My Tova Girl

Finally! Here is the much anticipated Happy Birthday to my Tova Girl/BFF/MOH/POTW (person of the week)!
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Kendall and I first met when she came to CAC in 9th grade, and we have pretty much been best friends ever since. We have been there for each other in the greatest times, the worst times and everywhere in between. She is thoughtful, creative, funny, and always puts a smile on my face! And she has gotta be the best matron of honor in wedding history. I love her to death and I miss her like crazy! I hate it that we live so far apart, but I know that we will always be great friends. Now since this is my blog and I can post whatever I choose, I am going to take you through a Ken and Jen montage!
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First things first, let's go waaaaaay back to high school!

First week of our senior year. Yes, we were really that cool.

High school seniors before a pep rally

Junior/Senior Banquet

Road trip to the Razorback game

Castle Bluff

Senior girls' Bible study (lake weekend)

Senior girls' Bible study (Christmas)

Graduation.....ahhh, success!

Senior trip!

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Now onto college and more recent years.....

Birthdays...this was my 2-1

Tri-Delt semiformals

Row Weeks

Weddings, weddings, and more weddings!

My Bachelorette Party

And your bachelorette party!

Being eachother's MOH

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Happy Birthday, Tova Girl!!! I love you!

Under Construction......

I was not able to do a "Happy Birthday" post for Kendall because I wanted it to be unique and special. You see, I am blessed to have been friends with Kendall for years. And I have a TON of pictures that I had to take to Walgreens to put on a cd in order to post those pictures on my blog (ie; pictures from way back when). Prepare yourselves because it is going to be the best trip down memory lane of Kendall Jones!
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I am picking up the cd today so I should have it posted by tonight or tomorrow!

Our New Home

Sam and I have been two busy little bees since we returned home from our honeymoon. The most recent news to date is that we sold our house and bought a new one! Sam's house is a perfect home for the two of us right now, but we eventually wanted something bigger. As you all know, it's a great time to buy and a not-so-great time to sell, but we decided early on to give this big decision to God so we have been praying about it for months. We wanted to trust God to put us in the place He wanted us to be. This meant no impulsive buys, sells, etc. For Sam this was easy because he does not have an impulsive bone in his body. Not even an impulsive hair folicle. I on the other hand like to "seize the day" whenever I get the chance. No acting on impulse was challenge #1 for me!
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We sold the house on the Saturday after our honeymoon. The catch was that the couple wanted Sam and I to be out of the house by September 30th. That left us about a week to find a house. We found what we hoped would be our new home on Sunday and placed our offer on Monday. AND WE GOT IT...FINALLY, after three very long weeks of negotiating! It truly is our dream home. We will definitely have to grow into it but we couldn't be happier or feel more blessed to have finally found it. I took about a thousand pictures so here are a few of our favorites.
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Our new home sits on a corner and we have a much bigger yard than we did at our old house. Also don't let these pictures confuse you. The front is brick and the back is cedar.
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Here are two photos of the front of our house. I absolutely LOVE the crab apple trees in front. My parents have the same trees in their yard.

This photo was taken of the front yard from the side of the house. And this one was taken of the back yard from the same side of the house as before. This is a picture of a few trees in the back yard. We think it marks our property line but won't be sure until later this week. Either way we get to enjoy the view! You can see some of the trees in the previous photo (just so you know where you are now).
NOW ONTO THE HIGHLIGHTS!

We've always wanted a big yard and this one even came with a swingset....don't get any ideas, this swingset is for our nieces and nephews! I have actually never seen cat tails other than in the movie The Little Mermaid. Apparently we have a "marsh" out back.Landscaping. It is difficult for me to keep plants, trees, goldfish, and other things alive so I was ecstatic to see that the previous owners did a lot of landscaping prior to putting their house on the market. They planted pink, red, orange, purple, and white roses throughout the flowerbeds! Now Sam can just effortlessly pick flowers from our beds and bring them inside. Doesn't get much easier than that now does it (hint hint)!We have tomato plants on one side of the house and a big raspberry bush out back! Woo hoo! I have always wanted my own garden and this is a great start. The plants look a little droopy and sad, but luckily there are a few green thumbs in the family. I found this one raspberry in the whole bush. Jacuzzi in our master bathroomHis and hers closets in the master bedroom. Ahhh, any married woman's dream!Lots of cabinets for all my new cook books, bakeware, cookware, and other fun kitchen gadgets!Living room with high ceilings....We are hiring someone to paint this room, but I am perplexed about how I am supposed to dust the fan and wash the windows.Nothing says "Welcome Home" like a Razorback Red deck! 3 Car Garage with a cute little window facing the side of the house.Beautiful windows (this room faces the front yard)Big basement, which includes a bathroom and a pool table. It does not include pool balls or cues. Hmmmm, my thoughts exactly!?I could post many more pictures, but instead you will just have to come see it for yourself!

Oooooooooo O-H-I-O

I got to go to my second ever Ohio State Buckeye game last weekend. Every game is sold out. Isn't that crazy!? In order to get tickets you either have to buy them from someone (ie; not the box office) or you have to have graduated from OSU. Sam's grandfather graduated from OSU so he entered his name into a lottery for tickets. Basically, when you enter your name you can get two tickets, but there is no guarantee which game you will get. Sam's grandfather got tickets to the first game (OSU vs. Navy). Sam's dad, who is also an Ohio State graduate, entered his name into the lottery and got tickets to the OSU vs. USC game!

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Sam's grandfather asked him to go to the OSU-Navy game with him, and he was so excited! My dear sweet hubby bought two more tickets to the game from someone he works with and was able to get all four tickets together. He bought the tickets for me and his mom. Very thoughtful! This was the first game of the season and they had an opening game record attendance. 105,092 people to be exact! The stadium is breathtaking. It is HUGE! This picture does not even do it justice, but it's the best I could do. The atmosphere is indescribable. Amazing! Sam took this picture at halftime. The band came out in three Deltas! Go figure!? I am aware that they look more like diamonds or arrows in the picture below, but I think I accidentally deleted the better one. You get the picture though.The game was at noon and the Hogs didn't play until 7pm eastern so I got to see the Buckeye game and listen to the Hogs' game on our way back to Fort Wayne via satellite radio!

Move-a-palooza 2009

While the hubby was in Columbus with his dad cheering on the Buckeyes I stayed at home getting everything packed up and ready to move. I started packing things last week, and I began with a simple and organized plan:

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1. Label, Label, LABEL! Every single box!

2. Keep the boxes organized by room, and then weight:

a. Room Categories: kitchen, great room/den, living room, dining room, office, laundry room,

basement, bedrooms 1-3/bathrooms (upstairs), master bedroom/bathroom (upstairs)

b. Weight Categories: Very Heavy!, Heavy!, Fragile! (all very important)

3. On the label, write what is in the box so we don't have to have this conversation: "Sam, have you seen the small tongs? No, not the All-Clad tongs, but the Good Grips kind? (Sam grabs some tongs bound and determined to be my knight in shining armor for lost kitchen utensils.) No, honey, those are stainless steel and they are medium size. etc...."

I also decided to look for a moving checklist online and like always, Martha Stewart came through for me! She has great ideas for just about everything and, ever since the marriage license ordeal, I decided to make checklists an essential part of my life.

My mother-in-law so sweetly devoted her night to helping me pack things up in boxes. We had a relaxing and fun time watching the game, drinking some wine, and boxing up stuff. Thanks so much for helping me!