our first Vday

Yes, our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, but it was also our first Valentine's Day EVER spent together! The last three were spent 400+ miles apart as it was always Step Sing weekend (not usually a good weekend to visit because of the craziness). We knew we had a crazy Saturday planned, so we celebrated on Friday. We had free tickets to the IMAX "Under the Sea 3D" show,

and we ate a fabulous dinner at Blue Water! Nothing beats a completely free date :).


Patrick Bryant spent the night with us on Friday, and we had fun with him as always. Harley (who looks possessed here) of course loved having new toes to nibble on.

We made our first car trip with Harley (other than to the vet). We took him to Birmingham with us on Saturday. I was a little nervous about how he would act (especially since he's a freak going to the vet), but he was wonderful! Super easy.

Bella was spending the weekend with Ashley, so we brought Harley so they could play together. They had SO much fun! They ran around and played like they were old friends (which I guess they are...). She is 4 weeks older than him, but they are pretty close to the same size. Their temperaments are totally different though. Harley is a rambunctious bundle of energy, and Bella is a laid-back cuddle bug. It was so fun watching them interact- we were glad we brought Harley!

In-dependant. In-dependant ladies. WHAT?! Sorry... flashbacks from the Independent Ladies Sweep Sing Sweepstakes victory of 2006. What is Step Sing? Well, I'm glad you asked! Here are a few quotes from the Samford web-page that explain it better than I could:

"Each year, more than one quarter of the total undergraduate population participates in this unique Samford musical tradition, which began over half-a-century ago. Each Step Sing show is developed, written, choreographed, rehearsed and performed by students. In addition to entertaining thousands of audience members, the proceeds of each Step Sing are donated to charity."

"Step Sing is Samford University's most time-honored tradition. For 59 years, students have worked together in producing every aspect of the show. Each year, thousands visit Samford's Wright Center to view the spectacle. Each show is developed, written, choreographed, rehearsed, and performed by campus organizations from every reach of campus life.
Students learn a great deal from the experience of Step Sing. They are not the only ones to directly benefit from the event, however. Each year, the Step Sing Committee devotes itself to charitable causes in the community. This year's Thursday night performance will be deemed Community Night, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting a local charity.
One of the thrills of Step Sing is the competition. Every year, each organization has its eye on the Sweepstakes Trophy. This year, organizations will be competing in three different categories for first and second place, and competing against one another for the coveted Sweepstakes Trophy. A tradition that began in simplicity has become inherent to Samford culture. Join the ranks of other Step Sing veterans by participating in or attending Step Sing 2009. It is an experience you will never forget!"

It's awesome. That's what it is. Ashley was in IL's show (Independent Ladies are a group of non-Greek girls and Dudes-A-Plenty are non-Greek guys. The Independents usually sweep the awards!) again this year for "Home Alone"- a show about wives of soldiers in the Navy. It was great and they won 3rd place! I'm pretty much obsessed with Step Sing. Check out this video of Dudes-A-Plenty's winning show in 2007. The quality isn't awesome, but you get a small taste of what Step Sing at Samford is all about.

We ate dinner at Jason's, and Mary Shelton came by!! It was SO great to see her- though way too short of a visit. Sorry for the blurry picture... I LOVE MS!

Being at Samford was great. I will always have such a dear place in my heart for that school. The best part about being at Step Sing was seeing some great friends! I didn't get in touch with anyone about us coming in town because I knew it would be such a quick trip, and we really wanted to hang out with Ashley and Peter. However, I got to see some wonderful friends while we were at Samford. Also, this was David's first Step Sing experience. He really enjoyed it, despite the fact that we drove home after the show and got back at 2am. Yuck.

Our late night made for a lazy Sunday. We took Harley with us to watch Hayden's soccer game, and it was a great day to play outside! There were a bunch of kids that took a liking to Harley and played with him the whole time. He fell asleep the moment we got in the car and barley woke up the rest of the night! They really wore him out!

Sorry for the crazy long blog post! If you've made it this far you deserve a prize (but you're not going to get one... sorry).