The Whirlwind that was July

Hello, world!

I've tried this blogging thing in the past, but I never kept up with it. With all the changes in my life in the past couple months, and all the time I currently have on my hands, I have decided to give it another whirl. There is plenty to update about, so let's just start with July for now, as it was, as the title of this post suggests, quite a whirlwind.

Honeymoon:

Brandon and I left the Monday following the wedding for a beach getaway in Cancun, Mexico. We stayed at the Sun Palace, an all-inclusive, adults-only resort. It was gorgeous and we were able to enjoy the peacefulness of the beach since there weren't any children around! We also had the opportunity to do all sorts of fun things because we got $1500 in resort credits for booking our vacation when we did. We went on an island tour, had a romantic dinner on the beach, went ziplining and four-wheeling, swam with dolphins, and had a photo shoot on the beach. We had a blast and were glad to be able to relax and enjoy each other (and the sunshine!) for a bit before the craziness really began!

Here we are with our complimentary honeymoon cake on our first night in Cancun!

Moving:

As soon as we returned from Cancun, the reality of leaving Bloomington in six short days sunk in for us. We were busy packing up everything we own (where did all that stuff come from??), getting in last-minute appointments, and spending every moment in between with our nearest and dearest Indiana friends. On Thursday, our last full evening in town, we had a couples' dinner at a local restaurant, Bub's Burgers. Here, they have a burger called 'The Big Ugly' that is a pound of either elk or beef. If you eat one, they take your photo and you live in eternity on the wall of Bub's burgers. Of course Brandon, Tommy, and Derek all had to have one! Jackie, Megan, and I saved room for dessert at our favorite place, Hartzell's, rather than devouring such a thing! Brandon even attempted to eat two of these (you get a bigger picture on the wall if you eat two, you know!), but gave up after 1.25 burgers. All in all, it was a successful, fun, and bittersweet night.

Megan, Jackie, and I with our delicious Hartzell's spinners!

Kansas City:

Only a short day later, we packed up a box truck and our cars and headed 8 hours west to Kansas City. The drive itself wasn't terrible, but it helped that we stopped for lunch in St. Louis to meet one of my high school friends, Katie, and her husband. They took us to a great brewery, Bottle Works, where we had a delicious lunch while catching up, and then we headed onward. We spent the next few weeks unpacking, organizing, decorating, and generally avoiding being outside in the 100+ degree heat. However, on our one-month wedding anniversary, we braved the heat and walked around the Country Club Plaza before having a delicious dinner at Hibachi and dessert at one of our favorite places, Yogurtini! We wrapped up July with our first visitors! Another high school friend of mine, Jenny, her husband, Jeff, and their dog, Riley, stopped through on their drive back to Colorado. We had a fabulous time showing off Kansas City -- and even managed to get them addicted to Yogurtini as well!

Brandon and I on the Sister Cities Bridge in the Country Club Plaza on our 1-month anniversary.

Alright, friends, I'll save August for tomorrow's post! My goal is to figure out how to embed photos into posts, then I'm off to bed!