Quick Update #5

A short list of all that has been going on in our lives the last week or so:

* My sister-in-law, Crystal, and her boyfriend, Joe came up to spend the weekend with us. Stuart and I made supper for them, and later we made snacks and watched the movie Defiance, which by the way, is really intense and keeps your attention. Stuart and I had already seen it and liked it, so....that's what we did. Crystal and Joe really liked it I think...

* Saturday, we hiked Sharp Top at Peaks of Otter nearby. We packed a cooler and backpack full of goodies and had a great time.

*I fell flat on my face while hiking... yes I did. And it was really funny even to me, but unfortunately, not to Stuart....

* After hiking, we went home and got cleaned up and went to the mall in Roanoke where we ate in the food court, shopped, ordered Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and had a good time all around...

*Came home, made more snacks and watched Jumanji...went to bed.

*Went to church Sunday morning and then came home, had a quick lunch and saw Crystal and Joe off...*sniff*

Other happenings?

*I got facebook again for any of you who don't know it yet! I had it for a long time throughout college, but got rid of it for various reasons...but now Stuart and I both have one. Look us up!

*I've been re-reading some favorite books for old time's sake, including (but not limited to), And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and Alcott's Little Women. Each time I do this, I'm like "Man, I love this book!"

*We've been having storms and constant rain here, especially during the night, which I kind of like because it makes our house seem more cozy. I just snuggle up to Stuart in bed and listen to the rain beat outside!

*I'm still job hunting, but now Stuart and I are considering some other options. Will let you know as this develops more.....and no it does not involve children...

*Harrison might be coming up again this weekend! Yay! Always happy to see my little bro!

That's about it for now! Hope all of you are doing well!

Sincerely,

New Bern and Beyond

As promised in my last post, I have pictures from our anniversary trip to New Bern, North Carolina last weekend. We had such good jaunts, fellow readers! The beach is about an hour away (for those readers who don't know the area), and we spent almost the entire day there on Sunday (our actual anniversary).

We both got some sun...

Correction:

I got some sun.

Stuart apparently got the entire sun and tried to swallow it or something.
I've spent the last couple of nights slathering the poor soul with Aloe Vera gel and listening to him bemoan the itchiness of his state. But I digress...

We drove down on Tuesday evening after Stuart got off of work and set up house. Stuart still had to work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so the party didn't really get started until the weekend. But those nights were still a lot of fun. I read a book to Stuart and we took the family's paddle boat out on the water at dusk to talk and such. We also grilled out steaks and of course, made our annual trek to Books a Million where I added to my library as I always do whenever we visit New Bern. However, I will admit that this wasn't quite as exciting as it used to be, simply because I live near Barnes and Noble now (10 times better) and didn't before. But still...I love any bookstore, anytime, anywhere. And who am I to fight the New Bern tradition?

I ask you...who?

FYI- I also love Next Chapter Bookstore in downtown New Bern. Yay for used books....okay I'm moving on.

Anyways, like I said, the real fun started that weekend. I'll let you look at the pictures now and just narrate as I go. Shall we?

This first picture is of me in downtown New Bern on Saturday. We slept late, ate lunch at Schlotsky's Deli, and browsed all the local shops. We also had a treat at the Cow Cafe, which Stuart makes me call the Moo Cow Cafe, even though I argued, "That's not the name. Look at the sign." Stuart just says its family tradition and we must call it the Moo Cow Cafe in honor of the old cafe...or something like that.

The treat at Moo Cow Cafe I mentioned above was in fact a banana split. Oh sorry, I mean a Moonana Split. And believe it or not, it was a first time experience for both of us! Can you believe it? I've heard my whole life about banana splits, but never really wanted to try one. Stuart said he had never had one either and we decided to seize the opportunity to share something together for the first time. It was surprisingly good. I don't know, I just never thought of bananas and ice cream as a very appealing thought, but I'd definitely do it again. Stuart agrees with me. The picture of our first banana split...awwww...




Now here was a funny event. Not only are both of us pretty horrible at miniature golf, but a storm had come through the night before and totally soaked the course. We couldn't even play one hole because it was under water completely. And yes, Stuart beat the pants off of me. But I looked better golfing! Ha!

July 19th! Our anniversary day on the beach! It was so nice out, not too hot, borderline chilly actually. We got up early, went to IHOP for breakfast, and drove to the beach with snacks, books, cards, and sunblock (but apparently not enough). Stuart buried my feet in the sand, and I collected lots of shells for a shadow box I'm making. We also played in the ocean together, Stuart bodysurfed, I watched and laughed, threw sand at him, ran from him when he tried to rub sand all over my back, and attempted to push him into huge breaking waves ( I know, my sense of humor is sick). Stuart later said that he let me push him...hmmmm....

Stuart. Pre-sunburn. A happy and carefree man....



Were you expecting a post sunburn picture? I don't have one. Sorry. But I do have a picture of us back from the beach, all cleaned up and ready to go out to eat at The Harvey Mansion. We ate filet mignons and they were delicious. The waitress wished us a Happy 1st Anniversary! It was fun. Note: You can't see Stuart's sunburn because of his shirt. But his smile looks like a slight grimace of pain to me, don't you think? And just so you guys don't think I'm heartless and didn't look after the Baker, let me just say I asked...nay...pleaded with him to put on sunblock. Several times. But he would have none of it. I hate to say I told you so....no I don't....I told you so!

Me having a moment. Stuart says I look better this way and I quite agree. I think it adds a certain something to my countenance. I look more intimidating. Or perhaps....psychotic? Anyway, would you approach someone with this face? I didn't think so.

The stately Harvey Mansion and restaurant. Located near the water for your viewing pleasure.

And last but not least, Studebaker cranking up the grill for some steak eatin'. One night we also bought wings and other appetizers from Hurricane's just up the street. We popped popcorn, drank Coke, and cuddled through Spiderman 3.


So now you know several things, one being that I am not responsible for Stuart's sunburned state, and another being that I love to spend money on large quantities of books. But the most important thing you know is that Stuart and I had our first wonderful anniversary together and are now, even as I type this, beginning to live the second. And that is the best anniversary present of all.

Embarking on Number Two,

Congratulations to Us!

Stuart and I have officially made it to the one year mark as of today!

We're currently in New Bern, North Carolina living it up and celebrating our 1st completed year of married bliss. I'll probably blog more on the details of our excursion later, but I couldn't resist posting something on our actual anniversary date. I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday...really.

Stuart was sooooo handsome in his tux...*sighs*

Here's a picture we took a couple of weeks ago when July finally rolled around. We decided to take a picture showing our big 12 month mark. We were so excited that our special month had finally arrived! July will forever hold an important place in our hearts!



And just to remember good times, here's a picture of us on our honeymoon on Prince Edward Island a year ago, which was too perfect for words... sea canoeing anyone?




Here's to year two and many more memories!


Love,

The 4th in Pictures

Hi Everyone!

We hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July. Stuart and I spent the majority of the day at the Graydon's. Here are a few pictures of the event. Enjoy!


Here's Mom Graydon enjoying some delicious roasted corn outside in the courtyard...




Joe and Crystal (one of my 5 sis-in-laws) enjoying 4th of July festivities.



Yes, these are the same people shown above...just with funnier faces!







Mary (another sister-in-law) enjoying some "auntie time" with new family addition, Michael Stuart Robinson. Our first nephew (but not for long, Dana's expecting a boy in November, yay!)





Mary and Crystal with Michael. They just look sweet....




The proud new parents! Seth and Karen Robinson (yet another sister-in-law)!





So in all honesty, I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do at these kind of things. By the time we made it to my parent's house later on in the day, I was too tired to take any pictures at all! So I'm glad we at least have these. One sad thing: I didn't get to see any fireworks this year! We had planned to make it back here in time to catch fireworks at our new house, but the visit with my family took a little longer than anticipated. O'well! There's always next year!

Here's to long summer days!


Love,