Happy Birthday, Mrs. Ward!

So.... Rachel recently had a birthday, and (for close to a week) we celebrated her first birthday as Mrs. Ward. First up: a quick trip to Memphis. We met there last year for her birthday, and I wanted to surprise her with a return visit. I didn't tell her until the night before we left. This is the picture I made and used as the wall paper on the laptop to let her know what we were doing.

We stayed at the Madison again. It is a boutique hotel a couple of blocks up from the Peabody.

I left work a little early on Wednesday for the overnight trip. On Thursday, we only had until early afternoon in Memphis because we had to get back to Arkadelphia for Rachel's softball game that night. We walked around Beale Street, and we enjoyed ourselves. We skipped breakfast and decided to eat an early lunch. Rachel had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe, so we ate there. Now, we never have to eat there again (such a poor excuse for over-priced mediocrity).

After lunch we headed into A. Schwab's for our annual millinery tour.

We stopped by Peabody Place to grab a snack before we left Memphis (fortunately, no Memphis March this year). No, those red blotches aren't Rachel's lipstick on that napkin. They are the remnants of Maggie Moo's most wonderful flavor of ice cream - RED VELVET! Delicious!

That Friday night we had some friends and family over for an informal birthday party. Rachel wanted Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting. Thank you Mark and Lisa for our wonderful monogrammed cake-keeper.

We made a purchase at A. Schwab's, a "birthday hat." We've decided that from now on, during the lighting of the candles and the singing of the happy birthday song, the birthday boy or girl must wear the hat. A tradition is born.

Saturday (July 25th) was actually Rachel's birthday, and we celebrated once more by joining my family in Hot Springs for some time on the lake. We ate at Bella Arti that night (and had another cake). That Sunday, Rachel was able to be a part of a Ward vacation tradition of Steak, Eggs, and Tomatoes for breakfast.

This Summer has been so busy, and we're looking forward to everything slowing down just a little more as we move into Autumn.

Joe Cool Turns Five

So.... number one canine friend, Travis, just turned five on July 11. He didn't have a party this year - he was at the spa (that's what we call the vet's boarding kennels, so we can feel okay going away for the weekend).

Happy Birthday, Travis!

oh, yeah, happy birthday to my mom (whose birthday is today)

Happily Ever After...

So.... I finally got married. Yup; tricked some pretty gal into gettin' hitched. Not sure why I just wrote that sentence as if I were at the O.K. Corral, but you get the idea. Yeah, it's been a while since I've updated, and Rachel and I have already celebrated our Two Weekiversary (we went to Wal-Mart). I'll try to recap some events of the last few weeks.

We went to the Rutherford County Clerk's office on June 10, and we applied for our marriage license (way easier than getting a driver's license). Fortunately, by doing some premarital counseling, we saved a little bit of money.

We spent the next few days tidying up the last few arrangements for the wedding, and we had our wedding rehearsal (followed by rehearsal dinner) on June 12. Rachel made her bouquet (which turned out really well) from a bunch of the bridal shower bows; she and Joy saved an extra special (extra large) bow for me to wear as a boutonniere. Our wedding nazis, I mean, wedding coordinators, did a wonderful job (even some of the groomsmen commented on how detailed a job they did).

Rachel and I wed on June 13, 2009. The ceremony started at 5 pm. Rachel and I felt like everything went perfectly; we weren't stressed or upset or distracted. We were able to enjoy the moment and enjoy each other. We laughed through the entire ceremony (no tears); actually my family had taken bets on when during the ceremony I would first giggle (my mom won - when I put the ring on Rachel's hand). We had the petal toss immediately after the ceremony, and we're hoping the "official" pictures turn out as good as this one taken by our friend Amber. I love, love, love Rachel's expression.

Hustler

So.... do three posts on a single day and the following picture make up for my recent lack of blogging?

This is me wearing red crocs (I think they're my mom's) taking my dad's new zero turning-radius lawn mower out for a spin (literally - I was doing do-nuts all up in their yard). I love the name of the manufacturer! To my dad's chagrin (and my mom's delight), the purchase of the mower didn't include a complimentary magazine subscription.

"Eric, see if you can get some ridge detail from that." Please excuse the CSI reference and my sister's finger in the photo.

Sneak Peek

So.... I'm offering you a sneak peek of just a lil' sum'en, sum'en that Rachel and I will have for folks at our wedding reception. A little before and after action, just for you, faithful reader.

Our talented friend Lori helped us out with it; she is the freelance graphic designer (and church secretary) who created our Save the Date Cards.

Lazy Man's Post

So.... Rachel and I were recently featured on our wedding photographer's blog. That's really all I've have to say. Does that count as a post?

Oh, I stole this picture from the photographer's blog and altered it. Now does it count as a post?

I'll get back in the saddle soon.

Excuses?

So.... I just spent 13 minutes composing, reviewing, checking, rewriting, double-checking, and triple-checking a comment I made on a friend's blog post. No wonder I've gotten so slow at posting to this Blog.

We strive for quality work here at Pursuing Pineapple!

(Is anyone buying this plausible excuse?)