7.16.2009

My "New" Family

So, like I said, I ventured to South Dakota with my husband to meet and spend some time with a lot of people on his side of the family.

This is me with our nephew, Grant. Grant is a preteen ready for anything. He is the most intelligent, fun, easy going, adventurous 12 year old I have ever met. You can tell that he has been raised right, and has a great sense of realism. I was so lucky to be able to interact with him this weekend, because his vote really counts! :-) He was obsessed with bottle rockets, driving his grandpa's Mule (pictured here) and loved hanging out with Uncle Scooter. I am blessed to have inherited a nephew like him!

These are my nieces, Jenn and Sam. One of the best things about my time with them was that I was able to befriend and relate to them very well - and the responded to me! I'm less of "Aunt Krystal" and more of just Krystal... which is nice when it comes to teenagers. Jenn is a very smart and sweet girl, very talkative and outgoing. We got to know each other pretty well and she was very open with me about her life and her choices. Sam is a beautiful girl, with a beautiful soul. Quieter than Jenn, but I still able to connect with her. I couldn't have asked for better nieces, I love them!

This is my mother in law, Leann. When a bride thinks about what her future will be like with the addition of her mother in law, she fears the worst and hopes for the best. I admit, I was weary, just because I had only met her once before, at the wedding, and had not gotten to spend much time with her or get to know her and vice versa. She was very curious about me and wanted to get to know me better than just emails. She is a very gracious woman, very generous and was as sweet as could be. We got a couples chances to talk just us, and this has helped our relationship. She is a very independent woman, and it reflects in her personality. I am lucky because we get along very well and have great communication. This is her on her pride and joy, her bike!

This is my..step father-in-law, Dick. He's great man, very amusing and funny. Like most men his age, he has a very interesting sense of humor, and he was always around for a laugh. Very sweet and was very easy going. He even got in on our Catch Phrase game, although we did create a rule for him and Grant that if you were too old or too young to know what the word was, you could skip it... and when Dick got "Bling Bling" and thought it was a panda, we all died laughing!

This is my brother in law, Dave. He is am amazing guy, and truly the most patient and caring dad to his kids. Dave and Scott have had a tried relationship in the past, but seeing them hang out and talk this weekend gives me lots of hope for their future. Dave is fun and sweet to me. We had a great time playing family football on the same team, and we also bonded in ways of deep conversation. I cannot wait for future times spent with him and the family.

This is my sister in law, Hopi! (We are pictured here at my rehersal dinner this past spring). We had the best time this weekend with each other. We were practically inseperable, binding and talking and teaching and learning. I don't think I would have made it through the weekend with as much sanity as I did without her. We needed this time together to really know what each of us was getting in the other, and it was amazing, She is by far one of my most favorite people. She is very inspiring. I love her so much! She is honest, gentle, kind, intellegent, but at the same time SO MUCH FUN! Cant wait to see her again.

Here I am with Scott's paternal cousins, Shannon (left) and Keri (far right) with their men, Tim and Aaron. They were very excited to meet me, as I was to meet them. Both of them were very sweet and I loved them and their families! Keri and Aaron are even talking about coming down for a visit next year!

This a group shot we got of the family with cousins and families from Scott's dad's side... After me and Scott in the middle, going right is Keri, her daughter Sophie, Aaron, Shannon's son Brandon, Shannon, Tim, Shannon's daughter Megan, and Scott's Aunt Lynn and her husband Dan.

So, here is my new family! I had the best time getting to know each of them better, and made lots of memories over the weekend. I miss all of them very much, but Watertown, SD and Loveland, CO are only a few layovers away!

7.15.2009

South Dakota in July

I'm going to have a few separate posts to reflect on my time in Watertown, South Dakota, just because my pictures tell different stories.

My husband took me to South Dakota over the Fourth of July weekend, because his mom was having a family reunion. There was so much anticipation for this weekend! I had only met his mother ONCE before this...and it was 2 days before our wedding... It was also exciting because we were going to get to spend time with the brother and sister in law, (who again, I didn't meet until right before the wedding!) There were so many family members that were going to be visiting her house on Saturday that I had never met, and that Scott hadn't seen in almost 20 years!

I had the best time spending time with my other family. It was nice to be able to connect with my brother and sister in law, and their kids. It was nice to meet relatives of Scott's late father; Scott's cousins Keri and Shannon and their families. And of course, to be able to spend time with my mother in law was great because we needed to get to know each other a little better.

I don't know if any of you have ever been to South Dakota, but it's flat. I was sort of on awe about how flat it was on the Eastern side. Coming from the Northeast, when I moved to Tennessee as a child, I thought it was flat, but nothing compares to this. It was flat for as far as the eye could see.

I didn't pull out my camera as much as I had hoped that I would while I was there, but it was because, honestly, I was having so much fun and talking so much that it just escaped me. I was able to grab a few shots though (of my favorite thing...nature and it's beauty)

7.14.2009

June 20 - Luau!

Blue Hawaiian Fish Bowl, thanks Dad!
My gorgeous Tiki Man cake!
Watermelon Whale, full of "forbidden fruit"
Everyone got festive, even Bruschi!Align CenterRubie, Bethany, me, Heather, Katie, Mom, RobinWalt, Trevor, Dad, James, ScottLove this pic... are we surfing?Ok boys, act "Hawaiian"!Hula-ing...or gettin down?

June 17 - My Birthday

I try as best as I can to reflect a little on each of my birthdays, as we all should, but for some reason, I never made it to my blog.

This birthday was a little hard for me, because lately I have been quite hard on myself about where I am not in life, what I have not accomplished, and what I am not doing by 24. I just wish I could fast forward a little bit, just give myself a peek at what my life is going to be like, so I would have some idea that things are going to work themselves out.

My birthday was nice, though. My husband cooked me breakfast and we had lunch together before he headed to work. It sucked that he had to go, but that's life! I had a wonderful evening: I went to Zumba (my dance aerobic class), then my best friend and went home to get ready to go out to eat and to shop and to have some drinks :-)

So, this is us at Target. We ended up spending a lot of time at Chili's and barely had time to shop, but we made a quick trip anyways. I usually never got into a store that is so close to closing, because I work in retail right now, and I hate it when people do that. This night, I was marching in like I owned the place with 15 minutes to go...

This is us right before headed in to 527 in Murfreesboro. I am not the going out girl at all, (anymore) so it is rare that she can drag me to a club, but hell, it was my birthday! We ended up having a great time and drank way too much! We came home fairly early...but not early enough to beat Scott home! He greeted us with a big smile as we came stumbling in my apartment. :-)