3 years and Charleston, South Carolina

Nick and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary this past weekend on September 18th! The years just fly by and they keep getting better and better!  Our wedding day was such a special day and I can still say it was the best day of my life!!! So glad I get to spend forever with this hottie.....

To celebrate we went to Charleston, South Carolina y'all! It is about 3.5 hours from Charlotte and was so much fun.  We already can't wait to go back and have so many things we want to do that we weren't able to.

Here is what we did....

A carriage ride in downtown Charleston.  This place has so much character and we loved this.  We had a bunch of teenagers on our carriage with us though that threw something at one of the cars and these ghetto people got out and started yelling and swearing at us. That kind of ruined the mood....but also made it kind of exciting too.  Here are some pics of the carriage tour and some of the amazing houses.

We went to Fort Moultrie (for Nick---since he is into history and all of that) and it was pretty cool.  I learned fast that sometimes these history facts for me go in one ear and out the other.  If I did this tour/activity again it would be like the first time for me again.  It was pretty cool and cheaper than Fort Sumter (which was the starting place of the Civil War I guess?) We will go to Fort Sumter next time.

 And this will probably be the last picture I send of myself because it is starting to not be a pretty sight seeing the "fat Albert" side of Erica in her pregnancy. :) I am 33 weeks on Wednesday!!! Woo hoo!!

 Then we went to Boone Hall...BUT there was this huge Scottish festival that ruined our plans and it was total chaos so we left and did something even cooler. But here are some pics of Boone Hall Plantation while we were there...

 

Well...what did we do?? Do you remember that scene in the movie the Notebook where they are on the boat with all of those swans? Yes...that is where Nick and I went. They let you just take out a boat and just row around where you want. It was so quiet and calm and it felt like we were the only people there. And...did we see Alligators?? Yes...yes we did!! It was actually kind of scary! Here are some pics of Cypress Gardens... 

30 weeks and crazy dreams...

Just for those of you that are asking to see belly pics...here ya go!!
This one is of me at 30 weeks...I don't mean to complain but baby is seriously all up in my ribs I hope she doesn't get stuck there! It is kind of starting to hurt now. She moves around like crazy and I love it! I love feeling something like a foot or a hand just going from one end of my belly to the other. I had a dream lastnight that I could see through my skin and could see her inside of me and she was THE CUTEST! In my dream she was just giggling inside and smiling. :) And the other night I had a dream that her head came out through my skin on the top of my belly. She threw her arms up and said, "Surprise!" haha. I don't know what these dreams mean but they just make me laugh.

Here are some pictures of our townhouse in North Carolina as well..






I have been feeling a little homesick but each day I get less and less homesick!! My friend Marci was here for 3 days and I LOVED having her with me!! Her husband Adam was in North Carolina to do some training for his work. We got to have Adam and Marci and Lincoln eat Sunday dinner with us and then Marci and Lincoln stayed until Tuesday! I really needed her and realized that with every scary move/transition that Marci has always been there! She was there when I moved to Boston, etc. She came at the perfect time when I was just feeling really lonely out here.


Before I came out here, people kept telling me they were worried I would get bored out here not working. I didn't agree with them but BOY WAS I WRONG! I didn't realize that this "not working" business would be SO boring!! I kept telling people I was so excited to not work before the baby is born and it was great for...ummm.....2 days!! After that I really started getting so bored and was SO sick of being by myself ALL the time. I started losing my social skills too I swear. There is only so much reading, shopping, projects to do to keep you busy until you start going crazy. But I am so happy that I will be able to be home and NOT working when baby girl is born. Plus I won't be by myself all day when she comes--I will be consumed with her and can't wait to just play with her all day actually! Any advice from stay-at-home mommies??



Nick has been working so hard with law school and I don't get to see him as much which is really hard and will take some getting used to. There was a time when I felt like "what am I even doing here in North Carolina?" I felt like more of a distraction to Nick than anything because he has to make sure I am okay and not feeling homesick, etc. But he did tell me that if I wasn't here that he would go crazy and that I am just the thing he needs when he comes home. So I guess that makes me feel a little better. Just lots of crazy adjustments!

On a more positive note though...I have been able to make some new friends too and the ward here is AMAZING! I can't believe how nice people are and they really reach out to you and make sure you know that you are part of their family! I am really so grateful for that and it makes all the difference!!

This cute boy (Lincoln) was seriously smiling ear-to-ear the entire time he was here! I love him and am sad I couldn't get a picture to show-off his smiles!! We love you Adam, Marci, and Lincoln!! Thank you for coming to visit!