Smart Phones + 4th of July

Luke and I have finally entered the smart phone world....

The funny thing is, Luke wanted to surprise me and get them for our 2 year anniversary...but if you know Luke then you know he can't keep a surprise to save his life.  For example, after we got engaged we got back in the car and he immediately said..."I am taking you to Stacey's house for a surprise engagement party and everyone you love will be there..."

It was a big deal that he pulled off the surprise bed and breakfast get away in Staunton, I think he was only able to keep it a secret because he thought of the idea 2 hours before.  So, when we were sitting out and having our nice wine and cheese picnic that weekend, he kept on asking me "do you want to you know your anniversary present?"  Or, "I had to run some errands today for your anniversary present, do you want to know where I went?"  I kept on saying, "no," but eventually I just gave in and said..."sure."  He told me we were getting iphones and I was pumped.

Then the night that I found out I got my new job..at about 8:30 he asked if we could go get our iphones, so we showed up 10 minutes before it closed like real buttheads.  BUT we got our phones and have been loving them ever since.  Our first thing worth instagraming was our dinner out at the Local Chop House. The bar area there has the best food and a great atmosphere.

The next day was the 4th of July and my friend Kate and I decided to run the Valley 4th 10K together.  Kate and I have been friends since I moved to Harrisonburg, but just this summer we finally were into running at the same time.  We live a 1/2 mile away from each other so about 4 days a week we would meet in the middle and pick our route.  Doing this with Kate has honestly been a huge highlight of my summer.  If we went more than 2 days without running together it felt weird because we always had so much we need to share with each other!

Anyway, towards the middle of the summer Kate shared with me the news that her husband, Charlie, had gotten his dream job as a middle school band director in Lynchburg, VA...so they were moving a little down south to Waynesboro.  As happy as I am for Charlie, I am so sad that Kate and I do not have the chance to run together as often. Luckily, she will still work in Harrisonburg so we will be able to run a couple afternoons together, but it just won't be the same!  Kate, I love you and I wish we would have started this routine together earlier :)

This pic was taken before we ran 6.2 miles at 9:00am in about 90 degree heat.  This was also taken before we started singing Lady Gaga and other pop songs during the last quarter of the race.  We needed something to keep our minds off our aching bodies...

 Luke and Charlie were great cheerleaders

On the way to Kate's Luke asked me what my goal was, because I was feeling unprepared I said...I shared that I just wanted to make it and I didn't care what time.  Luke asked Kate the same question and she said under an hour.  I thought, "oops now I've got to get my game face on."  So 57 minutes later....WE DID IT!

After showering, resting and getting ready, we all headed to the downtown beer garden and hung out!  We listened to music, ate a great hot dog, and sipped on a delicious brew.  Then it was time for the Harrisonburg parade...so cute and small.

our sweet little downtown

One of our favorite local vineyards, Bluestone, had a float

Of course Jack Brown's had to represent as well!

We had a great 4th of July and I am looking forward to training for a half marathon in Raleigh during November