five years of marriage

Ok, ok, ok... I've been reading old posts on the blog and realizing that I miss it, mainly for the documenting big and small events that would otherwise be forgotten. (especially with Crew!) I want to try and make time to document things again so I won't regret not doing it down the road!

One of those "big" events was our FIVE year wedding anniversary we just celebrated on March 6th. I just can't believe it's been five years already. Doesn't seem possible! Will surprised me on the 5th and told me we were taking a weekend vacation. He had already made plans and arranged for Crew to spend the weekend with my parents. I'll be honest, I was excited...but I was instantaneously feeling anxious about leaving Crew. One, because it would be the longest that I had been away from him before and two, because I've been feeling guilt over having our parents watch him on weekends when that's usually the only time we get each week to spend time as a family. They have all been so great to watch Crew when we are needing to work on weekends for things for Accrewed Design or Crew + Co. 

I packed a last minute bag and off we went to Fairhope, AL. I just love Fairhope and it's small-town life. Will had never been before so it was perfect for the two of us to explore together. I realized just how much we needed some one on one time to focus on each other. It was so refreshing and we need to make more of a point to do that more often. So much of the time we are focused on Crew and what his needs are that we forget to focus on us and what are needs are as husband and wife. 

We spent most of the time eating...and then eating some more. We explored little antique shops, one of our favorite things to do together! We went down to Gulf Shores for the day. Unfortunately it was in the 50's and SO windy that morning so we didn't stay long, but it was still so fun. 

I'm so thankful for my sweet husband and the effort he put into making this a fun and memorable anniversary! I can't wait for the many more to come!

This breakfast was SO GOOD. The french toast satisfied my pregnancy sweet tooth just as I hoped!

Julwin's in Fairhope

Sunset Pointe in Fairhope

Will's oyster request for dinner... I stuck with the pasta
Wintzell's in Fairhope

Gulf Shores

Fairhope Pier (25 weeks pregnant!)

 Again, my sweet tooth. To my defense, I ONLY have a sweet tooth when I'm pregnant! Will got blueberry cheesecake and banana pudding and I (of course) got cotton candy.
Old Dutch Ice Cream in Mobile

Of course, the day we left Crew woke up with a cough. That turned into a cold and I just knew it had something to do with him cutting teeth. He cut his 3rd molar over the weekend and it just made him miserable. Every. Single. Time. he gets a new tooth, he gets some sort of cold. Without fail. This time it was accompanied by fever on Friday and Saturday which is something that hasn't happened before. Luckily he was very well taken care of while we were gone, but I was so glad to get back to him! You can tell how unlike himself he looks in this photo from Sunday with his watery eyes, flushed cheeks and runny nose! I hate seeing him feel bad! Tooth #11 was a pesky one!

This just HAD to be documented. We got home Sunday afternoon and it was time for Crew to nap. He woke up about an hour later and Will went to get him out of bed. When he didn't come back after several minutes I looked on the monitor and saw this. Oh, you better believe it brought tears! (Blame it on the hormones!) Crew hasn't let us rock him in months and months so I know he didn't feel good for this to be happening. I'll admit, I was a little jealous of Will!...ok, a lot jealous!

1st anniversary: Savannah, GA (see photos in 3rd ann. post)

2nd anniversary: Savannah, GA (see photos in 3rd ann. post)

3rd anniversary: Announcing our pregnancy with Crew

4th anniversary: Weekend in Nashville with Crew (not blogged...see what I'm saying about doumenting?!)

babymoon part 3: great smokies

part one: nashville
part two: chattanooga

Day 3 (Sunday) of our babymoon was spent in East TN. We said we were going to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, but after we got there and spent hours in traffic I was so over it. Being Labor Day weekend, everyone and their momma were in Gatlinburg. For me being so pregnant, swollen and tired from the previous two days, the last thing I wanted to do was fight through the crowds in Gatlinburg.

We spent most of our time in Sevierville walking through antique shops. It was a lot less crowded and something I enjoyed doing much more than the shops in Gatlinburg. About mid-afternoon that day I started cramping pretty bad and was having difficulty standing or walking. (I got nervous because I did not want to have a Gatlinburg baby! Ha) We called it quits and made our way to Pigeon Forge for a delicious Apple Barn dinner before heading back to the hotel. I'm wishing that I had some apple fritters and apple butter right about now. SO. GOOD.

Monday morning we got up and drove up the mountains. The weather was in the 60's and felt perfect up there. It was a long drive, but it was so relaxing and we loved it...especially my outdoorsy, nature-loving husband!

35 weeks pregnant

The water was FREEZING. I thought it would do my swollen ankles some good!

Pushing a foot back in...

The next day we drove back to Nashville (after making one last stop at Apple Barn for some apple pie a la mode!) We stayed in Nashville one more night before driving back to Memphis. Overall, we did a lot of driving over 5 days, but breaking it up each day made it so much better. We had so much fun together and were so thankful to have one last trip before we become a family of 5. (I'm counting the dogs here, duh.)

babymoon part two: chattanooga

Read part one: nashville here!

We left Nashville on Saturday morning and headed to Chattanooga. We got there around lunchtime and ate downtown and, you guessed it, went antique shopping some more. (I think I'm obsessed. But hey, I was on a mission to find some deco for the nursery!)

It was so hot and we had already planned to go to Rock City. I wasn't going to let the heat stop me and we decided to stick to our plans! I had been once before with my family several years ago and had forgotten how strenuous it was for a 35 week preggo! It was definitely good exercise...that made my ankles swell like crazy!

Well, this was interesting. I am not claustrophobic at all, but something about your belly being so huge and that space being so small just freaks you out a little bit!

One of many breaks I had to take along the way...

A midway snack

"Fat Man Squeeze"

And now to what was probably Will's favorite part of the entire trip:

If you know Will, you know of his affection for Taco Bell. I mean, he had a TB groom's cake. FOR REAL. We were driving through Chattanooga Saturday when we passed a TB that had breakfast. I thought Will was going to have a heart attack (because Memphis doesn't have this yet). So on Sunday morning before leaving, he had to at least try it. Kind of makes me sick just looking at the picture! I just stuck with the hotel continental breakfast.

And now that you have a stomach ache too, have a wonderful Friday!

babymoon part one: nashville

Nashvegas will always be special to us because it's where Will proposed to me. We love that we can make a short 3 hour drive and get to such a fun place.

We left on Friday morning and drove straight to Franklin for a little antique shopping. It was SO hot and I was sore/achy from being in the car for 3 hours so we didn't last very long. We went to our hotel that afternoon so I could take a much-needed nap and recover for dinner!

If we ever get to a city that has a California Pizza Kitchen, we HAVE to eat there. It's a delicious tradition. I have always loved their pizza and wish there was one in Memphis! (Although, my pizza was a little disappointing this time...they changed the crust AND the pepperonis were huge--which meant they were way more salty than usual. I wasn't a fan of the change...maybe it's just this particular CPK??)

Saturday morning before leaving town we went to the Opryland Hotel to walk around and reminisce of Will proposing to me!

This is where Will proposed! So much has changed in 5 years!!

Standing in the same spot as the proposal

And just for fun... a few pics from 2008!