flowers, cupcakes, and an island

Another day in California brought another vineyard!  We went to the Bernardo Winery, which is the oldest continuously operating winery in Southern California.  We were able to try many different wines and have chocolates paired with them!  Byron loved the Sparkling Orange Muscat.  Bernardo was a different than the other wineries I've been too; it was like a little town, with cafes and shops surrounded by the rows of grapes.  It was a neat place!

The following day we headed to Balboa Park for the afternoon.  There are so many beautiful flowers and plants in this park.  [Look how big the roses were!!]  It was fun to walk around and people watch, as there were small bands playing on the sides of the walkways and groups filming projects.

I'm not a huge fan of roses, but how could I not love these?!  They are gorgeous!

such a pretty place!

Our final day in sunny California began with a trip to the Elizabethan Bakery for cupcakes and other delicious-goodness.  They sell mini cupcakes, so it was great to try multiple cupcakes -- I didn't take a time for a picture, whoops.  My favorite was their passionfruit cupcake; so different than anything I've had, and sooo yummy!

After getting hyped-up on icing, we drove to Coronado Island.   We spent the afternoon walking the beach, browsing the Hotel del Coronado, and window shopping.

Before departing from San Diego, we enjoyed our last meal with Travis and Leanne at Hash House a Go Go.  The restaurant is unlike any restaurant I've ever been.  The meals are large enough for two, or even three people and delicious.  The plates have some interesting food paired together, but it's very tasty!  Byron and I split ribs, served with some potatoes, asparagus, and chili, while Travis and Leanne shared crab cakes.  We stopped at Seaport Village after dinner to walk through the shops and let our food settle before boarding our plane back to Atlanta.

love this man!  [& traveling with him!]

Byron and I had a wonderful trip to San Diego.  We both loved how different it is than Atlanta and how beautiful it is there.  Travis and Leanne were wonderful hosts and it was great to spend time with them in their home.  Until next time, California....

{Here's a map of [most of the places] where we traveled, ate, and drank 

while we were on the West Coast}

View

Byron turns 25

I'm not sure what Byron and I were thinking when we got married in May!  As if it weren't busy enough already with Mother's Day, Byron's birthday, the end of the school year, and Memorial Day we thought we'd add an anniversary into the mix!  That being said - in the midst of all the craziness, Byron's birthday was Thursday!  When we were planning the wedding, Byron always joked [and still does] that his birthday will be forgotten since our anniversary is only 3 days after, so I gave my best effort to make his birthday special.  This year, because I love him so much, we celebrated for 2 days!

We celebrated his birthday [on his birthday] with dinner with his parents and Nick followed by some red velvet cupcakes.  Yum!  After his first full day being a quarter of a century old, we got dressed up and went to a fancy steak dinner {no pictures, whoops!}.  

Happy 25th, Byron!  Wishing you a wonderful year with many blessings!

hops, grapes, & blue skies

On our third day in San Diego we went to the Stone Brewery.  This wasn't one of the things we'd planned before flying out to California, but I'm glad we had time in our schedule.  In case you didn't know, Byron loves beer, and the hoppier the better!  I'm pretty sure this was one of his favorite thing we did there!

Byron brought home 2 liters of Stone IPA.

The San Diego area has tons of microbreweries, including Pizza Port in Oceanside, where we ate some of the most delicious pizza I've ever had.  [Pizza is my favorite food and I don't say that about just any pizza.  Seriously, it was that good.]

In addition to the abundance of breweries, there are also lots of wineries around San Diego.  On our fourth day we drove to Temecula for a vineyard tour and wine tasting at Danza Del Sol.  Byron discovered his new favorite wine: Orange Muscat.  After about 10 tastings of wine [whoa!], we sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather and some local garlic goat cheese.

Notice our cheese knife!  haha

We went back into Oceanside for dinner at Ruby's, a diner on the very end of the pier.  It was neat to have dinner at the very end of such a long pier.  We ate our dinner as the sun set over the ocean.

The skies in San Diego are always perfectly blue and cloudless!  You couldn't ask for better weather!

Giraffes, Kayaking, Caves, & Sea Lions

For my Spring Break last week, Byron and I decided to take a trip to the west coast to visit Byron's brother and his wife.  I'd never been to California before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but we had an awesome time!  It was such a blessing to spend a week with Travis and Leanne and to experience southern California with them.

We took an early flight to San Diego and as soon as we landed we headed straight to the zoo.  We spent 5 hours there and still didn't see the whole zoo...It was huge!!

We were at the airport in Atlanta early enough to
watch the sunrise from our gate before boarding.

Oh, how I love these animals.

Top Left: African Elephant
Top Right: Only the best animal ever.  Seeing them in person made me really miss Africa.
Bottom Right: Asian Elephant
Bottom Right: Koala (Byron made the most perfect sound effect for this guy.)

We left the zoo and stopped at Hodad's for some delicious hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner.  It was delicious.  I wish I'd taked pictures.  The best hamburger I've ever had.

Sunday morning we headed into La Jolla to kayak around the seven caves.  The water was freezing!  Byron and I shared a kayak, and it was a much more enjoyable outing than our honeymoon kayaking trip since I wasn't sinking!!  As we kayaked, sea lions would swim past us.  It was awesome.  I love seeing animals in their natural habitats!  Dr. Seuss owned an oceanfront house in La Jolla -- pretty cool, right?

We were supposed to be able to go into the caves, but the water was too rough :(

Once we turned in our wetsuits, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around La Jolla.  Overlooking the cliffs we could see a group of sunning sea lions.

We climbed through a little cave to get here.  Of course Byron had to climb the rocks!

We ate dinner at Brockton Villa. [I loved eating outside so often!]  The food was delicious, and luckily the restaurant gives recipe for their Coast Toast, which was insane -- so good. 

We walked down into a cave after dinner.  In the 1920s a man, whose house was atop the caves, decided to dig through his floors and into the caves to make a tourist attraction {it worked, obviously} and charged people to walk the steps down.  It was also used to smuggle in alcohol during prohibition.  Sneaky, sneaky.

of course, Byron had to play on the rocks in the cave!

This little sea lion hopped up on the rocks to look at us . . . maybe he thought we'd give him food?
Silly pup, we cleaned our plates!

I loved La Jolla.  It's a great coastal city with cute restaurants and magnificent views.  Definitely a great start to our trip!

sweet, sweet Easter

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. . . and not just because of the jellybeans and egg hunts!  What’s not to love about celebrating our risen Savior?! 

Passion Good Friday

We attended the Passion Good Friday service again this year.  There is just something powerful about worshiping under the stars with a large group of believers.  Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, and the rest of the Passion team do a splendid job using their talents to bring glory to God.  It was a great service with the message focusing on Jesus died for us, the unrighteous, to bring us to God.

For Christ died for sins once and for all, 

the righteous for the unrighteous, 

to bring you to God.  

He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.

1 Peter 3:18

Dark and early on Easter morning Byron and I, as well as my incredible mother-in-law and father-in-law and our friend Katrina, climbed Stone Mountain for the Sunrise Service.  Although the clouds were heavy and the rising sun wasn’t visible, it was a great morning to celebrate Christ’s resurrection on the third day.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, 

going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, 

and his clothes were white as snow. . .The angel said to the women, 

“Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here,

he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."

Matthew 28:2-3 & 5-6

Sunrise Service

1st Married Easter

We spent the afternoon with our families and after 40 days without sweets, I was finally able to enjoy some strawberry cupcakes and goodies from the Easter Bunny!

I stayed up until midnight baking fresh strawberry cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting
so I could eat one first thing on Easter!

Happy Easter!

girl friends & tasty drinks

I think this is one of my new favorite flowers -- ranunculus. 

The second half of March seemed to pass at a supersonic rate.  Between crunch time for the CRCT, completing some of the last assignments for my Gifted endorsement, planning and preparing for our trip to San Diego, and busy weekends, it’s no wonder weeks have flown by. 

Over Saint Patrick’s Day weekend we enjoyed the Suwanee Beer Fest.  It was my first beer festival, and while I’m not too much of a beer conosuiere, I enjoyed spending the afternoon outside in the gorgeous weather [getting my first sunburn of the season] with my happy husband, Byron.

so much beer.

My good friend from Parkview is getting married to her high school sweetheart in July.  It was such a blessing to celebrate with them and catch up with some of my favorite & best friends.

love, love, love these girls. 

Even though the weather was subpar the next weekend, I joined my mom and some of her high school friends for a quick trip to the mountains.  We did some shopping, visited a vineyard, and cozied up around the fire at night. 

My beautiful mom & crazy 'Aunt' Karen at Crane Creek Vineyard

It was wonderful to spend time with my mom, as well as the company of her crazy friends.  They’re always entertaining to be around, and a reminder that true friends will always be around to share joy and laughter.

a very merry Christmas

I'm feeling overwhelmed with joy after this Christmas season.  Byron and I have had a crazy few days running from house to house with our pups and presents and food, but spending time with our families and friends has been an incredible blessing.  

My cousins Katie & Lindsey

Our Christmas celebrations began with my extended family on Sunday with a Christmas lunch and some time around the Christmas tree at my Grandparents' house.  With already-full bellies we arrived to Byron's parents' for dinner and tree decorating.  All of Byron's brothers were in town this Christmas -- it was wonderful!!

Byron's parents & brothers

Decorating the tree

On Monday, my brothers and Mom joined Byron and me at Grace for the Christmas Eve service.  The sermon was Christ centered [reading Luke 2] and the music was powerful.  I loved more than anything, that it was mostly a worship service -- what else should it be on Christmas Eve?!  After church, Byron and I headed to his parents' for dinner, presents, and A Christmas Story. 

Christmas Eve

Byron's gifts!

We had our first Christmas morning as a married couple bright and early.  In fact, we had to wake the puppies up with their stockings -- Mook immediately began chewing on his candy cane bones, but Bridget just sniffed at them and went right back to sleep!  Byron and I had a wonderful time opening our presents to each other, sitting in our own living room, in front of our tree, wearing Christmas PJs.  Before heading to my parents', we were able to cuddle up on the couch to drink a cup of coffee, and watch some of The Grinch.  

wakeboard vest on & attaching his new bindings!

At my parents' we ate breakfast, unwrapped gifts, watch a non-Christmas movie, and ate dinner before going back to Byron's parents' for a little more time with his family before heading home to finish The Grinch and read the Christmas Story together.

We had an incredible first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. with our families and look forward to many, many more! 

Today I am thankful.

The last few months have been very challenging for numerous reasons, and just as I'm getting somewhat settled in my old room at my parents house, it's time to pack up [again!] and move in to a new apartment with Byron!  Whoop!  As my life is thrown back into boxes, it's very tempting to get caught up with the stress and focus on the irritations that accompany the moving process.

So, before the whirlwind of packing, moving, unloading, and unpacking begins, I'm taking a moment to be thankful for some things that have made this transition period of life more-than-mediocre. 

I am thankful for . . .

1. God's timing.  [How many times have I mentioned this?!] I can't express just how wonderfully God's strategically pieced things together.
2. My encouraging, loving husband.  Being apart has been rough, and on the hardest days Byron's always had scripture, funny pictures, or sweet comments to counteract my sometimes sour moods.
3. My family and the willingness to have Bridget and me back home.  My parents are great and I will be ever-thankful that they let me stay at home and cooked me dinner while Byron and I weren't able to live in the same city.

4. My incredible father-in-law and mother-in-law.  They've always welcomed Byron and me on the weekends and let us [and our pups] spend the weekends at their home.
5. Wonderful friends and co-workers.  I am beyond blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people every day.

6. The nice air mattress I've been sleeping on -- because it's MUCH better than the floor!

July 4th & Winston-Salem

Bridget was not interested in the family photo.

Independence Day was very low key [sigh] this year.  I love this holiday – what’s not to love about a day to celebrate ‘Merica?!  We live in a great country.  A day at the river with the pups then a relaxing evening. . . it was awesome.

Nothing says 'Happy Independence Day' like
Peach Daiquiris, Budweiser, and Captain America!

And we had red, white, and blue cupcakes because, let's face it: a holiday ain't a holiday without cupcakes!  Mmmmm!

Homemade Red Velvet -- Byron's Favorite

The weekend brought another trip to North Carolina.  My sweet parents invited me along for the trip [while Byron had a guys weekend].  I loved spending time with them and Stephen.  Montana felt like it was on the other side of the world – I know we all feel very blessed to have Stephen so much closer to home this summer.

I love watching Stephen pitch.

Sometimes I get all wrapped-up in what’s going on at the moment and I seem to forget how much I’ve been blessed.  The Lord’s given me such a wonderful husband and family in a country where we have the freedom to [play baseball, marry who/when we want, worship God] do what we want.  I’d say I’m definitely livin’ the good life.   

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; 

his greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 145:3