One Year, Take Three

Hello September! 
Randy arrived home from San Diego on Sept. 11th (not my favorite day). I honestly can't remember September very well. I think R's parents came to visit (or maybe we went there??). Who knows. 

October is the month of all things pumpkin. To begin the month, I started making pumpkin pancakes! We also decided (with our neighbors) to work on the vacant lot that sits next to our house..the lot is very overgrown and ivy, etc likes to grow over the fence into our yard.

1st batch of pumpkin pancakes

the clearing begins!

October was also the month we decided to work on the kitchen. We picked a color for the walls and also planned to work on the cabinets. R's fam came for a weekend visit, and we also celebrated the day we got engaged by going to eat in Destin.

Aww, we got engaged on this day, 2009

Hello, colors! yes, we finally chose one

Big L, Mama Judy, Me and Lisa

beautiful water..too cold to get in all the way

R's fam, minus his brother

R and little sis, Lisa

Our current boat was pretty small, and during October, we acquired R's late grandfather's old boat. It's much larger than our former boat and we're looking forward to taking it out in the Gulf..that is, once it's running!  I also planted some new flowers by our mailbox and the butterflies loved them. Looking forward to having them come up again in the spring/summer!

We, or, I finished painting the kitchen, and then moved on to the cabinets. B/c of the nature of the wood, I had to strip all the cabinets and then prime them, and then paint them. It was quite an ordeal, especially when it was 80 something degrees outside and I was scrubbing away on cabinets!!

Old, ugly cabinets

New kitchen color!

New kitchen cabinet color! So pretty

I also had two firsts in October: a hickie, and a pumpkin party for my Bible study group.

Yep, there it is

the girls that brought and carved pumpkins

The last day of October was Halloween and even though we live in a cul-de-sac, I was determined to give out candy. So, I sat in a chair and waited......R joined me later.

In November, Randy's brother Ryan, wife Morgan, and nephew Taylor came to visit.  I wish I could tell you how warm it was, but it was freezing!! We took Taylor to a fall festival at Pier Park, and despite the cold, he had a blast. He even fell asleep before we left!

Happy Fall

To end the month, I finished the cabinets, and then it was Thanksgiving at the Whiteheads! R and I decided to brave the crowds and the cold/rain, and head out on Black Friday. We found some great buys, and actually had fun.

separating the cornish  hens from their bones

r and baby t

Me, R, Mama Judy, Lisa, Morgan

R had surgery in November, and my mom came to visit and keep me company while R recovered. She also helped us get decorations ready for the 5th Annual Elf Party which was the 1st weekend in December.





By the first weekend in December, we had our backyard decked out in lights, candy canes, and our back house filled with snow and snowflakes. That Friday  night, we attended our Sunday School classes' Cmas Party..theme: 80's tacky Cmas sweater. I bought sweatshirts at Goodwill, and then decorated R's so he would have a better chance of winning a prize. Needless to say, he was pretty tacky!!

We actually watched Elf at this past yr's party, and I was decked out in an Elf costume. Yep, $46 later, I was transformed and R loved it.

ss cmas party

ss class

making a mess! decorating for cmas

with friends mark and anna

candy cane path

front door of the back house

R turned 30 on Dec. 8th, so we celebrated at Bonefish. We also drove back and forth to Mobile a few times to get bricks for the porch and pathways we wanted to make in our backyard. Let's just say that didn't turn out the way we'd planned, but it's worked out in the end. 

R got the flu the week before Christmas! Yep, perfect timing, and was out of work all week. Being the nice wife that I am, I let him have our bedroom, and I slept in my former twin bed for a few nights. Thankfully, tamiflu does it's thing, b/c I never got the flu. 

You guys know what happens at the end of December..that's right, Cmas and a whole lot of driving. We drove to Mobile on Cmas Eve, and left Cmas Day for Augusta. We spent a few days in Augusta where it happened to snow the day after Cmas! Pretty cool. We got back to PCB on the 30th and spent our New Yrs Eve in pajamas (bed at 10:30!).

my new stocking at the Whiteheads

with nephew Taylor

snow in augusta!

after cmas catch up time with friend christel

new yrs eve and pajamas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started the New Year off right by working on the patio. That's when we figured out that the bricks we brought from Mobile wouldn't work. Ooops. That meant going to Lowe's and spending $450 on brick pavers and then another $200 on a retaining wall.  Other than attend a wedding and a fabulous birthday party, we worked on the patio and brick walkways non-stop. Our hard work is paying off..it looks great!

I did forget to mention one semi-important detail about January. Auburn won the nation championship game..obviously a big deal here since R has two degrees from AU. 

Now to pics of our patio and walkways:

To start February off right, I'm teaching an outdoor water aerobics class to snowbirds, and R shaved off his beard. You might think that's not a big deal, but when you've seen your husband with facial hair for 3 months, he looks totally different when it's gone!

he hasn't killed anyone yet, but he sure looks like someone who would!

In closing, I am sure that three blogs could not possibly describe my entire first  year of marriage and all the events that took place. I'm looking forward to many more years, and maybe fewer house renovations! Happy First Anniversary Babes