The Honeymoon

Make sure to go back over the past week or so of blogs, I finally added pictures to them.  I noticed that I started taking digital photos and saving them on my computer a few months before Blake.  I had to go back and find CD's and scan in for the rest of these, what a pain!

Our waiter behind us was a blast!  We celebrated
our engagement anniversary this night.

We went on a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean.  Here are some pictures from that unforgettable trip!  Our favorite part was tubing through the caves, I'll try to find a picture to add on here about that soon.

We had a great view off the balcony of our room, I believe
this was taken on it in port just before leaving.
A pretty good
self-portrait!

The Wedding...

March 19, 2005, one of the best days of my life!  I married my best friend and soul mate.  We only dated 4.5 short months before he proposed.  The weekend was wonderful, we  had a fun Jimmy Buffet themed rehearsal dinner after my 9 month pregnant boss was my surprise stand in bride.  The whole wedding party, family, and close friends were there to celebrate with us.  Kevin drove me home to my parents house that night and we talked til midnight.

The next morning we had a tasty Bridal Luncheon at the County Club, then my bridesmaids all came over to help me get ready at my parent's house.  About 2:00 the photographer arrived and captured the whole day.  I walked down the stairs to Kevin with the girls and our parents all present.  It was a beautiful moment and great that seeing each other that day was a little more private and we had some time together instead of it being in front of everyone at the church.  That was a wonderful decision!  We took pictures, more pictures, and more pictures, then went to the church and took even more.  Then the moment arrived.  I had about 30 min to myself before I walked down the aisle.  I practice my memorized vows over and over.  I thought about what I was about to do and how excited and happy I was.  I peeked around the corner up the stairs to watch Peyton and Kaitlyn walk it at only 2 years old.

The moment was then there, my dad took my arm, kissed me and we walked down that aisle.  The rest was what would become the beginning of the rest of my life.  I was barefoot giving me freedom to bounce and just be myself.  I was the happiest bride in the world and showed it!
We wrote our own vows and said them perfectly by memory.

He said to me:
I vow to love you more tomorrow than I do today.
I vow to cherish you more in the years to come than I have in the past.
I vow each day to treat you more tenderly than the day before, until our last day on Earth.
With these vows I promise to build a strong family with the help of God and you my true love.

I said to him:
Kevin, I choose you tonight to be the love of my life.  When God created you, He was already answering all my prayers.  Through your love all my dreams have come true.  Your love just does something to me, I'm better than I was and more than I thought I ever could be.  I am so proud to become your wife (laughter in audience I said it so happily) and establish a family with you.  I promise to go to sleep each night with you in my prayers.  Through our love and through the combination of values and morals that we have been taught I promise with all of my heart and soul to love you forever.

The night followed with us leaving the church through a flame of sparklers (which I stepped on a hot one with my bare feet, my bridesmaids that were right there thought I was on fire), then a trolley ride to Laurel Creek.  We sat in my parents driveway and had a toast to our wedding party while we waited on guests to arrive.  Then we headed over to the Magnolia Room to celebrate with the almost 500 guests.  I was so grateful to everyone that came that night.  Friends from work in Columbia, from college, from high school, church, etc.  We left in a White Cloud car and headed to our hotel room for the night, where we pigged out on food!
The next day we had a Bloody Mary breakfast party with the guests at the hotel before they left.  We opened presents all day and headed back to our house in Columbia.  We got Kevin all settle in to the house that week and left for our week cruise on Sat to the Western Caribbean where we had the time of our lives watching sunsets on the back of the boat from our balcony off our room.

A beautiful start to the rest of our lives...this began the Davis Days...

The Proposal...

And there's the ring!  We went to the beach with my family
shortly after we were engaged for a week.  This was taken during
a mini-golf game (that I'm sure I won)!

 Kevin and I had only been dating 4.5 months, but we already knew we were meant to be together the rest of our lives.  One night in early March we had a conversation, a long one, especially for Kevin, about our future and specifically where we would live (I was thinking about buying a house at the time, but wondered if I should include him in it).  We had a camping trip planned in May and for some reason I thought he might pop the question then.
We came home to Rock Hill for a short visit the last Sunday in March for church and lunch with my parents.  After lunch mom wanted to go to a store to look for silverware for the beach house, dad wanted to go too, Kevin said he would go back to the house and watch tv with him, but he insisted to go shopping.  Come to find out later he was trying to get him alone to ask him if he could marry me.  Later that afternoon mom took me into the bedroom and gave me her original diamond that my dad gave her when he proposed.  She said she really liked Kevin and didn't know if we were thinking about it or not, but she wanted me to have it to decide if I wanted to use it for an engagement ring one day, or for something else.  I was thrilled!!!!  I told Kevin about it that day and said I'll just stick it in the bottom of my jewelry box if you ever want to use it for anything.

We visited his friends down in Charleston the summer after
we got engaged.  We love to travel together.

The next day at work I got a phone call from Kevin that pulled me out of art class with my kids.  I was worried because his classroom was right across the hall and I thought he was in there! He was calling to see where the diamond was, he said he was working on something for our 6 month anniversary and needed to get it to the jeweler that day.
Come to find out later...he had an engagement ring designed online and was going to order it that day because he wanted to propose the night before April Fool's Day.  We had a plan to fool our co-workers on April Fool's Day, I had bought a fake ring and everything.  We decided to go to Bull Market Wed night just to help pull off the plan.  So he had to get the diamond and get it made into a ring in 2 days!  He took it to the jeweler his mom uses for everything and they said they'd have it for him on Wed at noon.  He went to pick it up and the store was closed, he flipped out.  He told his mom to go over there that afternoon, he had wrestling, and go in there and find that diamond even if everyone is laying on the floor dead.  Success, the ring was ready!  She got it, in a long steam rose box and all!  He later got rid of that tacky box and Chris gave him one she had.

A shower we had at Fulmer Middle School where we met.

That night on our way to dinner about 8:30 after wrestling, he said the pendent was ready that he ordered and wanted to swing by his mom's house and get it, so we did, but I had to stay in the car.  We went to the restaurant and he didn't mention the "pendent" after that.  I still had NO IDEA what was about to happen.  He was so antsy while waiting to be seated, he's never like that.  We sat down and ordered an appetizer and drinks.  I said something about I guess we're getting engaged now (the April Fool's joke).  He said would you seriously really want to marry me or something to that natured and I said of course, why?  He stood up and walked over to me and got on one knee, opened the box, the ring fell out, and he asked me to marry him after telling me that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and loves me, etc.  It was beautiful!  I called my parents, who already knew because he had called my dad on Monday morning while taking the diamond to the jeweler since he couldn't get him alone on Sunday in person.  I called a couple close friends, but it was already 9:00.  It was close to 10pm when we left so most everyone I had to tell the next day (April Fool's Day), that wasn't easy to convince people over the phone especially.
Everyone was so excited and happy for us.  The kids at school were funny, they would come by and say are you really going to marry Mr. Davis and I would say yes and they would ask why.  We enjoyed our next year planning the wedding, having showers in Rock Hill and Columbia with friends and family.  I would relive that year anytime!

How we met

This is my favorite picture of us.  We were on a camping
trip together in May, just after we were engaged.  I
think it really shows the love between us.

I married my best friend 6 years ago on March 19.  Kevin is the reason I love life the way I do.  He shows me the joys of everyday things, supports me in everything I do, makes me laugh, gives me strength, and tag teams the kids with me all the time.  He is the most wonderful man in the world.  I thank God daily for sending him to me.  I LOVE this week every year.  I love thinking about our wedding, our dating days, our engagement, everything, I was the happiest bride ever!!!!  He did it to me, he made me love life and love marriage!

How we met...
We both taught at Fulmer Middle School in 2003.  I was a new teacher and one of the first days of school he said Hey Alice when passing me in the hall.  He knew my name, that got my attention.  I told Katie Hopkins after school that first day with the kids that i had a crush on him, but he was a co-worker, so I couldn't do more than just crush.  I walked past his room daily with one of my kids that picked up the attendance, I remember him vividly one day standing in his doorway with his hands pushing up on the frame in a lime green shirt.  I realized then how attracted I was to him.  One night after a football game we went with a group of teachers to Bogarts for dinner.  We were a few of the first there and he sat next to me.  I was so excited, then, once a few more people arrived he moved down the table to sit with the guys, I was heartbroken.  We were in team meetings together weekly, and he even let my kids "mainstream" in his class some.

Our first, and only so far, Jimmy Buffet concert
 together while we were dating.

In the beginning of November a friend of both of ours, Tori Thackston suggested setting us up.  She had no idea I had a crush on him.  I said, sure, you can say something.  So she emailed him and copied me on it.  He was interested!!!  Seemed like he was going to ask me out and it was Friday afternoon and I hadn't seen him.  Then, about 10 min before the kids left he walked in my room.  This was a normal thing, he'd come by to say hey to the kids all the time, he sat down and played with play dough with Gris while we were having calm down time at the end of the day.  Then he left.  I was so sad, he didn't mention anything (don't know what I was thinking though, why would he, the kids were right there).  I had car duty that afternoon and I knew he had wrestling practice.  While I was heading out to the lot he tracked me down and said, "I have a wedding to go to tonight, but would love it if you could meet me for a drink afterwards."  I said yes!  I was so excited, then I had to do car duty and couldn't go tell anyone!
I finally got out of there and went and met Katie Hopkins for Happy Hour with the teachers at her school, then we went and met another friend of hers, she came over to my apartment and helped me get ready, I was so nervous!  We were going to Bull Market in the Vista at 9pm, which is a wine bar.  I wasn't real big into wine at that point so Katie pointed out that I couldn't order a white zinfindel, that wouldn't be very classy, so she said go with the Pinot Grigio, you will love it.  I practiced saying it so I wouldn't mess up and I could act like I knew what I was doing.  I left with 15 min to get there and got going and realized I forgot my phone, I needed it out on my own not really knowing where I was going, so I ended up being about 20 min late (that was Kevin just said, I think it was more like 10).  I am not a late person, so I felt terrible.  The date was wonderful and I felt so comfortable quickly.  We left there and went to Bogarts (one of his friends owns it and that is where he always went).  His best friend Neil was there and we hung out for a while.  That was the beginning of the rest of my life.
The next day he came and took me to lunch and then I went to his house that afternoon and watch the USC game.  He had tickets to it, but stayed home to watch it with me!  I didn't have much interest in football, but I sure was interested in that game!

Our 1 year anniversary.  We spent it in Beaufort at a B&B.

The next weekend we went to the Carolina/Clemson game with all his friends, didn't take long to introduce me to them, that was a good sign!  We kept out relationship quiet at school, didn't want word to get out to teachers and especially kids.  We would email each other and I would purposely walk my kids by his room, his door was always open.  I loved seeing Mr. Davis in action!
Thanksgiving holidays weren't long after we started dating (Nov 14) and I had to be away in GA for like 4 days.  We talked on the phone for hours!  After we hung up around 2-3 in the morning he called my apartment and left me a message since he knew I wasn't there and said lots of sweet things about how much he liked me, but he always said, "I now understand why people can get married after only 10 days of knowing each other, no I'm not asking you to marry me, but I can so see it".  He knew after just 10 days of us dating that he would marry me one day.  He proposed just 4.5 months later!

One of our trips to Wolf Laurel with my family.

The next week he came to Rock Hill with me and met my whole family, they fell in love with him.  By my 23rd birthday, Dec 22 we had been dating a little over a month and were together all the time.  We went to visit one of my students on Bull Street that afternoon and were talking about something in the lobby of the psyc ward and he said, "I'd love you even if you didn't have thumbs".  I heard him, but just kind of went on with the conversation cause I thought he said it by mistake.  Later that night we were at my apartment waiting on Ivey and Katie Spears to come over so we could all go out for my birthday and he brought it up and said he slipped saying it, but really does mean it.  We were officially in love!