Fun weekend

What a great weekend! It has been absolutely beautiful down here in Florida so Chris and I have taken advantage of it! We live about 10 minutes from one of the largest Air Force bases in the country (if not the largest) and this weekend they put on an air show. Chris has really been looking forward to going to the show and has been talking about it for weeks, so yesterday we leave our house around 10:15 to drive the 10 minutes down the road to Eglin Air Force Base. We get about 1/2 a mile from the gate and are in complete stand-still traffic. After sitting in traffic for 30 minutes we debated on whether or not we should even go. We decided "yes" we would wait. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to FINALLY get onto base and find a parking spot. Once we parked we then had to wait in line for a bus to pick us up and take us to the show.... we proceeded to stand in line for an hour and 45 minutes for a bus. By this point we were getting pretty frustrated, but we had waited so long by that point that we REFUSED to leave! We finally made it to the show around 2pm and am happy to say that it was a GREAT show! We were really happy that we stuck it out and got to experience the show and walk around to look at the different aircraft around the base. It was a perfect day for the show and seeing the different fighter planes and thunderbirds soaring above us was truly incredible. Here are just a few pictures from the day.

Chris and the inside of a tanker.

The Thunderbirds

The show ended just after 4pm and after walking around looking at the different planes and helicopters we found ourselves waiting in another line to get back on a bus that would take us back to our car. Sure enough... after about 1 hour and 15 minutes we finally made it onto a bus. Overall the show was awesome, but the base could have prepared a little more. They were expecting over 35thousand people and had only 17 buses- REALLY PEOPLE!??!?

Today has also been a wonderful day starting with a great church service, then lunch on our patio. We then took Bailey to the dog park and let her run around for about 45 minutes or so. She is still very submissive and immediately lies down or rolls over when other dogs approach her (resulting in a bath as soon as we got home!). However, we noticed that she has gotten a lot better about coming to us when we call her name!!

Now we are enjoying the Masters. I'm pulling for Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend as well! Look for more updates later this week! Love you all!

Back to blogging!

WOW... has it been a while since I've blogged, or what?!!? Not too much has been going on around the Ireland household these past few weeks other than work, work and more work. Two weekends ago Chris' parents and cousin David came down for a few days- it was so great seeing them and spending time with family. David lives up in D.C and had been down in south Florida for spring training and decided to stop by our place on his way back up north. We are so glad he came and enjoyed catching up with him. Ed and Cheryl brought their sweet little pup, Holli for the weekend and Bailey just wouldn't leave her alone. You have to have the full picture though- Holli is a 6.5 pound yorkie who is about 5 years old.... Bailey is a 46 pound Boxer PUPPY full of energy. Bailey would chase Holli around all day and night and poor Holli just didn't want any of it. Bailey just wanted to play but doesn't quite understand that enough is enough sometimes! Overall, we had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed our time together. We wish we could see more of them, but always enjoy the time we do have together. Well, that's all for now. I hope all of you faithful readers are having a great week, and maybe I won't wait another month before I give you another post again. Love you all!

Bailey girl

It's been a while since I've posted pictures of our sweet little Bailey. She is just over 6 months old already and weighs 40 pounds. She's growing up fast! (Yes, I talk about her like she is my child... but I guess she kind of is!) We are so proud of her because she obeys most of her commands-- she is just a little stubborn when it comes to one of the commands--"come". Her newest trick is that she can shake! What a smart dog! :) We recently bought two baby gates and are now able to leave her in the kitchen during the day instead of leaving her cramped in her crate. She has done SO well and hasn't had one accident since we put her in the kitchen! She still sleeps in her crate at night, but we are excited about the baby steps of allowing her more space. Here are a few recent pictures of our growing little girl!

She will sit by the door or paw at her leash to let us know she needs to go to the bathroom

Chris put a t-shirt on her the other night- she wasn't a fan

After going on a run with Abby, Bailey found her towel by the front door and crashed for several hours.

This has been her favorite spot during the winter months. We have this space heater for us- but it quickly became Bailey's space heater. She will sit/lay by this all day and night if we let her.

She is not allowed on any of our furniture, but Chris left this pillow on the floor one day and she curled up on it. I can't believe she got her entire body on it!

She loves her Christopher!

Green

We decided to liven up our house a little by adding some color to our kitchen. We chose to paint the walls green-- a subtle green. However, when the color went on the walls it turned out to be a much BRIGHTER green than we expected. At first, I was a little nervous about the color and thought it might be too bright, but as time goes on we both have grown to really like the way it turned out. So, for Nanna and Poppop- here are the pictures of our newly painted kitchen!

BEFORE

AFTER

Thinking...

It's been a bit of an odd night and it's left me doing a lot of thinking. I've been faced with the challenge of trying not to think the worst in a situation when I do not know all of the answers-- if any, to what is going on. I'm learning how to rely on God even more and it is comforting to know that He is in control. The unknown is scary, but with God on my side I know that I can make it through any situation that comes my way. Just needed to write down some feelings. Thanks for letting me do so.

The Five Love Languages

I read this book during the first year of our marriage and let me tell ya- it is a great book. You sure do learn to understand yourself, your spouse and others in a whole new light. Well, Chris wanted to read it but he is not one to just pick up a book and start reading it. So, when we heard that our church was offering the class on Sunday mornings we decided that it would be great to go through together and also a great way to meet couples our own age (something thats rather difficult here in Niceville).

Last week we took the profile test at the end of the book and were surprised with our outcome. I have always thought that my love language was words of affirmation-- but guess what? Words of affirmation was #3 for me. My primary love language is Physical Touch- who would have thought? It's funny because now Chris and I look back over the past several years and can see examples of my primary love language shining through. Now on to Chris' love language. I have ALWAYS thought that his primary love language was physical touch, but he thought his love language was words of affirmation-- which I can totally see, too. Well, drum roll please..... his primary love language is Physical Touch!! According to the book it is extremely rare that a husband and wife share a primary love language, but it does happen. Well, I guess Chris and I are a rare couple.

Abby's Love Languages:

1. Physical Touch

2. Quality Time

3. Words of Affirmation

4. Acts of Service

5. Receiving Gifts

Chris' Love Languages:

1. Physical Touch

2. Words of Affirmation

3. Quality Time

4. Acts of Service

5. Receiving Gifts

California and the National Championship game

I finally went to California! I have always wanted to go out west to Cali and this year I was finally able to do so. My mom, Amanda, Lura (Amanda's best friend) and I went on a girls trip to California for the BCS National Championship game. We flew out of Birmingham on Tuesday morning on a chartered flight. They served us chick-fil-a for breakfast and played Sweet Home Alabama plus the fight song during the take off and landing. Our hotel was in Santa Monica so after we checked in we walked around the promenade and pier there in Santa Monica. It was so beautiful there. I was amazed at the beauty of the mountains behind the beach. They have the best of both worlds.... beach and mountains! The weather was incredible every day. We went from freezing temps in FL to sunny and 70 in California. It was fabulous!

On Wednesday we walked around on Rodeo Drive and then up to Hollywood Blvd. It was funny to see so many people walking up and down Rodeo Dr. and very few with shopping bags. I felt very out of place walking through the 2 stores we went in! Rodeo Dr was a beautiful street with palm trees lining the middle of the road.... then you go to Hollywood Blvd- very different than what I had imagined. It was dirty and crowded. Seeing the Kodak theater was really neat, but also not what I expected. The TV makes it look much more glamorous with the red carpet than it really is. That night my mom got so sick so we got her back to the hotel room then Amanda, Lura and I went back to the promenade for dinner. We ran into two of Amanda's friends and ended up ice skating. Who would have thought- ice skating in Southern Cal. We had so much fun!

Thursday was game day and thankfully my mom was feeling much better. When we got to Pasadena we went to an Alabama tailgate with lots of food and even some of the band and cheerleaders there to entertain the fans. We spent a few hours at the tailgate and then made our way into the Rose Bowl--which was such a neat stadium. My mom and I were in the Texas end zone about 9 rows up from the bottom. We had excellent seats and were happy to see that there were quite a few Bama fans around us. It was an exciting game and I am glad that Bama pulled out the big win!

Friday was our last day in California and we went on a tour of the celebrity homes and other big sites around Hollywood. We saw Michael Jackson's house, the Spelling Mansion, the intersection where Lindsay Lohan got her DUI and many more landmarks. Our tour also took us down a road where the stars do most of there shopping and guess what? We saw a celebrity! We saw the paparazzi huddled outside of a store and a few minutes later out walked Melanie Griffith. Friday night we went to dinner with the Denson family- Lura's future in-laws. CD is the youngest Denson boy and is Lura's fiance. His oldest brother married one of my sorority sisters, Julia Kelley, who is expecting her first child this summer!! It was so great to see her and to catch up on all that God is doing in her life. I am so excited for her and Joe as they prepare for baby Denson. The trip was wonderful and I want to thank my mom and dad for giving me the chance to go on such a great trip. Also, thanks to my sweet husband for letting me go for a few days. I know it must have been hard for him to stay at home and work while I went to the biggest football game of the year. He is so good to me!