3 Wonderful Years

Today is our 3rd year anniversary. It kind of stinks because I'm spending it alone since Garin has to work :( I planning on making dinner and taking over to the station tonight though! (Don't worry, Garin and I do plan on celebrating our anniversary...we are taking a cruise before Garin heads off to OCS) Its funny how when I think back about our wedding it seems like it was just yesterday, but when I think about our relationship I feel like we've been together forever because Garin is such an intricate part of my life. I love you sweetie!

Times Up :(

Well, like they say, all good things must come to an end. Well, our time here in Emerald Isle has come to an end. We LOVE it here so we say this with great sadness. We will definately miss it here (for those of you that have visited, its easy to see why). I sit here writing this with our house for the most part packed up and ready to be moved. The plan is to move all the big stuff and things I will not need in Charlotte to a storage unit a little farther inland on Tuesday. Garin has to work on Wednesday and Thursday and we'll be leaving on Friday. So basically this is our last week at our cottage at the beach. Oh the sadness....

Happy 60th Dad!!

On January 12th we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. You wouldn't believe that the man is turning 60 because his hair is just barely starting to turn grey and the works like a young horse on the farm! We decided to celebrate this big day with a surprise party for him. MW and I sent out invitations to about 200 people...so it was big time! He promises us that we actually pulled off the surprise, but I think he might be pulling our leg. We had a great time with friends and family celebrating his 60 years of life! Happy Birthday Dad, we love you!

Dad (in orange shirt and jeans) as he enters his party (does he looked surprised?!)

The spread (hamburgers and hotdogs and all the fixins)

The Memory Table - we got guests to write memories that we put in a book for dad.

More Friends!!!

Last Monday and Tuesday Aaron and Kristin Byrum came to visit our coastal cottage. On Monday night we ventured out to Morehead City for dinner a fun round of putt-putt. Garin took 1st and Kristin took 2nd, but I must say that the most exciting battle was for 3rd. Aaron and I were tied going into the 18th hole and he putts a hole in one (perhaps his first of the night) and then I stepped up to the plate knowing that I would take last if I didn't sink this putt on the first shot. Well with a little luck and a little prayer, I putted my first hole in one of the night as well! It really was pretty funny...but I guess you had to be there.

On Tuesday we decided to rent a boat to explore some of the waterways around our friendly island (of course Garin gets to do this on a regular basis so he was our guide). Our 25 horsepower engine didn't get us anywhere quickly, but we did have a good time just chilling and taking in God's creation.

Aaron and Kristin, we had a WONDERFUL time with you guys, thanks for coming to visit! We can't wait for you to come and visit us wherever we end up next :)

Aaron and Kristin on the bow of the boat taking in the Emerald Isle highrise.

Garin taught me how to drive the boat...just call me Skipper now!

While we were on the boat we passed by this Coast Guard Construction Tender which was kind of cool (these guys are not based out of Garin's station so it was odd to see them out on the water)

4th of July

Unfortunately Garin had to work on the 4th of July. However, FORTUNATELY, our good friends Theryne and Bret came up to visit us and keep me company while Garin had to work all weekend. In the morning we drove out to Beaufort, NC and saw a very piratey parade! Then in the evening we headed out to Camp Lejeune for a Lee Anne Womack concert and fireworks. I figured if you wanted to do the 4th, there would be no better place to do it than on a Marine base where many a man who had given his life for our great country had passed through the gates and where many more men and women are training to protect the freedoms that we often take for granted. It was a cool and humbling experience.

Given the fact that Pirates were on almost every float, we got the impression that Pirates were the theme of the parade...or maybe that is just a coastal thing?!

Yes, we are still in NC where no parade is complete without a John Deere!

Historic Beaufort waterfront (You can see Garin and my new yacht there to the upper right of the picture...riiight)

Theryne and I before the Fireworks!

The Grand finale of the fireworks show...there were so many that you could hardly see them for all of the smoke they gave off!

Sunset over the Inner Coastal Waterway

A local city park down the street from our house has been closed the whole time we have been here thus far. The other day when I drove by I noticed that it was now open so Garin and I decided to go explore. We found some pretty cool hiking trails and a pier that went out to the Inner Coastal Waterway. This was exciting to us because it meant that we could now see the sunset (usually the trees are in the way and there are no other public accesses). Below are some of the pictures I took of the sunset. God sure is a WONDERFUL artist, His beauty is AMAZING!