7 and counting...

Happy Anniversary Clarke!

We went out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate. We kept it pretty low key this year, with an infant and a move coming up. But it was nice to reflect on all we've been through over these past seven years. 

Here's to many more!!

August Updates

We've been enjoying the last month of summer, some fun things we've been up to....

We checked out the farmer's market one Saturday morning. Grilled cheese and donuts, yum!

We went to the science museum with Lori and Ellie. Chloe loves playing with Ellie. I don't know what she is going to do when she goes back to school! We also went to Maymont to see the animals. 

We celebrated Clarke's 32nd birthday. It was our first time eating at Texas De Brazil and it was so good!

Oh, and we found a frog in the pool! Chloe was so intrigued, and a tad bit scared. But mostly loved petting it and watching it swim and jump. Ha!

I must say I am ready for September. We get to find out the gender of the baby, then it's off to the beach. When we get back Chloe starts preschool. We are excited!!

Boston Anniversary Trip

It's always been our tradition to go away just the two of us each year for our anniversary, and this year was no different. We picked Boston this year since I found cheap tickets using vouchers we had from a previous trip to Florida. Both of us had never been so we were pretty excited. 

The plane ride up was great. I normally wouldn't say that about a plane ride but the last 3 we've taken have been with a busy baby or toddler, so this was a nice break. I could just listen to my music (Bethel songs on repeat) and enjoy. 

 The first thing we did was take the T to get some lunch at Anna's Taqueria. Afterwards we took a cab to our hotel and spent the rest of the day just relaxing. Another thing that pre-baby we wouldn't have thought was a big deal, but hot tub and dinner by ourselves was pretty fun, even if it just was Panera. We didn't feel like going back into the city since our hotel was a little further out than we expected, so we just watched a movie in the hotel room. 

 That next morning we ventured out into the city. It was really windy, and kinda cold but at least the sun was shinning. 

 We spent most of the day just walking around exploring and sightseeing. We walked most of the Freedom Trail, which was really neat. Lots of history about our country's beginnings. 

Across from Quincy Market we found a little Boston Marathon museum. I told Clarke this is the closest I'll get to ever running Boston, ha! 

 Then we headed to the north end for dinner. We had dinner at Nico, and it was fabulous. We got pastries at Modern Pastry to take back to our hotel. 

I wish we could have made it to Harvard, maybe next time. The next morning we flew out to celebrate Easter with our families. 

I'm always thankful for time just the two of us, regardless where we are. Thankful my mom could watch Chloe for us.

Hanging Rock for Clarke's Birthday

Yesterday was Clarke's 31st birthday, so we headed up to hanging rock state park to explore and celebrate. 

We had a picnic, hiked a short trail up to a waterfall, then ended with swimming in the lake.

Chloe's favorite part was definitely the swimming. 

We had a great time celebrating the best daddy and husband. Seriously, I feel so blessed to be sharing my life with you Clarke. 

Happy 31st!! 

Anniversary in Asheville

A week ago today we left Chloe with my mom and headed to Asheville. It was such a great trip, a much needed break. We started our trip with lunch at Tupelo Honey. So many people recommended this place to us. It was right in the middle of downtown and was really good. Their biscuits were amazing, so were the goat cheese grits!

Then we checked into the hotel and took a nap. You know you are parents of a toddler when taking a nap is a treat. We got dinner at an Italian place, Travinia by our hotel. It was good, nothing special but it was nice to be able to walk to it. 

We spent Saturday at the Biltmore Estate. They don't let you take pictures inside but it was amazing. 

The gardens were in full bloom and just beautiful. I think this was my favorite part.

The food at the Biltmore was probably my other favorite part. Everything we ate was so good. The vanilla ice cream was probably my favorite.

We ate dinner Saturday at Early Girl back downtown. This was my favorite place (Clarke's was lunch at the Biltmore) . 

We went back early and watched Netflix in bed, the perfect ending, haha. I didn't get any pictures of our breakfast either morning but it was a buffet at the Hilton where we stayed. It was so good! Sunday we came back pretty much right away, I missed Chloe so much!

This was such a great trip. It was nice just to sleep in, eat a nice relaxing meal and spend time together as a couple instead of mom and dad. I'm glad we got to see what all the hype about Asheville and the Biltmore is too, we loved it. 

5 Years

Today we are celebrating 5 years of marriage! It almost seems surreal to me, that I've been married for 5 years already. We are headed to Asheville for a long weekend away, my mom came down to watch Chloe, I am so excited.  

Our first anniversary in OBX.

We have this tradition of going away every year on our anniversary. We don't do gifts, we spend time together and this year it's exactly what we need. Last year we didn't get to go away on a trip, it was right as we were trying to figure out about moving, and having a 5 month old, it just didn't happen. I think that's why I'm so excited for this trip. As life goes on and things become more complicated I've become more aware that intentional time together is precious and with a baby it's even harder to come by.

Second anniversary at the Homestead.

Third anniversary on the Oregon coast. 

Fourth anniversary at The Melting Pot in Richmond.

I am truly thankful for Clarke in my life. There is nobody else that I would want to do life with. Can't wait to celebrate this weekend!!!

Happy Anniversary Clarke, I love you!!

Myrtle Beach, Clarke's Birthday

Friday of our trip was Clarke's 30th birthday. 

We started out the day by hitting up the main pool. They had a little baby pool and we had it all to ourselves! We went to the beach later on and just enjoyed the day.

After lunch and Chloe's nap we headed back out to the pool by our condo. 

I'm glad Chloe has so many bathing suites, came in handy for this trip! 

For Clarke's birthday dinner we went to Jimmy Buffet's restaurant Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach. We walked around and took lots of pictures while we waited for our table.

They made Chloe a cute balloon dog, we didn't even ask for the pink one too, haha. It was really fun, afterwards we did cake and presents back at the condo. Hard to believe my husband is 30, and I am next!

It was another great day of vacation. One more post left!

Myrtle Beach, Part 1

Yesterday we returned from such a great time in Myrtle Beach. It was too short, only 4 days, 3 nights but I'm so glad we went. It was one of those trips where you just really need a break and after coming back feel so much better! The main reason for going was to celebrate Clarke's 30th birthday. 30! It was also Chloe's first time seeing the ocean, and of course she loved it. 

I decided to break the trip up into 3 posts since I took so many pictures. Here we go....

We got there before our room was ready so we walked around Barefoot Landings, which is a cute shopping center with restaurants on the water. It was a great sunny day, the forecast for the whole time we were there was storm clouds and rain, I was so worried but we ended up having great weather the entire time, so thankful! 

As soon as our room was ready we headed down to the ocean. Our condo at the resort wasn't too far from the beach which was so nice.

Chloe loved the sand and water. It was perfect because it wasn't too rough where we were. We stayed at this resort called Ocean Creek. It's where an inlet meets the ocean and it's so calm, the perfect place for a baby to play and explore. It's actually where I stayed when my family would come when I was little. 

We had a low key night at the condo. It had a kitchen which was great because I brought some easy meals to make. 

Next up: Clarke's birthday!!