Our Newest Family Member...

Meet Palmer Tucker

We tried to think of a middle name but we decided he didn't have to have one. We got the name Palmer from- you have probably already guessed- The Palmer Building, where we got married. We wanted his name to be something that was meaningful to us in our early years as a couple. We thought about Mayer (John Mayer was the first concert we went to) or Chicago (where we were stuck on the airport of 2 days) and some various other names, but when Palmer came to mind it seemed to just fit him.

People have been asking if we were planning to get a dog and although we have talked about it before, we kinda did it on a whim. We came across a breeder who mainly bread (i don't know if this is the proper use of this word) small-dog hybrids. This seemed perfect for us since i wanted the typical small, cute an curly dog and Matt wanted something not so girly. He had his heart set on a beagle for the longest time so when we saw this little guy- a Poogle- Beagle and Poodle mix, it was love at first sight! We pick him up 2 days after we found him with no dog food, bed or anything else... Needless to say we made a pit-stop at Pet Smart on the way home!

(don't mind our kitchen in this image, it was under construction)

Do we regret the decision? Not in the least. Palmer has been the best addition to our little family and we are so glad we are getting accustomed to him before we decide to have kids. He really has been the best dog ever, sleeping through the night on night 3 and since, hasn't had an accident in the house in a week and he already listens to us so well. He was VERY timid when we got him but he has already grown out of that a ton. It is so fun to watch him run around and chase his tail and do all things puppies like to do (except chew). Plus, he is the best cuddler ever:)

Ooooklahoma!

You know when you get so behind on blogging that it is hard to just break down and blog something? Anything? That's where I'm at. So i thought my trip to Oklahoma would be as good a start as any:)

I had been to Oklahoma once before and the thing that stood out to me was the really flat and strait roads. I love going to other states and noticing the differences from North Carolina, where I grew up and still live. I know we are all in the same country, but if we were in Europe I would have been plenty of countries over so there must be some differences, right? This time I noticed- the wind, the open plains, Taco Bueno, Sarah. And Leah.- the reason for my visit.

Leah lives in a SMALL town. The kind where most everyone know each other, there are miles and miles between houses and many farms and horse pastures to be found, (even though Leah has never ridden a horse, which was shocking to me seeing that she is Native American AND lives right beside a horse farm). Here are just a few images from her property- it was gorgeous!

Sarah lives in Arkansas and came to spend the day with us in Tulsa one of the days i was there. I was SUCH and great time for catch up and great conversation. I love these girls:)

The majority of the time i was there, i had the song "Oooklahoma, where the wind goes sweeping down the plains" in my head. And amazingly, most that time, the wind WAS actually sweeping down the plains! It was so cool to expereince how different the wind feels when there are not tons of trees around. I also happened to be there on the 4th of July and it was incredible to watch the fireworks in those open country skies. Not to mention, Oklahoma does not have any fireworks laws like NC does, and so everyone was selling them on the side of the road, and shooting them off from their backyard.... crazy!

Finally, for years now i have heard all Oklahomans (and some Texans) say that the infamous Taco Beuno was SO. MUCH. BETTER. than Taco Bell. I never believed it. So i decided to try the "oh-so-wonderful" Taco Bueno as a non-biased North Carolinian. I LOVED IT!! I think it is going to be one of those places i constantly crave b/c there is no way to get there. Like some foods from Lebanon. But lots closer:)