Jude’s Zoo Party

September 17, 2014 by Aliesha

We had such a wonderful time at Jude’s first birthday party at the zoo! Here are a bunch of pictures from our day!

He loved this monkey from Pops and MiMi.

I made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter filling and peanut butter frosting.

MiMi made these fun favors (peanuts in their shells).

Family pictures…

Remember this bunting banner? I used it at Vera’s first birthday party, as well as our “county fair night” last year at the beach!

As usual, we had lots of great food! Pulled pork, salad, slaw, chips, fruit, baked beans, watermelon, pickles, and more.

I’ve already shared the smash cake pictures.

Jude was pretty excited about opening presents! Of course he had lots of help!

It was raining for much of the afternoon, but it did clear up when we started to go see the animals.

Feeding the giraffes is always fun!

But goats are, apparently, hilarious!

If we hadn’t seen this goat standing on top of a sheep, we probably wouldn’t have believed it.

It was too funny!

We got to see the penguins being fed! They waited so patiently!

One of the highlights of Vera’s day was getting to splash in all the mud puddles!

What a blessing to be able to celebrate our sweet Jude’s first birthday at the zoo!

The Perfect Date Night

August 20, 2014 by Aliesha

This past weekend, we went to Richmond because Tad had an opportunity to preach at his home church (he did a wonderful job, by the way).

On Saturday, Tad’s parents were sweet enough to watch the kids for us so we could go out on a date together! Of course I took the opportunity to dress up. (P.S. My hair was done in less than 3 minutes… sock bun curls for the win!)

We went to a unique shopping district (one that we love visiting when we get the chance), where we were able to visit a really fun chocolate store (where I got some fancy chocolates for Vera’s tea party) as well as a Goodwill Boutique (where I found a tunic dress in the 15 minutes we had before closing).

After shopping, we went to a lovely local restaurant and had great window seats!

The food was spectacular, but then again, when you don’t have to make it or get up a hundred times during the meal, it does tend to taste better. We both ordered free-range chicken stuffed with smoked gouda and spinach, served with broccolini, cherry tomatoes, and rosemary polenta!

We had creme brulee for dessert!

After dinner we drove through a gorgeous historic district that had me drooling over every house and wishing we could go back and leisurely walk through the neighborhood!

We went and saw a movie at a cool theatre that was in a former iron foundry that made locomotives, so it had a hip industrial vibe.

It was such a blessing to be able to spend so much time with one another! Sometimes we forget how badly we need time away to talk and hang out! A BIG thank-you to Tad’s parents for taking good care of the kiddos so we could spend time together! And, a huge thank-you to Tad for concocting the perfect date night!

A Happy Fourth

July 7, 2014 by Aliesha

We were blessed this past weekend to be able to spend some time with both of our families! My family went to Richmond for a mini vacation and stayed at a hotel with a pool, so we spent two mornings with them at the pool!

We also enjoyed a fantastic 4th of July dinner with both sides of the family! Tad’s parents made ribs, peach cobbler, and many other yummy things.

We took these family pictures on the 4th.