July 11th - 18th

For our summer vacation, Danny and I traveled to Indian Rocks, Florida with Danny's family. We shared a condo on the beach with Kathy, Kevin, Ashley, Eric, and Harriette for the week. We couldn't have been any closer to the beach unless the condo was in the middle of the ocean. It was pretty nice.

On the way to and from Florida we stopped in Jacksonville to visit our friend Jason. Neither of us had seen him in awhile since he couldn't make it to our wedding. It was great catching up and reminiscing.

Danny and I visited my aunt and uncle while we were there. Michelle took us on a dolphin tour in Tarpon Springs one day. I got some pretty cool pictures.

Danny traveled the three hours to see the space shuttle launch, twice. The first time everyone but Harriette and I went and it did not go off. The second time only Danny went and it did. I just didn't want to sit in a car for that long to not see it go off. Danny got a pretty amazing picture that later ended up in the Greenville newspaper.

We met Kevin's parents at a fun restaurant that had a Wurlitzer organ in it. It was pretty neat to watch it be played. All of the pipes and other instruments connected to it were all over the entire room.

It was a pretty interesting trip.

Tarpon Spings

standard pic

me with my Aunt Michelle (my mom's sister)

Wurlitzer organ

Harriette playing with Eric

Ashley and her goggles

Kathy and Ashley

too cute in my helmet

Kathy and me

mini golf (I hate the shirt Danny is wearing by the way)

yes alligators...at the mini golf place

Ashley

Kathy

Kevin

July 4th

Danny and I spent the 4th in Sullivan's Island with my parents. They're very lucky to know a couple who own a house on the island and let us use it for free while they go up north for the holiday. Neil, Aaron, Casey, and Susie all made appearances at the house and we had a great time swimming at the beach, playing bocce ball, and lounging around. I wish we could have stayed longer.

June 27th

Danny and I went to visit Robin, Matt, and Robin's grandparents in Hartsville for the weekend. Of course there was a project to be done. Papa wanted a new water line sent underground from the house to the barn. Danny, Robin, and Matt rented a ride-on tiller from the hardware store and began the digging process. It was a hot day but they got it done.

I had brought my wedding books and showed them to Nana and Robin's mother while everyone else was outside. Just a standard weekend in Hartsville.

June 20th

Danny's mom, Harriette, came to visit for the weekend specifically to help me with my sewing. It was great to have dedicated time to be crafty. I finished my nephew's birthday gift. It's a Clemson romper. It is so adorable that I almost don't want to give it away!

I also made a curtain to cover the ugly window by the front door. It looks so much better now. Hopefully it'll also help keep the hallway cooler since that is right where the termastat is.

Harriette and I also took trips to Jo-Ann's and Handcock's. I bought more fabric and more patterns for more projects. I'm going to be a busy girl.

June 6th

This was a very busy day. Danny and I went to Manning for my coworker, Beaty's, wedding that morning. It was at her parents' house and just gorgeous. Her mother has a green thumb for sure. Beaty looked amazing.

That afternoon my brother Casey graduated from high school so we rushed back to Columbia for his ceremony. The night ended with a speeding ticket in Prosperity and an amazing dinner at the German restaurant.

May 16th

Mustang Sally! (well Brooke in this case)

Danny's dream of owning a '68 mustang coupe came true today. Too bad it's in a million pieces with some essentials (like an engine) missing. Let's call it a work in progress. Doesn't really matter much to Danny because it's all his.

We drove to Greenville to a childhood friend's mom's house (Ben's mom, Cindy) to relieve her backyard of the monstrosity. Everyone was very excited to move the car. Cindy couldn't wait to have her backyard free of the junk (so she could put in more fountains and fairies I'm sure), Danny couldn't wait to have the car in his possession so he could start working on it (he's already made big plans in the short time he's known he's getting the car), and Ben couldn't wait to move the car so he wouldn't have to hear the complaints any longer.

The entire way home was spent dreaming up interior colors, paint schemes, and car names (because you HAVE to name your car and it HAS to be a girl name). Since we decided it was definitely going to be painted to show our Tiger spirit in some fashion I started thinking of Clemson landmarks that could also work as a car name. Not so easy. Tillman, Bowman, and Godfrey all would not do, but then I came to the Brooks Center. Hmmm Brooks...Brooke...bingo!

Now Brooke sits safely in our garage awaiting the day we have enough money to start buying her things. Hope she's patient.

May 9th & 10th (our first anniversary!)

Danny and I officially made it through one year of marriage! It really has just flown by. I'm not sure where the time went. We decided to head to Charleston for the weekend. It's one of our favorite places to go.

We stayed at the Charleston Harbor Inn and Marina and it was beautiful. We also towed the bike down so we could zip around the city and not have to worry about parking as much. We saw the aquarium, the slave market, ate at AW Shucks, rode through the battery and rainbow road. It was a great weekend. Neither one of us wanted to come back home.

our room

crossing over the bridge on the bike

i love aquariums

Danny peering into the tank

rainbow row