Rewind to July

So clearly I am a little behind. The end of summer has been full of trips, visitors, and soaking up our first summer on the East Coast. I'll play a little catch up now.

The middle of July we were thrilled to celebrate the nuptials of Tom and Carey Whitworth. We love having the addition of Carey to the family and see many fun family occasions in our future. They had a gorgeous wedding at West End United Methodist followed by an amazing reception at Renaissance---thank goodness for Jill! And we even got the chance to meet up with Angie, Houston, and Grant while in town...always grateful for being able to squeeze in time with friends while home. 

Loser's after the rehearsal dinner

Tom and Vicki during the mother-son dance

My handsome date

Loving on his mom

Ansley didn't leave the dance floor all night---we all took turns with her out there.

The Robinsons with the growing belly!

Winding down from a very long day

The beautiful bride, her wedding planner, and adorable flower girl 

Rescuing the groom from the dance called the "wobble"---we were out of our element there!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Whitworth!

Shortly after our trip home, we had some more visitors. My mom and her best friend, Brenda fly up for a quick trip to see what we now call home. It was a first time to Baltimore for them both. It's safe to say my mom ate crab soup at literally every meal---sometimes even 2 different kinds at one meal. And keep in mind this was July and it was at least 90 degrees. When in Rome, I guess! We had some great meals, did some shopping, and they even did some exploring on their own while I worked. 

Mom sure takes being a tourist to a new level. 

So proud of her son in law---visiting McCormick store was top on the list. 

Enjoyed a yummy dinner watching a summer storm roll through the harbor

Cherish these times with my mom

Thanks for coming to see us, Mom and Brenda!!

This pretty much sums up the rest of the summer...

Lots of pool time and fun with the Foust's. 

Island of Enchantment (i.e. Happy Birthday to Me!)

I remember my wise older sister once telling me that turning 30 was one of the best feelings she has ever had...she's usually right about a lot of things, but she was spot on when she told me that. My 30th birthday was one that I will never forget and I am sure many years from now I'll still think back on it as one of the best times of my life. Whit, being the overly generous and wonderful husband he is, treated me to 5 days and nights in Puerto Rico. I guess he felt he had to live up to the 30 days of presents I treated him to last year. Well, after this trip, he more than lived up to those 30 days, but absolutely blew them out of the water!

To start the celebrating, Whit let me open my present the night before we left...all while knowing the trip was a present in itself. But this is a small portion of where the "overly generous and wonderful" part always comes in to play with him. 

I have so many pictures that I want to share from this trip, so I think I'll start with some pictures and update you as we go along. Warning: I tend to put a lot of pictures in my blog posts and this is one of those times. (how else do you explain things you did and saw?!)

Lunch by the pool waiting for our room to be ready for check in 

Nap spot after lunch...not a bad place to wait on a hotel room to be ready

Walking on the beach from our hotel to welcome Grant and Samantha to Puerto Rico at their hotel
**we loved having friends there to share all of this with** 

First night at sun down from our balcony

First night out at the restaurant next door (blurry, but you get the idea)

Surprised with gorgeous roses from the Whit's parents...so thoughtful!
(not pictured: more surprises delivered to the room came from Angie- choc covered strawberries & Houston- guacamole, salsa and chips. Sweet friends making my birthday special even from afar.)

We arrived at the El Yunque Rainforest

With Grant and Sam at our first stop at one of the many waterfalls throughout the forest 

Scenery along our hike through the rainforest

Gotta stop for photo ops along the way

Whit trying to catch up--he had a hard time not stopping at every look out point

Perfect day to turn 30 

Climbing around the rocks near the waterfall--the swimming hole was off to the right

The bottom of the waterfall

Tired from our hike but still smiling---waiting on our guide to pick us for the rest of the rainforest

An old tower at the top of the rainforest

View towards the ocean from the top of the tower 

The other side of the tower overlooking a small portion of the giant rainforest

One of the daily rain showers over the forest from off in the distance

Whit's favorite meal of the trip--several generations of the same family have run this restaurant hut along the side of the rainforest. They served all authentic Puerto Rican food (best dish was called a "green banana"). This family was offered $1.5 million dollars by the U.S. Forestry Department and they turned it down saying they'd rather serve the locals and tourists as they come through the rainforest. It's the last piece of property in the forest not owned by the federal government.

They chopped off the top of coconuts growing in the forest and stick a straw in it for a refreshing drink 

Whit enjoying the PR version of a Tamale, wrapped in plantain leaves

Oh, Grant...

After drinking all the coconut water they chop them in half to eat the pieces inside

Celebrating the big 3-0 & counting my blessings for knowing this handsome man for 25 of those years

It felt like we had the island to ourselves while at the pool

Enjoying a little R&R

Walking down the streets of "Old San Juan"

One of several monuments and statues in Old San Juan

There was so much charm throughout the city

On our way to El Morro fort in Old San Juan

Grant and Sam in one of the many lookout points

El Morro Fort--built in 1539 for Spain to defend Puerto Rico; also where the first shots from the US in World War I were fired 

Large open field outside El Morro used my locals to fly kites

At the bottom of the hill looking up at the fort--the grass looked like carpet

While everyone else was taking a bathroom break I wandered off and found this amazing view--probably my favorite view of the trip 

I was so intrigued by this old cemetery on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean

We decided to tour the El Morro Fort--looking back at the history its hard to think how old this place really is

Looking over the edge of the fort 

An original cannon on the fort grounds

WD checking out the spots used to watch for enemy attacks

At the top of the El Morro Fort

Heading inside the fort

We found a higher spot inside the fort to see my favorite view again--pictures hardly do it justice

Had to make sure and get a picture of the lighthouse for my mom 

Conquering the world...

We had the pleasure of dining at Marmalade Restaurant--one of the top 10 restaurants in the world; 5 courses of the most unique and delicious food we've had...Whit hardly made it through the third course

The last night at our favorite beach bar next door to the hotel--we had become regulars

Happy, happy, happy--Puerto Rico, we'll be back!

Soaking up our pool view one last time--the hotel was perfect

As the slogan on the Puerto Rico license plate says, it is definitely an "Island of Enchantment". Not only was this trip the perfect way to ring in my 30's but it gave me a chance to reflect on the past 30 years. And what a 30 years it has been. It's easy to get caught up in the daily routine and the normal up's and down's of life...but while in Puerto Rico I couldn't help but think how lucky and fortunate I am. More to come on this in a later post, but wanted to leave this one with a thought of gratitude and thankfulness for the past 30 years of my life. 

And of course, a HUGE thank you to Whit for spoiling me beyond my wildest dreams.