The beginning of a new chapter

This is Connor being Connor. He enjoys being goofy. Why be serious all of the time?

This is Connor and his sister Savannah. She wasn't too into the crazy hats but she was a good sport for this picture. 

Photo number 2 looked better anyhow. 

And here is my handsome man before the wedding started. We were hanging out in the hallway and he happened to catch me trying to sneak a picture of him. We both agree that he looks pretty good in this one! Oh dang!

I had a harder time trying to get him to look at me for this picture. So many people were talking at once and it was a little hard getting his attention. But I thought he looked good standing up there in his tux. 

The woman in the portrait behind him is of Billy's mother. I thought it was cool that her portrait was a part of that ceremony. I'm sure Billy would appreciate that too. 

This is Connor's family. Both of his grandmothers are on the front left side along with his sister Ellie. Then on the second row on the left is his sister Zoe, Savannah, and then April. Then in the back is the photographer's wife, Lisa. 

It was cool because we were worried there wouldn't be enough seats for everyone. And we weren't sure how we would be able to fit more seats in that room. But it turned out to be exactly enough seats. How often does it work out like that? 

Here comes the bride! It was hard to get a good picture with her and her dad. They walked in kind of fast, but it's better than nothing!

Connor and Kristen asked that Sterling start off the ceremony by saying marriage, but pronounced "maowage" I guess it was a reference to something? I'm not sure, to each their own. But it got a laugh out of everyone, so that's good. 

This was Connor saying his vows. In this picture he was talking about promising to kill all of the spiders, except for the ones he didn't. It got a good laugh out of Kristen. 

Here he was being sweet and more serious. 

I have to admire Kristen's dress. It was absolutely beautiful. 

Now it was Kristen's turn to give her vows. 

You may now kiss the bride! 

After all of the pictures were done and everyone ate, Sterling had to take a little break. The poor thing is coming down with something. We just hope it's not bronchitis or pneumonia. So keep your fingers crossed! But he was being a good sport about me taking this picture. He still looks pretty darn cute. 

Here is a list of most, if not all of the guests at the farm today. I believe we had about 31 people in here today. It was nice and full. I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed themselves. We had lots of questions asked about the history of it all. 

Here is cousin it! Just kidding! This is April being silly. They had fun posing with the crazy hats that are laying around everywhere. 

I would have to say that this is one of my favorite pictures of the day. I happened to look up at the light fixture and it looked like a sunflower! How cool is that? 

Over all it was a really good day. Now we are eager to take a nice long break to rest and relax. 

Brown pre wedding pictures

Our friend, Connor Brown is getting married today. Last night, they had their wedding reception in Greensboro at a friends house. It was a lovely evening, catching up with Connor's family and getting to meet Kristen's. Watching them have their first dances allowed me to remember mine and Sterling's first dance. It also reminded me of my daddy daughter dance with my pop. Awww how sweet!

 Due to some personal reasons, they decided to have a civil wedding first, and next year would like to be sealed in the temple. This gave Sterling the opportunity to be the one to marry his best friend. So I guess you could say it worked out! They asked us a few weeks ago if they could use Billy's farmhouse for the wedding venue. Of course we all said yes! The farmhouse is a beautiful historic house that has a lot of good memories for everyone who has visited.

Sterling and I often come here on the weekends to visit Billy and his dogs. It's usually used for game nights, parties, and the annual guys weekend. But today, it will be a wedding venue. How fun! 

Sterling and I arrived here around 9:30 to help set up the chairs and help with any last minute needs. The wedding is supposed to start at noon and will be followed by a meal. Luckily there is a beautiful and large kitchen to fulfill those needs. 

I enjoy coming out here to celebrate and to be around people I love. I hope Connor and Kristin have a long and happy marriage.  

There will more pictures to come this afternoon! 

Dixie's new friend

Dixie was really happy to be back home with her mom. While we were away in Ohio, Billy took care of her for us. Billy got a new addition to his family earlier this month. He adopted our big baby named Joe. I swear, he is one of the best dogs I have ever met. He is so happy and full of love. It makes me wonder how he ended up in the shelter. 

When Billy wanted to go to the shelter, he asked us to go with him to help pick one out. Joe was the last dog we came across and we instantly fell in love. I told Billy that if he didn't adopt him, then I would!

We're not exactly sure what Joe's breed is. He is definitely a mix but we're not really sure of what. But either way, him and Dixie get along great and are already friends. They play with the tug of war rope and have fun with the few squeaky toys Dixie has. 

This pretty boy got a bath today. He had a typical boy smell haha. But he now smells like peaches now! It took him a little convincing to get into the tub. I had to get in there with him to assure him it wasn't bad at all. I'm excited to see how he will do with the pool this coming summer. 

I've enjoyed having him around. I think I might dognap him from Billy. I don't know if I can give him back after this week is up! He is such a sweet boy, but Sterling doesn't want a 4th animal in the house. I guess I can see why...…. but still. 

Kirtland

Saturday the 28th we made the trip to Kirtland for Sterling's first time. It was a little chilly that day, but it was still fun walking around. We started at the temple and worked our way over to the Church's site. 

We got there about 30 minutes before the tours started, so we walked around on our own to take some pictures. Sterling was admiring the architecture of the temple and asked me to take a couple of extra pictures. 

It's nice to see a pop of red with all of the earthy colors of winter. Dad thought it was funny that I wanted to stop for this picture. I enjoy looking at vibrant colors. 

Sterling got an extra treat on our tour. Our tour guide allowed him to play the piano inside the temple on two different occasions. There is an old pump organ on the third floor that they played a few notes on. So that was really cool. Sterling's cousin Billy has one out at the farmhouse, so we already knew how those worked. Then when we came down to the first floor, the tour guide asked if anyone knew how to play they piano. I volunteered Sterling because he was being modest. But I had a feeling he would really enjoy having that opportunity. So he got up and played for us and I was able to record it on my phone. That was a unique experience for us all, because usually they don't allow photography inside the temple. 

More pictures of the berries. 

And some more.....

The next stop was the Church's tour site. The Elder that showed us around had a fun personality and we learned a lot with him. 

The N. K. Whitney store is always my favorite spot. I like looking at all of the things they would have sold in the store part. I always get a special feeling walking in here. 

One thing I missed with this tour was singing The Spirit of God in this room. I'm not sure if it was because of our tour guide, or if they just don't do it anymore. But the school of the Prophets room is always a spiritual room. Even without the song. 

It was a really pretty drive on the way home. I wish I would have gotten my camera out a little sooner. I missed some good photo opportunities. But between the pink and the blue skies, it was really pretty to look at. 

I was surprised I could get such a clear picture of the moon with my camera. It was hard to get it to focus with the movements of the car, but this turned out really good. My dad and I used to take walks around Hayesville at night to star gaze. We had some good talks doing that. Seeing the moon like this reminded me of those good times. 

This was the last full day of our Ohio trip. We left to go home on Sunday after visiting my great grandma Beninghof. We ended up getting home between 10 and 11pm. 

What's next with the Carters? Well when we got home we cranked up my equinox and found it smoking under the hood. So off to the mechanic we go. We always like to end things with a bang.  ;)

Fun in Amish Country

Today was a fun day. It was Dakota and Erica's last day here in Ohio. We decided to make our Amish Country rounds so Erica could experience it for the first time. This would be Sterling's second time there. We started off at the Miller's Bakery (not pictured) for their famous tarts. I always enjoy the plain tarts and the red raspberry tarts. I haven't decided if I'm going to share yet ;)

After our tart needs were met, we made our way over to the Antique Mall. They always have a ton of cool stuff to look at. Erica and Dakota found some burlap they can use for their wedding. Sterling found a vintage camera that still works. He was pretty excited about that. He is actually watching videos on how to use it as we speak. 

We didn't get to look at Kaufman's Kountry Accents this time around. We were on a slight time crunch since Dakota and Erica had to head back home this afternoon. But this store looked like it has some cute lawn ornaments and such. I saw this concrete elephant that I just had to have. Maybe next time I can talk my honey into letting me get it. 

I have always admired the Amish horse and buggies. They probably think I was weird for taking pictures of them. Maybe they are used to it by now? 

We were driving in the car when I tried to get this picture. I was so close! But I still think it turned out okay. Just a head short haha. 

If we weren't so stuffed, maybe we would have stopped at this bakery too. But we usually have a routine of places we know we want to stop and look. Someday we will break the mold and try some of these other stores too. I'm sure there is a whole other world we have yet to see! 

Another Amish man out and about with his beautiful horse. I think it would be fun to take a horse and buggy out for a day. Just for a day though. I enjoy my warm and toasty vehicles. 

One of my favorite places to stop is the cheese factory called Heini's. They have a bunch of samples that you can take. There are a ton of different cheeses, beef jerky, beef sticks, dips, fudge and more. My favorites are straight swiss cheese, butter cheese and smoked cheddar cheese. Now for the dips I always go for the bacon and scallion dip and the garlic and herb dip. Sterling got a few others he wanted and I also got a new flavor. I think it was sun dried tomato dip. I'm excited to dig into them. I believe they are a cream cheese based dip. 

I think this was my best photo of the day. Once again the horse is so pretty! But then again, check out the sky. It was so blue in this picture. I thought it was neat. The weather was really nice today. If I had to guess, it was probably around 50F. 

Sterling begged me to get a picture of these corn shocks. He says he doesn't know why, but he always thought they were neat. Being from Caswell County North Carolina, there aren't too many Amish or Mennonite communities around. So Amish Country is always a treat for him.  

The last stop of the day was Lehman's. I think we all enjoy walking around this maze of a store. It doesn't look very big from the outside, but it is massive on the inside. You name it, they have it. One of the reasons we went was because Sterling got a tree tapping kit for maple syrup. He wanted to see if there were any other things he could get to help him get started. I think he is going to have a field day with his dad trying that for the first time.