A mother/daughter trip to Wintergreen

My sweet mom and I take a trip together every year- most often, the trip is to NYC, but we have also done Chicago, Miami and other places. This year, due to a variety of factors, we were a little slow to the planning process. All that being said, we decided to take a trip up to Wintergreen and do the tennis academy up there! And it was SO fun!

Truth be told: mom and I could sit on the New Jersey turnpike and have a blast. We are just happy to spend time together! Nothing against New Jersey; I hear it's lovely this time of year....

So we set up Friday morning (a few weeks ago) and headed up to Virginia for a little tennis and a lot of fun!

 We stayed at the Wintergreen Inn, which was fairly run down, but undergoing a face lift. There was one restaurant opened there, so we stopped in for lunch and I had this amazing bloody mary! Isn't it pretty?!?!

 Happy girls!

 After lunch, we did a little exploring and then it was time for our first tennis lesson. I put some water in my new cup (see below) and then we were off!

So there is this huge bubble that covers the courts-- and it is "heated" in there, but I guess when it is super cold outside, it can only get so warm.... 

 We played (HARD) for two hours before heading back to the hotel. Our instructor was adorable- she played at UVA- and was so so sweet. She was determined to "fix" us...hahha

We came home and showered and then ventured out to grab dinner. The only place open was the place where we had lunch, so we went back there- ha! It was sooooo cold out this night....! burrrrrr

 The next morning, we got a call that the bubble didn't heat properly over night so it was SUPER chilly in there when we arrived. I think it was 38 when we got there (inside the bubble!), but we warmed up quickly. We played for two hours, then took a little lunch break (in the car! ha!) and then went back for another two hours. We played so hard and had such a great time- the four hours flew by.

We stopped at a scenic overlook on our way back to the hotel and tried a selfie- haha it didn't turn out great...

We went to dinner that night at a nice little place up the mountain a bit. We sat at the bar and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We were ready to crash that night.

The next morning, we had two more hours of tennis fun and then we hit the road for home!

It was such a fun little get away- I would love to take my tennis team back there.  I think everyone would love it. While it was a TOTALLY different experience than New York, we had so much fun just being together.

And this next picture has zero to do with anything Wintergreen related, but it uploaded on accident and I don't want to delete it because I love it! 

 

FAVORITES!

A post of some of my favorite things! I haven't done one in forever!

O N E: school pictures

School pictures crack me up. They are never good. And the past two years, something they are doing is off because their pictures are elongated:

 Cal took it upon himself to "do" his hair before his pic. Pretty sure it is still wet from the bathroom sink session.  Andy looks like he is in pain. Maybe from his head being stretched out so long...? I don't know....either way, these pictures are a favorite of mine!

T W O: lotion

This stuff is the bomb. I looooove the way it smells and I get comments every time I wear it. It is thick, but not greasy. I am a big fan. Find it here.

 T H R E E:   turkey on the table

This is about the cutest thing ever. I got this at Learning Express, for those who have one near, but they have them other places too. This little feather-less turkey comes with a book and he's wearing a little scarf- he's adorable!

 It comes with a bunch of feathers and the idea is, you write something you are thankful for each day in November and then for Thanksgiving, you have your turkey sit on the table and you read what everyone has written. I LOVE the idea of this as it serves as a wonderful reminder to be GRATEFUL and appreciate.

A huge bonus to this Turkey is the authors are donating money to feed those who can not afford food, so with each turkey bought, they are providing a meal. These aren't cheap, but in my opinion, they are so worth it. I found it here on amazon, in case you are interested! I am loving reading what the kids write each day. And, to be honest, it has been good to remind me to be thankful too.



 F O U R: NC beach in November

North Carolina is a great state. We've got the mountains. We've got the beach. Our weather is basically amazing. We went to the beach this last weekend and the weather was a definite favorite of mine.

These kiddos were PUMPED for a weekend at the beach! Friday night we caught the sunset out in the boat-- it wasn't cold at all! There was no breeze at all, so it was nice and calm out there.

The wind was calm....they were not.

we watched the sun set and then turned to see the moon rising.... it was MASSIVE. The pictures didn't do it justice. I posted an insta video of it, hopeful it would better show off how amazing it was, but nothing could really show how huge it was.

Saturday, we loaded the boat and headed out. The wind picked up quite a bit so we layered up, but the sun was warm and it was a gorgeous day to be out!

We cruised the waterfronts in Morehead and Beaufort-- we saw a wild horse and some dolphin and we also observed these wild animals:

We went to sand dollar island-- one of my most favorite spots! We beached the boat and had to walk in-- Ali wasn't so sure about the cold waters hahaha

Everyone ran around the island, Andy (below) did a little dancing....

Happiness is.....

We stopped for lunch in Morehead and on the way home, all the boys fell sound asleep-- it was amazing!

Sunday, we hit the beach and it could not have been a more beautiful day-- there was not a cloud in the sky, the sun was super warm and it wasn't windy. It was just perfect. No one wanted to leave! I actually got a little sunburned-- who knew that could happen in November?!?

It was a great weekend away and any time I get to go to my favorite place, I am a happy girl!

F I V E: Bruce

This dog is something else. He's a favorite for sure.

Have a great weekend!!! I am getting away for a few days with just my momma! Can't wait for some girl time with my favorite!

 

BOOK REPORT!

Ohhhhh I have some good ones for you!

Four books this month, and I really liked them all!

 The Couple Next Door

My friend was reading this book on our way to Napa and on the way home and she was so into the book! She kept gasping out loud and saying how good it was, so I was excited to borrow it from her when she was finished-- it was a definite page turner with lots of good twists! It was a quick read that I liked! I don't usually gravitate towards mysteries like this, but I still enjoyed this! (and the ending........!!!!)

 The Woman in Cabin 10

I say I don't gravitate towards mysteries, but here is my second one this month.... but still. I listened to this one and it was really good! I thought it was a little slow in the beginning, to be honest- but by the end, my heart was racing and I didn't want to arrive at the beach (I finished it while driving there last weekend) until I got to the end. It was super suspenseful!

 Winter Solstice

Ohhhhh, Elin. You've done it again. This is part of the Winter Street series-- I thought it was a trilogy, but now this is the fourth installment, so maybe not...? I love this series. It's light-ish, but so so good. I cried at the end of this one. There are several characters that she brings in in this book that are from some of her other books not in the series (but you don't have to read them to know who they are--). I love the Quinn family and their dynamic and this series will get you in the Christmas spirit! I finished this one and want to start decorating my house- haha! Not sure if it matters, but I will add that I listened to this one too- I think I listened to all of the books in this series. And I am pretty sure they all have the same narrator too, which is nice.

 If You Only Knew

Okay, I really liked all the other books this month....but I LOVED this one! It wasn't heavy at all, but it was so so good! I could not put it down. I found myself grabbing it to read while brush my teeth, drying my hair, folding laundry, etc etc... I need to read more from this author, clearly. Have y'all read this?


That's all I've got today! I started reading a book that I am not super into, so I might switch a start another. I need to go to the library, I think..... any suggestions?!?!



 

Halloween 2017

It was a week ago, so I am not too late.... don't want to forget this stuff!

We had a really really fun Halloween! I say that every year, but this year was really fun. They boys were totally capable of doing it on their own and they didn't need a parent hovering by them. They stuck with their group and everyone watched out for everyone-- it was wonderful!

That morning, the boys had school, and they were able to dress like a book character. Cal threw on a jersey and some eye black and carried an NFL book. Andy donned his costume from last year and went as Rudolf.

 Andy had a melt down #ofcoursehedid on the way to school because he didn't think anyone would be dressed up. He ripped off his gloves and his hat and shoved them in his back in a panic. He was furious at me because, well, #nug. I sent his teacher a text apologizing for dropping off a grumpy Rudolf. She replied with this picture and said she didn't know what I was talking about:

 The boys got home from school and soon it was time to get ready. Andy asked me to be Cindy Lou Who.  I tried to do my hair like hers and it wasn't easy. At all. I got one braid to cooperate, but then really didn't want to wear my hair like that (haha) so scraped it.

 Then it was time! We had green face paint, black goatee and sideburns and we were ready to go!

 Could NOT stop laughing at this costume. Hilarious.

 And, in case you are new around here, Andy was Rudolf last year. And Santa the year before. We don't really know why he has this obsession, but we are just rolling with it. Cracks me up, this one....

 My co-worker's son was the Grinch a few years ago and she made him these gloves that they let Andy borrow for the night. They were awesome!

I found this glass and sort of love it! "I'm just here for the BOOS".... so fun! I also poured a bottle of wine into a swell bottle and carried that around with me and it kept cold. Brilliant, right?

 We walked over to the other side of the neighborhood for some pizza action before the trick or treating started... Andy is thug life. So tough....as the grinch.....

 Eddie's sister stopped by on her way home from work to bring the boys a special treat! Andy was hot so he stripped down a bit, but we had to grab a picture!

 Speaking of pictures.... it is so hard to take a group shot of a ton of kids on Halloween.....

 These four were some hot messes, but they had so much fun together!

 This was pretty much the pack all night. The moms just wandered the streets while the kids ran up to houses and back down again.

 Charlie is the sweetest kid. I asked him to help keep an eye on Andy (I was worried they would all run ahead and leave him behind, which never happened....) and I caught this pic of them walking down the street. Melt me.

 The moms enjoyed Halloween just as much as the kids, I think....lotta lotta fun for us too!

 My parents came over to pass out candy again-- thankfully!!! They were so sweet to set up camp and man my house for me.

 The kids made a pit stop over on a neighbor's porch-- they needed to assess the loot.... and a grownup needed to "quality check" a few items....

 Those wild and crazy mommas.....

 This picture was sent to me-- Andy in the corner of the porch in his own little world, eating as much candy as he can. hahahahah

 Having Amber Byrd living in our neighborhood is great for many, many reasons.... one of which is her amazing photography skills while out and about! I LOVE these pictures she captured on Halloween!!!!! I mean--- how freaking funny???

and these next ones....

Hope your Halloween was super fun too!!!!