cheers to the birthday bub hub!

dear bub hub,

you are my super hero, my adventure partner and my best friend. 

you are a loyal friend, a great dad to raider and fantastic husband.

i'm so grateful for you and for the way you love and lead our family. 

here's to one more year of adventure and laughter!

see ya later houston!

if you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you should know by now there is never a dull moment in the chastain household.  bub-hub, raider and i are leaving the beautiful city of Houston and making our new home in Grapevine. 

we are excited to be close to our family and sweet friends,

but we are sad to say "see ya later" to the fantastic life and memories we've made here.

here's to new adventures! 

training update: week 3!

this week, our training schedule was pretty similar to last week,

we just moved a few things around for the holiday.

the miles are getting easier!

i just can't wait for this heat and humidity to settle down so we can do more of our runs outside.

last weekend, bub-hub and i took a trip to luke's locker and invested in some new gear!

i ended up with a pair of ghosts by brooks.

so comfy.

i can definitely feel the difference already. 

one week closer! but we still have a long way to go.

beep beep!

i am excited to introduce my new toy!

last weekend, bub-hub and i traded in my SUV for a fiat! :)

it's tiny and cute and it makes me feel like i'm racing around in mario kart.

i absolutely loved my suv, but this car was just too fun to pass up.

new cars are so fun. i am one lucky girl!

and in case anyone was worried, raider loves his new ride. :)

am i the only one who picks out cars based solely on their appearance?

wilderness weekend

hello monday, here so soon??

this was such a great weekend. 

so much fun, adventure, and relaxing.

and just like that, it's monday again.

friday afternoon, bub-hub and i played hooky and snuck away from responsibility to go see monsters u! we might have been the only ones in the theater over the age of 8 without kids. #noshame

too cute to handle. 

saturday morning, we headed out to woodlands lake for some kayaking.

bub-hub and i are adventurous and we love sunshine! but we not outdoors-men by any means.

this little 1 1/2 hour trip down the waterway was the perfect amount of exploration for us.

about 15 minutes in i was already looking forward to lunch and a margarita. 

#mexicanfoodmotivation

how was your weekend?

any fun adventures to share?

training update: week 1

bub-hub and i have signed up to run first half marathon together.

#seemedlikeagoodideaatthetime

the race is in october, but considering neither of us are regular runners, we decided to start training now.

our first full week of training looked like this:

i'm not sure if we picked the best time of year to start this endeavor.

with temperatures climbing higher and higher every day,

and humidity averaging 60%,

we might die before we hit the end of week two.

#powerofpositivethinking

but we're pretty competitive people.

i definitely won't be the first one to quit.

forever honeymooners

bub-hub and i were fortunate enough to celebrate our anniversary in beautiful(ish) cancun!

i only say "ish" because our visit occured in the middle of tropical storm.
we didn't even bother to check the forecast before we left.

mexico always has perfect beach weather right??

so needless to say, we were surprised to be greeted with dark stormy rain clouds instead of clear blue skies.

despite the rain, we were so spoiled all week.

when we arrived at our room, we were welcomed with a fun anniversary banner on our door!

each evening, we came back from dinner to find our room was decorated with towel animals and rose petals and they even gave us a special "romantic" dinner. #awwwshucks

we spent our rainy days drinking lots of coca-cola light,

eating yummy yummy food,

playing mexican animal bingo,

trying new drinks at the martini bar,

getting fantastic massages,

and learning how to play chess.

#youknowyourejealous

 our last full day in mexico, we were blessed with blue skies and sunshine.

more sunshine than our sunscreen could block,

but we soaked up every minute we could!

i can't wait to go back again.

i loved getting to spend the week being lazy with my bub-hub.

 

beach day

saturday morning, we packed up our beach towels, sunscreen, and snacks and headed to the beach even though we live a short hour from the coast, we rarely think to make the trip. 

we spent a couple of hours walking through the shops on the strand, playing life-size chess, and eating yummy pizza before heading to the beach. 

we even bought some boogie boards and attempted to body surf.

probably the most embarassing thing i've done in my life. #triedandfailed #toofuntostop

even though bub-hub and i have both lived in the great state of texas our whole lives, there is so much of this beautiful place we haven't seen or experienced.

i hope we are able to fill our weekends with more adventures in the near future! :)

a sweet and sunny day

so far, being twenty-four is pretty fantastic.

my sweet mom came in town to celebrate with me!

we had a yummy brunch at tiny boxwoods,

including a perfect vanilla latte the size of my face,

and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and cool weather on the patio.

after brunch, we headed to rice village for a little bit of shopping,

and then to crave for a yummy bithday cupcake!

red velvet is a family birthday tradition.

yummmmmmm.

sweet raider used his most intense and most cutest stare down face.

please mom, just one little crumb?

this might have been the one and only time i didn't give in to those big brown eyes.

nothing gets between me and a red velvet crave cupcake.

a lovely weekend for a wedding! :)

4 flights,

2 3-hour car rides, 

1252 miles.

the last 36 hours, yes, only 36 hours, have been nutso! 

we started out bright dark and early on saturday morning and headed to the airport to begin our trek to eureka springs, arkansas.  as i was moaning and groaning and threatening my alarm clock, i had a reality check. some people wake up at 6 am on a regular basis...bless your hearts.

two flights and 1 1/2 hazelnut lattes later (thanks for your sacrifice bub-hub!), we met the rest of my family in tulsa for the last leg of our road trip.  nothing gets the abs rolling more than a car full of family members. :)

after a long day of traveling, we finally arrived at the cabin we were going to be staying at for the night. we unloaded, recharged our batteries freshened up, and headed to town to grab some dinner before the festivities began.

side note:

in case you're ever in a life or death trivia match and need to know where the world's largest wind chime is located, it's in eureka springs. you're welcome! :)

after a yummy dinner, we headed over to the world's most beautiful wedding venue:

the thornhill chapel. 

before we headed into the chapel for the ceremony, we had a mini-reunion in the parking lot! :) after lots of hug (but never really enough) from grandparents, we were ready for a wedding!

the chapel itself was beyond beautiful and didn't need any additional decorations. however, at the front of the church, the bride placed a lovely backdrop made of strands of lace. it was the perfect touch. 

after the ceremony, we headed over to the reception at castle rogue manor.  the only way to describe this place is the word fairy tale.  

when we first arrived, we were greeted with a hot chocolate bar, apple cider and yummy coffee! 

there was also a lovely pie bar set up. everything was homemade and so yummy. 

and yes, the groom's cake is an armadillo. 

the groom is from amarillo, a town in west texas, so the little guy fit in perfectly. and luckily, it wasn't red velvet. :)

each place setting was set with a piece of antique sheet music, china, and silver wear. each guest was also given a lovely tea cup to visit the hot chocolate bar! there were also beautiful paper cranes spread out around the room. so lovely.

i know i say this a lot, but i really love my family. 

they are so fun,

they love to dance and laugh and celebrate together, and i absolutely adore every moment i get to spend with them.

and just when you thought the evening couldn't get any better, 

the paper lanterns came out.

yes, paper lanterns! just like in tangled! 

they were so beautiful floating floating off over the pitch black lake. 

i really felt like i was in a fairy tale. 

it was the perfect way to end the night.

after the bride and groom left, we headed back out to the cabin to pass out get some sleep, before we said goodbye to the beautiful weather and headed back home the next morning.

after a reversal of our journey, we finally made it back to hot and steamy h-town.

needless to say, 

bub-hub and i are exhausted.

any family time, however short or busy or chaotic it may be, always fills my heart.

best wishes and congratulations to the newlyweds! :)