Augusta Adventure

Weekend trips and activities have been a tad limited these past few months due to the intensity of our training. Weekends are for our long bike, run, and swim of the week and it's too complicated to do those three things when we're not at home. So, an opportunity to take a mini trip with our best friends for the weekend was a breath of fresh air. It was because of this girl that we got to go...

On our way to Augusta, we planned to make a little stop off in Montgomery to eat supper. My mom's new Southern Living issue had just arrived in the mail the day before so I decided to bring it on the trip to browse through. As we were trying to decide where to go to dinner, an article about Hampstead Village caught my attention. After reading about this charming little community, we plugged it in the GPS and decided to try something new.

{I have no earthly idea what Clay and Aaron are doing in this picture}

This little village is built outside the hustle and bustle of Montgomery. It has it's own post office, YMCA, little Montessori school, restaurants, and shops all built in one charming little setting. Oh, and there's cute little town homes too!

We were craving southern cookin' and Farmhouse Kitchen delivered.

As you can tell, it was getting dark and my camera was getting blurred vision so unfortunately, photos of the food were not taken.

So if you're ever in Montgomery, go check out Hampstead Village! Moving on to Augusta...

Downtown was charming... Their were eclectic coffee shops, dives and bookstores...

The old railroad track/station gave the city rustic character and color.

Obviously, it's very humid. {My lens fogged up but I think it gives the picture a rather spooky feel!}

The Savannah River was beautiful... and now I'm wishing I would've taken more pictures... but you get the jist, it's a cute town! And so is Hampstead Village in Montgomery... 

The first night of the trip, we walked in our hotel room and Aaron said, "Ahhh... home sweet home." It was actually nice to spend a weekend driving in a car for hours upon hours, sleeping in hotels, and living out of a suitcase. For half of the year, that's life as we know it... and we're comfortable with that.

Sunday Stroll

Well, at least that's what she made it seem to be...

Last weekend {Sunday, actually} my BFF Courtney raced and completed 70.3 miles of swimming, biking, and running... also known as a half Ironman. Yeah, I know... she's ballin'.

The four of us- Courtney, Clay, Aaron, and I- traveled over to Augusta, GA for the weekend to support Courtney. {My race isn't until October thank God} I had a rather large case of what I called "sympathetic nervousness"... I'm pretty sure I was more nervous than she was and I was just a cheerleader.

It was kind of sad that we weren't racing together- we have always raced together- but I can't tell you how many times I would look at her and say, "Thank GOD I'm not you right now!!!" It's ok though, my turn is coming!

Hey Court!

She swam 1.2 miles down the Savannah River.

And while she was swimming, I ran into Belle's Great Aunt Sally! (I just made that up)

Then she biked 56 miles...

Where's Waldo Courtney?

Then she ran a half marathon. (13.1 miles)

In the picture below, she was giving me a thumbs up... I know, it's sickening isn't it? I pray I feel half as strong as she does by this point!

She was truckin'...

She swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and ran 13.1 miles in 6 hrs. and 18 min. (the time clock at the finish line started an hour and a half before her age group did)

Her goal was to finish in under 7 hours. I'd say she went above and beyond what she thought she could do.

My goal... is still to finish in under 7 hours.

We are SO PROUD of our Court!!!

More details about the actual road trip to come soon!

Today was a good day.

I've had quite the blogger's block lately... and when I try to figure out why exactly, a list of everything we've been up to comes to my mind... So in order to blog something today and keep those of you that really are interested up to speed, I'm going to fill you in on life as we currently know it! {Not to mention, why today is a good day.}

First and foremost, today is the birthday of my mother and middle sister. Yes, they have the same birthday! The scrum-diddly-umptious cupcakes above are for dessert tonight and I can hardly stop walking over to the kitchen table to stare at them.

Remember this post? I talked about how we've learned to take this neverending shoulder recovery process one day at a time. Because if I don't, I will be on a nauseating never-ending roller coaster of emotions and I have found through experience, that it is not worth it. We have our good days and our bad days but when it's a good day, I just call it a "little victory". Today we had a little victory... Aaron had his six week follow up appointment with Dr. Andrews and we learned that his strength, range of motion, etc. is "perfect". I am elated at such positive news, but I know we're not out of the desert yet. I am simply saying to myself, "Today was a good day."

Our half-ironman training is in full swing and occupies a LOT of my time. We are currently swimming over 3 miles a week, biking over 100 miles a week, and running over 20 miles a week. Notice I said week... we don't bike 100 miles in one day! So needless to say, it's intense. I hope to dedicate a post to our training one day and I would like for it to include pictures... I'm going to have to figure that one out.

I've been filling in at my dad's clinic when needed and substitute teaching... Yes, subbing. So far, I've only had to raise my voice at one smart aleck hooligan... I'd say that's pretty darn good!

I'm also doing a Bible study on Covenant by Kay Arthur and I am loving every bit of it. I could dedicate a whole blog post to the things I've learned and it's only been two weeks!  Maybe one day I can share with you the highlights.

Well, that's all for today... I've gotta run to the grocery to cook a big birthday dinner... and then swim a mile if the weather permits. That's life as I know it people.

But nevertheless, today was a GOOD day!

Perks of Coastal Living

We love living where we do for many reasons... I want to show you a few of them today!

Sunny Sunday afternoons are perfect for a beach outing with friends.

Ocean creatures are not a "perk" in my opinion... unless they are edible and don't sting like fire!

Aaron is very brave... you couldn't PAY me to hold a jellyfish {with or without tentacles}.

But as soon as one uses natural defenses and stings him, the wrath is all too much for a pitiful jellyfish to stand.

Moving onto a natural phenomenon that only happens in our neck of the woods... and one other place in the world... I think it's the coast of India.

After receiving a phone call from a friend who also received a phone call {and so on and so forth}, thousands of "Fairhopians" and others flock to the bay for a night of the easiest fishing you can find... it's called a Jubilee.

This is how it works: The oxygen levels in the water go down for some reason and so all kinds of bay/sea creatures start swimming to the surface of the water and eventually land on the shore in desperate need of oxygen. You see crab, shrimp, flounder, eel, mullet, etc.

Aaron and I received a phone call and drove down to the water to see the action at around 9 the other night. Obviously, it was only the beginning. The "action" didn't get going until 11... and that was past my bedtime unfortunately.

Aaron has been to some where the beaches are loaded with fish and all you have to do is scoop them up with your net.

This guy was loading up on mullet and flounder.  If you don't mind staying up late fishing and then cleaning them, you can have a freezer full of wonderful seafood! So there you have it, that's what a Jubilee is like.

These next few pictures have nothing to do with coastal living but they are "perks" in my life!

This is Jenny... you've met her before. She's my little helper in the yard.

I've shown y'all our bounty of muscadines before and they are still comin! You may have seen some at your local farmers market if you're a southerner.

Jenny hangs out in the shade while I pick and eat , and she will only eat the ones I burst open for her. She's grown picky in her old age... and that's ok with me.

And here is the fruit of our "labor"...

Speaking of labor, I hope each of you had a wonderful weekend... it rained a lot where we were.

We spent some much needed time with family in Mississippi {Hey Sandra, Sherri, Catina and everyone!!} and did a lot of laying around.

I love their little bunny feet! Hence why I sometimes call kitties "hunny bunnies"!

I hope y'all did the same! Well, this picture reminds me that it's bedtime so I'm off to hit the sack.  Thanks for stopping by!