Goodbye Summer, Back to School - Kind Of

We have had a wonderful (slightly abnormal) Summer. Due to COVID we weren't really allowed to do our normal outings, but we still made do and we had a great time. 

Some of our favorite memories from the summer:

• We got married and became a little family
• We had lots of lake days with my family on the new boat
• We enjoyed some great beach days
• We got to see wild horses on the beach
• We rode in a helicopter
• We got to visit Boone and go hiking

Now it is back to school time - kind of! COVID is still making us do "virtual learning" so Blake will be starting the school year at home. Which is somewhat weird because Blake is starting at his new school, Richland Creek Elementary School. He will be in 3rd grade with Mrs. Roberts. We don't really know any friends there yet, but we will sure make some friends soon! We are also grateful that our best family friend Ashleigh (Hunters mom) works at that school as well. So we know we are in good hands. 

Blake seems ready to start 3rd grade and he seems pretty ok with learning from home! He is very concerned about "looking cool" this year - so I would say some things are still very normal. Haha. Hopefully we can all get back to the normal routine soon! 

Mountain Adventures

Some of the best adventures are those done spontaneously. We decided on a whim that we would take a day trip to the mountains.

First we decided to stop into Boone and say hello to Yosef (the ASU Mountaineer). I think I have Blake convinced to go to ASU like his momma! He loves walking around and learning about my life while I loved in Boone. He also has this whole plan where he and his best friend Hunter will go to ASU and have a blast together. That makes this momma happy! :)

We then went to Banner Elk to try this Wilderness Alpine Run coaster! Joyner heard about it on the local news and we decided to try it out. It's a family run business where they build this bobsled like coaster that runs down the mountain! It was SO much fun! Blake and I rode in a sled together and he was constantly wanting to go fast, fast, fast!! Joyner was in his coaster behind us trying to beat us. We loved the action! 

Then we decided to go explore some waterfalls at Linville Falls. We got to hike a little and see some amazing views! Blake clearly has no fear and he almost gave me a heart attack by always getting close to the edge. Whew - he is a daredevil. The falls were beautiful and we got to see lots of different views of them. 

Finally, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw the most amazing views on the overlooks! We felt on top of the world. It was amazing. 

We had no regrets with this trip...in fact we hope to do it again in a few months! 

Drive In Movie

This summer we decided to try something new... AND it was Covid approved! We went to an outdoor movie theater! It was a blast. We took Blake to see the classic movie ET. The funny thing is that I hadn't seen it either - so it was new for both of us. We took Joyners truck and put pillows and blankets all in the bed of the truck. I packed snacks and drinks and we had such a great time watching the movie on a nice summer night. I think we have started a new tradition!

Happily Ever After

The BIG day is here! It is our Wedding Day! We have been waiting for a long time for this day and we are so excited that it is here!

If you are looking at a calendar, you will see that July 15th, 2020 is a Wednesday - and yes, we got married right in the middle of the week on purpose! We picked July 15th as our wedding day because that is the anniversary of our first date/officially dating. It seemed only fitting to celebrate it with a wedding!

2020 is also the year of COVID/Coronavirus, and just like everything else, it impacted our wedding plans - but only a little. Neither one of us are big wedding ceremony people, so we were originally totally ok with eloping... BUT our families would hate us for that. SO we decided to compromise and have the world's smallest ceremony with just our immediate family there. COVID just didn't allow us to go anywhere to get married and it didn't allow us to have a big weekend party to celebrate with all of our friends and extended family. We ended up getting married in the backyard and we settled on pushing a big party to maybe a 1 year anniversary party, instead.

This wedding was a dream come true - my vision was perfect and I was SO happy with everything...

Our Colors- Navy and Blush (Rose Gold)
Officiant- Laura Inscoe
Blake walked me down the aisle
Our fathers were the witnesses
Our moms held the rings
Blake gave me one wedding band  that symbolized us becoming a family
Memommy made the wedding!
Our nieces were the flower girls
Our pictures were done by my high school best friend - Ashton
Our cake was done by a mutual friend -Katie - I used to teach with her and Joyner plays volleyball with her.
It was a super HOT and clear day
Funny part - I forgot to repeat one part of the vows and froze. Haha

There were so many amazing memories of this day. We are so excited to start our adventure to forever!

Helicopter Ride

For Joyner's 38th birthday gift, I planned a helicopter tour over Falls Lake! We had a BLAST! This was the most beautiful helicopter ride. Blake and I sat in the back and Joyner rode up front with the pilot. I am always a little nervous at "take off", but the boys had no fear!

Our tour took us over Fall Lake. This was extra awesome because we are always on the lake with my mom and Greg - on the boat. It was neat to see the lake from a different view. We also saw lots of boats on the water. Did I mention that we went during sunset?! The colors were amazing.

While we were in the air, we were telling the pilot about my family farm land and the pond. He was so awesome because he flew us over our land! I couldn't believe it! Blake got to wave over GG's house. Haha.

It was such a magical experience.

Best Friend Hikes

During this COVID summer, best friend hikes are our jam!! It is something that we are loving. We take our besties out to explore new little hiking trails and fun spots. So far we love going to the Wake Forest Reservoir and the Shinleaf Campground at Falls Lake! We have had a blast.