6 years

at the beginning of the month, billy and i celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.  we had a nice little getaway to wintergreen for a few nights and did some fun activities, including hiking, going to a concert and basketball game in cville, me getting a massage, eating some good meals, and enjoying time by the fire in our condo.  the dogs were able to come as well, which was lots of fun!  they were tired for several days after the hiking we did!  we are very thankful to have a strong (and growing), committed marriage and that we really enjoy each other's company, and the past 6 years have flown by so quickly.  it was such a nice, relaxing time, and we were glad to have a getaway before things get crazier in our house this spring :) 

beautiful view from our porch - we were surprised that there was no snow, so they better start making it soon if they're going to open for ski season!  i don't look too great - no makeup, wet hair, and we were trying to get a picture in before our camera died - but that's ok :)

exciting news

this coming april, billy and i are expecting a baby boy!  we are very excited (a little scared, seeing as we have basically no baby experience :)) and feel blessed that God has given us this child after some ups and downs over the past couple of years.  in this, God has really taught me to just trust in Him and His perfect timing and also to enjoy where He's placed you now - i sometimes get so caught up in what's ahead that i fail to enjoy the moment, so over the past year, i've tried to focus more on just enjoying where billy and i are in the moment.  he's much better at that in me (with my planning nature especially), but it's been a good learning experience.  

it's been great to be able to share with our immediate families in person - both the news of our pregnancy and also the "gender reveal".  in august, right after we found out i was pregnant (and before knowing how everything was going), we told our parents since my parents happened to be in town for a few days and we wanted to share with everyone in person.  i was able to tell my siblings in person as well, which was fun.  then, at thanksgiving, both of our families were in atlanta, so we all gathered at my parents' house and shared the news there.  billy and i baked blue cupcakes for the surprise, so it was a fun little gathering, even though pretty much everyone thought we were having a boy.  

fall catchup

i have been very bad about posting on the blog lately...we've been staying busy with lots of fun activities when we're not working!  

i've been out of town some, going to a wedding in florida, a weekend trip to atl, and celebrating a friend's 30th bday in pennsylvania.  on the weekends when billy hasn't worked, we've made it to a couple of uva games.  and, we were in atlanta for thanksgiving with my family.  

here are some pictures from our past few busy months...

uva homecoming game

tailgating

wicked 10k - very windy!

jen's 30th bday - fun girls weekend with manicures and yummy tapas lunch

billy on the homestretch of the atl half marathon

awesome half marathon finishers!!

obx 2012

last week, billy and i went to the outer banks for a week by ourselves (with the terriers of course), which was so nice!  we love going on family trips, but sometimes it's very nice just to go by yourselves, be on your own schedule (or lack thereof), etc.

we rented a great house in southern shores that was only about 1/4 mile walk from the beach and the bike/running path, so it was a great location for us.  it also had a pool, which is a must for the dogs!!  unfortunately, we both had a terrible cold/cough the whole time, so that made for not great sleep, less time talking to each other, and feeling uncomfortable, but it was still a nice time away.

saturday while billy was working, i loaded up the car as much as possible and got all of our stuff organized.  the dogs were very excited while i was doing this, since they knew we were about to have a bye-bye.  then sunday, we headed to the beach for our fun week.  

we ate at several good restaurants - 3 of the places that will air this fall on diners drive-ins and dives :)  not sure which meal was our best, but we loved going to cravings (went there for dinner and then lunch later in the week), tortugas lie, and the obx brewing station.  we went to goombays as well, but it wasn't as good as the other places.  it was lots of fun trying some places we hadn't been before!  we also cooked in a few nights, but not feeling well, we weren't as ambitious in that department.  basically each day, we'd get up, get some exercise, hang out by the pool for a bit, have lunch, go to the beach, and come in to get ready for dinner.  it was great not having a schedule even though we had to do a little work while we were there - not as much as in florida though! - and we're happy to do that b/c it pays for our time away :)

billy finally broke down and bought a longboard, so we had fun testing that out (him on the board, me on the bike - no way am i trying that probably ever!  we also drove on the beach in carova a couple of times, so we didn't have to buy the permit for oregon inlet - plus, we have lots of good memories up there!

bryan and kristin joined us from atl late thursday night and stayed through sunday.  on friday, the four of us took a hobie cat lesson, which was lots of fun.  next time, i think we'll just rent a boat on our own now that we sort of know what to do!  greg and erin came down on friday evening, and all of us had a great time hanging out together!  we had some good beach time on saturday, watched all of our football teams get worked, and had a fun dinner at obx brewing station.  on sunday, the hansards headed out pretty early, but bryan and kristin's flight wasn't until almost 7, so we hung around in the area for awhile longer.  we took them up driving on the beach, grabbed lunch at another restaurant owned by the cravings people (coastal cantina - they had the spiciest tacos ever!), checked out the jockeys ridge dunes, and then headed on.  so, they got a good sampling of a lot of the obx!  

here are some pictures from our trip (kristin has a few more i think, so i'll add those later)...

busy summer!

i have been very negligent of the blog as of late, since we've stayed super busy this summer between a few trips here and there and my workload picking up significantly (which is a great blessing!).  

so, here's a little recap of our summer so far, as it's drawing to a close...

in late june, we went for a family reunion in big meadows & stayed overnight in c-ville afterwards

the big meadow

our room had two double beds, so there was one terrier bed and one person bed :)

  

brooks checking out what's going on outside

afternoon hike to waterfall

second hike of the day

   

playing at waterfall in c-ville

brooks kept digging in the water, and we were hoping he would slide down :)

a week later, we headed south to lake burton to celebrate the 4th with my family

jefferson LOVES the lake

after a rough lake experience last year where i almost drowned brooks, we were curious about how he'd enjoy it this year...he LOVED it!  he does love water more than jefferson usually though :)

jefferson & annie

two swimming terriers

billy & brooks

tired terriers

great fireworks show, as always!

the girls :)

Christmas card pic??

we had a great time with our family and loved being with the bards and laura and andrew as well!  can't wait to go back next summer!!

we were home for the rest of july but stayed super busy with work :)

a couple of weeks ago, we joined billy's family for a few days in florida, which was a nice break.  work has stayed so busy, we ended up doing a decent amount of work there, but it was great to be of the office and able to work from a more scenic place!  love phones with email and portable computers for that purpose!!

walking to dinner at goat feathers

billy reeling in a bull shark (which eventually broke the line :( )

the guys and their spoils

cousins - before dinner at red bar

i look a little windblown, but it's a pretty beach :)

we're looking forward to one last summer trip to the outer banks in just a few weeks, which will be a great way to close out the summer!  we're very thankful and blessed for the wonderful vacations with family and friends we've gotten to take this year!!

aloha!

things have been super busy here, so i haven't had a chance to post any pictures yet, but we took an amazing trip with my family to hawaii almost a month ago. only one person in our group had been there before, so it was a new and completely unique experience for us all!  such a beautiful place, unlike anywhere i've ever been.  it's amazing how one minute, you'll be in a desert-like place and the next, you'll be in a lush, rainforest area.  and to surf and see mountains when you look back to the shore is pretty cool too.  it was definitely the most active vacation i've ever had (maybe with the exception of ski trips), and everyone had a great time being together for the week.  


we stayed at the ritz residences in kapalua, and it was the most beautiful resort i've ever been to.  the condos were awesome (i could definitely live in one no problem :)), there were probably 7-10 pools on the property, beautiful spa area and fitness center, all situated overlooking the beautiful glassy water and rocky shoreline of the kapalua bay.  it was an incredible place!  plus, so nice to stay in a condo where we could make meals, snacks, have a drink supply (that we didn't even make it through :)), and have more space to hang out than a regular hotel room.  

looking at the lobby from our condo

living room - loved the furniture!

super nice kitchen

large patio outside our place

private lawn area between our condos 

sweet pools!!

the first day/night we were there, we got up super early to watch the sunrise at haleakala, a crater/mountain 13,000 feet (i think) above sea level.  after watching the sunrise, we biked 20+ miles down the mountain, stopping for breakfast at a cute place along the way.  we got back to the ritz and relaxed a little while and just got settled in.  billy and i cooked dinner that night - ahi tuna and poke tacos.  yum!  

don't know what's going on with my hat :)

amazing sunrise - looked like we were in the snow!

crater with black and red sand

mom, dad, and me

billy and me

bryan and kristin

the second day, we got up somewhat early again and headed out on the road to hana.  it was a beautiful (and scary at times) drive on super windy roads, and we hiked to a bunch of waterfalls and beaches along the way.  this was probably my mom's favorite part of the trip - she definitely won the award for most daring swimmer in the freezing waterfall water!  billy had a shoe/foot casualty at the first waterfall (vibrams turned out not to be the best choice :)), so he was in some pain for awhile but still made it through all of the hikes with us.  my favorite part of that trip was bodysurfing at this little beach we found with great waves...and just having the time to all hang out together during the trip :)  after making all of our stops along the road to (and a little past) hana, it got dark fairly quickly, and kel did a great job behind the wheel the whole day, but it was a little scary to be on the edge of these narrow roads that were really high up.  we had some excitement on the country road (further away from the cliffs thankfully) when we got stopped twice by cattle in the middle of the road.  not sure if we got any pictures of it, but it was really funny!  by the time we got back into civilization, most of the restaurants were closed, so we found this local place, da kitchen cafe, that had very good, traditional hawaiian food.  we had the nicest waitress, and she was impressed we found the place, as it's typically a locals-only place.  

first waterfall of the day

rock climbing

the whole gang by the triple waterfall

bodysurfing!

seven sacred pools (aka 3 waterfalls & 4 pools)

the next day (tuesday), we rented surfboards and headed down to a local beach to check out the waves.  it was great! i think i caught more waves in like 30 minutes of surfing than i had in years in va beach - nice to have waves that were shorebreakers and came in fairly regular sets.  we hung out on the beach for awhile and then headed back to the condos to get ready for the luau.  the luau my mom selected was "the feast at lele", and it was so fun!  this particular luau is located on the beach in this cute little village area in the south end of lahaina.  when we arrived, we were immediately given kakui (sp?) nut leis and mai tais.  we took a few sunset pictures and were seated at our table and immediately began to sample an abundance of delicious cocktails.  the food was great and unique, and it was served family style, which was nice.  they had some delicious drinks, like the lava flow (similar to a miami vice) - so good!  throughout the evening, there were dancers in various costumes that represented the different cultures of polynesia.  it was such a neat experience.  the fire dancers were the best :)  we stuffed ourselves and were all feeling pretty good by the time the luau was finished!  

beautiful sunset

Christmas card??

crazy dancers (better pics on kel's nice camera :))

wednesday, we snorkeled around our place (best snorkeling was right near where we were staying - it was amazing to swim out like two feet and see tons of fish!) and then went to lahaina for lunch at cool cats, a great burger place.  then, we headed back to the condo, relaxed and worked out for a little while, and then got ready for dinner at mama's fish house (coolest restaurant, awesome food).  it took awhile to get to mama's, but on the way, we saw a few rainbows - even a double rainbow - which was exciting and got to see a beautiful sunset from the restaurant.  it was the most uniquely-built restaurant i've been in probably ever.  almost like a treehouse-type place - very eclectic but not tacky at all.  

lahaina marina

after mama's dinner - again, kel has better pics (with people) on her camera :)

thursday, each couple ventured out on their own to do whatever activity they wanted.  we decided to rent a jeep and surfboards and head down to the beach we had checked out earlier in the week.  so fun!  we had a great time surfing and just hanging out , relaxing outside.  i did get stung by a sea urchin, which temporarily dyed the bottom of my toe blue, but still managed to catch a few good waves!  that evening, we rode with kel and ash into lahaina in the jeep to check out dinner options.  billy and i ended up back at cool cats after walking around and finding out the place we were hoping to go was closed, while kel and ash opted for a bar crawl :)  luckily, we ran into them as we were leaving town, so we gave them a ride back after they had gotten lost in a sketchy area.  we all hung out for a bit, playing games, but we were pretty tired most nights, so we didn't stay up super late at all.  

the hula girl

honolua bay

looking toward the ritz

beautiful mountain view from the beach

me catching a wave

billy catching one of many he caught

not so good at the self-timer :)

friday was sadly our last full day in hawaii. we got up, spent some time at the spa (there was an amazing infinity pool there, relaxation room, etc - so nice!) and then took the surfboards and paddleboards out to the same beach, where by now, we started to recognize the regulars there :)  the paddleboarding was much more difficult than anticipated!  but we still all had a great time and survived with minimal injuries (kel and ash had some coral scrapes, but most of us fared ok).  it was so nice hanging out with everyone, having a couple of beers on the beach, and just enjoying the gorgeous weather.  dad, mom, kel, and ash went on a sunset cruise on the hula girl (which if we had had one more day there, i would've loved to do - they said it was awesome), and bryan, kristin, billy, and i hung out at the condo, trying to do some damage to our alcohol supply :)  we all met up at whaler's village, a cute outdoor mall area, and had a good dinner at the hula grill.  yummy poke tacos and bread with chili sauce!  definitely love how they eat in hawaii.  we had a great last dinner together and are so grateful for the fun trip with so many great memories.  

this picture makes me smile!

tired :)

our jeep - different driving a 4-door one!

awesome

haha

saturday, we snorkeled for a little while to use the last bit of time we had left with the rental and then got our stuff together and ready for our trip back home.  it was so sad leaving, but we'll be excited to go back at some point and to see everyone again for the 4th of july weekend coming up soon.  we are so blessed with a sweet family and generous parents who took us on the amazing trip!!


on our way back, we received some sad news that a dear family friend had passed away that day - completely shocking and unexpected.  it was so sad, and we were thankful to all be together, but i know it'll be a tough road ahead, especially for my parents who were very close to them.  here's a sweet picture of the darbys from our wedding (and one of him with my dad, probably talking about the structure of the room :))...we'll miss you mr darby.