babymoon weekend

What a wonderful, wonderful weekend away!

It will definitely go down in our history books as one of the best.  Ever.

We had originally planned to take a little vacation with my mom and brother;

but plans fell through.

So since this was our last available weekend to travel before I'm no longer allowed to travel, 

we decided to take advantage of the free weekend and head to North Myrtle Beach.

Our plan was to do only what we wanted to do, rest, relax, sleep in, and enjoy our time together.

And we did exactly that ... which really amounted to a whole lot of nothing.

(I should note here, that I'm glad Chris and I share the same idea of a vacation)

Last Thursday, I was packed and ready waiting on Chris to get home.

As soon as he walked in the door, he ate dinner, changed his clothes, and we were on our way.

Along the way, we stopped for a few snacks.
Actually we stopped often so I could stretch and walk ... and almost every stop included snacks.  =)

I wanted to try these ... but they didn't do much for me.  Too much "stuf."

One of our "walk/stretch" stops included a dozen Krispy Kremes.
Nothing beats a fresh, warm doughnut.

We arrived around midnight,  found a pet-friendly hotel room, and settled in for the night.

Friday it drizzled rain and was a bit chilly, so there was little beach time.

But, we did take a stroll that evening.

Here's the bump on the beach - Josie's "first visit."

 

We shopped at the outlet stores.

"Shopping til you drop" doesn't take long as an 8-month pregnant lady.

Needless to say, Chris was happy that it didn't last long

Friday evening we enjoyed dinner at Outback.

Saturday was our day on the beach.

I never get tired of this view ... something about it soothes my soul.

Chris attempted to feed the birds.  He threw food to them. 

And here he is trying to get them to take from his hand - but no such luck.

This was Thumpy's first time to hang out on the beach.

Clearly, she enjoyed it.  She loves sunning.

Saturday evening, I ran into a few stores looking for a scarf.

When I came out, Chris was once again feeding birds.  

I grabbed this picture of one of the birds riding on top of our car as Chris came to meet me.

At 6:30 PM, we had a photo session on the beach with a local photographer

and finished the day with dinner at Chili's.

Sunday morning, while we were packing up our hotel room, 

Thumpy took the opportunity to lay on the big king-size bed.

Obviously, she thought she was the queen.

Sunday, we drove about 1.5 hours away to meet with friends who moved to North Carolina last year.

We thoroughly enjoyed catching up and spending time together.

They've got two sweet little kiddos.

I'm grateful, that I had no problems or anything to scare me or make me worry 

while we were away from home.

This restful, peaceful time together was such a blessing.

It was exactly what we needed.

Now, June 2nd can hurry up!!

We are more than ready for our sweet babe to be in our arms.

Did you know?

In Nashville, there is a replica of the Parthenon located in Athens, Greece.On Saturday of our Nashville trip,
Mom and I walked through the park surrounding the replicaand awed at the magnificence of the structure!It is gi-normous! And so detailed.The fall foliage made the park even more beautiful.

Such a lovely day.

Side Note: Today, I'm longing for these warmer temperatures. It was in the low twenties this morning when I started out at 8:15 AM. (brrrrrrrrr!!)

October Recap - Nashville Part 2 - Purpose

And now to the purpose behind the Nashville trip ...

-Fulfilling a long-time wish for Chris-

For a few years, Chris has applied to participate in ResoSummit,
3 days of dobro workshops by a stellar professional faculty,
4 evening performances, after-hours jam sessions, and more. ResoSummit's home is the Scarritt-Bennett Center,
a beautiful campus in Nashville's MusicRow-Vanderbilt area,
with nightly performances at the Station Inn.
Due to limited registration of only 120 (sell out in 14 hours),
Chris hasn't been able to attend until THIS YEAR!
(YAY!)
Thumpy greets Chris after 9-5 back-to-back workshops. Rob Ickes welcoming everyone
at the opening concert Thursday night.
(sorry for the dark photo)Side Note: Rob won the International Bluegrass Music Association's Dobro Player of the Year award for a record-setting eleventh time in 2009; IBMA notes that he is the most awarded instrumentalist in the history of the IBMA awards.

Mom and I at the concert on Thursday night.Needless to say, Chris TREMENDOUSLY enjoyed ResoSummit.
Being taught by professional players
such as Rob, Josh Swift, Andy Hall, and Jerry Douglas
was a dream come true.
He even played a solo with Rob Ickes standing over him in class.
(and received a compliment!! - GO, CHRIS!)
Now, of course, he is wanting to make plans for ResoSummit 2011
... we'll see. :)
Group photo of students and faculty:Chris is lower-center with orange/navy shirt and a cap on.
Beside Rob Ickes, of course.

October Recap - Nashville Part 1 - Sights

Just a few sights from our trip to Nashville.

Heading in ...Music and musical references are everywhere.Singing in the big microphone ... Our hotel:There's always a concert ...
This sign indicates Live Music every night.This is the Cumberland River which flooded
in Nashville's Flood of 2010.
And I believe that I overhead someone say
that the water reached the stadium across the river.Ernest Tubb Record Shop
Lots of interesting finds here.
Chris LOVES this shop.This was our 3rd time to visit Nashville.
And it never gets old.
We always find something new and fun.
More to come ....

a special anniversary getaway

since Chris doesn't have vacation time, yet, with his new job,

we had a quick anniversary getaway,
we do plan to celebrate more later on this year.

but, on the day of our anniversary,
we visited the quaint little mountain towns
of Highlands and Cashiers.meandered through the streets
strolled in and out of the specialty shops.
enjoyed an ice cream cone.
scouted out several local waterfalls.
had dinner at a 'famous' bbq place - Carolina Smokehouse.
we even took Thumpy along for the trip.

@ Dry Falls:@ Bridal Veil Falls: Bust your Butt swimming hole
(and that's the actual name on the brochure)Cullasaja Falls:

we had a sweet time together,

leisurely enjoying our day,
just us,
doing only whatever we wanted to. ;)

and Chris even found a 4-leaf clover.
the first one he has ever found in his life.
I'm not a believer of luck.
but, thought, that was pretty neat-o! ha! ha!

a fierce game of miniature golf

we met friends in Pigeon Forge for Easter weekend.
we hung out together.
shopped a little at the outlets.
played card games at the cabin.
had an interesting meal with a unique waiter at TGI Fridays.
strolled the streets of Gatlinburg.
avoided the 'Burger King with a stench.'
settled for Wendy's even though the frosty machine was down.
A spilled his drink twice in one meal
and cut himself on a souvenir knife.
and we had a fierce game of miniature golf at Ripley's.

hole-in-one for A!

and a hole-in-one for H.

concentration is the key.
stick your tongue out if you have to.the pro's pose.and two crazy golfers we found.

needless to say, a FaBuLoUs time was had by all.
can you tell?

the last pictures from the beach

girls at miniature golf

mama and son chilling on the beach

the boys on the beach together

Robin shot a hole-in-one! yay!

the Johnson family at Cheeseburger in Paradise

sweet Sam (a post for Beth)

here are the pictures I snapped of Sam

at the beach.

enjoying his thumb:taking a nap on the beach:"get the camera out of my face, or i'm going to take it:"playing with my sunglasses to avoid a nap.
not looking at the camera:becoming the next Einstein:posing like a big boy. sitting up alone.
of course, his mom is behind him for precautionary measures.Beth, I plan to upload them to Wal-Mart.com
and print them to your local store.
but, I'm not guaranteeing that to happen in the near future. :)