{2011} Year in Review

2011 has been quite a whirlwind of a year!  It's brought many, many changes, lots of happiness, its own set of challenges and great joy.

Here's a look at our year...

 

In January, I traveled with Mom, Dad and SMoo to Disney World to watch Dad run his first marathon.  My Christmas gift to him was to run the last 6 miles, but because of the way the course was set up, we could only get to him for the last three.  Still, it was a great time, and I am very proud of Dad for finishing!  And we celebrated Adam's 26th birthday at the end of the month, with little gifts from A to Z.

 

In February, we spent several days snowed in with the rest of Dallas.  Iowan Adam drove up most days to  hang out, occasionally running Claire and I to the grocery store for necessities like cinnamon rolls and wine.  Ha.  Even though we said we wouldn't really celebrate Valentine's Day, Adam outdid himself and surprised me with roses and a lasagna dinner and a little engraved bracelet.

   

March brought my first camping trip, which Adam tends to refer to as "Camping," since we stayed in a cabin.  But we made our own food and had to walk 20 minutes to the nearest bathroom, so that's camping to me!  The next day we celebrated our one year anniversary.  Then, the biggest surprise of all...Adam asked me to marry him.  And of course, I said yes!  Telling our family and friends was very exciting, and the wedding plans & preparation began

    

April brought friends to the lake for a girls' weekend.  Registering for Wedding gifts, Having our families meet at Easter, and Engagement photos were also highlights this month.

 

May was our last Dixon family vacation for four, which was intermixed with visits with Papa and the Flaggs in Florida.  Adam and I enjoyed the beautiful weather and spent several afternoons near the lake together riding bikes and running, and also at the Lake house, too.

 

June brought low-key weekends, with a trip to the zoo and hanging out with friends.  We also hit the 100 day mark and shared 10 reasons we were excited to be inching closer to our wedding day.     July was noted by my first bridal shower, surprise trips to the drive-in and the Nature & Science Museum and the start of Cooking Club, where Claire and I hosted the first Italian-themed dinner at our apartment. 

 

  August grew busy: Adam ventured into the BSB Group for the first time and survived!  We made a trip home to Iowa, driving 12 hours over night, and I learned the importance of always wearing layers, no matter the time of year!  We also had a Couples' Shower, where Adam got to open tools and such for his workshop.  

 

September, our wedding month (!!) arrived, and we prepared by getting our Marriage license,  and then, OUR BIG DAY WAS FINALLY HERE!  We got ready and had our first look at each other before the ceremony.  We officially became Mr. and Mrs. at Valley Ranch Baptist Church.  And we celebrated like nobody's business at the reception.  We had a blast.  And I haven't blogged about our Hawaiian Honeymoon much yet, but we had a great week and can't wait to go back.

October was fairly quiet as we adjusted to married life in a little one-bedroom apartment, and at the end of the month, we moved, moved, moved to our new rental house.

 
In November, the event at work I'd been planning all fall (in addition to our wedding!) finally took place.  I enjoyed getting to share my work world with Adam.  We celebrated our first holidays as a married couple, spending Thanksgiving at the Flaggs, celebrating my 25th birthday, and also and Adam's first Baylor game.

 

In December initiated Spartan Man in our house, welcomed a pet Lizard, hosted Christmas Eve at our home and celebrated Christmas again in Iowa over New Years. 

I don't know about you, but if you made it to the end of this post, you're probably exhausted.  I'm exhausted just looking through it all.  It truly has been a wonderful year, though quite full.  Here's to hoping that 2012 will be a little quieter and we can put down roots in our church, neighborhood and in our marriage.

Happy New Year to you!

{Wedding Weekend} Reception

We headed to the reception and Adam and I went to eat in a small room so that we could actually eat!  It's a good thing we did, because I'm pretty sure we sat down once the rest of the evening.

While we ate, our guests enjoyed grilled cheese appetizers made with various kinds of breads and cheeses, along with three flavors of soup shooters.  Then they headed inside for a buffet dinner.  We got to eat all of this, too, and it was delicious.

Steins Bakery made our cake--alternating layers of Marble cake for Adam and Italian cream cake for me.    Amanda let me borrow her cake topper and her earrings that night--two "something borrowed" items!

Entering as Mr. and Mrs.

Our first dance to You are the Best Thing, by Ray Lamontagne.  We had several dance practices, and none had gone as well as this night.  We had so.much.fun.

We danced our little hearts out.  My bustle broke, so I just whipped my dress right around behind me.  It made for a heavy dress, but you can see it swishing!

Dad giving the welcome and blessing

Troy sang Daughters by John Mayer for me and Dad.  He had a sound check with the band a little earlier, and they just picked up and started playing with him.  

Dad and I pretty much swayed and talked and listened to Troy the whole time.  It was great.

Mother and Son dance to My Wish for You by Rascal Flatts

 

Soon after the dances, I had been in my dress for over six hours, and it was getting more than a little uncomfortable.  I had searched and searched for a "get away dress," and finally found one to cut short.  I ended up changing into it much sooner than I originally planned, but it was much easier to dance in, and much less work to walk around in than my wedding gown.

Dr Pepper floats were served later in the evening

We danced

And smiled

And took a brief water break

Bouquet toss

Lifelong friend, Kelley, caught my bouquet.  She has ended up with it in her hands accidentally at many weddings.  It's pretty funny.  :-)

Garter Toss

A fifth grader from church caught it.  Pretty funny.

Claire and Colin, our dance coaches.  We were amazed at our dancing skills that night--it was all because of them!

Hugs for my Dad, telling him how much fun we're having

Fun with my bridesmaids

The Motion Band had everyone out on the dance floor...

All.  Night.  Long.

It was awesome.

Eventually, it was time to leave, so we headed downstairs by way of the escalator and into rose petals thrown by family and friends.

Happy to be married and off to Maui the next morning!

All photos taken by Jess Barfield Photography