Getting Ready for Christmas!

The weekend after our anniversary, we went to Kingsmill for the weekend, which was lots of fun!  We stayed in a suite with a fireplace and kitchen, so that was great for being able to spread out and feel a little more at home while staying at a resort.  We had a fire each night, ate a lot (3 meals were included with our package!), and enjoyed some wine from our wedding winery, Veritas.  We did manage to get in a workout on Sunday morning to counteract our more-frequent-than-usual dining.  We also went to the Grand Illumination in Colonial Williamsburg, which was lots of fun.  It's amazing how people are so intrigued by and enamoured with fireworks...thousands of people gather in the cobblestone and gravel streets, braving the cold and crowds and crazy hot cider lines, all for a 20 minute firework show.  And we go back just about every year!  We ended our evening with a trip to the Green Leafe for mug night before heading back to Kingsmill.  The highlight for Billy was a very reasonably priced mug of Mad Elf beer, which was surprisingly sweet and not too hoppy for being 11% :)

Here are a couple of firework pictures...

We love the "spray" fireworks!

This past weekend, we decorated our tree and some other areas around the house.  I always love decorating the tree, since we have a great collection of ornaments consisting of ones given to us by my mom's and my sweet friends and family members from a wonderful wedding shower right before we got married, ones we got as souvenirs from our various trips we've taken together, and ones from both of our childhoods (some of those are slightly scary and strange, though, so we look at them, laugh, and put them back in the box :)).  We also got out our large nativity set, Billy's old train, and some other decorations for around the house.  Next task - snow village.  Maybe that will happen in the next couple of nights before I head down south for Kel's graduation from Auburn. 

Here are a few pictures from around our house - more to come later!

The tree, complete with Billy's train going around it :)

We dressed up the mantle a bit with some red and gold Christmas balls in the hurricanes that usually have candles in them.  Our little Willow Tree nativity scene stays up here year round. 

Dining room centerpiece (same as for Thanksgiving but with red berries around the candles)

I added a red berry wreath on the china cabinet too (love these things...they are pretty cheap, especially at the after-Christmas sales at Michaels, and provide a subtle way to dress things up)

Decorated living room

Last night, we decorated gingerbread cookies...I didn't have any gingerbread man cookie cutters, so we used the ornament cookie cutters Billy had given me for our 2nd anniversary.  I also didn't have any red icing, so we went with blue, green, and white.  Billy turned out to be our star decorator, as the cookies I attempted to decorate were consumed almost immediately because they didn't look so good :)  I guess I've gotten a little rusty from my days of cake decorating class!  We just used half of the dough, so maybe tonight or tomorrow night, we'll have another round of decorating.

For the past three months...

I haven't posted anything, as we have stayed super busy and time seems to just fly by!  Hopefully with Christmas approaching, I'll have more time to post pictures as we decorate our house, get Jefferson ready for his Christmas card picture, etc. (he did just go to the groomer a week or so ago, and we have a potential prop for his picture, so things are looking good for that :))

So, here's a glimpse at our end of summer through end of fall...

We've gone to several weddings, none of which have been local - Chattanooga for Ryan & Heather, Charlottesville for Devon & Dan, and Birmingham for Dana & Dan. 

These are from Dev's beautiful wedding at Farmington (I don't have pics from the other weddings, but I'll add them if I get any)...

College Friends

Jennifer & Me

Seating arrangements & topiaries made especially for the event

Beautiful centerpieces

We've been to a few games at UVa, none of which were any good, but we did have a fun time there, including a trip to Carter's Mountain, a visit from Laura, and checking out a few new restaruants. 

Jefferson's the Worm :)

Hanging out in the apple orchard

Rain-soaked during the UVa-GT game (we all look great :))

Billy's grandmother passed away in October, which was very sad, but we know she's better off now, fully healed and relieved from any pain.  It was nice to see so many extended family members during that time, although different circumstances for a reunion would have been nice.  Billy's whole extended family on his dad's side is very close, which is great and also rare! 

Whole Family at the Church

Billy, Anna Margaret, & Me

We spent Halloween at Busch Gardens with Pete and Mollie and look forward to going back this weekend for Christmastown (no idea what to expect, but I'm sure it will be neat, and weather-permitting, some rides will be open!). 

I made a trip to Atlanta in November to work with an apprasier, as I'm attempting to finish getting my license within the next year or year-and-a-half.  When I was gone then, Billy won his age group in a local race, earning a free pair of shoes - yay!!  Unfortunately, his foot probably wasn't healed enough for a race, so that has prolonged his healing process, which we're hoping ends soon!  He also worked the Brooks Running booth at the Marine Corps Marathon in DC and had fun but will hopefully be running it next year instead when his foot is healed! 

I also made a trip with my Bible study girls to a co-worker's river house in Claremont, Virginia.  We had a great, relaxing time hanging out, taking the ferry to the outlets, cooking, and just enjoying a getaway.  Jefferson also joined us for the weekend :)

For Thanksgiving, Billy and I hosted his family at our house and made most of the food!  It was our first turkey-making experience by ourselves, but it was a success (probably b/c of the brining).  We made squash casserole, sweet potato casserole, salad, pecan pie, fried apple pies, cornbread dressing, traditional dressing, and more!  Billy's mom brought kale and brussels sprouts, and one of my friends dropped by some extra rolls she had made for her family, so we had a feast.  We have since used the leftover turkey for sandwiches and fajitas, the latter of which was our favorite...maybe that will be a variation he and I can do in the future, as neither of us are big "traditional Thanksgiving food" fans.  Cooking and hosting the meal pretty much wiped us out, but we did manage to make it up to C-ville for Al Groh's last game (the second half of which was a complete embarrasment for UVa). 

The table pre-meal

Jefferson's Big Day

The ladies post-meal

This week, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with a wonderful dinner out, and we'll head to Kingsmill this weekend for a couple of nights.  We always love Williamsburg this time of year, with the Grand Illumination, decorations, etc.  And, Sunday night is "Mug Night" at Green Leafe, so that's an additional perk!  While I never imagined I would get married in December, it ends up being an awesome time to get away, as anywhere we go is decorated for Christmas and is much cheaper than in the "in season" (except for skiing, I guess, but that's rarely cheap anyways :)).  We've had a wonderful and growing time over the past three years, including some trials but many more great times together, and God has blessed us very much in our marriage!

So, that's a somewhat quick rundown of what all we've been up to.  I'll be sure and post some pictures after this weekend too!

Jefferson haircut

This Saturday, we ventured to Petsmart for Jefferson's 4th grooming ever...all I can say is we're glad Bob the groomer has a Boston Terrier and, therefore, understands how the "terrier personality" handles grooming :) First time I haven't been scolded by the groomer when picking him up, so I guess my 30-minute grooming session on Friday paid off!

 

Before pics...aka his teddy bear look

After pics...you can see his terrier tail and legwarmers again!

 So sweet!!

Finally Home (for another week)!

For the past 6+ weeks, we've been traveling around like crazy, and we are finally settled back into our house and re-starting life (job search, normal work schedule, exercising, etc). Here is a little recap of our past month and a half of madness...

Wedding in NY ~ June 19-21

BC's extended family in town ~ June 27-28

4th of July in ATL ~ July 2-8

Texas ~ July 23-29

We loaded up the U-haul and left Virginia at around noon on Thursday the 23rd, stayed in ATL that night, and made it to Texas on Friday night, staying in the small town of Palestine. Arrived in Austin the next day around lunchtime and got to work getting Kendall's apartment set up (and exploring the town in our spare time :)). We loved the city and would move there in a heartbeat! Here are some pictures from our time in Austin...

Watching the famous bats on the Congress Street bridge

Billy and I went to see live music several nights

(this is at The Continental Club)

Walking home at night

Day trip to San Antonio

Remember the Alamo...

San Antonio Riverwalk

Sea World San Antonio ~ Shamu show

I think the otters wanted to come out of their pen and play with us!

Last night in Austin...so, this was apparently Snoop Dogg's "after party" following his show in Austin. His posse was there, but we figured Snoop was probably back in his hotel room asleep since he never showed :)

Kendall's cute apartment!

View from the balcony...slightly more upscale than either Billy's or my first place :)

In addition to all of that, we also did the following local activities in Austin...ran/walked on the Town Lake Trail every morning, went swimming in Barton Springs Pool one afternoon, ate at one of the food serving trailers (Hudson's on the Bend - love it!!), had some good Tex Mex, and enjoyed a few cold Lone Stars (which we have determined is the equivalent of Alamo beer on King of the Hill...even though there is an actual Alamo Beer Co, the cans look suspiciously like those on KOTH and have a picture of the Alamo on them :)), and discovered a couple of good furniture consignment places (Austin Furniture Consignment & Design it with Consignment). We are very excited to go back there down the road and have actually expanded our job search to include the Austin area!

OBX/Suffolk ~ July 31-August 6

We flew in from Austin on Wednesday (got in at like 10:30PM), and by 2PM on Friday, my parents had both arrived in Suffolk for a visit. My mom drove with Sam, and my dad flew into the Suffolk airport (much nicer than driving to Newport News or Norfolk to pick him up :)). We had dinner with the in-laws that evening and headed to Kill Devil Hills the next day for a two-night stay in the Outer Banks. It was my parents' first trip there, and a dream come true for my mom (seriously, she had been wanting to go to the OBX for years but never been). We stayed at a great place that allowed us to stay for only 2 nights (rare in high season) - First Flight Rentals. It was perfect - oceanfront, pet-friendly, new, covered parking, pool & hottub. Very nice! Here are some weekend pics...

Our porch overlooking the dunes and ocean

Jefferson watching Billy on his board


Family photo

Jefferson the Lifeguard

ATL ~ August 6-9

After the OBX weekend, my mom hung around here for a few more days, and I drove back to ATL with her on Thursday for a few job-related meetings, a haircut, and more family time. I flew back on Sunday evening, and now, we're home until next Friday, when we drive to Chattanooga for a college friend's wedding. In the meantime, we're staying busy at work, trying to stay in shape, experimenting with new recipes, and hanging out. We got to see one of my best friends and her husband last weekend, so that was a nice treat since we hadn't seen them in a few months! Ok, back to work for a little longer...then, yay for the weekend!!

ATL 2K9

Last weekend, we made the 8+ hour trek to my hometown for some fun with the fam. We stayed busy doing lots of fun things the whole time we were there, so it was a nice break from our small town life!

Thursday when we got it, we headed downtown to meet up with Ryan and Kelly, who were going to grab a drink at a cool bar in Midtown - Whiskey Park. Upon their arrival there, they quickly discovered that it was not a night for the boy/girl couples, so we headed to Whiskey Blue in Buckhead instead. Here's a picture of the place:

Awesome rooftop deck/lounge area overlooking Buckhead

(from Jezebel Magazine)

Billy and I cheaped out and headed back to get some rest and save some dollars, but Kel and Ryan had a nice date evening at the super cool bar :)

Friday, Dad put Billy and Ryan to work doing a little trimming on the backyard arbor.

Then, we headed to the club so the guys could play golf and the girls could relax by the pool and go walking. We had a cocktail overlooking the golf course and were joined by a few of Mom's friends for a birthday dinner in the Troon Grill.

Saturday, we were up way too early so that we could run in the Peachtree Road Race, which was lots of fun. Everyone finished, even though Bryan and Dad decided to start the race at Collier and Peachtree, doing the last 2 or 3 miles :) Then, we headed to the lake for fireworks and some more hang out time with family and friends. The highlight of that time was all of the fun we had watching the dogs playing in the water. Jefferson and Sam LOVED playing together and swam pretty much non-stop the whole time!

Sunday after we got back from the lake, we met Justin and Deborah for dinner at Taco Mac in Virginia Highlands, adding a couple more points to Billy's passport card.

Monday, we relaxed by the pool (dogs swimming and playing non-stop again!) and then met Laura for dinner at Park Tavern later that evening.

Tuesday, I did some job searching, and we all went to trivia at Neighbors in Virginia Highlands that night except for Kel.

Wednesday, I had a job search-related meeting, and then we headed back up here for a very quick trip of 8 hours including a stop at Cookout in Concord, NC (we highly recommend this fastfood place for anyone traveling through NC!).

Yummy!!

So, it was a busy but wonderful time there, and we're excited to go back again before too long! (but we're enjoying our life here too :))