Date 52

 All week long Drew and I kept putting off all the relaxing and procrastinating because of our final week of classes. So Saturday was our first free day. We were way more productive that Drew would have preferred, but we accomplished a lot, rested a lot, a spent the whole day together. I'd say that was a success.

We helped a friend with her husbands Christmas gift. Well, Drew helped Echo while I talked to Josh and played with Nycole. I am a fan of that 1 year old cutie! We then cleaned out our cars, did some house work. Watched a movie while eating lunch. Five loads of laundry were completed along with almost all of our Christmas presents wrapped. (Can I just say I'm super grateful my hubby can make pretty bows. It takes him way less time than it takes me... although I know that he wishes he was horrible at it!) We ate dinner and ended the night with another movie. Captain America... better than I anticipated it being.

This concludes our way-longer-than-a-year 52 weeks dating challenge. It was lovely.

Babymoon [51]

 Drew and I have heard by multiple couples that getting away for a couple days is super important before you have your baby. You know, since your life changes slightly when you become a family of three. ;) Our 3 year anniversary is also in a month, so we decided to take Saturday and Sunday and go out of town. Oh my goodness was it needed!! No thinking about school, or worries. Just two friends hanging out.

Drew wouldn't tell me where he was taking me, but we ended up in Greensboro. Thanks to Expedia we ended up at Grandover Resort. Apparently Michael Jordan has hosted his golf tournaments there. It was a beautiful golf course and spa. It was delightful. :)

 Once we got settled in, we went out to a mall to walk around, do a little Christmas shopping, grab a Cinnabon (for Drew) and then ended up at Chili's of course! We went back to the hotel where we swam, well stuck our feet in the water, spent some time praying/reading the bible searching for verses we want out Peyton to grow up knowing. I was introduced to Stratego, which is a game that Drew has been begging and pleading asking me to play with him for about a year. We watched the end of the Tech game although I fell asleep pretty quick.

The next morning we slept in, and then headed to Fuddruckers (where else? Drew picks our vacation routes based on where there is a Chili's and Fudd's). It was quite delicious. We went to the Tanger Outlets  for the afternoon, and then headed home. Then we had dinner with Drew's brother Bryan and our soon to be sister in law. I'd say it was a wonderful, and MUCH needed getaway. Now to finish these last two weeks of school and then enjoy the holidays!!

Family Traditions [50]

 I am sure most would agree that family traditions are a necessity. Well I LOVE decorating our house for Christmas with my husband. A little Christmas music, cookies baking in the over (don't worry I paced myself while eating, and my sugar stayed under control), and white twinkling lights to guide our way. I think my favorite part of decorating is sitting on the couch afterwards in the dark room, only lit by Christmas lights, snuggling with my man eating cookies! I'd say that was a good way to spend last Tuesday. Right before that we had our baby class so Peyton was anticipated and massages were given. Ahhh...

32 weeks

Dear life, [49]

please. slow. down.

As you have already seen from previous posts, it was a busy weekend. Well, it hasn't slowed down.

Monday, after working all day, we had our first Lamaze class. It was pretty informative, I think we will enjoy it. Drew is big about soaking in as much information as possible so that's helpful. I then headed home to finish multiple homework assignments that were due by mid-nights. Don't judge, it's been crazy, oh and I hate am not a fan of philosophy.

Tuesday, I was finally able to get adequate sleep. I've been sick for about 10 days now, and was actually up til 1 coughing like crazy. Thankfully I was able to sleep well once I fell asleep. I woke up, did some housework, and headed to meet Drew at church at 1:30. We had our Diabetes Care class from 2-4 where I received my meter and met with a Dietitian. I'm very optimistic that I can handle this, all I want is a healthy baby at the end!  We went to Toys R Us and Wal-mart to return a couple things we got duplicates of at our shower.  (Side-note: Wal-mart now does not let you return things without a receipt unless you buy something to exchange it right then. They will no longer give you a gift card to use later... DUMB) We grabbed a quick dinner and then headed to a baby care class from 6:30 - 9. It was pretty informative, and Drew feels more comfortable with some of the basics. He hasn't been around a ton of babies. The RN was in-depth and gave us a lot of good information. We then headed home to watch the Duke game and then bed! Talk about information overload! phew.... long day! Definitely qualifies as a date day though!

Wednesday I came home from work and Drew was putting together all things baby. The pack-n-play is together, high chair, car-seat, and monitors are out of their boxes... I starting taking tags off of clothes. It was fun taking a few minutes to think about our boy and his coming arrival! I made dinner, he went to church, we caught up on some snuggle/ tv watching. There are several new shows out we have been getting hooked on. It's definitely our down-time ritual. I'll have to do a post on some of our favorites, but Wednesday night it was New Girl and The Middle. 

Thursday my goal was to accomplish as much homework and cleaning as possible. It's one of the only days I have to work on it... yikes! Bible study that night.

This weekend is jammed packed with wonderful wedding festivities for me, and Fast for the Valley for Drew and the youth group. My friend since kindergarten, Bethany, is getting married and I am so excited to be a part of her big day! She is marrying a wonderful man and I just know God has great things prepared for them! More to come on that when it happens! ;)

Dear life, please. slow. down.

Double Dates [48]

Drew and I are huge fans of double dates. We have been pretty consumed with school lately, but last week we were blessed to have dates with two very special couples. 

We sure do love the Wamplers. We met them at Buffalo Wild Wings and then headed to see their lovely new apartment, complete with birthday cake. Hey we love chocolate and Carrie and I have birthday exactly 1 month from each other. I sure am excited at what God is doing in Bennett and Carrie's life, and I'm super thankful that Carrie has been a part of my life since kindergarten!!

That was last Monday. Then on Friday we tried the pumpkin patch again with the Kleiners. Sure do wish the Lomasney's lived in town so they could try again with us, but they live in Covington. Anyway, we spent the evening goofing off with Lewis and Christine. Hayride, Corn Maze (which consisted of lots of corn being thrown at each other), animal petting, and kettle corn purchasing. :) Then we went to Bellacinos, and ended the night with some yummy Coldstone.

The Kleiners' love for Jesus can't help but coming up in conversation every time we get together and we are always so encouraged hanging out with them! I'd say it was a good date week. ;)

No Plans on a Saturday?? [47]

equals doing whatever we feel like doing. Drew had to do pools in the morning, but when he got home we headed to Cracker Barrel. We NEVER go out for breakfast. It was quite enjoyable!

Then we ran some errands. We got some about 47 paint swatches from Lowes to paint our bathroom. I painted it a while back but the yellow is way brighter than I liked and I just can't get used to it. I'm extremely indecisive when it comes to paint so I'm going to put the paint swatches on the wall for a while to get used to one. We'll see how it works out.

Bed Bath & Beyond was also on our list. Because they are the best. I'm serious. We got married 2 1/2 years ago. Someone gave us super nice sheets from BB&B and a few months ago they got a hole in them, right where my feet are, NOT on a seam. We almost threw them away but Drew thought it was worth asking about. They exchanged them NO problem! :)

We also went to Once Upon a Child and Sam's, but nothing exciting came from that. :) Once we got home we crashed. 2 hours later I wake up to rain pouring. Comfy bed, no place to be, rain outside, ahhhhh it was bliss. :)

Tacos were made, movies were watched, then wonderful bed once again. I'd say it's one of our best dates yet!!

the grassy course [46]

At the beach Drew and I wanted to spend a little time just the two of us. So after family pictures we headed to a 'putt putt'. It was 18 holes and there were no cheesy decorations. It was just a grassy course (hence the name) that had the length of holes that putt putt had. Free popcorn was included which was nice although WAY to salty. Definitely a fun experience!

[45]

Drew and I usually have bible study on Monday nights. We headed out for dinner beforehand with some wonderful friends. First time at Abuelos = HUGE success. We are now big fans, even though our food budget is not. Gift cards anyone?? 

We love hanging out with them. They love God even more than the amazing love they have for each other, and are so encouraging as a result!! ;) So when we got a text saying the only other couple that could make bible study couldn't make it, we definitely had to continue the evening. 

Christine is a girl after my own heart. Even though we have only hung out a few times, she always suggests ice cream. LOVE IT! So we headed over to Brusters and then tried our hand at Putt Putt. Overall it was a fabulous evening. Drew and I are both very grateful for friends like the Kleiners. 

I have a funny video of Lewis and Drew dancing, but I haven't quite figured out the whole YouTube/videos from you phone, ordeal. Oh the moments even grownups can have with a few arcade tokens. Wait, are we grownups? When does that happen??

Feeling good = date with my man [44]

I got off of work on Thursday and actually felt pretty good. I quickly called Drew and said, "I don't know what you were thinking for tonight, but we should go out because I'm not exhausted!" So we headed off to the mall/Target for some Christmas shopping. 

Yes, you heard me right. My immediate family started the tradition of celebrating Christmas in July last summer. It is mainly a reason to have all of us together for a weekend, free of distractions. Mom decorates the living room, complete with a Christmas Tree. We cook Christmas food, listen to the music and watch the movies. :) Christmas Eve is the Friday closest to July 25th, and then we enjoy Christmas Day complete with watching the kids swim in the pool. Slightly odd but I LOVE it! Obviously we don't go extravagant with the presents, but we do draw names for a little something. :)

Anyway, while Katie pointed out that shopping on Christmas Eve wouldn't be that difficult to do in the summer, I try to avoid that for my stress level. :) Drew and I enjoyed the time out, and even went to dinner at Olive Garden before it was time for me to lay down. I was pretty proud of myself for lasting as long as I did. Although I think we were in bed by 9:30. Details. 

Oh yeah, my car ended up being a cable that broke in the gear shift. Super quick fix that was a lot cheaper than we were thinking. YAY!

sun, water, inner tube = great day off [43]

The family I take care of decided to go camping Monday night so I had Tuesday off. I nicely asked begged Drew to switch his day off so we could spend the day together. One thing that I had really wanted to do last year was float down a river. Unfortunately whenever we decided to do it it was either about to rain, or the water level was too high. Well Tuesday was the perfect day so we headed to the New River Junction to spend the afternoon soaking up the sun. It was SO much fun, I would recommend it to anyone. Relaxing, refreshing, and togetherness described our day perfectly. :) We made breakfast before we left and then ate at Moe's in Blacksburg for an early dinner. This will definitely be happening more throughout the summer. Although I've got to remember to keep my butt up, because there are some rocks that jump out at you!!

Most Productive Date Weekend Ever [42]

This weekend I decided, that with no specific plans all weekend long, we were going to be productive. We have a to do list a mile long, and keep putting it off. Mainly because it isn't a list of fun things. The goal of the weekend went from cleaning out the fridge, to painting. ALOT., to taking pictures for the Wildflour Cafe's website, to caulking, putting crown molding up, grocery shopping, squeezing our niece and nephew that were in town for a few short hours, etc... You get the idea. We stopped with the house construction once all the big things were done, and as I predicted, we never finished. Welp this weekend I was determined to cross out as many things on that list as possible. We listened to music, took a few relaxing breaks, and worked hard. I'm proud to say that we accomplished a lot, and although we didn't finish, I think the end might possibly be in sight now. Shesh... I'm so over the flood of December '10.

While I didn't take any pictures of Drew and I working hard, I did get some great ones during the relaxing part of our weekend. You would rather see these anyway! 

Oh mylanta what a busy weekend... [41]

 Drew and I had our plates full this weekend. Literally. ;) We are so blessed to have tons of friends and family to spend time with on the holidays. We were definitely ready to relax, just the two of us, by Monday evening though!!

We started our weekend out by having Lewis and Christine over for dinner. It was supposed to be a big cookout with all our friends for Drew's birthday, but when I was planning it I didn't realize it was Memorial Day weekend so everyone was out of town. We were fine with that and had a great time catching up with our newlywed friends. They are so encouraging and a great couple serving our Lord. I just love them.

Jeremy, Katie, Owen, and Audrey came into town Friday evening and stayed til Monday evening. Chaos reigned our house but I loved all the talks and snuggles that ensued.

Saturday morning we headed over to my grandparents' house for some yummy Farmer breakfast. Eggs, Bacon, Pancakes, Biscuits/Gravy, sausage, apples... my stomach is growling just thinking about it. Almost everyone was there and it was a  relaxing morning of chatting on the screened in porch, watching the kiddos play and eating Popsicle.

Saturday evening we headed to my other grandparents' house (My mom's side) for a cookout. Again, chats, laughter, kid watching continued... + some squirt bottles = soaked kids.

Sunday Drew preached because Scotty was out of town and he did a great job! I'm always so proud when he shares his convictions with others. :) He spoke on us being Holy (we're going through 1 Peter). Afterwards we cooked on the grill and napped before we headed out to a Red Sox Game. Drew decided to end the school year for our kids and teens by treating them to a baseball game. Although it was super hot, we had a good time catching up with friends. We didn't see the teenagers the whole time because they would way rather walk around the whole time, but the kids love it!

 These girls had the expressions that we all had. 'Ugh, its HOT!'

 Poor boys. They wanted the bat boy to through them a ball so bad... they just didn't understand the concept of being directly behind an incredibly tall net!

Monday we were able to slow down. Family stayed over until around 6.. We were able to watch the kids play in the pool, try a new taco pizza recipe, and spend some quality time with the Gilmore Girls. Oh, and Jeremy mowed the lawn since Drew has been too busy with opening pools to do it! :)  Drew and I went out after everyone left because the last thing we wanted to do was cook dinner.

Shew... time for a nap!!