Vacationy Goodness

Back from vacation and I think I might need another one soon! :) Paul and I joined my family (+ baby!) in the yearly pilgrimage to the Outer Banks. It was spectacularly exhausting and very nice to be there again. Baby Ronan was definitely out of sorts and not the happiest camper all week so that took a lot out of us. He did have some happy moments though!

Paul can really make this kid laugh. We were on the beach very early in the morning when we got these shots. It was sooooo nice. Gorgeous at that time of day.

For the first time ever, thanks to Paulie, we rented a boat and the family went fishing. I'm pretty sure Paul was the only "pro" but everyone else got the hang of it pretty quickly. Not me though. I just sat back and chilled. I love boats. We did take the baby, which again was a little stressful... but he was really very good - until he absolutely had enough. Which he made very clear...

We didn't keep this on him the entire time (shh!) because he almost lost it. I can understand why. He did look so cute though!

Paul and I got to spend some time alone too which was nice. We had an appointment to meet with the wonderful Julie Dreelin of Julie Dreelin's Beach Productions and it was awesome. She is such a talented artist and such an upbeat, fun person. Fingers crossed - photog for the wedding. We also checked out houses for the wedding. We found a great one through Village Realty... right on the beach, heated pool, sauna, hot tub...!!! Super exciting. Didn't get to try any catering places but Julie gave us some very helpful advice on food, flowers, hair and make-up. We were so grateful! That takes a lot of pressure off.

I'm so missing our favorite places to eat! Tortuga's Lie, Mama Kwan's. Mulligans. So delicious. I swear Tortuga's Lie has the BEST steamed shrimp and french fries I have ever eaten in my life. Mmmmm.

Anyway, I'm starting to feel like we're getting it together now with the wedding stuff. At least a little bit.

TheMostBeautifulThingEver

File under: Brings tears quickly / I love it

Humpback Whale Puts On a Show for Men Who Saved Her

Happy 4th! Belated...

Had a fun 4th of July. Pretty much any gathering that involves baby Ronan is awesome. :) He was exactly 6 months old a couple weeks ago, on Father's Day actually, and I took a few pictures of him last week.

This baby has the longest tongue I've ever seen... every time he laughs, he sticks it out. It's so funny.

There are a ton more. We can't stop kissing this kid or taking pictures of him. :) He's probably sick of us.

The camping trip I mentioned before was really fun. It wasn't serious, middle-of-the-woods camping. It was camping with eight children under the age of 10. 

I think we may be going again in a couple months which is cool... I had forgotten how much I love these trips. Wake up - tent - outside - coffee - sleepy people - trees. I think the mornings are my favorite, which is funny because I am NOT a morning person normally.

Paul and I were talking about doing some more primitive camping but we'll see if we get around to that. There's so much other stuff coming up, like going down the shore and stuff. Hopefully we can squeeze it in somewhere though. We love our tent so much (two people in a six-person tent is awesome!) and we can't wait to use it again.

Speaking of the shore!

We made a drastic change in our wedding plans. Paul and I were talking about a lot of things and we came to the conclusion that an Outer Banks beach wedding is the wedding for us. Even before my grandmother passed away, I was NOT into planning anything about the wedding. The cost of everything was a constant source of anxiety and I couldn't make a firm decision about anything. Then grandmom passed away and I was even less motivated. Paul was feeling the same way, and the beach wedding thing was his favorite idea originally, so we're headed south. Mm, a few people are on board but I guess a guest list won't be finalized for a while. I'm not a big fan of last-minute plans but I have to just take a deep breath and go with the flow. We've already booked a beautiful house right on the beach that we'll get to take a look at in a few weeks. I can't wait! The only vendors I'm looking to book after that are a caterer and some wonderful person to do my insane hair. Everything else is going to be SIMPLE.

Anyway, that's the update for now. Apart from the biggest news... I FOUND A WEDDING DRESS!! It's perfect!

Happy Summer

June is a pretty cool month. My birthday, Wizard World (geeky I know) and summer is here... which means I'm closer to my Outer Banks vacation in July. I can't wait to hit the road. We're getting closer to some camping too. Fun stuff.

My handsome nephew is approaching the 6 month old mark. I can't believe how much he is learning everyday and how big he is getting.

Here he is tasting rice cereal for the first time. He loved it!

I love babysitting this little guy. The smile he gives me when I walk in the door melts my heart. He's the best!

Otherwise there isn't much to report. Enthusiasm for the wedding planning has slowed considerably. Spending money causes me great anxiety. I do not enjoy it at all... so we could have a problem. We'll see.

Since the weather is getting nicer I am missing my beautiful home on the French Riviera. I miss my friends there, the beautiful weather, the sea being 2 seconds away and everything else about it.

Maybe we take wedding money and go on vacation? Seems like an elegant solution to me.