Summer In July...Now it's August

July...Where do I start? Well, since my last post I have helped host a baby shower for our friends that are expecting their first child in September, said some temporary "good-byes" to some of our other friends, did a little wedding planning, and enjoyed the last bit of my LAST summer break ever!

A group of us girls hosted a couples baby shower for our friends, Adam and Elena. They are expecting sweet baby Reese to enter the world in just a few short weeks. I can't believe she is almost here! And YES, I said "couples" baby shower. We thought the men should get in on some of the baby action. We had a lot of fun catching up with everyone. Jared and Elizabeth Harris even made it from Rome, Georgia with their sweet little girl (Sarah) who you will see in the photos. She has one big personality and will be the star of any show wherever she goes! Also, notice the pictures of the boys (in particular, the one where they are lounged post shower...I think just the thought of a baby wore them out.) Below are some pictures from the shower. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Just a few days later, Adam and I went to eat at Niffers in Auburn as a "going away" dinner for Wesley and Kathryn. They just moved to Panama City, Florida for Wesley to attend CRNA school. They will only be there for about two 1/2 years, but we sure will miss them being here in Alabama! I think I know where the next 2 annual beach trips will be. :) To Wesley and Kathryn: We love you and wish you all the best!
WEDDING UPDATES: Limited. Jill (the wedding planner) and I had our "music" meeting in July. We accomplished a few things like booking the string quartet for the ceremony and working on the design plan for the reception. Adam and I finally went to register. I admit, prior to the registering experience, I cringed at the thought of it, but have since changed my mind and decided it's not THAT bad. We have registered at Dillards, Ware Jewelers, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond so far. The list with links to our registries is on our wedding website HERE. Check the website periodically for updates. I will be using it for all wedding-related information.

And now, it's August. I started back to school on Monday and made it through the first week. I'm actually glad to be back on The Plains. The pharmacy curriculum is very different this year. It will take some adjusting, but I think I will enjoy this year much more than the first 2 years of pharmacy school. In the coming weeks, the P3s will be finding out their regional placement for rotations next year. Region selection of rotations is assigned randomly in a lottery-type fashion. Because of this, I ask you to pray for Adam and me. Pray I am assigned to a region where we will not have to spend our first year of marriage separated, specifically Birmingham or Auburn-Montgomery. I know everything will work out, but worrying about it is causing me stress. Adam keeps telling me not to worry. So, I'm going to try to take his advice and not think about it. I'll update when I find out where I am assigned.

There is already a lot in store for August and September. I am looking forward to Zack and Samantha's wedding shower in 2 weeks, finding out the sex of Leigh and Matthew's little one, the fall weather, more wedding planning, and of course AUBURN FOOTBALL!!! War Eagle!

AND THE DATE IS.....

JUNE 25, 2011!!!! I apologize in advance for the lengthy post. I've been wanting to update since we made the wedding date official, but just haven't had time. But, here I am. Finally.

The two most important things about my wedding was 1) being able to get married at The Waters and 2) the photographer. So, that's where we started.

On June 9th, I met with Jill Sampson at The Waters. Jill is an amazing wedding planner and full-time florist in Montgomery, AL. She does amazing work and I am thrilled she will be planning my wedding. You can visit her website here. The Waters is also in Montgomery and is the place where I've wanted to get married since I saw it about 3 or 4 years ago. It's very simple, but so beautiful and I love it! Click here for a link to The Waters website. Below are some pictures from that day. Jill walked us around The Waters and showed us everything.

This is at The Marina where we are planning to have the rehearsal dinner. It is located at The Waters which is nice since we won't have to go far after the rehearsal on Friday night.
These pictures are of The Chapel Hill Meeting House at The Waters where the ceremony will take place. In some of the pictures, the chapel is not decorated and in some it is. This is because the pictures are from different days. The pictures of it decorated are from an actual wedding. Jill invited my mom and me to come one Saturday while she was setting up for a wedding that day. We got to see everything put together and it was gorgeous!
This is at the reception site. And again, there are pictures from different days. There are 2 pictures of the outdoor restroom...Anyone who knows me knows I was very concerned with the restroom situation, but they have an air conditioned trailer with running water! HAHA. Problem solved! Thank goodness.
After the grand tour, I was even more certain than before that I wanted to become Mrs. Adam Harris at The Waters. So, we headed to Jill's office where we made it official and set the date for 6.25.11! :0) I should add that the day Adam and I are tying the knot, my parents will be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary! Yep, that's right! We will be sharing the same anniversary as my parents and it was completely unintentional.

Now with a date in hand, my next obstacle was choosing a photographer. By far, pictures have been most important to me. Choosing a photographer has been the easiest, but hardest part. Knowing exactly WHO I wanted to use was the easy part. However, having heard he was pricey made the decision difficult. We contacted a few photographers and all were fabulous, but that one special photographer was stuck in the back of my mind. So, in the end that's who I chose. I met with him on June 22nd and booked him the next day. I know I will not be disappointed and he'll be worth every penny! Well, who is it? His name is Bryan Johnson (abryanphoto) and he is located in Birmingham, AL. I have wanted to use abryanphoto since the first time I saw his work which was also about 5-6 years ago when he did a girl's wedding from my home town. He is AMAZING! In fact, he's so amazing that Martha Stewart magazine "picked his brain" a few weeks ago! And again, here are some pictures from the day.

Well, so far, all I have is a place and photographer. Doesn't sound like much, but I have nailed down my priorities and that's what was important to me. Now, I can relax and take my time with picking and choosing everything else. I have almost a year, right? I know it will fly. I plan to take in everything over the next year. This is the most special time of a person's life and I can't wait to share it with the people I love most! So, SAVE THE DATE 6.25.11!

Visit our wedding website to keep up with all wedding-related events and registries. And don't forget to sign the guestbook!

BEACH TRIP WITH GREAT FRIENDS

There is nothing like a short vacation to the beach with good friends. Last weekend, the 5 of us couples packed up and headed to Orange Beach, AL for a little R&R. Our big group of friends usually try to plan a trip together each year. Somehow, we missed last year so this year's trip was extra special! In just 2 short years so much has changed. Ami & TJ and Kathryn & Wesley got married. Kyle & LaRae had their first child, a sweet baby girl named Anna Kate. She is almost one and made the first of many trips with us. Elena and Adam are expecting their first child, Reese, due in September. Adam & I got engaged. In addition, some of our other friends that usually go with us, but couldn't this year have also had some exciting news over the last 2 years. Zack & Samantha also got engaged and Leigh & Matthew found out they are also expecting their first child due in December! I can't help but feel like we are all so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends and for all the exciting things happening in our lives right now! What will the next few years have in store for us?!?

Here are some pictures from the beach trip. Thankfully, the oil spill didn't spoil our trip. It was just making it's way to the shore and tarballs were just beginning to wash up as we were leaving. Adam is holding a tarball in the picture below.
The boys with Anna Kate. This was too funny!
All the girls before dinner...
And of course, a few of Adam and me.




CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT TRIP!!!

"So Were There Ever Any Owls?" -How I Got Engaged!

It was about this time exactly one week ago today on May 15th that Adam and I were finishing up our first fishing trip of the summer and on the way back to his house. Little did I know that in less than an hour my whole world would be turned upside down and I would become the future Mrs. Adam Harris!

First of all, the most important thing to Adam was that I be completely surprised when the moment finally came for him to ask me to marry him. Therefore, he knew that if he schemed up an extravagant proposal, I would of course know what was going on.

Secondly, anyone who knows us knows that we spend a lot of time outdoors. Just by reading my blog, you know that we both like to hunt, fish, go to the river, and whatever else there is to do outside. But, one thing you may not know is that we often ride the 4-wheerler, mainly on Sunday afternoons after church. There's just something so peaceful about riding around in the country in the summertime just before the sun goes down.

Now for the story...
Earlier in the week, Adam managed to work into one of our conversations something about some white baby owls. He told me had been riding the 4-wheeler around his land and came to huge a cliff/rock/cave thing (as seen in picture). He said he got off the 4-wheeler to look around and heard something...He heard an owl hoot at him and when he looked up into the cliff/rock/cave thing, he saw some white baby owls. He told me that I must see them the next time I came to visit. Well, Saturday finally came. We did our usual Adam and Adrianne thing. We made an appearance at the Clay County Music and Arts Festival in downtown Ashland then went fishing. After the fishing trip, we headed back to Adam's house. When we got home, Adam said he wanted to show me the baby owls. So, we hopped on the 4-wheeler and went on a little ride to the spot where he would soon be on one knee asking me to be his wife! When we got the cliff/rock/cave thing, we soon discovered that the baby owls were gone. Adam said "Something must have gotten them." Of course, I believed him. No big deal. It was then that I made the statement to Adam "I have a vision for this place." (I was talking about a proposal of course. However, I would have never said that had I known about was about to get one.) He said "You do?" I just laughed and said "Yep! But I can't say what it is." I didn't have to, he knew exactly what I was talking about. He told me to sit on a rock (as seen in picture). I asked him why and he told me just to sit down. At this point, I still had no idea. Well, by the time I turned around to sit down, Adam had found himself on one knee. I THOUGHT HE WAS JOKING...only because I had just made the "I have a vision" statement. I thought he was joking...that is until I saw the most beautiful ring come out of his pocket. My heart sank! My arms went numb! My hands were shaking! I couldn't believe it! He asked me to marry him and I just stood there staring, not saying a word. And again, he asked if he could put the ring on and would I marry him. I said YES! YES!

After about 20 minutes or so of just talking and realizing what just happened, I asked him "So, were there ever any owls?" He told me there wasn't. He had completely made it up just to get me to that particular spot. He says that from the very first time he saw the big cliff/rock/cave thing, he knew that's where he was going to propose. And he did!

Adam did so good surprising me! Especially, since he worked the proposal into something that we do so often, ride the 4-wheeler. I had spent all day with him and not one time did he act nervous or weird. How did I not know? I have always thought I would be onto him when the time finally came, but I wasn't and I'm so glad! It was the best surprise I have ever received! Adam even had a secret photographer hiding out capturing it all and I will cherish those pictures forever! After almost 5 years together and OFTEN trying to imagine how Adam would propose, it was everything I thought it would be and much much more!!! Everything was PERFECT! In the woods...couldn't have pictured it any other way! :) We are in the process of setting a date. I will update as soon as I know when we're going to TIE THE KNOT!

I CANNOT WAIT TO BECOME MRS. ADAM HARRIS!

Hello Summer

Good-bye school, HELLO SUMMER!
I cannot even begin to put into words how happy I am that school is out for the summer. Although this was a tough year, looking back it flew by just like I knew it would. After just 1 day off, I have already started back work for the summer. So, if you ever find yourself in Troy, Alabama stop by the Wal-Mart pharmacy and see me!

As promised...pics of the nephew. Jeff- Born May 4th, 2010.