It's rough being married...

Considering we were still in school when we got married we had to take a delayed honeymoon. We had no idea what to do or where to go until we were shocked by the generosity of my Aunt & Uncle who gave us a Caribbean cruise as a wedding gift. Needless to say we quickly accepted & anxiously awaited the end of school so that we could finally go on our first real vacation as a married couple!! After school was over we quickly packed our things and hit the road!

Considering we were not seasoned cruisers we were not exactly sure what to expect. About 5 years ago I went on a cruise with my family but Nathan had never been before. Nothing could have prepared us or anyone else for this cruise though. As you can see in picture above there is quite a bit of fog behind Nathan. I use the phrase"quite a bit" lightly considering it delayed us from leaving port for over 24 hours. We finally got out in a small window of time but were still surrounded by tons of fog! We were fortunate to get out because the Royal Caribbean ship did not get out until the next day!! After lots of fog we finally saw the sun! The most ironic part was laying next to a pool with Christmas music playing in the background!

This was our first formal night on the ship.

This was our second formal night. Right after this picture was taken Nathan was chosen to be in a dance-off...let's just say he was a good sport about it but was NOT happy! He pretty much hates me for videoing it so just ask if you would like a good laugh!! haha

Our schedule got all screwed up because of the weather so we ended up missing our stop in Freeport, Bahamas. After being on the ship for almost 4 days we finally got to get off one evening in Nassau! We quickly got taxis and headed over to see the infamous Atlantis Resort. Luckily we got to tour it for free because it was so late --- typically they charge $40 per person!!

This is the Atlantis resort in Nassau, Bahamas. I can't even describe how huge it was. It is a place I would highly recommend seeing! Nathan gets bored easily and he even said he could stay there for a week because there is so much to see and do! I can't guarantee we could afford to stay there but it is a nice thought...

The beach was gorgeous! Nathan played like a 5 year old in the water---it was great to watch!

This is the dolphin cay at Atlantis. Shortly before this photo was taken we were able to swim with the dolphins. It was so much fun & I wish I would show you pictures but well---we don't have any because the minimum package to purchase was $60...for 2 pictures!!!!

Also, speaking of outrageous...notice the bridge between these 2 towers. That is the Michael Jackson suite that goes for the small price of $25,000 PER NIGHT!!!!! You have to reserve it 2 years in advance for a MINIMUM of 4 NIGHTS!!! But no worries it is all inclusive...that makes it all worth it, huh!?

We really enjoyed all the shows on the ship! The only problem I had with them was the costumes---I didn't really want my new husband looking at all those skanky girls running around in thongs!! I told him now I knew why all the men didn't mind there wives dragging them to the shows---go figure!

This picture doesn't even begin to show you the record breaking amount of rain the Key West, Florida got while we were "touring". We were dripping wet from head to toe after the torrential rain that no one had "ever seen before in Key West at this time of year"!!! Typical! Oh well, we will always remember our trip to Key West!

Nathan thoroughly enjoyed all the food on the cruise! The whole concept of 3 meals a day completely went out the door for him...he ate all the time! The pizzeria & the soft serve ice cream were his most frequent stops! He became quite the dessert conesuier with EVERY meal as well (this being the man who told me when I first met him that he doesn't eat sweets)!

After 2 1/2 hours of madness during debarkation we finally got off the ship & were headed home! Despite all the obstacles, bad weather & EXTREMELY grumpy people we had a wonderful honeymoon & thoroughly enjoyed our vacation! We are extremely blessed to have such wonderful family that made it possible for us to go & have as much fun as we did!

Oh how I hate packing!

Finals are over & now it is time to hit the road...or should I say beach! Tomorrow we will be saying "Bon Voyage" as we head off to the Florida Keys & the Bahamas for our 7-Day Honeymoon cruise! After we return from that we are heading to Colorado to spend Christmas with my family! What can I say, it's a rough life...you feel sorry for us, I know! Anyways, needless to say I am extremely excited but there is so much to do before then considering we have to pack for the next month...

So, while I attempt to get everything done enjoy a few of our wedding pictures that I just got!

Thanks Lyns! You are AMAZING!!

Love Birds!

All the Christmas decor is out & the house is finally clean! It is Nathan & I's first Christmas as a married couple so it has been a lot more enjoyable decorating because it is "Our House"! Of course he has had his smart aleck remarks about me spending money at Hobby Lobby on decorations. I of course respond by saying, "Fine, we will just be BORING newlyweds that don't celebrate at all!" He just laughs and I know by this response that he secretly loves it! He says so any time one of his guy friends comes over and says how "cute" our house is! haha

Unfortunately we have no lights on the outside of our house. I love coming home to Christmas lights but my husband refused to put them up since we weren't going to be able to enjoy them for long enough considering we leave in a week for our cruise!! I better have some next year considering we will be out of school and home for the holidays. No excuses here!

We are supposed to do stockings for each other! We will see if i get anything ;)

Wish I could have had a reason to get my Christmas dishes out!! There is always next year...

A Meyer Thanksgiving

Like I expected, my first Thanksgiving as a married woman was drastically different... I cannot complain because Nathan’s family was very welcoming and really treated me like I was a part of the family. It was a lot quieter holiday than I am used to and the conversation was quite different. Obviously in a family that is predominantly composed of die hard hunter’s the conversation is ALWAYS about who has seen the “Biggest Buck” or it is long periods of complete silence…which they are completely okay with. Personally it makes me feel totally uncomfortable because my family NEVER shuts up & I LOVE IT!!! We always have a great time with everyone laughing until it hurts at the randomness that usually comes from Haley’s mouth!

There were definitely quite a few laughs in Sabinal as well at the ways that they entertain themselves. At Nathan’s Grandma’s house we got plenty of laughs out of watching Nathan’s brother Neal attempt to shoot at a woodpecker---unsuccessfully of course. Later on at his Aunt & Uncle’s house they each got on the 4-wheeler and would throw the football to the person driving. Really safe, I know---Neal almost ran into a telephone pole. Like I said, very different from the hayrides and s’mores that my family usually does for the kids!

This "family portrait" was one of our good laughs --- they thought they needed a nice family portrait that they could hang in the dining room!

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The remodel went great! Everything turned out really well and everyone seemed to love it. I had a few helpers in the beginning but as the hunting increased they decreased---drastically. I spent quite a bit of quality alone time on Wednesday with trim, doors, & crown molding while the men went looking for those “Big Bucks”. The reaction from Nathan’s Dad was great so that made all the hard work worthwhile. He just gets more and more excited with each room we do. I told him the kitchen is in the near future considering we all waited at the Dairy Queen for 40 minutes to get our greasy dinner…only in Sabinal! Eventually I want to put in a new oven & fridge but obviously that is not in the budget for now! I told Kenneth I was eventually going to put a table & chairs in the dining room---a profound thought, I know! (He said it just gets in the way...)

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Ok, I know I have been longwinded so here are some pictures!

Obviously it still needs some decor but it's a start!

The kitchen in the background is next on the list.

If you haven’t checked it out recently, go look at my sister’s blog. She did a really cute Thanksgiving post! Such a clever pastry chef!

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Oh & by the way, I did end up getting to go see my family! I woke up early Saturday morning and drove back to hang out for the day. It was wonderful to be around women & to talk about LOTS of girly stuff ;) No hunting there!