And it's FINALLY Friday....Happy Birthday Brett!!

Oh my goodness....what a week!!! I was in Atlanta for work on Monday and Tuesday....all the while wishing that I had taken the same flight back home as Brett did on Sunday night after the wedding weekend in the Carolinas.

I went back to work in the office on Wednesday, and rushed home afterwards to get ready for our photoshoot with Shyla. I can't wait to see the pictures. We had such a great time and I am going to try to not spoil any of the surprise. We had a great time and I had so much fun with Brett on the shoot!! :)

Thursday we moved the rest of my stuff from the house at 1339 to Brett's place. Oh my goodness. What a task. It took 3 trips of both of our vehicles being totally full, one more trip before work on Friday, and one last one after too. It was a very long night!

And now we are to today. Brett's Birthday!!! I got him a card with iTunes.....which is his favorite of all time....I surprised him by bringing him lunch at the house....and then we went to hang with some friends for dinner. We picked up dessert and Kirsten made up the goodness that they call Pizzookie. Yeah, it was tasty.

We put some candles in Brett's and sang him Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Brett!! I love you more than your last birthday, and less than your next. I can't wait to grow old with you!

Marital Bliss for the Bitners!

When we left the hotel to meet up with the rest of the Bollman clan....it was raining. Luckily I always travel with an umbrella. I have to get a new one though, this one is on its last leg!

We made it out to the chapel, after going up the mountain, to where the fog was so thick, we could barely see. What a bummer weather wise for Alex and Kevin's wedding day!! It sure didn't stop anyone's happiness though. There was love and joy in the air for sure!


The bridesmaids and bride managed to stay dry and all looked stunning. Especially Alex. Wow, she was gorgeous!! Her and Kevin's ceremony was rich and filled with great advice and scripture. I think that being at this wedding got me and Brett even more anxious for ours in a short few months!!

The reception was delightful. I really liked the large head table where all the bridal party sat during dinner.

Britney and Drew were able to join us too! It was great to see them. :)

Brett paid his money and got to dance with the bride during the dollar dance! I think he was a happy guy to get to spend a little time with his cousin!

All the cousins!! Brett and all the girls! :)

Alex and Kevin made it out of the party in one piece. The rain didn't stop all night! The car had a little trouble getting started, but they managed to pull away...husband and wife!!

What a super fun night, and we were so happy to be there to be part of it and celebrate with the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. Bitner!! They were off to their honeymoon at 4am and I know that they are having a fabulous time!!

Two for the Biltmore Estate, please!

Since we were all the way out here, we thought that we should visit the Biltmore Estate while we could. We'd already seen Hearst Castle, Jefferson's Monticello, so why not another grand home!

As we were pulling into the area, the trees were so pretty, tall and green!!! It was lovely for sure. We found our way to the Welcome Center, and then to the great lawn that leads down to the home.

You can get married on this lawn, overlooking the estate. There was a couple there investigating the spot for their wedding next year. I'd say it was a good pick!!

The sky was so blue and it was the most perfect day!!!

We took the audio tour and went through all the rooms in the house that you're allowed to. Brett did try a door to see if there was other rooms for us to explore, and of course I swatted his hand away in fear that we might get busted and escorted out. Of course, though, nothing of that nature happened, and so we were fine. Of course. :)

After the tour, we walked down to the Festival of Flowers. Oh my, the tulips....they were amazing!! They went on and on, and I couldn't get enough.

Around the corner, there were so many azaleas too! We came at the perfect time in my opinion. The roses weren't in bloom, but I've seen plenty of those in the SB Rose Garden, so I was thrilled at our timing!

While we were at the Biltmore, I had posted about it on Facebook...and luckily, got a great recommendation for our lunch stop on the way back. We found Tupelo Honey Cafe, the south location, and stopped in for a quick bite to eat.

I love that there was sweet tea on the menu. I enjoyed my tomato soup and grilled cheese very much. Brett ordered a rueben, and I laughed so hard when he asked "What is that?", in reference to the sauerkraut. He made a funny face about it, right as the waitress came up and asked how everything was. I cracked up even harder when Brett, very quickly, turned his grimace into a smile and replied "Great!".

I know you....wanna sit together?

I made it back to the airport this afternoon, and right as I was pulling into the rental car place, I realized that (for the first time ever I might add) I forgot to stop and fill up the tank of gas. I didn't have enough time to turn it around and come back, so I just told the guy straight up of my goof.

Turns out that he was having a good day, because he said to me, "I'm going to just mark it as full, there isn't enough missing for me to charge you for a full tank.". So, I thanked him and I made my way into the airport.

Brett had just landed in PHX so I waited half way between Gates A and B for him to come through to meet me. We got lucky and ended up being able to convince the person with the middle seat to take a window instead, and got to sit next to each other for the flight.

We watched a movie on the iPad....that thing really is so cool....and then snoozed for the rest of the flight. We were in Atlanta before we knew it.

It was dinner time when we landed, so I called Paige for a recommendation on our way north. The place she told us to go had a too long of a wait, so we walked across the street and had a little pizza and salad at Little Azio. The area we were in was downtown near Georgia Tech and it was a cool spot.


We made our way back to the freeway and headed north to meet up with the rest of Brett's family. We made it to North Carolina and not too long afterwards crashed out for the night. Excited for our day in the south tomorrow!!

Big Rig

I flew to Phoenix this morning for work. We took off at 6am, and landed 30 minutes early...which cut my morning nap short, but oh well. It was nice when I landed. I think that anyone that visits AZ during April might be convinced to stay. It was the most blue, most filled with clouds, place that I had ever been. The weather was great too, and I rather enjoyed the landscapes also. Cactus and red mountains are kind of neat and could make neat backdrops for pretty pictures.

However....I know that it gets super duper hot in just a few short weeks, maybe months, and so I'm not going to pack up and move here anytime soon.

After the day was over, and after I found my hotel, I knew that I had to get something to eat. Chris, one of my colleagues who moved from the Phoenix area, gave me a few recommendations before I left, so I thought to look up one of his ideas. Turns out that there was an Oregano's just a few blocks away from where I was staying, so I took on down the road in my rental minivan.

Side note....I wouldn't be surprised that if, when the time comes, I end up driving a Chrysler Town & Country. They didn't have any small cars ready when I picked up my rental this morning, and so I ended up in a minivan. It was a 2010 model with less than 2500 miles on it. This thing was really pretty amazing, and I really enjoyed driving it. Oh, AND....the side doors open automatically when you just open the handle, or you can do it from the remote. Now THAT is pretty cool. Yup, I want one.


Anyways....I found Oregano's, a spot at the bar where I could order from the full menu, and went with Chris' choice: Big Rig Pasta, add chicken. When the plate arrived, I realized I was in trouble. There was enough food for 3 in front of me. So, after I made it as far as I thought I could through it, I packed the rest up and took it to the guy at the front desk. Not sure if he thought I was super crazy, or if he ate it, but I just couldn't throw away that much food.

I sat up and watched the abc player on the iPad on loan from the office while trying to get tired enough to fall asleep. Then I was a little more bored, and not so tired, so I ended up watching YouTube videos before I just couldn't take anymore, and so I closed my eyes.

Pseudo Homegroup?

I texted with Elizabeth this afternoon and the end result was 5 of us from homegroup meeting up for an impromptu dinner gathering since we weren't meeting as a big group tonight.

We decided upon Fresco Cafe...and I was really excited about going here because I got my mind around getting the Italian Wedding Soup again. When we got there, I realized that they had "Soup of the Day", and it wasn't the day for the one I wanted. Boo!!

It's ok....my dinner was great, and we had a great time catching up with Nile, Caitlin and Elizabeth before I had to get home and back for the next 6 days.

A great way to spend a lovely Wednesday evening!!

A Love Story :: Laura and Benjamin

I should have posted these almost 2 months ago.....but I never got around to it. Now just looking at them is making me miss my LB even more. Boo!

When we knew that Ben was coming into town...and that there *might* be a special surprise during his visit, I put the idea into LB's head that maybe we could take some fun shots while he was here. So....after "it" happened....we made our plans. We headed out to walk the grounds of The Biltmore and then popped over to Butterfly Beach.

With the upcoming, now past, move of Laura's to the east coast...."Oh, Santa Barbara.....", was said many, many, times during our afternoon. The spots that we spent our time were the perfect places to make more SB memories.

I was so excited to shoot these of Laura and Benjamin the day after they were engaged, and can't wait until their wedding in August in Ohio! Woohoo!!

A Love Story :: Jen and Jake

When LB asked me "Guess who is engaged?", I couldn't immediately think of who it might be....but DUH!! Of course it was Jen!! She was in Paris with Jake and he totally surprised her and popped the big question, as they were on a boat on the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower in the background....so romantic! Of course she said yes, and I am so excited for the two of them!!

Not too shortly after I heard the news, I asked when we'd be taking pictures. Yes, I just assume these days. I love being around couples in love and shooting their story with my camera. :) We made plans and then waited. Oh how I dread the waiting part.

But Sunday finally came, and I was ready for these two lovebirds. Well...I might have been a little too anxious, because it turns out that we met up about an hour too early. That pesky sun. When we first got out to Ballard Lane...it was just incredibly too sunny, but we tried nonetheless. This is where we saw the snake, and missed stepping right on it by just a foot or two. Eek!! Gross! I get the shivers just thinking about it again.

Well, we got over the reptile sighting, headed into downtown Carp, had an outfit change, walked around, and then headed back out to the fields.

You guys are totally cute, and I had such a great time with you both!! I can't wait for your wedding this summer! Woohoo!! :)

Out of one place, and into another...

Poor Molly....once we moved out all of the furniture from my living and dining room......there was nowhere for her to hide. So sad.

And this is what it looked like at Brett's with all of it in the new place. We are trying to figure out how to make it all fit. I know it'll end up looking great in the end.

Memory Lane Trip

After work today, we started to make room in Brett's garage for some of the things from my house while we are in transition for the next few months before the wedding.

As we were going through some of the things in there, we came across some of Brett's things from high school and college. He was so excited to find his old baseball uniform.....and some of his posters. I got a good chuckle out of trying to envision Brett is in glory days. :)

Night with the Fairfields

We schemed up a night of hanging out with Caitlin and Nile. I got a little too excited about making us some homemade Cherry Limeades...but oh my gosh, they are SOOOOO good!!

I think that my company did too!! :)

We made up some pizzas....it's becoming quite a standard. So easy, so tasty, and always a crowd pleaser.

After dinner, Caitlin and Nile showed us how to fondue! They brought over their little contraption, the chocolate, some goodies to dip, and we were set. Yum!!

We finished off the evening by watching their wedding video. It was so fun to see their big day, and it's making me that much more excited about ours. Woohoo!!

After they left to go home and take care of Parker (their dog), Brett and I hung out with Molly for a bit. She is so used to the camera now that it's getting easier to get some fun shots. Yes, it's a little weird. Just wait until we have kids. :)