....And we're married!!!

Almost two months after the fact but better late than never!

The Big day was June 9th.  Bethany Barron and I pledged our lives to each other in Greenville, SC.  I am not going to say much here since pictures are worth far more than words...

Six of our seven flower girls.

Apparently having the veil on before the dress made things a little more difficult.

Our beautiful cake decorated by my sister, Joia.

All the girls.

Bethany's sisters, Allene and Laurel

Isn't she pretty?!?  

Bethany with her college friends, Jessica and Jada.

Bethany and her parents.

All the guys...

Siblings... Mark, Rob, me, Joia, Tim

With my mom.

All my brothers and brothers-in-laws.

My side of the family.

All our siblings, theirs spouses and children.

Both of our immediate families!

Bethany's side.

Our parents, unfortunately dad was not able to be there.

Tim and Bethany's dad officiated the wedding for us.

Our nieces and nephews.

Dad was able to watch the festivities of the day via live webcam.

My brother's and I singing.

And we're off!

This pickup originally belonged to Bethany's great grandfather.

We didn't go too far just yet, though. Our photographer (Helen Joy George) came behind us for a special photo shoot at a beautiful park nearby!

We had a wonderful time in the Florida Keys on our honeymoon.  Perhaps more pictures will come of that, but don't get your hopes up!  I have another eight months before I have to blog again.  :)

Engaged

Bethany and I had been dating for over a year and eight months, and it was definitely time. I was trying to think of how to propose. Bethany is an athletic trainer, so I thought about maybe having the announcer pop the question to her for me after a football game, but I knew Bethany wouldn't want that. I decided we should hike a mountain and I could propose there.

This past Saturday we hiked up Looking Glass Rock in North Carolina. It's at an elevation of 3,969ft above sea level. The trail head is at 2,269 ft so we ascended 1,700ft over our 3 mile hike. It's a nice hike through the woods this time of year with all the trees are starting to change colour.

Looking Glass Rock

We hiked for a little over an hour, and we were getting kind of hungry, so we stopped on a large flat rock area called "The Heli Pad." We admired the brilliant colours in the trees as we relaxed and ate our lunch.

The view of the trees from the Heli Pad

Enjoying some nice sun while sitting on the not so comfortable Heli Pad.

I'm sorry these pictures aren't quite in order. I think you know what this picture is without any explanation. lol

We finally got to the top, and quite a few people were sitting around. I didn't want to pop the question in front of others, so we found a little more secluded area. We enjoyed the view for a bit, I asked her to marry me, (in a few more words than that,) SHE SAID "YES!!!!!"

Thank you, Bethany. I love you.

The newly engaged couple.

A panoramic view from where we were.

The results of a Sunday afternoon photo shoot.

My Fiancée

It's not her fault, I started it.

We don't have a date picked yet, but we are thinking some where around Late spring or summer, 2012. This

Since Africa

The time since I left Mozambique on June 21st has gone by so quickly. Bethany and I flew back together. We had a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam so we took the opportunity to enjoy the sights of the city for a few hours. We arrived in Atlanta quite rested surprisingly enough on the evening of the 22nd and Bethany's parents were there to pick us up. Mr. & Mrs. Barron were so kind and let me stay with them for the 6 weeks that I was in South Carolina. It was a very good time to get to know Bethany and her family better.

Bethany and me in Amsterdam

July 3rd and 4th Bethany and I went on a kayak trip with Bethany's brother David and his girlfriend and three of David's friends. That was my first time to really kayak. We kayaked 10 miles each day through some very beautiful lakes and tributaries. Definitely going to have to do it again sometime.

Gliding along.

Finally made it to our camp site, a little tired.

Our camp site.

We got back from our kayaking trip in time to catch some supper before going to watch the fireworks downtown Greenville. We got to go on top of the three story building where Bethany's brother-in-law Bill works to watch them.

Bethany's family knows I can't sit around for very long without having something to do, so they were kind enough to give me some projects to work while I was there. I had the privilege to work with Bethany's brother in-law Bill, building a deck on his house.

Mr. Barron and I also worked together on finishing up some bathroom renovations that have been in the works for a bit longer then they had hoped they would have been. We just had to lay the tiles on the floor, tile the shower, paint the walls and put down some baseboard. It's always nice have a reno project finish especially when it has been in the works for quite sometime.

Bethany had a few things at the High School where she works that needed to be done, so I got to help out there as well. One of the things she needed done was for a water horse to be made. It is basically a water fountain for ten people, on the side lines of the practice football field, so that the athletes can keep themselves well hydrated.

Last Sunday my sister Joia and her two kids drove up to SC from Florida. She spent the night there, then we drove up to Ohio on Monday. Tuesday we drove the rest of the way to Ontario. it is good to be back and see family and have some time to visit friends. I am back in Ontario for about a month and a half or two and then I will be going back down to SC.