Happenings

Married life has been a fun adventure, I must say. I totally dig this "getting to see Colt everyday" thing; it's so much better than seeing him on Skype every night. (Although, I am very grateful for Skype!) We are settled in to our home, for the most part. There are still some finishing touches that need to be added, but once they are I will take pictures and post them here! Aside from working on the house, we have been getting out and having adventures!

A couple weeks ago, we were invited by some friends to go to a free concert, held at the Clemson University Botanical Gardens. The band was....umm.....not our taste, exactly? They were okay, but we didn't feel like staying until the end. So we all went to eat frozen yogurt instead, and that was a delicious choice!

That same weekend we went to visit Colt's brother, Dan, and his children. It was a delightful visit, we even got to go fishing!

I also got a job!!! This truly was a blessing, it kind of just fell in our laps since we didn't necessarily go looking for it, but I'll take whatever I can get! Originally, I had planned on getting certified as a Paraprofessional, which would allow me to be a teacher's aide. I was all signed up for the class to get certified, but then one of Colt's band parents came to him with a job offer for me. He owns a daycare nearby and had an opening! So I am happy to announce that I will be working at Playhouse Pals of the Carolinas, Corp, working mainly with the 4-year-olds. I begin at the end of May, and could not be happier with this opportunity to work with sweet, little ones until Colt and I have some of our own.

After getting my job, Colt took me out for a celebratory dinner at Copper River Grill. Then we went to downtown Seneca to enjoy their weekly "Jazz on the Alley". Every Thursday night, April through October, they have a jazz musician/band play in the downtown area; a whole bunch of people come out for it, and this past week was no exception.

I seriously need to remember to put new batteries in my camera because downtown Seneca is adorable, with cute shops and restaurants, and interesting townspeople. We were delightfully surprised to see a whole bunch of men wearing women's shoes...high heels even. True, most of them looked to be in pain, and it was kind of hilarious to see them wobble, but these guys (local leaders/authorities and police of the Seneca area) were all wearing these shoes and walking around as part of the "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" campaign. It was awesome to know that this area supports such an important cause.

Saturday night, we went contra dancing. Now, I must say...I was less than eager to go do this. Colt loves to dance, and I enjoy it too...when I know what I'm doing. However, he really wanted to go do this, so I grudgingly went. Happily though, I loved it! We had a blast! Contra dancing is an Irish folk type of dance, with lots of movement and spinning...I swear I could not see straight most of the night. We had so much fun and met so many nice people. Here's a video to show you what it's like.

We have also started our own garden in our backyard! We planted tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, cucumber (I think?)...and maybe something else. I don't know, when I say "we", I really mean Colt. This has been his baby for the most part, but I support him in it :) 

Reception Time!!!

So I have this absolutely wonderful and beautiful friend, Marina. She's pretty amazing, and she was kind enough to take some videos of our reception.

Marina captured some memorable moments....like how my dad never ceases to amaze me, my husband and his mother have some serious dancing skills, and us cutting the cake!

For your viewing pleasure, I have added the videos below. Enjoy!!

My father and I dancing at our reception. "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz has always been our song, so I knew we would be dancing to this. However, we never had time to plan a fun dance with the song, so I figured we would just sway or something, but no. My dad totally surprised me and got SO into the dance! It really made the moment even more special :)

My husband and his mother swinging the night away! I'll be honest, I had never really seen him in action before. Sure we had danced together a few times, but I don't swing very well. The same cannot be said for his mother, they were fantastic!!

I knew my mother would be upset, as would I, if cake got on my wedding dress (which my awesome mother made), so I told my husband ahead of time to be nice. He was very sweet about it, and I tried to be as well. It was certainly tempting to just shove it in his face though! I'm sure he felt the same :)

*Random facts: A lot of people don't actually realize what the wedding cake symbolizes. They think it's just there to look pretty, serve as a means for the bride and groom to get cake all over themselves, and feed the guests. The wedding cake has an interesting history to be quite honest. The myth is that it will provide the new couple with good luck and fertility. The bride and groom feeding one another cake, symbolizes that they will provide for each other. You can find out more about the wedding cake here!!

Hiking in South Carolina

Yesterday, Colt and I had the opportunity to go hiking at the Oconee Station State Historic Site. Since it was Colt's last day of Spring break, we wanted to do something other than unpacking and organizing the house, which we have been doing nonstop since we got back from Florida! (I will do a post on the house once we're done with it) So hiking seemed like a fantastic idea!

It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining and it was fairly warm in the morning. I must admit, I really do love living here. The mountains and countryside are absolutely breathtaking and I love hearing all of the birds, singing so sweetly, when I walk out the door.

When we got to the site, we were the only ones there, aside from two dogs who greeted us with a "If you come any closer, I might just bite your face off, but I'm not sure" growl. Even though we're dog lovers, we didn't try and love on those doggies.

One of the things that I loved about this hike was that it was historical. The area was originally an outpost used by the South Carolina State Militia in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are two buildings, at the beginning of the hike, which are still in fairly stable condition. Much to Colt's dismay, however, both buildings are locked and boarded up, so you can only see them from the outside. They are still really neat to look at, though!

After we saw the buildings, it was time to set out on the hike! Thankfully it was not a very long hike. I don't know if Colt realizes just how out of shape I am, especially compared to him. Sure I can walk five miles in a little over an hour with ease, but that's on fairly level ground. Hiking is a bit different, even when it's barely two miles to and from. 

It was a beautiful hike though, with interesting plant life and an incredible waterfall! I definitely enjoyed this excursion. I am so grateful to live in a place where we can easily go hiking, and I'm very grateful for a husband who enthusiastically encourages me to go out and do things like this!

I wish I could have taken more pictures, but my camera decided to die right as we reached the waterfall.      Luckily we got pictures of the waterfall!!

There were a lot of beaver dams located near this spot.

I can't remember what this one was, but it was a pretty cool plant and could be seen everywhere!

He was like a kid in a candy store :)

Such a beautiful waterfall!

I seriously wish my camera had not died right after this picture was taken. Not the most flattering, but it is the only one of the both of us on this hike :/