Okay everyone! I believe I'm going to start up my blog again now that it has let me recover my password! There have been so many exciting developments since I stopped blogging.

The main thing is Garrett proposed to me Christmas Eve 2009 after 7 1/2 years! He popped the question where we first met. I couldn't be happier with the family that I am becoming a part of. They are great. I hope he feels the same! :-) I am hoping to keep the wedding adventures up to date!

Quick summary:

• We know where we are getting married - The Red House Church
• We know the reception - The Farm
• I "know" I have found my wedding dress! I just have to wait for Scarlett to get here to go try it on and finally let it be mine!
• We both know we have the best parents to have as in-laws!
• I know what type of colors I want to look for in bridesmaid dresses based on my dress.
• I have my own "I Finally Get to Plan my Wedding Book!" Garrett marked that out and wrote "We Finally Get to Plan Our Wedding Book." Dork!
• I look for wedding ideas everywhere.
• I have been to two bridal shows. My nephew Mike is great in helping plan a party!
  
• I love washing my ring.
• I created an online calender for Garrett and me so we can both go in and see what each other has planned. I have a special calender for wedding stuff! I'm corny, but I made my gmail account MrsYatesToBe@gmail.com. Thought it was cute for a wedding calender thing a ma bob.
  
• Shawn can cut a rug at weddings, but doesn't want to be in mine. It's okay, I will force him.
  
• I went to a wedding cake store this weekend for the first time. Garrett and I are both excited about this part! I got the cutest apron from there. I'm excited to cook!
  
• Our families have been great and so supportive about doing what we want to make it our wedding and in lending helping hands.
• I can talk about wedding stuff a lot, and yes I know I can talk about anything a lot! Haha!
  

I am loving doing wedding stuff! YAY!

Garrett and I have a busy but fun few weeks ahead of us. A friend of mine from work got engaged last night! Congrats Teresa! We went and got manicures and pedicures after work and then headed to Maggianos. She had never eaten there. We had a great dinner with a great bottle of wine. I headed over to Babies R Us after to get another girl I work with some Preggo Pops. We found out yesterday that she is expecting her second! She is so cute! I hope they help settle her stomach

We are heading to his parent's condo at the beach this weekend through Tuesday. Next Saturday we are heading to a beach music festival all day. Next week is Victoria's second birthday. Two weekends from now we are having Victoria's birthday party and my birthday is that Sunday. I finally scheduled my physical, so I have to go get blood drawn and fun still like that!

I am absolutely loving life and where it is heading! I am so lucky!

That's all for tonight! I hope to keep the blogging up, so stay tuned! G'Night!

Some Horse Quotes That I Find So True

One of my favorite hunt seat horses:  Last Detail.  He's so pretty.

No Hour of Life is Wasted That is Spent in the Saddle 

~ Winston Churchill

Show Me Your Horse and I Will Tell You Who You Are 

~ Old English Saying

I guess I am in a horse mood right now, so I am also going to put this little entry I found somewhere along the way about showing horses that is so true and even if the things horse show people do are crazy and normal people say that it sounds awful, I can tell you...It's not!  What you do to get you and your horse ready to show is so challenging, fun, and so worth it!  One day, I will get to do these things again!  What could be better than getting up at 3 AM to walk through the pouring rain so you can ride your horse in the arena you are going to show in or living off Twizzlers & Cheez-Its Thursday through Sunday!  Horse people...I tell you...they are a totally different breed of their own.  I would get up every morning at 3 am if I could! 

Okay...so, there is my little rant of how much I miss horses.  Sorry about that.  Here is the entry I found as promised:

* Don't ever tell me...

...that riding isn't a sport.

Don't EVER tell me that riding isn't a sport.  Riding is a sport at the very LEAST.  It's not staying after school for 2 hours of practice 5 days a week, with games every week or so that last maybe an hour or two.  NO - it's driving an hour and a half at least twice a week and riding for an hour and spending another couple hours taking care of the animal that you live for.  It's waking up at 3:30 in the morning on a Saturday for a horse show and staying there until 9:30 that night.  It's having complete control over your body, emotions, and nerves and communicating with a 1,200 pound animal that could kill you at any moment.  Riding takes more dedication and practice that you will ever know, unless you experience it yourself.  Think you can multi-task?  Try controlling your body in a way that is soft and elegant while steering and communicating with your horse in ways that are invisible to everyone else or memorizing and riding a complicated course of fences and executing them all perfectly.  AND handling all pressure that is poured on you as soon as you step in the ring.  THAT is multi-tasking.  So think again when you try to tell me that riding isn't a sport, because it's not only my sport - it's my LIFE, and I love every minute of it.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I was at work today when I saw the elevator door open and a balloon pop out. My first thought was "Oh, that is so sweet, someone is already getting a Valentine's Day surprise!!" Imagine my surprise when it was my own Valentine, Garrett!! He brought me a balloon and a big box of chocolates to work! What a surprise!! Then I embarrassed him by showing everyone!

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day Weekend! Garrett & I are going to hit the slopes next week for V-Day! Whooo Hoooo!

Hank's Birthday

Well, today is Hank's official adoption date last year. However; Hank has gone to live with Garrett's parents now so we don't get evicted from his non-stop barking. Other than that...I really miss him. I feel so bad that we didn't even have him a year. We probably would have just kept him and dealt with the consequences if it weren't for Garrett's parents. They just love the little Hanker Man to death. I think Hank and Tony will be like Dad and Fritz. This way I still get to see him and play with him..if not for that..I am not sure what I would have done. I don't care what all you Non-Hank lovers think about him! He was my little doodle. However; my house already looks cleaner and there is a table and new lamp in place of the dog cage. :-) Garrett said I was too eagerly doing my spring cleaning. Oops! I guess now, I don't have an excuse not to go the gym now! :-)

A Little Late, but Pics from Our Snow & My Trip to Texas!

Hey everyone!  I am really sorry I have not done this in so long.  It has been crazy ever since I got back from Texas.  This weekend has finally been relaxed and I have done whatever I wanted!  We finally had one decent snow a few weeks ago!  Garrett & I went to try and find a sled, but no one here sells them!  Ahh..can you believe that??  

There was still snow on the ground when Mary, Jason, Shawn, Victoria & I got on the plane to head to Texas.  Shawn finally got to use the bathroom on the plane!  What a good time we had. Violet is just perfect.  We had some good quality time out there.  We went to the Forth Worth Stockyards and to see Mitch's plane.  Jason built Mason a swing set.  I sure can't wait to see Violet & Mason again...and of course Scarlett & Mitch!  :-)  Here are pictures from our adventure!  Enjoy!

The Name...

VIOLET ELIZABETH GRACE!!!!

Mom and Baby are fine!! Still waiting on pictures and the story!!!!

Ms. Violet

It's a girl!!! All I know is her name is Ms. Violet. She is 6 lbs. 8 oz. She got here realllly fast and is healthy. I don't know her full name yet. Scarlett had to go to the hospital afterwards, but I think she is fine. Mitch will keep us updated. I think her mid-wife got there a little late, because she was soo fast! I'll post pics when I get them.

The Beginning!!!

It's official...Scarlett has started having contractions! I spoke with her on the phone and she is mooing like normal!!! The contractions are an inconsistent 15 minutes apart so it is still really early!!! Woo hoo!!!

Remembering Sampson

I would like to dedicate this post to Sampson. Sampson passed on this morning. Our thoughts are with Chris, Dayna and Lauryn. It has been a hard year for the family. Sampson was the loving companion to this family for eight wonderful years. In that time, he became friends with our family's dogs. They will miss him too. He has brought so many happy memories to many people. He saw many chapters to Chris & Dayna's lives. He was with them when it was just Chris & Dayna. He was with them when they built their house. He was with them through their trials of beginning a family and he was finally there to see them expand their family. He made sure their little one Lauryn was okay and now Chris, Dayna and Lauryn had to return the favor and make the hard choice to let him go to a place where he would be young and pain-free and where he could play and boing with all of the other puppies.

FAREWELL OUR FRIEND

SAMPSON

1/12/2009

Dork

I guess I am a pretty big dork for wanting to read the Twilight Series....Such a teeny bopper! :-)

New Year with New Adventures!

I can't believe another year has gone by. It goes by so quickly. 2008 was an eventful year to say the least! I am also sorry that I am so slack on doing this whole blog thing. I am going to try and make Monday my official blog day!

I had just moved her in the beginning of 2008! I can't believe I have already been here this long! Scarlett, Mitch & Mason moved to Texas in April, and the next day Mary & Jason had Victoria! Victoria is full of herself now. She poops all the time..I guess that is her little joke! Garrett had some ups and downs with his job search, but finally has a job working with the state as a Right-of-Way agent. I'm not sure if that is how you put it.... The economy has done nothing but get worse throughout the year, resulting in many people I know losing a lot of money. We found out when John was going to be leaving for Qatar, so we planned a white water rafting trip. That was a ton of fun. Scarlett came to visit a few days later, when we remembered that she was expecting another little one! Just kidding It is easy to forget these things when you don't see the people on a normal basis. We were hoping Mitch would fly out to see us, but conveniently, his Mustang fell on him almost killing him! Now, approximately 3 months later, I think he is going to start flying again this week! We wished John farwell as he left for Qatar November 4th. It was a sad day, but also historic, that was when our nation voted for Barack Obama as our new president.

The holidays have officially ended now and a new year has begun. I took my tree down yesterday and now think that my house looks cold! :-( I still haven't gone skiing, but have been promised a day trip from Garrett. Garrett has officially started a new schedule at work and is now going in at 7 in the morning, which would be great, except for now I don't get to see him much in the morning, so I'm not very happy about that. Scarlett's baby should be here anyday now! We anticipate the arrival and gender! The Wests and I will fly out to Texas mid-month. Hopefully she will have had the little one by then!

I hope everyone had a great and safe New Year!

A Holly Jolly Christmas Indeed!

As the end of 2008 comes to an end, so does Christmas! I'm one of those weird people that is actually sad the day after Christmas! I hate getting in my car and realizing that Christmas is officially over. This is when your radio is suddenly blaring nail salon classic rock music in place of Burl Ives, Brenda Lee, Bing Crosby, and Sinatra singing songs about the most wonderful time of the year! That's when it hits me every year. I don't understand, if we can play Christmas music two and a half months early, can't they just finish out the weekend? I did hear one station that did that, but of course it was all static!

It has been a busy few weeks! We had our company party a couple of weeks ago and I was able to find a great dress for a real steal! It was at the Hope Valley Country Club here in Durham.

Keri and me! Someone who loves Christmas time just like me!

Garrett and I didn't match too well, but that was alright! He discovered that he didn't have the pants to his suit he was going to wear five minutes before the party started! :-)

Some more of the JWTH Gang! Garrett, Me, Abbey, Laura & Mazo!

Part two of that weekend was Inez's Annual Ham Breakfast! It was delicious! Of course I got a picture of Mary & Inez being crazy!

Inez popped in some old family videos while we were there! That was crazy! Mary Elizabeth had us singing the Star Spangled Banner before we started the Easter Egg Hunt and Grandma's in one video! The videos had everyone around the TV! John was sporting the Top Gun haircut with his Swatch Watch, Mary was modeling her wonderful silk shirts with colored jeans, while Dad wore a brown shirt in every video we saw! I had on a matching sweat suit in one!!! I can't believe Mom dressed me in a sweat suit! She said "It matched!" This picture is just funny...I'm not sure what we were doing...

Shawn & Garrett stayed busy watching cartoons!

While Victoria was taking a bath, I decided to give her a mohawk! Pictures don't do it justice!



Christmas Eve at last! Christmas Eve is so much better than Christmas! That is the day when all of the family gets together at Mom & Dad's! Everyone has Christmas spirit! I track Santa fifty times with my nephews on the internet! We checked to see if he had gotten to John yet, I don't think he had the last time we checked! After we get done cleaning up from the party I always enjoy sitting around the tree and talking and waiting to go to sleep knowing that Santa is out and about!

Grandma was helping Victoria open her first Christmas present ever! Of course, it was a set of Christmas PJ's. A new set every year is a must for the children in our family to go to sleep in on Christmas Eve! Victoria didn't seem to care!

John, Shawn & Mike all looked so handsome! They were dying to open presents!!

Of course, once we got some Sinatra playing, Dad danced with every girl there! Dad & Mom love dancing! Dad danced with Mary Elizabeth, Mom, Mary, me, Meredith & Victoria! I asked Marty if he wanted to go up and dance but he looked at me like I was crazy and said absolutely not!

Christmas morning was quiet at Mom & Dad's. It was just me and them. Santa did bring Hank & Butch a few surprises though! I had to get some pictures of Hank with his Santa pile. It was his first Christmas as well! They eagerly watched me open their gifts! They ate some and destroyed some others! Santa was good to me this year! Surprise! I got my own Kitchenaid mixer! Total suprise! It is so pretty sitting in my kitchen!

After Santa, Mom, Dad & I went to John & Meredith's for Christmas Breakfast! She made a fantastic breakfast! Mike & John had gotten so many things, I couldn't even tell what was what! It was a great time! Afterwards, we all headed to the farm for Christmas Dinner! That was great too! We had a big beef tenderloin! Victoria didn't open all her presents...she didn't seem to notice them at all actually! Her best present! A tu tu from Santa! It is the cutest thing ever! So fun to have a girl to play dress up with! After dinner, the boys were dying to open family presents! We got Scarlett on Skype so she could watch while we did the family stuff. I got John Sam a T-Rex skeleton to put together and he loves it. He said it was his second favorite present after his dinosaur robot that he got! Mike & John were such good cousins and made sure they helped Victoria play with her things!



The day after Christmas I headed to Ellerbe to spend time with Garrett & his family! It was a very relaxing weekend! We got up Sunday and headed back to Durham and spent the rest of the Christmas break relaxing and getting organized again! It was a great break! I am sad that it is over, but it will be here again before I know it. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas! I'm worn out!