Jackson's Fears

Hey y'all!

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I would share some of Jackson's most recent fears.  Apparently puppies go through certain fear phases where they become scared of things they have never been scared of before. So we think Jackson must be going through a fear phase..or something..but now he is scared, no terrified, of infants and children.  When we first got Jackson we took the time to make sure we properly socialized him. We introduced him to all sorts of people, including infants and children, and he was never really phased by them. But recently, he has become terrified. To the point of crawling in my lap if I am sitting down, or hiding behind my legs and tucking his tail. The children still seem to love him and pet him and he just looks at me like "MOM THE MONSTERS ARE TOUCHING ME" while I assure him that the tiny humans will not hurt him.

Additionally, he is terrified of all of the Halloween decorations. There happens to be a large blowup spider right down the street. The other day, on our daily walk, we got to the spider house. Jackson had a major standoff with the spider and then refused to walk past said spider, making getting back to our house difficult.

Other than that, Jackson has been living the dream going to the dog park, playing fetch, going for runs, helping me write thank you letters, and just generally being spoiled.

(sometimes he likes to place his paw on our heads and just sit like that)

(during our freetime we write thank you letters together)

(and watch Gilmore Girls)

(the standoff with the spider)

(refusing to notice the other scary things behind him due to the spider still threatening his territory)

Grateful

Things to be grateful for when you move across the country:

kind people who take the time to talk to you and seem genuinely interested in your life, modern technology (looking at you FaceTime), letters from friends and family, friends and family who are willing to travel across said country to hang out with you, frequent flyer miles, a puppy who makes friends wherever he goes, amazing sunsets that remind you to slow down and assist with the falling in love with the new town thing, having date night on the reg due to the lack of social circle (#introverts), young kids who remind you that you talk differently than everyone else, and being with your best friend(s) Jackson is included here.

This week we met a lady who was about to embark on a 1500 mile road trip north to move. Naturally we bonded instantly as I shared that we traveled about 1700 miles out here. We were able to give her some tips for the multi-day moving process and how to travel with her dog that far in a short amount of time.

Anyways, here are some throwbacks from Halloween last year. We were the royals (Will, Kate, Prince George, and bun-in-the-oven-Charlotte). This year we are trying to figure out what to be as we need to stay relevant with the crowd we will be around, small children who come to the door asking for candy. Any ideas would be appreciated.

(Ben was asked multiple times if he was a princess making it the best night ever)

Over and out!

The Question

Ben: "What do you want to do this weekend?"
Georgia: "Not get out of my pajamas...."

It's probably best that Ben doesn't let me get what I want all of the time.  Certain things in life require getting out of your pajamas.  Events such as socializing in the park with super neat and funny folks, going for runs to see amazing sunsets, and attending another baby shower for my big sister.  What else did the Pattisons do this weekend? Oh you know, start watching Star Wars in the order that makes the best sense, watch Fixer Upper some then day dream about future homes, look up homes in the area of town that we love and realize we will not be living there any time soon, enjoy fires in our chiminia, watch Gilmore Girls because we gotta be caught for the rumored episodes (Netflix, please don't lie to me!), and eat lots of ice cream and cookies.

All in all, this weekend was a blast. When you don't really know many people, every night is date night.

(new favorite hidden gem of Tucson, the park for people who like grass and trees)

(this bad boy is the best for morning foot props and evening fires)

(love attending the baby showers! Baby Saye is one well loved nugget!)

Jackson

Hey y'all!

Not too many exciting things on the human front, but Jackson has had a great week! First of all he loved having his granny visit, so much so that he may have had an accident when he first saw her. Jackson of course was able to come a long to all of the exciting trips during the weekend. He went hiking (one of his favorite activities in the entire world), met a dog who speaks Spanish, went to an art gallery and didn't knock anything over, watched the sunset from on top of a mountain, and had his first experience with fire!

 

(sometimes Jackson sits really well for photos and sometimes he "forgets" what sit means)

(introduction to fire)

Once Granny left Jackson was a bit sad, he seems to like all of his people together..we think he may actually have shepherd in him. But he got to explore more of the park nearby, have his first experience with flushing quails out of a bush, he's gone for longer runs which leave him totally worn out, on said runs he has been terrified by the halloween decorations and has been able to practice his deepest, scariest bark, and he has helped out around the house (especially when it comes to cooking food). Also, I'm almost scared to say it, but it has cooled off here significantly! This morning it was 57(!!!) outside! So, Jackson takes his toys outside each day and has really enjoyed spending time outside in the cooler weather. 

(making lasagna last night, he's still upset that he hasn't been able to do taste testing)

(Runs are his absolute favorite part of the day. When I put on my tennis shoes, he starts running around and leaping for joy.)

(this is generally what happens post run)

UPDATE! Jackson got some early Christmas presents...

 

(although he may look majestic, he has no idea what to do in the jacket)

Over and out!

Our Visitor!

Hey y'all!

This weekend we had our very first visitor since getting married, my mama! (YAHOO!!!) Throughout the week we have been all abuzz around the house trying to get everything ready and coming up with things to do around town (aka we go to tourist websites and see what they suggest to do since we don't know much). 

The weekend was full of attempts to find fall in the mountains, eating copious amounts of fudge, chasing sunsets all over town, hanging out in a tiny artist town and meeting the kindest people, making delicious food (using our fine china to eat said food!), and spending many hours sitting on the patio sipping hot cacao and talking. All in all, it was a great weekend and was much needed for homesickness. Mama was very excited to see where we are calling home these days and was thrilled about seeing all of the cacti.

Ready to be bombarded with photos?

(Turns out, I am all talk about cooler weather and fall. When we got to the trailhead, it was apparently 60 degrees and so in the shade I felt the need to have on all three layers that I had packed for the day. Thankfully, your body tends to warm up when you're hiking up mountains and I was able to take off one layer.)

    

(model status)

(christmas card?)

 

(best frands)

Like I said, we spent the weekend chasing sunsets around Tucson. Naturally, Mama came during the one weekend that was cloudy the entire time so it was a struggle. But here was our effort that took us up the mountain again after a long day in the artist town.

 (spoiler alert..there was an amazing sunset tonight)

We had an absolutely amazing weekend with our guest! Now we are ready for the rest of you to come out and hang out with us! 

Thank you, Mama for coming to see us. It meant the world to us to be able to show you around our new town. We're making a list for trip #2! And thanks for our chiminea, Ben's out chopping wood now!

 

(the sunset tonight...sorry Mama that you missed it!)

The Terrifying Stove-Monster

Hey y'all!

Ever since we moved out here I have been cooking each night and typically Jackson is right by my side attempting to convince me that he needs to be fed whatever is being cooked. So one night this week, I decided to cook bacon wrapped chicken with asparagus and potatoes. It is amazing and is possibly one of our favorite meals because bacon, asparagus, and potatoes. (I stole the recipe from here and modified for our likes) In the process of learning to cook more with cast iron, I have learned that sometimes the meals sizzle and create a lot of smoke, but that it's okay and it's going to be divine. Well, in true cast iron fashion, the meal was sizzling and smoking and that night it was too much for Jackson to handle. He took off and hid in the closet. Ben joined him (to comfort him of course..not in fear of my meal...right?) and they sat crouched in the closet away from the kitchen. As soon as I was done cooking and the plates were served, Jackson emerged again and resumed his place as the resident beggar.

My cooking scares my dog. That's all. I'm trying not to take it personally.


For some reason I didn't get a picture of the Pattison men in the closet, but here are some other winners that were never posted.

(Jackson knocked over the ladder, attempted to run away and knocked over his water bowl, then slipped in the water and crashed...he then needed to be comforted by Ben. Lesson learned: ladders are monsters)

  

(Ben washed the cars the other day so Jackson followed him around the house and watched him through the different windows. Lesson learned: being separated from your best friend is hard but if you bark enough you can go outside too!)

(This was this morning. The caterpillar was taunting Jackson and must have been saying things like "hahah the lowly canine cannot conquer the mighty caterpillar!" because Jackson was deeply distraught about the whole ordeal and even a run couldn't take his mind off of it. Lesson learned: eat the green crawly thing even when mom says to leave it!)

Now all is right in the world though, Granny has arrived! Jackson is so thrilled because she brought his duck toy all the way from Georgia! 

Here's to adventures with Granny all weekend!

Waiting For Fall

Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday!

It seems most of y'all are experiencing fall and loving it! (Now that the rain is gone?) We here in Tucson are not yet experiencing fall, but we are trying to prepare for it and encourage it along! I was super excited this year to decorate our house for Halloween in hopes of trick-or-treaters coming, but I'm trying to take a cue from the neighbors as to halloween decorations. We belong to an HOA and I have no idea if there are any rules regarding decorations AND I have no idea what is the norm out here (we're making attempts at fitting in). So here is my report via walks with Jackson around the area:

-Decorating is allowed, there are three houses in the neighborhood that have decorated for halloween with the blow up creatures and ghosts hanging from trees.
-It would appear that pumpkins don't survive long outside in the heat as there are zero pumpkins on doorsteps (maybe this is not a southwestern thing?).

So, we are attempting to move forward with the decorations. So far we have tiny pumpkins around the house on different shelves and our P on the front door! (Yes, this is sad decorating but I keep forgetting that it's fall when it's 95 degrees outside). My plan is to figure out something that can go outside that is tasteful and will survive with a general lack of shade.

For the front door we were given a few wreaths/door hangers at a shower. This one you can change out the ribbon to match the season. When we got it, it had burlap which I figured could stay because burlap=fall and then we could add some fall colors to it! So here we go. (Also, I never use the front door and after putting this up I realized we desperately need to get rid of the mat that has been here since we moved in and get something better..so that's on the to do list of the house)

Patiently we wait for cooler weather and I'll keep creepin' on the neighbors homes to get some ideas of what will last in this heat (besides the blow up creatures).

Tucson Meet Yourself

Hey everyone!

This weekend was spent in Tucson because there was an annual festival happening, Tucson Meet Yourself! It's described as a "folklife festival" to celebrate the different people who make up Tucson. So we went downtown to be a part of that and get to know a little more about the town we now live in. Of course, Jackson went along but it turned out to be an extremely overwhelming trip for him. There was food. A lot of food. And Jackson wanted all of the food. Also there were pigeons who he felt needed to be chased despite the people who might get in his way. He doesn't realize that he is becoming large and strong and can now pull us pretty well around, but that was generally what was happening at the festival. At one point, he was almost successful in taking the food off of some innocent man's plate and then almost succeeded in stealing a lady's corn on the cob. Having a (furry)toddler is exhausting and requires many apologies to strangers.

Other than that, I got some amazing tacos, we bought some fudge (after tasting many flavors), and we became besties with the Arizona State Park lady..

(our first real family photo since getting to Tucson! It's hot here and the cool weather apparently only lasted for last week and now we are back to the 90s.)

The weekend also involved watching the Hobbit (all three and now I need to get a library card and do some reading), attending my sister's baby shower, frozen custard, trips to new dog parks, and amazing sunsets.

(Jackson and I are making the rounds of Tucson to properly try out every park. This one has nice views and GRASS!)

(time differences and distance can't stop this proud aunt from attending the baby shower! It was a blast and I'm so glad I could be a part of it! Thanks, Morgan!)

(so back in the deep south, I introduced Ben to frozen custard after having it with my roommate. Needless to say we fell deeply in love and when we drove past a place here that said "frozen custard" we whipped into the parking lot and had to have some. Doesn't quite live up to Vintage, but it'll do!)

(testing out another park, this time as a whole family! This one has water and grass!!! Jackson is only allowed to watch the ducks and isn't allowed to swim, but there was water and there was grass and pretty tall trees! The Pattison family was pleased)

(fixer upper and fudge, the ways to our hearts)

(tonight Ben was making all sorts of loud noises by taping a box together, so the giant baby got scared and needed to sit in my lap for safety and comfort)

Now we are going into preparations for our visitor this weekend! Mama bear is coming to see the wild west! Seeing as we are stilling figuring out this town, we have been working really hard to learn about cool things to do to show our visitor around! For the next few days that means a special grocery trip and organizing the guest bedroom!

And now, I will leave you with a gorgeous Tucson sunset. I actually have to remind myself to look up every day when I am out and about, I'm not used to seeing mountains and at night I'm not used to breathtaking sunsets every single night. 

Over and out! 

The Wedding

I think maybe I can speak for all brides when I say that the day you get your wedding photos is similar to Christmas morning.  We got ours in a perfect box the other day (along with a gift for Jackson!) and all I want to do now is look through them over and over again. Ben and I have discussed this many times and we both agree that the day went by far too quickly. The whole thing feels like a blur and so getting these pictures allowed us to slow down and relive the day, our favorite day.

So without further ado, here are some pictures from the amazing Ashlee Culverhouse Photography with a little commentary.
P.S. Asking me to choose my favorite is impossible and I would love to put all 900 here..but I realize you all have better things to do with your day so this is my attempt at restraint.

Some people asked "why did you choose to go with tuxes for the guys?". I say here is your answer, folks. Also, bowties. Ben has become a true southern gentleman and loves a good bowtie. He declared to me before we were engaged that tying a bowtie was a pre-req to being a groomsman. 

I chose blue for many different reasons: 1. I think blue and white is such a classic look and I am borderline obsessed with the combination (Ben is trying to get me to branch out with new colors in the house). 2. My engagement ring is a sapphire and so the blues are all tied together. 3. I wanted my bridesmaids to be part of my "something blue". Each of these ladies is incredibly special to me and have stood by me through so much. They are more than just my bridesmaids, they are my best friends, and they became my blue on the big day. They say you have to have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Well, I had to have each of these ladies standing near me as I vowed my life to Ben.

Daddy approves! And doing a "first look" with him was incredibly special to have just a few moments being his little girl before he walked me down the aisle.

Having your mama and your girls pray over you as you embark on this new stage of life can really do something to your emotions!

Well done, Sinan!

 

Many times throughout my life I had dreams about the doors being opened at Ingleside and my daddy walking me down the aisle. For a long time, in the dream, I would be looking at the floor and could only see the feet of the man I was going to marry and then of course I would wake up. I would try to go back to sleep and start at that spot in the dream, but that never happens. As Ben and I got more serious I would start to daydream about marrying him and walking down the aisle to him each time getting extremely happy and emotional. 

These pictures are beautiful, but I love that Ashlee captured the reality..it was hot and muggy. So so so so muggy and I needed to be fanned off on the reg.

 

 

After taking some pictures at the church, we drove down to Coleman Hill and got some pictures overlooking the city that will forever be home to me. (This is why it took us a hot minute getting to the reception, sorry y'all!) I am so thankful that we decided to do this because with the move, these pictures make me feel like there are little pieces of Georgia on our walls. Also, when we got down there, there were two little girls who were doing the slide down the hill. They asked if I would like to slide with them (um..YES!) but, I had to decline due to people waiting on our arrival at the reception. Rain check, girls!?

There were a few things that were surprises to Ben (I had to keep something from him!). 1. They played "Georgia On My Mind" for me to walk down the aisle (turns out, when you are getting married your senses stop working and you don't hear anything). 2. Twinkle lights at the reception because he once said he would go and hang them himself so I could have my twinkle lights. 

P.S. I always wondered what the couple is saying to each other during the dance. Our conversation? "One, two, three, one, two, three. Let's do a turn! One, two, three, one, two, three."

 The following two pictures are possibly the two best photos from the night:

We are serious about our desserts.

More surprises! I made a Georgia Tech throw away garter and then had the DJ play the GT fight song for the garter toss. 

Actually, this may be the best photo of the evening.

At this moment we were both thinking "wait, no..let's all go back inside and keep having fun! We can all spend the night here and we don't have to move to Tucson!"

August 29th was the best day of our lives. It was everything we could have dreamed of and more. We had so many people who lovingly gave of their time and efforts to make the entire weekend happen and, my gracious y'all, it was perfect. I always tried to keep the perspective of "even if everything goes wrong that weekend, I get to marry my very best friend in the midst of the people I love the most". And yeah, glitches happened, but I still got to marry my very best friend and now we get to do life together. And we spent a fairy tale evening in the midst of the people who have invested so much into our lives and who love us greatly. Thank you all for making August 29th happen. We love you.