Saturday, August 30, 2014

Celebrating the miracle of US

Our summer has ended pretty sweetly. Nana and Paw Paw came for a few days to watch the girls so that Russell and I could have a weekend away together to celebrate our anniversary. Folks, we have been married NINE years. I scarcely feel like the same person who said, "I do," in that mountain chapel all those years ago. Being a wife, being a mom . . . it changes you. But still, I know more about love, loyalty, myself, and hope thanks to the last nine years. It hasn't always been easy, but I can definitely say it's been good.

We left our camera at home, so I don't have many pics of our trip. Our primary objective was to relax, not to sight see. We just went up to Lookout Mountain, which, while very pretty, was someplace we've been before and will likely go again. In fact, the B&B where we stayed was the same place we celebrated our fifth anniversary, just two months before Catherine was born. It's crazy to think that last time we were there, we were CHILDLESS. Ha, that seems like a lifetime ago!

We ate some yummy food, bought new throw pillows for our couch (cause that's normal), took a few short walks, and saw TWO movies. Anyone who has raised small children knows how difficult it is to go see a movie (without, oh, a week's worth of planning and the sale of a kidney to pay a sitter). So to see two in twenty-four hours, well, wow.

*By the way, we really love our sitter and she doesn't overcharge us at all. She is wonderful and worth every penny. And I do still have all my organs. I was merely hyperbolizing - a movie for two is much more expensive than the price of two tickets when you have to factor that in.

The Chanticleer Inn on Lookout Mountain - Can't recommend it highly enough. It is so beautiful and relaxing! Watching hummingbirds have their breakfast beside you? Yes please! And boy, can those ladies cook!

The view from Sunset Rock in Lookout Mountain. Formerly a lookout point for the confederate army, it now mostly serves as a place for high school couples to hook up, along as the scene of an occasional engagement. Yay for the old folks crashing the party!

I gotta admit, it was pretty romantic. Except that the guy who was part of the couple next to us was seriously munching corn on the cob as snack food. That was a little odd.

When our actual anniversary rolled around the next Wednesday, we didn't have too much celebrating left in us. Russell came home from work with sparkling cider and a bouquet of roses for me and a single rose for each of the girls.




Then Russell kindly suggested that I shouldn't have to cook dinner on my anniversary, so we took the kids to Cracker Barrel to celebrate. It might not be a romantic, quiet, candlelit table for two kind of place, but it's quick and the kids love the food. So no one complained and I didn't have to cook or clean up. Anniversary for the win!

Love the rocking chairs. They found a pink one that was just their size. Well, for ONE of them. :)

We came back home and sipped the sparkling cider with the girls and showed them photos from our wedding day. Catherine was fascinated, but Caroline was quite upset that she and her sister weren't in any of the pictures. "Before you were born" isn't really something a two-year-old can grasp.

Anyway, it was a ton of fun and a great way to celebrate the end of our ninth year of marriage. That decade is just around the corner! (Hint, hint, honey???) Lots of love to go around!

Sunday, August 17, 2014

The rest of the beach trip

We took quite a few more formal shots at the beach when we were there last month. Here are a few highlights! First, we got up at 6:00 AM to take engagement pictures for my brother and his bride-to-be. The early morning light was delightful and we didn't have to worry much about crowds, as we would have in the evening. I was pretty pleased with how they turned out!












Then just HAD to take the typical family beach photos. It is uncommon for all 8 of us to be together; so we enjoyed the chance to document the moment! Caroline, remember, hates sand. So these pictures show the best of them. I have plenty in which she is quite unhappy. Maybe she'll come around by the next time we head to the beach.