Pictures and Updates

Hello friends,


There are quite a few things going on in my world lately.

First of all, Joey and I just got back from a wonderful vacation to Orange Beach, AL. A close couple friend of ours, Stephen and Jesse, invited us to spend the week with them at JPS' condo (where Joey and Stephen work), so it was even better because it was free! :) We had a great time, great company and great weather. Another couple came down and stayed 2 nights with us towards the end of the week, and it was great to catch up.

This is me and Joey eating at Lambert's-home of the throwed rolls....mmm mmmmm good!

Stephen, along with his dad and brother, are part of a boat club. There are, like, 50 something spots around the country where this applies. You just call up the boat club, pick which boat you want to reserve and what day, and you're set! Stephen was nice enough to take us out on a fishing boat one day during vacay. I didn't do much fishing, but I did a lot of tanning!

This is me and Jesse on the boat.

And this is the biggest jelly fish I have ever seen! Thank goodness we were in the boat at this time and not in the water with that thing!! (Joey is terribly afraid of jelly fish. He had a horrible experience when he was a child, and has a rather large scar on his arm from a jelly fish. Needless to say, he did NOT think this picture was too great!)
This is me on the fishing boat. I wanted a picture of the boat and Joey just happened to be walking by!

It only rained one day while we were there...we got lucky because this week there are several hurricanes brewing and it does not look pretty! The sky was so dark and the wind was blowing AT LEAST 50 mph. This is a cool storm picture I got right before the rain. The wind was blowing so hard, all the patio furniture about the pool was being blown (at a very fast and furious speed) into the pool. We were definitely being tourist and acting like we have never seen a storm before, but who cares? It was so awesome! I'm just glad a chair didn't hit us! Some of the tables actually got legs broken off of them from hitting other chairs and the top of the water so hard.

The waves in the pool were actually white-capping if that tells you anything!

Each balcony off of each condo unit had it's own personal grill and outside sink. Very, very handy and convenient for all of you grillers out there!

And what's even cooler than your own personal grill? YOUR OWN PERSONAL HOT TUB! That's right, this was ours, all to ourselves. There was another indoor pool and 2 additional hot tubs downstairs for public use, but the one right outside our back door, looking down 11 floors at the beach was the coolest!

Ahhhh......isn't this the life? The walls and front lobby that surround my desk today are not near as nice as the smell of salt water and the feel of sand between my toes.

And another cool thing? There was a lazy river on the fourth floor of our condo. It was AWESOME! We definitely spent a lot of time here.

On the way home Sunday, we took the ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island. It added about an hour onto our trip, but was very fun, and a great change of scenery. Dad used to take us on the ferry in St. Francisville coming home from LSU football games when we were younger, so this brought back many memories for me. Even though it wasn't the same ferry, it was still great to remember parts of my childhood and share them with Joey.

For all of you Louisiana-ians out there...this pelican had just finished filling up its beak with water and food. It was awesome watching his mouth fill up, then swallow, then repeat. And this is when he was flying off - I guess his belly was full!

Now, as far as the updates go:

We bought a house!!!!! We close on August 28, and then we will officially be homeowners!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!! It is on Rouge Edge Road and we absolutely LOVE it! It is going to be so perfect for us as a newlywed couple, and I cannot wait to get in there and make it home! I'm not posting all the pictures, but it should be on ERA's website if you want to check it out.

The front:

The living room looking in from the dining room:

The living room looking in from the front door:

The kitchen (where I'll be doing all of the cooking.....HA!):

Joey and I have both been very busy getting house stuff together and starting the major preparations for wedding planning. I have been dress shopping once but haven't found "the one" yet, and am planning to go again soon. We are at the beginning stages or trying to find a caterer, cake place, photographer, etc. It's all starting to unfold and is very exciting!

I hope everyone is well.

Love to you all,

SJS