I just got back from a 2 week vacation. I know... hard life, right?
The first part of the week we went to Lake Tahoe with my mom.
The best part of the trip was that this little Charlotte Bear came. We gave her a light sedative (she is prone to attack) before the flight. She did really well! Most of the flight she slept on a pillow between Jimmy and me.
But she woke right up when we got to Tahoe! (See? Attack mode.)
Jimmy found us a really great house... it's the one there in the middle. There were two levels of porches, and we had our own private dock.
We spent a lot of time hanging out on the porch...
And Jimmy always made sure we had music (and beer) on the dock. duh.
One of my favorite things we did was rent a boat and drive around the entire lake.
I've never seen water that color in my life. Mom heard somewhere that it is the color of Elizabeth Taylor's eyes.
There was some amazing real estate at Lake Tahoe.
The drinks weren't bad either. We had SEVERAL Wet Woodys at Gar Woods.
DELIGHTFUL.
By the end of the week we had it all figured out... we had two tubes with coolers in the middle. We tied them up to the dock and looked out over the beautiful lake.
It was a wonderful vacation, and we weren't finished yet! We sent Charlotte home with mom, and Jimmy and I flew to Hawaii to meet his family! (Lucky us).
We spent three days on Maui.
Jimmy insisted on going on a 5 miles hike up a mountain... Those of you who know me understand I am not a hiker... (understatement).
Luckily Jimmy's sisters had gone on a 10 mile run that morning and were more than happy to take it slow with me. See how thrilled they look to be walking straight up the mountain?
We made it pretty far up the mountain. We were actually in a cloud. Apparently the clouds in Maui get worse as the day goes on, so by the time we decided to stop the cloud was all around us. Jimmy's mom and I had a nice leisurely walk down the mountain, but by the time we got to the bottom I was exhausted.
You know who wasn't? Jimmy. He has more energy than anyone I've ever met!
On Tuesday we flew to The Big Island and checked into the Four Seasons (Hualalai) there. It was honestly the nicest hotel I've ever been to in my life. We got real leis and mai tais when we checked into the resort. (We were all very excited- obviously).
I think Jimmy was the most excited.
We then promptly checked into the pool.
Kate really settled right in...
The best swim up bar I've ever seen!
And the sunset was absolutely spectacular. The trip to Hawaii made me feel incredibly lucky. Obviously I am lucky that Jimmy works for the Four Seasons so we have access to amazing places like this... but the fact that I adore my new family, and they make me feel so comfortable and loved, makes me the luckiest girl in the world. I had the best time just being with all of them, and it's really more than I ever dreamed of having. I am so blessed to get to join their incredible family.
Speaking of joining their family... we picked a wedding venue!
Jimmy and I are having a very small family/extremely close friends wedding in Asheville, NC next April.
We are having a welcome party at a farm called Claxton Farm. The mountains surrounding the valley are so pretty. We fell in love with the location as soon as we saw it.
The reception will be at The Grand Bohemian in downtown Asheville. Jimmy and I love the contrast between the really casual farm and the upscale/hip/funky vibe of The Grand Bohemian. We are thrilled that we finally found places. Thank you all so much for your love and support through this process.
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