Summer: Part 1

The first two weeks of our summer have been jam packed, which seems like an understatement! We finished school on a Friday, and, promptly, Sunday morning were on a plane headed for Philadelphia. It wasn't in the travel itinerary to make a pit stop in Philadelphia but, sadly, earlier in the week, the camp director at Sankanac, the camp Shane grew up attending as a kid, and working at in high school and college, suddenly passed away. Shane and I felt that if it were possible it was important to try and make it to the Sunday night memorial service. It was an incredible time of celebration, filled with laughter and tears. It is always amazing reflecting back on the life of a saint-especially of a man whose humble service to the Lord impacted so many for Christ. Shane was so blessed to be with his camp family-and I loved being able to finally meet so many people I had heard stories about and seen in pictures for the past few years. It didn't take me long to see why these people meant so much to Shane.

Shane and I hanging with Buddy as we waited for the Rowes to return from their weekend at the beach. 

It being my first time in Philadelphia, I also enjoyed being able to see where Shane grew up, and to top it off we made a quick surprise visit to see Grammie and Grampie! They were definitely shocked to get a phone call saying we were down the street headed their way, and it was great to catch up with them before we headed back on a plane set for San Fran.  The Rowe family was so gracious to us to let us crash at their place while we were in town and Shane and I had so much fun hanging out with Kim & Greg and their three boys!

        Part 2 of Part 1: San Francisco 

Shane and I then jumped on a non-stop flight to San Francisco to meet up with his parents for a few day family vaca before our trip down to San Jose for Dan Newman's Wedding. Here are some pictures that highlight our trip. 

 I couldn't help but get this cute little trolley mug for my cheesy collection : ) 

 At an indoor marketplace on The Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge our first afternoon in the city.

 Mom and Dad

 We stayed right in downtown about a block from Union Square.

 Each corner of the square was marked with a uniquely decorated heart sculpture.

 Our Hotel: The Warwick-Lots of character 

 Lots of walking : ) 

 Bus Tour 

 Bay Bridge: Day 2 

 The Bus Tour was cold and windy!

 Hoods up

 They say that on any given day you can't predict the daily Fog in San Francisco-and unfortunately it was thick when we visited the Golden Gate Bridge

 and still cold : ) 

 Me and Shane Train

 We hopped off the Bus for a little lunch break on Lombard Street at Amici's-A pizza place I had read about in one of my magazines that offers gluten free pizza! 

 We were pumped. . . 

 and so were they : ) 

 Shane was able to satisfy is sweet tooth. . . 

 and so were we with some raspberry white chocolate gluten free cheesecake! So good. 

 Cute little bakery. We couldn't resist trying their macaroons. 

 Skyline Favorite

 Chocolate? Where? 

 Alcatraz

Pier 39

 Famous Sourdough

 Sourdough Alligator 

 Fisherman's Wharf

 Ghirardelli Square 

 Iconic Trolley Car

 Finally some Sun on the breezy ride

Musical Mural 

Part 3 of Part 1: Newman Wedding, San Jose, California 

We were so excited to able to make it out for Dan Newman's wedding. Dan is such a good friend of Shane's-and sadly we haven't seen him since he stood up in our wedding! Here are some pictures that highlight our weekend of wedding festivities. 

 The day of the rehearsal we showed up early to help with some set up.

 It was great to reunite with good Wheaton friends

 Later that afternoon the rehearsal began : ) 

 Waiting for the Bride

 Here she comes

 Rehearsal Dinner was a house on the same property. The view was incredible. 

 Infinity Pool 

 So good to see Tom and Sean

 Loved meeting new friends! (Abby and Julian) 

 Reunited at last : ) 

 The Groomsmen's Girls 

 Glen Newman giving a speech at the rehearsal dinner

 My Man 

 Abby and Julian

 The Guys 

 The Groom and his Best Man 

 Couldn't resist a picture with this view

 Family Photo Op 

 Pre Ceremony Huddle 

 The property looked great the next day for the reception

 Wedding with a View 

 Tables 

 It was great to extend our family vacation with the wedding weekend.

 Cocktail/Game Hour with Bags a.k.a. "Corn hole" 

 Pride Rock in the distance

 The beautiful couple-Dan and Tracy Newman

 It's really not a party without some Wheaton Football Players on the dance floor .

It was a great celebration. Such a good time with family and friends! 

Part 4 of Part 1 : San Diego with Lauren and Lindsey 

Okay, so I didn't actually get a lot of pictures from our girl's week-but it was such a blessing to be able to spend a few days in San Diego with Lauren, her family, and Lindsey by extending my time in California a little bit longer. 

 I had seen Ily in November, but she has already grown so much!! The fact that she's walking around blows me away! 

 She is such a well behaved little sweet heart (she growls a lot, but it just makes her that more endearing) 

 At the Beach! 

. . . . . . . . . 

It was quite the whirlwind of Planes Trains and Automobiles (literally...)

So much fun and the summer has just begun! 

It has been great to be home with Shane and kickstart our summer here in Georgia together!

I have already started trying some new recipes and projects and will post soon with updates! 

Can't wait for what the rest of the summer has in store:

- Visiting Brad in Florida

-Celebrating our 2 year!

-Visiting my Family in Chi-town

-Moving in mid July! 

That's all for now!

-M.W.