Road Trip!

As if we hadn't already taken enough road trips this year, we thought, why not take another?  We had been wanting to plan a fun weekend getaway with our friends, Jessica and Allen, for a while now and just had not found a weekend where we could all get away.  So when a weekend popped up just a few weeks ago, we jumped at it and headed to our favorite place...Birmingham!  Typical for Tyler and I, most of our fun revolved around where we would eat next.  But we managed to fit in a lot between eating sessions...

Filling up the car with gas and picking up snacks for the trip!

We gotta' have those snacks!

They were pretty excited!

 Jessica had never been to Cracker Barrel, so we decided we must remedy this!  What is a road trip without a stop at Cracker Barrel anyways?

Tyler's dinner- a breakfast portion that could probably feed a family of 4 :)

I don't know what they call this game, but it kept us entertained 

It wasn't long before Jessica realized the jewel that is Cracker Barrel

We even made friends... thanks funny guy for jumping in the picture! And for being patient with us at the register while Tyler decided which toys he should invest in.

 Sweet Friends :)

 Allen took a bunch of these pictures... I think he is already better at using my camera then I am. 

You just never know when you might need to practice your best karate jump...

 Tyler wanted this hat, and I must say I think he could pull it off, but the poses 

he made kept me laughing!

Couple Pics!

More pictures of our food! We love California Pizza Kitchen!

Then there was that brief incident in Claire's (the teen accessory store) where Tyler thought it would be funny to joke about getting an earring. An accountant with an earring... I can see it now. Luckily, he was, in fact, just joking!

We are so blessed with such sweet friends! We had such a fun weekend! It is sweet memories, like these, that I will cherish forever. 

We're Making Progress!!

This is a huge step in finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis! Vertex submitted its drug known as VX-770 today for FDA approval. They asked the FDA for priority review, so if granted, this drug could be approved within 6-10 months! This is such good news!  While this is only one of the drugs Tyler needs for his genetic make-up, it is definitely progress!!

http://www.cff.org/aboutCFFoundation/NewsEvents/Vertex-Submits-VX-770-Application-to-FDA.cfm

They start the second part of the Phase 2 trial on Vertex's VX-809 drug this month. VX- 809 is the other drug Tyler was on during his trial (he needs the combination of the VX-770 and VX-809).  Vertex is also beginning research on a new drug, Vertex 661, which is only for people with two Delta F 508s. This drug could be even more promising for Tyler!

For all of those who give to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, you're making a difference! 

Happy Birthday.... I got you a.... VACUUM!

In anticipation of my birthday, Tyler had begun to ask what I wanted.  I am almost embarrassed by my answer, because to be honest I can't decide whether or not it makes me "little miss domestic" or just plain boring....probably the latter.  But since Tyler knows me so well, he just had to laugh when I told him I thought a vacuum might be a nice gift.  What... I am practical! But in case you don't know Tyler, he is not. And that always makes gifts exciting and quite unpreditable. I must brag though, he is a great gift giver so I never really worry. I know he hears my practical requests and that they go in one ear and out the other.  I must say, I am especially glad my vacuum request did just that!

Since my birthday fell on a weekday, Tyler planned a whole day for us to celebrate.  So we both took off work and started off on our day full of surprises. My first surprise was my birthday gift. I think he let me open it first because, well, he couldn't keep it a secret anymore!  When I woke up, he had a little note posted on our bedroom door that sent me on a scavenger hunt. It was precious. The end of the hunt led me to one of the closets in our house and I opened it to find....

A VACUUM! I was honestly very surprised... not disappointed by any means.... but definitely surprised. I couldn't help but crack a joke, "Just wait till I tell those girls who complain about getting a blender for Christmas, that I got a vacuum for my birthday! HA!"  To make it even more strange, I pulled the sheet off the vacuum and then realized he had taken it out of the box?  I just died laughing....he got me a vacuum and he opened it for me?  But Tyler, being the scheming guy he is, knew just what he was doing!  I then realized, this isn't a new vacuum, it's a trick! Tyler then gave me the last clue which lead me to a very pretty wrapped gift. When I opened the box, I was floored.  He got me a camera!  I had lost my camera several months ago during one of our many travels and had been heart broken over it.  What a sweet husband! I love that he brings so much laughter to my life and that he is so thoughtful. I am truly blessed!  Well since I had my new camera, Tyler planned out our day of fun around where we could take neat pictures....so the rest of this post will be more of a slide show :)

We went to lunch at Brent's Drug Store

On a side note... the camera also video tapes... here is the first video...it really captures a cute side of me...NOT! But it's pretty funny :)

Then we headed to the Museum of Art (this is where we had our wedding reception)

Love this picture!! 

My turn!

I took a picture of this piece of art at the Museum and it turned out so neat! I LOVE it!

Then we headed to a CANDY STORE!!

And then to the Reservoir... 

If this wasn't already the most perfect day ever.... we came home, took a quick nap, and he took me out to dinner! We went to an awesome Mexican restaurant and took more pictures in the historic Fondren area. This is where we took some of my favorite pictures!

Let's just say we ate good ALL day!

Tyler trying out an "action shot"

My favorite shot of the whole night! 

We had such a blast!  I am one lucky girl to have such a sweet husband and so many others who celebrated with me on my 25th birthday!  I can hardly believe I am already 25. Luckily for me, a little boy said this to me just the other day... "You're married? I thought you was a kid!" ... So apparently I still look about 12.

Call me Crazy... It's a Hole in One!

Tyler and I love hanging out with our friends Allen and Jessica.  We actually all went to college together, but didn't really become close friends until just last year.  It's actually interesting that we were never friends before, because Allen and Tyler have a lot in common and so do Jessica and I! So thankful for them and for their precious friendship! Anyways, that is a side note :)

We were just recently out on a double date with them and we decided to go putt-putt golfing.  Since I bantered a bit before we started playing, they made me go first.  It took me 8 tries on the first hole...my lesson about bantering was obviously quickly learned.  I won't give away Tyler's score, but he didn't play too hot on the first round either.  Because of this, Tyler and I changed our game strategy and started focusing more on what we call "showmanship."  If you can't play well, then at least try and look good doing it! Am I right?

At about this time, Tyler thought it would be funny to video a few of our shots on his phone, for memories sake.  And I am so glad he did!  This was pretty funny, I hope you can hear it on the video (you will probably need to pause the music at the bottom of the page).  Tyler was getting ready for a pretty difficult shot, and just when he was about to swing, a little boy stepped on the course to check it out.  I quickly, in my most mothering voice, told him.... "Oh sweetie, you better move, he (referring to Tyler) isn't that good."

I will let you watch the rest for yourself...

I guess I was wrong about him not being that good? Unfortunately not even that hole in one could save our scores!

DIY? Yes, please!

Call me picky, call me high maintenance, call me whatever, but let me be real, sometimes, despite all my best shopping efforts, I am convinced that manufacturers just do not make what I am looking for. Okay, or maybe they do at a price I am just not willing to pay. Either way, I have a new love for DIY projects, especially since we are in our new house.  Something about a DIY project makes a home feel personalized and unique and it's that touch that I love.  I can't say I am the most crafty person out there, but so far, so good!  Here is one project I just completed and I am sure I will post more in the near future.

I love texture, color, and patterns in my house.  It makes me happy.  I do not love water stains on new furniture. Been there, done that! So when shopping for coasters, I definitely had an idea of what I wanted in mind and unfortunately I just couldn't find ones that I thought were interesting enough. I felt like they needed a certain look since our coasters were not going to be the type that you just pull out for that occasional party, they are pretty much mainstays on our side tables... so I just couldn't leave out something that didn't look cute!

I have seen A LOT of people try these tile coasters and they made it look pretty easy, so I went for it!  I won't go into all the details of how you can make them, you can find those on this site.  But here are my results...not expensive at all...and cute, right?

If I can do it, anyone can! Seriously :)

Love When They Visit!

I am so lucky that my sister, Amy, and her family live close by. Her friendship is such a sweet gift to me and her family is a blast to hang out with.  Because we live so close by, it is great when my parents come for a visit because it is automatically a big family affair.

My parents came for a quick visit over Labor Day and it was so great to see them! It was also wonderful that my Grandma was able to come with them too! I am just sorry they had to make the 11 hour drive to get here! But we were so glad they did. It was fun to get to show them our house for the first time and to get to treat them to a little southern hospitality. We love to eat around here so most of our plans revolved around good eating :) All in all, I think we had a blast!

On our way to church! (Dad had to stay home with my nephew who wasn't feel so good... what a good Daddy Bob!)

She is the best Grandma a girl could ask for!! I appreciate her more than she knows!

Tyler's parents are always so wonderful when my parents come to town. They always go out of their way to host all of us at their home. Here are a few shots from dinner at their house.

Sisters and Best Friends!  We missed you Meg :)

Daddy Bob and Daniel.  This little guy loves his Daddy Bob!

Robby has so much personality!  He wanted me to take a few pictures of him on my phone and this was our favorite. What a funny guy!

My birthday isn't actually till the end of the month, but my parents wanted to take us all out to celebrate before they left.  They took us to my favorite, local restaurant Julep.  I am in love with their honey glazed fried chicken and mash potatoes... it's true I am definitely a southern girl these days!  We even had birthday cake (ice cream cake of course, a regular Baker tradition).

 Yummy!!

He wanted to give me a birthday kiss!

Thanks Dad, Mom, and Grandma for coming to visit! Can't wait for us to all be back together for Christmas with the Sapp clan too! 

Couldn't Ask for a Sweeter Guy

If you were wondering, or couldn't tell by my previous posts, I thought I would just come out and say it...  I just could not have asked for a sweeter husband.  This post won't be long, because there are probably very few out there who want to listen to this crazy lady go off on how great her husband is. But I just must give credit where credit is do!

After our  little IV adventure, I came home to a pretty wrapped box (Tyler can wrap gifts way better than I can!). I opened up the card which had the most thoughtful note and then the gift. This is what he got me :)

These plates are so cute! I happen to love birds, they are kind of my thing. And he picked them out himself!  They look great with my kitchen table.

He always finds a way to make me feel appreciated. Couldn't love that boy more if I tried!