The newest addition to the Shade family...

No, I'm not pregnant. We got a kitten!!!!!!! I have been dying to have a little kitty for the longest time and everything fell into place last Sunday. Doug and I were driving home from Church and randomly heard from my sister, Hillary, that her friend was trying to find homes for a litter of kittens. We talked about it for a bit and decided to go see the kittens. Well, as soon as we saw their ADORABLE little faces, we couldn't resist adopting one! We chose a little boy and named him Louis Vuitton Shade. haha! Believe it or not, Doug came up with the name ALL ON HIS OWN! We were laughing so hard and thought it was just too cute to pass up.

The first night, Louis was VERY clingy. He slept between Doug and I in our bed and didn't BUDGE the entire night. I would imagine that the switch was pretty traumatic for him. I felt really sad to take him away from his Mommy and Brothers. We learned pretty quickly that Louis likes to play and "attack" us at night so sleeping with us did not last too long. He comes in in the morning and says hello but he sleeps in the spare bedroom (his choice) most nights.

On Saturday, we took him to his 1st vet appointment. The day that we got him, we weighed him on an animal scale at the pet store. He weighed 1.8 lbs. Well, we were very happy to see that 6 days later, he weighed 2.0 lbs! Overall, the appointment was pretty traumatic! They had to do a feline Leukemia test on him, which required putting him into a restrainer, shaving the inside of his leg and then drawing blood. When I tell you that he screamed louder than anything I have ever heard, it is an UNDER STATEMENT!!! It sounded like they were torturing and killing him. I was so sad for him and just started bawling. Poor Doug. I think he is starting to realize that he is REALLY going to have his hands full when we have children. haha. The good news is that all the tests came back negative and he is an extremely healthy little guy! He goes back for the rest of his shots in 4 weeks and then we just have to keep up with the yearly shots.

Doug and I are having SUCH a good time with this little stinker. He seriously makes us laugh so much! I can't believe how much I love him in such a short period of time. Again, I am really going to be in trouble when we have kids! :)

St. Thomas, Water Island

The Shade family summer vacation this year took us to Water Island in the US Virgin Islands. There is so much to talk about...It's hard to know where to even begin??? We stayed on Water Island, which is a very small Island right off of St. Thomas. You can only get there by ferry. Our entire 1st day was spent in the airport traveling. We ended up getting into St. Thomas too late on our 1st night and missed the ferry. Since we were suspecting that this would happen, we made reservations at a hotel next to the airport. We were all exhausted and hungry and really ready for a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, the hotel had a system crash and we were not able to check into our room for a good 45 minutes. What a nightmare!

The next morning, we got up early and took the ferry over to Water Island. What a cool ferry! When we got to the house, we were all pretty taken back by the state of cleanliness (or lack thereof) the house was in. It really wasn't how it should have been for guests but since we were in the islands and it was so gorgeous out, we just brushed it off and planned to spend the majority of our time at the beach. The views off the balcony of the house were INCREDIBLE!!!

Doug and I were given the apartment down below the house and unfortunately, that was dirtier than the upstairs. Again, we decided to focus on the positive aspects of the vacation which was the beach! The closest beach to us was called "Honeymoon Beach" and it was just a short golf cart ride from our house. Oh yes...I should mention that the most common mode of transportation on the Island is a golf cart! How fun! :)

The Island was so bizarre! When you picture the Islands, you imagine palm trees and lots of sand everywhere. Maybe some brush and wildlife. Well, this Island had several different types of cactus all over, tons of shrubs and trees, definitely some palm trees down by the beach but not as many as you would assume. It was also HOT and DRRRRY! And, as we all know, when a place is hot and dry...it usually means that there are insects and crazy creatures. Let's just say we had a gecko that lived in our shower (which we named Claude), HUGE Iguanas everywhere you looked, very large turtles that had their dinner on your porch and scorpions that crawled into your bed. YUP. A scorpion actually crawled into our bed at 3 am and stung me twice on the arm. I think it is safe to say that this was most definitely the most primitive place I have ever been!We later came to learn that the insects entered your house because it was so dry and they were looking for water. It rarely rains on Water Island so I'm not exactly sure how it gets its name...?There were multiple times that we could see rain storms in the distance (over St. Thomas) but they never hit us on the Island. We found out later in the week that because STT has such high mountains, the mountains attract the rain. Water Island does not have any mountains so it gets skipped. The water that you use in your house is the water that is collected from the rain. Since they don't get much rain...there is obviously not much water to be used. So, you are required to really conserve! You have to take "Navy Showers" which basically means you can only run the water when you are rinsing. The water has to be turned off when you are sudsing up. Talk about an experience!

Back to the beach: It was AMAZING! The water was so warm and clear and we swam so much! There was a dock about 50-60 feet from the shore that we would swim to and then jump off. We swam with a ton of tropical fish and it was gorgeous to be able to see them underneath you. We didn't do any snorkeling at this beach because we didn't have equipment with us. Almost everyday, we ate lunch at Heidi's Honeymoon Grill. Heidi would cook burgers, sausages and chicken on the grill and it was so yummy! She had a HUGE feast on the beach on Saturday night (Dungenous crab, filet mignon, chicken marsala, corn on the cob, potatoes, garlic bread...) and we all went down and ate on the beach and watched the sun set. Talk about beautiful!!! That sunset was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen!!!

One of our last days in the Islands, we decided to charter a sailboat and sail over to St. Johns. The sailboat was named "Winifred" and was so comfortable and fun! We sailed for most of the morning and then arrived at STJ's "Honeymoon Beach." This beach was even better than the one on Water Island and is only accessible via boat. It was SO secluded and the water was beyond amazing!!! You could see all the way to the bottom of the ocean up to 40 feet deep! Our captain and first mate (haha) gave us a quick tutorial on snorkeling and then let us lose. About 10 minutes into our dive, we encountered a GIGANTIC barracuda! I was freaking out when I saw it's teeth. They told us that barracudas are very Territorial and that they stay in the same place for their entire life. So, we figured that we would probably run into one. It swam away and didn't bother us. About 45 minutes into the dive, Doug started freaking out. 2 barracudas came about a foot away from his face. I didn't realize it at first until he squeezed my hand. It was SO scary! We asked our captain why they got so close and he said that they are myopic-they have no depth perception. Crazy stuff! The coral was BEAUTIFUL and once again, the tropical fish never cease to amaze me. It's so cool how you feel a part of their world when you are snorkeling. I can imagine that it is even cooler when you go diving really deep!

This Virgin Islands vacation was one that I am certain I will never forget. It was such an experience (with both the good and the bad) and the first time that I have ever gone to an Island and stayed outside of a resort. I must admit, I was a little anxious to get home to my own, clean house and bed. BUT...I was definitely sad to leave such a gorgeous beach!

I wonder where vacation next summer will take us...? :)

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?!?!?!

Locks of Love

For the past 5+ years now, I have been growing my hair long. Doug is OBSESSED with long hair and practically has a heart attack anytime I mentioned cutting it. I kept it nice and long for our wedding and since then, I have been itching to cut it. Several months back, I came across an Oprah special where Hilary Swank was donating her hair for Locks of Love. She talked about the whole process and how these young children that lose their hair from Chemo are the ones these wigs are made for. She also mentioned that it takes 6 donations (6 different people) in order to create 1 wig. I was SO moved by this episode and by these poor little girls that lost all of their hair. At that point, I decided that I was going to grow out my hair (you need to have a minimum of 8 inches) and donate it. Since then, I have been trying to deep condition my hair and take my multivitamins so it would be strong and healthy. I made my appointment for Thursday night, May 29. Again, Doug is NOT a fan of short hair so I made sure that I talked to him about why I was cutting it and who was going to benefit from it. As soon as he heard about Locks of Love, he was okay with it. I showed him the hairstyle that I was looking at ahead of time and made sure he got used to it before I took the plunge. The week before, I started getting nervous and feeling like I was going to chicken out. Every time I thought about not doing it, I thought about those little girls. How selfish would it be of me to not cut my hair because I grew attached to it and was afraid to get it shorter when these children lost all of their hair (not by choice) all at once...? This was instant motivation for me to stick to the plan! Amazingly enough, I was VERY calm at the salon. I thought I would cry for sure or start freaking out when she cut it. But I didn’t. I felt so proud to be helping and so happy that my hair was going to a good cause! We ended up cutting off 9.5 inches. I was surprised at how much hair I still had!
I’m really happy with the end result. It’s a good summer look. AND…Doug absolutely loved it! I would totally donate to Locks of Love again and recommend anyone wanting/needing a change to consider it! :)

Bernadette has the baby! :)

Little Miss Emma Victoria has FINALLY arrived! Bernadette's water broke around 5:00 pm on Tuesday, May 20. For some reason, she thought it was just a false alarm. They admitted her at the hospital and she started pushing at 7:00 pm. By 7:30, little Emma was born weighing in at 7 lbs and 11 oz. She is the most beautiful little thing and if anyone deserves such an easy labor...it is Bernadette! I think they come home from the hospital today and I can only imagine her excitement to finally be a Mommy after waiting and trying all of these years.

CONGRATS, Bernadette and Jack and welcome to the world, little Emma!