Abby and Justin

happy turkey weekend!

2010-11-28T11:34:00.003-06:00

What made my long weekend great?!?!

Good food, great family, quality time with my husband and dogs during our driving time, a little break from work, black friday shopping and this........

Our black Friday gift to ourselves. The newest member of the Simpson household is welcomed with loving arms. Too bad we had no idea how filthy our life had been until this bad boy made an appearance. Hopefully it will help my asthma and allergies and encourage justin to become motivated to vacuum!

Happy holiday cleaning!

New things!

2010-11-13T20:28:00.004-06:00

Justin and I have been looking for a chair that we loved for the past 2 months! We looked EVERYWHERE in Memphis and LR. The hardest part was finding something we both agreed on. Finally..... we have a sneak peak of what it will look like. We ordered it, which makes me nervous because we havent seen it in person. OH WELL too late to get worried now. We should get to see our beautiful new chair in 3 weeks.

I also got a little crafty today and made pillows. I got the fabirc at Hobby Lobby and it was 30 % off. Then I had a coupon and got another 40% off. I was thrilled. I now have some fabric left over and I am deciding if I should do anything else with it?!?!

One!!!

2010-11-11T18:45:00.002-06:00

My nephew is turing One!! I can't believe it! I need help. What do you get a one year old for his birthday?? A cardboard box???

Perfect Day-cation!

2010-11-11T18:33:00.003-06:00

I got the best birthday present ever! I got a Day of everything I wanted to do... Which started out with a trip to the dog park and to his grandparents for breakfast. Then we spent Hours chair shopping.... (we still have no chair). We arent picky we just cant find anything we love or agree on. Were going shopping all day Saturday in LR until we find one... we shall see.

ANYWHO... Justin got us tickets to the Orpheum in Memphis to see Wicked on Halloween Eve! I was sooo excited. I felt like it was christmas. I am pretty sure at one point he told me he would never take me on a date again if I acted that excited again! We went to eat at The Majestic for dinner thanks to a recommendation from a good friend. It was wonderful. then we walked around downtown Memphis (which we never do). We went to the Peabody and Beale Street.

Wicked was wonderful as I am sure anyone who has seen it will agree. We had wonderful seats on the inside 7th row with no one in front of us. And yes I did cry when it was over!!!! I told him we need to have more Day-Cations that are all about me!!!

Projects!!

2010-10-04T19:14:00.007-05:00

I have been wanting to paint our front door for a long time, but couldn't decide on what to do. I went back and forth, but it all came down to I wanted a new wood door!! Well that wasn't in the budget, but paint was!!! I did a little research on ehow and youtube on how to become a pro faux wood grain painter! I am a far cry from that, but here is how it turned out!

I first painted a base coat that was suppose to be a golden wood undertone and then let it dry for 24 hours.

I then got a sample jar of darker paint and mixed it with a glaze (5 parts glaze to one part paint). I applied it with a paint brush and then went over it with a rocking wood grain tool.

I was pretty impressed with how it turned out and it was far better than our old white door. it is so inviting and I just love it.

I told Justin the garage door is next!!!

Woo Pig Sooie!

2010-10-01T16:49:00.003-05:00

We were able to go visit our good friends Ryan and Sarah in Fayetteville last weekend! We went and tailgaited at the Arkansas Alabama game and watched the game. We got to hang out with old friends and make new ones too.

It was so good to hang out with you girls!

Love this cute mom!

Sweet baby Payne!!! I love this boy!

We made new friends and hung out their tailgate. Makes for an interesting time!

We were so glad the trip happened even though we had to head back early Sunday so Justin could work! Thanks to the Greens for having us!! and we cant wait to see Payne soon!

CPA!!

2010-10-01T16:24:00.003-05:00

Justin is a CPA!!!

We had our good friend Meredith staying

at our house so when she checked the mail around 11:00 she let me know the letter had arrived!!! It was so hard to stay the rest of the day at work wondering and worried about what the letter said. We I got home and opened the letter I screamed!

We decided to just plan a surprise dinner for Justin and surprise him with the news as well. Justin was thrilled, but I think it took a while to sink in. Our good friends Andy and Meredith were able to celebrate with us.

This morning Justin was singing in the shower, that means I have a happy husband!!! He also took the afternoon off work to celebrate. That included taking me to lunch and then sitting on our couch to play playstation.

I am so proud of Justin and all his hard work!!! (Miles is too)

Gettin around!!

2010-08-20T17:08:00.002-05:00

Miles has a new love for the remote and is willing to work with to get it. He really wants to crawl... he just cant figure it out. i love this boy!!!

According To Jim - Season 6 Moments

2010-08-03T20:31:00.001-05:00

My husband as a movie star??? Everyone who watches "According to Jim" says that Justin is JUST like Jim. We have started watching the show sometimes and its true!!! Justin has the same attitude, view points and even mannerisms. It is so hilarious! I wonder if the show is about him!?!?! This is just some of the funny clips from one of the seasons. ENJOY!

A new member of the family!

2010-08-01T21:04:00.004-05:00

For many years Justin has had something special in his life. Her name was Samantha and she could do no wrong.... She would rattle at drive-thru windows (extremely, embarrassingly loud), the back seat seatbelts no longer locked, the cruise control button hung down, the fog lights had fallen out months ago while driving down the interstate, the dash lights had gone out, if you open the rear glass it would fall, and you never knew what speed you were really going or how much gas you had. But Justin loved his car. He could handle all of her flaws and if I ever spoke of her in an ill manner he would say "she only acts up for you because you talk bad about her". The day came when her Air conditioning went out... probably the only thing Justin could not handle. He would get home from work in June and early July without a shirt and his shoes/socks thrown throughout his car. It was going to be FAR to expensive to get her fixed (over twice what she was worth). So we began looking.

Justin was upset, but I was thrilled!!!! After weeks of informally searching Justin had a day off and while I was at work he just brought home a car. YEAH!!!!! Justin was near tears when we had to leave Samantha with her new owners, which may have lead to a parts shop and then a dumpster (but we dont talk about where she ended up).

With no further ado I introduce to you "DINK". The best thing that has happened to me (since my job)!!!

Welcome to the family.

California Dreamin!!!!

2010-08-01T17:40:00.004-05:00

We have returned from our summer vacationing/wedding attending/friend needing/break from reality!!! We got to see all the sights we wanted. Spend more money than needed. Eat more good food than anticipated. And returned to the wonderful state of Arkansas needing more sleep and more time... but we had a blast. It was a lot for Four days!

We shopped on Rodeo drive and got this!!!

Got to go to the beach and do this!!!

(me and Julie laid out while the boys swam and goofed off)

What wonderful friends we have that let us sleep on their floor and occupy their lives for a week!!!

We got to go to the Hollywood Hills and do this!!!

We saw them!!!

And Justin got to be a part of this!!!

It was a beautiful wedding and we feel so blessed to have been a part of it!!!

Hooray California!

This Is It!!!!

2010-05-15T09:52:00.005-05:00

Today is the day that I will finally graduate!! It seems crazy. I have been in school forever and that has been my occupation! i am slightly nervous to not be a student anymore, it has become my identity. I had to fill out insurance papers the other day and when I came to the occupation line I paused... what do I put?? I am a student... but soon to be a speech-language pathologist!!!! Amidst the anxiousness, I am soooo excited!!!! I have no more papers or tests to study for. No more tedious projects or busy work for EVER. (people say I should quit saying that because I may get my Ph D. but I am going to say it all I want now until I change my mind, which will more than likely be never!).

This is my family at my graduation reception. thank you so much for coming!!!

While my friends and husband all went through finding jobs and interviews a couple years ago, I have been doing it for the past month. Interviewing was a learning experience. I definetly learned where I didn't want to work and who didn't want me to work with them (Imagine that someone not wanting to hire me!?!?!). I also learned what population I wanted to work with and that is special needs kids. After a few interviews, I got a couple offers and after long discussions and not wanting to have to tell someone no (Justin said it would be hard to take 2 jobs :) I now have a job!! I am working at Arkansas Pediatric Facility and I could not be more thrilled!!! I have been there as a graduate assistant for the past 2 years a couple days a week and love it. I start Monday ahh!!! I will be a full time working woman.

I am going to miss seeing Katelyn every week. She kept me sane and helped me remember when I was supposed to complete everything!!

Today is graduation and my last weekend of unemployed freedom. My family is having a party and I am excited to celebrate with family and friends! I have already gotten a pair or gorgeous earrings from my in-laws and a camera from Justin!!! Woo hoo I am supper pumped!

Congrats SLP ladies!!!!!

My precious nephew

2010-03-18T19:47:00.002-05:00

Here is my precious nephew! He gets a kiss from an unexpected guest. Don't you just love him.

(Dogs mouths are very clean!!!!!!).

Favorite Things

2010-03-11T20:54:00.002-06:00

I have recently decided I have a lot of favorite things!!! I will make it short with my top Ten rather than boring you with my whole list!!!

Here they are in no particular order I love them all!

1. George W Bush... mainly because I think he cute and love the way he talks

2. Mail cars

3. Happy hour at Sonic (specifically Peach Sweet Teas)

4. burnt CDs!!

5. Car washes!!!! like the drive through ones where it does all the work for you

6. White chocolate mochas from Starbucks

7. Flowers

8. Target

9. DVR

10. My husband of course he is my favorite

These make me smile! It would be perfect if I had them all at one time!! Ha

Justin comes home tomorrow and is home for a while yeah!!!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

2010-02-06T10:23:00.003-06:00

What are your middle names?

Joy Abigail and Justin Douglas~

How long have you been together?

5 years on Feb. 27th crazy!!!

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

We knew of each other and hung out in groups a couple months before in the Fall of our freshman semester, but did actually start talking until the following spring.

Who asked whom out?

He asked me out! Of course! I did not want to go at first.

How old are each of you?

I am 23 and Justin is 24

Whose siblings do/did you see the most?

Mine! We have lunch with them every Sunday.

Do you have any children together?

Not children of the human kind!

What about pets?

We have two Australian Shepards, Brooks and Presley.

Did you go to the same school?

We went to Harding together in Searcy and that is where we met!

Who is more sensitive?

Abby!

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

I would say Cheers in Maumelle.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

We have been blessed to be in Europe together.

Who has the worst temper?

Abby. justin doesn't get worked up about anything! It can be pretty annoying!

Who does the cooking?

Cook?? Um neither! On occasion Abby does!

Who is more social?

We both love being around people, especially our friends, but Justin loves talking to new people!

Who is the neat-freak?

Abby for sure! I decide to clean at 2 am and it drives justin nuts!

Who is more stubborn?

Both of us, but J typically gives in first!

Who hogs the bed?

We both argue the other one does!

Who wakes up earlier?

Justin. He's a morning person and Abby stays in bed as long as possible!

Where was your first date?

We went on a double date to Colton's and then to see the movie Hide and Seek!

Who has the bigger family?

Abby

Do you get flowers often?

Never! Justin says they just die! And apparently that is not how he feels about his love for me ha!! It's just an excuse. I did get them for Valentines Day last year.

How do you spend the holidays?

We try to see everyone or rotate. Christmas is J's family the couple days before xmas and then we head to my family on xmas eve!

Who is more jealous?

Neither one of us get jealous, but if I had to pick one it would probably be me.

How long did it take to get serious?

Justin wanted to be serious before I did, but I am glad he was persistent!

Who eats more?

Thats debatable. Probably Abby on a daily basis, but Justin skips meals and so he eats a huge dinner! I know he is not healthy!

Who does/did the laundry?

Abby. But Justin helps fold it.

Who’s better with the computer?

Justin! I can't work my own computer sometimes. He's a technology dork.

Who drives when you are together?

Justin. I hate driving.

Have a happy Saturday

Got brave and tried to change the blog!!

2010-02-04T11:25:00.002-06:00

I haven't touched my blog since my good friend Sarah set up my blog for me. For some reason I decided to change it and now i can't get my picture back!! Just shows how much I know! Any time I load one they are huge, so my blog will be picture free until I figure out what I am doing!

Happy Thursday!

Making the best of the little bit of snow!

2010-01-30T18:13:00.004-06:00

When we woke up this morning we had another inch of snow! nothing compared to what people have in Northern Arkansas but we decided to make the best of it! My parents live about 5 miles from us and they have better sledding hills. Since the roads were impassable... wecouldn't even get out of our driveway and we had seen others try... we decided to walk. We got our dogs and a backpack with Justin's computer (so he could work some), water, and candy ha just incase we got stranded I guess! Well needless to say about an hour and a little over 3 miles, slipping and sliding the whole way, my dad decided he could come get us!!! Here's us in the middle of our journey having fun!!

The pit stop where dad picked us up.

We went to the place we got married to go sledding. We knew no one would be there or have messed up the hill and we were right. We had a blast!

We talked Katherine into coming too!!

I hope everyone had a good Saturday!!

Snow Day (or Ice)

2010-01-29T10:30:00.003-06:00

Todays a snow day so no school for me!!! Justin went in to work this morning and after 15 minutes he headed back home. No one was in the office so he brought work home for the day! The pups were happy to have him here even though there is really no snow! They keep begging to go out and eat the ice and then beg to come back in, in about 5 minutes when they are too cold! I want snow though! And would be perfectly fine with being snowed in all weekend!!! Too bad that doesn't happen in Little Rock.

A lot of things have happened since my last blog! We have a new nephew!!

Miles Lee Wilson! He is so precious. He is about 5 weeks old already.

Here's the fam at Christmas! We all got to be together on christmas day this year!!

Here's Justin's surprise that I made! It is a t-shirt quilt out of all our club t-shirts!

The girls took a day to go to Oaklawn on opening weekend a couple weekends ago! I of course did not win anything, But Adrianne did!!! We had fun even though we knew nothing! We learned a lot though and by the end of the day we at least knew what bid we were making!

Here's one last picture of precious Miles! He loves me! I need a good name for him to call me now!

Fall*

2009-10-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

Fall is my favorite season!!! It is very busy for the Simpson household though! This weekend we are getting to go with my family to a deer canin. We are taking the dogs and they will love having all the room to run! We have Justin's best friends wedding and showers along with a girls trip for me!! In between everything we have to squeeze uin our football and teaching in the nursery. I'm going to be worn out after October comes to an end! Happy Fall everyone and have a wonderful weekend!

Happenings Lately

2009-09-29T21:25:00.002-05:00

School consumes my life!!! I look forward to sleeping at night... and thats how I get by day to day. I love working at the hospital and I have learned SO much, but it keeps me busy.

I love the Fall!

The weather is perfect and football is in full swing. We get to go to the Little Rock Razorback games plus a couple in Fayetteville this year! I just wish we could start winning a couple more games and not embarrass ourselves.

The end of summer also means puppy pool party!!! At the closing of the Maumelle pool they invite all of the dogs to go swimming. I am sure Brooks looks forward to it every year!! And it was Presley's first time to attend. She learned to swim and loved it once she could jump in. Heres some pictures of the party.

Our friends Jacqueline and Gus came too!

They got these cute bandanas for party favors!

Bring on the Fall... Go Hogs Go!!!!

Show us your life- Reception

2009-08-06T22:24:00.007-05:00

Our wedding reception was so much fun!! It was right next to our wedding site so we didn't have to go far! We had a local band Alley Katz come play and they were so much fun. Our whole wedding party and all of our friends really made the night memorable. Most of our flowers at the reception were done by my moms friends. My favorite part of the reception was our tents and the lights!

So my hubby is a Tennessee fan (annoying i know).

Our first dance was to "The luckiest" by ben folds- love it!!!

Ok so there are a lot of dancing pictures, but I just think they are so funny!

Getting my G-ma to dance

Shawn and Jacqueline the life of the party!

My dad was shaking he was crying so hard during our father daughter dance to "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw. Of course I cried. He never cried so it was extremely touching.

Even my mom with her few dance moves got into it!!

Aww Katie one of my best friends I never get to see because there are many states in between us!

My mom sad I am leaving...

by the time we left our reception(which was much later than planned since we were having so much fun) it was pretty dark so you can only see the birdseed being thrown all over us. We had to pour out our shoes at the hotel!

Our getaway was the trolley- another one of my favorites!!!

I look forward to seeing everyone else's receptions and honeymoons!!!

Vote for our pups!!!

2009-08-06T22:12:00.002-05:00

We have entered our adorable dogs in the AR democrat Gazette dog calendar contest!!! We could get them to be on January's page haha!!!! They could be movie star and you could all have their autographs! Vote for them.

thankful**

2009-08-03T15:41:00.005-05:00

I have so many things to be thankful for, but just to name a few....

I am going to be an Aunt!!! Woo Hoo. Not only am I going to be an aunt, but I am going to be the only aunt to a nephew, who will have 4 uncles!!! He's really going to be a tough kid. This will be my first time to be an aunt so in my excitement I got creative and made this little boy some shoes. He will not have cold feet! Right now they are trying to decide on a name. His middle name will be Lee which is a family name and his last name is Wilson. So any ideas for _____ Lee Wilson???

I am also thankful for my friends. I got to see the Rogers this weekend and had to much fun with them, but I don't get to see them enough.

I have some of the best friends even though a lot of us live far away from each other. I love those that live close too!!!

I am also thankful for my wonderful husband. He has been having to work a lot lately and is getting pretty stressed because he is now in-charge of most of the jobs he is doing. I don't tell him thanks enough so today and I gave him a little blast from his childhood and bought him some Jungle Juice! He always talks about having it when he was a kid!!

I am going to try and just get him little things that might make him a little happier at the end of a long day. Does anyone remember having jungle juice because I don't!!!!

His hair!!! eek

I blog way more on my breaks from school!!!!!

show-us-your-life-wedding-party

2009-08-03T11:26:00.009-05:00

Justin and I got married on June 14th at Maumelle Park on the River. The wedding and reception were outside, just like I had always dreamed of when I was a kid! We had the most wonderful photographer Sarah Waller (with Crystal Goss) capture our wedding!

The site had a house where all the girls got ready. I have the best friends ever!

We had some of my moms closest friends help with the flowers at the ceremony site and the reception. We had a lot of hydrangeas in honor of my NaNa. they were always her favorite flowers and they are very special to our family because of her. We had flower drama the day of the wedding because all of the girls bouquets arrived the wrong COLOR~ It all worked out though because the day of I was carefree!!!

We had the NLR high school band play for our ceremony music. i loved every second of hearing them play before the wedding. now during the wedding I don't know that I heard much of anything!! They were amazing and so happy to be there.

I had seven of my best friend as my bridesmaids and then 3 of my other best friends as the house party. i am so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Justin and the boys were interesting all weekend they were always up to something, but they were a big help during my "crazy" moments the big weekend.

Justin and his best friend Justin danced down the aisle to a surprise band rendition of "Rocky Top". He's a huge tennessee fan and he best friend was there to support him even though he dislikes TN fans!!! I am pretty sure everyone was entertained.

My uncle was the officiant and it was so special he could be there for us.

Our huge wedding party! and this doesn't even include our 5 kids!!

the reception was right next to the ceremony.

So much fun! We danced all night.

My wonderful family. My sister-in-law was the ever so helpful wedding planner (especially since my mother and I are procrastinators) We couldn't have done it without her.

3 Down 2 to go!!!

2009-07-29T11:33:00.004-05:00

Well I wrap up my last day at the nursing home today! I have now completed 3 semesters of school with only 2 left! I am so excited to graduate in May! My nursing home experience has been interesting to say the least. It was intimidating and hard to adjust to at first, but just as soon as you get used to something and start to really enjoy a place... your time is up! Thats the way the grad school world goes. I have met some incredibly hilarious and stubborn elderly people. They have taught me a new appreciation for life and the love their spouses often show is inspirational. I have definitely learned a lot about my job and about the love and zest for life. I hope I never become an old grouchy lady... I don't know where I will be placed next semester, but its always hard to really look forward to it. I know it will be a lot of adjusting and tiresome at first, but we will see!

On a happier note I have been "hired" to work another year at my GA site. I love everyone that works there and the kids are so incredible, so I am sooo excited. Thats at least one thing that will be constant. And I have a JOB!!! That means I contribute to the breadwinning right?!?! (It is really volunteer pay almost, but I don't care any little bit helps). So I continue to be gainfully employed and I am so glad that it all worked out.

Looking forward to a 2 week break before classes start again.... And just a cute picture of my

babies!

Finally a Break

2009-07-27T15:53:00.011-05:00

I am done with school!!! For two weeks anyways! I have my mini summer break and today I took my last final. So... I have time to blog for once. the last month so much stuff has happen. We have made trips to Memphis to visit the in-laws, gone to weddings, had time to spend with our friends, and "home improvement days", but the most important was our vacation!!!! Over the Fourth of July holiday we were able to sneak away from our lives for a while and go with my parents to visit my little brother in Colorado.

We went hiking one day. Here is a pic of Justin and I in JR's territory on Mt. French.

We got to go white water rafting...

It was so much fun for the whole 8 hours!

We also went a train through the Royal Gorge along with shopping.

We got to go horseback riding... we had an amazing guide and got some pretty anxious horses so it was interesting.

Jeeping in the mountains... (it was so scary that

my moms blood vessels in her eye popped, that happens often when she gets stressed)

Our fourth of July was spent in Salida city park listening to amazing music! We had so much fun on our trip and it was really great to see my brother.

Vacations are so nice and very needed every once in a while!

One Year Anniversary!

2009-06-29T20:02:00.005-05:00

Well... its a bit late but I'll post about it anyway! I have been super busy...

We went to Calico Rock for our weekend trip. We were able to take the dogs and have a fun weekend in a secluded cabin. It was nice to get away from our everyday lives. We went hiking and rented a movie for a change and even went to a rodeo!

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Our cabin on the bluff!!!

On our way

Our hike

At the Rodeo

Our cabin

Sad to be leaving!

Our cake!!

2009-06-03T11:32:00.002-05:00

So I am 11 days shy of being married for ONE YEAR!!! That is so nuts! I have been semi- freaking out because I feel wayyy too settled! Which I love of course... still crazy though. Well we will be celebrating our anniversary in 2 weekends at a cabin at Calico Rock with our pups! I have a lot to do between now and then. Such as get Justins gift... I have ordered it but I hope it comes in on time! His birthday is the next weekend so I need to get him 2 gifts. I do feel bad for him because he gets the shaft on his birthday since it is so close to our anniversary! Well hes wonderful even after 354 days!

Happy Treking!

2009-05-21T11:28:00.002-05:00

Going away party! this past weekend we had a going away party for my little brother. He will be gone for the whole summer to Colorado. he's going to be a guide for wilderness trek. I am so jealous. it will be so fun but really hard work. We threw him a party and all of our family came and some of his friends.

Here's my wonderful family!

Presley was so tired from playing with everybody. She crashed as soon as we got home!

I love my friends! julie and Alan got to come stay with us this weekend too! I was so glad I got to see them again, but its definitely our turn to go see them now! We got to hang out with Jac!!! its turned into a weekend ritual!!! If only she didn't work so we could play during the day on my short summer break. We played Rock band until 2 in the morning! We were really good. HA here are some pictures:

Have a wonderful memorial day weekend. I get to go to Sarahs weeding and then riverfest and the inlaws on sunday and Monday!!!

GO KRIS ALLEN!!!!

Hodge podge

2009-05-13T10:36:00.004-05:00

Presley is Here!

After hours of deciding on a name that Justin and I could agree on... Presely wins!!! Justin is from Memphis and is an Elvis fan so that is where the name came from, but I just think its cute! She is so sweet so far but she has a ton of energy!!! Brooks likes her but he isn't so sure about having to share all of his stuff with her, especially all the attention he used to get! They do love each other though.

Justin cooked breakfast for me on mothers day even though I am only a mother of two dogs! Brooks had to take a picture with me while we waited on our food!

After lunch on Sunday everyone decided to help me clean out my room... and they all discovered how much of a pack rat I really am! It was bad. they found my bag of erasers and every note I had ever received from high school. They all said it was time to let go! but we had fun dressing up in the memories!! The cheerleading outfit I have on is from 4th or 5th grade so I know its a little snug!!

GO TRAVS! Justin and I love going to the games and we go to as many as we actually have time for. This is from last Friday night! We love hanging out with jacqueline!

Have a happy Day!!!

My Best friend got Married!*uchf

2009-04-21T18:44:00.003-05:00

Katie got married this weekend!! WOO HOO! The wedding was in Florida so we got to spend the whole weekend there enjoying LOTS of Katies family and wonderful weather. She got married on the beach in Daytona and it was beautiful plus it was sooo much fun!

the whole weekend we had something planned. As soon as we got there we went to all get our nails done and just hang out. This was pre-tan for me obviously... Katie looks so dark next to me!!!

Thursday night we had a luau at Katie's house with all of her family. It was fun to get to see everyone and relax. After that we went to Pretzel's (Katies favorite hang out!!!) to have a "bachelorette party. We met some crazy people!!

The rehearsal dinner was a inlet harbor. the seafood was wonderful and the weather was perfect. There was a band that played and we danced all night.

This is Mike, Katie's HUSBAND!!!

The wedding was a blast once again! I got to hangout with some great friends that I have really missed. We danced there too! The wedding party was introduced and began a congo dance line and Katie and mike finished off their slow dance with "I like big butts" hilarious. At one point in the night we had a dance off and someone had the great idea to do the splits (I regretted that later).

The gorgeous bride!!

I came home tired with many injuries (a bruised foot rom Jac stomping on it, a pulled groin from the splits, a sun burn and a fever blister from the Florida rays, a sore throat, and sleep deprived), but I had to have burned some calories dancing and I had a blast! What a great weekend.

The best of luck to Katie and Mike and I love my friends!!!!

2009-04-10T15:36:00.003-05:00

The Garage sale was a success. Justin and I made over $400!! WOO HOO and I get to buy a china cabinet with the money. Justin is so good at working garage sales and he has so much fun doing them... me not so much! I hate bargaining so if someone asks for a ridiculiously cheap deal I just give it to them and I get ripped off! At least I work though this is what my mom and Brooks did all day ....napped! Such hard workers.

Here are two of the puppies that we got to see last weekend. they were so cute and had just opened their eyes!!!

Justin LOVED this one! I think in 6 weeks she will be ours!!!

Puppy???

2009-04-01T19:30:00.003-05:00

The Key to my heart... Puppies!!!

Its not the only thing, but definitely I am a sucker for puppies. Justin and I are always talking about our next dog. I am so glad I married someone who loves dogs as much as I do, without wanting to become a zoo (which if I would let him he would have a ton of dogs!). My boss told me the other day that she unexpectedly had a litter of Australian Shepard puppies (which is what Brooks is). They are just so adorable!!! In these pictures that she took, they are only 4 days old and their eyes are still closed.

This is a black tri female. She will have brown on her although it is kinda hard to tell in this picture.

This one is a blue merle male just like Brooks. He is my favorite, but Justin said it would be weird to have 2 dogs that looks alike. I don't think so?? People can have 2 black labs or golden retrievers, whats different about Australian shepards?!?!

We still can't decide what to do though... We go back a forth. We want one so bad, but going to Memphis we would have 2 dogs to board or take with us. But we could maybe leave them in the backyard together for the weekend if my parents check on them? Brooks would like a friend during the day because he get bored, but we dont know if he would always want one. justin frequently asks Brooks if he wants a sibling, but we aren't sure what he is trying to tell us!!

Does he want a friend or is he too spoiled and would be jealous of the attention? not that he runs or lives or anything?!?!

Well for now we have time until the puppies are ready to go home. We will just have to decide soon!!!

I have time to blog because I'm on spring break!

2009-03-24T17:40:00.006-05:00

Its been a month exactly since my last blog! A lot has been going on trying to get adjusted into our new house. Moving wasn't as bad and I made it out to be, but only because we had soo much help getting everything done. It was so wonderful. my Aunt and Uncle and our friends Amie and Joe helped us for two days and it was a huge help. And my brothers were there one night to help with all of the heavy stuff. We are so excited to finally be in and so far it has been wonderful minus some small broken things!

The whole fam in the new house!!!!

Brooks enjoying our dining room. He loves the house, it just took him awhile to get over the fact that he thought we were leaving him. The first night in the house he threw up and when we were moving everything out he was peeing everywhere and shaking he was so upset! But we are over that and now we cant get him out of the backyard!

Our Kitchen! So much bigger than the apartment.

So sweet! Carrying me into our new house! -my mom made him!!

A few pictures of the house!!!!! We still don't know what to do about decorating because we seem to have a modge podge of stuff and not much creativity!

Although our house is wonderful... we tend to have bad luck with other things we purchase. We bought a dresser when we first got married- it had a huge hole in the back like someone had stuck a forklift through it during shipping, we bought my apple computer- it had all sorts of problems and i had to get a brand new one, We bought our chest of drawers- the drawer was broken, our brand new dryer- needs a new computer and tries to dry clothes while its stuck on de-wrinkle (I didn't really install it so it has nothing to do with installer error or user error), and then our new TV during shipping got a scratch across the speaker! We just hope this luck doesn't cause there to be a hole in our roof. So far everything has been covered under warranty so it has been ok its just a huge hassle, especially when I have to be at the house to meet people to fix what they sent us broken!!!

Some friends one night this past weekend!!!

We have also been busy having friends over and meeting our neighbors. This weekend our friends Alan and Julie came and stayed with us from Paragould and Caleb came from Searcy! The gathering was for my friend Jacqueline that was "moving away" on a job transfer. We were all so sad she was leaving, but when she showed fro the party she announced she wasn't moving!!! So we had a faux party anyway!!! I am so glad she quit her job. I have the best friends.

The guys plus julie!!!

Maybe it won't be a month before I blog again!!!

New Beginnings!

2009-02-24T16:21:00.012-06:00

Off the market... our house that is, because we own it!!! As of today around 12:30 we finished the paper work. And man I am so excited! First of all we get to live in a space over twice as big as where we are now (with a yard, which Brooks loves)! Secondly, because we no longer have to deal with the stresses of planning on buying a house along with running our normal hectic lives! Now all we have to do is move in and its "move-in-ready" so hopefully with help it will be done soon. People say you find out who your true friends are when you move so we will see ... ha!

Today after closing. We were so excited and went to McDonald's to celebrate!

We drove by the house the other night and the sold sign was already in the yard, of course we were excited and took a picture!

Our SOLD sign. Its ours!!!

Brooks was also in desperate need of a new dog tag because the phone numbers on his were no longer good and we got to put our new address on there as well. He is so excited!! but he has no idea what is going on. As we try to pack he will lay on all of the stuff try to make sure we don't forget him. Poor thing

Something to ponder......

A girl from my high school got this preciuous puppy a couple weeks ago and justin and i loved her! It is exactly what justin wants for his next dog coloring and everything! I think she is gorgeous. Anyways this girl contacted me and she is going to have to give her away and asked if we wanted her?!?! We were so excited... until we thought about everything we have going on in our lives and how busy we are. With a new house and already stressful lives (although I procrastinate by doing things such as blogs instead of studying like i need to be doing right now!) we don't know what to do. It is just too hard to decide and not the best timing. But this precious puppy needs a home and Brooks would love her! Help? I need someone to tell me!!!!?

How can you tell her no!?

Sarah's PV church shower was this weekend! She got a lot of awesome stuff and it was gorgeous! Her wedding is getting so close and it is so exciting!!!!! Its nice to sit back for a change and watch and only have to worry about helping the bride (aka bring her punch when she requests) rather than stressing like Sarah is (I remember how it feels!!!!) But its so exciting!

MOM- She was one of the hostess

The Bride!!!!

The wedding girls!

High school friends!

Excuse the appearance (I was really sick in this picture) This is what I made Sarah for the shower. It was my first attempt at sewing and it turned out pretty good...until it falls apart that is. There is no guarantee on what I make. It was reversible too!

After the shower people started asking me to make them for their friends. Who knows I may quit school and start my own apron business (or not Justin would hate that idea!). I made 3 for Sarah's mom already, I'll show pictures later!

Well a lot of randoms and a lot going on..... Off to studying (hopefully)!

I need the weekend!

2009-02-11T19:53:00.014-06:00

I need Justin home! Ever since we got the wonderful news that our offer on the house was accepted i have been going nonstop... Justin has been out of town for two weeks and I am in charge of holding down the fort! I have been in charge of phone calls and house inspections that I know nothing about. I just have to make sure I repeat all of the information word for word to justin so that someone understands! We have now completed the inspection and appraisal so we are one step closer to living in our home. We move in less than 25 days and have soo much to get done before then. Thankfully Justin doesn't have to go out of town again!

I now look forward to the weekends.

This weekend we got to go to Oaklawn and it was so fun. Justin and I both had many other things that needed to get done on Saturday, but we decided we need a day off even more and we took advantage of the weather. We won nothing, but we had a lot of fun and one of our friends won money so he paid for our food!

This is what justin does when he is home so I will

be glad when he is done taking the CPA tests.

This dog keeps me company while my hubby is gone! I don't feel so lonely I just hate that I am the only one taking him on walks and having to get up when he is thirsty!

This weekend I got to go to Sarahs wedding shower in Benton! She got a lot of awesome stuff and it was so nice to get to hang out with my friends I never see. Her wedding will be so fun because we actually get to see each other!!!

I love my friends!!!!!!

2009-02-01T20:42:00.008-06:00

We are homeowners!!! Over the next month we will have a series of things to do and the list continues to grow. Perfect timing for justin... because he will be out of town for two weeks and i will be his designated Gopher! As long as all goes well in the inspection and appraisal then we close in the 23rd of this month. Along with school and work we are moving in 26 days.... here are some pictures for all to enjoy (or just Sarah!!!) these are pre- Simpson move in so it is all the current homeowners decorations but you can still see the layout!!!

Home is where the heart is!

2009-01-29T21:07:00.007-06:00

House shopping......

It has been an adventure! We were so excited at first to start our search and loved the idea of owning our first home. Although our apartment is big enough for two, our poor dog is tired of sleeping in his crate for 12 hours while our busy schedule causes us to be away from home. The main reason we started looking for a house was for a yard for our dog (He's a little spoiled). Every house we looked at Justin would say "No the yard is too small" or "I don't know if Brooks would like it!" Too bad he cared about my opinion last!

POOR THING HE'S SO MISTREATED!!!! HE LOOKS LIKE HE NEEDS A YARD...

We first started looking in January and quickly found the house of our dreams on a Friday and made an offer on Saturday. Little did we know we only thought it was the house of our dreams because a month and at least 7 offers later we only became frustrated with the process and the buyout company we were trying to deal with was in no hurry to acknowledge our requests. Meanwhile, we are missing out on houses we really liked waiting for a house that I had become too attached to. We went house looking on Saturday again to see the new listings and we quickly had a new love! We finally made an offer on a house and learned to real way house offers typically work. We should be finalizing the deal tomorrow and are so excited about the possibilities. Here is our hopeful new home.....

2009-01-21T19:28:00.000-06:00

I now have a blog... thanks to Sarah! I am still not sure how to feel about it. I feel having to keep up with another technology will only make my limited free time dwindle more quickly. And I know that Justin probably wont be too keen on the idea of me being attached to my computer even more than I am currently, at least now when he says "GET OFF FACEBOOK" I can honestly let him know its not facebook!! I also don't know where to begin my blogging or what is worth telling others, which will only consist of Sarah since she is the only one who cares to read about my life! At least my friend from a far will know what's going on in my life! If I can find the time i suppose i will give it a try...

Created

2009-01-21T18:44:00.000-06:00

Created with love from Sarah! The bestest friend in the whole world!