Dull's Tree Farm 2008

This is the tree (right behind us)!

Matt hard at work cutting the tree down.

Pulling the tree back to the cabin.

Mr. Dull loading the tree on top of the car.

Opening the tree at home.

Looks good!

We did it! We ventured out to the Christmas tree farm and found the perfect tree (at least we think so)! This is the final product. This year Matt's brother, Mark, went with and helped us pick out the tree, cut down the tree, and then anchor the tree in the stand at home. I did most of the decorating with Matt's help getting all 800 lights on just right. The holidays have just begun and we are excited to enjoy our tree, our family, and the true meaning of Christmas.

Waiting with Anticipation!

Thanksgiving 2007

In our home Thanksgiving brings not only thanks, but a Christmas tree too. Every year, the day or two after Thanksgiving, we venture out to Dull's Christmas tree farm to pick out the "perfect tree". We cut down the tree ourselves, transport it back home (via the roof of Rita the Rav4), and then we decorate it to perfection. Matt's been ready to go get the tree since Halloween. It's such a fun tradition for us and this year will be our 4th year to carry the tradition on. So stay tuned, we'll have new pictures to post as the pictures above are from our trip last year.

The holidays give us a good excuse to spend time with family and friends and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. We celebrate our health, our families, and having a warm home to keep us safe.

Scottsdale, AZ

On our hike through the red rocks.

Group shot with the Sedona in the background.

Beautiful red rocks.

Matt enjoying the hike.

Erin and I at the pool, where she and I spent most of our time!

We took a vacation and headed down to Scottsdale, AZ. Our friends Mark and Erin Lyons have a time share in Scottsdale and invited us out for a vacation with them. The boys played golf 3 of the 6 days, while Erin and I sat at the pool, relaxed, and read books! We had a fabulous time and enjoyed the time away tremendously. One day we drove up to Sedona and saw all the beautiful red rocks and went for a little hike! It's wonderful to have good friends, free time, and each other to share such a vacation.

Zoe waits patiently....

So we got a cute little favor from my cousin Toby's wedding out in Denver this summer. It is a Blue Spruce tree seed. So I decided to plant the seed one afternoon and Zoe was very interested! She probably thought it was food or a treat perhaps, but none the less it was very cute to see her so interested, so patient, and protective of that tree seed!

Happy 60th Birthday MOM!

So the real party was out in Colorado not too long ago because that's what my mom wished for...a family vacation. Really we were out there for my cousin's wedding but why not kill two bird with one stone. We had lots of family time and even went white water rafting! Where my mom, dad, and even Gordon fell out! But for the actual birthday we went to a little restaurant in Irvington called The Legend and had a tasty dinner. We sang Happy Birthday, as the entire room joined in and she blew out candles neatly placed on a brownie by ME! Hope you had a good one mom and here's to 40 more...at least!

Family photo!

To Bonge's We Will Go!

So, not so much to Grandmother's house but to Bonge's! About a half hour drive outside of town is a cute little "shack" if you will! This is known as Bonge's. We drove out one Saturday afternoon not too long ago to enjoy dinner with some fame and friends of the Hursh family. We had yummy food and it was a really neat environment. The common thing to do is bring your own alcohol and tailgate in the parking lot while you wait for a table...so that's what we did! It's always nice to get out and enjoy dinner at a new fun restaurant.

The BIG 3-0!

Matt, Amy, and Gordon

Thanks to Amy for bringing all the yummy cookies and cupcakes!

Matt got some IU golfballs from his family, along with a couple nice golf shirts and some other golfing gear!

The siblings!
Mindy, Matt, and Mark

Zoe fell asleep on my hand. She had a lot of entertaining to do that night!

So Matty turned the BIG 3-0 on 8/8/08! We had a cookout with some close family and friends to help him celebrate the big day. With the help of Qudoba catering, a keg of Miller Lite beer, and homemade cupcakes and cookies by Amy, I think the party was a hit. By the end of the night even ZoZo was beat! We are blessed to have wonderful family and friends.

Family Vacation to Colorado

So the Hamer side of the family headed out to Colorado for my cousin Toby's wedding. The Bender's decided to make a vacation out of the trip. We had lots of family time doing fun things like, hanging out at the pool, exploring different restaurants, white water rafting (where my mom, dad and Gordon all fell out of the boat!), and my favorite...running through both the Indy airport and the Denver airport to make our flights to and from! The good news is all 6 of us made both flights but not without a little stress and a little exercise from the running! Oh well, it makes for a good story! We had a great time and got to spend time with extended family.

Summer Fun

Just wanted send out a quick update on our fun summer thus far...with more fun to come. We visited Kentucky Lake over the fourth of July weekend and had a lot of fun hanging out with Lesley and the Teague Family! We have a lot of summer activities still to look forward to including: the Jimmy Buffet concert, a trip to Colorado, Matt's 30th birthday, a trip to Scottsdale, AZ for rest and relaxation! With a fun summer planned we are reminded of how blessed our lives really are and we are thankful!

P.S. After a year in the freezer, the cake actually tasted good!

After one year...

So after one entire year it's official....Happy Anniversary to us! I decided to start a blog today because it just seems so monumental and we needed to do something to remember this day...besides eatting year old wedding cake (I'll let you know how that goes!). I think the only other exciting thing to be done today is visit the site of our first date, our blind date! So, off to Starbucks we will go. I'll be ordering the same sugary coffee I ordered oh so long ago and I'm sure Matt will order some sort of tea again because neither of us really drink coffee! Wish us luck! Thanks to all who have supported us and our marriage, we are looking forward to 100 years together!