Check out some of our photos from New Orleans here…

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2746028&id=8308074&l=e73b9bddf9

This Memorial Day weekend marked our one year anniversary.  We decided to treat ourselves to a trip to New Orleans to celebrate.

We arrived on Friday night after a five and half hour drive and a stop to gamble in Lake Charles.  Upon our arrival, Hollis had asked the Marriott Hotel, where we were staying, if there was a “one year anniversary special.”  The Marriott gave us a beautiful corner suite with windows half way around the room and a king size bed.  The room had a table for eight, a bar, and a nice sitting area with a couch and two chairs.  We were delightfully surprised with the room they gave us and quickly put down our bags and headed out the door to see the nightlife of Bourbon Street.  We walked around Bourbon street, had a few drinks, and checked out Harrah’s casino.  After a few hands of blackjack and a few extra dollars in our pockets we headed back to the hotel to find a letter from the Marriott, chocolate covered strawberries, and a bottle of champagne.  It felt like we were on our honeymoon again!

We took the time to sleep in on Saturday and made it up in time for a nice lunch and a stroll around the French Quarter.  We were able to check out the art galleries, antique shops, and local flea market.  Saturday night we found a delicious restaurant to enjoy and later found ourselves at one of the many “Big Easy Daiquiri” bars enjoying a few drinks.

On Sunday, we woke up early to get in line to eat at Acme Oyster House.  We had heard a lot about this restaurant and every time we walked by it, the line was out the door and forever long.  We got to the restaurant ten minutes after it opened and were the last ones to sit down before the line started.  The food explained the line!  After our nice lunch we decided to take another walk down Magazine street to the River Walk.  We were able to by some souvenirs and enjoy the view of the Mississippi River.  We later got on a street car and drove down to the Garden District where we were able to look at the beautiful homes in the area.  We enjoyed the street car and for $1.25 decided to ride it all the way down the line, which was an hour ride.  We were able to see the Aquarium, some more beautiful mansions, Tulane University, and LOYLA University.

Later that night for our anniversary we got dressed up and went to dinner at a well known local restaurant.  After dinner we walked about Jackson Square and took a carriage ride around the French Quarter.  The carriage ride was by far my favorite part of the trip.  It was very romantic and very informative on some of the history of New Orleans.

All in all, Hollis and I had an amazing first anniversary.  The trip was exactly what we were looking for and we enjoyed every minute of it.  The year has flown by and it is crazy to think of how many things have changed in the last year for us:

• We went to Jamaica.
• I moved to Houston.
• I got a job working with Klein.
• I had a summer job.
• We made it through our first hurricane.
• We adopted Rex, our second dog.
• We went to eight weddings.
• We went to two baby showers.
• We went to four wedding showers.
• We bought our first home.
• We went to Vegas.

I am sure I am missing more things that we have done, but if this next year is anything like this year, then we will once again be busy!  We have had such a great time enjoying each other and learning even more about each other.  We finally have our ‘roles’ in the household and each do our even amount of chores!  I was not expecting marriage to be this much fun, I was expecting it to be a challenging ride, but with Hollis at my side, it has been nothing but smooth sailing this first year.  I have enjoyed learning more about each other and our future goals in life.  I have been blessed to have a husband who encourages me and challenges me to be a better person.  I am looking forward to what God has in store for us this next year.  We take it one year at a time, one day at a time, and right now life could not get any better!  The quote that Justin read at our wedding is very true, “My Greatest wish for the two of you is that through the years your love for each other will so deepen and grow, that years from now you will look back on this day, your wedding day, as the day you loved each other the least.”  As in love as we were on our wedding day, I can say that our love has grown exponentially and we are so blessed to have each other and God as our support system.  Thank you Hollis for always bettering yourself and therefore, bettering me.

Link to facebook photos:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2745046&id=8308156&l=5c40849927

My brother and sister-in-law went to the doctor today and found out that they are having a girl!  Her name will be Emma.  They are still deciding between two different middle names either Emma Nicole or Emma Elizabeth.  We can’t wait to have a new niece to spoil! 

Ah, It was nice to have a few relaxing weekends with nothing to do, but as Summer gets closer, so does the busy schedule. We kick it back off on Friday afternoon when I pick Jessica up from school on our way out of town to New Orleans, LA. Google says that it’s a 368 mile, 5 hour 49 minute trip which will mark the standard for our longest (only) out of state road trip as a married couple, and Jessica’s second out of state road trip ever. I’m not so worried about the trip there… It will be exciting to show Jessica the never-ending, poorly maintained, causeway over the swamps of Louisiana leading to the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. We may even take pit stops to see the casino boats of Lake Charles and the campus of LSU on the way there. It’s the return trip that won’t be as fun. 6 hours of driving with only Houston and work on Tuesday to look forward to. In between we’ll be staying on Bourbon Street, just a small walk from the bars, shopping, gambling, food and beads that make New Orleans famous. Check back next week for pictures.

Did I mention why we’re going to New Orleans? Well it’s our 1 year anniversary of course… tough to believe that it’s already been a year. It wasn’t until I looked back at my last few hundred Facebook pictures that I realized how many cool things we’ve got to do since our wedding day. And that was supposed to be the toughest year of marriage? Jessica makes it easy to look forward to the next 20.

And on a serious note, I want to take this space to publically thank Jessica for everything she’s done for me in the past year. Even after “dating” for 8+ years, there has been plenty to learn in the last 360+ days of marriage and sharing a home together. I’m more and more confident every day that we made the best choices we could have made in our relationship, and I continue to learn from her about the effort that it takes to keep up a successful marriage. She must be a natural at doing the right things because I’m pretty sure that I’m a pain to get along with every day…Either way, Jessica, thank you and I love you.

On Wednesday the 4th and 5th graders at my school participated in our annual Field Day.  The kids were really excited about field day and I loved it because I was able to hold it over their head for good behavior!  Even though some of my students had to sit out for bad behavior in the morning, we ended up having a wonderful day.  It was great to be able to see my students interact outside of the classroom situation.  They had wonderful team work and huddled together many times to strategize!  Here is a class picture of Mrs. Miles’ Marvelous Aggies!!