Christmas in Florida

Our first Christmas. We spent Christmas with my family in Hollywood, Florida. It stinks that our families live four hours away from each other because we can't see both of them on Christmas Day. But, they are both in Florida, so we can see them and the beach in the same trip!

Here, we're taking a break from the cold artic tundra (Louisville) and enjoying the warm weather in Florida.

Lucy and I went swimming. It was a lot of fun and her first time in the pool. I think she really liked and it and I loved the warm weather for a change (though I have not lived in Louisville for long).

Building memories... 

Cherokee Park

Relaxing with the pets is our new favorite thing to do. Though we both miss Florida, the fall up here is very colorful and we're enjoying things changing as we go through this thing they call "seasons." Here, we're at Cherokee Park, a dog park in Louisville. This is Buddy and Lucy's first day out to a park.

Churchill Downs

So what do you do when your parents come into town and you live in Louisville, Kentucky? You go to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. A coworker hooked us up with tickets and we enjoyed a day at the races. Unlike NASCAR, this racing event is something to dress up for. It was fun. We got all dressed up, sat in a personal box, and enjoyed a conversational day at the races. We saw the paddock, the staging area, and the actual races. No, our horses did not win. I think picking the best looking horse isn't always the way to go. It was a lot of fun and now I can say I've been to Churchill Downs!

Playing Fetch

Lucy is learning to play fetch. So far, it's been a HUGE success. She's really good at it. I guess it's the retriever in her. But how awesome are these pictures? Look at how small she is!!! Yeah, having a dog is awesome.

Lucy

I'm a dog person. Two days ago we got Stephanie a cat. My brothers all took it upon themselves to make fun of me for having a cat. What they didn't know is that Stephanie and I had a deal. Since she is a cat person and I am a dog person, we'd have to get both. And she couldn't get a cat without me getting a dog. SO, we found the dog. This is Lucy. She's my new best friend. Right now, she's about 6-weeks old. She is a yellow lab mix. Her father was a pure bread show dog and her mother was a stray. The owners were quite upset that their show dog mated with a stray, and wanted to get rid of the mother and puppies. SO, Josh, our animal rescuer, took them all.

Lucy was really timid at first, but once she saw buddy, she came alive. Her tail perked right up and started wagging as soon as she saw someone her own size. Lucy and Buddy are going to be great friends.

Buddy

Stephanie is a cat person. Since she is home all the time during the day, we decided it is a good time to get some pets. Today, she brought home Buddy. He was the cuddliest of the masses of kittens she saw. I wasn't raised with cats in the house, but I can learn. For me, the jury is still out. He's not bad. But I'm not the biggest cat fan. We'll see.

Halloween Party

So we had a little Halloween party with the locals. There were many costumes and "scary desserts." Also, there was a pumpkin-carving contest, in which I did win. I'll have to post that picture soon. I'm quite proud of my pumpkin-carving skills. This picture is the wives of the party attendees.

Overall, the party was a success. Duke Bottomsworth and his French maid (pictured on the far right) won the costume contest. It just started the trend to have neighborhood parties for holidays, big and small. 

The New Life

The wedding was great. The new life is even better. After our wedding, we moved to Louisville, Kentucky where we moved into our "House of Dreams." Since then, we have experienced the coldest weather we've ever lived in. Yes, it's been in the 30's at night. And the best part is this winter is expected to be colder than usual. Right. We're both from Florida, the SUNSHINE state.

Great.

It's Fall!!!!!

It's fall everybody and that means PUMPKINS! Ok, we had this tradition in my family. Every year my mom would dress us up all nice and pretty and take us to a pumpkin patch and take pictures of the four kids. It was cute and all when we were little and wore shorts and bowties. But after a while, we all regreted it because it wasn't "cool" to be seen on the side of the road at a random pumpkin patch dressed nicely with your siblings getting your picture taken. How embarassed can one be? This year, however, Stephanie and I started our own tradition of pumpkin pictures. Boys hatch the pumpkin and girls welcome the pumpkin into our home. Isn't that so much better? My kids are going to be SO scared! 

The Wedding

We got hitched! 

So happy to see each other again. We're back together for another vacation. And it's about stinkin time!

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arranging pictures used to be very frustrating for me. However, when you use little tricks like we did here, you get great results. I'm very proud of the way it came out.

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This is one piece I am very proud of. I refinished the hall tree from my parent's house. It was a long process, but well worth it in the end. I really liked the way it turned out.

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Stir-Fry is my new favorite to make. I am trying out differences in the recepie. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

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Andy, my Pontiac Vibe, is loving finally having a garage.

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There are a few things out of place, but other than that, it's coming along.

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The family room is coming along. It's still short of a few pieces of furniture, but I am really liking how things are coming together.

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Unfortunately, my house does not have any sort of internet access. So, I am using the internet at Master's International Coffee on Bardstown Road. They have great coffee and friendly Baristas. It's not quite Starbucks, so it's hard as an exStarbucks employee. But they're learning how to make the drinks just like I ask.

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My house is frequently graced with some childhood friends. Here, Robey is talking with Adrian Swain.

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and this is my dining hall. Complete with lit candles on the wall.

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so I did put in some new plants, and some multch

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Welcome to my Cafe.

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Out the back windows, we have LOTS of honeysuccle.

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Dominic and I decided we wanted to get rid of the dead bushes and put something else in.

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my new house. Complete with dead plants out front, compliments of the builder.

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