This year was a record in the number of people that went (13 including 1 baby) and the quality of house we stayed in. It was a beautiful cabin just 10 minutes (or less) to White Grass. Plus it had a hot tub and a big fireplace of which we took advantage.
They barely had any snow until the day before we arrived. It snowed plenty for us to enjoy a good day skiing.
A few people brought snow shoes which was fun.
I love the comfortable, friendly vibe at White Grass. They serve some delicious lunch choices as well.
The weekend was full of board games, laughing, playing with Ellis, and eating great food.
There were even 2 games of Settlers going on at one point...
I learned how to play "Killer Bunnies" which is a pretty funny, random game.
This is a little outdated, but I am still impressed. Blacksburg making it big in Businessweek!
"Virginia Town is Best Place in the U.S. to Raise Kids...With good schools, an affordable lifestyle, and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the backyard, Blacksburg, Va., is No. 1"
Hey friends--how about everyone who reads this moves to Blacksburg and enjoys living in one of the best Virginia small towns!
Last weekend, we went to Savannah again for a work conference that I needed to attend. Let me just say, we fell in love with the city all over again.
The riverfront shops and restaurants...
The last two times we go, Bryce and I find ourselves trying to adopt a Savannah accent. We just try to let "the molasses spill out of our mouth"...
Even though I was in the conference for almost 2 whole days, I managed to get out and spend about half a day walking around and taking photos.
The city was laid out in 1769 around four open squares. By 1851, the city had expanded to have 24 open squares. The city plan is a big grid which makes it easy to get around, and actually, the American Society of Civil Engineers has honored the city plan for Savannah as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark ("Squares of Savannah", Wikipedia). Each square is like a little park in the middle of the city, so it's beautiful to walk around, sit on a bench and have coffee, and people watch.
We also enjoyed bites at some great restaurants, which were highlights of the trip for me since I love food. At Alligator Soul, a top Zagat choice, we tried their fancy shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, and I had blackened scallops. They even brought us crawfish fritters to start out and mulled wine to finish (both on the house). We kept joking that Dad told them he was a Zagat reviewer.
I love fried green tomatoes...
The next night we went to Jazz'd Tapas bar since we enjoyed it so much last year. It's so fun to eat small portions of a bunch of different things rather than a lot of one thing. I love snack-y food! We finished the night laughing at the dueling piano bar.
We walked by Paula Deen's restaurant...
The night before we left, we went to the Olde Pink House for cocktails and dinner. We had such a great time with Katelyn, a coworker, and her fiance, Craig, and Kim, of course.
Afterwards, we walked to The Bohemian Hotel for drinks on the rooftop bar overlooking the river. The hotel is just fun to walk around and look at the decor like light fixtures. It's so different.
Weather was phenomenal while we were there. It almost felt like a spring day.
Top 10 Things I love about Savannah:
1. Spanish moss on the trees 2. Variety of restaurants 3. The river and walking down the riverfront 4. The history 5. The beach is a few minutes away 6. Antique shops 7. The artsy vibe (especially with SCAD students all over) 8. The southern friendliness and hospitality 9. Everything is within walking distance (pretty much) 10. The architecture
I think it would be a perfect romantic weekend getaway (some of our other favorites are Asheville, NC, Charlottesville, VA, Charleston, SC, and Wilmington/Wrightsville, NC).
Since I wasn't able to go to China with Bryce, I haven't really posted anything about his 8 day trip back in November for a conference. He enjoyed it, but I think he would have had more fun if he hadn't been by himself. Here are a few of the most memorable pictures from his trip.
There were a ton of beautiful historic areas, palaces, and parks.
The Beijing Olympics arena (and a little smog? or may be just overcast)
I think he said this guy was from Tokyo.
The Summer Palace
He stopped in a few tea shops and said they were really cool. The tea was pretty expensive, too.
Not knowing the language or what to eat, he stuck with what he knew like fruit and American food. I don't blame him since we both have a history of getting parasites in foreign countries.
He went to a market to see what interesting things he could find.
Perhaps someday I'll get to visit, but would love to see a little more than just the city. He didn't have enough time to explore much outside the city. Plus there was so much to see just in Beijing alone.
I was able to lead some of the sweetest girls in a Bible Study in college. The past year or so has been really fun to meet back up with many of them and celebrate with some as they get married and move on to the next stages in their lives.
These pictures were the earliest I could find. We used to meet in O-Shag hall on the VT campus. These were taken between 2006-2007. We've come a long way, ladies.
Here's a picture at my wedding in September 2008 of most of the girls.
You need to understand, I LOVE these girls. No matter how often we keep in touch, we are sisters and I feel like we have history together. We have seen each other through ups and downs, prayed for one another, laughed with one another, and watched God do amazing things in one another.
Then beautiful Mary got married.
Then beautiful Catherine "Kippy" got married.
And on New Years, our Kami got married. Yay! We are sooo happy for them. It was an awesome wedding, catching up with tons of friends from college, eating good food, and dancing until almost 2am.
One of the most fun things was part of Annie's maid of honor toast. With the help from Haley for choreography, she organized a mini flash mob dance at the end of the toast. Kami LOVED it and it was a great way to get everybody out on the dance floor after! (If you look closely, you can see me in the back)
Matt is in the Navy and tradition is, the Navy guys all sing "You've lost that lovin feeling" to the bride. It was really cute.
Bryce and Harris love. Happy New Year and Congrats to Kami and Matt!
(most photos were my own, but some were found on facebook)
