What a great time...

We really had a great time together during Drew's leave.   There was a little bit of going out and doing fun things involved, and a little bit of travel, as well.  But, mostly, we just enjoyed relaxing, and doing some of the simple things that we love doing together -- hiking, reading, sleeping, and just plain old talking.  It was a lot of fun to have a bunch of date nights (and date days) all packed in together.  Above are a few of my favorite pictures.  

The first one was taken during a hike -- it was an attempt to get a picture of the 3 of us, but Toby doesn't really stand still long enough for that to happen.  The second was from our night at the Cliff House.  For those of you who aren't locals, or just haven't heard of it, it's a bed and breakfast in Manitou Springs.  It was just a little one-night, local getaway.  Drew got some sort of package that involved wine, chocolate covered strawberries and a rose being delivered to our room.  :)  We even ordered warm cookies and milk from room service before bed -- how fun is that?!  The third picture is also from our time at the Cliff House -- just the two of us in a self-taken picture.  :)  The fourth was from Drew's second-to-last night here.  We went out to dinner at the Penrose Room at the Broadmoor.  It's the kind of place where everyone gets super dressed up, there's a live band and dancing, and you may or may not understand what exactly you are ordering.  But the food was good, and it's nice to have an excuse to get all dressed up for a date now and then.  My parents gave Drew a giftcard to the Broadmoor for his birthday, and we decided we would go all out -- use it as an excuse to go to a restaurant that we could never otherwise justify paying to go to.  It was definitely an adventure -- we tried an appetizer ("compliments of the chef") that had duck in it.  Neither of us had ever tasted duck before -- but, I thought it tasted kind of like bacon, actually.  Then, we both ordered the crab bisque as our actual appetizer (it was a 3-course meal).  That was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s -- our favorite part of the meal.  There were also yummy steak and chicken entrees involved in the evening (complete with a grand presentation from the waitors), and tasty desserts, too.  

Of course, we also enjoyed our trip to Virginia, which we were barely able to make, due to Drew's repeated delays on his trip back to the States.  We spent a couple of nights in Virginia Beach, just the two of us, and went to my absolute faaaaavorite restaurant there, and had what might have been my favorite meal out in years -- seriously.  It's this little place that's tucked away, way off the beaten path (you actually have to drive through a residential neighborhood to get there), but they have phenomenal food.  Then, we spent a couple of nights with Drew's family in Williamsburg, and did a little mini-vacation there with his parents, sister, and our nephews and niece.  We were also able to squeeze in just a little bit of time with some of our friends who live in the Hampton Roads area.  If we missed you on this quick trip, we'll look forward to seeing you on the next one, I hope!!!  

Well -- that's the basic synopsis of those 2+ weeks.  It was wonderful beyond words to be with my husband.  It was refreshing beyond words to reconnect with him, and have long, thoughtful conversations.  I am so thankful for him, and so thankful that God blessed us with such sweet time together.