Our One Year Anniversary

Jeff and I decided to go on a little getaway for our one year anniversary. So much has changed this year: from getting married, moving across the country, getting new jobs, traveling, buying a new car, new church callings and making new friends. It has definitely been an adventure but I would not want to do it with anyone else. I am lucky to be married to my best friend!  

We decided to go to Rehoboth Beach which is on the coast of Delaware and is only a 3 hour drive.  We stayed at the Belmoor Inn and Spa which was very nice. Our room looked out over their garden which was very peaceful. Another great thing is that it was right down the street from the boardwalk. 

We had a lot of fun walking around town!

Mmmm we found the best salt water taffy!

Jeff wanted to try to reenact the Karate Kid. This is our attempt. ;) 

We had a great weekend and are lucky to live near so many amazing places! Here's to one year!

Spring Break

During Spring Break, I was able to visit Utah for a few days. Here are some pictures from the week.

The first thing I did when I got home (after Zupas of course) was that I got my haircut. 

We were able to go up to Logan and visit Grandma and Grandpa Whiting. It was so much fun visiting with them. They also treated us to lunch at Kneaders. 

I went to visit my old elementary that I taught at the past 2 years. It was so fun to see all of my kiddos. They sure have grown!

This sweet girl has a special place in my heart. I've missed her!

We also went back to the stomping grounds in Provo and went to a BYU basketball game. It definitely felt different, not sitting in the student section. 


It was a great week full of family and fun. I miss you already!

Weekend Trip to Philadelphia

A few weeks ago, we were able to visit Aunt Julie and my Grandma in Maryland. After driving an hour and a half to her house, we realized that we were only an hour to Philadelphia and decided to make a trip out of it. 

When we got to our hotel, we noticed that we were next door to the Phillies stadium. Next to that was also the stadium where the Eagles play. We had a great view from our room.

After we settled in, we decided to go to Philadelphia's Flower Show. Julie had bought tickets to go but didn't make it there so she gave the tickets to us. It was so fun to walk around and see all of the exhibits. There were exhibits of different national parks made with all natural materials, along with jewelry, figurines and art made from nature. 

Along with the general admission, we also go tickets to their butterfly exhibit. When we went in, they give us q-tips with sugar water on them. We were able to feed the butterflies and had them land on us. 

Once the butterflies landed on us, they refused to leave. When we left, workers had to inspect us to make sure there were no butterflies hiding in our clothes.

While we were in Philadelphia, we also visited the "historical city" and saw many sights including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, buildings where the House and Senate met, Benjamin Franklin's house and grave, the Carpenter's House and the 1st and 2nd Bank of the United States. While walking around, we also went to Washington Square where we saw the tomb of the unknown solider of the American Revolution. It is amazing to see how much history is in one place. We loved walking down the cobblestone roads, reading the plaques and seeing so many historical buildings. 

We were able to get a tour of Independence Hall. 

                             

                               The Tomb of the Unknown Solider of the American Revolution

Of course we could not leave Philadelphia without having a Philly cheese steak. 

Jeff enjoyed his first authentic cheese steak. 

We had a great weekend and it was fun to get away. We love how much history there is on the east coast. We are blessed!

Blizzard 2016

It has been a crazy two weeks. Because of the blizzard, Jeff had half a day on Friday and had Monday and Tuesday off. He then had a 2 hour delay on Wednesday and Thursday and is now back to a regular schedule. I have now had 7 snow days in a row and have not been to school since last Wednesday. It has been nice to have a break but we are ready to get back into a routine.

Before the blizzard, everyone told us to stock up on water and food so I decided to go to the store. Boy it was a crazy experience. There were weather warnings blaring on the speakers, and almost all of the milk, bread and water were out. Shelves were being cleared. I was also going to get a shovel but everyone was sold out. I knew I would have to figure something else out once the snow hit. 

This is what the Trader Joes by our house looked like. 

The blizzard started on Friday afternoon and Virginia was in a state of emergency. I knew there would be snow but I was not expecting it to be this bad. We ended up with 29 inches of snow. I heard that people can't handle snow here and they overreact. I agree that they struggle with snow, but even as a Utahn I was surprised by how much snow there was. They don't have the resources to clear the snow fast and most of the plows by us are just small trucks with a plow in front. Because of this, they encouraged everyone to stay inside and the state was pretty much shut down. 

The beginning of Snowmageddon on Friday evening.

This is what we woke up to on Saturday morning.

You would never know that this was my car. 

We knew we wouldn't be going anywhere for days so enjoyed spending time at home and watched updates of the storm on the news. We saw some great videos.  

Milkshake Man- click to see a great video. We watched it live and could not stop laughing!

The plows came through on Sunday morning and made a small pathway down our hill. However, it was still too difficult for cars to go up and down it. Plus most cars were still buried. 

                                             

After the storm, we knew that we needed to start digging our cars

out. It took us 4 1/2 hours! 3 hours in, we got a call that some people in our ward were coming over to help us. This was such a blessing and we are very grateful! 

                                 

I know all of the pictures are of Jeff but I promise that I did help. ;) 

Even though the snow is melting, I am guessing that we will continue to see large piles of snow for weeks. 

Blizzard 2016 was definitely an experience that we will never forget. We are so appreciative of everyone that helped us or checked on us. Now I can't decide if it is better to have one storm like this or to have it snow for months like in Utah. ;)