Our Side of Paradise

We Moved!!!

2011-01-02T12:24:00.003-05:00

"Our Side of Paradise" has moved!!! We hope you love our new & improved blog!

Follow Link To See:

Love, J & N

HoneyMOONING

2010-12-30T12:47:00.003-05:00

The morning after the wedding, we left from cold, snowy Pittsburgh, PA to Cancun, Mexico! Other than our flight being delayed a couple hours, the trip getting there was fun! Our honeymoon consisted of: sleeping, eating (A LOT), sunning, working on our Spanish, beaching, swimming, drinking icy beverages, mariachi bands, and being waited on hand and foot.

The water was so crystal blue, we were up to our noses and could still see our feet! The sand was white & never burned your feet. It was 79-81 degrees every day we were there. Perfection.

We loved every second! The best part was no cell phone service. There is a great sense of FREEDOM when you are not obligated/attached to your phone 24/7. We did have Free WiFi, thank goodness, I couldn't neglect my social networks for that long! The one and only "bad" part was the 7 hour layover at ATL! But we got home just in time to celebrate Christmas with la familia! I'm thinking about making Cancun a regular Smith family Christmas tradition?? :)

A few more pics for your viewing pleasure:

Best.Mariachi.Band.Ever.

Our "Karate Gear" as Bill Cooper would say!

Private honeymoon dinner en la playa.

Paying my respects to the reason for the season :)

Is this a dream????

Cancun airport with the coolest Mexican Christmas tree ever, sad to be coming back to a Winter Weather Advisory. Gracias amigos!!!

Mr. & Mrs. Days 1-3

2010-12-29T23:59:00.011-05:00

'Ello All!

We are officially Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Feels great.

Our timeline for the past 10 days looked a little something like this:

Day 1: Took off work, packed for wedding & honeymoon, got nails did, and drove the 6 hours to Follansbee, WV. THRILLING, I know!

Day 2: Paid for our marriage license in the state of WV where they asked both N & I if we were related to each other.... really, WV? As if you don't get made fun of enough!

Also, we picked up my BFF Kate from the airport so she went to the courthouse with us.

Heyyyy there!

Also on Day 2, we had our little rehearsal at the church followed by the best pizza EVER (DiCarlo's)! We took wedding photos at the pizza shop after the wedding... that's how much we love this pizza! The rehearsal was laid back to say the least!

Day 3: THE BIG DAY! As most of you know, I had a private family wedding in West Virginia (where I'm from) that consisted of a 14 minute (let me repeat, 14 MINUTE) ceremony and an intimate & beautiful dinner to follow & fellowship. Needless to say, it all went too dang fast!

I had so much fun all day with my girls (my mom being one of them!). Couldn't sleep, woke up to a "good morning bride gift" from my mom (gorgeous cross necklace) and egg McMuffins & iced coffees thanks to the Father of the Bride. Spent the morning at the salon, spent precious time with 3 of the most beautiful and wonderful friends in the world, and then walked down the aisle to my future of happiness (and a super good looking man in a suit & Converse!) I don't have the wedding day pics quite yet, but here are a few "amateur shots":

It was all perfect. PERFECT. PERFECT! Being able to spend my wedding weekend with my family & my 3 amazing friends from 3 different chapters in my life was a blessing in and of itself! But marrying my prince on that day was a whole new level of happiness! Can't wait to celebrate with EVERYONE on March 26!!

Timeline To Be Continued...

Final Countdown

2010-11-21T08:59:00.002-05:00

27 DAYS UNTIL THE BIG DAY!

Whaaaaat!? Okay so I know we haven't blogged in 5 MONTHS (unacceptable, I understand). So to catch you up on our lives in one obnoxiously long run-on sentence:

Summer was great I got really tan we moved to a new awesome apartment Jacob played football He's a senior Very sad I love my 7th graders this year but am ready for a break We've made some awesome friends here in Indy We love fantasy football I've lost 17 lbs I've not stressed for one second about the wedding My bridesmaids and I are wearing pink shoes I had 2 AMAZING bridal showers and one killer bachelorette party We're decorating for Christmas and making decorations for the wedding We hate LeBron James We're having a blast.

Everything is falling into place & we're extremely happy.

I must find motivation to blog more.... Seriously.

Holy Moly!

2010-06-14T12:57:00.004-04:00

That's right people ~ one year ago Nile & I met at my childhood friend (soon to be cousin)'s wedding. WHO KNEW!!!

These are from our first dates after I moved here last summer:

Lots has happened this year & we've both changed so much (i.e. Nile has an awesome beard now)! Unbelievable how quickly it went! And now the wedding is in 6 months!

A friend of mine tweeted the following this morning:

"One year ago, @JessicaDCooper met Nile at a wedding and was like "so wanna have one of these together next year?" And it was magical!!!"

Love it :) Thanks to all of our friends & family that love and support us every day!!! We love you SO MUCH!

love of my life discovered

2010-06-13T14:22:00.002-04:00

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY I MET THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND ON THAT DAY I DECIDED THAT YES I WOULD MARRY HER SOMEDAY(well that dream is coming true!) YEP ONE YEAR AGO TODAY JESSICA AND I MET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*post coming later

Wedding Info

2010-06-09T13:43:00.004-04:00

More & more people have been asking me (so mark your calendars!!)

Bridal Shower: Sunday August 1, 2010 @ Shawnee Alliance Church in Lima, Ohio

Wedding Ceremony (We are having a private ceremony with family only): Saturday December 18, 2010 @ Follansbee Church of Christ in Follansbee, WV.

Reception (THE BIG PARTY!!): Saturday March 26, 2011 @ UNOH Event Center in Lima, Ohio.

We really wanted to get married over Winter break (in December) but don't want everyone to have to drive far a week before Christmas ~~ therefore, we are having a separate reception in March (when the weather isn't so unpredictable!!) Kinda like a destination wedding... except our "destination" is Follanbee, WV where my entire family lives :)

P.S. How ADORABLE is this Han & Leia cake topper???

Lately

2010-06-08T18:39:00.006-04:00

It's summer!! Here is a run-down of what we've been up to:

1. Dexter: It's a complete train wreck that I can't look away from. We finished Season 1 today and despite my nightmares, I'm ready for Season 2.

2. My brother Jake came to visit and took pictures of himself with my phone. It was great to have him here!

3. Lots of downtown, out in the sun, hanging out. The sunshine has been plentiful. Nile loves wearing women's sunglasses in public. Normal.

4. New hair-do (J). Cut almost 8 inches of hair off! It was a liberating day!!

5. LOTS of WEDDING planning!!! Here are some things that are inspiring my wedding plans right now:

Going dress shopping the week with my mom!!! We're almost to the 6 month mark!!

Happy Day!

Remember when....

2010-05-22T10:23:00.002-04:00

We used to blog???

I do apologize.

We've been doing a lot of working, baseball games, traveling, etc. I'm hoping my 8 weeks off this summer will give me more time to update!

Love you all!

Here They Are!!!

2010-04-13T19:35:00.009-04:00

After searching through all of our pictures, we decided we liked the these the best :) Enjoy!!

We're thinking of doing something creative with the number pictures.... we posed with each number (not all pictured!)

XoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Sneak Peak :)

2010-04-11T20:21:00.001-04:00

Photo Shoot!!

2010-04-11T07:22:00.001-04:00

Going to get our engagement pictures taken now!!! Who will be taking pictures of us getting our pictures taken? Us. That's who!

Engagement Pictures

2010-04-10T19:31:00.003-04:00

We are getting our engagement pictures taken in the gardens at the Indianapolis Museum of Art tomorrow morning! Can't wait to share!!

Happy beautiful weekend everyone!

P.S. Greatest wedding blog ever (and other blogs that are linked from this one!!)

Nile's Birthday

2010-04-10T19:22:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday April 7, 1985, Nile Smith was born :)

Yes, that is a Darth Vadar candle holder.

We got to celebrate in Ohio with J's parents and then in Indy with N's parents. Lots of cake, Indianapolis Indians attire & home opener tickets, and singing at the top of our lungs.

Happy 25th honey!!

Our Easter in Pictures

2010-04-10T18:54:00.004-04:00

N & J go to Ohio to celebrate Easter with family :)

Much love!!!

Happy Happy

2010-04-04T21:26:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter all! He is Risen indeed :) We were SO blessed by this past weekend with family! Can't wait to share! Have a GREAT first full week of April!!

Oh yeah, and GO BUTLER BULLDOGS!! It's SO awesome to have the Final Four in our own city of Indianapolis!! Duke is going down....

Our favorite baby

2010-03-31T09:57:00.004-04:00

Happy Wednesday!!

Last weekend, we took a little roadtrip to Northwest Ohio to see some great friends of ours! My best friend Becca had a baby (Sophie) last June (see her blog) and she is the most wonderful little girl in the world. Her momma Becca means the WORLD to me (J) and is the best friend I've ever had. Ever.

My favorite part was when Sophie literally THREW a plate off the table and it shattered all over the floor with eggs on it causing a huge scene.

So blessed to have these people in our lives ♥

Oh, also.... I asked Becca to be my matron of honor!! I made these super easy and cute tissue paper flowers and made one of the petals a note that said 'be my matron of honor??'

Thank goodness she said yes!!!!

We are cute.

2010-03-30T11:35:00.002-04:00

I know it's super small here, but will be super cute when I get it in the mail!! (Program through Shutterfly called Wink). Perfect for the art journal.

Differences

2010-03-29T23:09:00.006-04:00

As a lot of you know, Nile & I have lots in common. We love food, going downtown, sports, Jeopardy, and F.Scott Fitzgerald. However, we do have many unique differences (keeps things interesting!!) For example, tonight Nile has chosen to watch 8 straight hours of the Marx Brothers on TCM. Yes, my friends, from 8pm - 4am Nile will be intently watching the craziness that is the Marx Brothers while quoting/yelling "peanuutttsssss" over and over. This is not a joke.

Myself, on the other hand, am filling my night with my Sue Grafton novel, starting a new embroidery project, reading blogs, chatting with friends, making TO DO lists, and working on a new art journal to keep Nile & Jess memories in.

I do love our differences. Keeps things fun for both of us :)

One thing we DEFINITELY have in common is our love for the movie Casablanca. Our newest living room decor is so amazing. I love that slowly, but surely, the living room walls are not so bare. Every new piece of furniture, book shelf, and wall decor makes this little apartment feel more like home.

Here's lookin' at you kid.....

Nile's New BFFs

2010-03-27T18:48:00.004-04:00

Nile has officially found new best friends. Mugsy & Daisy.

They have a very close relationship...

They play football together...

And cuddle....

What a fun start to my (J) spring break! Nile and I have gone to the Abe Lincoln exhibit at the Indiana State Fair, Union Jacks pizza, doggie sitting, and Targeting!! So relieved to have the next week off!! N is at a fantasy baseball draft tonight while I am in with the doggies reading & watching basketball! Hopefully lots of posts over SB!!

XoXo

More to come... Much love!

PACKAGE!

2010-03-13T16:43:00.001-05:00

Groomers (J's Grandma) from West Virginia sent us an engagement gift!!! An Instax camera! SO adorable and fun!!! What a great surprise!!! :) The instant photos are the size of a credit card. SO EXCITED (and film isn't as expensive as Poloroid film!)

Mom and Dad Cooper are here for the weekend. The weekend thus far has consisted of New York style pizza, sleeping in, shopping (mom buying new golf clubs!!), and lots of laughing. Church & Cheesecake Factory for dinner tonight & a home-cooked meal of spaghetti and homemade sauce tomorrow!

Weekend

2010-03-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Here is our sunny weekend in review:

Friday

I (J) took a sick day (my first ever!!) because I went to the doctor that morning, she took a one second look in my ears, gasped and said "wow honey, you are FULL of infection!!"

Gross.

So, I spent the day in bed on meds and Nile brought me a QDoba breakfast burrito (be jealous!) Friday night, Nile and I went to see Alice in Wonderland with some friends. Despite the horrible reviews it is getting, I LOVED it!

Saturday

Saturday was a GORGEOUS and sunny day here in Indy. I wore short sleeves!! Nile & I ran some errands and spent the day outside at one of the many outdoor shopping malls around the area. It was awesome just to be outside, not be freezing, and wear sunglasses! It was a great date day!! We ended at one of our favorites:

Sunday

Today will be a day of relaxing, organizing, and planning. It's another sunny day outside so I will try to go out and enjoy it. I love/hate Sundays so much. I love that they are so productive and restful, but hate because life starts again tomorrow.

My parents are coming to visit next week!!! I can't wait!!!! Have a great week everyone!

Hmmmm....

2010-03-01T06:54:00.000-05:00

We need to update.

Maybe tonight?

Our weekend consisted of the following:

1. Me (J) being sick (sinus infection!!) and grumpy all weekend
2. Game night with friends (always good to spread your germs around to the ones you love)
3. Working OT at school Saturday for the wrestling tournament
4. Lots and lots of coffee
5. 5 Dollar Footlongs (ANY!) ~ not kidding
6. Sunday = movies, couch, blankets, kleenex box ALL DAY.

IT'S MARCH!!! Which means one thing: SPRING!!!!!!! Less than 20 days....

Have a happy week!! :)

Bored at Work

2010-02-25T10:16:00.001-05:00

So as you know I Love Star Wars. It is my one big nerdy thing

I saw this picture today and I thought it was amazing

So I was sitting here bored at work, and I knew that Jessica would get a kick out of it

so I decided to put a smile on hers and mine face and make the same picture but with her in it!!

So that was my wonderful creation I did today at work

Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful day!!!

Our Weekend

2010-02-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone :)

What a fun-filled weekend!! Fun thing #1: Friday after school, Nile and I went to Verizon to get a cell phone plan TOGETHER. You KNOW your relationship is officially official when you merge cell phone plans! I think my dad was a little sad that I am no longer on our family plan..... Nile & I both got Motoroly DROID Smartphones. IN LOVE.

Friday night after we got home from purchasing them, Nile and I sat in my living room on our phones for 2 hours and did not say one word to each other. And as sad as it may seem, I do think we texted each other a couple times while sitting in the same room. It's okay, you can judge us. I can Tweet ALL the time now, even though I think Kate Bing is the only one that reads my tweets :)

As a lot of you know, I coach the 7th grade Academic Team (Quiz Bowl/Brain Game/Whatever you want to call it). We had the big county tournament on Saturday morning ~ 700+ middle schoolers and their parents. It was CHAOS. Nile volunteered his Saturday morning to read questions/judge during meets. It may seem like no big deal, but some of these coaches go CRAZY about this tournament.

Beech Grove lost their first round, but these kids are awesome. I never thought I'd ever coach something like the Academic Team, but I'm SO GLAD that I did. It was so fun.

The day was exhausting.... so exhausting, in fact, that I went to bed before 7pm last night and slept for 12 hours!!!

This morning, Nile & I went to QDoba for breakfast. That's right friends, QDOBA FOR BREAKFAST. They have breakfast burritos that are AMAZING.

Both Nile & I LOVE their Verde salsa ~ so when we went grocery shopping, we decided to buy some! We decided to go with the verde salsa in the 'pop bottle' style. We were both so excited about our awesome find. I do believe we stood in Wal Mart laughing hysterically for about 5 minutes about this plastic pop bottle salsa container. It doesn't take much to amuse us apparently.

The rest of today will be cleaning, relaxing, cuddling, and Olympics. Sundays are definitely my favorite.

Jess & Nile Quote of the day:

Nile:"You didn't know that Bob Dylan's son was Jacob Cooper?"

Me: "JACOB COOPER? Nope, didn't know that!"

Nile: "Ahhh I mean Jakob Dylan!"

Much Love :)

For the Future....

2010-02-18T20:11:00.002-05:00

How amazing are these adorable Star Wars prints from Etsy for babies?

In love.

AS WELL AS all these amazingly adorable ninja turtles, power rangers, and dragon ball-z onesies?!? I want every single one of them.... 'them' meaning the onsies, not the Japanese babies.... wait, just kidding, I'll take the ridiculously adorable Japanese babies too :)

Someday..... :)

While Nile is at work... Part II

2010-02-16T16:07:00.001-05:00

So, I needed to start my wedding journal, but wanted to buy a sweet journal to write in. This is when I came across this DIY fabric journal. I made 2 today, so super easy and cute!

The writing on it says 'I do', even though it is very difficult to see, on my wedding notebook! The other has really cute green fabric with some hearts in the corner. I made it for my friend Lauren with her initials on it.

Also started a new project today.... not sure where to go from here... needs color. Will update you when finished and hanging on a wall :)

I officially decided that I want to be a stay-at-home wife/mom today. So, when Nile gets a big awesome promotion, that's what I'll be doing :)
Spending the rest of the evening making tacos, reading, and a possible movie. Back to school tomorrow... Geologic Time Scale here I come! xo, Jess

While Nile is at work...

2010-02-16T10:57:00.003-05:00

As you know, I have 2 days off this week in celebration of President's Day & Nile has to work. There are very few days that I get an ENTIRE day here by myself. So here's some things I have been doing while Nile has been away:

Lots of cookie baking & coffee drinking (mmm Monster cookies!)

Reading, going through and marking awesome recipes in magazines my mom gave me

Watching the snow & trying to avoid going out at all costs.

Planning our wedding ~ or just making cool websites that I can put information and pictures on about our wedding.

Other activities include: Lesson planning (ALL DONE FOR THE WEEK, YAY!), laundry, possible chick flick (The Holiday, anyone?), and crafting a DIY fabric journal (this afternoon's craft activity for me).

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE having Nile around :) Off to Hobby Lobby (aka heaven on earth)!!

Our Favorite Presidents

2010-02-15T11:38:00.008-05:00

In honor of President's Day (and me having not one, but TWO days off this week), I decided to dedicate this post to our favorite Presidents. Needless to say, I'm feeling very patriotic and happy for the day off!

My (Jessica's) favorite president is without a doubt Abe Lincoln. Talk about a man that made a difference. I also 100% believe that Lincoln would win any fight (WWF style, UFC style, street style, etc.) that he came across. Nile may or may not disagree with this.

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."

"Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them."

"...I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."

-Abraham Lincoln (February 1809- April 1865)

What a great man.

Nile has selected Teddy Roosevelt as his favorite president.

Here's why:

1. He was the youngest president at the time.

2. He was a roughrider (basically John Wayne in real life).

3. He created state/national parks
4. He created the food and drug administration and regulation of Food and Drugs
5. He took on Big Advertsing
6. He killed a cougar (not a hot old lady, a REAL cougar) with only a knife one time.

7. He was a pro boxer.

8. He had a sweet mustache. (one of the last presidents to have facial hair.)

9. He was shot at point blank but survived because the bullet hit his speech.

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY!!!!

Inspirational Love

2010-02-13T13:25:00.001-05:00

Do you ever come across or spend time with a couple that inspires you to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make your relationship as loving and as strong as it could possibly be? A couple that you KNOW that they have unconditional love for each other no matter what good/bad may come their way?

Awesome love inspires me to love more and love bigger. Here are a few couples that have inspired me to love like there's no tomorrow:

My mom & dad. Their love for each other is a powerful one. Together, they are a force. I believe these 2 people could overcome anything this world threw their way ~ no matter how big or small. Their faith in God and determination are bigger than life. Inspired.

My Uncle John & Aunt Lori. They have no idea. Their love for each other is so apparent and sweet. My aunt Lori's facebook status yesterday was "My Husband is HOME!!! Things feel right now!!!!!!!!!! Love you!!!!" I adore that after many years of marriage, they still have that young love feeling. Inspired.

Jake & Kari. Love? Check. Laughter? Check. Fun? Check. Adventures? Check. Great people? Check. These 2 are MEANT TO BE. NO DOUBT. Having a bad day? Spend 1 hour with Jake & Kari and it will turn around. Promise. Inspired.

Betsy & Erick. The definition of adorable. These 2 have been together since they were babies (or at least before driving age). They dance, they laugh, they are totally okay with making a fool out of themselves in public together. They "get" each other like no other. Inspired.

Sam & Marissa. These 2 started dating when we were sophomores in high school. Everyone has known they are soul mates forever. They compliment each other so well. Such a sweet, loving, and thoughtful couple. They spread their love & faith in God to everyone they cross. Inspired.

Andy & Becca. Talk about a good time. These 2 have been through a lot together, have a wonderful little life together and a wonderful little baby together. This couple is as real as it gets. Inspired.

Gotta love being in love.

Finally, I must admit that I 110% believe that Nile & I beat EVERYONE in the "best relationship ever" category. Hands down. I am so thankful.

Happy Valentine's Weekend ♥

Love & Friendship

2010-02-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

I'm just as thankful for our friendship as I am for our love.

xoxo, Jess

Valentine's Surprise!!

2010-02-11T20:40:00.001-05:00

**First, I believe we have fixed the comment issue, so please try to leave comments now, it should work!! If not, e-mail us at nileandjess7@gmail.com! THANKS!

Okay, so TODAY Nile and I got a package (and I love packages) from my mom & dad in Ohio. It was full of Valentine's Day surprises!!

Surprises included a Reese's candy bar, heart-shaped post-its, homemade cookies, Michael Jackson (thank goodness, I can practice Thriller now!).....

This package of happiness also included a TCM movie combo pack including Casablanca (one of my all-time favorites), and some cash so Nile and I can have a Valentine's Dinner (we're going to finally use our fondue maker & new fondue cookbook!!!)

Lastly, HOW ADORABLE are these dish towels?!?!?! I most likely will NOT put them away after Valentine's Day! 'Owl be yours!' and 'Hoo Loves U?' Isn't that the best?

I was screaming the entire time I kept pulling awesome things out of this package. We are so blessed!

THANKS MOM & DAD!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU BOTH!!! ♥

Looking forward to a nice long weekend of celebrating Presidents (I get a 4 day weekend!), the Olympics, and our love on Valentine's Day! xoxo

Our Favorite Night of the Week

2010-02-10T08:02:00.000-05:00

Taco salad night is a weekly (sometimes twice a week) occurrence. It's always something we look forward to after a stressful work day :) Nile was very proud of his T-Salad creation/presentation.

Ohhh, the small things in life!

Jessica's Best & Worst of the week

2010-02-07T18:22:00.002-05:00

Jessica's best of this past week:

Best Food: Mi Pueblo Mexican Restaurant with Jacob Cooper & friends
Best Movie watched: The Great Debaters (Denzel Washington)

Best use of time: The HASTI Science Teacher conference
Best News: The Flying Cupcake is opening on shop on Mass Ave. downtown!

Best Nile Memory: Trying on wedding bands & his snow art outside :)
Best Discovery: Shutterfly (seriously, where have you been all my life?)
Best Blessings: Seeing my brother Jake :) Also, finding out I get an awesome tax return!

Jessica's worst of this past week:

Worst Day: Tuesday. Hands down.
Worst Movie: Rachel Getting Married
Worst Procrastination Moment: The current one. It's 6pm on Sunday & I still don't have my week planned.
Decision: Not getting all of my laundry finished today.

The best ALWAYS outweigh the worsts :)
Have a great week everyone!

He Loves Me

2010-02-07T11:49:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, we got tons of snow this weekend! Nile said he had to run over to Kroger quickly to get some food. When he came back, he said "look at how much it's snowing outside!! And as I looked, this is what I saw:

Nile loves playing in the snow apparently :) And of course someone walked right through it with their dog. He's so sweet.

Our weekend consisted of: lots of downtown action, trying on wedding bands (SO FUN!), visiting my brother Jake in Upland & eating awesome mexican food, and of course the Superbowl is on tonight. :) GO COLTS!

"The Mask"

2010-02-02T19:46:00.000-05:00

So Jessica was having a horrible day today because of her students,

so luckily today I got this awesome Luca Libre, Mexican Wrestling mask at work today

seriously how can this not cheer you up?!?!

"The Battle Cry"

"elbow drop!!!"

I just thought this looked nifty

Yes I even got the lovely Jessica to channel her inner Rey Mysterio

and of course a wonderful kiss for me!!

Exciting new updates on the way later this week

a sneak peak: Our Best and Worst of the Week(books, music, film, food...)

"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!"

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!!!!

N&J

The Children's Museum

2010-02-02T19:17:00.001-05:00

On our first Saturday as an engaged couple, we went to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The museum features tons of exhibits such as a dinosaur exhibit, the Barbie exhibit, Egypt, Star Wars, Anne Frank & Ruby Bridges, and lots of awesome art. And this is just the beginning. I (Jess) got some great stuff out of this experience such as pictures of fossils to show my kids at school, a visit to the most amazing collection of Barbie stuff ever, and a really bad cold. SO many kids and SO many germs! We had a blast pretending we were little kids again :)

The Dino Exhibit was super educational ~ I wish we could take a field trip there!!

Nile was totally into crawling into spaces and taking part of activities made for people no more than 4 feet tall.

I got to create some cool Barbie outfits.

We wrote 'Congratulations' in Arabic to congratulate ourselves on being engaged :)

I showed off my mad hula-hoop skills.

And Nile counted how many times his name came up in the Egypt exhibit (17 to be exact, and we quit counting).

Perfect Day :)

It's been an adjustment for both of us to come down off of Cloud 9 and back to "real life" this week.

Love, J & N

Love & Thanks

2010-01-31T18:52:00.000-05:00

Love & Thanks to all who have sent their love and CONGRATS to us over this exciting weekend :)

Have a great week! Love, J & N

Archive Adventures Part 1

2010-01-31T13:21:00.001-05:00

We wanted to include all of our past adventures together ~ it's been so fun looking back at all of these pictures to see how our love unfolded :)

Pictures from our first date:

I had just moved here, so Nile brought me an air mattress to sleep on. Problem was, the air pump could only be plugged into a car to work (and it was super loud)! haha It was about 10pm when this was happening ~ great first impression to all my neighbors.

Nile introduced me to The Nickle Plate - a little restaurant/bar that was a Pittsburgh place where all Steelers fans could come together and eat and watch football! AWESOME! The best part is, Nile is a Browns fan!!! Now, THAT is true love!

The Indiana State Fair. Best fried pickles and pulled pork EVER!

Spending time downtown & walking the canal. Downtown Indy has so much to do and is so fun to just go down and wander. The canal that runs through the city is so pretty and peaceful. We have dreams of living in one of the townhomes on this canal someday :)

The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). This was our second date! We spent the day at one of the coolest art museums ~ it was so beautiful and so fun. I also got yelled at by one of the security guards for taking a picture on the LOVE statue :)

Nile also always makes a point of finding the Nile River on every map we ever come across.

To be continued...

The Big Surprise

2010-01-31T12:18:00.001-05:00

On January 29, 2010, Nile asked me to be his one and only for the rest of our lives :)

The story: Nile picked me up from school on a Friday afternoon to head downtown to go to the Cavs vs. Pacers basketball game. While wondering around downtown, Nile said "let's go get a picture together at the circle!" He asked a lady that was collecting donations for the American Red Cross to take our picture. There are tons of people around, cars driving by, and lots of Friday afternoon hustle & bustle. As I began posing for the picture, Nile dropped to his knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. Fortunately, the Red Cross lady had starting snapping pictures!

Horns were honking, people were yelling 'congrats' and I couldn't stop smiling.

After calling our parents, we went directly to the Claddaugh downtown to meet some friends. There was an older couple there that insisted on buying us our first drink as an engaged couple. I told everyone we ran into that "WE JUST GOT ENGAGED" ~ needless to say, we didn't pay for anything that night. :)

We got to sit in a suite at the Cavs/Pacers game and celebrated with some great friends.

Our journey has just begun.... and off to a GREAT start :) I woke up the morning after and was SO happy to realize it wasn't a dream & I get to marry my best friend!

Him & Her & Us

2010-01-31T11:18:00.002-05:00

Him

Name: Nile (yes its just like the River)

Age: 25

Occupation: fun vacation guide at RCI(yay free vacations)

Favorite Books: anything Nick Hornby, gatsby, requiem, dylan chronicles, Lester bangs

On my days off I like to: watch movies, go downtown, and watch baseball

Favorite sports team: Cleveland Indians, Cavaliers, THE Ohio State Buckeyes football

Favorite bands: 1)Beatles 2)Dylan 3)Incubus 4)The Duke Spirit 5) this one rotates every day between a few folks.

Favorite actor: Jimmy Stewart

Favorite moment with Jess: When she plays ANY "air instrument" air guitar, air drums, air trumpet, air sax, pretty much all of them!!

Her

Name: Jessica

Age: 25

Occupation: 7th Grade Science Teacher

Favorite Books: The Great Gatsby, Blue Like Jazz, & A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

On a day off I like to: Stay in my PJs & watch movies

Favorite sports team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Favorite past times: Blogging, facebook, reading, going downtown, playing buzztime trivia

Favorite moment with Nile: When I first moved here and Nile took me to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. At this moment, I realized my life would never be the same. He was so sweet, fun, and loving. I also had no idea men like Nile existed ~ it's been a wonderful realization!

How we met: On June 13, 2009, Nile attended his cousin's wedding in Lima, Ohio. Jess also attended this wedding as the groom (Nile's cousin) was a lifelong friend growing up. At this time, Jess had just found out she got a job in Indianapolis and was to move there in July. At the reception, Nile (suavely & strategically) placed himself at a table right next to Jess to "talk to a friend" that was also sitting at the table. When Jess returned to her seat next to Nile, he struck up a conversation. During this conversation, a few things happened:

1. Jess found out Nile already lived in Indy (where she was moving)

2. Nile drew tons of diagrams showing Jess around her new city

3. Everything happening around these 2 individuals seemed to stop completely

4. The start of one of the most wonderful adventures they had ever been a part of

This blog is to document our lives, our fun, our eating habits, our interests, and our journey together that has just begun.