Pictures from weekend before last...

Here are some fun pictures from the YMCA Spring Stride 5K a couple of weeks ago that I just receive from one of Billy's running buddies and wanted to post...

Jefferson and Ally

Jefferson enjoying the beautiful weather and lots of people at the race :)

Post-race

Our little family

Next race pictures will be from Boston!!

Easter & More!

We had a very nice Easter...breakfast with friends from out of town, good church service, and lunch/egg hunt with Billy's family. Yes, his family still has an egg hunt even though we are all in our mid/late-20s. We're thinking this may stop when we have our own kids, but we may very well be egg-hunting with them :) His aunt, uncle, and cousin were in town, so that was fun to see all of them as well. Once family activities finished up, we went running and took Jefferson walking on a trail leading to a lake, where we unsuccessfully tried to get him to swim. Probably a good thing, though, since the water was covered in pollen!

On Saturday before Easter, we went on a 11-mile run/bike, then cleaned the house, and later Billy went to shoot guns with his dad, uncle, and cousin. So I finally had time to start cleaning our attic and make my winter-to-spring clothes transition...just in time for the cold spell this week! Oh well, I am so ready for spring clothes - lots of bright colors, dresses, and skirts! And more fun shoes :) Hopefully by the time we get back from Boston next week, it will have fully transitioned to warm weather here!

Tomorrow we leave for almost a week of fun traveling. I am so excited to see my family and friends, then to watch my running-stud husband in the Boston marathon!! We get to meet my family's new dog too, which I am super excited about. I've been telling Jefferson about his "Uncle Sam", so he'll be excited to meet him this summer :)

I'll post pictures of our trip next week!

On the go!

So we have been really busy lately...nothing super exciting, but we've been spending time working out, cooking at home more, playing with Jefferson, staying busier with work, and hanging out with new (and old) friends.

This past weekend, Billy won a race on Saturday, which was exciting! I don't have any pictures, since our camera battery was dead, but he was on the front page of our local newspaper for his performance :) Then, on Sunday I rode my bike with him during a 20-mile run near the oceanfront, which was fun since it was such a beautiful day!

The weekend before that, we went to Busch Gardens with our friends, Pete and Mollie, and Jefferson came along for the ride as well. We LOVE Busch Gardens but are slightly sad that they don't have Beer School anymore. It was a beautiful day, and there were basically no lines, so we rode every ride in just a couple of hours! Jefferson always enjoys his time in the kennel there as well, since he can watch the other dogs up close (not from his usual "front window of our house" position). We went to Green Leafe Cafe afterwards, which has lots of different beers and yummy pretzel bread. That inspired us to make our own pretzel bread from a Cooking Light soft pretzel recipe this past week, but it didn't turn out quite as good :) Probably because it was a healthier recipe!!

Favorite Ride - Apollo's Chariot

I am so ready for spring! With the exception of a few days here and there, it has been COLD here! I am longing for skirt and sandal-wearing weather and to get some color on my pale body! We're looking forward to seeing some of Billy's extended family and our friends from out of town this weekend for Easter. I have a feeling I may end up doing some cooking for the whole crew, which I always enjoy! We are so thankful for Christ's saving sacrifice for us and are especially reminded of that as we approach Easter weekend where we celebrate Him.

Jefferson is ready for spring too!!

Next week begins our week-long travel craziness, which will include a month's worth of fun time with family, friends, and special activities! We're heading to Atlanta to visit my family for a couple of days, driving to and from Nashville for my college friend's wedding, flying from Atlanta to Boston for the marathon, and flying from Boston back here. So it will be hectic and busy but so much fun. Billy hasn't seen my family since Thanksgiving, so he's excited about that (as am I, since I haven't seen them since January)! We'll see friends from college (and high school for me), hopefully take a couple of brewery tours, celebrate with my soon-to-be-wed friend, and do lots of fun things in Boston, most importantly, watch Billy run the world's oldest annual marathon (and one of the few you can run only if you qualify). I can't wait to visit Boston, since I've heard it's such a great city! Fenway Park here we come :)

Here is a little visual of what our trip is going to look like...

ATL

Nashville

Wedding

Boston

Marathon!!

Fenway Park

Sam Adams Brewery

We don't really have a skyline to return to, but there is a lot of water in our neck of the woods :)

More Easter Bird Nests

So I was looking up a recipe last night on RecipeZaar, and on the main page was a familiar picture...a chow mien noodle bird nest! I guess I wasn't the first one to think of this :)

These look really cute (they use jellybeans instead of robins eggs) and sound extra yummy for those of us who LOVE peanut butter!

Here's the recipe if you're interested - http://www.recipezaar.com/Easter-Nests-with-Jelly-Bean-Eggs-87879


These are a great way to give people a little personalized Easter treat (and are easy and inexpensive to make but look fancy)! Jefferson may even get one of these in his Easter basket this year :)

Shamrock!!

This past weekend, Billy ran in the Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach. I watched him at the start, almost half-way point, and finish and spent the rest of the time in the Hilton lobby trying to stay warm. It was pretty chilly out there, but perfect running weather - 40s with no wind! Billy had been training so hard (averaging probably 10 miles a day with basically no days off for the past month or so, up until his taper this past week), and it definitely paid off! At about 12.5 miles, he was in 13th place, but during the second half of the race, he was able to pass 4 people, coming in 9th overall and destroying his old PR by 18 minutes! (click here for results) Can we say stud???

Here are some pictures from the day:

at around the 12.5 mile mark

about to finish - still going strong!

finish line!

post-race...he doesn't even look tired!

BC & Coach

some of the other runners he trains with (they did the 1/2)

pre-beer tent :)

Next stop Boston!

Birdnests

With Spring on the horizon (I'm hoping!!), I've been in the mood to whip up some spring-y treats...my latest creation in the kitchen is a spinoff of "haystacks", the cute, seasonal, and yummy treats that include chow mien noodles, chocolate, and butterscotch. I took the basic haystack recipe and instead of making bunches that resemble haystacks, I formed the mixture into "birdnests". With some Robins Egg candy, they make a fun gift, party favor, or just a simple dessert.

Quick and easy recipe:

10-12 oz. bag chocolate chips

10-12 oz. bag butterscotch chips

1/2 bag chow mien noodles (this can vary, depending on how much you want them coated in the chocolate and butterscotch)

Heat chocolate and butterscotch (works best on the stove), stirring until melted together. Add chow mien noodles and stir into chocolate/butterscotch mixture, coating noodles evenly. Scoop out noodles onto wax paper and form into "birdnest" shapes. (I found my first couple looked better than the rest, probably because the chocolate/butterscotch mixture was still warm and easily formed.) Cool completely, remove from wax paper, add Robins Eggs, and serve. Yum!!

Jefferson was VERY interested in them too :)

Heading to Chicago!!

This weekend, I'm heading to the great city of Chicago to see a friend whom I haven't seen in almost 2 years for her bachelorette weekend! She was in my wedding just over two years ago, and I'll be in hers in April. Here's a picture of us from my wedding...

The Matron of Honor in her wedding has planned several fun outings for us, so it will be nice to have a weekend in a big city and get to hang out with the other bridesmaids as well! Now I just need to pack warm clothes to handle the super cold weather (highs in the low-30s...and temperature-wise, I belong in Florida :)). Should be fun, and I'll try and post pictures from the trip when I get back.

I'll miss my men this weekend, but girls weekends are always wonderful...especially when they're with people you rarely get to see! Yay for traveling (and coming home too)!!