One of the best days ever, to be continued by many, many more!!!

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I also got the chance to visit the beach one last time before things got super crazy as the school year started again.  Pat and I made plans to run down to Carolina Beach for our first "just us" vacation in the two+ years we have been together.  I was so excited!  We began our trip by driving around Wilmington and managed to find the creek from Dawson's Creek-check that off Pat's bucket list!  We then went to our hotel and they were super sweet and allowed us to park even though our room wouldn't be ready for 4 more hours.  So, we got our stuff (we were already in our bathing suits) and parked it on the beach.

A little after that, friends of our who were actually heading out of Carolina beach stopped in to say hello AND to share with us, that our friends Robbie and Rachael had just gotten engaged that morning! We were so excited for them, but as I found out later, Pat was a little nervous at that point because he was actually planning on asking me to marry him that evening! However, he stuck to the plan and I am so glad he did!

After leaving the beach early in the afternoon, we checked in, took a dip in the pool, got some grub, and took a nap because we had been up since 5 that morning.

After napping, we then got ready to head out to dinner, but were so full from lunch we needed to kill some time.  So, we decided to head down to Fort Fisher.  The historic area was closed by the time we got there and the public beach was really full, so we decided to head down the overlook trail that said it was only about a mile long.

Let me tell you, it may have been a mile but it did not feel like it.  It took us an hour up and back and was full of many different types of terrain.  However, it was absolutely gorgeous and even with the horseflies, it was totally worth it!

 Look at these HUGE deer at the beach!

So after our trek, we had to reshower and get ready because we were super gross.  Then we went out to a tiki bar at the end of pier and listened to a band, watched the sun go down, had some drinks and enjoyed being together :)

We left before the bar closed at 10 (it was a Sunday) and walked back on the beach (great idea Pat) to our place.  The stars were amazing-I always think of my granddaddy when the stars are out.  It was the best day.

We found our access back to the road and Pat stopped to (I though) put his shoes on right by the gazebo.  However, then he stopped and started talking to me and I had no idea what was going on until he started reaching into his pocket, got down on one knee and proposed.  It was so dark that he couldn't see me nodding (couldn't talk because I was crying because I was so happy).  Of course I said yes to the best man I know! It was one of the best moments of my whole life! Pat had snuck in champagne and glasses into the room and we spent the next two hours calling our families to tell them our news.  Then, we had two more amazing days on the beach together!  Can't tell you all how happy I am-I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world!

 Here's where it all happened!

 Yummy donuts on our last day!

 There's my man!

A summer to remember!

What a summer! Last school year was tough! I took my comprehensive exams from January to March and had a revision for one of my questions that I had to work on from end of April to the beginning of June.  Comps are a wretched process! Just takes over your life, but I had a lot of people always checking in on me and pulling me through.  Pat and I moved in together the week before they were due.  He was clutch BOTH times through comps-keeping me sane, always staying positive, and making coffee runs to Dunks.  I'll find out the final outcome in a few weeks-crossing fingers!

So, as I mentioned above, we started out the summer by moving in together.  We love our new place-it is so quiet and peaceful and I love sitting out on the porch with Darce-monster.  That first weekend we were visited by my cousins, my mother, and my siblings.  Here's our birthday dessert for mom:

Pat has spent the summer perfecting his mojito recipe-the perfect mix was found the last night of the Stanley Cup when Pat's brother and sister-in-law came into town.  Bruins lost :( but we had such a fun night!  I got to see my cousins again as they came in for their daughter's surgery at Duke, which went so well! I also got to spend time with my friends' new daughter, who is super cute and so snuggly.  In addition to working at the office, I wrote my first, first-author article which I just submitted yesterday (crossing fingers that it gets accepted).  We also gave Pat's store a facelift, as well as our new bedroom.  I hung up a hummingbird feeder in the back and now we have 6+ hummingbirds that whirl around outside every day and I love it.  Darcy and the hummingbirds are very intrigued by each other.

Pat played hockey all summer long and they actually won their championship game this week!

Towards the end of the summer, I was also able to run to the beach twice which was amazing.  There's just something about getting out there that just lets the craziness of the year wash away.  The first trip was with my mother and we went down to see my brother.  We had such a wonderful time! It was so good to see them both and to get Edson for a day on the beach!

SO much fun! Our second beach trip I'll detail more in my next post... :)