Adventures in babysitting...

Sorry for lack of bloggage guys!! I feel like I'm so exhausted you could tap me and I would fall to the ground! Lee and I have both been incredibly busy lately...he's working LOOOOOONG hours and I do mean LONG...7 days a week! SO my weekends have been spent..well..not doing too much..just cleaning and enjoying time to myself before it gets busy again. With three out of town weddings and a trip to DC in the works and several family members and friends visiting soon, we are pretty booked until Mid September! I will say that a topic that has come up a lot lately with Lee and is ...babies. Yes, Lee and I have the itch! BUT, believe it or not, it's Lee more than myself! Lee is constantly talking about how he can't wait to have a baby. I can't wait either..but I want to actually get married first! We still have 402 days left till the wedding! At first we wanted to wait a year or two after we got married and then start trying to have babies..so we decided to make a deal. After our wedding and we head off to our honeymoon..we will attempt to get pregnant during that week..if it doesnt happen naturally, we will wait. I know its kinda crazy! I can't imagine being ready to be a mother but I want it more than anything in the world! When I first met Lee and I made it very clear before we were even SERIOUS that I love children and couldn't wait to be a mother! He made it very clear that he was anti-kids...at least not for SEVERAL years. I must've had some strange affect on him because he talks about it all the time. I think it started with Jon and Kate Plus 8..he loves (ok ..LOVED) that show and always watched it with me. I would constantly point out cute children that we'd see out and about or in our everyday lives..now it's to the point where I don't even notice and he points them out to me. OR Maybe its the fact that I work in a children's hospital and I always come home telling him precious stories of little ones..or maybe its because a lot of our friends have babies. Either way...WE CAN't WAIT!
Well, i decided to put Lee to the test. I offered to baby-sit for our friends Seth and Julie's little baby, Leira. She is going on 10 months old and she is a doll. I thought.. 6 hours with her will make him or break him. Folks..it didn't turn out as I expected. It was better. LEE HAD A BALL. This was his first time caring for a baby. He LOVED feeding her, he loved watching her, hearing her laugh, rocking her to sleep..of which I have the MOST PRECIOUS PICTURE of him doing this on my phone. He loved putting her to bed and watching her sleep. He couldn't stop holding her! We had a ball and Leira was a very good baby. Or as Julie and Seth like to call her..Cakey :) We are now the official baby-sitters..well maybe not official but we'll be happy to do that again anytime soon. She's a doll! I pray to God that Lee and I (when we're ready) are able to have healthy beautiful children. They are a gift from God and I will be forever eternally grateful.
Also, please pray for Lee's mom..she's in the hospital today for her back spasms and is in a lot of pain..having a lot of trouble walking! We hope she will be ok! :)

Love, Us.

PS..how precious is this sweet little picture of Leira at 8 months?? Love you, Cakey :)

family+friends+fireworks+4th= fun!

Sorry this is a bit late but I hope everyone out there had a wonderful 4th of July! Lee and I had a wonderful weekend with friends and family! Friday night, Lee's Dad and his girlfriend, Michelle and John arrived! We went to the store and got lots of great items for our BBQ the next day! Then we headed over to Lynnhaven bay and had dinner on the water at Bubba's. The food and view were both incredible and we even got to watch some fireworks of in the distance at Harborfest! The next day Hope and Bobby arrived and we had our very first cook-out in our new home! Lee bought a grill a few months ago and we had only used it twice! Lee grilled the best burgers ever and grilled up of course, my favorite, hot-dogs! I made my FAMOUS macaroni and cheese and we had all the fixins!..coleslaw, chips, (my macados imitation con queso dip!) amd Michelle made her famous deviled eggs (lee's fav) I was pretty bummed that I had invested in some famous SPRINKLES red velvet cupcakes and didn't get one of the ingredients that I needed and didn't have time to make them! So much for my red, white, and blue dessert but that's ok! :) After the cook-out we all headed over to the beach for the day! We got there around 230 but we wanted to get a parking spot and stay for the fireworks! We spent the day with our beer cooler, snacks, and sunscreen! Lee and I even got in the Ocean a couple of times but everyone else chickened out! John made 2 bucks playing his bag-pipes for everyone..haha :) Seth, Julie, and Leira met up with us later for the fire-works! Finally I got to see some fireworks that were right up there with disneyworld! There was a huge barge sitting out in the ocean where they launched the fireworks so we had the perfect view! This was the first time that I was able to watch the fireworks with my future hubs! On Sunday I made a big breakfast for everyone..sausage gravy and biscuits..Hope even went to dunkin donuts and bought donuts and coffee for everyone! Lee's dad and step-mom left shortly after because there was a storm coming in and they were on the motorcycle and had a 5 hour ride to Raleigh. Lee and John and Bobby headed off for some frisbee golf so that Hope and I could spend some girl time together. We were going to go look for wedding dresses but I should've googled places first because we couldn't really find anywhere and the places we did find were closed on Sundays. That's ok..I think that was nature's way of telling me I'm not ready. I don't want to really try on dresses until I've lost more weight..I don't want to be that girl who buys a dress that's too small and has to fit into it. I want to feel super beautiful the first time I put it on! After our adventures in bridal store hunting, we came home and met up with the boys and headed over to Shorebreak for some pool and sangria! (ok..and nachos!) We were going to go the aquarium but it was super packed..probably because of the rain so we decided on that instead. After all was said and done, Hope and Bobby left and our fun weekend was coming to an end. We had a wonderful 4th in our new town..unfortunately there are no pictures to prove it. Hope has now actually given us her old digital camera until we can buy a new one but it wasn't charged up until sunday..by that time it was pointless! I hope everyone had a fun, safe and happy 4th!

MAJOR Bummer!

SO we were SUPPOSED to be going to the AEROSMITH concert this weekend..but it's been postponed!!!! :( They announced just a few hours ago that the concert in Hershey tonite and the VA BEACH concert is postponed until further notice due to a band injury! I'm so sad! They said that they would gladly accept tickets to the rescheduled concert but it has yet to be announced! Oh well... Hopefully it'll be a time that we dont have any plans!! WE wont let this ruin our weekend!

hodge podge of events..also known as the longest blog ever!

I haven't blogged in so long that I have been saving blogs in my head. I know my blogs are usually long and detailed but i decided instead of boring you to death I'll sum it up a little quicker! We've been so busy! A few weeks ago we headed to Roanoke for Jenny's wedding..actually it was the week after we got back from Mexico for time
s sake! I drove down with Hope on Thursday! She had driven down the a few nights before for the NO DOUBT concert and Lee needed the car to get up to Roanoke for the wedding (since mine is currently in the shop) on Saturday! Phew! Friday night I stayed with Hope and got up early to go to my mom's to get a few things and get ready for the Bridal luncheon! Hope dropped me off at the luncheon and then Jen and Nat and I ran a few last minute wedding errands! Gosh, I miss Natalie!! We were like the three musketeers again! insert picture here. haha




After a lot of running around we made it to the rehearsal right on time..ahem..give or take! After the rehearsal, Chase's parents hosted the rehearsal dinner BBQ at their lovely home! It was a blast hanging out with my ole pal, Stephen..and getting a little tipsy...insert more pics :)





Ok, Maybe tipsy was the wrong word..just moderate drinking..




OK!!..we were sloshed!



Natalie! The Shnozberries taste like Shnozberries!!!

Anyway..so much fun..I wish Lee could've been there but he was out of town working in D.C. but it was ok because I got to spend the last single night ever with my best friend! We went back to her new house and made a list of things to do in the morning and stayed up talking before we fell asleep. I was up at 7am. Jenny was up at 230 and never went back to sleep..she was so excited! As the day progressed several things went wrong..ie missing champagne, broken picture frames, missing veil, hair appointments gone awry, wedding coordinator getting slapped by an out of town guest, ..but these things are supposed to happen on your wedding day! Thats what makes it so durn excitin'! um...let's just say I was in Charge of Jen's cell phone for the first half of the day and i was so stressed I gave it to the MOH..poor Jenny is in for a treat when I get married! Long story short..Ceremony was BEAUTIFUL..RECEPTION..INCREDIBLE which is good because now I have an idea of how mine will be!! I can't wait!! AND after not seeing him in a week..the day after we got back from Mexico..I was finally in the arms of my beloved fiance! A happy moment:



Next year it will be us!!

On Saturday night we stayed with my dad and then headed over to Iron Gate for the Showalter family reunion! Lee hadn't met ANYONE on my Grandaddy's side of the family and it just happend to be kinda on our way home so I'm glad he got to meet them all! It was a great little cook-out at my Aunt Blackie's house and I showed Lee the wonderful house I used to love playing in as a child..all those christmas parties famous for their bourbon balls and sliding down the stairs..which sadly now have railings! The grand piano covered in desserts and the ghost in the attic! We personally invited Aunt Blackie to the wedding and she proclaimed that she would be there with bells on! My mom said she went on and on about Lee long after we left..but who wouldn't? He's the best!

A few days later..back at the beach (which I still can't BELIEVE is our home!) it started like an ordinary afternoon. I got off work to wait for the shuttle and it was very hot and EXTREMELY humid. I came home..made some dinner and Lee happily volunteered to take our clothes and do the laundry a few miles away! It was just starting to get dark and I was playing around on the computer when I got a text from my new BFF, Brandy! She said there was a tornado warning at the oceanfront. Now, we are less than three miles from the shore so that technically includes us. I didn't even notice it was storming because I had on headphones and was playing music. I ran downstairs and turned on the TV and there was a message going across the screen "TORNADO WARNING FOR YOUR AREA. PLEASE SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY." so of course..what do I do??? I go look outside..my stupid curiosity got the best of me. I could still see some dark blue where it was starting to get dark but just over the way I could see a cloud that was absolutely PITCH BLACK! I said that has got to be the cloud that is spawning the Tornado! I ran inside and got the cats and shoved them into the downstairs bathroom and grabbed a big blanket! It started raining so hard that it sounded like it was coming through the roof! I watched the TV a little more and it was telling where the Tornado was heading and when it would hit! (right down to the street and everything!) It was due to hit Donna Drive within 5 minutes..the street that runs right next to our house!! I was freaking out! I ran into the bathroom and called Lee. He was a few miles away in the Lynnhaven area and said he was watching it on TV but it wasnt even raining or anything where he was. I told him to stay put! I started to hear this sound that sounded like one of the Jets that we hear a lot around here..it sounded kinda distant so I opened the bathroom door to see if I could hear it better..Simone tried to run out and I grabbed her back in and shut the door! The lights started to flicker on and off and then they went out completely! The cats were going crazy..they had been all night..im sure they knew something was coming! About a minute later..everything stopped..the lights came back on! I came out of the bathroom and looked at the TV! A picture of the tornado that skipped and hopped right over us was on there. It started as a waterspout and made landfall..kinda hopped around the shore and went back out into the water! i was terrifed! I called Lee and Brandy and told them I was ok..Brandy was like "dang girl its only the beginning of the season..they're so common by the ocean front!" GREAT! Lee came home only to find TONS of flooding down our road and cars that were even underwater!! It was a crazy storm and I'll never forget surviving my first tornado!! Several tornados were spotted in the area..but none of them produced very much damage or any injuries! here's a picture of the big black cloud that produced the tornado that went right over me!!





This was taken June 18, 2009 around 815 pm!

The following weekend Loren and Lizzy called us and came up from Raleigh for a suprise visit!!! It was only Friday night and Saturday because we Loren had to be back Sunday to preach! I very much enjoyed our dinner friday nite, brunch at citrus and a fun day at the beach! Then, a wonderful dinner at Captain George's! We had a great time..here's a picture of our day at the beach with Loren, Lizzy and Bella!!..and one of me and Lizzy! LOVE her!






Lizzy and Loren had never been to Virginia Beach so we were excited that they got to see it and they actually loved it! The funny thing that happend later was..Wednesday after they left..Lizzy's new job in Raleigh wanted to give her a bit of extra training and they sent her to Norfolk! She called me Wednesday night and while Lee studied for a test, Lizzy and I had some girl talk, chocolate, wine, and a movie! it was so much fun!

This past weekend Lee and I took it easy and then took a long motorcycle ride down to Currituck in North Carolina and it was beautiful! I got excited because it wasn't too long of a ride and I saw lots of places that I couldn't wait to visit in the fall..such as..pumpkin patches and Christmas tree farms! I was worried that there wouldn't be a lot of that around here..but Virginia Beach actually stretches all the way to the NC state line and a lot of it is beautiful countryside! We did however see a snake in the road and that got me a little crazy because I didn't have the car around me..but other than that and the fact that my butt went numb, I had a great time!

4th of July is approaching this weekend and lee and i both have the 3rd off which is wonderful! We're having several guests this weekend and looking forward to our first holiday at the beach! Sun, BBQ, fun and fireworks! Sunday we are going to see Aerosmith!! WHOOO HOOOOO!! and next weekend we're headed to Nags Head for Hugh's Birthday! I'm so excited! Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday..peace and love!

XOXO
Meg