Massanutten/Luray Caverns

Over MLK weekend, Robert, me, and a few friends of ours from ODU (I work with 2 of them) rented a cabin up in the mountains for a weekend of fun and skiing. We drove up on a Saturday, chilled out, and went night skiing! It had been pretty cold up in VA for a while but the few days before we drove up and during Saturday, it was probably about 50 degrees. The warmth made the snow pretty slushy and weird (very different than Colorado snow, for sure!) We had a good time skiing all night and then went back to our nice little condo where we stuffed all 10 of us. Good fun, games, food and friends. :)

When we woke up Sunday, it was still fairly warm out and it was sprinkling in the morning and switched back and forth to rain for most of the day. We made the decision to save $$ and head out for an adventure--we went to Luray Caverns which was just an hour away. I've always heard about the caverns and remember learning about them in elementary school, but it is far more amazing to see them in person. No description or picture could do the intricate scenery of all of the stalactites and stalagmites justice. It's another one of God's amazing wonders: the way the forms were made, how the 'tites and 'mites continue to morph and grow ever so slowly, as well as the crisp, clear, clean air down in the caves and how the formations play a part in that. It was just amazing to breathe in (literally) and witness. In the cavern, someone a long time ago figured out how to make an organ out of the formations--that was really neat to hear and wish they had someone playing the organ live. The caverns were an excellent alternative to skiing for the day!

Later that afternoon, Robert & another friend (Andy) went back to Massanutten for another round of night skiing, despite the wet, warm conditions. For the rest of that night, we enjoyed hanging out, eating some yummy tortilla soup (made by my friend Kim), and watching the US men's figure skating competition and some award show...a very lazy evening, but a perfect long day weekend for a bunch of grad students (and a normal working adult, like Robert). :)

Wish it would've been better skiing conditions, but all-in-all, I'm really glad we took initiative and had an adventure all together to the mountains.

Defenestration of Freemason

As residents of a 4th floor condo and lovers of REAL evergreen Christmas trees, taking down our tree and disposing of it poses a messy problem. We don't want to get pine needles all over the condo's hallways or in the elevator or staircase....so a few years ago, we experimented and determined that throwing our Christmas tree off our patio would be the best first step in disposing of our tree. :)

Robert tosses the tree and I catch it. Haha...not really, I'm just below making sure nobody gets in the way of the tree (and taking pictures). :)

DC trip - 12.26.09

We took a quick trip to DC the day after Christmas to celebrate Christmas with the extended Marshall family. The Gurnees--Pam, Robert, Bryan, Tyler & me--all drove up together and walked around several memorials before the evening shindig. It was a super chilly day, with lots of mist, fog, and puddles! It was a nice time walking around though.

We visited the Vietnam war, WWII, and Korean war memorials along with the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. Also, we took a short trip to the National Museum of Natural History to see the bees that can fly in and out of the museum (through some weird tube in an exhibit) and the giant tarantula--this is something the Gurnee-boys always have to do if they visit that museum... The dinosaur bones were super cool--I love the T-Rex!

After we were done walking around, we went to Aunt Nancy's house, ate lasagna, participated in the annual Marshall-cousin Polyanna gift exchange, then hung out with Robert's first year roommate (James) in downtown DC with some of our cousins! A very quick trip, but a good one, indeed!

Our Little Tree

Here's our little tree from this past Christmas (accompanied by a few presents we got this year)! I can't believe this was our third Christmas together and our third cute little Christmas tree.

Also, here's Robert during our trying-on frenzy the day after Christmas--checking to see what fits and what doesn't and what is liked and what needs to be taken back to the store. :)

Christmas Eve with the Walpoles

After the Christmas Eve service, Robert & I headed over to Mom & Dad's for Christmas Even Beef Stew. (so delicious) As a Walpole tradition, taking a picture next to the tree and "putting an ornament on the tree" is a must.








During the day on Christmas Eve, I had made some pumpkin bread in snowflake bundt pans and began decorating sugar cookies. I didn't end up finishing up some decorating or putting together the baskets of goodies we were giving to several family members the following day. After dinner, both Robert and I rolled up our sleeves and got to completing my projects. Robert was such a huge help and while he probably wouldn't admit it, I think he enjoyed being creative with the cookie decorating; he was quite good at it, too! Robert in his creative peak made me an avant guarde cookie (picture below). :) With all of the cookie decorating and creative juices flowing, I got the idea of using decorated sugar cookies as gift tags-- I think this may become a tradition of mine. :)

Snowflakes & the Joy of the Season

One of my goals for this year was to make Christmas cards again! Last year, they were technically "New Year's cards" and I really wanted to get these sent by Christmas Day. While they were sent and delivered within a week after Christmas, I'm still impressed! :) Better luck next year, right?

Anyways, I saw these snowflakes stamps on a friend's webpage and just had to order them! (My mother and I have somewhat of an obsession with snowflakes.) And nothing would make these snowflakes more exciting than glitter! I really loved how these cards turned out--I feel like Joy is the one word that accentuates this Season more than anything. Without the real reason of Christmas, we certainly wouldn't know what true joy is and where it is derived.

Girls Weekend/Carrie's Road Trip 2009

As soon as exams were over last semester, I packed up and headed north with me and my little camry and a slew of Christmas tunes for a road trip! It was more of a girl's weekend of sorts! Friday, I started up to DC to visit a great old friend from college, Robyn, for lunch before continuing northward to Elizabethtown, PA (near Lancaster). Laura, my senior-year roommate, and her family live there and we were going to a girlfriend of our's wedding the next day! Driving by myself wasn't nearly as awful as I had originally anticipated (since Robert always drives and I always nap) and ended up being a really nice time to unwind and relax after several stressful weeks at school. When Laura & I woke up Saturday morning, there was probably about 5-7 inches of snow on the ground. My roadtrip happened to have falledn on the weekend of the Great Snow Storm of 2009!!! We ended up driving together in her car (equipped with 4WD) and drove through the VERY snowy morning to Medford, NJ where Jen & Dan's wedding was. There was probably 8-12 inches of snow in Medford by the time we got there and continued to pile up before/during the ceremony and certainly during the reception! There were snow plows working the parking lot at the church were the ceremony was the entire time; I can't tell you how much snow was on our car when we left the church! Praise the Lord we made it back to the hotel from the church; we drove about 15 mph the entire way back to the hotel. It was snowing and blowing so badly we could barely see through the windshield, but thankfully not too many people were on the road. Also, we were also so lucky to have a shuttle service from our hotel to the reception! It definitely took us a while to get there, but we all arrived safe and warm...speaking of warm, Laura & I decided it was wise to wear our fuzzy boots (Ugg-type boots) to the reception to keep our toes as toasty as possible. We certainly looked afright, but we weren't the only ones thinking warm--there were plenty of women sacrificing fashion for warmth & practicality. :)

The reception was...if described in one word...AMAZING!!! Absolutely breathtaking in every way; venue, decorations, cocktail hour/hors d'ouvres, meal, and DESSERT! Laura and I were constantly surprised and amazed at everything we discovered on the buffet tables and in every corner of the reception hall--Have I said this thing was AMAZING, yet? While everything was delicious and over-the-top, dessert certainly sticks out in my mind. When we thought it was time to cut the cake, we were so excited to taste the gorgeous cake (and it was probably the best wedding cake I've ever had in my life)! The cake did not "take the cake" in this circumstance...all of the other desserts took the cake! Not only was the wedding cake amazing, there were small cakes, big cakes, cheesecakes, bundt cakes, carrot cakes, ice cream pies, an ice cream bar stocked with bananas foster and warmed cherries on a skillet, and on top of that creme brulee! Laura & I pretty much felt as if we had died and gone to heaven. :) Throughout the day we were able to catch up with another one of our house-mates from senior and her boyfriend. It was such a good time to be able to visit with each other, be excited for our friend and her new husband, and remain constantly amazed at how much it was snowing the entire day!!!

Thanksgiving with the Marshalls

On Thanksgiving day, the entire Marshall clan (Robert's mom's side of the family) got together for a "professional" family photograph. I was volunteered to organize the photo shoot and to photograph the family. Obviously, I couldn't have taken the picture myself as I am in the picture; thankfully, my mom was able to help out that day (amidst baking pies) and took the final shots on the camera for us! The aunts ordered this final photo (edited by cousin Evie) printed on canvas for Christmas for Grandpa & Grandnini and turned out way better than I orignially anticipated. :)