set an open course for the virgin sea.

Summer 'officially' doesn't even begin for 5 days, but we've officially rocked it already. There will be no vitamin D deficiency for this girl. [now July and onward will be lit by fluorescent clinic lights...but at least for June, I'm good.] I've definitely enjoyed my stay back home, but I wish I had my other half with me, hanging out & just spending quality time with the family. The first day we hit up the lake, brought a picnic, ran the sails...and with only a whopping 2 mph wind [oklahomans say what], we ended up getting creative pulling each other behind the sailboat with ropes. We probably looked ridiculous, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We spent Sunday afternoon very traditionally with the whole family out in Holladay, TN. Church, Grilling out, playing with the kids...shooting a 22. you know, the usual. It's spending my first 17 years doing just this every Sunday of my life that still leaves a little empty spot on Sunday afternoons in Oklahoma...without a whole family around and a fresh plate of fried okra. I think it's time to start a new long-distance Sunday tradition to fill that niche and create new memories...

it took 40 pictures to capture this...muzzle flash, is that what it's called? The boys were quite proud.

With Emma's arrival, we now have a living 5-generation family...

Emma, Dad Trae, Grandma Gigi, Great-grandma Jackie, and Great-Great-grandma Mama Bowman.

I've really enjoyed my relaxing week hanging out with Mom - we've hit up the pool by day and enjoyed some girly time [i.e. sex and the city and nights in the hot tub]. I miss being here... not just 'home', but Tennessee in general. I probably should stay put with the horrendous gas prices, but I've enjoyed a few drives since I've been here...it's just so gorgeous. and you don't have to 'go looking for it' 60 miles away from the city or anything. Nature was good to Tennessee. They're playing my song, as that old commercial sang. I'm sorry, Oklahoma, you just can't compete. I'll try and find your strong suit, so I don't embarrass you here. I've still 2-3 more days, in the morning we're off to the smoky mountains to run the rapids!

time away.

Plenty of miles separate us this weekend. Aaron's spending time with the Chaloners and lots of extended family in Wichita, Kansas. And, although I'm sad to be flying solo this trip, I'm thrilled to be spending a week in Tennessee with my family. Definitely the last trip to visit home without hefty planning and taking vacation time. This 'kid'-summer is about to come to a close, I am so thankful for this highly recommended hiatus I've been able to take before starting my big-kid job & saying goodbye to summer breaks for good.
So far, I know we're headed for a full day of sailing out at the lake tomorrow. Let's hope I brought some of that Oklahoma wind with me... & Mom's taking us white-water rafting next week! I started out my trip in Memphis last night with Angela (a close friend from my hometown) with drinks on the rooftop of the Peabody hotel, dinner at Cafe51, and a stop at the Flying saucer for some great music & hundred's of different kinds of 'ale'. This was a 'low key' night for them. ha! I had an absolute blast, and loved getting to catch up with Angela, see her new art studio space, and get a glimpse into her new downtown lifestyle. I told her, hands down, she's my new rockstar friend.
I'd better ske-daddle. boy, can you tell I'm back in the sticks?

remember-the-date

I cannot believe a year has already come and gone. Gosh, I feel so lucky. Short of salvation, there is nothing more fulfilling in life than waking up next to the love of my life each morning and walking through each day with him. I look forward to the life that lies ahead of us - the life we're planning together. I look forward, but at the same time I'm going to try not to do the 'cant wait' thing. I've spent the last 2 years in grad school maybe a little too focused on the light at the end of the tunnel - I need to slow down and re-remember that our life together has definitely already begun, a house or a handful of kids doesn't mark the starting line... I don't have to say I can't wait, because I know that if every day up until then can be just like these, just this wonderful, then I want to enjoy the journey... One of my greatest joys is simply sharing the day-to-day with you - sure, the vacations and the holidays are always full of smiles and fun, but the real bare bones of life are in the patterns of our everyday lives - the errands, the cooking, the just sitting on the couch...what would seemingly be unexciting and monotonous, is anything but that with you - it's peaceful, it's warm, it's shared. This is starting to be very incriminatingly Lifetime-movie-esque. But, thank you, babe, for being so incredibly generous. so hilarious. making me light up and bringing a permanent smile to everything...and I'll get all this, always. I'm definitely counting my blessings as I reminisce of the year gone by.
On our trip, we decided on 'our thing'. We're going to take a commemorative anniversary picture and each year spell out ' ___ years' in whatever we have at our disposal to 'celebrate' with. Now, on our honeymoon it was the sand...and for year 1 it was also a beachy-message. But, who knows, one year it could be river rocks...the next it could be a plate of our 3-year-old's corn kernels. In the spirit of this new tradition, we both ended up giving eachother the exact same anniversary card. I know, how obnoxiously cute, right?
The first anniversary is the 'paper' one...so, naturally, we exchanged books... and Aaron threw in some 'waste-not-paper' stationery. so fitting. To relive our excitement of 05.27.07, we're going to pull out the wedding DVD. :) We've yet to eat the top tier of our wedding cake - it's been in my grandma's freezer, and we haven't been able to get back home recently... but, I've been thinking about you mr. vanilla & jack daniels chocolate chip cake with fondant and buttercream icing and chocolate mousse and raspberry filling. I sure hope you preserved well.

I am challenging us both to reflect and compile a list of 25 things we've learned after being married for this first year. 25 may be an incredible understatement. I actually wish I'd kept more of a running-tab all along... Our life is certainly not perfect, but at times our life together just seems so very. I take no credit for this peace and this comfort, it's clearly divine design. I almost, almost, feel guilty for such a blessing....or at least baffled as to why we were chosen to experience love like this, something so unique and special, but like any great blessing - I simply have to guard and appreciated as the most valuable thing I have. I'm sorry, I've never had a way with words like you have, babe...I'm always at a loss when it comes to articulating my tangle of emotions. I'm going to have to write a love thesaurus and just invent all new words. My two readers are going to 'gag' if I don't stop it.

vampire-repellant.

I'm still licking my fingers from a delicious evening meal... I decided to get all pioneerwoman or smittenkitchen [thanks, kaitlin, for the tip-off] and post our yummy recipe. Aaron and I played host to his parents, Michael & Teresa, this evening and made Shrimp Scampi with linguine, grilled squash + asparagus, and summer strawberry cobbler. The most memorable, I think, being the main squeeze. Try this, if you like shrimp. or even if you hate shrimp, but like garlic... (because after this, you'll wonder where shrimp's been all your life).

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry vermouth
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
cayenne pepper
kosher salt and ground black pepper

1. Heat 12-inch skillet over high heat until hit, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add 1 pound of shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until just opaque, about 1 minute; transfer to medium bowl. Return pan to heat and repeat process with remaining oil and shrimp.

2. Return empty skillet to medium-low heat; melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Off heat, add lemon juice and vermouth. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter; add parsley and cayenne, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return shrimp and accumulated juices to skillet. Toss to combine; serve immediately - individually or over a bed of linguine.

Just a friendly tip from the chef, pay the extra $ to buy the shrimp peeled and deveined. I could have spent that hour elsewhere, not to mention was it disgusting.
I will give credit and great appreciation to my Uncle Jim for introducing us to this dish...it was our well-received contribution to 'seafood night' on vacation. Like the aforementioned ladies, I apologize that I don't have the artistic pictures to slideshow each step of preparation.

Don't forget to kiss the cook.

real simple.

unexpectedly, this weekend we added five things to our spend-less summer list:

• crashing a little league game. boy, does that bring on the sentiments of summer. hey, #7 could be our nephew, cousin,...complete stranger that could use a cheering section.
• sunday's open houses. I find it so much fun...not sure if Aaron's all the way up there with me, but it's an enjoyable afternoon. On the flip side, it may end up contributing to a spend-more autumn.
• poolside. no explanation needed.
• reading 'vintage' scary stories by candlelight. Cheers to Kara for the yardsale find & the awesome blast from the past.
• sunset picnicking at the lake. Thanks, mom, for the adorable picnic set that we intend to adequately break-in. [ok, corey, you were right. it made it.]

As for other news, to those tuned in - today's interview for the genetic counseling job at Childrens was postponed, again. I've been assured that there are 'no concerns' and have been given several optimistic winks-and-smiles from the staff I trained under... but, until I formally receive an offer, naturally I can't help but feel a little unsettled. Feel free to send an extra prayer this way.

Night-night.

sic 'em.

This post is a little overdue...but a few weeks ago, we had the privilege of celebrating Melody's high-school graduation. This little jet-tsetter is currently in London, but, we just wanted to send our sincerest congratulations to the valedictorian of Hinton High School's class of 2008. She gave a beautiful speech that made us laugh & brought tears to our eyes. We are so proud of you! And, so unbelievably excited that you chose to spend your next four years at Baylor. Not only are we thrilled about all that you are about to take on and what promise your future holds, we're (somewhat selfishly) pumped about coming to visit you at our alma mater. We know you are going to love it, and I couldn't even begin to tell you how much you're going to learn, grow, and experience. We look forward to hearing about your friends, your dorm, your football games, your road trips...and watching you shape your own Baylor story.

As melody prepares to 'fly from the nest', I'm reminded of my own transition that began with that emotional trek - the 12 hour drive from my little two-stop light town to that new independent life. Looking back now, it hardly seems like I'm looking at myself there in that car. We change so much, it's almost like there's some threshold of memories that we can hold on to and still feel like ourselves, and anything behind that point is just some fuzzy imagination. It's incredibly surreal. It's been seven years - never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that that trek would have led me where I am today. Change is constant, but I can't help but be so surprised by it every time. I suppose this isn't a unique feeling, most everyone feels this way...that's our unpredictable, uncontrollable (even though we oh-so-try) life. Looking back seven years ago, so much is different (good different...and well, better-get-used-to it different) ...but to me, the magnitude of change in my life seems statistically significant (as my science-mind would say), meaning moreso than would be expected from chance alone.

I'd read somewhere that every single cell in the human body replaces itself over a period of seven years. Seven years?! There's not a single cell, not even the smallest part, of me now that was a part of me back then. And, yes, I suppose it feels that way. Instead of some rolling maintenance schedule, I can't help but feel like some of those cells got together and decided to just change all at once.

part deux: family style.

well, as you know, we decided to spend the second leg of our florida vacation with some family in pensacola, florida...with my dad, my brothers, and 17 beach bums of Dedmon-origin/association. We rented a 6 bedroom/6 bathroom beach home right on the sand... it had beautiful back porches with front-row seats to the shore...it was the perfect place for everyone to spread out, for people to just come and go to the beach...just to relax, catch up, & hang out. We had a maaah-velous time, of course, but I think should just make the disclaimer that it was definitely different, and difficult to digest at times...I have shyed away from using the word 'family vacation'...it's more of a 'vacation with family'... symantically, they aren't that different. but, while our 5-person nuclear family has expanded to include eight now with Aaron, Coi, & Emma (and I loved sharing this trip with them), I can't see it ever feeling like a true family vacation without all the 'family' that the name implies, you know? When I first started blogging, I shared (...maybe unfortunately) about not diving in too 'personally' with respect to those involved...but, I think this small tidbit is fair, & on my mind. For what it's worth.
But still, we did have a really great time hanging out with my brothers, catching up with family I hadn't seen since the wedding, and of course meeting my adorable brand-spanking-new niece Emma. Being a three-week old baby, I don't have to tell you that she's adorable, do I? I do have to tell you that her aunt J and uncle A are crazy about her and think she's the cutest little thing with the most precious personality ever...and already miss her. She got so used to being 'held' at nearly all times by all of us so much that her mommy and daddy are going to have their hands full next week without all those arms. Before leaving for this trip, I actually googled "baby + camera flash" to make sure I wasn't going to damage little Emma's new eyes with all the pictures I planned to take of her. And, because there are way too many (and because I'm ridiculously proud of this new little one)...the link at the end of this has lots more.

A general theme that emerged from this vacation was definitely all the animals! Let's see, in addition to my kiss-and-tell with the sea lion... we were sitting on the porch at the beach house and spotted dolphins swimming close to shore. We went for a walk on the beach, and they swam along for about half a mile. Aaron and Logan even tried getting close, but it scared them off. They also spotted sting rays and baby sea turtles in the wild. Aaron and Lo caught over 15 hermit crabs (one which was kept as a pet - 'George the Monkey' the hermit crab). We spotted a baracuda in the water from the pier. and Aaron had a lizard climb up his arm. And perhaps the most shocking tale of all - Aaron spotted a shark and it got within 3-4 feet of him, and pretty close to my uncle Lynn too. You could see the dark figure in the water when the waves crested, he was about 4 feet long. He didn't seem to 'bother' anyone...by bother, I guess I mean - eat. My aunt and uncle who are regular scuba-divers suggested it was possibly a Florida reef shark and typically fairly harmless to humans. Good thing, since later Aaron shared that when he first saw it he actually swam closer to it because he was 'curious'.

So, we sunned, we beached, went for long walks, played tons of games, went to the waterpark, tried to fish off the pier, and aunt liz even taught us yoga there by the beach...all the classic ingredients for a fine florida vacation. (I heard 'vacay' in my head, but I've learned that I absolutely hate that word.) ...and let me just tell you that we ATE so well. This is a family of gourmet cooks. Each night had a theme - Mexican night, Italian night, Seafood night, Grill night...you get the picture. Everyone made a dish each night (and again, we're not talking anything made with velveeta...) - we're talking entrees like Grilled Curry spiced tuna steaks With Black bean salad, braised short ribs with polenta...even Aaron and I's contributions were big hits with twice baked wasabi potatoes, shrimp scampi, and the ol' classic homemade lasagna. It was just a fun time of 'fellowship' all gathered around the big kitchen...we learned so much and brought back so many new recipes (enter: excited Aaron).

first night, all the chefs juggling to get a piece of the in-demand real-estate: the stovetop.

game time.

the mentionable sandlot baseball.

my cousin Alex made us all matching shirts for the vacation: FIDEM SERVO.

even one in size newborn.

Aunt Liz and Aaron coming down the waterslide.

Adorable 'family photo'.

and the aunts & uncles who plan to spoil you rotten. and maybe uncle Lo to blow things up. I feel like I have so many stories, and I'm already tiring you and myself out. I guess they'll just be left in my head to dry up and be forgotten. This is truly why I believe I am so picture-happy. Cue the photos link for part two. I'm so thankful now for my wonderful companion who'll always be there to jog, or rapidly defibrillate, my terrible memory.
Cheers to all for a wonderful vacation -

part un: bon anniversaire de mariage!

I'm sitting out on our patio... I just cannot get away from the sunshine. [ I'm making it a personal goal to spend as much time outside in this next month (er, sabbatical) as possible...and no pants for 30 days, it's summer kiddos]. well, I thought I'd drag my laptop out here to share about our absolutely wonderful vacation. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to get away for a whopping 11 days... we truly felt like birds released from their cage. I'll start with the first leg of our trip - selfishly, we wanted to spent the first half of the vacation just one-on-one...little romantic getaway...to unwind and reward ourselves for this past year. No matter how little money we ever have in the bank, there will always be somewhere to pinch the budget to allow for travel. It is just such a passion of mine, and ours, and I think it's so important. We are the type to crave the type of vacation where you can truly relax... you know, how sometimes you come back from 'vacation' and need a vacation? no way, not here...no agenda, no worrying, just playing by ear and by the pool...where there's always time to take in the sunset and you don't feel like you're 'missing anything'...you're just 'vacationing', imagine that? And, seacrest beach florida definitely delivers. Gosh, I couldn't even begin to give the play-by-play of our sweet time...but I want to try and remember the highlights of our trip (because heaven knows, the memories are already disappearing from my little ole' forgetful cortex). We flew into Pensacola, Florida and made the short drive to the beach house on 29 Endless Summer Way in our 'spicy' little rental car. The big ole' beach house and master suite all to ourselves was the ultimate luxurious treat. I have to say, the water this time there in the florida panhandle was some of the prettiest, most clear water that I can remember. We almost felt like we could be back on our honeymoon one-year-ago in the blue Caribbean waters of St. Maarten! We spent the days lounging by the pool and playing at the beach...riding waves, riding bikes, playing games in the sand, catching up on some conversation and summer reading. We dined 'sufficiently' - from quaint little sidewalk and beachfront cafes to...no joke, my alltime favorite sandwich in this entire world at summer kitchen cafe, just a bike ride away in rosemary beach (not a new discovery, I think my first taste was about 5 years ago, and they've been serving my face ever since...). we both devoured four during our stay. We did a little shopping at Seaside...& as cliche as it sounds, my favorite time was catching the sunset nearly every night... sitting by the sand with my husband & a glass of wine or a 'seacreast swirl' (our personal creation). It's amazing how cathartic it can be to watch the waves crash, crinkle the sand between your toes, stare off into the horizon...how it can help to erase the trivial worries that we seem to accumulate and help illuminate the 'big picture'. I sit by the ocean, and wonder - how can we not live here someday? Aaron and I have always talked of retiring and opening up an inn (so very stars hollow) in our later years - well, I think it's going to have to be one with ocean views.

Aaron's favorite part would have to be our trip to the marine park. We're right on the gulf, so they have a great resource for studying and showcasing all the ocean life - we saw dolphin shows, sharks, sea turtles, sea lions... and I even got the chance to kiss a sea lion! Looking at everyone else's photos at the booth later, I realized no one else went for the lips... the cheek, maybe, but no lips. But, i had seen the trainers do it during the show we'd just watched, so I figured it couldn't be that awful. I did have little herring-taste to my lips for about an hour or so which Aaron found absolutely hilarious. :)

To wrap up the personal part of our tour, we had to relocate from the beach house (unfortunately, there was some miscommunication - and the night of the 27th, our anniversary, got booked by another guest at the last minute) It was upsetting at first, but actually turned out to be quite nice - we booked one night in a bungalow in the town of seaside. Everything was in walking distance - the spot where we were engaged (above) & a cute little 'cafe rendevous' for our special anniversary date. They had delicious steaks, it was outside (bien sur), and they even had the 'italian street fair'-style lights strung up that reminded me of our wedding reception. It'd be a pain to keep uploading pictures to this site - so, I'll redirect you here: portraits of part one. Gosh, I've been journaling for quite some time, and this is just the first leg of the trip... so, I'll probably have to work on another post at another time of 'our first anniversary'...you know, that one...with all we've learned, where we've come, ways we drive each other crazy (in love, and just plain crazy), and how much we have yet to experience. I need to unpack and give the phalanges a rest, and I'll be back with part deux...