Our First (Real) BIG Christmas Tree

Well, I was going to say this was our first tree, but two years ago, Justin bought me a 3 foot tall tree for us. So, this is our first tree as a married couple :)

We have both always known we wanted to do a real tree - both having come from typical fake tree using families. So, we went down to the tree filled tent in Titusville and started the hunt.

I really can't even tell you how happy Justin is about having his picture taken here :)

And I even got the guy who worked there to take our picture with our perfect tree.
I know. I'm a big nerd.

So, once we managed to fit it into the car and got it home, we spent the day covering it with lights and decorations. The result is a very traditional looking Christmas tree.

We have even started a tradition over the last few years of collecting ornaments form all the places we go. This picture shows some of them off nicely, including the conch shell angel we got in the Bahamas just 6 weeks ago.

The dog has been very curious of the tree (I know, he looks really creepy in this picture). I kept having to make him get out from under it while I was putting the lights on. Now that it's up, he rather enjoys having another bowl to drink from :)

All in all, he's fine with it now that it's up and he can lay on the tree skirt - which is a flannel blanket. The only thing he's unsure of are my cute-sy snowmen that I have on either side of it.
... He doesn't trust them. Plus I'm afraid he will eat them, so I've had to place them up higher.

We are both very happy with our tree, and we can't wait to get all the other decorations up so we feel really festive throughout the month :)

Megan's California Adventure!

I was lucky enough to be able to visit two of my best friends, Heather and Kevin, in Los Alamitos, California for a week! Isn't my husband nice ;)

I had lots of fun, despite what Heather says. The two of them were getting over colds, plus Heather has reached the "horrifically uncomfortable" stage in her pregnancy (ok, she didn't say it was THAT bad, but she was uncomfortable), so we didn't want to be traipsing around everywhere the whole time. We had a really fun time just hanging out which we haven't been able to due since they moved and abandoned me in Florida.

Heather helped me catch up on some movies I have missed - by the way you should so see Dan in Real Life if you haven't yet. It's amazing. We went to Seal Beach Main and shopped in all the quaint little shops. We had some terrific food throughout the week, including the most obscenely large slice of chocolate cake I've ever witnessed at a place called Claim Jumper. I even got my In and Out Burger fix :)

One day, we went to the Los Angeles Temple, which was really neat. It's such a big temple! It's also amazing how quiet that area is when the rest of the city is so loud. And how cool is it that I was able to go with a good friend of mine :)





Then we drove around Beverly Hills and saw a lady on a power chair with the most blinged out leopard print jacket I've ever seen. One day, we went out to Seal Beach and took some maternity pictures for her little girl that is due some time in the first week of December.

The week culminated with Heather's baby show thrown by some friends of hers at church. It was really a nice party.

And, no Heather isn't throwing up into that gift, I just couldn't resist posting this one ;) Sorry Heather. It was too good.

This is Heather with her mother in law and sister in law.

This is our one picture of the two of us together :)

And this is a sampling of the crowd from the shower.

I really did have such a good time. From the weather to the relaxation - it was everything that a vacation should be. Plus, I got to hang out with two of my favorite people. What more could you ask for? I loved California and I can't wait to take Justin back sometime. Plus, I need to meet that baby! :) After all, I helped build her swing.

Cruisin With The In-Laws

So, we just got back form our 4 day cruise to the Bahamas with Justin's family. It was the two of us, his mom and dad, his sister Jessica and her boyfriend Adam, and his Aunt Dede and Uncle Barry. We were quite the brood, but we had a lot of fun. We went to the Atlantis Hotel and looked around, the beach, and the straw market in Nassau.

I will admit, we didn't take many pictures ... hey, we were on vacation!

Happy Birthday To Justin!

Yup, Justin turned 24 on September 30th (now I am no longer the "older woman"). I asked him what he wanted as his cake and he said a chocolate swirl cheesecake. I had made regular cheesecakes (with much success, might I add) but I had never made a chocolate swirl one. I was told by Justin that it came out great :) Isn't he sweet?

For his birthday, I got him a bunch of computer related items that he wanted :) So, one more year down, and many more to come! Happy B-Day Baby!

He Can See!

Well, Justin finally got his eyes zapped and now he is a huge fan of Lasik surgery :)

We went in on September 25th, and he was out in 15 minutes. No wonder the Doctor has his brand new bright orange Lamborghini parked out front :) I got to watch it all on a tv screen from the lobby. I saw 4 surgeries in all before Justin was finished and came out, and he could see on the way home!

This is what his eyes looked like that night.

Hello Newest Steven!

Well, my cousin Mistie had her baby boy on October 2nd.

Meet Steven Gregory Daniel Jr.













Stevie boy is Mistie's 4th child but her first boy! I went to visit him tonight and say hello.















I'll be back to see him sometime this week and take some more interesting pictures :)

The Gordo

So, I noticed a trend with most of my friends a few months back... they were all having babies; and being that we are married now, that is most certainly the number one question we get asked. "Are you pregnant yet?" I'm sure all married couples can think back to the time when they were asked that non stop and sympathize. Also, Justin and I have very different schedules, and I needed something cuddly to fill in my spare time :)

Thus, we got Gordo.

Gordo is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and most definitely the awesomest pooch around. Corgis are the 11th smartest dog breed, they are great with people and kids - they even like to keep your kids in line by herding them :) - but they are also very loyal and loving, as Gordo is proof of.

Gordo has been so much fun! We have trained him to ring a bell when he needs to go outside (yes, that is completely true, I'm not making it up). We got him on July 26th. He is now 4 1/2 months old and he has his own little repertoire of tricks: sit, speak, shake, roll over, and high five. Recently he has decided he is a ferocious guard dog and barks even when someone rings a doorbell on tv.


So, now that we have a dog and not a baby, I'm sure many of our blog entries will be about him. So please bear with me :) He's just so darn cute!

A Catch Up...

So, we have been very delinquent in our family blogging, as my dear friend Heather has brought to my attention. I vow that I will make this an somewhat up to date blog. Yes. It shall be (maybe if I write it down, I will feel more likely to comply).

So, Justin and I (Megan - in case you don't know that) got married on April 18th, 2009.

Now we are living in Titusville, Florida. Justin works at the cape and I work at the jewelry store. We also have our own photography business (Shimer Photography - as shameless plug, I know). We are both photographers. We shoot weddings, family pictures, portraits of all kinds, events and commercial photography. We also both have our own more "fine art" style images that we started out with, and we still try to squeeze some of those out occasionally.

Anyway, I will keep this updated so come back and see what shenanigans we are up to :)