Saturday, January 17, 2015

New Years at Wintergreen...

It was a tough decision not to make our usual trip down to Myrtle Beach for New Years, but since we made an extra trip there last summer we decided to save a few bucks (and gas!) and head on up to Wintergreen instead. Growing up we spent a lot of our Christmases and then almost all of our New Years up there skiing and relaxing as a family. Fond memories for sure and so it felt right to try and have a little "winter" fun with Adam this holiday season. 

We kicked off our week with lunch at Devil's Backbone where I enjoyed one of the best bloody mary's I've had to date. You got to pick pretty much everything that went into it, so I opted for spicy, a blue cheese stuffed olive, pickle, lemon, lime and candied bacon - what? So good. 


After that it was time to enjoy sitting by the fire, working on a puzzle (definitely a tradition of Wintergreen winter's past) and gathering our gear to prep for our ski day. We also enjoyed watching "Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets" as a family with the fire crackling in the background.





Then it was time to hit the slopes! This would be the first time Andy and I had skied in 11 years - yikes! So we crossed our fingers that all of our equipment still fit and worked (heck, mine better I had just bought my boots as a graduation present to myself and wore them all of 4 times - whoops) and of course that we still remembered how to do it. Adam was all set to spend a whole day at ski school. I had to run out and buy him goggles at the last minute as they were blowing snow that day - he loved them and was thankful to have them. 








While Adam was in ski school Andy and I took to the slopes, slow at first then quickly realized it's truly like riding a bike - only the bike is slightly rusty and much older. It was pretty cold with snow being blown everywhere you turned, but our goggles came in handy and it was fun to warm up a bit on the chair lift rides. Definitely brought back memories of riding those chair lifts long ago when we were first dating - aside from the golf course at Tech I'd say those chair lift rides were the place where Andy and I really got to know one another. Way better than going to a movie, you've got concentrated time to talk about just about anything - and maybe a little smooching too. 




Of course it wasn't too long before Andy and I were ready to warm up with some lunch and a brew. Like I said - rustier and older. 


After our day on the slopes it was time to welcome Uncle Mark & Aunt Kathleen to the mix. They joined us for New Years Eve where we got really rowdy playing Head Bandz with Adam (actually, it's a pretty great game) and then we watched as Adam counted down to midnight via an amazing Ice Age clip on Netflix. Then it was New Years kisses from our little buddy and off to bed. After that it was time to up the ante a bit with a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity & Scategories followed by a champagne toast and chocolate covered strawberries at midnight. 














To kick of 2015 we went for a hike at Devils Knob. Liddy was especially happy to stretch her legs. There was still some snow on the ground but the skies were clear and the views spectacular. Fresh air, fresh start. 





Next up - our friends Dave and Alysia joined the party. Wow, how fun was that!? We hadn't seen them since they moved to Charlotte 5 years ago. We used to live a mile apart and saw each other most weekends so reuniting was long overdue but as with all good friends, we picked up right where we left off. They were especially excited to see Adam since he had only just turned one when they left. They were great sports playing Head Bandz and I Spy with him over and over. We vowed not to let it be another 5 years before getting together again. 



Ok 2015 - you are off to a wonderful start - let's see what you got!! 

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Our Holiday Photo Shoot...

Before the holidays we went to a little mini-photo shoot in the middle of a Christmas tree farm, it was pretty awesome. It had been far too long since we'd had really good pics of Adam taken and with the holidays coming up, I felt it was a good time to get a jump start on my Christmas card. Our friends Paul and Ashley hooked us up with the photographer they've been using since they moved to the area, Elle Meredith, and we loved the images she captured. Here are my favorites...











Looking forward to doing another mini-session this spring!