Slow Down

I think Mark saw a picture of South Carolina, or heard someone talking about it, and wanted to go there. So we did. We couldn't decide where exactly to go, but when we found out Em and Jess were going to James Island, we looked at being somewhere close to them. We stayed on Folly Island this past week and got our fill of the ocean, the nicest people, and the southern air.


We stayed at the most perfect place. I searched a very long time for the right spot and it proved to be a great choice. The owners are wonderful people, and have a little girl close to Siri's age. We are so thankful we got to meet them. It was also right behind the only 24 hour market, Bert's, and they had the best baked goods. We were a few hundred feet from the beach and also center street.

our bedroom

My loves

Siri loved to grab sand by the handful and eat it. She loved the water too.

I wasn't sure what to expect, although I was still surprised when we arrived. It's a surfer/beach bum town, really small, and not crowded at all. The length of the island is probably only 5 or 6 miles. The beaches are clean with tons of beautiful shells. It's not as salty as the Pacific and is nice and warm.

Can you tell Mark was a little excited to be surfing?

We visited Magnolia Plantation, surfed, did a carriage tour of Rainbow Row and the Battery in downtown Charleston, walked along the pier, ate at the Lost Dog Cafe (Mark's still drooling for the biscuits and gravy), visited the Fort Sumter center, shopped at the Piggly Wiggly, chatted with anyone and everyone that stopped to say hi (mostly to give big smiles to Siri), watched a few movies, and just did nothing.

Magnolia Plantation

Downtown Charleston

Cooper river bridge

I'd go there again and recommend it to anyone

FOUR

Happy Anniversary to us!

Thank you to my bestest friend for being my husband and bringing such joy to my life. OUR life has been the best these last four years. This morning Mark made banana buttermilk pancakes, oj, and sausage...all while I went for a run on the calming beach. The rising sun, waves, and humidity feel so good.

I'm so happy we have forever!

Hooray for Sunshine

Our lawn got aerated so there are little chunks of dirt everywhere.
Sometimes Siri gobbles them up when I'm not looking.

I've been trail running more (usually the Quarry Trail). I'm running the Wasatch Back Relay with some peoples from Backcountry.com. This will be my 4th year doing it!

We went on a little hike up Bell's Canyon. We went even though we knew Siri would be tired. She enjoyed the hike up, but was screaming in the pack by time we went down. I ended up carrying her in my arms while she slept the whole way down. (In the picture above she was all teary eyed and snot nosed)

I've been playing 6v6 outdoor women's soccer with some friends and family.

We have so much fun and it's nice to have so many fans.

I've been to wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties. I have visited old friends from the neighborhood/ward I grew up in. I taught Relief Society on Mother's day. Mark was a gem and made me a delicious breakfast and took care of Siri most the day. I love that he makes everyday special, seriously. Often times I come home from running and he's got Siri in the bjorn (with a spatula in each hand) and is making us pancakes or omlets or he'll come home early to watch Siri so I can go biking.

We found awesome tenants for our townhome. I went with Sandy to see the bursting flowers downtown around the temple. Mark went to California to shoot a wedding and will be going a few other places across the US this summer. I admire him so much for making things happen and being so motivated.

We're going to the east coast to hang out at the beach next week. We're looking forward to visiting a new place and introducing Siri to the sand and ocean. She's been starting to scoot around and will probably be crawling around soon. We'll also be celebrating our four year anniversary! My parents will probably be moving into their house in the next few months. I'm going to do swim lessons with Siri this summer, and we look forward to enjoying more sunshine.

Life is good!