MMM...Gator!

Last weekend we spent Saturday afternoon at Dr. Chabel's house in Edisto. This was the AOA picnic and first meeting of the year. It was really fun and great to meet the other people in AOA and their families. It turns out that Dr. Chabel has two hobbies. The first is hunting. The walls were covered in deer heads, birds, and small animals (even one bobcat). There was a very large moose over the fireplace and several bearskin rugs on the floor.

Lunch was amazing. We had barbecue pork, mahi mahi, and several sides. We also had deep fried alligator! It was actually really good. Although, as we were eating it we were also staring at its skull which was proudly displayed on a table. That was a new experience for me. We learned a lot about gator hunting. It turns out you have a permit to kill one and they only give out a certain amount each year. Once you have a permit you can only kill one and the season is only open for one month. Also, you have to have the alligator completely captured before you can kill it.

His second hobby is making glass. There were so many beautiful glass lamps all over the house and he had made all of them! We really enjoyed spending the day there and getting to know everyone better.

This is one of those beautiful lamps he made : )

The skull of the alligator we ate!

Stephen and Mr. Moose.

Robert and Morgan

Saturday evening we drove out to spend the night with our friends Ben and Holly who were housesitting. We had a great time fishing off the deck in the back yard and hanging out. I caught a really small fish. I used him for bait for a while trying to get the big daddy but it didn't work out. Stephen actually caught a a pretty big skate. After fishing we had some dinner and hung out until time to go to bed. It was a very fun and busy day :)

Ben helping Stephen get his skate in.

Stephen's skate.

Me, Ben, and Holly fishing from the dock in the back yard.

Proud to be a tiger

This is a link to a letter written by Mark Herzlich's father.

http://clemsontigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092209aah.html

Congrats Stephen!

Last night Stephen found out that he was accepted into AOA! This is a very prestigious honors organization for medical students. This is something that will be a great resource for him as well as something that a lot of the top residency programs look for. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard and I am so excited for him. He does such a great job, not only in his academics, but in being a loving and encouraging husband. Thank you babe for everything you do. I love you so much.

Busy at work

There are a lot of USC fans at my office. I have a whiteboard in my cubicle. Everyday I would draw a tiger paw on it and everyday someone would erase it and write go cocks on my board. This went on for weeks before I found out who it was. Once I figured it out, I copied 50 tiger paws and covered his cubicle. We have had a lot of fun since football season has started back up : )

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Dinner for eight

Sunday night was our dinner for six. This is something our newlywed class from church does where three couples all bring a dish and get together for some food and fellowship. Our group turned into a dinner for eight, which was wonderful. We met at the home of our host couple, Kenny and Marianne (two of our class leaders). Kenny is an orthpediac surgeon and has been a great resource of information and encouragement for Stephen during his medical school journey. They are such nice people and we always enjoy visiting with them. Despite just having returned from Germany that day, Curt and Megan Haas were able to come. It was great to catch up with them and hear about their trip. The other couple in our eight was Andrew and Meghan Bell. This was the first time we have gotten to see them outside of church and we really enjoyed getting to know them better. We all had a great time and a great meal!

Go tigers!

The weekend before last, we went up to Clemson for the first game of the season against Middle Tennesee State. Aside from a few dropped passes and one awful interception, it was a really great game. It was fun to tailgate and see the family again. We really love football season, not only for the games, but for the fun and fellowship too. We are hoping to be able to go to all of the home games this season. Go Tigers.

Gone fishing

Saturday Stephen and I went fishing at Folly Beach with Ben and Christy. We walked a while down the beach to the other side of the island where not many people go. It was so beautiful and so much fun. Stephen and Ben both caught a few little fish. Everytime they felt a big one the line ended up getting cut and they lost their rig. Finally, low tide came and we figured out what was going on. There was an oyster reef about 10 feet out that waas snagging the lines. We couln't see it at high tide. I guess the little ones they were pulling over it but the big ones were getting caught. Oh well. We all had a wonderful and relaxing time.