Babymoom to Beaufort, NC

This past weekend, Ragan surprised me with a "babymoon" to Beaufort, NC. For those of you not familiar with a babymoon...it is the last opportunity to get out of town for some pre-baby R&R. He planned everything, from where we would eat, where we would visit, and even took care of Tucker's babysitter for the weekend.
A couple of weeks ago, he told me to block off the weekend of March 19th-21st. He keep the location a surprise until the morning of the 19th, when he handed me the "Williams Babymoon Travel Itinerary." It was a booklet with our daily itinerary, accommodation details, restaurant information and menus, and activity ideas. He really put a lot of thought into the preparation for the weekend. We left Friday morning so excited for a weekend full of relaxation, great food, and just "us" time.

It was a approximately 3 hours and 57 stoplights later that we arrived in Beaufort, after a fabulous breakfast at Cracker Barrell. Ragan knows my favorite stop for breakfast is Cracker Barrel, where I always order the Sunrise Sampler...two scrambled eggs, hashbrown casserole, bacon, sausage, and country ham, two biscuits with apple butter, grits, and my favorite, fried apples. And yes I eat it ALL!!!

Once we arrived in Beaufort, we checked into our Bed and Breakfast, the Pecan Tree Inn.
We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon exploring the shops of downtown Beaufort, walking the boardwalk, and watching the boats come in from a day at sea.
Friday night we ate an early dinner on the waterfront at Front Street Grille at Stillwater as we watched the sunset. I had the best shrimp and grits and Ragan had his favorite grilled tuna tacos. After dinner, we walked along the boardwalk back to the B&B to watch the NCAA tournament.
On Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the B&B, featuring fresh baked breads and pastries, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, and coffee. After breakfast we drove to Harker's Island to catch a ferry to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and beach. On the boat ride over to the lighthouse, we had a couple of dolphins swim up alongside the boat.
Once on the island, we enjoyed a couple of hours relaxing and soaking up the rays. We explored the lighthouse and Keepers' Quarters Museum. We really did not go to the island prepared with sunscreen, and paid for it that night.
After arriving back to the B&B, and realizing how much sun we had soaked up while at the island, we got dressed up and headed out for dinner at Spouters. Ragan had the Grouper special and I had the shrimp pasta. We finished off the meal with Peanut Butter Pie and coffee.
We ate brunch at the famous Beaufort Grocery Company, which was located across the street from the B&B. It was a great way to finish our time in Beaufort before we head to Pine Knoll Shores to visit the NC Aquarium.

NC Aquarium Pictures

The HUGE shark!Seahorse

Ragan as the hermit crab
Outside at the Marshland
Belly Pictures...27 weeks


A special thanks to Aunt Sarah for keeping Tucker while we enjoyed a great weekend. You are the Best!!!!

Laundry room re-do

I am sure most of you know...I do NOT like to do laundry. With baby Sawyer on the way, I have been told that laundry will become a daily chore; considering that it is currently a bi-weekly chore...I needed a reason to want to do laundry. So we totally gutted the laundry room.

Laundry room after demoOne Sunday afternoon, a $3.00 gallon "oops" paint, and new shelves later...

My new laundry room (or should we say closet)

Spring has sprung

We had a surprise bloom recently... daffodils at the mail box! I guess surprise flowers are one of the perks of a new home. With the sun shining, warmer days, and flowers blooming that can only mean one thing....SPRING IS HERE!!!

Belly Picture Update

25 weeks, 4 days...and counting!

Randomness...

MY FAVORITE PLACE...THE GROCERY STORE
To me there is nothing better than a good sale or coupons. I will drive all over town for a deal, and one of my favorite days of the week is Wednesday when the new grocery store ads are revealed. I sometimes will spend an hour matching the ads with my corresponding coupons to maximize my savings.
My last trip to the grocery store, was what I have coined the "brand name" stop...where everything I need to buy is brand name. I also happened to save the most I have saved at the grocery store EVER!
(drum roll....)
I spent $56.25 and save $91.00!!!

KITCHEN UPDATE
As most of you know, we have been trying to renovate as much of our house before the arrival of Sawyer. Here are a some before and afters.

In the middle of demo

Before the old kitchen countertops were removed. These were the original laminate countertops...the house was built in the late 1980's! It was the type of laminate that if you set a cup of red kool-aid down, it would leave a red ring; only to be removed with 409.

Ragan removed our old countertops

Ta Da! Our new granite countertops!

Once we had the new countertops installed, we had to place the backsplash.


BABY SAWYER UPDATE
As of today, we are 25 weeks into this journey! Crazy to think only 15 more to go. This week his little hands have fully grown, complete with fingernails and fingerprints. I will post a belly picture tomorrow night!