An Anniversary to Remember

Remember over a month ago when I told you I'd fill you in on the details of our 5th Wedding Anniversary Date? Well, I finally can, because I have the photographic proof...

I'd been planning it for months...all Tricia knew is that we were going out for dinner at one of those (we can only afford this) once-a-year restaurants. What she didn't know is that I had asked the incredible Mary Basnight, the same photographer who shot our wedding, to meet us after dinner for a photo shoot on the same beach where we were married.

After dinner, we drove to the beach to take a walk...when we arrived Tricia saw Mary walking over the dunes and remarked how odd that was that she was here on our anniversary...we walked over the dunes and then over to Mary "to say hi"...Tricia still had no idea what was going on until Mary started talking to us...even then, I had to assure Tricia that Mary was there to shoot us. Needless to say, Tricia was very surprised and excited...

...and beautiful...



I asked my mom to watch Gwyneth for us during dinner...half-way through the shoot, she arrived at the beach to join us.





Considering Tricia has never felt this healthy for any of our previous anniversaries (or even for our wedding), it was a wonderful day!

Nate

BTW, there are a few more photos of us on Mary's website (Click Here)...she has a few scrolling headers, one of which shows several photos of us...you may have to reload the page a few times to find the header with our photos.

Pancakes!

Come hang out with us this Saturday evening and support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! Tricia and I ate breakfast at Grits Grill this morning, and I can promise you that their pancakes are the best!

And, if your interested in helping to serve up some pancakes, shoot me an email!

Nate

Ocracoke (Part 2)

I woke up early the next morning and drove down to the heart of Ocracoke Village to get some photos. I really wish I had the guts to ask a few of the old, local, gnarly fishermen if I could take their photo, but I'm pretty sure I would have ended up as shark bait...



One day, maybe this fall, Tricia and I are going down sans Gwyneth...we'll stay overnight in a B&B and ride mopeds all over town...I call the orange one!





You can thank me later for keeping this next photo PG rated...




Apparently, just me and this cat are the only ones who like visiting the lighthouse at 7:30am...



After a long walk around the village, this is what was waiting for me back at our motel room...


After a ton of rain the day before, the sun was shining. The great thing about Ocracoke is that it is even closer to the Gulf Stream, which means warmer water. We had never hit the beach in Ocracoke, so we took our 4x4 out, found a semi-secluded spot, and enjoyed the low tide for about an hour.












Nate

Ocracoke (Part 1)

We've been waiting for a good reason to take a day trip this summer down to one of our favorite places in the world. We hadn't been to Ocracoke, NC since before Gwyneth arrived, and because it's about a 2.5 hour drive, it's basically a once-a-year, all-day trip. Just before we left on Monday morning, we decided to pack our bags and try to find a vacant hotel to stay the night on the island, something that we haven't done before.

We let Gwyneth sit in the driver's seat on the ferry...










I'll give 86 points to the first person who can make an educated guess as to what restaurant served us lunch.




Emily was actually our "good reason" to make our trip down the coast. She and her family vacation in Ocracoke every summer. We met Emily a few years ago...she and Tricia are about the same age, and she also has CF. We'll take just about any chance we can get to hang out with other CFers and their families.


Chillaxin' at our motel (another 53 points to the first person who can guess which motel)...it rained pretty much the entire first day we were there, which was cool with us.


A quick 4x4 drive out to the beach to take a look at the nearly full moon, and then off to bed...

Nate

Battle Ready

It might not look it, but this is a sign of trouble....


As most parents know, and as we're learning, once they start crawling and standing and exploring, the battle dominance and safety between parents and children over has only just begun. After over a month of putting it off, Tricia and I decided this morning (with Gwyneth's help) that our project over the weekend must be Gwyneth-proofing the house.

Just this morning our fearless, diapered, red-kneed trouble maker rediscovered the cat food, learned how to open the kitchen cabinets and decided that a very tall study lamb had to be more fun parallel to the floor. So, we're off to Home Depot and Walmart to stock up.

Got any tips, products, resources or creative battle strategies to share with us? Now's your chance to help us get starting with a victory!

Nate

Happy Face

Why are we so happy?



Because we're eating some awesome frozen custard from Kill Devil's! Gwyneth has learned how to lick the cold stuff, which is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen...her favorite is chocolate.




Nate

Rita's Tonight!

Tonight (Sunday) from 6 to 9, come to Rita's in Southern Shores (at the Market Place Shopping Center), meet some Dare Devil baseball players, and enjoy some awesome water ice and custard! 15% of the money spent on frozen treats tonight will go directly toward the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

As you know, I love Rita's, and I will personally buy a small water ice for the first five people (five people who I have never met before) who walk in and mention the blog to me.

Gwyneth, Tricia and I will see you there!

Nate