ten.

Today marks 10 years since Kyle asked me to be his girlfriend. We were fifteen years old and on a school bus heading to a high school football game. He must have been quite smitten with me since I was wearing a less than adorable marching band uniform and he still somehow wanted me to be his girlfriend.

And now here we are, ten years later, spending this day with our new little bundle of sweetness. 

I'm a little more tired on this November 8 than I was on November 8, 2001. I don't mind it though. I am also far more in love than I was ten years ago. More in love with Kyle, in love with our sweet Annabelle and in love with this new chapter of our life.

Happy ten years to my wonderful husband. I imagine the next ten will be even more eventful than the first!

the final countdown.

Kyle and I have had several 'last' date nights over the last month. Obviously not all of them were the real last date before baby, but I felt like we needed to squeeze in a few extra fun nights before our little girl arrives. 

I also felt the need to snap pictures before each one, just in case it would turn out to be the last one. Kyle was very sweet to indulge me, not only in such fun dates, but in our self-timer photo shoots. 

A few Fridays ago we decided that we were bored and wanted to get out of the house. We wanted to do something more than just dinner so we hit up the local bowling alley before getting something to eat. We had a great time and it was fun to add something that we don't usually do to the date night routine.

Two weeks ago I got it in my head that we needed another last date. I mentioned several times during the week that I wanted to go on a real date. Bless sweet Kyle for putting up with me when I say ridiculous things like that. I mentioned to him that I missed the days when he had to ask me out on a date in advance and when dates were more 'official' than just getting in the car and going out to the usual restaurant. Seriously, the guy deserves a medal for putting up with me. I don't even know what I mean when I request such absurd things as real, official dates, I'm not sure how I expect him to decipher my codes.

Apparently he was paying attention because on this particular Saturday he went to the grocery store for me (which was already pretty stinking romantic to a 38 week pregnant girl) and came home with a beautiful bouquet of fall flowers. He also informed me that he had made dinner reservations at a restaurant that neither of us had ever been to before. After a minor 'what am I going to wear?!' meltdown, I was very excited about our fun night out!

(poor pregnant girl, it looks like I have dislocated my hip and am about to fall over. At least my husband is handsome and my fall wreath is pretty)

Dinner was so much fun! It was a small, local restaurant. The head chef/owner came out to meet us and congratulated us on our baby girl. They even had balloons waiting for us at the table, such a sweet, thoughtful touch! There was live jazz music and the most delicious food. We had such a great time. It was a really special night out.

And with our due date right around the corner, we decided to have one more last date this weekend. This one was pretty low key, but a great time nonetheless. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants and Kyle treated me to a Dairy Queen blizzard for dessert. The pregnant gal in this picture looks a little more exhausted than on the previous two last dates, but we had to snap a picture anyways. 

I am so glad we squeezed in all of these fun nights right at the end of our pregnancy. It has been so nice to get out of the house and spend some quality time together, away from baby to-do lists and the television. I think it is so important for all couples to real time together and I think that becomes even more important when little ones enter into the picture. I am thankful we took the time to do this now and set aside some time for one another before our little bundle of sweetness arrives. 

nine.

Nine years ago today Kyle asked me to be his girlfriend.

We just returned from a delicious dinner at Houston's to celebrate the fact that our relationship is almost a decade old. I know it's a bit odd that we still celebrate this anniversary, but we've been doing it since we were 15 and I hope we always will.

 I am so thankful that sweet, fifteen year old Kyle asked me to be his girlfriend and I can barely believe that it was nine years ago. And now here we are, living in Atlanta with a year and a half of marriage under our belts. Can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Then:

Before celebrating our second anniversary at PF Chang's. We were super fancy that night and even got to borrow Kyle's dad's Camaro :) (Thanks, Scott!)

Now:

Anniversary number 9!

baby let's cruise

Get excited people... it's finally time for our cruise photos! I know they are WAY overdue... but here ya go!

We stayed at the Hotel Icon the night before we left. We had spent the night there after the wedding and thought it would be fun to go back on our anniversary. It is a gorgeous hotel and I love getting to stay there. We also had dinner at Pappa's Grill  (formerly C&H). We also had dinner there the night we got engaged (May 24, 2009) so it was special to have dinner there on our wedding anniversary. We've celebrated birthdays there as well so the restaurant holds a special place in our hearts. 

After dinner we went to a comedy show downtown. Kyle's parents gave us the tickets and told us that it was a comedy show all about marriage. We were a bit skeptical when we saw our tickets and discovered that it was a show performed by a nun. I think we both started thinking we were going to end up in a something more similar to our marriage prep classes. We were even more unsure when  our seats turned out to be on the front row of a theater that seats less than 100 people. The show was HILARIOUS and I am so glad we ended up going. We obviously got picked on a bit since we were seated front and center but it was all in good fun.

We took a 5 day cruise out of Galveston on the Carnival Ecstasy. Kyle had been on a cruise once before but this was my first time. We had a fabulous time and we've already started trying to convince our families to go on another one with us!

See ya later, Galveston!

Oh you know... just hanging on the golf course

Before one of the shows on the ship

The boat made two stops, one in Progreso and the other in Cozumel. We got off the ship at each stop but definitely preferred spending time in Cozumel more than Progreso. I'll let the pictures from Progreso paint the picture for you...

Riding the bus to town... so excited!!

Back on the bus heading to the ship.... a whopping 45 minutes later!

The spelling nerd in me had a problem with this banner...

Off the boat in Cozumel... ready to go shopping!

We hit up the shops in Cozumel and had lunch in town. On our way back to the ship we found a little taste of home...

Can you spy the other familiar store in this picture?? We didn't go in but I'm thinking this Tiffany's wasn't exactly like the one I am used to!

Heading to a show...

The cruise was a wonderful way to celebrate our first anniversary! It was completely stress-free and a great time from start to finish!

Psalm 126

The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

We read this at church on Sunday and it has stuck with me. I took it as my little reminder to be thankful for the many blessings that fill my life with joy. So instead of writing paragraph upon paragraph about our weekend, enjoy this little list of things that have been bringing me lots of joy lately...

• The beautiful weather that we had while walking to church on Sunday (and the tasty pumpkin spice I picked up on our way home)
• Coming home to dinner on the table after working late on Friday (thanks Kyle!!)
• Picking out invitations for the bridal shower I am hosting for Jenn.
• Having a job that I enjoy.
• Getting to know the girls at work! I've been waiting quite a few months to know some girls in this town... I'm enjoying every minute of it. 
• Thinking about spending the holidays with our families.
• Knowing that we will have a brand new little baby with us for Thanksgiving (my cousin, Kyle, and his wife are having their first baby in a few weeks!)
• Finally feeling like I kind of know my way around this town (this will probably jinx me and I'll get lost tomorrow!)
• Going to Six Flags Over Georgia (that will always sound strange to me) for Fright Fest. Kyle and I rode tons of rides and even indulged in a funnel cake treat.
• Fall weather. I love it even more than I thought I would!

A few people have asked for the name of the store I am working at. If you're interested, you can email me at stephaniemariekrueger@gmail.com. I would love to tell all of my friends, real-life and blogging, I just don't want to put it up here and let the whole world know where they can find me :)


I hope the week got off to a great start for all of you!