Um, it's basically February?

So... hello February. And you! I cannot believe that January has basically come and gone. Where is time going and why is it going so fast? Not that I'm complaining.. I have lots to look forward to (and God is answering my prayers by having time speed by so fast) but still. So much stuff has happened since my last blog post. Oh, and side note... I was very cruel and left out a happy birthday blog post for Amy, whose birthday is the day after Chuck's birthday. So, without further ado..

HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY AMY!!!!!! You're 25th birthday is going to be full of so much excitement, change, and eventful times! You will gain both a brother-in-law and a husband in a very short period of time! You will venture out of the USA on a honeymoon, and will gain a forever, not-going-away male roommate (along with his dog). ENJOY your 25th year of life!!

Now, as I just stated, Amy has gone through some big changes here recently... but we'll get to that in a minute ;)

At the beginning of January, a whole crew of us took a trip to the most magical place on Earth.. Disney World! Duh. Where else? And, yes, it was MAGICAL!! All ten of us enjoyed reverting back to children for a few days and I couldn't have had a better time with better people. It's fun doing trips with friends. And I'm sad it's over. But, we have full intentions of returning again next year!

Here we are about to leave the Birmingham airport.

First day into the parks! Magic Kingdom :) Chuck and Zach bought those hats with the intention of wearing them only during the race, but luckily they wore them the entire first day in the park, too. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. I LOVED seeing them in those goofy hats... couldn't help but make you smile.

Me and Chuck in front of our future home Cinderella's castle. I'm sad the lighting is weird, but it's still one of my favs.

This is GREG PROPOSING! And Amy in total shock/realizing that he's for real/saying YES! I'm getting a brother-in-law!! It was precious. He wrote her a note of "10 Reasons You Should Say Yes" (which is an inside thing between them referencing the first text message he ever sent her) and then got down on one knee in front of the castle and proposed. What a fairytale proposal for a perfect couple. I love them both to death and couldn't be gaining a better addition to our family.

Riding the teacups! This is some legit happiness right here :)

The morning of the marathon was eeeeeaaaarly and COLD. This is before the race started at about 4am... we woke up at 2:45am. Now, I have to take a moment to let all of you know how incredibly proud I am of Chuck (and Zach!) but mainly Chuck for special reasons...

Chuck tore his IT band several months ago. He had to go through physical therapy routinely to help and fix it, which resulted in about a month of training to run 26.2 miles. But, because he is seriously the most motivated person I've ever met, he was determined to run the race regardless of his iffy knee and lack of training. In addition, he tore his IT band again only a week before the race, but, like before, was determined to run. So, the morning of the race, we ventured out with good hopes and many prayers in mind, and he and Zach started the race. I saw the two of them at mile 4 and Chuck was limping. I knew right then that he wasn't doing well. I didn't see him again until mile 10.5, where he was hurting so badly he couldn't bend his knee at all and was dragging his leg behind him, walking the race because that's all he could do. And he kept going... all the way until the halfway point at mile 13 where he decided that he wouldn't be able to finish by limping in the alloted amount of time, and he stopped. He felt more pain in those 13.1 miles than I've ever felt I'm sure, and he was going to go the remainder of the way if there hadn't been a time limit. He is such an inspiration and I'm so proud of him. He shows what true determination and grit it all about, and he has more strength both physically and mentally than anyone I know. And I am so, so proud of him even if he couldn't cross the finish line.

I'm also proud of Zach for being able to stick it out and finish! He did awesome and I know that he wishes Chuck had been able to cross that finish line with him.

At Hollywood Studios.

Disney World is seriously amazing and I'm so glad I got to experience it with Chuck and everyone else. Can't wait to go back! The rest of us have high hopes to run the half marathon next January, and I really hope we all do it. How fun would it be to run it all together!

So, since then I've been working working working and getting my life/wedding plans organized. Chuck and I have signed a lease for an ADORABLE town home that I will move into May 1st and we couldn't be more excited!! It's adorable and I can't wait to live with him and become a family. The concept of living with him all the time, cooking meals together, and just getting to hang out all the time without one of us having to leave at the end of the night sounds heavenly, and I'm OH SO EXCITED about it!

We are also narrowing down our honeymoon options and may have selected our final destination, but I'm not telling quite yet. It's not finalized, so no info for now, but I CAN tell you it will be very warm.. with beautiful water.. and will include lots of time in bathing suits with drinks in hand :)

I suppose that's all for now.

Love you all and have a fabulous Monday!