Let me start from the beginning. It all began on Friday, July 3, 2009. Checkpast and PFS had closed their doors for the holiday weekend and both Ray and I were getting ready for our Road Trip with The Fants to Oklahoma City for the July 4th Holiday. I was so anxious and excited because it has been since January 2008 since the four of us had taken a road trip together. Little did I know that this would be a trip like none other.
Friday, July 3: While Ray was taking the kiddos to Dogs Play, a daycare and boarding place, I was packing our suitcase. All of a sudden, I hear a loud crash and then a shatter. While packing, I had somehow knocked off one of our mirrors and watched as it smashed to the ground. Even though it is said to expect 7 years of bad luck for breaking a mirror, I was not phased. The morning had started off so well and I would not let this minor set back bring me down. But a good note to self... I will have to make a trip to Garden Ridge for another mirror in the near future:) Anyway our bags were packed, lunch was made, errands were ran, and by 4:00 it was time to head out to McKinney to meet Kristin and Michael. 3 1/2 hours later, a quick stop at the Oklahoma/Texas Border...
(picture I "borrowed" from Kristin!)
a pit stop at a local gas station, many tent and firework citings , billboard scrabble, knippleheimer songs, and dinner at Subway... we were finally in Oklahoma City. That night we took a trip to BRICKTOWN! It is said to be modeled after the River Walk in San Antonio! It was amazing. Well this is of course after our random stop in a field where a lot of local Oklahoman individuals were waiting to see fireworks. We couldn't make up our mind about staying or leaving... so after our second trip to the same spot in the field... and I'm sure many individuals were confused by this indecisive nature... we left for Bricktown for a better view! After viewing fireworks, we decided to continue walking. Ray said, "hey why don't we take some more pictures." I of course am always up for extra pictures to remember the moments. But what I didn't realize was this was our moment... the moment I had been waiting for for over 7 years....
MY PROPOSAL!
Alicia Rose Waldrup... Will you marry me?!?! Yes of course! (Well I said that after I said... Are you serious... don't play:)
Ray putting the ring on my finger
Looking at my beautiful ring!
The happy couple!
Group Picture after the proposal! I am grinning from ear to ear:)
..and here's a video of the whole thing (with great ambient music!!)
That night of course I could not sleep! I was so anxious and excited... and I think I stared at my ring for an hour just trying to soak in the fact that it was mine and this was real! What an amazing day. I am so thankful for my fiance... my love... as well as my great friends that mean the absolute world to me. I am so glad they could share this with us... plus you guys are amazing photographers!
July 4: Playing around at OU Campus HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! After a quick continental breakfast at the hotel, we drove over to the OU campus.
THE FANTS and (soon to be) Zellners!
One of many 1,000s of statues and fountains at the OU Campus... A perfectly placed bird poop dropping made this statue look sad... So this is how we cheered him up:)
Group pic in front of the gigantic "O" donated by class of '07... I think:)
Later in the afternoon, we stopped by the Botanical Gardens. What we didn't know was that everything was FREE! Here are some pics of our trip!
Cute Bug hidden in the Garden
Mr. Frog Prince... I've already got my prince!
That night... we went to Nonna's for dinner and watched the storm pour in. Even though a little wet, we still rode a river taxi through Bricktown and ended in Skky Bar where we watched the fireworks over looking the Bricktown Ballpark! What an amazing night!
Dinner at Nonna's in Bricktown!
Sunday, July 5: On our last day in Oklahoma, we stopped at Waffle House and had an amazing breakfast/lunch... for some of us (cough cough Michael and Ray) we had a little bit TOO MUCH of an amazing meal... I was proud for you guys attempting the challenge... but it made me full watching you ! At least the trip allowed Ray to save the runaway eggs. Without him, 70 eggs could have perished...Or run into a parked car...
For our last trip in OK, we decided to stop by the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It definitely touched my heart. I remember as a fourth grader hearing of this tragedy... a federal building had just been bombed! It definitely hit a little too close to home for me.
Photos of the destruction
View of what now stands... 9:02: Our lives changed forever! In remembrance of the 168 people who died!
Faith Sustains Us!
And Jesus Wept!
Let us remember that FAITH DOES SUSTAIN US! It is in all times and especially in the most difficult of times that we should seek Christ and build a stronger relationship with him. It is in Him that we can truly understand redemption and sacrifice and be healed.
I married my best friend and husband on November 14, 2009. After graduating from Texas A&M, we moved to Dallas and have loved every moment! We welcomed our daughter, Aubrey, into our lives in October 2013 and our son, Liam, in March 2016. To say we are in love would be a huge understatement. I am a previous 1st grade teacher turned stay at home mama. Recently I began teaching 4s preschool at our church.I absolutely love it. We are so thankful for God's blessings! This blog is an effort to keep family and friends up to speed on all the happenings in our lives here in Dallas. Enjoy our journey!
