Are You Feeling Hot Hot Hot?

Well... we are.

Sweet Home Alabama

Hi Everybody!  Miss me?... Well I have sure missed all of you.  Sorry it has taken so long, but I am finally here and ready to give you that sweet little taste of the place that Chris and I now get to call home.  Chris and I have lived in so many amazing places, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Jose, New York (both the City and Long Island), Kansas City (Missouri), Louisiana (him), Texas (me), and of course Idaho.  Besides from Idaho none has truly felt like home to us (New York was the closest), mostly this is due to the simple fact that the majority of these places were never meant to be long term and the lives that we led there were always cut short when the summer selling season came to a close.  But now for the last 2 1/2 months we have been living our life together in Alabama and I can truly say that it feels so much like home to us.  Maybe it's knowing that we will be here for more than a few months, but I think it goes even beyond that.  Most places that we have lived we always had a period of adjustment, where we had to get used to our new surroundings.  There was none of that here.  We immediately felt in our hearts that this was home and we love it here.  Not many people can say that they love where they live, especially when all your family and friends are in another part of the country, but Chris and I do love it here and we say it quite often to each other and to anybody else that will listen.

Here are just a few things that we love about Alabama:

You always hear about Southern hospitality and the people of Lower Alabama (or LA like the locals like to call it) have taken that phrase to heart.  From strangers on the street, to the people of our ward, to my coworkers, they all have embraced Chris and I into their little tight-knit community and we have never felt so welcomed in like this before.  They are a huge part of what makes this place feel like home and for that we will forever be grateful.

Most questions here are answered with a simple response of either Yes/ No Ma'am or Yes/ No Sir in a strong Southern tongue.  Chris and I have quickly adapted to this (minus the Southern accent) and even in conversations just between us, have found ourselves responding with Yes Ma'am and No Sir.  So don't be surprised when I talk to you and that is my answer, it has already become a habit and I love it.  It's really only a matter of time before we pick up on the Southern drawl.  It's just too strong here and I had it once when I was little and I have caught myself already on the verge of letting it almost slip off my tongue before I reeled it back in.  

We love that we are surrounded by water.  We live right on the Mobile Bay, have areas in our town that have swamp and marsh land, and are just a short 45 minute drive to the ocean.  And when your not by water you are then usually in the presence of huge old oak trees.  On my way to and from work I have to drive through downtown Mobile and they have oak trees lining the streets for miles that are so big that they have overtime created a canopy of sorts over the road and it is so beautiful to pass through.  It is almost dreamlike.   

And lets not forget the food.  Oh my goodness, the food here is a little bit of heaven it is so good.  Between the seafood, that is always local and fresh, to the BBQ, that is beyond words to describe, lets just say that Chris and I are always torn between where to go on our weekly date night.  There is so much that we haven't even tried yet, but just give us time.  We are so spoiled when it comes to the local cuisine.

I can't even begin to describe the enormous Southern style mansions that line the streets of downtown Mobile or the way french culture has influenced not only the food, but also the spelling of words like go to geaux.  And honestly this list could go on and on, but I think you have gotten the point.  Alabama is fantastic, and Chris and I couldn't be happier.  But if you find that you would like to experience all that Alabama has to offer,  just know that our doors are always open (you know... that whole Southern Hospitality thing ;).   

Mmm

Crawfish Boil

and a Shrimp Po' Boy...

Yes Please.

Our Journey

After all the goodbyes were said, Chris and I finally left Pocatello around 6:00 that evening.  A big difference from our goal time of 10:00 that morning.  My brother and his family had left on time so our intentions were to drive through the night in order to meet up with them and travel the duration of our trip together.  We figured it wouldn't be a problem since Chris and I are such night people so off we went.  Chris and Twinkee drove the Jeep and pulled the U-Haul while I followed behind with our cat Marlo in our Honda.  Not even 10 minutes into the trip, I see Chris passing a truck and a gust of wind causes the trailer to start swerving behind him thus forcing the Jeep to start swerving uncontrollably.  To be in the car behind his and see all this happening and knowing that there was nothing that I could do was truly terrifying.  In my head I was thinking this cannot be a good omen, but after Chris regained control of everything and a quick conversation over the phone of him ensuring me that everything was fine we pushed on.  About 6 hours into our trip the chaos and emotional tolls from earlier in the day just hit me and it became near impossible for me to keep my eyes open.  So I gave Chris a quick call and told him I needed to pull over and take a quick nap.  So at the next truck stop that is exactly what we did, Chris laid the back seats down in our Jeep and got out some blankets and pillows and despite the fact that neither of us could totally stretch out our legs we slept like babies.  We slept so good that by the time we woke back up it was already 7:00 the next morning and we were still about 4 hours from where my brother had stopped for the night.  And to top it all off we woke up to our car windows completely covered with snow.  Anybody that has driven through Wyoming knows that it is a horribly windy stretch of road.  Add that into icy, snow covered roads while following behind a husband pulling a trailer that you just witnessed lose control the day before, and you can only imagine that I was an extreme nervous wreck.  But 3 hours later we thankfully made it out of the worst of the situation and were able to make it to the hotel my brother was at to take a quick shower before checkout and continue on with the rest of our journey.  

It is a totally different experience driving by yourself for long periods of time, but it was nice.   It was just me and my thoughts and it was nice having that alone time to ponder on my hopes, dreams, and aspirations for this move.  I got to sing songs at the top of my tuneless lungs and I had control of the song selection so naturally it wasn't half bad and I know that Chris enjoyed his alone time too.  And when we would get lonely we enjoyed a nice game or two of the highway alphabet game via text.  Was it safe... no.  Would I condone it again... probably not.  But we had fun.  

That day we made it through Wyoming, Colorado, and a portion of Kansas where we enjoyed an Easter dinner at a Denny's on the side of a highway that was served to us by a grumpy waitress (who could blame her though, it was Easter, she should have been with her family).   

Chris and I goofing around at a rest stop in Kansas.  

The next day we made it all the way through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and finally stopped in a town in Louisiana.  Chris and I both have such soft spots in our hearts for the south.  Mine being brought about by the most incredible memories of being a little girl with a southern twang growing up in Texas and Chris' being the deep love that came about from the two years he spent there on his mission in Louisiana.  For both of us it felt so good to be there.

As soon as we entered Texas I got a little text message from Chris that simply said "Welcome Back", it made the biggest smile spread across my face.

As we stood outside of our hotel in Louisiana I would catch Chris taking in gulps of air and he commented on how sweet the air was in the south.  And it may sound funny, but it is totally true.  The Southern air has a definite sweetness to it that just fills your lungs and lets you know that you are somewhere special.  And then there are the sounds that come alive when night falls in the south, sounds that the insects and animals harmonize to perfection and create such unbelievable music that once you hear it you will never forget it.  That was the good omen that I was in search of that just set my heart at ease and let me know that we were exactly where we should be at this time in our lives.

Our last day of our travels took us through the rest of Louisiana.  A landscape that was hidden from me the night before was bright and sunny that morning.  No matter how great Chris' descriptions were they could not do justice to the true majestic beauty of it.  We drove by fields of yellow and purple flowers where in the middle sat the most perfectly placed white house.  Then the landscape would change into the marsh lands and its beauty though completely different was so inviting.  All I wanted to do was take a swamp tour.  Then we crossed the border into Mississippi and smelt the salt from the ocean in the air.  And then finally... 4 days, 30 plus hours, and 9 states later we made it to Alabama... our new home.  The sign welcoming you to the state said "Welcome to Alabama the Beautiful".  And it couldn't be more right, it is so beautiful here.  But I will go more into detail on that later.  As soon as we saw our new house and the area in which we live we immediately agreed that it felt like home.  And it does.  We are so happy to be here.  Don't get me wrong... we miss our family and friends so much, but loving where we live makes missing all those things just a little bit more bearable and makes the missing part hurt a lot less.  

Goodbyes

Well we have been in Alabama now for a little over 2 weeks.  We had quite the adventure on our road trip getting here and just tried to make the best of the opportunity that we had.  But for this story lets start at the beginning...

Chris' and my intentions were to leave Saturday morning on 4/3/2010 but it took a little longer than we anticipated to pack up our whole house and prepare it for our real estate agent and a possible renter.  That day was hectic and stressful and my emotions were all over the place.  I had mentally prepared myself that this day would eventually come and it would be hard but it shouldn't be sad.  Yeah Chris and I were packing our lives up and moving to a completely different part of the country away from all our family members and friends but we have dreams, big dreams, and we were taking the steps that we thought were necessary in order to reach those goals and fulfill our dreams so we would never have to look back and say "what if."  You just can't be sad about something like that.  But the day that I thought I had prepared for snuck up on me faster than I ever could have expected and I suddenly found myself unprepared.  We had to say goodbye to family members and friends, and I found that with each goodbye I had to say it just kept getting harder and harder to hold back my tears.  Eventually the dam broke and it was near impossible to stop them.  Anybody that knows me knows that I grow extremely attached to worldly things.  I can place a memory with almost everything that I have and because of this it is hard for me let go of things, I always do if I have to but I still feel a pinch of sadness when I let it out of my grasp.  The last goodbye that we had to say was to our house.  It wasn't just any house but our first house.  Our house was nothing but bones when we first walked into it, but in that instant we fell head over heels in love with it.  I remember as we walked through that first time we were all by ourselves and we were planning the layout of our furniture and what Twinkee would think of the house.  We couldn't wait for it to be ours.  All of this came rushing back to me as I stood in the middle of our kitchen crying in Chris' arms.  I mean shoulders shaking and can't catch your breath kind of crying.  The reality had hit me that that could be the last time that I ever stood in that kitchen and that any day it could possibly become somebody elses home.  I know Chris felt the same way.  So we just held each other and took comfort in the fact that it would always be ours first.  After all the lights where turned off and we checked that all the doors were locked, we walked out the garage door and as Chris took my hand and asked if I was "ready for our next adventure" I knew that everything was going to be okay.  I know that it is true no matter how corny it may sound, but as long as we have each other we can make it through anything.  

The Best Birthday Ever!

I honestly don't know anybody that is more in love with their birthday than me. And oh how I love it. I turned 25 this year, and truthfully I could not have wished for a better birthday than this one.  I think that I actually have Chris convinced that a birthday week is a real thing.  The days leading up to my big day were fantastic!  Chris would volunteer to give me back rubs, he took me shopping, we went for nice walks with the dogs, went to the Spring Fair where we drooled over camp trailers, went and got soft serve ice cream (more than once), he took me antiquing at my favorite local spots, surprised me with breakfast, took me to an awesome birthday dinner, and simply made the week all about me and the things that I enjoy doing.  He makes me feel special all the time, but he really out did himself this time.  A couple weeks before my birthday he had asked if there was anything I wanted to do to celebrate.  I thought about it and for my 25th birthday I knew a regular party just wouldn't cut it, I wanted to feel like a kid again.  I said my birthday wish was to have a Roller Skating party with all of our family and friends.  And surprise surprise, it came true!  30 people showed up to make my birthday the best one ever.  And to make it even more memorable all but 6 of them skated!  It was such a blast.  I didn't have many pictures taken, it was more important for me to just be in that moment with everyone, but I will happily share the ones that I do have.  

This is the only picture that I have of Chris and me on our camera.  I love it though.  My two supporters making sure I didn't fall.

Family and Friends

Trying to blow out 25 candles on two different cakes in one breath.  Nearly passed out after this.  I really wanted my other wish to come true.

People getting their skate on.

The best part of the night was when they pulled me into the center of the rink and put the spot light on me while being surrounded by family and friends who sang Happy Birthday.  My smile never left my face that whole night.  See... Best birthday ever.  

December

Has it really been so long since my last post?!  I know that I need to get better at this, but in my defense our lives have been pretty chaotic, and right when I think I may have a moment to document our lives something comes up to draw my attention away.  But here I am ready to conquer what at times seems impossible.  So since this blog is mostly for me I am going to travel back to the great month of December and journal all the wonderful things that make me love that sweet month.

DECEMBER

Chris and I are always like two little kids filled with so much anticipation on the days leading up to the BIG day... Christmas Day.  Discussions are always started early on what our plans are going to be to help us get into our child like selves and we set forth on ways to make the most of this holiday season.  The first thing we did was go and pick some names off the Angel Trees, one small little girl, a young boy, and a teenage girl.  We had the best time shopping for these little "Angels" and our hearts were soaring when we were finally done and went to drop all of our gifts off.  Our only regret walking away was that we couldn't be there to see there faces when they were opening them.  

The next fun activity planned was our traditional going to pick out the Christmas tree.  We haven't given in to purchasing a plastic tree yet, and I hope we never do.  Although every year we go through some sort of struggle with our real tree, I would miss not having the fresh pine scents floating throughout our house, and the simple memory of being bundled in our winter clothes to find the most perfect tree to bring home and decorate in our most precious ornaments.  We go back every year to the same place we bought our very first Christmas tree.  Our first tree was the cutest little 4 foot tree ever and ever since the purchase of our house we have come back with monster size trees.  I think our biggest ever was 9.5 feet and this year we scaled back a little and got an 8 foot tree.  It was perfect.  Full and beautiful and the most brilliant shade of green.  We nestled it right into our corner in the living room and prepared to dress it in our finest, green, red, and gold decorations.  I love our Christmas ornaments!  Besides the green, red, and gold balls (most of which are from our original tree) I don't have very many other ornaments.  But all the ones I do have all represent something in our lives together.  When we pull them out to place on the tree it ignites memories in us that then spark conversations of our past travels, our very first Christmas together, and the first Christmas spent in our very first house.  In a way it is like looking through a photo album.  I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Next up for our pre Christmas celebration was a wonderful weekend spent in Salt Lake.  This was part of my Christmas present and I couldn't have asked for a better one.  Chris got us a room at the Hilton which was a couple blocks from Temple Square.  And we filled our days with shopping and our nights with wonderful dinners and a trip to Temple Square to take in all the lights.  And then before we settled in for the night we would go down to their huge pool and swim, swim, swim, to our hearts content.  It was a perfect trip, spent with the man I love and I couldn't have asked for a better getaway.  Thanks Babe!! XOXOXO

Something that I have been wanting to do for a while was build OUR house out of gingerbread.  I have never made homemade ginger bread and I just didn't think that I would have the stamina to do it.  But with Chris' gentle coaxing he finally got me to take the first step and get the dough made.  While I was busy in the kitchen doing that, he was at the table designing the cutouts.  So a full day later, the cooking and the assembly was finely complete (Chris' favorite part).  Now the fun could begin... it was time for decorating (my favorite part).  The process was long and hard, but it was so worth it.  Chris and I had a great time working on it together while watching Christmas movies and I must say it turned out so awesome.  We even went a step further and made ourselves and Twinkee into gingerbread.  How "sweet" is that?

The final Christmas tradition we have is on Christmas Eve we go and look at Christmas lights.  We started this tradition the Christmas before we got married and have done it every year since.  We put on some Christmas music and drive to find the most impressive houses ever.  Sadly though, it seems that every year more and more people turn into Scrooges and don't even bother to put out lights and so our little tradition is being cut shorter and shorter.  But we still enjoy it and will look forward to doing it again next year.

I loved our Christmas Eve night, it is usually spent with Chris and I in separate rooms scrambling to get our last minute items wrapped for each other.  Then with the tree illuminated in all its glory and the all the presents nestled underneath it, Chris and I settle into a little make shift bed on the floor by the tree and fall asleep while snuggling up close and watching one of our favorite Christmas movies.  

Then finally, the day has arrived.  Oh, what a glorious day it is too!  Chris and I love it!  This is where the little kid comes out of us.  I have to say, Santa has to be in love with us, because he gets us the best things ever!  It is glorious!  Our stockings are always overflowing with little goodies and sweets and he always knows exactly what we wanted because it is sitting there wrapped in its pretty ribbons and bows and everything is just perfect.  Christmas is just perfect.  

Chris and I are lucky enough to have both our families here in town.  It seems hectic at times going back and forth, but we still love it.  We had a simple, quiet Christmas morning at Chris' parents.  We enjoyed the lively tunes of Christmas music from Chris' youth, while sipping hot chocolate, and slowly unwrapped the presents that we all had.  Then it was off to my mom's house for our little family gift exchange.  It was nice in much the same way as the one previous, wonderful Christmas music filling the background and a cup of hot chocolate warming between our hands.  Next up... Christmas "lunch" at my Grandma's.  We go over there for every holiday and I love it.  I love that no matter how many people she is serving we always have our dinner on her fine china and that we are all set at one table.  Well, it is more like 5 tables set end to end, but none the less, it is one continuously flowing table.  It is always such an elegant set up with delicious food and wonderful conversations.  After a few rounds of games there, we said our goodbyes and set off to finish the evening at Chris' Grandma's house.  I had never been to her house for Christmas dinner so I was very excited to try it this year.  And it did not disappoint.  The food was fantastic and the hostess and other company were so sweet.  And again, after a few rounds of games, we set off to go finish our Christmas night in the comfort of our house.

It is always a sad time when Christmas day comes to an end, but I am always set at ease knowing that it will come back again next year.  I love our Christmas traditions and I love having a husband that gets into the season almost as much as I do.