Never in a million years would Kyle and I have thought this past year would bring the things it has! We are living in Georgia, both with new jobs, in an adorable townhouse that we both love calling "home", and Kyle is starting school in January for his MBA! The one thing that has given us strength through all of the changes has been each other. We both agree that this year has been the best of the 6 years we've spent together, and we look forward to all the years to come!
For our anniversary weekend, we decided to travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee! Not only is it a great place to go (only 1 1/2 hours to get there!), but Appalachian State was playing in the National Championship Game there against Delaware Friday night. (A HUGE thank you to Rachel for standing in line and buying us tickets to be able to go!). Friday we both took half days at work, and after coming home to pack arrived in Chattanooga around 3:30. We checked into our Bed & Breakfast (another HUGE thank you to Cory for giving us the gift certificate for a B&B as a wedding present last year!) called the Bluff View Inn in the Art District. Here is their website if you are ever interested, we would definitely recommend it! They actually own 3 homes all positioned together along the river with cafes, restaurants, and art galleries. We stayed in Maclellan House, which was so charming- an English Tudor style house.
The inside lobby:
The first night we stayed in the Frierson Room which was on the second floor of the house, and inside had a bay window overlooking the river.
After checking in, we started walking downtown to meet up with Chris & Kathleen and see all who were tail gaiting. I ran into a lot of girls from the dance team who I hadn't seen in forever, and Kyle the same with some of the hockey guys. The game was absolutely freezing but still amazing, and just a ton of fun. We won with a huge victory, 49 to 21! 3 minutes till the game ended all of the App fans surrounded the field, ready to rush on. Here is my video of them running onto the field... so much fun and a great way to start off the weekend!
Kyle & I on the field:
ASU wins 3 years in a row:
Turn up your volume for this one... the fans screamed "APP"-"STATE" across the stadium!
Saturday morning we woke up and ate our complimentary breakfast at the Back Inn Cafe. It was voted the most romantic cafe in all of Chattanooga!
We then walked through some of the galleries, then on the pedestrian bridge (right behind us in this picture below) across the river and visited some shops over there. There was also the "chocolate kitchen" which was connected to one of the coffee shops in our B&B, making carmel apples, tons of chocolate and danishes.
We met up with Chris, Kathleen and their friend Kate to eat lunch together and then we played Bocce on the Terrace connected to our B&B.
The Bocce ball court:
Kyle and I explored some more, then went to a wonderful Steak dinner at Nikko's downtown. We shared an appetizer of Calamari then both ordered the Filet Mignon (it actually came with two filets, asparagus and mashed potatoes all covered with this yummy sauce!) and for desert a slice of the peanut butter pie. It was absolutely delicious, and such a treat! Saturday night we stayed in the Gentry room. The view out of this room was gorgeous, looking straight out onto the river, and it was nice to see a different decor in the room (kyle loved the pink in both rooms, ha!). Both bedrooms were so quiet and we slept very well on those comfortable beds!
Kyle modeling the view:
Sunday morning we woke up, had a delicious breakfast at the Back Inn Cafe again and headed home to Marietta to get a couple hours of relaxation in before the week begins! Tyson stayed with Tim, Kyle's boss, and his whole family. Tim has four children (ages 3-5-7-9), all who love dogs and they actually had a sleepover in the basement last night so they could sleep next to Tyson! We appreciate them taking care of Tyson, so Kyle and I could have such a wonderful weekend away! Also, Happy 7 Year Anniversary to my sister, Tara, and her husband Jamie! They so graciously allowed Kyle and I to share their anniversary, December 16th, 6 years later! Can't wait to see you guys in a little over a week!
We spent Saturday through Tuesday morning with the Guenther clan. We all drew names for Christmas, which was a first and worked out really well. Kyle got HOOKED UP from Kerry, with a Big Black shirt of "meatie", 2 magazine subscriptions and an awesome Element sweatshirt.
Mr. Guenther gave me the Willow Tree Nativity and backdrop, which I could not be any more thrilled about!
Hanging out & eating all day....
We also took pictures for Cuzzie in our Rockin' G Support Team shirts, as he went through treatment during Christmas break. Merry Christmas Cuzzie!
We then went over to the Baker house and spent the rest of Christmas day with the Dews, Bakers, and Stouts. Kyle and I hadn't seen the twins in 2 1/2 months... and man have they grown! They are sitting up by themselves, saying "da-da", rolling all around, and so much more! They are so cute!!
Grandpa & Nathan in matching hats:
Twins First Christmas....
We also drew names for Christmas with everyone on the Baker side. Tara & Jamie gave Kyle a "back to back to back" sweatshirt for App State winning the Championship. Dad gave me a big "G" to put up in our house (I've been looking for one for almost a year now!) and my favorite kind of purse "SAK"! We had a great Christmas spent with both of our large families! Kyle and Nick both gave each other hair cuts... Kyle giving Nick a mo-hawk before shaving it fully. Mom and Dad weren't the happiest since Nick really wanted to keep it that way, ha!
For now we are just hanging out and enjoying time with family and friends in North Carolina. Kyle and I will be with family and friends in Raleigh until Dec. 31st morning, make a pit stop for the night in Charlotte, then drive back to ATL Jan. 1st!
