Monday, July 27, 2015

VA trip July 2015

So, the second day of our trip was Sunday.  Aaron got to golf with a couple buddies in the morning and I went to church and caught up with a couple of church friends!  In the evening we relaxed and made yummy home-made pizza with my mom!



 Everything we ate this week was fresh!  Aaron helped made Cucumber Slaw.  So good!


Monday and Tuesday we spent hanging around the house and helped with a few projects!  
Below you can see Aaron built a fence by the deck for some privacy.  My dad was SOO thankful for his help around the house!  We also painted the foundation a light gray and really made it look good!  The gray mulch stuff is grass seed.  A couple days prior to us arriving my parents spent a day digging out and cutting down HUGE boxwoods that were crowding the front yard.  It looks so great now!


Next up was a quick BEACH TRIP!!!  I love going to the beach each summer and enjoying the sun, sand, and waves!  Aaron and I have found a new favorite restaurant along the boardwalk called, Watermans.  Soo good!  We love the fish tacos, hushpuppies, and She Crab soup.  The picture below is a picture from our table inside the restaurant, looking out to the ocean.



We had an oceanfront hotel!


Date night, walking on the boardwalk, and fireworks!!
I am so thankful for Aaron. Love you babe!



Thursday morning my parents met up with us and went biking on the boardwalk!  Here's Neptune!  Hi mom!


These bikes are so fun!


Next we got to spend some time with our cousins!!  


Lots of kids swimming in the pool!


Hi grandpa!  I know...I took a picture during the prayer...but I love him!  And I'm so happy to see him getting up and around better these days!


Aaron getting a little chat in with grandpa :)  Warms my heart!



Here's my cousin Leah, with Levi!!  Levi is my cousin Aaron and Andrea Yutzy's little boy.  He has the cutest curly hair and BIG brown eyes!  Thursday evening was a big cookout with my Risser and Yutzy cousins!  I'm so thankful that I am still close with so many of my cousins.  I miss seeing them more throughout the year!




I love summer and trips to the beach!!



To end our trip, we attended a wedding of one of my high school friends!
Kristin Bell and Nels Akerson got married on July 18th.  It was HOT, but we had a great time! 





My handsome date!  We both wore our Kansas cowboy boots :)


Sarah Gant and Elizabeth (Anderson) Ochoa, it was great to see ALL of my high school group of girl friends.


Here's Levi again, with his grandma!!  Hi Aunt Jewel!  Can you tell we were all HOT and sweaty?  Levi did really well during the whole event!


So I'll give a little background to the picture below.  Kristin and Aaron are cousins on the Yutzy side, and Aaron and I are cousins on the Risser side.  So Kristin and I share a cousin!  We have many pictures of the three of us, and now have completed the wedding pictures!  We are all married, and Aaron has a kid!  I wonder how the next 5 years will turn out?!  Love them!


Even though it was a short time being with these girls, I had a great time seeing everyone!  A lot has changed over the past 9 years!  2016 is our 10 year reunion!  Ahhhh!
(Left to right:  Kristen Richards, Elizabeth Ochoa, Marsha Stanley, Kristin Akerson, Andrea Yoder, me, Sarah Gant)


I had to add this picture so you can see our boots!!  HELLO SUN!!


Anyways, I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of our trip out East!  
Love you all!
-Maria





Red Wings Roots Music Festival July 2015

July is been filled with traveling, family, fresh veggies, catching up with friends, and lots of night softball games!  We love it!

On July 10, Aaron and I hit the road East for a week trip!  We did the drive to VA in 19 hours (I only drove about 3).  You do the math....Aaron his a talented driver!  We only stopped to fill the truck up and food!  Phew!

July 11 was the Red Wings Roots Music Festival at the Natural Chimneys state park in Virginia.  We had a great time listening to folk/bluegrass music!  There were 3 venues that were filled with musicians throughout the day.  The picture below is the main stage.  People just set up chairs and blankets and hung out all day!  The festival runs for 3 days and you can camp/tent, but we just went for Saturday.


These are the impressive Natural Chimneys!  You can do a short 10 minute hike and get to the top!  Very pretty.



We had a great time with my parents and brother Phil at the festival!  I had some wood-fired pizza and mom is eating a black bean burrito!  So many amazing choices!


Aaron had a "Greg Brady" burger from Jack Browns - one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Harrisonburg.  Loaded with BBQ chips and mac-n-cheese.


Food trucks is a big thing in Harrisonburg and it was awesome to see so many out here!


Below is one of the smaller music venues.  


 In the evening, The Steel Wheels performed!!  They are an Americana/Bluegrass band from The Valley that are amazing!!!  If I'm not mistaken, all of them are EMU grads.


I got to see my good friend, Denay!  You can see the lite-up Chimneys in the background.


My momma!




The Chimneys at night were beautiful!!!  
Day 1 of our trip was so fun!  I think Aaron and I crashed after driving cross country and a long, hot day of music outside!
-Maria

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

1st East Coast summer trip

Summer seems to just be flying by!  Today is July 1st and I can't believe that in 1 month I will be back in the classroom.

So our first trip to VA this summer consisted of an Orioles baseball game and lots more fun.  They were playing the Indians, which is the team my dad follows.  So after my parents picked us up from the airport we drove into Baltimore and watched the game!  The weather was absolutely perfect.





On Saturday we attended my college friends wedding!  Missi Moyer married Brian Ratliff.  The wedding was beautiful and was located at Cross Keys Barn.  

Do you see the storm clouds looming in the background?  It poured buckets the day before the wedding and the morning-of...and thankfully the rain held off all evening for the wedding!



Kelly Fry is another friend from college - it was so good to catch up with all of these friends!


My handsome date!


The DJ was great and we danced the night away!


Aaron got to play a little church league softball!


I also attended a concert by The Walking Roots!  This group is made up of EMU graduates.


And last, but not least, I got together with my best friends!!  Lauren has been in Nicaragua for the last 9 months with her husband doing mission work, and Sarah lives and works in Harrisonburg.  I love when we can all get together!
Love, Maria