2008 in Review...

Kurt and I kicked off 2008 by getting married on Jan 26th. It was amazing and far beyond anything of what either of us had ever imagined. It will forever be one of the best days of our lives. Thank you to those of you that helped make our day so special. We spent 5 days in Jamaica for our honeymoon at a resort called Couples Swept Away. The beautiful white beach was great and all of the people were extremely friendly. We took a ride on a catamaran, went on a glass bottom boat ride and saw “Hedonism”, snorkeled for the first time and got stuck in a paddle boat going against the current for what seemed like forever. We canoed along the shoreline and even spotted a starfish from the surface through the crystal clear water. The food was amazing, from the freshly made egg omelet each morning to the five star dinners each night. We were very sad to leave but we hope to take another trip someday.

In April we spent a weekend building our deck with the help of both our parents. The arch and platform that my dad built for the wedding, was incorporated into the deck and it truly looks great. We live on a lake that has a path around it that is very highly traveled by all of our neighbors. There are many nights that we catch somebody standing at our back fence admiring our deck. After the deck was completed we had some friends and family over for a bbq to help celebrate our one year anniversary of being homeowners.

We attended several of our friends weddings throughout the year - it’s that time in our life, we’re the age of marriage. It’s amazing how each wedding can be so different, but each beautiful. Congrats and continued best wishes to all our friends.

We have a new addition to the family….no we’re not pregnant. We saved an 8wk old American bulldog puppy, Pepper, in July from a shelter where she had been dumped by a breeder that could no longer take care of her. She was tiny and very mal-nurtured but still adorable. Wrigley was a little apprehensive, but they quickly warmed up to each other. He’s a good big brother and is very gentle with her while she beats up on him all the time. The two of them are constantly chasing each other or playing with one of their many toys. They are big dogs, Wrigley weighing in at about 90 lbs, but he is truly a big baby and very much a lap dog. Pepper is still very much a puppy and is just plain crazy. She has no fears and at times we think she’s a few crayons short of a full box.

Kurt has been very busy studying this year for his second actuarial exam that he took in mid-November. The exams are very extensive and the math that he does no longer includes any numbers in the equations. Unfortunately, it takes about 8wks to find out the results from the exam, so keep your fingers crossed.

Our most recent news is that we bought a new car! We traded in my little 2001 Tiburon for a brand new 2009 Ford Escape. We didn’t buy a hybrid, a little too rich for our blood, but we tried to do our part by buying American. It’s the first new car I’ve ever had so I love it and I’m slightly obsessive about trying to keep it perfect. We needed a larger vehicle as the dogs didn’t fit very well in either one of our smaller, gas efficient cars. Road trips were becoming rather interesting with two big dogs and all our stuff. They can now sleep comfortably without even touching each other.

With nearly a year of marriage under my belt, I think I can say one of the hardest things about being married has nothing to do with Kurt and me….it’s the holidays. We feel very fortunate to have 2 very different families that we are so close to (and within a days worth of driving), however trying to be with both families for each holiday and trying to divide out time of minimal days off from work is tough. The good thing about it is that we end up having 2 of everything. For Thanksgiving we were able to spend the Sunday prior at the Baxley’s house in Wesley Chapel with the majority of Kurt’s family, tallying in at about 20….21 people. Abby and Grant (one of Kurt’s older brothers and his wife) announced they are pregnant. It will be the first grand-child for the Baxley’s. We are very happy for them! We then spent Thanksgiving day at my parents house in Jacksonville.

We’ve both had a very busy year with work and really haven’t taken any vacation short of our wedding and honeymoon the first of the year. So needless to say we have a few days saved up and we actually get to take about a week and a half off from work and we are SO EXCITED! We plan to spend this well deserved time off in Jville with my parents for Christmas and then we are heading up to Murphy, NC to spend New Years at the Baxley family “mountain house”. I’m hoping for snow!!

We’ve had a great first year of marriage and plan for many more to come. From our family to yours, we hope you enjoy this holiday season and you are blessed with a great year ahead.