Well folks, another 3 months have passed me by, and I never updated you on how things went on our trip! I swear I do not know where the time goes.
We survived our New England Summer Grand Adventure, but only by the skin of our teeth, and with a handful of strands of sanity left.
Remember, how I said I was REALLY looking forward to it? Well, it was just about as much fun as I hoped; what I didn’t realize was how intense the week (12 days but who’s getting specific here?) was going to be. In the “week” we were home, we drove almost 2,200 miles! Our route went as follows: DC -> Keene, NH -> Lynn, MA-> Keene, NH -> Littleton, NH -> Lynn, MA -> Keene, NH -> North Smithfield, RI -> Barrington, RI -> Keene, NH -> York Beach, ME -> Lynn, MA -> Keene, NH -> DC. It was one of those trips that you need a vacation from even though it was technically your “vacation” (I’m starting to really hate trips like these). But even though it was SO much time in the car, we really did have a fabulous time seeing everyone, celebrating with them, and finalizing the last of our big wedding details. At times the trip was stressful, but overall it reaffirmed to both of us our need to eventually relocate back to New England.
Some of the highlights from that week were:
- My mom and sister throwing us an engagement party, where all 3 families came together for the first time
- Our engagement photos being taken by the wonderfully talented Mrs. Stephanie Krist of Stephanie Rita Photography. We both went to high school together, and happened to be in Keene on the same day, so we figured why not!
- Going to a caterer tasting! And selecting them and pre-planning our menu!
- Attending my first ever professional sporting event: Red Sox vs Braves at Fenway
- Getting to ask all of my New England bridesmaids to be in our wedding in person
- Being the one to visit Miss Tasha in Littleton for a change
- Seeing our wedding venue in person!
- Celebrating Emmie’s 1st birthday!
- And spending 1 night completely to ourselves in my favorite place on earth (York Beach, ME).
It was an action packed week, but we made some absolutely wonderful memories.
But wait! There’s more!
Just a week and half after our 12 day trip, I was headed to Pittsburgh for the wonderful Miss Christine Lavery’s bridal shower, where I just so happened to find my wedding dress!! It was the first one, even though I tried on 4 more. It was a discontinued dress, which meant they only had 1 other in the store, and an unknown amount left in the country. It was originally listed at $1150, marked down to $899 and an extra $200 off that day. So! I got it for $699—right on the budget I was looking for!
The bridal shower for Miss Lavery was amazing, and lots of fun. It was great seeing so many of her loved ones all in one room together! I also happened to time it perfectly and get this shot of them. 🙂
After returning from my long weekend in PA, I went on an overnight trip to St. Louis to venue hunt a location for a new conference my company is putting on this January. It was a whirlwind trip, but I learned quite a bit more about contracts & negotiations, and got to see the Arch!
And if you thought I was done traveling after that trip, you’d be wrong!
Just a week after returning from St. Louis, the Mr. & me were off to Seattle & Vancouver for his family reunion!
We started off in Seattle, since it was cheaper to fly there then British Columbia. We explored for a couple days, then drove up to Vancouver for the reunion. We were there for about 4 days, where we got to explore some of the area, and enjoyed countless meals with all the extended family. After that, we made a trip down to Portland, OR to visit my cousin (the trip of reunions!). We finished off our trip with spending a few more hours in Seattle before taking the red-eye home.
It was an action-packed week (and another trip I felt like I needed vacation from -_-), but here are the highlights:
- Seeing the famous Pike’s Market in person
- Standing under the towering Space Needle
- Seeing/standing in the Pacific Ocean
- Road-tripping on the West Coast, and crossing the Canadian border
- Dim Sum in Vancouver
- Hiking at the suspension bridge in Lynn Valley, twice
- The formal reunion dinner where everyone got dressed up
- More road-tripping
- Seeing my cousin on the West Coast
Aaaaaaand even though you’d think we were done traveling for the summer after that trip, I had one more trip to make: Christine’s Bachelorette Weekend in Ocean City, MD! Kyle was supposed to head to PA for Jon’s Bachelor Weekend but he got forced into working. To make up for it though, I had extra fun at the beach celebrating the bride-to-be! 😉
Phew! Just writing all this makes me tired!
We’ve had a few weeks off from traveling, and we have 2 more before we hit the road again. This time? Christine & Jon’s wedding!!
Since I haven’t shared them with you yet, here are some shots from our engagement shoot to end the post!
Til next time!
Xoxo,
KB&E
P.S. – For the curious: we’ve finalized all the big details minus the florist (we might be DIYing it); we’ve ordered & received our invitations (though they still need to be assembled & mailed); and we’re narrowing down all our decor. 114 days to go!
And Enzo Makes Three 