A wonderful weekend away!

We successfully crammed as much as we could into one weekend-a fun 48 hours & 500+ miles!
Friday looked something like this- Pick Chris up from work right at 5pm, drive to Charlottesville, drop the dogs (speed race down 29 with Adam) & spend the evening at one of my fav places to meet friends...Mellow Mushroom.  Danae, Spence, Chris Spencer & Adam met up with us on the corner for pizza & beer.  We celebrated the start of summer & Danae's birthday in style.  I think Chris said it best as we drove through campus..."it did not feel like Charlottesville, until we were at Mellow Mushroom"

Bright and early Saturday morning, mom & I headed back down to the corner to run the Abundant Life 5k.

  What a great way to start the day, work off the pizza/beer from the night before & race for a great cause.  Although I think a turtle could have passed us on the first mile, we sped up & finished in just over 31 minutes.  Not bad for 5 1/2 hours of sleep, Charlottesville hills & steamy humidity!  

Back home for a typical Sylvester breakfast of homemade, whole wheat Belgium waffles.  I needed to run another 5k afterward, but they always hit the spot.

Back on the road to DC to meet up with Jane-Lauren & David for the NATS game.  A good nap in the car & I was ready to take on the DC metro.  We were typical tourist & totally enamored by the city.  We met up with JL & D and off we went to the stadium. 

We did a little switch-a-roo to trade in Sunday's tickets in order to get 4 seats together on Saturday.  Great idea until we found someone in our seats!!!

To our surprise, we found Blacksburg friends in our seats.  What a small world!  It was a treat to share our seats with Wendy, David, Daisy & Wendy's parents.  Daisy is always a joy to be around & could be the happiest baby I have ever met.  Talk about a chill little lady.

 Even though the Nats did not win, we still had a great time & I loved my first MLB experience.  Plus, I was able to try out my new zoom lens:)

After the game we met up with some of Chris's friends from college (Mary Washington) for an amazing dinner in Arlington.  Thanks to my parents for keeping the dogs for the night so we could stay in the city.  We crashed at JL & D's for the evening. (Note: Not sure what happened to the camera lens, but it looked cool, plus, it was the one of the few pics that turned out!)

Sunday morning we headed back to Charlottesville for a quick Father's Day lunch & got back on the road again to head back HOME to Blacksburg.  Although I was not able to make it to Zazus for my favorite Smoked Turkey Wrap, I was able to treat a friend to a special delivery from...

I am sad that we were not able to fit in a couple things..Zazus, seeing Jen's new house/ helping with the move, or seeing Caleb & Donna, but that just means we will have to make another trip.

We are back home, unpacked (kind of) and settling back into a week of routine.  I must say that as much as I enjoyed the city & all it had to offer, I am glad to be back to small town life, a slower pace & blacksburg traffic.  What a great start to the summer.  I love weekend getaways!

Until next time...

A weekend to be excited about!!

Let me start by saying that I am not a person who dwells on waiting for the weekend.  I take each day as it comes, go through the motions of the week & enjoy the days where I get to take it a little slower.  This weekend is a little different & I cannot wait for Friday! 

Friday is typically my day off & this week I hope to spend it re-organizing my office.  You might ask..."Who gets excited about cleaning & de-cluttering?"...ME!  I love it, it gives me no greater joy than to recycle, donate, organize, & re-discover items that have been in storage.  My mother put me on a mission to locate an apron that I made when I was 8.  Did I find it...YES!  Was I so excited that I called her jumping up & down...YES!!  Did I also find other items that I had long forgotten about...YES! 

Here is a pic of the apron now.  I am still looking for the pic from back when I made it & it fit better.  I am afraid that since it is pre-digital, I may be out of luck.

On Friday Chris & I are driving to Charlottesville to see my parents for the night.  Even though I talk to my mom everyday (I work for my parents), I have not seen them since April or been "home" since January.  I did not realize it had been that long until I put it in writing!  I have also been told that is is "my parents house" not "home".  Home is where I live & share a life with my husband.  I can no longer refer to Charlottesville as "home".  Sad but true!
While in Charlottesville I hope to: get a turkey wrap from Zazus, see Jennifer's new house (just down the street from my old house:), run a few miles with my mom, let the dogs run wild in my parents wonderful back yard & soak up the comforts of  "home".

From Charlottesville we are headed to DC to see the Washington Nationals pay on Saturday & Sunday.  No, Stephen Strasburg will not be pitching:(  Considering I did not even know who he was until we made plans to go to the game, I am not that upset.  I am more excited since this is my first professional baseball game & we get to see some great friends at the game!  We were blessed with FREE tickets, so I am splurging on a foam finger & Nationals shirt so I can be the crazy fan!  Chris is already shaking his head at me:)

Free tickets courtesy of Nan & Tommy.  I plan on taking lots of pics to show our appreciation & include in a Thank you!

After the game & time in DC we are headed back to Charlottesville to spend some more time with my parents & celebrate Father's Day with my wonderful Father!  I hope to see some of my siblings...Adam, Caleb & Donna!!

Needless to say, we like to cram as much as humanly possible into 2 1/2 short days.  I love weekends away & will deal with the time in the car if it means we get to visit friends & family!!

Dad & Hannah- Summer Hike- Sylvester Staycation- 2009

We are looking forward to a fun filled weekend!  

Until next time...

Teaser!!

Funny, I did not think that anyone read my blog, so when some of you have asked for an update & pics I was really surprised!!

I have been meaning to post pics to facebook & update the blog, but I am still recovering.  11 days away makes an empty fridge/ pantry, a pile of laundry and a box full of mail.  Needless to say...I need another vacation:)

The highlights in the Bahamas:
Pink eye
Incorrectly booked air fair = $300 CASH to sketchy airline in Nassau to get to Freeport
Drinks to recover
Movies in the airport
Lots of beach time
Grouper for EVERY meal
Perfect weather
Celebration & dancing with friends

The highlights in the Outer Banks: 
Windy but clear
Backyard BBQ for 50
Wedding on the sound
Dancing in a sprinkler
Breathtaking sunset
Loving wedding because they remind me how lucky I am to be married to my best friend (aww:)

Back to pick up to the dogs (we missed them) & on the road home!!

Ok, not really highlights, but a condensed version of the trip.  We made it home in time to enjoy Memorial Day.  Chris & I decided to stay in shape together so we started running together.  Our day was well spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, grilling, running & making sure we were well rested to start the week! 

It was wonderful to say the least & I hope we can go again.  In the mean time, I have set up a cabanna on the back deck, so that will have to do:)

Our Sylvester Family vacation is in August and that will be another treat.

Pics to follow soon!  Until next time...