Before we had our girls, friends and mentors urged me to guard my marriage by carving out time for dates and quick getaway trips. At the time, I never thought I would blink at the opportunity to take a trip with the love of my life, but those little babies are sweet y'all!
The last four years have been such a sweet season for us as we became parents and learned how to adjust in our new roles. We love being parents and if you talk to either of us long enough, we will tell you how special those babies are to us! But, that handsome man in the picture is my first love. I think I really learned a valuable lesson this year and it's that I need to keep dating my husband.
I realized this Spring, that Mike mostly gets a depleted version of myself. When we finally get to have some time together each night, we are exhausted. We usually team up to get both our girls fed, bathed, and in bed. Most evenings I sound a bit like a drill sergeant or a referee trying to maintain order and peace. If I'm lucky, my sweat pants might still be clean but my shirt is usually covered in snot and food. As we make our way to the front porch with a glass of wine, we smile and somehow keep talking about the little girls we are blessed to raise.
This year, we decided it was time to leave our girls with family and get away for a few days to celebrate our seventh anniversary. A friend told me about a little gem tucked away on Monteagle, and I fell IN LOVE. Sewanee, Tennessee is such an adorable town and was the perfect destination for us to do all of our favorite things! I felt like we had taken a trip to Cambridge or Yorkshire!
We stayed at The Sewanee Inn, which is a little boutique hotel right near The University of the South. The architecture was incredible and we were delighted with our stay. The Inn has complimentary bikes that we were able to explore with and they even packed us a fabulous picnic lunch for our hike the next day.
We spent our first afternoon on a leisure bike ride exploring incredible overlooks and beautiful churches. It felt so good to be with my man, doing the things we enjoy most. I am learning that I need to be intentional to spend more quality time with my husband having fun.
{All Saints Chapel}
If you take a trip to Sewanee, I would highly recommend a romantic dinner at High Point. You will feel like you are stepping up to a quaint little cottage under a gorgeous tree, and every thing you put in your mouth will taste amazing! You're welcome.
I feel so lucky that Mike and I actually enjoy doing the same things. I don't know if everyone wants to spend their anniversary trip running and hiking...but we loved it! There is a beautiful four mile run through the middle of the campus and at your half way point you can see one of the most beautiful overlooks and check out the Memorial Cross.
There are great hiking trails along the perimeter of the campus as well. Abbo's Alley is one to check out. We spent our last day hiking out to Foster Falls and enjoyed a lovely picnic by a beautiful 80 foot waterfall!
There is about a two mile trail that loops around the waterfall and back to the trail head and it was really scenic. You will most likely pass rock climbers on your way because there are a few sweet spots to climb, but watch out for the rattle snakes!
I think this trip reminded me how special my husband is and how thankful I am for our love story. I am grateful for friends along the way who urged me to continue exploring and traveling with my first love. Being a mommy can make it a little more challenging, but I saw how refreshed and recharged we both were after our night away. I hope I can encourage other young moms to continue dating their husbands. Raising children is hard and I am learning that I have to be intentional with my marriage. Getting out in nature and doing what we love was exactly what we needed!
{Happy Anniversary to Us}
