Honeymoon in CA

July 26th will be our 6th wedding anniversary! Wow...we are just as shocked as probably you are that it's been 6 years. It is pretty rare we are together on our anniversary, and if we are usually at a concert venue surrounded by people. Yeah, not as romantic as you might think. So, this year Cody took it all upon himself to plan a trip for us (I got stuck on calling it a honeymoon and actually like that!). I didn't have really any part of the planning process, which looking back surprises me! Without a doubt, the trip was amazing and Cody took care of everything! Here are some pictures from our week in CA.

on the plane to CA

Cody took me to In-N-Out Burger for the first time. He L-O-V-E-S his In-N-Out and I was skeptical that a burger good be that great for people all over the country to talk about. But, the minute I bit into my cheeseburger animal style I feel in love! That was a damn good burger!

We stayed at a B&B in Redding, CA called O'Brien Mountain Inn. Amazing people, food, cottage!

This is on the patio of our treehouse cottage. It was literally a treehouse on stilts and it swayed when the wind blew or one of us would walk around. It was kind freaky at first, but then it was kinda of like being in a soft swing at times.

we are too much brie, ok maybe i ate too much

Cody says, "Onward Hikers!"

Tuesday we hiked Castle Crags near Mt. Shasta and it was pretty awesome!

We found this great overlook. Cody walked around most of the time and took pictures, but I found a chair carved out of rock made just for me! I'm serious...it was really comfortable.
Thankfully we were under a ton of tall trees a lot of the hike. It was around 103 degrees in Redding that week, but under the shade it was cool and breezy.

We took a side trail for a bit and found a small water fall called Indian Springs. It was a cool and refreshing break.

At the top of the Crags!

Who knew I'm a bit freaked out about heights? Cody that's who! He had to deal with me and my new found insecurity! You can see Mt. Shasta in the background. It was really beautiful!

We were able to drive halfway up (7,000 ft) Mt. Shasta which is around 14,000 ft total.

That was our first day in CA! We went back to our treehouse and soaked in a hot tub with wine. Now, that is what I call roughing it!

New Beginnings

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”

Well, we are beginning a lot of new things right now in our lives. We just moved to Nashville, TN. That in itself may not seem to big....believe me, it is! Moving to Nashville meant, exactly like the quote above says, deciding not to stay where we were. That was hard because we loved where we were.

Austin, TX couldn't have been any better for us in terms of our social and spiritual lives! We made some of the best friends, which meant many tearful goodbyes (and for me...a 4 hour cryfest as I drove away from the city!) We had an amazing church and small group. Overall, it was a packed year full of love and fun!! But, many of you know all of this! You also know that our professional lives were both going places we never could have imagined!

I was teaching in an inner city school and should just stop there and write a memoir about the year itself! My friend, Katie, and I could fill a book with our experiences. But, I'll keep it short and just tell you this. This past year was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. I have never been in a place where I dreaded going to work, dreaded seeing some of my students, and thought so negatively about my abilities as a teacher. But, in the end, it was probably the most beautiful experience I have ever had as a teacher! I got to see so much, learn so much, and love so much with that class my heart literally fills up every time I think about it!

Cody was still playing bass in a band, but started to feel a tug towards more diverse work as a musician. His goal, since we first visited as 19 year olds, was to be in Nashville! God has sent us to almost every "music" town, except there! He has always had dreams of playing music in a variety of music styles, being a part of production and studio work. He started to notice that there are so many opportunities out there after talking and meeting with some of his friends. After five years of playing in the band, quitting seemed almost insane! But, if we didn't take that leap now, when would we do it!? Who knows, it might not work, it might be insane, or it may just be awesome! So, here we are! Almost 8 years later and he is in Nashville! He is only just beginning, but we are so excited to see what is going to happen.

We have a really cute small apartment in East Nashville that we love! The area is awesome and totally fits our lifestyle. We are so happy to have found it! I got a job, over the phone mind you, to teach 4th grade at a school just outside Nashville. Cody has a few gigs here and there over the summer, with the possibility of one leading into a fall tour, but that is still up in the air.

That is a quick update of what is going on right now. Check back often for updates and pics! Xoxo