Whitewater Rafting

Today we returned to Birmingham from a great weekend in the north Georgia mountains with Brad and Lindsey.

We arrived late on Friday after a long weeek of work for Cayce to our rented cabin. After a few hours of sleep we headed to the Ocoee River in Tennessee. We did a full river whitewater rafting trip that lasted 6 hours. Part of the trip covered the whitewater kayak course from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Jason fell out of the raft on highest class rapid of the river. It was scary for Cayce to watch but everything turned out fine and it was a great day.

On Sunday, Brad and Lindsey had to head back to B-Ham so they could get back to work. In the afternoon Cayce and I went for a hike to a huge falls and ate some great BBQ at Poole's. We went to this BBQ place because it looked interesting and when we walked up we found out that some people that we go to church with here in Birmingham (3 hours away) own it and work it on the weekends. Pretty small world.

It was a fun weekend all around. I love getting to see all the different places that are in this land of ours.

Catching Up

Well, it has been 4 months since we last posted and we have kept ourselves busy! Here are some of the highlights:

Jason's roommate from Wisconsin, Eric Fry, was married in May. The wedding was held in Beaver Creek, Colorado and we had an amazing time. It snowed on Saturday while we were hiking up the mountain and it was beautiful.

Immediately upon returning to Birmingham from Colorado, we started packing for our 5 year anniversary trip to Hawaii. Once again we went to Kauai and stayed in the same condo complex as we did on our Honeymoon. Kauai was just as beautiful as we remember and we relaxed and did a few things that we missed on our first trip.

We did a lot of relaxing on secluded beaches (Jason read 5 books and Cayce actually read 2!).

We hiked a few different times including a 7 mile round trip hike along the Na Pali coast. There

were some really scary sections, but we survived.

I also tried my hand at boogie boarding!

In addition to the trip to Kauai, we were able to go to Jason's friend Jerry's wedding on Oahu. The ceremony was beautiful, and the setting for the reception was out of a postcard. In addition to the fun we had surrounding the event, we were upgraded to the corner penthouse suite of the JW Marriott. It was truly stunning.

In June, we drove to the south eastern part of Alabama to Lake Eufala. Cayce's sister Lindsey and her husband, Brad, own a lake house and they invited us for the weekend. We always have a great time with them and Preston provided lots of entertainment, as usual.

1st Birthday AND 1st Sermon

It is still hard to believe that the babies are ONE! Preston turned one on February 20, and Logan turned one on February 25. We had a party for them on Saturday, February 27. Everyone came to Birmingham for the festivities. Lindsey made them matching birthday outfits, and Brittney made them matching "smash" cakes.

Here's Gigi with her two grandbabies. This was the first time they'd seen each other that weekend. They are never too sure of each other at first. Logan, especially, is never too sure of Jason. She keeps a close eye on his every move!

Here are the matching outfits and party hats that Lindsey's friend made. They were perfectly coordinated with the outfits.

Cute family photos:

Here are the cakes after they had been "smashed". Logan LOVED making a huge mess. She even helped Preston with his cake. Preston HATED being sticky and dirty. It was kind of funny and sad at the same time.

On Sunday, Jason was asked to preach. His first sermon went really well. He spoke in front of approximately 600 people. He is so gifted, and I am so proud to be his wife!

Happy New Year! (and everything else that's been celebrated since our last post)

We celebrated Christmas in New York with Jason's family. This is the view of his parents' backyard. It snowed just before we arrived and melted the day we left. We spent lots of time with family, ate lots of food, and Jason educated Cayce on how to do the shuffle in the ice/slush. It's impossible to get to the front door of your destination (quickly) from the car in windy, freezing conditions for fear of slipping and breaking something.



Dylan and Brooklyn enjoyed Christmas morning...lots of toys!

We celebrated Christmas with Cayce's family earlier in December. Preston and Logan were cooperative enough to allow us to take pictures by the tree.

Poor Logan...she already lost something in the bottom of her purse. Like mother like daughter! Love you, Brittney!

On December 5, we ran the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon. It was such a well-organized, inspiring run. The experience of running through St. Jude's campus was something neither of us expected. We hope to be able to run it again when given the opportunity. We also walked through the famous and historic Peabody hotel and saw the March of the Ducks.

In November, Cayce and her mother took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN. They stayed in a little cabin on the top of a mountain. They also drove over to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate decorated for Christmas. It was beautiful (and huge). It took them two hours to walk through the estate.

Jason was a lumberjack for Halloween (and Yukon Cornelius for Christmas).

October was filled with football games. Jason went to the Red River Rivalry in Dallas. Two of his friends from high school (Brent and Jeremy) met him there as did his friend, Karl, from Austin. He also ran into his friend, Geoff, from Austin.

We also tailgated at the Alabama/Tennessee game in Tuscaloosa with Brittney, Matthew, Lindsey, and Brad.