Logans: Year Two

2 years ago Luke and I got married.  It was a joyous, crazy, beautiful day and I wish I could re-live it every day!  As cheesy as it sounds, and despite how hard this year has been, I have learned more and more why God chose to put Luke and I together.  He challenges, supports, loves, and makes me laugh more than anyone else.  He completes me in a way that I did not know I needed to be completed ...he just is the best husband.

OK all y'all know I can only stand the mushy stuff for so long...

Which is why it is funny that Luke and I googled "questions to ask on your anniversary" and all of them were way too sweet and romantic for us.  So, we came up with our own game, that we hope will be a tradition.  We sat on the couch and came up with our "favorites" or "biggest highlights" from our second year.  Of course I won't share them all (TMI!), but there are some fun highlights for sure...

Favorite TV Show:  Well, we have not had cable all year.  Instead we have some HD bunny ears that only pick up NBC.  When you walk through the door, you may get poked in the eye...so when we are not watching NBC, we watch FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.  Now, people have been trying to get me to watch this for years, and I finally see why!  It is a great TV show for a couple...it has football, love, drama, action, etc.  Luke and I have even talked about what character of the show we would want the other to marry if something should happen to us.

I would want Luke to marry Tyra..shocking right?  Lila gets on my nerves and I think Tyra will end up successful despite all her slutty years (we are only on season 3).  I was hoping Luke would pick Tim Riggins for me, but he went with Matt Sarisan.  I guess I can't blame him.
 

Also, just so everyone knows, Luke and I signed up for basic cable.  Should get hooked up this week!!!

Favorite Movie:  I think it is clear that mine was the Hunger Games, Luke on the other hand enjoyed introducing me to Pulp Ficton, which was an epic fail in my opinion.Who wants to watch people have overdoses?  I plan on showing that scene to my future kids...it will scare them away from drugs real quick.

Logan Family Favorite Cuss Word:  OK we only cuss sometimes and only when we are at home, but we just think it is funny and harmless to do in certain moments.  We both agreed "Bitches" is by far our favorite.

Our biggest Fail:  By far the Logan Family Home-Made Christmas project.  If you don't know the details, check out the actual post.  But the summary:  we spent more money than we thought, I ruined many of the presents (running over a few in the parking lot), we were both really stressed, and it just was not fun after a day.

Favorite Restaurant:  Capital Ale House.  Great specials, wonderful atmosphere, delicious beer and meals.

Favorite Free Saturday Activity:  Riding bikes to the farmers market (we are so cute and green) and hitting up a local winery!

Biggest Pet Peeves:  Luke still hates that I bite my fingers, and I still hate that he hates it.  My biggest pet peeve, is that biting my nails is his biggest pet peeve.

Favorite Go To Meal:  We still eat a freezer pizza and salad most Wed. nights.  For some reason, we can't get enough.  Our favorite is DiGiorno's thin crust roasted red pepper and pepperoni.  OK I know this isn't some great home-made recipe...but that's what happens when you have a wife in grad school and a husband who works an hour away.

Best Date Night:  Hand's down our surprise bed and breakfast date in Staunton...

Farthest Place We Went To Together:  This year we had the opportunity to go see my childhood best friend and her sister in Columbus, Ohio while also attending our friends' wedding.  What a fun weekend, and great first visit to Ohio!

Weddings We Have Been To:  We had another great year of attending weddings...

Anna + Jordan in September

Courtney + Matt October

Daniel + Lauren February

Megan + Chris March

Lisa + Brandon June

New Things in our Lives:  We have a lot of great new things in our lives (especially new friends) but the greatest new thing by far is having another niece...Amelia Louise!

Hobbies:  Luke's favorite hobby has been planting our first official garden. We attempted to plant herbs, squash, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers.  We actually harvested tomatoes and herbs.  2/6 is pretty good for a first time.  My newest hobby is writing papers, and by that I mean I really did not have time for a hobby this year with school.  But no worries, I plan on picking up quite a few now that my schedule will be a little better this year!

Well, I think those are a few good highlights of our 2nd year.  It has been a good one...I feel like we have experienced the fullness of life in a really cool way.  And I am so glad we got to share it with so many special people.

For our anniversary...we headed out to a great dinner at Beyond and enjoyed thinking about what the next will hold...

Smart Phones + 4th of July

Luke and I have finally entered the smart phone world....

The funny thing is, Luke wanted to surprise me and get them for our 2 year anniversary...but if you know Luke then you know he can't keep a surprise to save his life.  For example, after we got engaged we got back in the car and he immediately said..."I am taking you to Stacey's house for a surprise engagement party and everyone you love will be there..."

It was a big deal that he pulled off the surprise bed and breakfast get away in Staunton, I think he was only able to keep it a secret because he thought of the idea 2 hours before.  So, when we were sitting out and having our nice wine and cheese picnic that weekend, he kept on asking me "do you want to you know your anniversary present?"  Or, "I had to run some errands today for your anniversary present, do you want to know where I went?"  I kept on saying, "no," but eventually I just gave in and said..."sure."  He told me we were getting iphones and I was pumped.

Then the night that I found out I got my new job..at about 8:30 he asked if we could go get our iphones, so we showed up 10 minutes before it closed like real buttheads.  BUT we got our phones and have been loving them ever since.  Our first thing worth instagraming was our dinner out at the Local Chop House. The bar area there has the best food and a great atmosphere.

The next day was the 4th of July and my friend Kate and I decided to run the Valley 4th 10K together.  Kate and I have been friends since I moved to Harrisonburg, but just this summer we finally were into running at the same time.  We live a 1/2 mile away from each other so about 4 days a week we would meet in the middle and pick our route.  Doing this with Kate has honestly been a huge highlight of my summer.  If we went more than 2 days without running together it felt weird because we always had so much we need to share with each other!

Anyway, towards the middle of the summer Kate shared with me the news that her husband, Charlie, had gotten his dream job as a middle school band director in Lynchburg, VA...so they were moving a little down south to Waynesboro.  As happy as I am for Charlie, I am so sad that Kate and I do not have the chance to run together as often. Luckily, she will still work in Harrisonburg so we will be able to run a couple afternoons together, but it just won't be the same!  Kate, I love you and I wish we would have started this routine together earlier :)

This pic was taken before we ran 6.2 miles at 9:00am in about 90 degree heat.  This was also taken before we started singing Lady Gaga and other pop songs during the last quarter of the race.  We needed something to keep our minds off our aching bodies...

 Luke and Charlie were great cheerleaders

On the way to Kate's Luke asked me what my goal was, because I was feeling unprepared I said...I shared that I just wanted to make it and I didn't care what time.  Luke asked Kate the same question and she said under an hour.  I thought, "oops now I've got to get my game face on."  So 57 minutes later....WE DID IT!

After showering, resting and getting ready, we all headed to the downtown beer garden and hung out!  We listened to music, ate a great hot dog, and sipped on a delicious brew.  Then it was time for the Harrisonburg parade...so cute and small.

our sweet little downtown

One of our favorite local vineyards, Bluestone, had a float

Of course Jack Brown's had to represent as well!

We had a great 4th of July and I am looking forward to training for a half marathon in Raleigh during November   

Lisa + Brandon Part 2

So we survived the Storm and were ready to go for the BIG DAY!  We woke up and immediately put on our monogrammed oxford polos to get ready in...would you expect anything else from the one and only Lisa Talley?!  We then had an amazing time together eating breakfast and praying for Lisa and Brandon...what a sweet thing to do the morning before you are wed :)

Of course we had to end our prayer session with a "team bride" huddle...let the festivities begin!

If you know me at all, you know that when 2:00 pm rolls around...I NEED a diet coke.  When I say need...I mean my body cannot go on without it.  I usually bring some with me when I travel, but this time I forgot to do so.  When that time was approaching, I asked the wedding director if she knew were I could find one.  She didn't.  Around 2:30 I was feeling crazy and talking about how I needed it with my friend Amanda, another DC (and dawson's creek!) fan, I guess the wedding director over heard me.  Soon I was wondering if I could quickly run to a 711 before the pictures began...next thing I know the wedding director hands me a ICE COLD DIET COKE IN A CAN (because we all know the can is way better than the bottle) and SAVED MY LIFE.  She said she knew I needed it and ran to her parents house (which was close by) to grab it for me.  That my friends, is the kind of service you want for a wedding day!  Anyway, I was pretty pumped...

After my DC it was time for pics and all that fun stuff...

Lisa looked unbelievable!  Love that glow...(btw some of these pics are taken by her good friend, Leslie)

When we discovered that my dress was starting to split on my left side...then we taped it.  Yes, taped it.  More on that later. 

After pics, it was time to jump on the trolley with the guys and head to the wedding ceremony!  I was lucky enough to ride by the groom!!!

The ceremony was beautiful and completely spoke to Lisa and Brandon's love for others, each other, and especially the Lord.  I realized I like Catholic Weddings not only for their beautiful rituals, but also the bridal party gets to sit down :) Next, back on the trolley and off to Stevenson Ridge for the ceremony...


Check out a few of the details....

Yes, that is the groom's cake and yes that is Wilson Hall (JMU building) and yes that is a golden retriever.  And finally, yes, the same person that made this cake also made it for the Pope when he came to visit the US.

While waiting downstairs to get introduced, DUKE DOG himself made an appearance.  Of course Lisa and Brandon could not get married without him!!  I was excited to see him and hoping he did not see this picture of me taking "road dog" up for the wedding...

After all the introductions...here he comes!  Along with the JMU fight song and lots of cheering JMU alum!

Love Lisa's yellow cardigan as Brandon and her share their first dance together.  Sweet moment to say the least.

The classic JMU picture...it was a debate on whether I should be in or not..then the Bride told me to get in...so I listened to her!

Duke Dog needed some company during dinner, so we invited him to eat with us.  I decided it would be fun to sit on his lap like santa.  I asked him for another Appalachian State championship and he was NOT excited about that. I, as you can tell, thought it was hilarious.  The rest of the night he kept on giving me fun gestures and ignoring me on the dance floor, it was hilarious.  

I still managed to dance with him though...

Love this pic of the 4 of us...notice the rip getting bigger.

Macfie and her boo, James

The tape didn't work out.  We could not sew it because the dress is silk.  We just let it go...

Time to cut the cake...after their siblings made 2 of the best and sweetest toasts I have ever heard!  

I got to meet Molly, Lisa's friend and Stacey's old Portland roommate!

At our wedding, Brandon has a photo op with my grandma becky (wish I had pics to share), so we decided it was only fair for Luke to have the same opportunity with his grandma eickel:

 my very own groom

As you can tell, this wedding was a blast and the perfect way to send Lisa and Brandon out on their honeymoon and new life together.  They are fun, genuine, selfless, joyful...and their wedding matched that perfectly.  For more pics of the big day (and more of Lisa's beautiful details) check out their photographer's blog:  http://katelynjamesblog.com/lemons-and-limes-wedding-theme/

Can't wait to visit Lisa and Brandon EICKEL soon!