Fall is All Around

I love Fall. My favorite hot Starbucks drinks, the leaves turning, cool, crisp weather, scarves, sweaters, jeans, UGG boots... yes. It's delightful. It's even better this year, because now we have a baby. Baby? Oh yes, you remember our baby, right?

This is SUCH a fun age, and Bobby and I are enjoying every second with him. We have been busy this fall... this is the busiest season for weddings, after all. You can see what I've been up to HERE. We have also been busy taking Camden to the county fair and the local pumpkin farm. Thankfully, a lot of our friends have babies about the same ages, so it's fun to experience it all together with our little ones!

In September, Bobby and I went to the County Fair...just the three of us. It had been raining for about 3 weeks straight, I think, so just imagine: farm animals + fair grounds + lots of rednecks = lots of fun. Lucky for me, Bobby bought me a corn dog and I got to wear my favorite bright yellow wellies, so all was good. I think Camden enjoyed the sheep.

In the beginning of October, my side of the family rented a house in Lake Anna, VA. Bobby couldn't go with me so I took the baby and we headed out for an overnight! One of the perks to being a stay at home mama :) Vacation in the middle of the week...without having to take vacation time! Anyway, it was very relaxing, and Camden got to spend some quality time with some of his girl cousins. (Thanks to my Dad for most of these pictures!)

Charlotte wanted to badly to play with the baby toys that Jack and Camden had. Poor thing! We finally let her get into the bouncy swing so she could see that she was just too big for it! It didn't matter. I've never seen a smile to big on this girl!

Baby Camden and Baby Jack giving high-five's. They're practicing for when they destroy the older cousins in soccer one day.

We went hiking around the lake one day... so nice out!

I love this girl. She was SO good holding Camden, but I have no pictures of it!

The three youngest cousins and their mama's!

Charlotte is going to boss these boys around once they get older, I can see it!

Camden was playing "Steam Roller" with Charlotte. I think she liked it!

Sweet girl. She looks so much like my brother, I think! Not you, Christina.

AJ and Christina brought a little dinghy to the lake. The kinds enjoyed taking a ride. Later that week (we were already gone), my Dad rented a Pontoon boat!

Ellie was so good with Camden, too! He loved smiling at all three girls while they were together.

This is a great picture of my Dad. He got to hold Camden a lot while we were there, which was nice. Camden liked it, too, I think!

A few weekends ago, we met up with a bunch of friends at the local pumpkin farm to hang out and, of course, pick Camden's first pumpkin! He didn't really know (or care) what was going on, but us adults had fun. Thanks to Jamie and Liam for hosting a pumpkin party afterwards - pumpkin martinis, pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin beer tasting, and...wine from Peru. The babies all played on the floor together, and the adults just had a good time!

Camden's first pumpkin!

Future Boyfriend/Girlfriend?! Cam and Emma were the only two sitting still for the picture :/

Endless Summer

I could feel the salt water gushing through my nose. My hair was wrapped tight around my face, and I'm pretty sure my head was the opposite direction from what it was supposed to be: down. My legs were quickly whipped behind my head and suddenly I was upright again.

Whew.

Although I could feel that there was not only unnatural amounts of salt water up my nose, but now also sand.

I had flashbacks of the first time my Dad took me in the waves. I've never gotten over the fear of the ocean, and specifically, its waves. Perhaps it had something to do with the sand up my nose. My deep-rooted fear is probably why I don't touch the bottom of the ocean with my feet. Even when it's 1.5 feet deep, I swim in as far as I can.

Just in case. You never know what's swimming beneath you: sharks, pebbles, jellies, small children with enormous scuba masks.

All of this is irrelevant in Hawaii, by the way. I'm just sayin.'

So, despite my surfing efforts, my itch to learn how to surf with the cool kids has utterly been satisfied. Never to itch again. Thanks to my helpful teacher, Joe, who took me in after my first - and only - spill... only 10 minutes into it. I know, I know...hard core.

Over the long Labor Day weekend, another couple joined me and Bobby to Ocean City. It was a gorgeous weekend, and after a shopping-filled day at the outlets, the four of us packed up and headed to Assateague Island beach, where we spent the day, surfing and whatnot. I read through half of a book, took about 5 naps, and left looking like a poached beet. Did I mention I'm allergic to sunscreen? Remember the Sun screeen Rash of 2007 on my Honeymoon? Well, we didn't want that to re-appear, so we steered clear. HA.


Here it is...documented by my loving husband. See? The first picture, I'm so excited that a wave is coming!! Actually, I was scared to death, but that's when Joe said to paddle as fast as I could. I have balance problems, so I kept coming off the board. I think I'm going to make it!! Oh, and the third picture, the wave got the best of me... until the last picture, which is where I'm upside down, getting served by the wave.

But, somehow I made it out alive...and LOOK! I'm actually smiling!

Some random horses strolling along the beach. I think they were twitterpating.

They are just beautiful animals...

Hey Bobby.

On the road to Assateague. Isn't is gorgeous? I love the long line of trees.

The sun was so golden over this field. Just beautiful!

I felt so "Endless Summer" on the drive back. The surfboards were on top of the car and I caught the shadow. Don't look at this picture for too long...it'll make you dizzy.


Have a great week!

The Berry Monster

The first summer Bobby and I spent together as a dating couple, we had made plans to go down to Ocean City, MD with his family.

We were so excited at all the opportunities we would have to be romantic and lovey-dovey with each other. I had been hyping myself up for weeks thinking about this trip! I always knew that Bobby thought I was beautiful, and I tried - with every ounce of myself - to keep it that way.

We drove down at night in his brand new Jeep wrangler (top down) and had been making plans the whole way down to walk down to the beach, drink some...sparkling cider..., and whisper sweet nothings into each others ears. Perfect.

Sorry guys, I know I've lost you. Just hang in there.

We arrived to the beach house after dark and, in an effort to lose those last five pounds before I let Bobby see me in a bathing suit, I had barely eaten anything all day. I was famished.

THANKFULLY, I managed to be ready before Bobby, so I waited patiently downstairs for him to head to the beach. My sweet and thoughtful (now) mother-in-law had bought fresh blueberries and left them out on the counter for people to nibble as they passed through. Everyone was asleep already, so I let my thoughts wander.

Blueberries are healthy, right? They won't totally ruin my diet this weekend. I slowly (and regrettably) justified what I was about to do in my mind.

I started eating - no, shoveling - blueberries into my mouth to satisfy my raving appetite. As I leaned in closer to get more berries into my mouth in a shorter period of time, I looked up to make sure no one was watching me...it was then that I saw Bobby. Frozen. In shock.

It was at that exact moment in time that changed the dynamic of my relationship with Bobby forever. At that exact time, I also realized that I looked like a complete fatty to my beloved (then) boyfriend. It was also the exact moment that I earned the nickname, Berry Monster.

To this day, I've never lived it down.

So this afternoon, a friend and I traveled up the road to a local berry farm to pick some blackberries. PYO was the acronym of the day (Pick Your Own). We picked, and picked, and picked and ate some, then picked and picked, and ate some more, then picked...

(Note to self: Dresses with any white on them are not appropriate attire for berry picking). At least I have smart friends...Allison wore all dark clothes so stains wouldn't be as noticeable. I took one for the team though, and attracted all the mosquitoes so she wouldn't get bit.

After traipsing through the fields of Southern Maryland, we stopped at a local produce stand.

When we got in the car, I felt so good about myself for bringing out the tree-hugger in me. We supported the local agricultural community, treated our bodies to hormone-free produce, and dug our feet in to the soil of this good earth.

And then I realized how beautiful this earth is. God has put us here to enjoy it, take care of it, and praise Him for His goodness. So, next time you're enjoying the great outdoors, take a second to revel in God's goodness and the beauty He's put here for us to enjoy.

Oh, and try not to let your boyfriend/husband/significant other see you shovel berries into your mouth when you think no one's looking!

A Party for Baby

Oh my, there are lots of babies around us this year, aren't there? Well, it's completely wonderful because I love babies. What? You didn't know that? Hum...you must be new to my blog, you should catch up.

Anyway, this weekend, a few of us threw a "surprise" baby shower for my good friend, Candice! She is expecting Baby #1 at the end of April and looks phenomenal (take a look at her beautiful pictures here). The day was filled with lots of good food (if I do say so myself - this was the largest party I've ever cooked for!) and close family who all love Candice dearly.

I say "surprise" as it is used it the loosest of terms... Candice is a smart girl, but I suppose we were not as discreet as we could have been. We have been planning this thing since November, after all.







Candice made out with some much-needed supplies for her first born, which is always important!

After spending a day with people I had only just met, it is clear to me how much her family loves others. I shortly felt like one of the family even though we had people from all over come to join us in celebration: Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania...














Since Candice's birthday is TOMORROW (happy birthday, my dear!), her Mimi gave a beautiful toast to acknowledge and celebrate her birthday. It is so special, the bond between Mimi and her two Grand Daughters (Candice and her sister, Krisiti).

I got to sit next to Mimi during the games and we both "helped each other out" with some of the answers. I like Mimi, she won like half of the games!

After some games and chit-chatting, we moved on to dessert and some more chatting.









I think we possibly made the record for the longest baby shower, but it was SO fun and afterward, I felt like a member of their family! They even invited me out to dinner at a new restaurant I've never tried down here!

Candice and her sister are quite a pair! Only about 18 months apart, they are very close, despite their geographical distance. Kristi planned some awesome games for the shower! One of which made me never want to feed my future children baby food... (just kidding, Kristi, but not really!!).













Here is Candice with her Mom and sister... what beautiful ladies! Candice's mom is SO excited to be a Grandmother. She could barely contain herself with excitement when I saw her just a few hours before the shower!!! It was so cute.

Congratulations, Candice! We ALL cannot wait to meet little "Shai" (pronounced "Shy")!!!