by Laura Beth

Getting Personal #36: The 44 For Bill Movement

Dr. B. holds a special place in my heart. I only took one class with him during my time at Longwood. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 44 on September 9, 2012.

Every year, on September 9th, the #44forBill movement takes hold. The idea is to spread random acts of kindness throughout our communities, neighborhoods, and even our world.

—

From the 44 For Bill event page on Facebook:

“We are honoring Bill Stuart’s life by performing random acts of kindness to help others. September 9, 2016. Please join us.

Random acts of kindness are great because they can be anything, big or small, anonymous or credited, for someone you know or a stranger … the possibilities are endless.”

For me, I was at a loss this year. I wasn’t sure what to do for 2016.

In the past few years, this is a few of the things I’ve done on September 9th:

Paid it forward in the Starbucks drive-thru
Handed out individual candies with little notes of love and encouragement to strangers during the day
Written notes of encouragement to my co-workers and others in my office
Supported local school supply drives
Donated to a local diaper bank

—

So, in frustration and desperation, I turned to the good old Internet.

I was flooded with ideas – Literal information overload.

I really enjoyed writing notes of love and encouragement in the past, so I focused on that idea.

Here’s what I found:

Wonderful Mail – Write uplifting notes to strangers and mail them to people in the phone book.
Give A Stranger A Gift – Find a public wish list on Amazon.com and send a gift to a stranger.
Love For The Elderly – Founded by an amazing 13-year-old, this nonprofit sends love, gifts, and sunshine to seniors and the elderly.
Operation Gratitude – Writing letters and cards to our troops and soldiers.
22 Ways to Support Our Troops – Brad Aronson created this amazing list to help our troops!

After mulling my research, I decided to give to two organizations.

Throughout the day today:

I planned out 22 “Letters of Love” for Love For The Elderly
I planned out 22 letters for Operation Gratitude
I wrote 12 out of 44 letters in a span of a few hours tonight – My hand gave out!

This was the best $10.00 I ever spent – Markers and colorful paper!

The six of 22 letters for Operation Gratitude.

The six of 22 letters for Love for the Elderly.

I’m so excited about this!

As soon as the rest of the letters are finished, I’ll be sending these to their destinations!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

04.08.16

by Laura Beth

Commentary #19: “The Amazing Thing That Happened On Flight 4463”

Image Credit: http://www.pinterest.com

“The spirit of Southwest Airlines is exuberant, it’s caring, it’s dedicated, it’s diligent, it’s fun, it’s rewarding, it’s a joy.”

~Herb Kelleher, Founder

I love Southwest Airlines. Ever since they came to Norfolk International Airport (ORF), my family has been flying with them.

Then, seeing this story from one of my local TV stations last week made me cry.

The Amazing Thing That Happened on Flight 4463

LouAnn Alexander on the job, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, November 2015. Photo Credit: Rex Ridenoure

In this photo, LouAnn looks so happy, so in her element. Most people that work for Southwest seem that way, at least to me.

I’m so glad that her brother turned this flight into something so positive, so inspiring. This renewed my faith in humanity.

Then, yesterday, whilst browsing the ABC News website, I found this:

Flight Attendant Who Inspired ‘Final Flight’ Dies From Cancer

I’m glad she’s no longer suffering. Cancer is tough on anyone. I’m glad that she was surrounded by her family, and that she knew about the final flight.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

04.03.16

by Laura Beth

Getting Personal #20: Movie Marathons, and Movies In General

Image Credit: http://www.quotesgram.com

I noticed that Young OFW liked my recent post on Elevation Church. Whenever someone new likes one of my posts or follows my blog (Thank you!), I always click on their name / handle / WordPress ID and check out their site.

Whilst visiting his blog, I found this post:

Movie Marathon Ideas

Reading his post made me realize that I have not done any sort of post about movies! So, thank you for the inspiration!

I would have never thought to put some of these movies together. I’m excited to carve out a few weekends to try some of these!

For me, out of the movies he listed, these are the ones I have seen:

Forrest Gump
The Shawshank Redemption
Pulp Fiction
50 First Dates
The Proposal
The Wedding Singer
The Prestige
Inception
A Beautiful Mind
Saving Private Ryan
Schindler’s List
The Departed
Dazed and Confused
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Breakfast Club
Interstellar
2001: A Space Odyssey
Sleepless in Seattle
Pretty Woman
Inglourious Basterds

I loved his take. Seeing his combinations makes me want to watch these 20 movies again, and try some of the ones I haven’t seen. Some of these listed here, I’ve only seen once.

I’ve always enjoyed watching movies. My parents bought a lot of the classic Disney movies on VHS. Mom and I would go to Blockbuster once or twice a month to rent movies. The now-demolished Movies 10 in Chesapeake was where I saw George of the Jungle, Hercules, Mulan, and others. Then, Harbour View Grande 16 opened in Suffolk. My dad and I would see the newest James Bond movies in the theaters, and watch the classic ones on cable on vacation.

Then, I fell in love with a professed movie-buff, who is now my husband. Movies are one of the biggest things that we have in common. We watch the trailers online and go out at least once a month, if not more than that.

We’re known to see the same movie multiple times – Star Wars: The Force Awakens three times within two weeks, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice twice in four days.

Plus, he has Netflix and Amazon Prime, so we fill a lot of our time, in general, with movies and documentaries.

I’m currently working on my own version of Movie Marathons, partially inspired by Young OFW’s post. Check back in the next week or so for my picks for the following:

Action
Adventure
Comedy
Crime & Gangster
Drama
Epics / Historical
Horror
Musicals / Dance
Science Fiction
War
Westerns

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.22.16

by Laura Beth

Book Review #9: “The Fault In Our Stars”

Image Credit: Wikipedia

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Oh my goodness. This book.

I fell in love with John Green and his books since I read Looking for Alaska, as part of my Young Adult Literature course, during my very last semester at Longwood.

It’s interesting how I finally got around to reading this book. Originally, I heard about the book around the same time that the movie based on the book hit theaters. I’m one of those people who prefers to read the books before seeing the movies based on the books.

Believe me, I read the book first, it just took me a while.

The book was first published in January 2012.

The movie was released in June 2014.

I bought a copy of the book, well-loved from a local book shop (Book Owl in Portsmouth, Virginia) before my wedding in November 2015.

I took it with me on our honeymoon, but didn’t touch it.

I finally put my hands on it toward the end of December, and I finally finished it one unseasonably warm and sunny Sunday, while watching Al fly his dji Phantom quadcopter around Portsmouth City Park.

Reaching the end of Green’s books, I’ve always gotten a new perspective. It’s hard to explain how his writing affects me, but every book has left an impression on me. I hope to own all of his books someday.

I wasn’t so sure about The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS), at least at first. The hype over the movie left me a bit empty, slightly depressed. I knew it was a very sad subject. Many of my friends who had the read the book and seen the movie had said it was a definite tear-jerker. It was romantic and tragic.

I wasn’t sure if I would even like this book. And that broke my heart a bit, knowing how much Green’s books have impacted me for the last five years.

But, I forged ahead, and dove in anyway.

I came out of this book with a renewed appreciation for life.

Surprisingly, I didn’t shed a single tear. There were many times where tears welled up, but I also laughed. A lot!

Green’s writing immediately takes hold of you, grabs your shirt, and pulls you next to the characters and keeps you in their world. The entire time. It’s absolutely magical.

Green writes books that make you want to stay up all night long like you did when you were a kid, under your fort of sheets and blankets in bed, reading by flashlight.

My only complaint is the ending was very abrupt, and unexpected. It’s jarring. For me, it felt like I had decelerated from 60 miles per hour down to 0 within a few seconds.

I actually flipped to the next page, in complete disbelief that the book had ended.

But, regardless, it was a beautiful ending.

It may be a book designed for “young adults,” but it certainly renewed my 27-year-old spirit.

I think everyone should read this book.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.10.16

by Laura Beth

Adventure Time: Florida Edition (Round 2 – Honeymoon!)

Image Credit: quotesgram.com

We decided where we wanted to go on our honeymoon in June. We knew that we needed to go see Jody, a travel agent at the AAA center in Suffolk, per my mom’s recommendation.

We thought we wanted a week at Disney World.

What we ended up doing was so much better!

When we met with Jody, we told her we were thinking of Orlando and Disney World for the week before Thanksgiving. She listened, thought about it, and then said,

“Have you heard of our Harry Potter Experience package?”

… Say what now?

When we left to get Mexican food on that June Saturday morning, we had signed up for three days at Universal with park-to-park passes, spending the whole week at Universal’s Cabana Bay Resort, breakfast vouchers at Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron, and a session at Shutterbuttons Studio. Wow!

Believe me, we certainly were excited for our wedding, but we couldn’t wait for our honeymoon!

Day 1 – Sunday, November 15th

Waiting for our flight! So excited!

After our wedding, we stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn near the Norfolk airport. We flew Southwest, thanks to my parents for snagging an awesome deal! It was a direct flight from Norfolk to Orlando, so we landed around 2:00 p.m. Our travel package instructed us to go to the Universal Orlando store. There, we received our shuttle information and our special “We’re Celebrating Our Honeymoon!” buttons. I received a series of texts indicating where our shuttle would be and what time.

Sure enough, this fancy black shuttle came to pick us up right on schedule. The driver took our bags and we settled in. It was about a 20-minute drive from the airport to Cabana Bay, our home for the week.

Cabana Bay Beach Resort is one of Universal’s newest resorts. It looks like a classic resort from the 1950s! Imagine a lot of neon and bright colors. It was massive – Five wings of rooms, two pools, a bowling alley, an arcade, a full-service diner, and more!

We spent most of Sunday exploring the resort, which felt like it went on and on. It was so awesome!

One of the two pools.

The front of the resort, all lit up.

They had these classic cars permanently parked outside the resort.

This was a cool clock in the lobby.

Day 2 – Monday, November 16th

We used our Disney World Hopper passes on Monday and Friday.

We decided to hit up the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom!

All of Disney World had their Christmas decorations up! This was just beyond the entrance to the Magic Kingdom.

The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.

The Animal Kingdom Christmas Tree. Every park had a huge tree, and they were all different!

The Tree of Life.

Beautiful macaws and parrots!

Monkeys!

One of the staff holding a gorgeous great horned owl before the “Birds of Wonder” show.

Expedition Everest! We were in the front row! It was an awesome ride.

Day 3 – Tuesday, November 17th

Day 1 at Universal!

As part of our package, we were able to enter the park an hour early!

The entrance to Universal CityWalk. CityWalk has shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and even mini-golf!

Hogsmeade!

If you haven’t been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it is totally worth it. I felt like I was on the set the entire time. The sheer amount of time and effort that was put into researching these worlds – Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley – was evident. Everything looked perfect. There were several people that were visiting from the U.K., and they were impressed!

The Hogwarts Express!

On Tuesday, we had breakfast at Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Delicious! I tried the pumpkin juice there - Not bad!

We had our first of two breakfasts at Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Delicious! I tried the pumpkin juice there – Not bad!

The entrance to Three Broomsticks.

I rode the Dragon Challenge roller coaster – Front row, and with only one other guy on the train, and he was in the very back!

Hogwarts! This had the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride – So cool!

We rode the Hogwarts Express into Kings Cross station. The Hogwarts Express connects the two parks! After leaving Kings Cross, we set foot in London in Universal Studios. Amazing!

Diagon Alley. It was truly magical!

Candid shot!

Welcome to Springfield, U.S.A.!

After exploring Universal, we went back to the resort and enjoyed the Galaxy Bowl bowling alley!

Day 4 – Wednesday, November 18th

Day 2 at Universal!

Breakfast at The Leaky Cauldron!

Superman! This was in the gift shop after riding Terminator 2 3D: Battle Across Time.

Kings Cross Station!

We experienced Butterbeer! It was amazing! The frozen kind was perfect because it was warm and humid!

The day before, we tried to eat dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp at CityWalk, but the line was insane! We decided to make a reservation for Wednesday night, which was perfect.

We timed the reservation for after the Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories show in Universal Studios. It was a unique experience – It took place on the lagoon, and they used waterfall screens of amazing movie moments, with amazing music, fireworks, and narration by Morgan Freeman!

Back at Bubba Gump Shrimp, they took us early. It was packed, but we enjoyed a delicious meal! Our waitress was fantastic, and the manager stopped by to wish us well during our stay. All the staff quiz the tables with Forrest Gump trivia at some point during the meal, and between Al and I, we got all the questions right!

Day 5 – Thursday, November 19th

Last day at Universal. We took this day to explore Islands of Adventure!

You can enter Jurassic Park through Hogsmeade! It’s so awesome.

Welcome to Jurassic Park!

We rode the Jurassic Park River Adventure as soon as it opened. It was wild – We were the only two on the raft!

After exploring all of Jurassic Park, we made our way to Toon Lagoon! We strategically wore our swimsuits underneath our clothes, because we hit the three big water rides back-to-back-to-back. Unfortunately, that idea backfired – We were still damp a couple hours later!

We loved all the funny comics!

Marvel Superhero Island and The Adventures of Spider-Man!

Dr. Doom!

In the afternoon, we made our way back to Diagon Alley for our Shutterbuttons studio session. It was awesome! We got to star in our own moving portraits, with robes and all! We love the DVD we received!

For dinner, we went to The Cowfish restaurant at CityWalk. It sounds bizarre at first – A sushi burger bar?!

It was amazing!

We both got bento boxes – Sushi and a burger slider in the middle! So good!

One of the best experiences that we had was a gift from our dear friend Key – She bought us tickets to Blue Man Group! The venue was right outside Universal. It was so fun!

Selfie before the show! We couldn’t take pictures or video, but it was an amazing show!

If you haven’t seen Blue Man Group, you are missing out! It’s totally worth your money. It’s an amazing experience!!

Day 6 – Friday, November 20th

Last full day in Orlando. Womp womp!

But, we thoroughly enjoyed Day 2 at Disney World!

After breakfast at the resort’s diner, we took a taxi to Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

First on the list was Star Tours, obviously. It was awesome! We got even more excited for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at this point – Check out my movie review!

We did The Great Movie Ride as well.

First in line for MuppetVision 3D!

Pixar Studios! This place was nuts. We wanted to do Toy Story Midway Mania!, but it was over an hour wait!

Pixar Place! This place was nuts. We wanted to do Toy Story Midway Mania!, but it was over an hour wait! I guess we just have to come back again …

Instead of waiting for a Disney bus to head to Epcot, we took a boat ride! It was such a cool experience. We got to see several of the Disney resorts, and then we were dropped off at Epcot!

The amazing model railroad in Germany!

We ate lunch in China – Delicious!

Obligatory. Spaceship Earth!

We also rode the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom!

We had an absolutely wonderful time!!

Day 7 – Saturday, November 21st

The shuttle picked us up and took us to the Orlando airport.

Like our flight down, we had a direct flight back to Norfolk.

We came back home to sunny weather, but 54 degrees!

My wonderful parents picked us up and took us home.

If you take away any tips, I highly recommend leaving for a week-long trip on Sunday and coming back on Saturday. We needed that Saturday and Sunday to rest up and get ready for the following week!

We had an amazing week together that kicked off our married life.

I can’t wait to go back!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.02.16

by Laura Beth

Getting Personal #18: Best. Day. Ever.

Image Credit: http://www.pinterest.com

I hesitated to use the word “perfect.” I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate.

But, during our thank-you speech at our wedding reception, I couldn’t think of any other word that was better.

November 14th was truly a perfect day.

Disclaimer: All photos in this post, unless otherwise stated, were taken by Amanda MacDiarmid, or her second shooter, Cathy. Amanda owns and operates Stellar Exposures.

All credit goes to them.

We started the day early – My parents and I arrived at the church at 6:45 a.m. Hair and makeup quickly followed, and our ceremony started at 11:00 a.m. sharp.

My dress was hanging in a tree!

One of my all-time favorites.

Amanda is so creative!

Getting dressed!

Our save-the-date postcard and our invitation.

Our program on the brick steps leading to the sanctuary.

Our wedding program on the brick steps leading to the sanctuary.

Amanda and her second shooter, Cathy, were absolutely FABULOUS!

Our ceremony was held at the church that I have been attending since I was four-years-old. Aldersgate United Methodist Church holds a special place in my heart. We were so fortunate that our former associate pastor, Eric Song, came down from Winchester to marry us!

The sanctuary.

Beautiful shot.

He played his guitar during the groomsmen entrance, and I could hear it as I was waiting to enter the sanctuary.

Dea Atkinson, a long-time church friend, played a lively variety of music on the piano. She is amazing!

Pastor Eric Song playing his guitar during the groomsmen entrance.

Walking down the aisle with Mom and Dad.

Al seeing me for the first time 🙂

Married!!

One of my favorites 🙂

The ceremony had a lot of laughter, and a few tears. Eric did an amazing job! It was a whirlwind – It was over in just 25 minutes! But it was amazing. I felt completely surrounded by love and peace.

One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was the love letters that Al and I wrote to each other. Eric asked us to write a letter to each other, but neither of us could see it. We both ended up writing about our first date on September 4, 2010. It was awesome!

About 100 people came to our wedding, which was perfect.

I married into a HUGE family. Being an only child, it’s so awesome! We were so grateful that most of our family members were able to join us for our special day.

Karen (Momma) and Jim (Daddy).

My family. L to R: Uncle Richard, Auntie Marn, Mom, LB, Dad, Cousin Ryan, and Uncle Butch.

My family!
L to R: Uncle Richard (Mom’s brother), Auntie Marn (Dad’s sister), Karen (Mom), LB, Jim (Dad), Cousin Ryan, and Uncle Butch (Dad’s brother-in-law).

Al’s immediate family!
L to R: Bruce (Dad), Debbie (Mom), Al, and Nick (Brother and brother-in-law).

This was spectacular – 91-year-old Grandma Helena came!!
L to R: Al, Grandma, Nick

Pastor Eric and his wife, Heather!

Beautiful, and handsome.

Wholesale Flower Market, Inc., in Chesapeake, did our arrangements. They wrapped my bouquet with one of my grandmother's handkerchiefs and attached one of her gorgeous brooches.

Wholesale Flower Market, Inc., in Chesapeake, did our arrangements – They were absolutely gorgeous. They wrapped my bouquet with one of my grandmother’s handkerchiefs and attached one of her gorgeous brooches. Grandma Grace, who passed away in July 2013, was definitely with us in spirit.

Aunt Pam and Uncle Bill.

L to R: Cousin Kellie, LB, Al, Aunt Rosalind, and Uncle John.

L to R: Nick, LB, Al, Mia (future niece), and Savy (future sister-in-law).

L to R: Uncle Ken, Aunt Karen, LB, Al, Aunt Brenda, and Uncle Joe.

L to R: Uncle Ken, Aunt Karen, LB, Al, Brenda, and Uncle Joe.

Uncle Dan and Aunt Jeanne.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Susan.

Cousins Micah and Ashley.

The whole family!

The proud parents.

The wedding party! Y’all rock!
L to R: Liz, Katie, Stephanie, Melissa, LB, Al, Bruce, Nick, Joe, and Mike.

Stylin’!

The ladies!

No one planned the coordinating black and red shoes!

Mom and Dad 🙂

The men!

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling stained glass piece.

After the ceremony, Charlie from Orange Peel Transportation came to pick up the wedding party and shuttle us to our reception at Cedar Point Country Club in Suffolk, about 15 minutes from the church. It was a brisk day, but sunny and crystal clear!

Our gorgeous cake, made with love by Tracy Grandon.

One of the three amazing art pieces that our future sister-in-law, Savy, made for us! Check out SavyArt for more!

Our first dance. We danced to “Who I Am With You” by Chris Young.

Father-daughter dance. Dad and I danced to "Carolina In My Mind" by James Taylor. This was a surprise for my mom as well - Dad played this song when he proposed to Mom!

Father-daughter dance.
Daddy and I danced to “Carolina In My Mind” by James Taylor. This was a surprise for my mom as well – Dad played this song when he proposed to Mom!

Mother-son dance.
Al and Mom danced to “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts.

Aunt Karen said a beautiful blessing over the food.

Our fabulous DJ, Matt! He’s with Music Makes You Happy Entertainment. He was stellar!

Al and I love movies, so he edited images of famous movie couples for our tables!

Beautiful! I love this photo of us 🙂 Here’s to more adventures!
L to R: Drew, Katie, LB, Al, Heaven, and Justin.

The beautiful maid of honor, Melissa, making her speech.

The beautiful maid of honor, Melissa, making her toast.

The best man, Bruce, a.k.a. Dad, giving his speech.

The dapper best man, Bruce, a.k.a. Dad, giving his toast.

The father of the bride, Jim, giving his speech.

The handsome father of the bride, Jim, giving his thank-you speech and toast.

After eating and toasts, we DANCED!

View More: http://stellarexposures.pass.us/vwedding

Let’s boogie!

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!

Mom and Dad!

Chris and Donald.

Olivia and Christine!

Brad Daniels, our fantastic videographer, with Ebb & Flow Films!!

Tearing up the dance floor.

Standing, L to R: Nick, Crystal, and Savy. Sitting: Mia. Crystal was our bomb.com wedding planner! Check out Cherry Blossom Planning Factory!

Dancing, L to R: Nick, Crystal, and Savy. Sitting: Mia.
Crystal was our bomb.com (glitter bomb, of course!) wedding planner! Check out Cherry Blossom Planning Factory!

Dance, dance, dance!

Around 3:30 p.m., Amanda and Cathy came to Al and I, and asked us for 15 minutes to go outside for some portraits. I needed it then – I was so hot! The brisk air was so refreshing!

Amazing.

It was a little windy, but it felt awesome!!

I forgot that we were on a golf course!

Beautiful. That light!

November 14th was perfect. The pictures that Amanda and Cathy took, they number in the thousands. I’m incredibly grateful for each and every one. Thank you, Amanda and Cathy, for capturing our special day so beautifully!!

A HUGE thank you goes out to our families, first and foremost. Thank you for supporting our love since 2010. Thank you for being amazing every day!

To our friends, thank you for your love and support. It means the world to us. Thank you to those who hosted bridal showers, offered help of all kinds, were a phone call away when I wanted to pull my hair out, and much, much more. We were so happy that so many of you were able to come celebrate with us!

Thank you to our fantastic vendors!!

Ceremony Site: Aldersgate United Methodist Church

Reception Site & Caterer: Cedar Point Country Club

Linens: Waterford Event Rentals

Videographer: Ebb & Flow Films

Photographer: Stellar Exposures

DJ: Music Makes You Happy Entertainment

Flowers: Wholesale Flower Market, INC.

Hair & Bridal Party Make-Up: Mystique Salon & Day Spa

Transportation: Orange Peel

Wedding Ninjas: Cherry Blossom Planning Factory

Happy New Year, friends.

Here’s to 2016!

Dancing and singing to "Don't Stop Believin" - The last song of the night.

Dancing and singing to “Don’t Stop Believin'” – The last song of the event!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

11.07.15

by Laura Beth

Getting Personal #17: The Final Countdown

Image Credit: samirpatro.wordpress.com

Here we are, the last week before we tie the knot!

I can hardly believe it. It’s been a little over 10 months since we got engaged. And this time next week, we’ll be Mr. and Mrs., realizing that we are finally experiencing post-wedding and pre-honeymoon.

A ton of emotions washed over me today. I got my hair trimmed at the salon, my last “single” haircut. I signed a couple of credit card receipts, knowing that this is one of the last Saturdays that I will sign anything as “Stricker.”

I told Al that I was a little nervous, but more excited more than anything. He told me not to be nervous. It won’t be perfect, but at the end of the day, we will be married. I even shed some happy tears earlier tonight.

Everything is falling into place. Our guest book/canvas/work of art was dropped off today (It is absolutely gorgeous!), I have a ton of thank-you notes to write this week because so many amazing packages have been arriving, I finished the first draft of our wedding program this afternoon, and Al is completing the final touches on our movie couples seating arrangements for the reception 🙂

I’m trying to treat this upcoming week as normally as possible, but it will certainly be interesting. Most of my relatives will be flying in at the beginning of the week and spending time with us at the house. I get to enjoy dinner with Katie and Brian on Thursday night while Al is taken out for his bachelor festivities. Mom and I have our own self-imposed deadline of Wednesday for everything on our plates to be done. I need to clean up my room, and pack!

So much to do in these last few days, but my excitement is brimming.

As the title says, I’ll leave you with this. Enjoy your weekend!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

09.23.15

by Laura Beth

Adventure Time: Scottsburg, VA Edition (Round 3)

Image Credit: http://www.tumblr.com

This past weekend, we traveled to Scottsburg to see Al’s parents and the farm. It’s becoming a nice weekend getaway. In the last year, we’ve been there three times.

Here are recaps of the other visits:

Every year in September, Al’s mom side of the family has a reunion in Keysville, Virginia. Now that they have the farm, it’s a much shorter drive!

This round was really special because Nick, Savy, and Mia drove up as well!

Al drove the two of us in the Mustang, and Nick drove Savy’s SUV. Al and I stopped for dinner, calling Mom every hour to check in. We pulled up to the house around 11:00, just minutes after Nick, Savy, and Mia arrived.

It was definitely a full house! Seven people split among two bedrooms and the living room. We made it work though! Air mattresses are awesome.

On Saturday morning, Mom had breakfast ready – Cheesy eggs, maple sausage, donuts. Delicious!

It was really foggy in the morning:

Standing in the front yard.

The garage. Dad has made so much progress since we last saw it in June!

We got to meet Scooter, the horse that Mom and Dad have on the property, early. He gets an apple every morning and grain at night. Mom and Dad have an arrangement with 16-year-0ld Caleb, who lives down the road. Mom and Dad host Scooter on the property, and Caleb does the rest.

He has plenty of grass.

We headed out to Keysville around 11:00. Dad stayed behind – A crew had arrived earlier to do the roof of the garage that he’s been building, and they needed more shingles. He was able to make the reunion though!

There was so much food at the church – Fried chicken, meatballs, vegetables, potatoes, pasta salad, bread … Yum! And the desserts – Holy moly!

We stayed for a couple of hours, enjoying each other’s company. We talked about the wedding a bit, along with people’s recent vacations and travels. I hung out with Nick, Savy, and Mia for a while on the church playground, while Al went for a spin in Uncle Joe’s Dodge Charger.

We missed the Moore clan though!

After we got back from the reunion, we traipsed around the farm. Eight acres is a lot to begin with, and we didn’t cover it all!

Al was nerding out all last week – He bought a new quadcopter, the Phantom 3 by DJI. He couldn’t wait to test it out! The highest he flew it was around 200 feet! Amazing 🙂

Al getting ready to fly it on Saturday afternoon.

The awesome thing about this drone is that the camera is built in, and it’s much steadier. Also, Al was able to download an app to his phone, and the controller has a space for the phone to sit. You can watch what the camera is filming in real time!

For dinner, Mom and Dad got the biggest pizza that I have ever seen. I wish I had taken a picture of it! I kid you not – This was a 24-INCH pizza. Wow! The slices were so big, you had to fold the bottom over to fit it on the plates!

After dinner, Al filmed some more. Dad set up a bonfire in the yard next to the pond. Mom and Mia fished for a while, using a lighted bobber! Nick brought his guitar, so we spent a good while around the fire, attempting to sing classic songs. And, of course, s’mores!

Bonfire!

Mom and Mia fishing.

Selfie 🙂

Nick strumming along.

We capped off Saturday with the Doctor Who premiere!

It was an awesome weekend. It was tiring though! There’s always something new to do. The garage is getting closer and closer to completion!

Staunton River State Park is only three miles away. Al and I left around 10:00 on Sunday morning. When we called Mom to check in later on, the crew had gone to the park to walk the trails and let Mia explore the gigantic playground!

I look forward to the next visit.

Until then, here’s the video, titled Above The Farm, that Al put together! His new quadcopter is AWESOME! Al also brought his Canon camera, and set up a nice time-lapse of the bonfire.

Check it out – Let us know what you think!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

09.07.15

by Laura Beth

Adventure Time: Hampton Roads Edition (Bridal Shower #2 And Being A Big Sister)

Image Credit: sororitysugar.tumblr.com

During the weekend of August 22nd, I was honored as a bride. I was also honored to be a supportive Big sister.

My parents are in our church’s handbell choir. One of the members, Linda, offered to host a bridal shower. Sue, the director, was such a gracious co-hostess! That Saturday was a gorgeous day. I felt so loved!

The amazing table! Linda and Sue are beautiful decorators. And the food! It was delicious!

Our future guest room has a travel / passport theme. Val, who is British, thought it was appropriate to gift the Union Jack pillow!

L to R: Linda, Dea, Suzie, Janie, Michaela Leigh, Cindy, LB, Karen, Lucy, and Val. Sue took the photo.

L to R: Linda, Debbie, Dea, Suzie, Janie, Michaela Leigh, Cindy, LB, Karen, Lucy, and Val. Sue took the photo!

It was such a wonderful shower. We received so many amazing cards, gifts, and especially recipes! I am even more ready for my own house so Al and I can make so much delicious food together.

Thank you to everyone!

Remember earlier, how I said I was honored to be a Big sister? I’m talking about being a big sister to my amazing Little, Lane.

L to R: Al, LB, and Lane.

She’s an amazing woman. There are so many things that I can say about her. I’ve loved her since we met at Longwood, and I’ve loved her even more since we became Big and Little Sister because of Alpha Sigma Tau.

Lane is leaving tomorrow, to embark on a new journey. She’ll be in boot camp for the next several months. She is such a courageous woman. Enlisting in the Navy is a huge commitment, and I am full of pride and joy. You are awesome!

We celebrated at Red Robin, among amazing friends. It was such a wonderful time! I’m so glad you loved the Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 mixtape necklace – I loved your reaction!

Little, I am so proud of you!! I miss you already. I can’t wait to write to you!

As I write this, I feel so full of love and warmth. I’m so happy to be in the company of so many amazing people. Words can’t accurately describe how blessed I feel. I am so grateful.

Thank you to all!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

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