We've been busy...

Blake and I have busy. I've mostly blogged about our love story and neglected the fun we've been having. So here's a recap of our last couple of weeks... in no particular order.

Beaufort, SC... Here we come!

Blake and I loaded up the car with our suitcases, beach towels, Maverick, and about 50 pounds of his food and headed to Beaufort, SC for the Memorial Day Weekend. My parents and little sister were already in Beaufort visiting Bevin and John so we got to spend the weekend with my whole family (minus Channing's fiance, Austin). We divided the trip into two parts, and I'm glad we did because Blake drove 65 mph the ENTIRE trip. Needless to say, I slept a lot. Blake and I stopped in Savannah, GA to try and get reservations at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). We got there at 9:20am to get our names on the list and there were already 200 people in line in front of us. I was pretty much the reason we were trying to eat there so I decided I didn't care if we ate there or not. So instead of eating at Paula Deen's we ate at Barbara Jean's... no lie. My mom, sisters and I shopped at the outlet mall in Hilton Head on Saturday while the boys played golf at the course where Bevin works... for free. Sunday we all went to the beach and then Bevin, John and their fiend Matt cooked dinner for all of us. It was delicious! Monday morning we headed back to Nashville and met the Lipscombs and the Jones at Casa Fiesta for dinner. We had a great weekend and I can't wait to see them at the lake in July.

Jellico, TN... Here we come!

Just kidding, we're not getting another dog, but it was Maverick's birthday on Sunday! He's one year old. We obviously haven't had him for the whole year but it has gone by really fast. He's grown so quickly and we love him a lot... probably too much. He's kind of spoiled. He loves playing with Maybel and can't wait to meet his new buddy Bo. The Jones are going to get one of Mav's (at least half, could be full) brothers from the Meeks in Jellico, TN. I can't wait to meet him and Maverick can't either.

University of Missouri... Here I come!

We're not moving... but I am starting a Master's program (online) at the University of Missouri in August. I will be studying Educational Technology with an emphasis in School Technology. I'm really excited. Over the past couple of months I feel like I have really figured out what I want "to do" for the rest of my life. Sometimes I sing this song to Blake, " I love technology, but not as much as you, you see... But I STILL love technology... Always and forever." This leads me to my next thing...

David Lipscomb... Here I come!

No, I'm not trying to get two Master's degrees from two schools, I'm going to work at the David Lipscomb Campus School!! I'll be leaving Otter Creek (the job) at the end of July and beginning a new chapter in my career. I'll be working with the Elementary, Middle and High school technology needs, taking care of their website, taking pictures as needed, and taking care of their design needs. It's a lot of what I'm already doing at Otter Creek, but with some changes. I'm really, really excited!

That's what has been going on around Binkley Drive lately. I'll post pictures of our trip in a few days!

“A Prequel to the Farmer’s Almanac” – Chapter 4

The Real Relationship Begins
Part One – by Moriah

I moved into my dorm a little early sophomore year. I might have not told the truth about helping out with Welcome Week (ACU’s Freshman Orientation) so I could move in early… oops. Anyway, all of my friends moved in early and I hung out with them at night and slept in while they were up doing Welcome Week stuff, it was the best of both worlds. One night my girlfriends and I went to dinner and then to ‘His Cup’ the local coffee house. I think I knew that some of our guy friends were going to be there but I tried not to get too excited about the possibility of seeing Blake. My friends and I got to ‘His Cup’ and just as we got out of the car I saw him. I knew it was Blake, but it didn’t look like the Blake I left at the end of freshman year. Over the summer Blake “lost” his earrings (he had two) and “lost” all of his bangs. He was also really tan from landscaping all summer. He was wearing a light peach colored polo that he still wears to work in the yard. I looked at him and my stomach jumped. I was so excited to see him, and he looked SO cute. We awkwardly hugged and walked inside.

Our group of friends sat down at a couple of tables and, of course, I ended up at Blake’s table. We all sat and talked for a while and about an hour into the evening my friend Ashley leans over to me and says, “You know that girl sitting across from you is Blake’s ex-girlfriend, right?” I didn’t know and I was a little heartbroken. I tried not to let it get me down. I don’t remember how he asked me out for our second “first date” but it was just a little over a week later. We went to Outback Steakhouse where Blake had lamb with mint sauce and I had the Outback Special, what I still order today. At dinner that night we saw Blake’s ex-girlfriend (whom I had become friends with) who was also on a date. After dinner we headed out to the “Mesas” as we so lovingly called them to sit, talk and look at the stars. Competitions to see who could see the most shooting stars later became something we (mostly Moriah, Blake isn’t that competitive) loved to do. We didn’t have our first kiss that night and it didn’t come for a few weeks, but that was okay with me. I just liked being with him and holding his hand.

The First Kiss
Part Two - by Blake

A Willy Nelson song inspired our first kiss – “Maria, Shut Up and Kiss Me.” However, by the time that first came around, it was more like “Moriah, Its About Time to Kiss Me.”

It was probably more than a month into our dating relationship. It’s not that there wasn’t plenty of opportunity. Abilene has a boat load of “parking spots.” Some of our favorites included a mesa south of town, an airfield just off I-20, and some of the farm to market routes around.

I (or we) weren’t too nervous. I think I just had a feeling that there was plenty of time for kissing. This wasn’t going to be a short-term friendship.

If memory hasn’t faded too much, I believe Moriah called while she was on the road on her pink Nokia phone. It was Saturday night and she was coming back to Abilene from Fort Worth early. Her call was rare. We hadn’t made the jump past me asking her out to her initiating the hangout time. She said she’d be outside my dorm in a few minutes. I grabbed a stick of gum and headed outside.

We drove to the 24-hour What-a-Burger, where Moriah certainly must have had French fries and her favorite ketchup tubs. I always got the potato and egg breakfast burrito. We came back to the Edwards dorm and spent quite a while sitting there, chatting.

I was trying to play it cool, but I knew this night wasn’t going to end without a kiss. Moriah had shown tangible evidence that she liked me too. SHE CALLED ME! I had sung that Willy Nelson song in my head, replacing Maria with Moriah. I thought this could make a relatively seamless transition from talking to locking lips. I leaned in, gave my line: Moriah, shut up and kiss me. She didn’t say ‘no,’ so I moved in.

The next time we kissed was at our wedding…at least in the video, which I watched yesterday to celebrate our third anniversary, my performance wouldn’t convince an audience that it was more than our second or third peck.