Vacation!

My husband and I just returned from a family vacation in Lewes, Delaware.  We were anxiously awaiting a week off and some time to get away and relax.  I was over-the-top excited to see my almost one year old nephew whom I haven't seen since Christmas!  We had a really great week!

The weather was perfect!  We had been having almost 100 degree, hot, humid days in Columbia before we left so we were loving the mild temperatures of the Mid-Atlantic where summer has just started to make it's presence.  The days were warm and the nights were cool...my favorite.  I love that temperature when you are perfectly comfortable wearing shorts and long sleeves or jeans and a tank.  Sometimes in Columbia, it feels like we go from winter to summer and only get a brief taste of spring.  I spent hours laying out by the pool or the beach and almost every day Steven and I took a bike ride up to a new bike path that runs parallel to the ocean.

We also ate plenty of delicious food and my summertime Delaware favorites - Grotto's pizza, blue crabs, and Dolle's caramel corn.  All those bike rides helped to not make us feel too guilty about indulging, but we're still planning to do some food detox.  No extreme juice cleanses for the the Belles yet...just maybe not having ice cream every night and pizza three times a week!

My beach read this year was Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist.  I  loved reading about her heart for food and hospitality.  It makes me excited to continue to incorporate these things into my life.  I just finished the book last night so I'll share another post soon on more of my thoughts.  Needless to say, I'm glad she wrote that book!

Probably my favorite part of the trip was showing my husband one of the places where I grew up and also seeing my nephew experience some of those things for the first time.  Have you ever been somewhere and thought, "I would love to be here with someone I love!"?  Once I got into my college and post-college years, I often thought that every time I went to the beach.  I loved being able to make new memories with Steven in a place where I already have so many!

We had a wonderful week, but are also so glad to be home.  So glad to be back into our routine a little more refreshed and of course, so glad to be back in our bed! :)