Confession...

So, I have a confession to make.

I still look at our wedding pictures ALL the time.

I'm not sure why.  I think it's probably because there was so much planning that went into it, and I feel like it was over and done with in 5 minutes.  Maybe the more I look at the pictures, the more I feel like I'm reliving the night and investing more time into the ceremony and reception?

Anyway, because I've been so obsessed with them, I've had a few favorites that I didn't really notice the first few times around:

Stone Manor.  My dream wedding venue I never knew that existed until I saw it.

Love all the detail Kim made and put into my veil.  Love that the decor is pieces of her wedding dress.  I wish now I wore my veil for longer than I did! 

How cute are these two?

I can't look at this picture and not laugh at us!  We are not serious people! Although I do think some of my best friends have a serious shot at modeling!

Pure happiness

Such concentration

During our first dance...something about Ryan's hands make this picture so sweet

My best friend and father in law dancing together...why wouldn't I love this?

My parents -- they've sacrificed so much from the day my brothers and I were born...I love them so much and so thankful for them! 

Best picture ever...Robbie wears a 'stache well

Cousin love <3 Mel thought her and Don weren't going to be able to make it because of their residency work schedule, but found out last minute they could and didn't hesitate to come

Party in the USA <3

I hope we're as happy and in love as these two in 30 years

Surrounded by love and happiness!

Is it bad if I want to start planning some sort of vow renewal party now?? ;) 

Life is too short.

I was able to watch Oprah today because I was off!  Oprah is in Australia right now, and it makes me miss my trip to Australia SO much!! A lot of the things she's doing, I've done!

She had a couple on the show today that was so touching.  A typical Australian family (husband, wife, and 2 little boys) had a rude awakening when the husband & dad found out he had cancer a few years back.  He's still fighting it.  He works as a video editor, and last year he surprised his wife with a video for her birthday.

If you don't have Kleenex around, go get some.  If you don't cry, you aren't human:

Oopsie!

I've already been very bad about updating this blog.  I blame it on working full time, and not completely adjusting to my new schedule quite yet! :P

Lots has happened, and I don't really know where to start!

We spent Christmas in Richmond, VA, and Ryan spent less than 24 hours there because of work and us having to leave early b/c of the snow in Atlanta.  Delta is awful and cancelled our flight because of this, but luckily we were able to jump on another airline and get a flight that avoided Atlanta.  We had so much fun in Richmond, and it felt SO good to see everyone again!  I wish I had more time there!

Chris & Emily got us a very generous Country Club Plaza giftcard for the holidays, and we decided to use some of it on a nice dinner for New Years Eve.  The Plaza is a very nice shopping center in downtown Kansas City, with lots of nice restaurants and shops!  You can check it out here:

http://www.countryclubplaza.com/

Thank you, Chris & Emily, for our giftcard!  We went to yummyyyyyy Fogo de Chao's and ate our little hearts out.  We made it home by 10:30, but I was SO upset to see that they don't delay the live ball drop in NYC.  So, we had to watch the ball drop an hour early and then watch the "aftershow" for our official midnight.

Ryan's work passed out free turkeys for Christmas, and we decided to save ours and cook on New Year's Day.  I've never cooked a turkey before and I was pretty nervous.  It took about 3 hours longer to cook than I thought (thawing prob had something to do with this) but it turned out delicious!  I also made home made mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and homemade turkey gravy.

Our first turkey! gobble gobble!

I started work on Monday, Jan 3, and I love it!  If the 2 month hiatus taught me anything, it's that I enjoy working and feel like I'm contributing something to someone.   I'm really liking work so far even though it's a TON to take in!  I'm trying to learn an entirely new industry in a month, but I have a great store trainer and I'm feeling comfortable!   More pics and info to come!

Also, Ryan and I are official Kansasians (totally made that up)!  My license came in the mail, with the wrong middle name and all!

We're in the process of making friends still, but we've been keeping busy.  One of Ryan's parents gifts to us for Christmas was the Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University kit!  They wanted to give it as a gift so we're able to plan for our future, which we think is so thoughtful of them!  We're starting to take the class at a UMC church on Monday's, and we found out we're doing better than we thought! We're on Baby Step 3!  Ryan and I are both excited to get further into the meetings so we can learn more about money markets and the best ways to invest.  Thank you, Kim & Ron, for our gifts!!

Kim & Ron also got Ryan the PS3 Move for Christmas, but Ryan decided to exchange it for a Wii so we can both play.  I loooove playing the Wii, even though it's so hard!! I'm not very patient, so if I die a few times on a level, I quit and come back a day later :)

Overall, it was a nice holiday season and we're off to a good start in 2011. We're going to celebrate our 6 month anniversary in just 11 days!  Time flies!!

We got about 10 inches of snow last night, so I'm going to go take Zoe out for a nice long work while Ryan is working from home! :)  Til next time ;)