk since we've been married and have always been keeping our eyes open for one just in case we ran into a deal, but haven't had any luck thus far). This piece of furniture is SOLID wood and heavy as lead to try to move. Everything about it feels very well made, and the price tag on it just seemed unreal to me for it's quality build.

Of course knowing me I didn't want to pass up such a great deal, but Josh talked me into going home and thinking about it over night. Once we got home I imediately looked this desk up online to see what it goes for at other places. Much to our suprise I found the exact desk online for $1,800!! When I showed the site to Josh he said "we're going back in tomorrow to purchase that desk!".

The next day with money in hand I was on a mission, hoping and praying that it had not been sold yet. It was still there in all of it's glory with the same price tag on it. So I grabbed a salesman and told him that I wanted to buy it. He went to go verify that it was in stock and when he came back he said "I hate to tell you this but that price on there is not correct. That is suppose to be just the price for the hutch, not the desk and hutch together". My heart dropped, but when I went to look at the price tag it clearly said "price for desk AND hutch". I showed the salesman what it said, and after reading it he said "you're right, that's what it says. We'll have to honor it and sell it to you for that price". So you better believe I made it up to the register to pay for it before he could change his mind! I ended up buying this desk at 70% off of what it should have cost. I think even my sister, Bentley would be proud of me for this one!!

Trust

2010-10-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

"God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect."
2 Samuel 22:33

-Such a small verse, with such a powerfull meaning.

It is so easy to read this verse and know that every word of it is true. But isn't it hard to truly BELIEVE it? I find myself constantly saying "just trust God. If this is His will for you than it is right.", but then trying my hardest to make God's will fit MY plans. I want to be God in my life. I want to make my own decisions, and twist and turn certain things around to fit just the way I want them. Of course this never works out for me, and in the end I just end up exhausted and frustrated and mad.

If you know me well, you know that I am very strong willed, stubborn, and a bit of a perfectionist (if you didn't know this about me it's only because I've become an expert at pretending not to care). I like things done a certain way and if you can't do it that way well then I would rather just do it myself. This certain quality about me is something that I know my husband struggles with (bless his heart), and I certainly do not blame him for it. It's a lack of trust that I have in God and in other people. It is something that I constantly need to work on although regrettfully I fall short in doing.

Ever so often in mine and Josh's marriage when we are going over finances, trying to figure out where all of our hard earned money has gone, and why we haven't been able to save as much as we thought we should have over the previose month, it becomes very easy to get frustrated at the sittuation and in turn at one another. Although our income has only increased over the year and a half we've been married, our expences seem to grow at twice the rate as well (why does this always seem to be the case?). Only after (however long the period may be) of fretting over the sittuation, we always come to the same conclusion, "God will take care of us. He always has and He always will". I may be crazy (and will not be offended in any way if you think so), but it seems that when Josh and I finaly buckle down and put our full and total trust in God, we are always blessed. Now, do I mean "blessed" with money and wealth? Not completely (although He always provides), but blessed with a peace of mind, a love that can only be shown through the Father, and in turn a deep love and trust in our relationship with each other. These are blessings that cannot be surpassed with money or wealth. This is true happiness.

As I was reading 2 Samuel 22:33 this morning it reminded me of God's blessings and Love that come with trusting His will for our lives. Trust is a struggle for me in all aspects of life, but trust is a wonderful thing and it's good for me to be reminded of the gifts that trust can bring. "He makes my way perfect". Not myself, not money, not possessions or other poeple, but GOD makes my way perfect.

Just thought I'd share.

Our Home

2010-10-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

View of the front.

Declaring ourselves to the neighborhood.

Garage
A few from the backdoor through the kitchen into the living room.

A view of the kitchen from the eat in area.

Kitchen pantry (one of my favorite rooms in the house).

Laundry Room in the hall off of the kitchen.

Eat in Dinning area off of the kitchen.

A view of the living room from the eat in dinning area.

A view of the living room from the front door.

Spare Bedroom.

Hall Bathroom

Office (it's a work in progress. Sorry about the dark picture quality).

Master Bedroom off the hall of the Kitchen.

Closet in the master bedroom.

Master Bathroom

Dukes new Home.

This is our new home! We moved in on the first of this month (with the help of Josh's parents and cousin Daniel). We have already managed to get everything unpacked and put away, all of the pictures are hung and placed where we like them, the furniture is arranged in its place. I have some sort of obsession with getting everything just right whenever we move in to a new place, and I don't like to put anything off if I can help it. So of course I've had poor Josh working with me to get everything done quickly! But I believe we've just about finished with everything and now are just enjoying living in an actual house! We really love it here.

Anyway, I promised I would post some pictures of the inside as soon as I was able so here they are! Enjoy.

Our Future Home

2010-09-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

As of October 1st, 2010 this will be our new homestead for a while. The house is located in Maylene, AL (on the other side of Helena), and consist of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a fireplace, a garage and a backyard. These were our main requirements in a house so we were very happy to find this place that was within our budget! We of course do not have the keys to get in to the house yet since our lease doesn't start until the first, but once Josh and I found out we would be living here we wanted to go by and take some pictures and explore around a little bit (so outside pictures will have to do for now). We really loved the neighborhood, it seems to be full of people around our age, and of course I was totally pumped that there was a nature trail that I can go running on! The backyard will be perfect for Duke too! We brought him along with us today to give him a taste of his future home. I think he approved:-) Anyway, I will update with more pictures once we can actually get IN the house.

Hiking the Cohutta Wilderness

2010-09-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

On our way to the Cohutta Wilderness in North Georgia for some hiking and camping!

About to start our hiking adventure with the Dukester.

Duke and I on the trail.

Josh posing in front of the beautiful mountains.

True mountaineers.
The scenery was absolutely beautiful!

Duke enjoyed the water quite a good bit too.

Our campsite! (Josh looks thrilled doesn't he?)

Josh is making us some purified water from the creek (thanks to Adam and Bentley for sending us the water purifier. Couldn't have made it without it!).

Our tent was awesome! Best Christmas present ever! (Thanks mom)

Eating the infamous Raman Noodles for dinner. It's a camping must!

Posing by the falls with our boy!

Aaaannnd again....

We found some rather large trees on the trail.

Josh committing a big forestry "no no" (carving our "brand" on a beech tree).

Our brand!

Aaaaannnd we made it back! Half dead from exhaustion and lack of sleep, but we made it back!

For Labor Day weekend, Josh and I had been planning a hiking/camping trip to the Cohutta Wilderness in the North Georgia mountains. The Hike was about 5 miles in to set up camp and 5 miles back out, crossing the Jacks River a few times on the way. So we loaded up our packs, grabbed the Dukester and we were on our way early Saturday morning. We made it to the trail and started the hike at about 11:00 on Saturday morning, and made it to camp at about 3:30 or so that afternoon (not positive on the time considering neither Josh nor I had any sort of time-telling device with us). The hike was beautiful (as you can see from the pics) and I think we found Duke's calling in life. He was definitely born to hike and explore the trails! He was always leading the way (never closer than about 50 yards ahead of us), and would run back to us to let us know if he saw anything important up ahead. What a little trooper! We really had the best time on our little hiking journey this past weekend. It was so nice to just get away from the business of life and relax out in the quite, peacefulness of nature. We will definitely be making another hiking trip soon. If not for us, than for our little explorer Duke!

Anna and John's Wedding

2010-08-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures from Anna and John's wedding ceremony and reception. It was a beautiful wedding, and a great opportunity to share in their joy. It was also a good chance to catch up with and visit old friends and acquaintances. The weather turned out to be perfect, and the scenery of the island on the water was beautiful!

Congratulations again John and Anna! We are looking forward to a visit in the near future once things settle down for you.

Bridesmaids Brunch

2010-08-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today (Friday the 6th of August) all of the bridesmaids for Anna and John's wedding got together for a brunch at the Snow's barn. Anna has been one of my best friends since before I can even remember, so many of my childhood memories include her and all of the crazy adventures that we have gotten into! She is a true woman of God, and is loved by everyone who knows her. I know that John and her marriage will be truly blessed in so many ways! I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for them!!

These are all pictures of this fun brunch event! It was such a great time getting to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We are all so excited and happy for Anna and John and their soon to be marriage (which will be tomorrow, August 7th). I will be posting more pictures of the night before the wedding (all of the bridesmaids will be sleeping over at Anna's house) and pictures of the wedding as well.

The Smalley Boys at Play

2010-07-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

Is there a site better than this?? My two boys at play. I love it! I was watching them wrestle around in the living room floor tonight and thought I would capture the moment with some photographs. I'm glad I did too. I think they're the cutest! My man and our little boy:-) Just thought I'd share...

Duke Goes Canoeing

2010-06-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to take off on our first canoeing adventure with the Dukester.

He loved kickin back in the boat, such a good boat dog! (I am wearing a bathing suit in this photo I promise:-))

We took a half-way break to let Duke go for a swim. Had to get that family portrait in there too!

Canoeing wore our little man OUT!! This is he position he took about 15 minutes after we got home from our trip. And this is the position he stayed in until about 6:00 the next morning.

This blog is WAY past due (my apologies) but I thought the pictures were still "post worthy". This trip was either going to make it or break it for Josh and I and whether or not we would be bringing our pup on any more water trips. Turns out Duke is an excellent canoe dog! He made the trip just that much more enjoyable watching him lean over the side of the boat for a drink of river water, and his curiosity about every little detail was just funny to watch. Of course it made mine and Josh's day to know that our dog enjoyed this activities as much as we do! Needless to say, there will be many a canoeing trips to come in our future.

Our Trip to Texas

2010-06-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Alamo

Texas beach!

Gruene Hall

Ella jammin to the music.

Gruene County shopping.

This is how they do it in Texas.

Shamu at the Sea World Exhibit. He was HUGE!

Amazing show!

Ella dancin with the penguin at Sea World.

The Azul Show with Beluga Whales, Dolphins and amazing high divers. Another great show!

This past weekend Josh and I had a crammed pack, fun-filled weeked in Texas with my sister and brother-in-law (Bentley & Adam). It was so good to see them and catch up on things, as well as see miss Ella (who, by the way is now potty trained and speaking like a little adult!)

As you can probably tell from the pictures, there was never a dull moment. The first couple of days we were there my two youngest brothers were there as well. They had stopped by for a little while on there long journey around the U.S which they had started about a week prior. While they were there we visited the Alamo, River Wall, and took a long walk around downtown San Antonio. After there left on Friday morning, Adam, Bentley, Ella, Josh and I all packed up the Tahoe and headed to Corpus Cristie to hang out at the beach for the day. The beaches in Texas allow you to drive your vehicle out on the sand and campout for free! We had a blast!

Saturday we went out to a place in Gruene County Texas (home of the Gruene Hall (where George Staright and Lyle Lovette became famous and the dance scene in "Michael" was filmed)). It was a very neat old town, so much fun to walk around feeling like you've gone back to the early 1900's.

Sunday morning we all got up early to head out to Sea World for the day. This was truly an amazing place to see! Josh got to ride on his first waterpark slides (he loved it), and the shows were out of this world! Like nothing either of us had ever seen before. After that we had to make our way back to good 'ole Birmingham, Alabama, and after a few flight delays in Texas we finaly made it home on Monday.

Meet Mr. Duke

2010-05-08T05:20:00.001-07:00

Meet Mr. Duke Smalley, the newest member of our family! He is considered a "Red Fox" Labrador. "Red Fox" is the name of his unique color, which is just another variation of a yellow lab. When he is fully grown he should be about the same color as the Bush Baked Beans dog. He is now 7 weeks old. His daily activities include eating, sleeping, playing, eating and sleeping and eating and sleeping some more. So far he has done wonderfully at night. He sleeps in a kennal and has slept completely thrue the two nights we've had him so far. He is also doing very well about making sure he does his business outside and outside only. We've only had 1 accident so far:-) Josh and I have already fallen completely and totally in LOVE with this pup! He has a great little personality and is really starting to bond with us, as we are him.

He is looking very forward to meeting you all soon! I will keep you up to date with pictures as he grows into a real dog!

1 Year Anniversary!

2010-04-19T06:06:00.001-07:00

At the Botanical Gardens

Our Wedding/Anniversary Cake

Celebrating with a little bubbly! (I love Josh's face in this one)

Yesterday (4-18-10) was Josh and my 1 year wedding anniversary! Josh had the whole day planned for us and was keeping everything a surprise for me. I was pretty certain that he was planning a canoing trip or something of that nature, but I was not even close! The day started off by him letting me sleep in a little while he went and got something to eat for the picnic lunch he had planned for us. Then we got ready and headed to The Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. While we were there the weather was perfect and we really got to enjoy walking around the gardens and seeing the beautiful landscape. Next we ate our picnic lunch that Josh had prepared and headed off to the zoo! Again, the weather was perfect and we had a blast spending the day together outside. Later we went out for a nice dinner together, then headed home to eat some anniversary cake and relax with a nice bottle of champagne. A perfect ending to a perfect anniversary day. I can't believe a year has already passed since we got married! Time truly has flown by for us this year. We have been so blessed in our lives thus far, I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in this coming year!

My Visit to Texas

2010-04-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

The current Carr Homestead in Texas.

Bentley, Ella and I visited the Alamo on the first day that I arrived in Texas.

Ella trying out the Davy Crocket hat. I don't think she was very fond of the idea.

She loved sitting in this old food troft at the Alamo.

A view of the River Walk in San Antonio. Absolutely beautiful!

Ella feeding the ducks.

There was a show on the river one day.

Bentley and I taking a ride on the river boat tour.

This was taken after we found Ella playing in Bailey (the dogs) water bucket. Bentley stripped her down, and she loved being nakey!

The three of as at Gruene County. An old preserved county in Texas. Very beautiful.

Family Carr.

These are some of the photo's I took on my trip to Texas to visit my sister and brother-in-law. This was my first time to visit Texas, and I must say I fell in love with the place! For such a huge state it sure has quite a small town atmosphere, and I loved that about it. I had so much fun getting to hang out with Bentley and Ella for the week while Adam worked. They both played great hostesses and really showed me around the town. We visited all of the local sites and even took a trip out to San Antonio's Bass Pro Shops! (just can't get away:-)) Josh and I are already planning a trip back to see them as soon as we can.

Sloss Furnace

2010-03-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Reed and Jill Posing at the Sloss Furnace in Birmingham

Reed and Josh exploring some of the old machinery at the furnace.

Josh and I posing at the Furnace.

All of us exploring around the Furnace.

This past weekend my brother Reed and his girlfriend Jill came down to Birmingham to visit Josh and I for the day. Mom and Emmaline happened to be in town for the day too so we thought it would be fun to to go downtown and check out this old furnace that Josh had been wanting to see. It was really neat to see all of the old machinery and read about the workers that used to work there, and about how the furnace ran back when it was opened. Of course, because I am from the Chambers bloodline, it was also a mission for us (Reed, Emmaline and I) to try to figure how to get into every locked door and restricted area in the place (always makes things a little more interesting). Needless to say, we all had a blast!

Brotherly Love

2010-02-22T06:09:00.000-08:00

Reed's first time on ice! He was a natural.

Bonding.

Awww this looks sweet! But really I'm just there for josh's support.

We went hiking at Ruffner Mountain.

On the trail.

At one of the overlook views.

Looking over the quarry.

Conquering the Quarry.

This past weekend my brother Reed came down to visit Josh and I for a couple of days. It was so great getting spend some time with him and hang out with him for a while. He is always so much fun to be with!

While he was here we took him ice skating at the Civic Center here in Birmingham. He did really well, especially for it being his first time on the ice! It was alot of fun getting out there trying do some figure skating moves from the Olympics, and looking like crazy people. Of course, even better than that was getting to watch the other people making fools of themselves (always hilarious).

The next day we loaded up in the car and went to a place called Ruffner Mountain to go on a hike in the beautiful weather. Ruffner Mountain is a new preservative park that just opened up to the public but is owned by a private individual. It's very beautiful out there. We had alot of fun hiking the trails and enjoying the beautiful day!

Me? Sewing? That's Crazy Talk!

2010-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

This is what the chair cushions looked like when we first got them.

And this is what they look like now!

I've been wanting to recover our chair cushions since we first got them, so last weekend when Adam and Bentley were here, Bentley helped me pick out some fabric designs and taught be how to make them! They really turned out great, much better than I ever would have thought. So thanks Bentley for teaching me how to use the sewing machine and for helping me finaly get these cushions done!

Our Visit With Adam, Bentley, and Ella

2010-02-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Ella Loved watching Josh and Adam fly the helicopter.

She helped Josh and I make pizza for dinner one night.

She loved bouncing on the excercise ball.

Ty, Amanda, and mom all came over to eat dinner and visit one night.

This was taken at the McWane Center in Birmingham. Ella wanted to see what it would feel like to be in the middle of a hurricane. Didn't scare her a bit, she loved it!

Ty and Adam jammin on the giant piano at the McWane Center.

Ty and I playing with all of the fun exhibits.

Ella had fun playing the cashier with Amanda.

Josh and Adam. Just being the crazies that they are:)

Ella took us all for a ride!

Us with our imprinted faces

Josh playing the soccer goal keeper.

Amanda on the bed of nails.

Bentley and Ella playing in the water.

Testing my strength abilities.

Fish bait!

This weekend Adam, Bentley, and Ella came over to visit Josh and I in Birmingham. We had so much fun getting to hang out and catch up with them, and of course spending time with Ella is always a blast! They recently got news that they will be moving to San Antonio, Texas in a few weeks for work, so this past weekend was bitter sweet for Josh and I. While we are very excited for Adam and Bentley and this wonderful opportunity that have to start a new job in a new exciting place, we are also very sad to see them go. They have always been such an important part of our lives, even from the time that we first started dating. They have always been there for Josh and I throughout our relationship. They have always been mentors for us, a couple that we have been able to go to for anything and everything. As they were leaving our apartment Josh turned to me and said "It's amazing that I've only known them for a few years and I already feel like they're MY brother and sister". We were both very sad to see them go.

Adam, Bentley, and Ella, we love you all so much, and we will miss you even more. Thank you for everything that you do and have done for us. And whether you want us to or not, we will be visiting often, so be prepared:-)

Josh's Scarf!

2010-02-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Josh posing with the new scarf I knitted for him.

Last weekend my good friend taught me how to knit si Ive been working on this scarf for Josh all week. I finished it this afternoon and in perfect time for the snow!

Sarah's Visit!

2010-02-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I catching up after months of seperation, and preparing the kitchen for some baking.

Getting strarted on our triple chocolate cake!

We took Sarah out for her first Moe's experience (she loved it).

Showing Sarah the sites of the 'ham.

The final product. Amazing!

Eating cake and playing some Yahtzee. Josh the rookie dominated.

And to top it off, Sarah taught me how to knit while she was here! I'm making Josh a scarf:o)

Sarah (one of my best friends since childhood) came to visit Josh and I this past weekend for a couple of days. Her younger brothers are good friends of my younger brothers and we've all been great friends for years. Her family moved from Alabama to Tennessee about ten years ago but we've all stayed in close contact with each other over the years. I love getting to spend time with Sarah, talking about past times and what our plans are for the future. She has such a heart for the Lord, and is so encouraging to talk to about the struggles that life brings. We had so much fun getting to hang out, and catch up this past weekend and are looking very forward to another visit very soon!!

Patton's Football Signing Day

2010-02-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

Patton and I before his big signing.

A view of the stage.

The head coach saying a few words about the players.

The Family giving our support while Patton signs the next four years of his life away.

Patton giving his big acceptance speech.

My youngest brother Patton started playing football as a kicker for the Gadsden City Titans two years ago. He had never played on a football team before, but has always been very athletic. I remember after he came back from his first football tryout, he told me that he was going to do whatever it took to do his best on this team and get a college scholarship in his senior year. Patton really impressed every one with his athletic abilities, and the way he caught on to the whole "football" thing so well. He started as the kicker in his very fist game against Hoover, and kicked the winning field goal. It was at that point that I thought "wow! he might really be able to do this". Well today he proved that to everyone. He signind on as the kicker for Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama on almost a full scholarship.

We've been told by his coaches that in order for a kicker to be offered a scholarship with any college right out of highschool is very rare. Patton has proved himself to be one of the top kicker in the state of Alabama, and thus has had many different colleges interested in him. Congratulation Patton, for everything you've accomplished in the short two seasons that you've been with Gadsden City. We're so proud of you and can't wait to see what the future holds in store for you!

Our Visit to Illinois

2010-02-01T07:23:00.001-08:00

On our way to Maryville, Illinois to visit Marc, Trish, and little Corrine.

After a 7 hour drive we finaly arrived at around 10am on Friday morning.

She made the drive totally worth it! Meet Miss Corrine Nichole Smalley:o)

So Sweet!

Proud uncle Josh! Although he insists on not being called uncle. Not sure what to call him?

Trish showing off some of her tricks of keeping a calm baby. Corrine loved to be held this way!

Josh and I had a blast getting to visit with Marc and Trish for the weekend, and getting to meet our beautiful niece Corrine! She is absolutely wonderful, and such a good baby too! Marc and Trish are blessed, and are making wonderful parents for little Corrine. We are so proud to have ya'll in our lives, and we look forward to watching Corrine grow everyday!

Cades Cove, TN

2009-10-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Josh and I headed off to the great smokie mountains to go camping with my sister, brother in law and niece. After moving in to our new place in Birmingham on Friday, we headed out that night and arrived at our destination at about 3:00 Saturday morning. We were all very exhausted although we had little time to rest. Sunday morning we got up early to start our 11 mile bike ride around Cades Cove. The Cove was absolutely beautiful, and we all had a blast looking at all of the different sites and gorgeous mountains! The total 11 miles took us around 6 hours to complete. After we arrived back at camp we were all exhausted, so we relaxed around the campfire and headed back to Birmingham mid-moring on Monday. It was definitely a hectic weekend for us, be it was totally worth it!

This is Ella in her bike carriage. As you can see she loved it and could have gone on for miles!

One of the beautiful veiws from the tour around the cove.

Adam taking a break from the heavy load!!

Josh and Bentley needed a break too.

Josh and I on our way to look at one of the old buildings on the tour.

Ella was such a trooper! She loved looking at all of the old barns and houses. Never once did she cry or complain on this trip.

Bailey (the dog) wasn't allowed in the old buildings, so Josh and Adam took turns keeping him. This was Josh's turn...

Here we are again taking another break, and letting Bailey get a drink from the creek.

All of us together!

Ella eating her lunch. The tall grass made it hard for her to walk in. I lost count of how many times she fell in that field, but it was probably pushing 100.

Josh and I posing for a scenic picture.

Bentley, Ella, and I all waiting on Josh to bring the truck back so we could load up and head back to camp!

Bug Blast '09

2009-08-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

This was one of my favorites

One of Josh's favorites

(Zoe)

(The green machine in all of it's glory)

This past Saturday Josh and I headed to the Tannehill state park for the "Bug Blast '09" VW car show. Of course we drove the little green buggy to show it off at the show, and (all though most of them were small children) there were a few people who actually stopped to look at it! I think that made Josh proud:o)

Daniel Brown (Josh's cousin), his wife Chrissie, and thier little girl Zoe met us at the park and hung out with us for a while. I'm not too sure that Zoe is much of a VW kind of girl, but she is such a cutie! We had a great time getting to hang out with the Browns for the day, and the show was alot of fun too!

Dauphin Island

2009-08-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Josh and I both had a long weekend off work, so we decided to go on a road trip to Dauphin Island, Alabama. So we packed up the tent (along with a portable air conditioner courtesy of Josh) and headed south! This Picture was taken in front of our tent/home for the next few days.

After getting everything set up at the campground we decided to head out to the beach for the day. This picture was taken about ten minutes before Josh's shoulder popped out of socket while swimming in the ocean. And we thought things might actually go as planned this time.....What were we thinking??

Now that Josh's shoulder was too sore to swim, we thought we would explore the island a little. This boat was part of the estuary that was located right down the road from our campground.

Fort Gains was right across the road from the estuary, so we did a little more exploring....

Later that night we went back out on the beach for some crab hunting...

Josh was pretty good at catching them, but I don't think he knew what to do with them after that...

Taking a break on the beach at night.

The next day we decided to take the ferry to the mainland to visit Fort Morgan (another Fort used during WWI). We made this trip on foot, and it made for a long day of walking!

We made it to Fort Morgan just as they were opening so we were the only ones there for a while. Here we're posing in front of the main entrance to the fort.

Inside the Fort. This is where the gun battery's are set up to bomb the ships trying to come to shore during the war. It was pretty incredible!

This picture was taken the following day. Josh and I thought that we could use just a little more walking on the trip, so we took a 5 mile walk into town to get some ice cream. This live oak forest was a park that we found on our journey to town.

These trees were amazing!! I just couldn't resist:o)

On the way back from town we took another route and came upon something called " TheGoat Tree Forest". As you can see in this picture, the trees were HUGE!! Isn't it funny how even at the beach Josh and I can manage to find interest in the trees?

Can you canoe like I canoe?

2009-07-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here we are getting off to an early start, excited about our long day of canoeing (15.5 miles).....

Just over the first bend on our trip we came upon a field of what looked like grass in the middle of the river. Not too bad I guess, it was only about a mile and a halfs worth... Josh asked "should we keep going"?? And my answere as usual "Of course we do!"

When we finaly made it through the grass forest, giant rocks and shallow water were there waiting for us to round the next bend. After alot of stuggling to make it through with our awesome canoeing skills, we finaly decided it was best to just get out of the canoe and walk the boat down the river until we found deeper water.... this only lasted for about two miles (three hours) ....no biggie right?? (this is a photo of me and the canoe in the middle of the river).

After many hours of sweat, blood, (and I think a few tears from Josh) we finaly made it to some deeper water, and beautiful scenery!

Here we are on an island that we stopped at to eat our lunch. After going through the first part of our trip we had decided it was best to plan our eating carefully and salvage our food, there was no telling how long we would be out there!!

Here is one of Josh trying to get the many gallons of water out of the boat that had accumulated thus far. He used a ziplock bag that we had to keep our sandwiches in. We both figured it was around five gallon that he scooped out! Josh claimed it was the weight of the water that was making his end of the boat drag the bottom of the river so much....whatever helps you sleep at night Josh....:o)

Packing up ship and getting ready to begin the rest of our voyage. In the second half of the trip the water was much deeper, so we were able to stay in the boat the rest of the way. However, with the high winds at our face, and the river wanting to move us in the opposite direction, we were both worn our from all of the paddling!!

Although things didn't go quite as planned, we had alot of fun amongst our struggles. We saw a TON of wildlife (racoon, deer, hawks catching fish, and plenty of fish!)It was definitely a day to remember! We made the whole trip in about six and a half hours.

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Josh and I decided to go out to a local park here in Tuscaloosa (Sokol park) to watch some fireworks on the 4th. It is agianst the law to shoot fireworks in Tuscaloosa on every day except on the 4th, so you can imagine how crowded it was!! It took us close to an hour to get out of the park when the show was over. Howevere, the fireworks were really great and we had a good time while we were there!

Honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico!

2009-06-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Waiting in the Houston Airport to leave for Cozumel, MX.

A view of Cozumel from the air!

Here we are at the resort (Melia Cozumel)

A view of the pool area

Dressed up for a nice dinner together

Josh showing off his coconut that he found on the beach and cracked open!

Here we are at Xcaret, relaxing on a giant hammock

Conquering the Mayan ruins in Xcaret

During the river cruise at Xcaret

Biking in to downtown Cozumel

Josh posing at Senior Frogs

One of the monuments outside of downtown Cozumel

This is the scooter that we rented one day to drive around the island of Cozumel

Action shot of Josh and I driving down the road on the scooter

This is one of the stops that we made on our trip around the island. The water was crystal clear and the waves were HUGE!

Here we are dressed up for a nice dinner on our last night in Cozumel.

Our last dinner in Cozumel.

These are all pictures of our honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico. We had a great time just relaxing, snorkeling, exploring around the island, and just hanging out on the beach! We really didn't want to leave when the week was over, and we're already planning on a trip back soon! The water was so blue and beautiful over there, neither Josh nor I had ever seen anything like it before! Definitely a wonderful trip!

Welcome Everyone!

2009-06-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

Josh and I have decided to start a blog since we got married so that we can keep people updated with our lives. Here are a few pictures of us at our wedding on April 18, 2009.