watermelon park

caleb and i decided to get out of town for a couple days. he had full rights to plan... everything. 

and, you can guess what we did. spent a little extra time in nature. 

watermelon park. [here we come]

now i was a little spectacle at first. 

1.  i own a pillow that states "i love not camping" (thank you allison!)

2. i like to plan. (teacher problems)

3. cooking is already difficult for me with an oven- hmmm open fire?!

well much to my dismay, we had a wonderful time. 

caleb did an excellent job planning.

 included a visit to harper's ferry 

&& tubing on the shenandoah river

also, with a small outdoor air mattress, camping is not so bad. no 5 star hotel, yet there is something completely tranquil listening to the outdoor noises. 

finally, cooking over an open fire- way more fun than an oven. (hot dogs have never tasted so good!)

i think i can handle this camping thing. 

                                  

Your glory is so beautiful.

My life is yours 

My hope is in you only 

My heart you hold

‘Cause You made this sinner holy 

Holy, holy 

Your glory is so beautiful 

I fall onto my knees in awe

And the heartbeat of my life 

Is to worship in your light 

‘Cause Your glory is so beautiful 

Your glory is so beautiful 

- All Sons and Daughters

national cathedral. 

if you are in dc. go visit.

as my summer exploration friend, kate, stated, 

"it is wonderful to see beautiful places that exemplify

 God's glory"

this is one of those buildings. 

during the past week, 

i am reminded to 

"be still and know that I am God" -Psalm 46:10

i will praise you in this storm.

three hundred sixty five days

                             

three hundred sixty five days. 

it is incredibly hard to believe those many moments have passed since caleb and i said "i do"

while reminiscing over that july 15th sunday last year, i can remember the smells, the tastes, the nerves && the excitement

i'm blessed to have caleb in my life && call him my friend, better- husband.

...

on monday night we celebrated our wedding day. i asked an elderly man to take our picture in front of our favorite restaurant in northern virginia.  i of course, had to tell him that we were celebrating our one year anniversary. suddenly, the man was even more shocked. he told us we were too young and looked for our rings. proudly, i held up my ring finger and assured him it was no joke! i love sharing our story- it is a story God has given us. 

the reason i actually started this blog was to record our adventures as a newly married couple in an unfamiliar city. some memories required cars, reservations && an agenda. however, others included an oven, fire alarms & a sense of humor. 

i asked caleb, what his favorite memory was. he picked some memories that i had not even thought of. && i picked some he had forgotten about. needless to say, there were lots of laughs and new perspectives.

this year has held some incredible blessings (and some hardships.) the joy of doing life together. that's truly what it is all about.

i can't wait to see what the next three hundred sixty five days bring. 
grow old with me, the best is yet to come. 

one year later...

 

^^^ berry crumble pie. (our wedding cake)

^^^ time to celebrate :)

^^^ baked and wired. 4 o'clock. 

celebrating the exact "i do" moment @ caleb's work

#distracting/work/hours

the fastest little trip.

caleb && i scrambled to fit our week long vacation exploring the california coast into twenty four hours. 

the moment we got our rental car, we were off.

go go go- at times, this was our mantra.

laguna beach was our first stop (obviously, i had to go here, living a high school reality dream)

stephen, lo, lauren, kristin [cast of laguna beach] - you lived in quite a beautiful place for your high school years. lucky.

next, we drove the coast to vienna beach. a must see to believe. muscle beach, street venders, interesting shops, bikes. caleb && i couldn't even talk on our stroll through this beach (we were too much in awe at the shock factor of what at times we were seeing)

&& you can't be in southern cali without checking out hollywood. so alas, we drove through hollywood, beverly hills, rodeo drive. we even got a pic at the mary tyler moore star (that one's for you, gram.) interestingly enough, the home of the stars seemed to be a little built up, in my opinion.

our quest ended with a bike ride through santa monica and the quest to find the best taco

(confession: nothing compared to cabo san lucas fish tacos)

all in all, we had a fast paced, fun twenty four hours. i now have a feel for where our beloved celebrities stroll the streets. it's no wonder they picked california as their place to call home. #nohumidity

^^^ santa monica pier

 ^^^ i could get used to this view

 ^^^ laguna beach bird rock

^^ vienna beach

^^^ one of the many vendors at vienna

^^^ hollywood star- the simpsons for caleb

^^^ mary tyler moore for gram

^^^ my first experience with beverly hills- troop beverly hills

 ^^ near long beach. where we slept for a quick 6 hours.

^^^ takes me back to the oc, favorite high school show.

^^^ until next time, california.
 hopefully next time, it will be longer.

around the table.

“What’s becoming clearer and clearer to me is that the most sacred moments, the ones in which I feel God’s presence most profoundly, when I feel the goodness of the world most arrestingly, take place at the table. The particular alchemy of celebration and food, of connecting people and serving what I’ve made with my own hands, comes together as more than the sun of their parts ... if you can satiate a person’s hunger, you can get a glimpse of their heart. There’s an intimacy in it, in the meeting of needs and the filling of one’s stomach, that is, necessarily, tied to the heart.” -Shauna Neiquist


above, is our table at our julian house. isn't it lovely?! ^^^
there is something profound about a beautiful table && meal. 

i am currently in search of a large farm table. i figure, if you have the chairs, people will come. 
until then, caleb && i will continue to gather around our coffee table with those we love.  

>>here, are some more pictures of our humble abode in cali.

^^ the barn house in julian, california

^^ the garden.

^^^ secret doorway

the place of apple pie && wine

“Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien 

after about 14 hours of traveling, by bus, train && plane, we arrived at our destination. Julian, California. known for apple pie and wineries. perfect, right. cute little town, about two hours away from San Diego. caleb && i were meeting his family here, and stayed at the most beautiful home in the world (more photos to come of the home). 

it seemed funny to be leaving DC for the 4th of July; however, Julian was quite adorable for the celebratory holiday. locals set up chairs for the patriotic parade the night before and camped out for what we were told was "one of the best parades in the USA." I must say the flyovers were very cool! 

with twelve adults && one baby, life was never boring. i think caleb's immediate family outnumbers my entire extended family. quite amazing. brothers and sisters and parents came from all over the country- texas, chicago, alaska, michigan, northern virginia && we joined in this quaint little town of california to laugh, swim && celebrate family. (thanks molly && seth for doing such a great job of finding the perfect house and planning the whole trip)

until next time, california.

             

^^ all ready for the parade!

^^^ one of the best cinnamon rolls i have ever tasted :)

^^ my favorite to watch

^^^ dancing on the fourth of july

^^ "where do i start?"

 ^^ the boys

^^ the girls

^^ patriarchs of the nyboer clan