Virginia Bluebells at Bull Run

As we are coming up on living in VA for nearly two years I had never heard of the Bluebell trail just a 25 minute drive from our house. I was stalking people on Instagram and came across some photos of the lovely Bluebells at a near by park. I made my way over the very next day.

I had only been to the Bull Run park once before but had no idea how huge it actually was. 

We stopped in a few places where we saw Bluebells. Pretty, but I wasn't finding as many as I had seen online.

After maybe 15 minutes of driving we finally found a sign for Bluebell trail parking. Dave wasn't feeling too well, so I started off on my own.

As I started on the trail my heart sank a bit, only seeing faint white flowers every where, only with the occasional little batch of bluebells. 

I was thinking I was too late and had missed out on them. But I continued on, following the blue markers on the trees from time to time. 

After nearly 15 minutes of walking I could see them in the distance, tons and tons of bluebells!! They thickly lined a river, as far as I could see! 

I was nearly out of light at this point, it had taken longer to get to them than I had expected, but I still got some really love shots.

So glad I got the chance to see them! I am loving every second of Spring!

If you want to see all the photos I took I uploaded them all on Flickr!

DC Temple 2015

Last week we took the chance to visit the DC temple. It had been way too long since we had been there. I promise myself, when we will live in Utah again, I will not take living near so many temples for granted!

We live about 50 minutes away from the temple, but due to a horrific amount of traffic it took an hour and a half to get up there. It was pretty much stop and go the whole way. Ugh! But we finally made it! 

I do wish we lived closer to one, but I am grateful we live within a fairly reasonable driving distance from one. The temple really is Heaven on earth and brings such beautiful peace to my heart and soul. Hopefully it's not too long till we can visit again.  

For lunch we made our way into an adorable little town just down the street from the temple and got a couple yummy sandwiches and shared an ice cream cone. It was a perfect day!

xoxo

Strawberry Fluff

May is quite possibly my favorite month. It's warm, but not too hot quite yet. It's my birthday month. But most importantly, May marks the start of prime strawberry season. Today I share an easy fruit salad, perfect for any picnic or BBQ, loved by everyone, young and old, and almost too easy to whip up! 

I don't know if this recipe has an official name, but we call it strawberry fluff because that's exactly what it is.

All you need is 
8 oz whipped cream
8 oz of cottage cheese
1 small box of strawberry jello (unprepared)
2 cups of chopped strawberries.

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl until jello powder is well incorporated and there you have it! 

Easy, right? 

And can be easily doubled if needed! And feel free to add more fruit, or experiment with other fruits and jellos!  

Oh America the Beautiful

Virginia is too pretty for words. 

Honestly. 

I know I raved about Virginia in the Fall, 

but Spring is plenty rave worthy too. 

If you ever have the chance to visit Virginia in either season, 

but preferably both, take that chance. 

And let me know and I will also supply you with a hearty list 

of all the best eats. I promise, I won't let you down.  

These purple trees are my favorite. Although this isn't the best picture, they line the roads in many areas through April. And every time I pass by I ooh and aah over that pretty purple. 

Virginia back roads give me some serious anxiety, but you can't beat the views.

It's hard to believe we have now lived in VA for a year, packing the bare minimum for what we planned to be just a summer in VA, while the bulk of our belongings collect dust in storage back home. We never expected to still be here. But it's been a fun year, jam packed with plenty of exploring and adventures. I look forward to see whatever lies ahead of us.

Happy Friday

Adventures with my Bear

We love taking long drives, and we go on long drives on a weekly basis. Honestly, if gas wasn't an issue and I was a little less worried about adding even more miles to our car, I think I could spend most of my free time in the car, just driving. It doesn't really matter where we are headed as long as it take us away from where we are for a little while. We get in the car, not caring where we end up or how long it takes to get there, as long as we find ourselves somewhere new, or even just revisiting favorite places, and make memories all along the way.

A friend recently posted something and mentioned how she hated when people 

move somewhere new but can't fully enjoying their new home because they miss their old homes too much. I loved that so much. (thanks Alysha!) 

I think Dave and I have done a decent job of getting out, but sometimes I allow my anxiety to prevent me from doing and seeing things. Drives help me feel refreshed, 

and helps me better appreciate this lovely place we live in and 

sparks the desire to absorb as much of it as possible in our time here. 

Sometimes it's just too gorgeous, overwhelmingly gorgeous to me. Photos are lovely, but really can't truly capture how gorgeous the world around us is. But at least they try.