{Spring Break}

Todd and I left to visit family (his bro & wife plus kiddos + pup) this past Wednesday. We love spending time with them and it's an extra bonus that they live at the beach. We spent Thursday having a picnic on the beach. I underestimated the warm weather and didn't wear my bathing suit. What was I thinking?????? I was so shocked at how warm it was and how many people were on beach. I seriously had to look at my calendar to make sure it was still March! 

This made me laugh. Todd used his magazine as a sun blocker to play on his iPhone. 

We went back the next day with our sister-in-law and niece. Unfortunately it wasn't quite as warm but it was still relaxing. 

These two had fun together. P enjoyed dumping sand on Uncle Todd.

Friday evening Todd's parents came and we grilled out, then enjoyed some smores by bonfire. I could do that every night for the rest of my life. Yum.

Even the dog is spoiled! 

P had her first ever soccer game on Saturday morning. She looked SO cute in all her gear. However, she wasn't so sure about the whole soccer experience. Lots of pep talks were given.

Our newest niece, Adeline stole all our hearts!

Earlyyyyyy (we woke up at 4:30 am to get ready!) Sunday morning, Todd and his brother ran in a half marathon race. This was Todd's first time. Us ladies cheered them on and even were able to drive by to capture this moment:

He did it!!

 I am SO proud of him! 

Such a fun spring break! Certainly the most memorable to date. 

Sidenote: I started my interim today and it was great! I'm excited to finish out the school year with such awesome teacher and students. I've also started applying for jobs so keep praying for us that we go where the Lord leads.

Seven more weeks of grad school/college for us. I'm starting to see the light!!!

-Sara

Appalachian Satisfaction

I can't believe I'm just now getting around to typing this post. Since Monday was Labor Day and I didn't work or go to school my entire week feels out of the norm. I feel as if all I've done is played catchup with laundry, cleaning, organizing and school stuff. I'm finally getting everything back into routine and I couldn't wait any longer to tell you about our awesome long weekend.

The Greenway Getaway, as we are calling it, kicked off on Friday late afternoon and stretched all the way into Monday afternoon. I realized how much I've missed hanging with girls! Don't get me wrong, I love Todd and living with him is a wonderful thing but he doesn't exactly get excited over new makeup or hair products like my ladies do. We all spent the time truly listening to each other's hearts about life and jobs. It was also a great experience for our men. Although the majority of the guys were all friends during our college years (plus two are brothers), it was still nice to have them all together and create a bond living under the same roof....even if it was just for a weekend.

Enough of my blabber....here are some photo highlights

We bought the same pullover at Banana...

Can we go back...right now? Wish we all lived closer...

Dreamin',
Sara

Beach Trip

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite places on Earth....

My Pawpaw built this house on Oak Island a long long time ago with the help of my Mimi. I can't remember one summer that doesn't include me vacationing here. A few updates have been made over the years but for the most part it holds all of it's original history which makes it extra cozy.

When we arrived we stocked up on some groceries that we call "beach food" aka junk. For the record since we have been back I have restocked our house with healthier options and whenever we have kids I will certainly not endorse all that junk on vacation so we might as well enjoy while we are young and our hips are free from holding toddlers.

During the day we enjoyed riding bikes and soaking up the sun of course. I could read out by the ocean all day long if somebody let me. BTW, I'm currently nose first in Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks which just so happens to be about the same beach we stay at. I was certainly in reading heaven for sure.

We also couldn't pass the week up without eating at our favorite restaurant, Provision Company. My sister and her bf, Chris as well as my cousin Jenny and her husband Landon were also at the beach with us but somehow I forgot to take a picture of all us. Oops. Hanging out with family is always fun and we all laughed the majority of the time about old memories. 

It's hard to believe how fast the trip went by and that school is right around the corner. Glad we could squeeze in a last minute vacation. However, Monday morning I awoke with a terrible rash/redness/bumps all over my face. I'm stumped as to what caused it because I have never ever had trouble with acne or anything my entire life. I'm convinced it must be an allergic reaction to something but can't pinpoint anything. I went to the dermatologist today and she was a little stumped too but I got some medicine so everyone say some prayers for me that this clears up asap. I'm a little scared and it is really uncomfortable. Not such a fun way to end vacation but at least we had fun!

-Sara

Honeymoon Bliss

I won't share all the details of our honeymoon but I will try to give you a short version of the highlights. We left Sunday morning from Charlotte on a flight to Miami. It was earrrrrly! We left our hotel at 5:15 and the flight left at 7:30 but I wasn't even tired. The excitement was pumping through my veins. I had never left the country before or been on a cruise. Also, this flight would be our first together!

Back in middle school I was a huge Will Smith fan. Suddenly landing in Miami brought back this hot jam to my mind:



You know you dig it too. As we rode in the taxi to our port I soaked in the Miami views and secretly sang "Welcome to Miami" in my head. Yup, I'm special.

We arrived at the port, went through customs, registered and were put in a holding area along with the other 2, 998 people waiting to board. My college room mates who have gone before me (honeymooned on the same ship) told us a secret about talking the attendants into getting on the ship first. I was a bit weary but tried it anyway and it was too easy! We were immediately placed into a VIP room that boarded first on the ship. Score!

We tried to keep it cool as we passed all these people.

Once on the ship we were able to eat and beat the crowd. We ran around the ship like a couple of kids in a candy store checking everything out. Finally we were in our room and crashed!

The entire week was a amazing! We visited Cayman Islands, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel (where we bought an authentic blanket to remember our trip). My favorite stop was Cayman because the water was breathtaking. Todd bought snorkel gear at local diver shop on the island and had fun using it all week wherever we went. I seriously thought he was going to turn into a fish from how long he spent in the water.

We also had two days at sea where we enjoyed late afternoon snacks such as chicken fingers & fries, ice cream and of course sweet drinks.

I also love the upper deck which was for adults only. Here I would read my book until I fell asleep. Ahhh, where can I buy one of these at?

Each night was fun to dress up and go to dinner where we sat with two other couples. The chocolate melting cake was my choice of dessert every night and I'm about to drool on my keypad just thinking about it. Isn't my husband handsome?

During our excursion we met the sweetest family. We all became friends instantly and since they are from South Carolina, we had so much in common to talk about. For the remainder of the week we spent time with them on a private beach, soaking up the sun together and watching a show together on the last night. They also sat in our dining room so we saw them every night and they even helped Todd with his terrible sunburn. We quickly became a part of their family! Thanks to facebook, texting and phone calls, plans are already in the works to go visit them soon. Meet the Welsh family!

Overall we had a complete blast. I highly recommend a 7 day cruise! Everything exceeded my expectations and we found plenty of time to relax. I'm looking forward to a lifetime of vacations with Todd.

Afterwards we were exhausted but ready to return home to start our married life together back in the mountains! More to come soon!