Our Proposal!

Next week marks our 3 year wedding anniversary. I can not believe it! They always say time flies when you're having fun, but I sort of feel like that's an understatement. I feel like we just got married yesterday. Anyway, I will spend all next week reminiscing on all our fun times leading up to our fairy tale wedding, but today, I'm looking back on the night we got engaged, 4 1/2 years ago! 

It was May of 2009. We went on a cruise to Grand Cayman and Jamaica for my college graduation gift. We were supposed to go to Cozumel also, but that was during the big Swine Flu outbreak, so all Mexican ports were shut down. We had more fun at sea anyway! 

We spent some time at Justin's dad's in Houston, Texas, celebrating his 50th birthday with a baseball game and fun on the boat, before he took us to get on the cruise in Galveston. 

Our first port was Jamaica, where we did a zip line through the jungle, then went to a Jamaican Bob Sled exhibit and had lunch. We also climbed Dunn's River Falls, the famous waterfall in Jamaica, and that was probably the highlight for me. It was absolutely gorgeous and so fun. 

Our second stop was Grand Cayman, which we both LOVED. We spent the day exploring, and stops included 7-Mile Beach, Margaritaville, and Senor Frogs. We had a wonderful day, and little did I know the night would only get better. 

Justin proposed once we got back on the boat and were sitting on the balcony drinking some rum we had bought at port. I was completely shocked and overjoyed. How he waited almost a week before doing it is beyond me! I look back on the pictures and just get the biggest smile on my face. At that point in my life, that had been the best night ever! Little did I know, it would only continue to get better! 

That night, we went to the Sunflower Room, where one of our favorite musicians, Timmy, was playing. We had been to see him all every night after dinner, and had become friends with him. He was our age, and was from South Carolina. I loved his southern accent! He played our favorite song for us as we danced and everyone watched and clapped. It was truly like a movie! (Justin later told me that he had told Timmy in advance his plans! Stinker!)

The rest of the cruise seemed to fly by, probably because I was floating on cloud 9! I was so excited,  and showed off my bling to everyone! I could not wait to get home and tell all of our family (of course, our parents knew) and friends, and start wedding planning!

At port in Galveston before getting on the boat

Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica

Dinner one night

7-Mile Beach in Grand Cayman

Senor Frogs in Grand Cayman

Right after he proposed! You can tell I had been crying!

So happy!

Showing off my new bling!

At the Sunflower room with Timmy

Dinner the next night, celebrating!

Arriving back in Texas on the last night, excited for the future!

TTT: Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Want to join the link up? We'd love to have you! Follow Kelly, Megan, and  Lindsay, and link up your post! :o)

Back in March, I did a sports post for Trendy Tot Tuesday. It was March Maddness at the time, which is a BIG deal in our house, so it only seemed appropriate. If you missed that post, check it out here. 

Anyway, with it being mid-August, we've almost reached another important time in the Slater house: college football! Our families are die hard WVU & Alabama fans, and of course, I threw UNC into the mix too, just because, although everyone knows they're more of a basketball school. :o) Tinley already has quite an impressive College Game Day wardrobe going on...

How cute is that sweater dress? And that cheerleading uniform? I die. I'm hoping she can wear some stuff from last year too! Maybe this year, we'll make it to a game. I think she would have so much fun!

These 2 ruffle-butt chevron bubbles are part of Smocked Auctions' collegiate collection. Aren't they fab?

I can't wait for her to rock all her adorable sports gear in a few weeks!

And for the trendy mama's, check out Vestique's new game day collection! Perfect for tailgating!  

Get your game faces ready...

What a weekend!

Ughh, is it really Monday already? Why is it that the week days seem to drag, yet the weekend flies by? Is that the case for anyone else?

Although, today, is an exciting Monday, because it's the start of Lilly Pulitzer's Endless Summer Online Sale! T woke up early this morning; just in time for me to hop on their website and see what amazing deals they have to offer, only to find that the website is down! Too much traffic I suppose, but I'll keep checking throughout the day. If anyone has any luck, let me know! 

And now, on to our fun-filled family weekend....

Friday afternoon, I took Tinley to Soak City for the first time in a while. We've had such a funky summer here in Ohio. If it's not raining, it's cloudy and chilly. We've had very few sunny and 80 degree days. I think this week and next week are supposed to be the hottest to date, which is so weird for us. But, I'll take what I can get! 

Anyway, my friend, Brynn, and her little boy that's about 6 months older than Tinley joined us, and the kids had a ball playing. Tinley didn't even make it out of the parking lot before we fell asleep! 

   

That evening, we hung out at home, played outside a little, had dinner, then went to Tofts to get some ice cream. For those of you not familiar with Tofts, it's pretty much famous in our area. It's Ohio's oldest dairy farm, and is a landmark is our community. Not to mention, they have the BEST ice cream!

Saturday morning, Justin and I decided to make the short drive to Cleveland to take T to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The drive is about an hour, and T slept a total of 30 minutes, so she was kind of cranky. Add in lot's of people and a hot sun beaming down, and it makes for one unhappy toddler. (and hubby!) Nonetheless, it was a fun day, and she did enjoy some of the exhibits: she loved the giraffes and seals, and we even got to see an African Elephant up close, which was very cool. I'm thinking next summer when she's a little older, she will really enjoy the zoo, and I'm so happy to know we had a great one very close to us!

After we got home, we decided to visit Justin's cousin, Ashley, and her husband, Justin. They have 2 girls, Alexis, who is 5, and Laney, who is 9 days younger than Tinley. And, they just recently had a little baby boy. He was in the hospital for a week, due to being premature and having wet lungs, but they were sent home Saturday, after a good doctor review, so we went to go visit. And boy is he a cutie! His name is Mark James, MJ for short, and he has a head full of dark hair! He was so tiny, I was afraid to hold him at first, but my maternal instincts quickly came back once Ashley handed him to me. So sweet! 

We called it a night and Tinley went to bed shortly after we got home, and we weren't far behind! Saturday nights sure aren't what they used to be!

Sunday, we had another nice day, so Justin and I took T to her favorite place, Soak City. Twice in one weekend, what a lucky girl! We spent about 3 hours there, and she started to get tired, so we headed home. She napped for over 2 hours, and Justin and I enjoyed some quiet time outside with a few adult beverages. Once she woke up, we let her play outside for a bit. Then, we got ready and went to dinner with the Lowes for Jeremy's birthday. 

 

I'd say it was a fun-filled family weekend! 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!