Family in the 'Boro

My whole family came to Waynesboro a few weekends ago and we had so much fun! I feel like I always say that, but it's so true. ;)  My parents drove down from Virginia and got in around 4pm, and shortly after Sam and Dales came in from Charlotte (Dales had flown there on Thursday night from NYC).  I hate that I didn't get any pictures, but we spent a few hours catching up on the back porch, because the weather was just gorgeous. Sam and Julie came over for dinner later that night, and I just loved having both of my families together again (but of course we missed Amy!!). 

On Saturday, we got up early and the guys (plus Kristina's hubby Drew) headed to the golf course, while mom, Dales, and I walked around my neighborhood before heading to Augusta for some lunch and shopping.  We all got home around the same time and got ready for A Taste of Burke County, which is a charity event in Waynesboro I look forward to each year.  They have a silent auction, live auction, open bar, live band, and lots of great food from places around town.  We had friends over for a drink beforehand and just had the BEST time that night.

We slept in on Sunday and then headed to the farm to show Dales around.  Gaines took everyone on a short tractor ride and we snapped a few pictures before everyone headed home (boo!).  

That picture above is by far one of my new favorite family photos. ;)  What a fun weekend it was!! 

Icepocolypse

When I got the email saying school was closed on February 12th, I was so excited!  Not only was it an unexpected day off, but it was Gaines' birthday, too. Little did we know, though, that we really would get the ice storm they were predicting, which resulted in tons broken limbs and almost two days without heat.

 

Thankfully we had stocked with the essentials....wine and cheese. ;) 

We cooked leftovers on the grill that night (not really the birthday dinner I had planned for Gaines!) and slept under three blankets, two down comforters, and one huge black dog.  That might have been a bit of an overkill. ;) We woke up several times in the middle of the night, though, hearing "crack....crack....crack....BOOM!" as huge limbs feel around us.  It was so scary! 

The next day we woke up early and headed to The Bakery, which had power....and was packed!  Gaines was sweet enough to wait in line with me for thirty minutes for a hot cup of coffee, and it was literally one of the best cups I've ever had.  

We drove around town trying to keep warm and just couldn't believe the damage.  I've thankfully never been through a tornado, but our town looked like one had gone right through it.  There were just huge limbs and trees down everywhere. 

We spent the rest of the day in Statesboro and then went over to Gaines' grandma's house for dinner that night.  And as soon as we got home we saw our front porch light on! 

We were only without power for 36 hours, but I know a few friends and co-workers, though, who were without power for 5-7 days!  We didn't have any major damage and a lot of the yards and streets have been cleaned up at this point.  It also made my heart so happy to hear everyone around town those few days saying things to each other like..."If you need anything please let us know!" or "Come by if you need a hot shower!"  Everyone was so willing to share what they had, and it made me so thankful to live in such a great little community.

Happy Wednesday! 

Celebrating Baby ME

A few weekends ago I drove to Atlanta for the day to celebrate one of my college roomie's baby shower.  I've known MC for almost ten years now and to see her pregnant is just so exciting!  She is just glowing and looks fabulous (I mean from the back you literally couldn't tell she was pregnant!).  Her sister and sister-in-law did such a great job of hosting, and we had fun catching up, playing games, and showering the mommy-to-be.  

 

I cannot wait for baby Mary Elizabeth to make her way into this world soon!! 

Catch Up

Hello again!  Sorry for that whole not-blogging-at-all-in-February-thing.  Time just seemed to get away from me!  I'll be back with more detailed posts and pictures, but here's what's been going on the past month...

We started the month with a little datenight in Augusta.  After dinner I told Gaines I felt like doing something random, and we ended up at Adventure Crossing playing five games of laser tag.  It was seriously the most fun datenight EVER! 

The next weekend we went back to Augusta for a fun dinner at Rhinehart's Oyster Bar with the Blackburns and McCarys. :)

I drove to Atlanta the next day to celebrate my college roomie's baby shower.  I absolutely loved seeing my college besties and can't wait to meet baby ME soon. 

We then celebrated Gaines' 28th birthday early at his parent's house with an amazing meal (as always!) and the cutest birthday cake.

We ended up celebrating Gaines' real birthday in the dark thanks to our power being knocked out by the craziest ice storm I've ever experienced. It was quite an adventure and literally made our town look like a war zone. On the bright side, we already had a scheduled three-day Winter Break, so with the extra two "snow" days and the weekend, I didn't have to go to work for an entire week. ;)

We celebrated Valentine's Day by cleaning up after "World War Tree," as Gaines called it and ended the day with sweet "note" outside and a yummy dinner inside.

My parents, brother, and sister came to town the following weekend, and we just had the BEST time! We had a fun dinner at our house with Gaines' parents on Friday night and then went to the Taste of Burke County with all of our friends on Saturday night.

And we ended the month with a little mini-vacation to Gaines' family's coast house in Valona. I just love that view! 

I'm sad February went so quickly, but am excited for the fun things (and hopefully warmer weather!) that March has to offer.  Be back soon with more pictures!