Toront-OH! Part 2: Make My Joy Complete

 The main reason we road-tripped to Toronto was for my friend Lindsay's wedding! Saturday morning I made certain to rise and shine, so I could get to the breakfast area -not for the best treats- but to see any familiar faces that might be at the hotel. Though we live in New York, I realized that some of my heart is still in North Carolina. Regardless of distance, I always knew the friends I'd make in seminary would be the friends who last a lifetime.

Ready for the wedding! 

Kim, Amanda, and Me

 I'm crazy about this sharp-dressed man. We keep it classy and still wear our Fitbits to weddings

including our own rehearsal dinner. It's how we roll.

Besties. That's all I need to say. I'm thankful for this friend. 

Six years ago we took a picture to mimic Beyonce's single ladies. We knew it was a curse because we remained single for years people! This wedding proved the ending of the curse. Peace out Beyonce.

I'd already had a good cry, but still managed a pic with Kari and Amanda after.

We were glad to steal a moment or two with the bride.

These are my people. These two pictures capture the words of John in 2 John 12 when he wrote he would visit the people of the church, so he could see them face to face and joy would be made complete. These pictures capture many things, and I'll do my best to list them all:

1) The faithfulness of God in the provision of husbands.

2) Friendships that last. Friendships that love. The blessing of friendship.

3) Shaved heads, bets, late night conversations, road trips, many miles running together, many more meals shared together, jokes for days and smiles 

4) A love for the Lord and bringing Him glory

(Meredith on the end was not a part of our group in school, but we met her at the wedding and welcomed her!)

Kari said it best when she mentioned "These are my people."

Yes, these are my people too. I am thankful for each one. Thankful for a reunion that makes my joy complete and brings refreshment to the soul.

Toront-OH!

Last weekend Jeremy and I took a whirlwind of a trip to Toronto for Lindsay's wedding! We picked up Amanda and Kyle in Newark and headed due North. This was about the closest time I figured we would get to Niagara Falls, so we planned a stop!

During the Raleigh days, I worked at Over the Falls deli. All of the sandwiches were named after bridges and the falls around Niagara. I finally found the Horseshoe! At the deli it was chicken salad on a croissant. At Niagara, it's one of the falls!

(They gave us ponchos because the mist is fierce!)

How beautiful is this! I couldn't stand it!

Amanda said I should sell my photo to the Falls for a postcard opportunity.

Me and my boo. The two hour stalemate at the border aka rush hour proved worth it!

Just me and my peeps on a boat at Niagara Falls. 

We made the trip to downtown Toronto while we waited for the wedding. These flowers were absolutely gorgeous and were EVERYWHERE!

The CN Tower and all its glitter! We refrained from waiting in line for an hour JUST for a ticket!

Stay tuned for wedding festivities and a grand friends reunion!

Sweet Carolina

The second half of our trip was spent in South Carolina with my side of the family. Jeremy was only able to spend a few days in SC due to a conference scheduled for work. However, he did manage to win over M just a bit more with his fantastic lego creations. Please note the smile behind the paci.

The theme of my entire stay revolved around my favorite M&Ms, and they were not candy-coated chocolates. This little gal got a play kitchen from me and Jeremy. She went to town playing with it once she got in the swing of things.

We took a quick trip to the beach, and I was showing off my One Tree Hill shirt. My friend, Amy, gave this shirt to me. It took me 5 minutes too long to figure the meaning out, but once I got it - Proud fan alert!

These small town sunsets get me every.single.time. A lot of family time was spent cheering on the Coastal Carolina Chants in the College World Series. 

I sneakily, or not so sneakily, planned Jeremy's flight out of RDU so I could see some favorites.

This fiery red-head is one of the best. I am thankful for her and miss sitting on her back porch eating chicken salad.  #maybeoneday

These girls. Small group fun friends reunite. Oh how I love them and miss their babes. 

The trip also included time with many other friends. I had quite the organized rotation going and was able to see everyone (almost)! Brownies and ice-cream, laughs and friendly faces, trips to Michaels, good Greek food and convos - this is what the Triangle is all about.

Sweet Carolina - South and North. 

Conquering the Kingdom: Days 2 and 3

Day 2 of Disney began bright and early - a full day of the Magic Kingdom. Seeing as how we'd figured this thing out pretty quickly, we hopped on the train and headed to Thunder Mountain before others could get in line. A love for a Disney roller coaster was in full force. What has he done to me?

Tomorrowland Race Cars.

#wehadtheworstonthetrack

Liberty Square Boat Ride. My dad insisted I take Jeremy on this boat. I think dad was reliving Disney through us haha. This picture is for him.

Disney at night. We missed out on the parade because it was starting to rain, and we were just plain tired. So, instead we made a pit stop at the sweet shop on Main Street and headed to the resort where I managed to squeeze in some Dancing with the Stars while eating a red velvet cake pop.

#perfectioninaconfection

#magicaleveninthedark

Day 3 led us to Disney Hollywood Studios, or what I've always known as MGM. 

#MGMmoneyshot

I made sure we had tickets for the Indiana Jones show. I managed to capture Jeremy's look of complete fascination. He loves Indiana Jones and was in the zone here.

A picture for his favorite!

We had a little time in between Fastpasses, so a picture with Mickey was in order. No kids. No discrimination. Mickey welcomes all. Jeremy wasn't completely for it but obliged his wife.

#wheninDisney

#Mickeyorgohome

After Star Wars we were a tad bored and wanted to head back to Magic Kingdom before our flight out. We were people on a mission. One more ride. One more snack.

All was going just fine until ... the bottom fell out. We were sprinting to the bus line. I climbed on Jeremy's back for a minute. And we still walked away soaked. 

#wetrats #stillgottorideThunderMtn.

Due to some flight situations or ten, we managed to finally make it home at 3:00 AM. It took me daayyyyysss to recover. Lots of coffee!  We loved our time in Disney - right down to the Mickey Mouse ice-cream and a Coke a day. I now no longer have to dream about missing out on the rides :)

Conquering the World - Day 1

After numerous dreams about going to Disney World and missing out on the rides, the Staches decided to head to Florida for our first family vacation! We have quite a bit of traveling ahead of us for the summer, so this was our chance to kick off the summer with a bang! Disney it was!

I can't begin to describe the well-oiled machine that is Disney World these days. We were impressed by the Magical Express that picks you up from the airport and takes you to your resort as well as the Magic Bands and timely shuttles. We locked in our Fastpass options before arrival but quickly changed those around to maximize the time.

On our sprint to hop on the Disney Train, I snagged this postcard worthy shot.

 #nothingsaysDisneyliketheMagicKingdom #Merica

I'm not a fan of roller coasters. Well, I wasn't. But now I'm a safe fanatic of Disney coasters. You can read about conquering my fears of Splash Mountain by clicking on the "Her View From Home" tab found at the top; I wrote a sweet little article about my thought process while climbing the mountain. Our first stop was Thunder Mountain. It's safe to say we rode this 3 more times during the course of our stay. I'd planned nice adult rides for Jeremy, while I was content on a Tea Cup. It quickly became me who was begging to go on a roller coaster.

#seriouslywhyamInotaDisneyphotographer

Haunted Mansion and the moving bookshelf.

#concentrationequalstongueout

It wouldn't be Disney without a parade in the middle of the day.

 #tokenMagicKingdomshot #HelloWalt

Since we had reservations for a dessert party at EPCOT, we spent the second half of the day there. I was slightly disappointed. Read: BORED. I knew that would be the case. We walked a solid 17K steps that day and were tired. Dessert was in sight!

#tokenEpcotpicture

Side Note: This will be the 4th time I've gone to Disney. Every time over the course of the last 2o years that I've visited, the ball has been closed. The odds are not good for this ride. 

Found a way to keep cool in a 3D movie! 

This ride. Mission: Space. Hello, I didn't know what I was doing. I was a little on edge and asked Jeremy 50 million questions. You would've thought we were solely in charge of an actual rocket. When I came to terms with reality, I actually enjoyed the ride. Who would've thought?!

#Disneycreepinonme #Houstonwedidn'thaveaproblem

The Dessert Party at EPCOT was the best money we spent on this entire trip! I highly recommend it! We knew I didn't need a Goofy stuffed animal like my heart's desire from 1997, so we splurged and made this experience our souvenir. Desserts from all the countries? Yes! Do we like dessert? Yes! Were we excited? Duh! We talked about this the entire day. Part of the package was having a prime location for the Fireworks and Laser show - Illuminations.

#noshame #17Kstepsfordessert

Please note the Mickey sprinkles. All ends well with Mickey sprinkles when in Disney World!!

To say we were tired is an understatement. I'm certain we are still recovering from Day 1. Stay tuned for Days 2 and 3!

In West Philadelphia

Born and raised..
On the playground is where I spent most of my days
Chillin out, Maxin', relaxin' all cool
And all shootin some Bball outside of the school..

This weekend I took a quick little jaunt up to Philadelphia to see the fiance and his family. Jaunt is a good word! Here's how it went down:

 My one request: See that Liberty Bell and buy a magnet.

I feel like I conquered Philly in 30 sec or less.

#ohheytherelibertybell

I was totally in my element. #historynerd #alldayerrday

Selfie goodness. #itwashot #hotterthannellycansingabout

I need icecream and was pleasantly ecstatic and disappointed that CFA has chicken waffles.

#isntthatasouthernthing #donttheyknowideatthem

Dinner with the Birthday boy!

#thatsright32 #Redlobstercheesebiscuits #helovedit

Sunday breakfast with Jeremy's family.

#wewearlotsocolor 

I maaaayyyy have hummed and sang that little theme song more times than I'd like to count, but it was a great weekend! Now to punch out Monday in the face!