The Virgin Islands-here we come!

FINALLY! Our trip to the Virgin Islands is here!!!!!!! We leave tomorrow and I am so excited! I promise I will post pictures and let you all know how it is. WOO HOO!!!!

6 month anniversary camping trip

As most of you know, I absolutely LOVE surprises! I like receiving them (even though they drive me nuts if I know they are coming) but I absolutely LOVE giving them!!! So, since I was in charge of our 6 month anniversary celebration, I decided to surprise Doug. Let me just tell you…it is MUCH harder to surprise someone if you are living with them! Haha! Doug and I have been camping a few times in the past and we loved it! We have never been camping by ourselves so I thought it would be fun (not to mention cheap) to plan a weekend away camping. Unfortunately, I could not get a teacher to cover me for the art classes on Saturday so it was only a Saturday-Sunday. I made sure Doug slept in nice and long on Saturday morning so that he wouldn’t know anything that was going on. I woke up very early before my classes and started packing the car. I didn’t want Doug to know what was going on so I made sure that I covered everything with a big blanket. When I got back from my classes, I told him I needed to pack up a bunch of art supplies and that I needed him to help me lift the heavy stuff. He was such a trooper and agreed, even though it was HORRIBLY hot and I knew he did not want to do it. As we were walking out to the car, he saw the big blankets and gave me a really confused look. I told him there was a change in plans and not to ask any questions. He LOVED the suspense and kept guessing, even though I wouldn’t tell him. We ended up camping at the Jim Thorpe camping grounds up North. Again, it was SO hot and I was really nervous that the heat was going to ruin our weekend getaway! Lucky for us, our camp site was in the woods and was much cooler because of the shade. Plus, since we were up North, it was slightly cooler. Doug was really excited when he realized what we were doing and was completely surprised.
After we got our tent up, we decided to walk on these hiking trails up one of the mountains. It was located in the Lehigh Valley Gorge and I can’t begin to tell you how beautiful it was! Unfortunately, we were not prepared for this hiking and only brought with us flip flops. There were all of these signs posted that said that hikers have died by climbing the waterfall path and how you should proceed with caution. Based on these signs, we knew we had to be EXTRA careful. It was the most beautiful hike I have ever taken! We were in the woods for the majority of the hike and we basically just followed these little waterfalls up the mountain. We walked for about 2 hours until we finally got to the top of the 1st fall. (There were bigger ones higher up but we figured we would stop here since it only got steeper and we were in flip flops) It was SO gorgeous and I was BEYOND BUMMED that my camera battery died! It was actually REALLY cold in the falls but the water was so fresh and clean. We bottled a bunch of it and drank it on our way back down. Doug was all about standing under the falls. It was such a nice time and we kept saying how much fun it would be to bring friends along with us next time!!!
When we got back to our camp site, it was time for dinner. We had burgers and hot dogs (over the fire, of course) and corn on the cob. YUM!!! I can’t say enough how much fun it was! Sitting around the fire with my husband and just enjoying nature! AND…you know after dinner, we totally did the s'mores thing! They were so yummy!!!!!
We had so much fun and would TOTALLY go camping for a weekend again. Plus, we really enjoyed our campsite and would recommend the Jim Thorpe site to anyone looking to go!
As I was recalling our fun weekend, it suddenly hit me how lucky I am. I am beyond blessed to have such an amazingly supportive husband. We have so much fun together and I really can’t imagine my life without him! I hope and pray that our relationship keeps growing stronger and continues to be as much fun as it is now!

Roadtrip to Nashville and a beautiful southern wedding

What a great weekend! Doug’s cousin, Richie, was getting married in Nashville and rather than flying, Doug and I decided to take a road trip! We hit the road at about 4:00 am on Friday morning. Once we got over the initial exhaustion of being up so early, we had a blast. We decided to stop for breakfast about 2 hours into the trip and this really made the 1st ½ of the trip go by fast. We ended up renting a car and got a free upgrade! Sweet! So, we were riding in style, not to mention comfort! The trip took us a total of 13 hours. When we arrived in Nashville, we checked into our hotel and then headed over to the rehearsal. The location was beautiful! The site was at the bride's (Tiffani) parents house. Everyone on this quiet little street knew each other and they all offered up their houses/yards for this wedding. The rehearsal went smoothly, and, like every 'night before the wedding', there was a mixture of excitement, anxiousness and nervousness. Everyone was hoping for clear skys (since there was not a back-up plan!!!) and sure enough...it rained! Luckily, the rain was in and out about an hour before the wedding. Phew! The location was more stunning than the night before! There were multiple tables scattered across the lawn each containing a different vase filled with the most beautiful wild flowers. There were twinkle lights and little lanterns hanging from the trees. It was just amazing. And hot! I give the Richie and Tiff a lot of credit to get married outdoors in the summer down South. Doug was sweating bullets before we even got outside! haha!

The next day (Sunday) was our chance to really explore the city of Nashville. It was NOTHING like I was imagining. For some reason, I was picturing it to be MUCH smaller than it was. We took a horse and buggy ride (typical tourists!) and learned a bit about the history of the city. Then, of course, we just walked up and down the streets and checked out all the different karaoke bars, souvenir shops and country restaurants. We ended the night by eating dinner at the Blues Brothers restaurant. They had a live jazz band playing and there were great! Lots of great musicians in this city. Also, a lot of VERY SCARY and EXTREMELY INTENSE cowboys. Yikes!

We woke up early the next morning (Monday) and started our drive back. It wasn't nearly as exciting as our drive to Nashville...but we still had a great time!

Isn't it crazy how great weekends seem to go by SOOOOOO quickly?!?!?!