Monday Memories

Monday my school district had the day off to observe Veteran's Day. Luckily, Dan also had the day off, so we were able to spend some much needed time together running errands, visiting friends, and just simply spending time together. It was such a good day, that I honestly forgot to take pictures until dinner that night.

That is one happy boy there! He was seriously in heaven!

But let me start at the beginning. 

The day started off rocky. I had been up most of the night with some sort of tummy bug. Luckily after a small breakfast in the morning I was feeling better, and we headed out to my alma mater, UCF, to buy a flag for our front yard. When we got to campus, Dan was excited to play this game Ingress (it's like a combination of geocaching and capture the flag). The boy is obsessed. So we took our sweet time getting to the bookstore. Once there, were were a little disappointed by the flags they had in stock. We asked if the bookstore closer to the arena would have anything different, and they said it was a good possibility because it was the larger store. Rather than going back to the car, we decided to walk to the bookstore. Then it started raining, and I was already trying to figure out how we were going to get back to the car without getting drenched. Dan was willing to walk all the way back and come pick me up, but we both quickly realized he would never be able to find his way back to the car on his own. So, we sucked it up, and walked through the rain. It ended up not being a big deal. Fun actually.

We left campus and started heading towards Altamonte for my surprise. I've been having a lot of headaches lately, but I'm only allowed to take Tylenol while pregnant. Let's just say that Tylenol is never enough when you're use to much stronger drugs for migraines. The doctor recommended seeing a chiropractor or getting a massage. So, Dan took it upon himself to contact someone we met at friends wedding and make an appointment for me as an early anniversary gift. To put it simply, it was amazing! If frequent massages will keep the headaches at bay, sign me up!

For lunch we headed over to Chick-fil-a, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to finish my entire meal! Didn't quite finish my milkshake, but I'll take what I can get. Then we visited both of our mothers' offices and said hi to our former co-workers. I had my first experience with a stranger (well, stranger to me, she knew Dan) rubbing my belly. It was a full-on belly rub with kissing. I was told my face turned bright red. I don't know if I'm ever going to get use to people rubbing my belly....

Once my mother-in-law got off of work, we headed out to 4Rivers Smokehouse. It's a local barbecue place that has practically turned into a franchise in the last couple of years. Dan's never been, but had heard great things about it. He was totally jealous when I went without him a few months ago while at a work conference. So I promised him for his birthday we would go there for dinner. From the moment he smells hit his nose, he knew it was going to good. He tried a little bit of everything from everyone's plates at our table. I think it has officially become his new favorite restaurant. Too bad the nearest location is over an hour away from us.

Monday was seriously one of the best days we've had in a while. We didn't think about work. We didn't stress about how messy our house was. We simply enjoyed each others company and spending time with friends and family. 

Those are the good kinda days :)

Little Addition

Things have been crazy busy lately, and I've definitely been neglecting this little blog of mine. I've been getting the itch to write lately, but something always seems to get in the way. Unpacking boxes. Laundry. The never ending piles of papers to grade. Growing a tiny human...

We're excited to announce that our family will have a little addition to it next Spring!

I'll share more details later, but for now, here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions we get from those we share the news with: 

Are you having a boy or a girl?

It's too early to know. I have a feeling it's a girl, but not 100% positive. Most of the old wives tales hint towards a little girl. But we won't find out for sure until sometime in early December. 

Do you want a boy or a girl?

Ultimately, we just want a healthy baby. I know people hate that cliche answer, but it's true. I'm the older sister, so I always thought it'd be cool to have that older brother to look after me. So a boy would be nice. But, Dan's family is nothing but boys, so it'd also be nice to inject a little bit of pink into a very non-pink family. Either way, we're excited to find out in December what this little one is.

How are you feeling?

I can't complain too much. I've heard horror stories of other pregnancies, and mine has been pretty easy going. No real morning sickness. Some heartburn here and there, but I've figured out those trigger foods and avoid them. Actually, I'm avoiding a lot of food. I seem to eat a whole lot less than I did before (not that the amount of food I ate pre-pregnancy was exactly healthy....). I take a few bites of food, and then I'm satisfied. Or, my stomach tells me that if I eat any more I'll regret it later. So, small and frequent meals/snacks have become my new standard.

Do you have any names picked out yet?

I'm starting to believe we won't have a name picked out until the baby arrives. Dan and I can't agree on anything! We know names we don't like, but can't seem to agree on names we do like. At this point, we agree that it'd be nice to include a family name somehow (probably middle name). Other than that, we're waiting to find out if it's a boy or a girl before we try to pick out a name again.

Just One: The Other Side of the Glass

"Birds, Butterflies, & Bugs"

We were worried about the cats adjusting to our new home. So far it's been a pretty easy adjustment. Cruz has had the easiest time. His favorite thing about the new house? Being able to sit up on the window sills and watch all the wildlife outside. He seriously gets all worked up every time a bird flies by or a squirrel runs across the yard. Sitting on the other side of the glass, he's so eager to chase every creature that's out there. But, when we let him go outside, he turns into a little scaredy cat and jumps at all the new outdoor noises.  

Feels Like Home

We finally moved into our new home last weekend! Although the house has been in our name for nearly a month now, we took our time moving all of our stuff over from the apartment. But things have been a little chaotic this past week. Boxes still waiting to be unpacked. Living out of suitcases. Not sure where anything is. Figuring out all the quirks about this house. It hasn't exactly felt like "home" yet.

Until today!

{pin/original}

A cold front came through this weekend. In Florida terminology, that means it felt a little like Fall. We were able to turn off the a/c, open up all the windows, and just enjoy the weather. My mom brought my grandmother and uncle out to the house, and we sat on the back porch just enjoying the view and conversation. 

After they left, Dan told me that for the first time, this house actually felt like home. And he was so right! I don't know if it was the weather. Or the fact that we were able to have guests over without bribing them to move furniture or clean walls. But despite the fact that the house looks like a total mess, it truly felt like home today.

Nearly a Decade

8/9/05. Second day of school. Senior year. This boy.

Student parking lot. Waiting for the line of cars to clear. Wraps me in a hug. Whispers in my ear. Girlfriend?

I cannot believe it's been nine years since we started dating! 

A lot has changed since high school. But one thing has remained the same...

You're still the biggest pain in my butt! But I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Love you hun!

Weekend Adventures: Tybee Revisited

Last summer, the hubby and I took a mini vacation to Savannah, Georgia. During that trip, we had made plans to spend one of our days at nearby Tybee Island. Well, last weekend, we went back to Savannah to watch my father-in-law walk across the stage and receive his Bachelor's degree. Only, this time, instead of staying in Savannah, we booked a room on Tybee so we could be within walking distance of the beach. Best idea ever!

Our room was pretty small (which is probably an understatement), but it did the job. It had a mini kitchen, so we brought food to make our own breakfasts and lunches, which allowed us to save some money and let us splurge more on dinner. Our only complaint is that the room was so small, that it didn't really have enough space for us to sit down and eat, unless we ate in the bed. The only other option was to eat in the patio area downstairs, which would have been fine, except it rained a lot while we were there.

We arrived in town a day before the rest of the family, so Dan and I went over to our favorite local pizza place for dinner, then walked around the beach as the sun was setting.

One of the benefits of staying where we did was the fact that we were less than a block from the beach (which you can see in the street photo above), which meant we could walk there and back whenever we felt like it.

The next morning, Dan and I had planned on waking up to catch the sunrise, but we both hit the snooze on our alarms and slept in. Dan's parents arrived late morning, so we headed over to the Tybee Lighthouse. My mother-in-law loves lighthouses, but, to our surprise, had never actually walked to the top of one before until Tybee.

It was 178 stairs to the top, but the view was totally worth it! Our running joke for the rest of the trip was, "Hey look! More stairs!" Our legs definitely got a workout that day.

After the lighthouse, we headed over to the Fort Pulaski National Monument. The fort was used by the Confederate forces during the Civil War, but they were force to surrender to the Union army during the first half of the war when the Union artillery proved to be more advanced than the fort's walls.

There wasn't much to do at the fort. There were tours offered twice a day, but we didn't arrived at the right time. For the most part, you just walk around and take everything in. Some of the rooms and items are label, but not all. I think the best part was the short 20 minute film they show in the gift shop, but then again, I'm a history teacher, so those kinds of things interest me.

When we got to the top of the fort, we were able to see the Cockspur Lighthouse in the distance. We also saw that there was a walking path that would take you closer to the lighthouse. On our way to the path, we walked around the fort so that we could see where it was attacked by the Union forces. There are still artillery shells stuck in parts of the wall.

You can't actually reach the Cockspur Lighthouse by foot. Although, the footpath did take us a lot closer than I thought it would. Probably within about 200 feet or so. The only way to really get to the lighthouse is to kayak over there during low tide. When high tide comes in, the beach area disappears and the water level reaches the bottom steps of the lighthouse.

Seeing the kayakers walking around the beach and standing at the top of the lighthouse makes me really want to go back to Tybee just to tour the lighthouse. Maybe next summer?

About the time we were turning around to head back to the fort, my father-in-law pointed out that my shoulders were getting red. Yep. Someone forgot to put sunscreen on.....

After the fort we headed back to the room to eat lunch and take a short nap. Dan's brother and wife were coming into town around dinner time, so we headed into Savannah (where everyone else was staying) to spend the evening with everyone.

The next morning, which was Saturday, we managed to wake up before the sunrise and head down to the beach for some amazing pictures! I wish I could share them all, but that would be a lot of pictures for one post. So, I'll share some of my favorites.

Saturday afternoon, Dan's dad graduated from college! We drove over to the convention center in Savannah and got to watch him walk across the stage.

Once graduation was over and we took the obligatory family pictures outside (which are all on my in-laws cameras by the way), we grabbed a quick snack and changed clothes before heading out for a dinner cruise along the Savannah River.

If I'm being honest, the food on the cruise wasn't all that great. All of the food is cooked off-site and brought on board. Everyone at the table complained that all of the meat (besides the chicken) was dry and overcooked. When it came to dessert, everyone liked the chocolate cake, but the cheesecake was inedible (if you couldn't tell by witty comment above). I think had it just simply been a sight-seeing cruise, we would have enjoyed it a whole lot more.

We joke that Dan's dad looks like a one-legged pirate in the photo above :)

Sunday was our last morning at Tybee. We managed to talk Dan's brother into waking up early and catching in the sunrise with us again. I'm really glad they were able to join us - it gave us some time to catch up and just enjoy the quietness of the beach in the morning.

After we washed up from the beach, we headed over to a local spot for breakfast, appropriately titled The Breakfast Club.

The food was really good! Dan ordered the chicken fried chick with a side of bacon, and I ordered the cinnamon raisin french toast. The only downside was that the food was also really expensive. I think for just the two of us the cost was close to $30 after tip, which is closer to what we tend to pay for a dinner out.

After breakfast, Dan's parents joined us to check out some of the shops along Tybrisa Street before all of us loaded up the cars and headed our separate ways.

Overall, it was a really good trip. I'm glad we were able to spend some time together as a family, something that doesn't happen too often anymore. We're even talking about doing this again next year or the year after. We're hoping to find a spot that we can all road trip to, so it can't be too far.

Any suggestions for where we should go next? We were thinking Charleston or Myrtle Beach, but would love to hear about any other spots you've traveled to and would recommend.