Merry Christmas, Darling..

...I wish you Merry Christmas,

Happy New Year, too,

I've just one wish,

On this Christmas Eve,

I wish I were with you!

Fiance and I had our "Christmas" yesterday, under the watchful eye of Nephew!

I love this one. They're sitting exactly the same!

Little man helped open gifts!

Knowing we will be married within the next few months is the best Christmas gift!

Some of the gifts.

Merry Christmas, Darling :)

Tis the Season...to catch up!

Christmas is in 4 days!

I can't believe it! Things have been so crazy and busy around here that I kind of forget that today is December 21.

Of course the mid 40's to 50's weather isn't helping that. This girl wants snow.

So in the interest of keeping everyone up to date, here's one large, rambling post on the things that have been happening:

1.) We found a wedding and reception venue! And it's perfect! AND. I get a beach wedding after all!

    On May 12, 2012, I get to marry my best friend down at Lake of the Ozarks!

2.) Today we are recovering from a late night and early morning from going to the Fox Theatre to see...

Beauty and the Beast!

    It was magical and fantastic and the food we had before hand was great too. (Just another perk)

         Although our anniversary is the 27th, we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than going to see a      show!

3.) Third, and possibly the biggest, our family became very familiar with Mercy Hospital in St. Louis.
Yep, Landon was back in for a CT with sedation and for observation. He did very well overall, and we are still waiting to see what comes of all of it, but as for now, we will be happy that he's home now!
           -Side note: Emmett did great with hanging out at the hospital, despite the fact that we found out that he has a DOUBLE ear infection, perforated eardrum, and a cold. The Dunham household has temporarily converted to their own home clinic for the boys.

Still incredibly cute even though he's not feeling well!

Well, I guess that's the Sparknotes version of all that has been happening in the past few weeks!

If I don't get a chance to tell you before, Merry Christmas!

Cruising...Part 8...How To Fold A Towel into a Turkey

Every evening, housekeeping would leave us adorable towel animals!

Mr. Frog

Mr. Seal

Mr. Puppy Dog

Mr. Sloth hanging out with Mr. Elephante

Mr. Turkey in honor of Thanksgiving :)

And the last sea day they taught us how to make them!

Cruising...Part 7...A Reason to go...

If anything, go on a cruise for the AMAZING food and drinks!

Caramel Apple Mousse Puff Pastry

Kiss on the Lips (left) and Mocha Chocolate Getaway (right)

Every night outside the casino there was an ornate drink bar!

Baked Alaska on Formal Night 2!

Cruising...Part 6...Formal Nights

The cruise had two formal dinner nights that we dressed up a lot for!

Meeting the ship captain on the night of the Captain's Ball.

Darren and Chris at dinner.

Formal night number 2!

Darren, Chris, and our main waiter, Ilham.

We miss Ilham. He was AWESOME.

Cruising...Part 5...Panama, the unexpected gem

While Panama seemed like a stranger port of call to me, it was amazing!

Our first view of Panama

Checking out Portobelo

Hanging out with a Panamanian's pet monkey

And of course, seeing the Gatun Locks of the Canal

Cruising...Part 4...Costa Rica

Costa Rica was not at all what I expected it to be but it was very interesting!

Welcome to a very rainy Limon!

We took a wildlife tour on the canal and got to see some people who work on this canal daily!

And then we got to go see a banana plantation and packing plant!

Cruising...Part 3...Cozumel!

A cruise brings a LOT of firsts into a girl's life.

My first view of Mexico!

My first time snorkeling! (It was awesome!)

And my first time eating at Pancho's Backyard.

PS: Big news! We bought Chad's wedding ring at Diamonds International here in Cozumel!

Cruising...Part 2...Days at Sea

We were NEVER bored on a day at sea! That is for sure!

There's always mini golf...

There's always AWESOME food...

And, of course, there's always room on the Lido Deck to soak up the sun!

Cruising...Part 1...Getting There

For those of you readers interested in cruising, I'll tell you two things:

1. IT IS THE BEST!

2. Getting there takes a lot, but once you get there, it is so worth it.

We started with a very early and VERY cold flight out of St. Louis down to Atlanta.

And from Atlanta, we went to Fort Lauderdale and then to Port Everglades.

Chad took this picture of me wrestling flip flops out of my suitcase once we got to Florida.

Attractive. 

Since people have been asking, I'll try to write out the proposal story!

I came to Rolla Thursday night after work for Chad's team's playoff flag football game and met him at the field. 

After the game, we went back to the house, and he asked to go down to the pond that was on their property.

Then we got cold and decided to come back up to the house and watch Avatar in the theater room.

(Then I left for the night before the movie was over and went to Jen's house to sleep.)

The next morning, Chad met me in between classes at Panera and we had breakfast in between his classes.

After his classes, we packed up and headed to his parents house at the lake.

When we got there, Chad asked if we could go jump on the trampoline.

After a few minutes of that he asked to go down to the dock.

When we got to the dock, he asked if I knew why we did all the things this weekend like watching Avatar and jumping on the trampoline.

By then, I had kind of figured out that he was trying to re-create the same weekend we had had the year before on the same weekend, just for old times' sake.

Then he asked me all of the things we did both weekends to see if I remembered them all.

We got through most of them, until the last one. 

Last year on this weekend, he asked to pursue me, with the intention of seeing if dating would be in our future.

Then he said, "well, I'm sorry I can't re-create that because I can't ask you again, but..."

Then he got down on one knee (AWWW!) and told me that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. (AWWW! Again)

I was speechless. Absolutely speechless.

So I just nodded and he asked if we could get off the dock to put the ring on because it was really windy and the dock has gaps between the wood slats that the ring could fall through :)

So he put it on me, and explained that the box he put the ring in was the same one his Mom's engagement ring came it.

I thought that was adorable :)

It was perfect. Totally perfect. I was so surprised! 

After sitting at the dock we went up to the house to call people.

It was funny though, because when we got back up to the house, Chad said, "Well, you know, you never actually said yes, so..."

By that time I had gained enough voice back to say YES!!

He picked the perfect ring too :)

{Sunday Snapshot} Almost...

Okay, so everyone has been wanting to hear the story of how Chad proposed.

Given the crazy busy weekend we had, this is the first chance I've had to write it out!

It was crazy because Friday, he proposed and we went out to dinner with his family,

And then the next morning we left for the Mizzou v. Texas game.

This was us at the beginning...

And by the end of the game, it was COLD and windy so we ended up in coats and hoodies and blankets!

Good news, we won! And so we're almost bowl eligible!

Oh, Wow, November!

We're engaged! WOW!

November is a great month!

I'll tell the story later! Right now we're just enjoying the newness of it all :)

{Favorite Photo Friday} Checking In..

{Favorite Photo}

Hey guys, it's Emmett again! No, I'm not another week old, but I did have a good weekend! I finally got to meet this guy that my big brother and Aunt Amy talk about a lot... Landon calls him Gad... We are already best buddies!

{Sunday Snapshot} Just a Weekend

Just a weekend...

Where I baked two pies...

Went to the S&T football game...

And unfortunately, did homework.

At least we got to hang out right?

Friday Night Lights

This little guy loves his football!

And he adores my "Gad"...

And so do I!

Columbia Eagles Homecoming Football Game 2011