The McOmber Place: April 2015

Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing...

The title of this post is an ode to one of my favorite Disney attractions, The Tiki Room. Hoping we get there sooner than later....

With the weather getting warmer and some green finally coming back to the trees, Kyle and I decided to borrow some binoculars and go bird watching. Kyle even checked out some bird books from the library. We drove down to a nature preserve and began the task of spotting some of the birds in the wild. It’s amazing how much more you see when you are seeking to find it. The birds were beautiful and we were able to match up what birds made certain sounds. I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but it was something that I will definitely want to do again. I am falling more in love with Virginia and the East Coast everyday.

Always sporting the Chacos.

The site of an old home with the fireplace as the only proof it existed.

This particular path led straight down to the Potomac.

We turned a corner and found the most beautiful stream that turned into a waterfall before entering the river.

Kyle walked right through the river where I took the art of jumping from post to post, hoping I wouldn't miss a step and end up taking a bath.

I've always found it weird that the male duck has the pretty colors while the female is usually brown and dull colored. I guess that is how she attracts the male for some strange reason.

I'm thinking this little guy knew what we were up to and felt betrayed
that we didn't bring him along to uh....."look".....at the birds too.

A McOmber Girls Getaway

I married into THE best family. I couldn’t have asked for a better family and what’s fun about Kyle being the only boy is that it provides plenty of opportunities for us to have girl’s trips. This past weekend I flew out to Utah for my first McOmber girls weekend getaway. We celebrated Kathryn’s birthday and I told Kyle when I came back that I felt like I have known them forever and that they welcomed me in with open arms like I was their fourth sister. They are so wonderful and have so many amazing qualities that I hope to have someday. We all slept at Kate’s house and the next morning we started our day off at the Bountiful Temple. I loved having that as the start of our weekend. Next we went to a charming French café in downtown Salt Lake City.

We got pedicures next and had one of the best dinners I have ever had at Pago in downtown Salt Lake.

And this is also why I love Kyle’s family and ESPECIALLY Becca.

Happy Birthday Kathryn!

Oh Utah, I miss your sunsets!

That night we drove up to Park City and stayed in the Waldorf Astoria there.

It was such a beautiful hotel nestled right up in the Wasatch Mountains.

I unfortunately caught a cold from the airplane and took cold medicine on an empty stomach which made for a quick run to the restroom after breakfast and loosing all of my meal ☹ I insisted it was just the cold medicine, but to be on the safe side, I took the pull out couch which felt like a normal bed to me because it was so nice. As much as I love spreading out in a bed on my own, I much more prefer sleeping next to Kyle and missed him while I was gone. It was the longest we had spent apart in our marriage so far and I hope it never happens again.

The next morning, I woke up early and took some photos of the view.

That afternoon we shopped and shopped. I absolutely LOVE girl’s trips for that reason! We ate at the same restaurant where my family ate about three years ago when I was dating Kyle and knew I wanted to marry him…that was fun to share with them. THEN… we went and rode Alpine Roller Coaster and I absolutely loved that we had to hike through the snow to get there. This was the same roller coaster Kyle and I went on when we were dating and it held up to be as good as I remembered it.

That night, we had a yummy dinner and then had a little preview of the hotel’s spa.

The hotel also had a s'mores night which we did not wait to try out.

Heated tile chairs....THE best.

The last morning we went down to the sauna and spa and relaxed before we had to leave. They dropped me off at my sister Liv’s so I could see her little belly (nothing is showing yet, but I can see a tiny bump). Oh thank you McOmber sisters. I really needed that break and it was so nice to just feel loved and welcomed into this beautiful family even more. And it was also nice to get back to your brother ☺ And I apparently missed the sunglasses memo.

Spring is Springing!

Spring is slowly coming to the East Coast. Kyle’s favorite season and time of year is spring. He loves the reawakening of life and the symbolism that comes with it. I took a walk around my work the other day and I agree with Kyle…this time of year is beautiful.

This little guy has also liked the change in the weather.

These row houses look like they could be on Cherry Tree Lane in Mary Poppins.

This looked like England to me.

My favorite salad place of all time is Sweet Green. I discovered it about a year ago and I've been obsessed ever since. This salad is called the Harvest Bowl and it's full of kale, wild rice, apples, sweet potatoes, almonds, goat cheese, chicken and balsamic vinaigrette. A perfect spring salad.

We made our way over to the Tidal Basin to see the beautiful cherry blossoms that never last long enough. If we're lucky, we get them for about 2 weeks every May.

Our friends Tyson and Jacque got bees and asked Martina if they could put them in her backyard. I was there the day they put them out. I would love to have bees someday too.