My Favs..

I thought I would blog about a few of my favorite parts of our wedding.  While everything was pretty much perfect, which sounds a little cliche, but it's true.  Chase and I have tried to come up with something that could have been better or we wish would have gone differently and we can't come up with anything....well not that we would have it any other way BUT our bar tab for the wedding was the biggest bar tab Silver Lakes has had at a wedding in SIX years!!  What can I say....our group has a good time.  

There were a few particular parts of the wedding that I just loved.  One was our wishing tree that Amber came up with.  Instead of doing a sign in book or something like that she created an actual tree (Hobby Lobby style) and cut out these cute cards and everyone at the wedding left us a sweet note, words of wisdom, or something funny and hung it on the tree.  It was so much fun to look at these after the wedding and we are actually going to carry on the tradition.  We plan to fill out a card every anniversary and special occasions.  I also think it would be cute to have the wishing tree at a future baby shower (one day maybe).

My other favorite part of our wedding was our special  little project.  If you didn't already know, I am pretty much obsessed with looking at blogs and diy crafts and things of that nature.  I found this sweet little idea of HE and SHE posters that the bride and groom write about one another.  We added a little twist and we did them secretly and a teacher friend of mine made them and I took them to Hobby Lobby and got them matted and framed and we revealed them at the wedding reception.  I carried those things in the back of car for weeks and never looked at it because I love surprises and I was so excited to have that to look forward to during the reception.  Chase told me over and over that his was better than mine because I made mine a little more funny and his was ALOT more deep. He was right...his was definitely better...I cried and so did everybody else.  I shouldn't be surprised because he is the deeper one of the two.  Regardless, we now have them hanging in our house and will forever have them to remind ourselves of how we feel about each other and have a little piece of our perfect day every day.  Here is a picture the wishing tree and our HE/SHE project.  Hope you enjoy!  

Finally I'm giving a honeymoon recap.  We had six days full of travel and site-seeing.  After missing our flight Sunday morning at 7:15am, (too much fun at the wedding reception) we flew out of Atlanta and headed out west.  We started in Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California.  We stayed three days and fell in love with the small town feel of this gorgeous place.  Next, we traveled to San Francisco, California for one day which was too short but we did as much as possible.  We visited Fisherman's Wharf, enjoyed a Bay Tour, ate some great food, and walked for MILES.  Our last day we stayed in Reno, Nevada and then sadly headed home.  It was a wonderful trip that we will remember forever.  It was a perfect ending to our wedding experience.  Here is a link to some pictures from the trip. 
HONEYMOON

Officially Married...

Well the wedding and honeymoon are officially over and Chase and I are officially married.  Our wedding day was perfect...for us.  We loved every aspect and trust me we have dissected it alllll the way to Lake Tahoe and back and we could not find a part we weren't happy with.  There were so many people that helped make that happen from the rehearsal dinner to the wedding and we are so thankful for all of you!  There are definitely too many to name but a special thanks to my Mama, Daddy, and Scotty along with everyone else that did SO much.  We loved it and we will be talking about this forever!  Our honeymoon was just as great.  We spent the week in Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California and San Francisco.  It was amazing and we enjoyed every minute.  From the amazing food, to Alcatraz, to beautiful Lake Tahoe....it was a trip that we will never forget.  And instead of adding a link to 500+ pictures from the wedding, here is a video of the wedding and reception.  I'll add pictures from the honeymoon later.  Hope you enjoy because we sure did. 

http://youtu.be/iX0EVB4Y5_s

A Whole Host of Showers....

So yes I'm well aware that I've been slacking on the blogging during this wedding season.  Therefore, I'm going to do triple duty here about three showers I've had lately.  
The first shower was a couple's shower that my Sacred Heart friends/co-workers gave us.  Chase and I had so much fun just relaxing at Camp Lee eating good food, socializing, and the guys actually shot carp with bows and arrows (strange I know).  This was gift card shower and by the way it's definitely one of the best types of showers a bride and groom could possibly have.  This was my type of shower and the teachers I teach with know me so well; we had chocolate cupcakes and used my red vintage suitcase (that Chase said was a waste to buy....proven wrong....thank you very much dear). Anyway, we received tons of gift cards to anywhere from Target to Dicks to restaurants and we loved it.  I really want to thank Mrs. Pullen, Mrs. Coplin, and Mrs. Batey for putting this together for us.  I am so lucky to work at such a great school with wonderful people.  

The next event was the bachelorette weekend...sort of.  Me, Amber, Kristen, and Meggie went to dinner and Sipsnstrokes (which is one of my favorite things) and we had a great time. Of course, I had tons of wedding-ish things to do so it really turned into a wedding shopping weekend for jewelry, dresses, and such but Amber and I did manage to get a facial while shopping.  We both had never had a facial and it was nice....well Amber's was really nice...I had a psycho facial lady that pretty much ruined mine but it was an experience.  First time for everything I guess.  Anyway, I had a great time and got a ton of stuff accomplished.  Thanks sister for putting it all together and for not being ill that I completely passed out when we got to the hotel because by 11:00pm I'm completely exhausted on a school day and that the bachelorette weekend turned into Paige checking things off her to-do list because she's crazy.  I love you sister!  

The last shower I had was one with my WPA competitive cheerleaders.  We had an Around the House shower, which basically means every girl got a room in the house and they were to buy something for that room.  I thought it was a really cute idea and the girls loved it.  I got great gifts and had such a good time getting to see the girls in something other than practice clothes and they probably enjoyed it because I wasn't yelling at them.  My girls are from 6-11 years old so I decided so make them a little something for the shower. So, I used my new obsession Pinterest and made a cute little Halloween dessert I found.  And if you do not know Pinterest...you should. Check out these witch hat cookies...not only are they cute.. they are delicious.

We had a great time and the girls really seemed to love it. Here we all are...aren't they precious!! (By the way this is only half of them...it is Fall Break for some schools so they were out of town) 

And here is a picture of "Ask Miss Paige Anything Time".  They only had one question which was....When are you going to have a baby?  I explained that I deal with them on a daily basis so NEVER and they said they would love to babysit HER.  I told them they were too young to babysit AND what if the imaginary baby wasn't a 'her'?  They preceded to explain that if you add all of their ages they were plenty old enough to babysit and Lily explained that her Mama just prayed that she would be a girl and it worked so that's all I would have to do to ensure I had a little girl.  I finished the conversation by assuring them it would be awhile before babies.  

Thanks Donna for putting this together!!

I have no choice but to learn to cook...

A few weeks ago I had a recipe shower. By the way if you have never been to a recipe shower, which I had not until this one, it's a wonderfully good idea. The shower was at the Young House in Lineville, Alabama and  it was about 20 of my closest friends and family.  Everyone that came brought their favorite recipe or recipes, the nonperishable food items used in the recipe, and a piece to prepare the dish or serve the dish. I received an array of recipes from casseroles to desserts.  The food served at the shower was my favorite foods like sausage-cream puffs, chicken salad, pound cake, and peanut butter cheese ball.  We had so much fun and it makes me very excited about October 22!!  

 Me and Meg 

Me and Morgan

 Me and Bridesmaids

 Me and Kristen

 Julie, Mama, Morgan, Amber, and Maddie 

 Amber, Me, and Mama

Me and Mama

I want to thank Jodi, Alli, Amber, and Kristen for giving me this wonderful shower!  I had a great time and got a lot of very useful items.  I guess I have no choice but to learn to cook...now that I think about it maybe this shower was a hint from some people about my cooking skills....

So the wedding festivities begin..

So the wedding festivities officially began last weekend with my bridal shower. My hostesses gave me a wonderful shower and I received an abundance of gifts. Chase and I are definitely loved and all of the evidence is in our dining room floor...slowly being picked through and trying to find a place for it to live. I had a great time and I want to thank all of my hostesses, everyone that came, and everyone that sent a gift. I am truly grateful and so excited that the wedding is only 61 days away!! By the way...that's crazy!!!! Here are some pictures of that day...

 Me and my beautiful bridesmaids!! Morgan, Amber, me, Meggie, and Kristen

 Maddie, Courtney, and Morgan.  They are so grown up and gorgeous!!

Me and my BFF from school!!!

 This is sweet baby Noah, Meggie's baby.  He loves Amber...me....not so much but he's beautiful!!

 Me and my precious flower girl Kinsley.

 Amber, Maurine, Pam, Jennifer, Cindy, Tina, Laura, Jodi, Debbie, Julie, and Penny.  All of my wonderful hostesses.  Thank you so much!!

Me and my sweet mama after a LOOOONG, tiring, wonderful day.

Hallelujah!

I am sooo excited about this post!  I have finally graduated with my Master's degree!  I graduated Friday, August 5th in the rain but it was great.  My family came up and celebrated with me and Chase and I am so proud to say that I'm absolutely finished with school!!! Here are some pictures...

Hello Mrs. Johnson...

The title...well you just had to be there.  Scotty sang this terrible wonderful song the ENTIRE TRIP.  Chase and the Jordan boys loved it while anyone with the last name Cotney besides Scotty hated it.  Anyway...it sortof became the theme of the trip.  While our mini beach vacation to Orange Beach consisted of school work for me (graduating August 5th!!!), I did manage to squeeze in laying out, good food, and a lot of fun.  This is our third annual Father Vacation (meaning Daddy and his children and Jodi and her children) and Chase and I look forward to this trip every summer.  We had a great time....maybe not as much as Ross, Zach, and Josh but we still had a great time.  Here is a link to some pictures from the trip.  

Beach 2011

Viva Las Vegas!!

Chase and I just got home from Las Vegas!  This is my second trip to Vegas but if you remember I deleted all of my pictures but this time I made sure I did NOT!!  We had a great time that included a ridiculous amount of flight time, great food, and loss of money.  This was a pre-wedding gift from a great friend of ours and we lucked up and our room was on the top floor of Caesar's Palace.  It was a beautiful room and the view was amazing.  We were there on 4th of July so to say the least it was rather crowded but we had a great time.  Here is some pictures from the trip and a video of my absolute favorite part of Vegas which is the fountain shows at the Bellagio and this happens to be my favorite show. Click on the link for the pictures and turn up your volume for the video! 

Vegas 2011

Trails of Africa...

Chase and I woke up Saturday morning and decided we wanted to go to the zoo.  Kind of random, I know, but Chase does not have a day off very often and we wanted to take advantage.  We were a little worried we would be the only young adults without children at the zoo and for the most part we were right but we had a great time.  

If you haven't been to The Birmingham Zoo lately...you should go.  They have a new fantastic Trials of Africa part of the zoo that includes all animals of Africa...gorillas, lions, tigers, elephants....everything and it is wonderful.  You really feel like you're in the Lion King with the music playing and everything.  Here a few pictures of my favorite animals and Chase's favorite animals at the zoo.  Mine first....

These sea lions were so fun to watch and we decided that they have it better than any animal at the zoo...they are in the cool water, they all kinds of fun tricks they can do, and they just look so happy...

I loved the gorilla too.  It's so weird to watch them because they are so human-like and this guy looked kind of sad but he has an amazing story.  He was the first gorilla to go through heart surgery in 2004 and he's doing amazing now...I loved him!

I thought these little monkeys were hilarious.  It was hot Saturday so they were really tired obviously but it was so funny the way they were just laaaayed out....

Of course one of Chase's favorite was the lion.  He wasn't very interesting because he was asleep but it was HUGE and so pretty.  

Chase also liked this Bengel Tiger.  He was sleeping too but still gorgeous. 

Of course Chase loved the alligator.  We watch Swamp People all the time and we were hoping Troy wasn't anywhere around (if you watch Swamp People you know what I'm talking about...he's our favorite Cajun).  We wanted to watch him get fed but we weren't willing to fight 40+ small children..he was pretty scary...

We both liked this massive elephant.  He wouldn't turn around but he was dancing which was entertaining.  Like I said they have this Lion King like music playing in this part of the zoo and that elephant was swaying back and forth and it looked just like he was dancing.  
We had a great time and if you have nothing to do...you should definitely go to the zoo no matter how old you are or whether you have small children or not....

A Family Affair

This past weekend my uncle, Brad, got married.  Brad is my uncle but he is more like a big brother to me seeing that he's only about five years older than Amber.  I spent some of the week and the whole weekend in my good ole hometown Ashland, Alabama.  Brad and his wife just bought a new house in Ashland and they moved in last Saturday and got married there this past Saturday.  So to say the least there was a lot of work to do and not a lot of time.  Our whole family had been working there all week and I showed up Thursday to help.  They have a beautiful house and backyard and they are so excited about it.  I am so happy for them and I am especially happy for Brad.  He is such a hard worker and him and his wonderful  kids, Ethan and Kinsley have been through a lot and they all are very worthy of this new home.  I am sure it will be full of new and wonderful memories that they will remember forever.  Here are a few pictures from the wedding that was held in their backyard around the pool.  We all had a great time and I hope Brad and Nicole are enjoying themselves on their honeymoon!  
Here's a sweet picture of Ross and Kinsley right before the wedding started.  

Me, Amber, and Ross before the wedding..

And here's another picture of the new happy family.  This is Madison (Nicole's daughter), Nicole, Kinsley, Brad, and Ethan.  

Fortunately for us and probably unfortunately for Brad and Nicole, they will keep a house full this summer with that huge pool in their backyard!!!  Congratulations and good luck Brad and Nicole on the marriage and congratulations Brad, Nicole, Ethan, Kinsley, and Madison on the home!!

Lookout for a beautiful wedding...

A couple of weekends ago Chase and I stole away for a weekend to help our friends Eric and Rosie celebrate their wedding.  Eric and Chase went to high school together and I have grown to really enjoy each of them separately and even more together.  Rosie is, like me, overworked, underpaid, and a huge contributer to the youth of America....yes...she's a teacher and Eric works in the hardware business and they live in Chase's hometown of Trion, Georgia.   

Their wedding was at Lookout Mountain (hence the title) in Chattanooga which is absolutely gorgeous.  The ceremony and reception was held outside with a breathtaking view.  The weather was very shaky all day with showers and while the wedding party was walking in it started raining.  Everyone held their breath but right before the beautiful bride walked out with her Dad it stopped.  Here is a picture of Rosie and her Dad as they walk out...

Her dad also played the guitar and sang a song during the ceremony which was so stinking sweet.  

You can probably tell that is has been raining in the picture but the ceremony turned out great and isn't the back of her dress gorgeous.  She was obviously a beautiful bride.  Here is picture right before they announced Rosie and Eric Evans for the first time!! 

The rest of the night was full of delicious food, drinks, music, and dancing.  Not only did their guests have a great time but they did too.  As a couple they finished out the night doing the entire Soldier Boy dance on the dance floor.  They are so cute and everyone had a wonderful time!  Here is a picture of the whole group and the bride and groom.  

There are three couples of our group that are getting married this year so one down and two to go!  The exciting part is WE are next!!  We'll end with a picture of me and my Chaser with that beautiful view in the background...

Congratulations Eric and Rosie, we had great time and we look forward to a ton of memories with you guys!  

Happy Birthday to ME!!

So Tuesday was my birthday and it was wonderful.  First of all I was given a gift from Chase.  He was sneaky of course...I was checking my mail and there was bills, bills, and more bills and then there was a folded piece of paper, so I opened it and this is what I saw....

So I had to study this for a minute but I soon discovered that we are spending Fourth of July in VEGAS!!  I was beside myself.  For everyone that doesn't know the last Vegas story here it is... Chase has been to Vegas a few times but my first time was Christmas break for Chase's graduation.  I was so excited and he was as excited for me to be going for the first time.  Now this was before Christmas and I had told my parents that I wanted a video camera for Christmas but I wanted it before the Vegas trip so they gave it to me before we left.  They got me an awesome camera/video camera that is small and it was perfect.  I took like 150 pictures and videos of fountain shows at the Bellagio, a concert in the Venetian, gorgeous pictures from the Hoover Dam, etc.  I got home and was filming some Christmas activities and I had a warning come up on my screen and it asked me FORMAT SD CARD yes?  no? and I said yes because I didn't know what it meant and BOOM....GONE.....EVERYTHING ERASED!!!  That's right...every single picture and video was erased.  I was completely devastated...tears and everything.  Chase had to make me gather myself before I ruined my Christmas.  I'm also sad to say that I did that one other time a few months later.... I'm seriously not the sharpest pencil in the box.  Anyway... I WILL NOT do that again on this Vegas trip.  I will have some documented memories after spending Fourth of July in Las Vegas this year.  

Anyway...back to the birthday.  My students also threw me a birthday party at school Tuesday.  I had two cakes, cards, gifts, birthday songs... the works.  I have the best students in the world and work at the best school around.  They are precious and we had a great day.  Here is a picture of my 8th grade Algebra I students who were in charge of the party planning.  

I spent the rest of my birthday at Sacred Heart's graduation ceremony.  It was very surreal to me to be a part of that graduation ceremony in a teacher capacity but it was a beautiful ceremony and I was elated for the seniors.  We are also continuing the birthday celebration this weekend at the lake with my family.  Camping at the lake with my family is one of my favorite things in the world and I can't wait for the sun, relaxation, and catching up with the fam. Overall it was a very busy day but a great day where I felt very loved and appreciated.     By the way.....I cannot wait until VEGAS(pictures this time guaranteed)!!!  

Who...What...When..and Where

So our wedding is officially 156 days away and I'm getting soooo excited, even though I have a million things to do and a million more things to buy and get organized.  I thought I would give you a little run down of the who, what, when, and where.  Well you know the WHO...and you know the WHAT....and the when is October 22, 2011.  And yes, this is the day that Alabama plays Tennessee BUT the golf course assures me they will have the TVs tuned in so we can keep up with the game.  I had to work around Ross's SENIOR football season and this was his only open weekend.  So on October 21, Friday we will have the rehearsal at Silver Lakes and then head to the rehearsal dinner which is at the JSU Alumni House. 

 The dinner will actually be around back in a large pavilion.  I am as excited about the rehearsal dinner as the wedding.  My family is doing the dinner and we are just going to party the night away as we anxiously await the WEDDING.  As for the wedding, the ceremony and reception is being held at Silver Lakes Golf Course in Gadsden, Alabama.  Silver Lakes is a Robert Trent Jones Golf Course and it is breathtaking.  

The ceremony will be outside and the reception will be held in the clubhouse.  Unfortunately, Silver Lakes was hit hard by the recent tornado.  We are hoping everything is back to normal by the wedding.  Read about that here.. http://www.rtjgolf.com/news/110429.htm.  Everyone is working long hours to try and get the golf course back in working condition.  

Out of town guests:  We have hotel rooms reserved at the Hampton Inn in Gadsden.  This hotel is about ten miles from Silver Lakes so we hope this is convenient for everyone.  The wedding weekend happens to be the same weekend as the race in Talladega so hotel accommodations are hard to come by so PLEASE reserve your rooms ASAP.  When you call to reserve tell them you are with the Cotney/Scott wedding.  

Here is the link that includes the phone number and all the information.  http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=GADALHX

After the wedding...we are unfortunately going back to work.  As a school teacher, my Fall Break is the week before the wedding which is great but I also know me and I would be overly stressed and panicked if I had to plan for a substitute teacher for an entire week after a break and giving that Chase is in sales, breaks are not extremely beneficial.  So we have decided to go on a honeymoon over Christmas break.  This will give us more time to plan for the trip and neither of us will be as worried about leaving our jobs unattended.    As of right now this is what we are thinking for a honeymoon destination even though nothing is set in stone as of now.... 

That's right!  New York at Christmas!  Chase has never been to NY and I would LOOOVE to go back.  I narrowed it down to two places that I would love to go...San Francisco and New York and he chose New York.  We haven't booked anything yet but I've always wanted to see the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center and there are so many things in NY that I think everyone should see at least once in there lifetime.  If this ends up being the winner then I think this will be a trip we will never forget....and it'll probably be because we will have never been so COLD!!