Are you sure you're sure?

Couldn't help but ask when you get this face in response to mailing out invitations.

I guess he doesn't really have a choice considering he is doing all that with a ring on his finger. The invitations are in the mail, the bridal shower is complete, the final meeting with the venue, the caterer and the photographer is in the books...now all we can do is cross our fingers. I originally hoped that we wouldn't be freezing at our outdoor wedding in November, now I'm hoping we aren't still looking at 100 degree temps.

Thankfully, we aren't stressing too much about the final details. Trace left on Sunday for a month's worth of trauma training, but we spent the week before playing!

We spent a weekend in Dallas for Amanda's Wedding/ Roomie Reunion.




Nothing like a Middle/High School Reunion in Waco at a bridal shower to make your heart happy! Yay for awkward wedding showers not being too awkward. Trace was such a trooper and even answered all the shower game questions correctly!

Trace left for Baltimore 3 days ago, so Sully and I are surviving on our own. It is not like Sully is suffering... every night that I'm at work, my mom brings the poor dog a chicken sandwich! I think we will survive!

While Trace is gone my big obstacle is going to be explaining to all the grumpy old nurses at my job that I (with barely 2 years of nursing experience) am going to be quitting my job to start grad school in January.

At some time on I-35 this week, Trace and I reminisced about the events of the year...

January - Jess turns 26 (old)
February- Trace proposes! SURPRISE
March - Everyone quits their jobs/ Trace starts Air Force Career
April- We all move to San Antonio
May- Jess starts new job
June- Trace turns 27 (oldER)
August - Trace gets deployment orders
September - We get married!!!
October- Jess gets accepted to grad school/ Trace starts pre-deployment training
November- WEDDING!!
December - Trace goes to Afghanistan by 12/31/2011

It makes my head spin just to think about! There is no way that 2012 can top this!!!

13 days out...

Almost 2 weeks have passed since our big "I Dos." Two weeks ago, we were heading to the River Walk with Trace's family and now here we are just a couple of old married folks. Wedding number one was absolutely perfect. Even though I lost the marriage license and Trace forgot the bread for communion, things were perfect. I have never felt more blessed in my life - to be surrounded by our families, making that huge of a commitment - the feeling is indescribable. We are so thankful that everyone was able to be so flexible and helpful. We needed all the help we could get! I surprisingly held myself together, my mouth was doing a weird twitching thing, but overall the tears were at a minimum. Good thing.. because the new waterproof mascara that I bought was very disappointing!!

Skip to the honeymoon and the perfectness continued! The bed and breakfast was impeccable. I guess Labor Day weekend is a convenient time to get married because the other couples at the B&B were all celebrating their anniversaries. I'll be honest, we went all out to celebrate. First meal as a married couple... Digiorno and Doritos. It was perfect! The next day, we made it out to the beach. Trace was not exaggerating when he said it was windy. I think we both ate a ton of sand. Trace was a tad nervous about losing his ring. He kept his left hand in a perfect fist whenever we were in the water. Humorous and endearing - like always!

Eventually we made it to the Randy Rogers Concert. We both got frisked for the first time at the entry to the concert - I guess Corpus Christi is a haven for guns/pepper spray/ drugs in concerts. The place was packed, but T and I found a perfect place on the grass and I loudly sang along to EVERY song. Like T said, a Randy Rogers concert was our first "date." Here on our honeymoon, he confessed that "I had no intention of dancing with you" that night. And wouldn't you know, that is exactly what we did! We spent that night and this night dancing the night away. Perfect!

Honeymoon - September 2011

1st "Date" - April 2009

It's Legal!

What's brown and sticky?...a stick. Who's now married?...we are!!! Due to my upcoming deployment (I leave Nov 20), we had to bump up the date of our nuptials to Sept 3 so we could get Jess processed into the system before I leave. There's stuff like insurance, legal matters, and things like that which take time to do; more time than we would have had if we wouldn't had hurried up and done the deed. Both families were there and my dad refereed the ceremony. It took place at an old mansion that has been converted into a restaurant called The Lodge at Castle Hills. We had a private room and the two of us stood in front of the old fireplace with my dad behind us. Jess looked absolutely gorgeous (like always) in a beautiful white dress with a skinny silver belt. After we exchanged rings and vows and a big 'ol smooch, we had communion which was presided over by Jess' dad.
Jess' ring is an exquisite white gold ring with channel set diamonds. After the ceremony, we dined in a private room and were able to avoid any awkward silences. That's good considering our families hadn't really met before the day. Kayman made Jess' boquet, the center pieces at the dining table, and red velvet cupcakes for us to feed each other. During the dessert exchange, Jess decided she wanted more than just a bite of my cupcake and tried to remove my middle finger with her incisors. Kayman also played photographer for us after the dinner. Here are some of the pics she took. If you want to see more, here's the link to shutterfly: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZuGTVk3aM2L_Q


After the shindig, we scampered off to Corpus Christi. We stayed in a b-e-a-utiful b&b called Ocean House. Our room had a king sized bed complete with a plethora of pillows, all delivered from Heaven. Saying it was comfortable is like saying Sully is only stinky (he really smells like a butt). There was a nice surprise when we walked in the suite. The Smiths (my aunt, uncle and cousins) had a gift basket of chocolate covered strawberries and champagne (Jess called it cham-pimple) waiting for usIt was sooooo nice. We hit up Padre Island (the north one) one day and the beach was actually pretty nice. The wind was another story. It was blowing so hard that we watched some poor soul try to set up a tent for 45 minutes, only to give up in the end. It also blew the fine top layer of sand so deep in our ears that it took a good 3 days to get it all out. Randy Rogers Band and Pat Green put on a show that first night too so we decided to hit up Brewster Street Icehouse, a famous Texas watering hole, beforehand then went to the show. Ironically, a Randy Rogers concert was where we went on our first date back in our old El Paso days so this brought us full circle. We hit up the public beach in Corpus on our second day before having to head back to SA.

Now even though we swapped vows, rings, and spit, we're still having a big to-do on Nov 12. We're still having a bit of a ceremony, photographer, music, food/beer, and a great time so we hope everybody still comes and celebrates with us. We hope everybody understands the reason for this, but if you don't that's just too bad!

Tic Toc, Clarice!

If you can name the movie that quote (the title of this entry) came from, you get a high five and my respect. On a much less/more important note, life in San Antonio continues in such a way that most would be envious of. Jess is still HOT...VERY HOT!!! Oh and so is the weather. We were one degree, just one stinkin' degree off of setting a new record high the other day. This is the first time I've ever not wanted to go outside to do something b/c it's so toasty. Sully, of course, starts panting after about 30 seconds of walking. It's so hot that Sully's rudder was even hanging low today (if you don't know what a dog's rudder is, then start at neutering and you'll figure it out pretty quick). As you marinate on that thought, I'll continue with more pressing matters.

I received my tasking letter for deployment. In the AF, a tasking letter is the paperwork that says you're going to be deployed and where you're going and when to be there. My type of tasking is known as a JET tasking. It basically means I'll be attached to an Army unit and sent to a FOB (forward operating base) somewhere. Lucky for me, there's extra trainings that go along with a JET tasking, like M16 (instead of just M9) training, and some others. I have to report to AFG on 31 Dec, so happy birthday Dad! I'm slated to be there for 6 months too so I'll miss Jess' birthday too :(

On an freakin' sweet note, Jess was moved into the second round of applications for grad school!!! Not that it's a surprise at all, but she's trying to play that whole "I didn't think I'd get to move on/I'm totally surprised" card and she sucks at it. Nobody puts magna cum laude in the corner, nobody! And we might have found a house to move into. It's stinking big and has a fenced yard for the Sully Bear. There are still a few details to work out but it's promising. Wanna hear a joke, what's brown and sticky?...a stick!

In terms of the upcoming nuptuals, we have the invitations, groomsmen shirt's are purchased, even some wedding gifts have started arriving. If anyone knows who Sheri Wood is, please let us know b/c we got a flatware set from her and her family and neither one of us can figure out who she is. Weird! The date is quickly arriving so start pulling out your boots for scootin' b/c it's gonna be a great time. Alright, back the L&O: SVU marathon on USA (they should do these more often).

I Love (white) Gold (as said in a freaky deeky Dutch accent)

The details are droppin like flies. Today encompassed quite an adventure that started out as completely useless, but turned out to be highly productive. We embarked on a quest to experience the famous icehouse "Hills and Dale's" here in SA. Little did we, in particular me, know that H&D's is a true icehouse in the sense they don't serve food. We walked into the establishment and immediately noticed the 145 beers to choose from. Normally this would make me giddy as a school girl, but a man's gotta eat too and my primative instincts for digestion were too great to ignore. Unfortunately this visit was not meant to be so we were back on the hunt for something delicious. Who better to quell this craving than McAllisters?!?!? A cranberry turkey club with sweet tea is all I needed while the misses indulged in some sort of chicken panini. The wonderful combo of liquid gold and edible delectibles were all we needed to look at our remaining to-do list and say, "Bring it on!"

The next battle to be fought came in the form of pants. Anyone who has known me extensively knows the relationship between pants and me can be described as tumultuous at best. I have a ghetto booty and thunder thighs, while they served me wonderfully throughout my football career, their extreme size is not quite demanded as they once were. This makes buying pants that fit correctly a pain in the ass (pun intended). However, with McAllister's pumping through our veins, we made pants-buying scream for mercy in only two stores! Bow down chinos!!! Add to that we found a belt and several great prospects of shirts, the score became T/J-1, wedding to-do's 0. But wait...there's more!!!!

We trekked to the first jewelry store we could find via google maps on my phone and "Viola" we found a winner. Allow me to backtrack before I proceed. When it came to finding my beautiful bride to be a wedding band, I envisioned visiting no less than two stores before resorting to internet research, and then returning to three more stores before finding "the one". Back in reality, we walked into the first jewelry store my phone found for us and only tried on three styles before she tried on a beautiful ring and her face immediately lit up like a lightning bug's ass. All that was left to do was size it correctly and we've got ourselves a winner. It will be ready soon!

Should we stop there while we're on top?...I don't think so scooter!!! We ambushed the mall like wild banshees on the warpath hellbent on taking no prisoners. If you were on the to-do list, you were screwed. The only advice we could offer came from Ludacris when he said to "Move...get out the way!" This mission was two-fold: groomsmen's shirts and her shoes. Reconnaisance or assassination of either would be acceptable. Skip some details and two shirts laid victim to our actions as well as valuable information on shoes gained! Muahaha we are that good.

All of this done in one day?...tis true. And it's only Friday (it's Friday, gotta get down...stop singing that stupid song) so at this pace we will accomplish world domination by the 'morrow! Oh yes, the time has come, join us or be added to the list of victims muahahahaha!!!

sunburnt

I had to google "sunburnt" and it is, in fact, a real word..and I am, in fact, real sunburnt. Last weekend we met up with my cousin, his gf and my oldest younger brother on the Guadalupe river for a tubing adventure. Some spots in the river were shallow enough that we had to pick up our tubes and walk, but that didn't stop us from having a blast and a half. It was the perfect day and just as we could see our exit on the river, it started to downpour. I haven't seen rain since we moved to San Antonio - it was beautiful! Despite the 5 minutes of rain, T and I both got super pink, and only on our fronts. To add to the burntness, we spent yesterday at Six Flags Fiesta Texas to finish off T's birthday celebration.

Tube tops are my new bff - I don't want to look like a zebra for all eternity in our wedding pics.

This next week is full of lots of work...and class. Both T and I are now on the night shift. As if it weren't hard enough to sleep at day time, this week we will both be switching back and forth between night shift and day shift. Sully will be confused and I will be a zombie.

We are sending out our save-the-dates this week, which really means things are getting official. Where did time go? We are down to 3 months and some days...I guess we better get to work on more of the details of things. I'm so bad at this planning!!

Below are some pics of some random stuff since my last update -- the summer is going by too quickly!

Sully helping to celebrate T's birthday!

Date night - T stumbled across a Bush's Chicken in SA. He knows Waco-grown fast food is the way to my heart.

Eli Young Concert - I accidentally smacked that other guy in the face shortly after this picture. My singing got a little out of control -- shocking!?!

The Wonk

Well it's been a while since this thing has been updated, but we've been so worried about raising the debt ceiling that we just haven't had time. We're so hopeful that a deal can be done soon! Back in reality, we've been doing what we do best...........annoying Sully. He's amused by it so it's all gravy. We've got ourselves a music man for the reception and a wonderful artist to work her cake magic for everyone's delight. The most important part of the whole thing has also been booked...the honeymoon! We're going to cruise from Galveston (a favorite place of ours from our Houston days) to Cozumel and Costa Maya and back. It's gonna be soooooo much fun and she's gonna be sooooooo hot!!! I've even started jumping through the hoops at work to be allowed to embark on such an adventure (don't you dare think something like asking time off to go "overseas" for a honeymoon is as simple as submitting a request with the military, that would just be silly). Just as important is booking where we're staying the night of the wedding, but ya'll don't need to know where that is exactly. Need I say more? ;)

Jess is addressing the "save-the-dates" as we speak/I type. I still pride myself in writing like a six year old that only I can read so I addressed my parent's and Nana's STD's (hahaha) but that's it. We're going to Six Flags Fiesta Texas tomorrow to release our inner child. It's gonna be some awesome!!! We plan on arriving shortly after they open so we don't have to wait in line that long and by the time it gets real hot we will have rode all of the dry rides and can start on the water rides. Be jealous!

Want useless knowledge? Well I'm full of it as most of ya'll know. But did you know that the Cookie Monster was originally named "Sid" before he tried his first cookie and became instantly addicted? Until next time, chew on that!