Monthly Archives: December 2011

It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas…

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We had the most amazing weekend EVER! We spent Saturday in Williamsburg… which included several destinations:

Williamsburg Antique Mall
We spent about 2 hours wandering around the Williamsburg Antique Mall… truthfully, I read most of a Nancy Drew while Tyler looked around (haha). It was really fun wandering down the aisles and tucked away in a corner reading a book!

Williamsburg Premium Outlets
This place, unlike Williamsburg Antique Mall, was PACKED! After spending about 20 minutes looking for parking, we scored a sweet spot RIGHT in front of the Coach store. Except, they had a line out the door and around the store, so we went to cheaper stores (since Coach is a little out of our Christmas gift budget!).

Yankee Candle Store
Next on our stopping list was the Yankee Candle Store because:
1. We’ve never been there.
2. We wanted a candle.
3. It’s decorated AMAZINGLY for Christmas.
4. It was on the way :)
We were SHOCKED at how cool it was inside and store, and it’s obviously going to be a future stop every time we’re in Williamsburg!

 

 

Mermaid Bookstore
This is one of our favorative stops in Colonial Williamsburg, we purchase our cups of coffee and head over the fabulous little bookstore. We exchanged numbers with the owner so he could give us a call if he has any old Jane Austin books come in!

Colonial Christmas Shoppes
We checked out about 10 little Christmas shoppes, doolled over the ornaments, bought chocolate peanut-butter fudge and cumin gouda cheese. Mmmmm…

then on Saterday…

We went ICE SKATING! This picture is mere proof that we made it onto the ice! Tyler and I skated around hand in hand for nearly an hour, and he did SO well for the first time on the ice. I was so proud  of how wonderfully he did. His brother and girlfriend also came along and they had the best time too (and we even caught them kissing!). Afterwards we found ourselves some hot chocolate and told family stories. I’m so grateful for the amazing family God’s put me into, and thank him on a constant basis for His faithfulness in my life!

My favorite moments of 2011…

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As our year is ending (in 15 days!) I’ve been thinking my favorite moments of 2011…

March 19, 2011- Our proposal…

Tyler picked me up at about 6:30am Saturday morning for the Shamrock 8k race, which we ran in 53 minutes! He ran along me and encouraged me the whole race, and practically carried me across the finish line. We then got all cleaned up and he took me to Fort Story to see the beautiful lighthouse on the beach. It was a breath-taking view with all the barges merrily floating down the coast. The water couldn’t have been bluer or the sky brighter!
After enjoying the magnificent view from the ancient lighthouse, he suggested we walk down to the beach… which of course I would have suggested had he not. Since it was a little chilly, he offered me his hoodie and we started to wander by the water.

He got kinda quiet, which is slightly unusual… and then started telling me things that he loved about me, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and how precious I was to him. I tried to grab him in a hug and tell him the same things, but he pulled back…

so he could…

get down on one knee… whipped out the ring box… (which, at this point I was completely SHOCKED) and asked me if I would marry him. 

As per tradition, after big questions, I just hugged him instead of answering him. Poor guy had to ask again, at which I just laughed at him and answered “Of course!” And then I pulled that ring out the box and slid it on my finger before that boy changed his mind! We just held each other for awhile… until this older gentleman came up and asked if he could take some pictures…. which is how we have pictures of our special moment.

In early May my friend Jody came out to see me, and we tried to lay out on the beach, got coffee at Starbucks (wasn’t a huge fan of the Starbucks pictures we took, so I grabbed one of my wedding, in which we look SO much better!) and drove up to Williamsburg! It was so good to talk about our lives, relationships, start planning my wedding, and vent about our jobs! I’m so grateful for you in my life, Jody!

 

My Next Favorite Moment was running the “Run for the Dream” 8k in May… a rough run in Colonial Williamsburg, but we finished and enjoyed the most needed relaxing weekend ever, with my sister.

Because Tyler was medically discharged from the military and considered a ‘wounded warrior’, his registration was free, PLUS we got SPOILED to hotel rooms and Busch Garden tickets! It was an incredibly fun weekend and one of the highlights of the year for me! =)

The next highlight is obviously our wedding on August 6, 2011! It was such a beautiful day, and I could honestly go on-and-on about how blessed we felt by Tyler’s family and friends. Some of my best friends flew to Texas to hold my hand while I made the most important decision of my life… and I will forever be grateful for the love they showered on me! It was a small but intimate wedding, and we had a wonderful reception with speeches, dancing, and looooots of wine! (Saved a bottle for our six month anniversary!)(This is a picture of my amazing bridesmaids that come out for my wedding – SHOUT OUT TO ELINA FOR FLYING FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND!)


My best fall moment, I think, was our Halloween Run in October! It was a wonderful 10k (6.2m) run in 55F weather! We had the best time running averaging a 9:30 pace, and finishing at 59:35 min! I was really excited because running the race in under an hour was one of my October Goals! We didn’t dress up this year, but NEXT year we’ll dress up as something obnoxious, and will spend all fall thinking about it!

Finally, a little shout out to ME- I finished my SEMESTER! (I know it’s not a big deal, because I only did one class) but I’m REALLY excited! No more papers, classes, tests, and posts until Jan 3rd! YES!

I know Christmas is going to be AMAZING and I’ll obviously add some days and moments to my favorite days in review, but this was a pretty incredible year!

What are some of your favorite moments/days of the past year?

Christmas Preparations!

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With ten days until Christmas Eve, and nine until we fly to Dallas, it’s hard to keep my mind on my work and school. Work is dead and as for my class… I have to write a comparison article on two different articles on how to keep HR from becoming obsolete. I don’t care about HR. At all. So it’s hard to feign interest in such a mundane subject… that being said, I am really enjoying the class (and am so excited to be done this weekend!).

I have most of my little Christmas cards sent out (with a picture of us from our wedding day), most of our Christmas shopping done (just need a couple more gift cards), and Tylers gifts all picked out and most of them wrapped! I think we’re doing pretty good this year =)  

But what I’m MOST excited about it our Christmas tree, all the pretty wrapped gifts beneath the tree, going to Williamsburg to look at the lights and finish our Christmas shopping (on the list, antique store, outlet store, and the Christmas stores in Colonial Williamsburg), Ice skating at the outdoor rink at the mall, and more hot chocolate (with pieces of broken candy cane). The peppermint hot chocolate is my new absolute favorite and I’ve had it already twice this week… both my hubby and I are addicted.  This year has been so dramatic that it seems like Tyler and I have been together for so much longer… it’s INSANE to think that we started (kinda, not officially) dating last year at this time. I told him the other day, “I’ve been crazy about you for one year now!” He laughed and hugged me =)

His mom sent us an ornament before Thanksgiving for our tree that says “Our First Chirstmas”, and Tyler stuck our rings in the tree beside it and tooks a picture… It’s so darling