Surprise to Shenandoah!

Chris is EXCELLENT at surprises.  Our first date was a surprise...I had no idea where we were going or doing.  It has been this way since day 1.  This past Sunday, neither of us had to go into work because of the Marine Corp Marathon.  So...Chris surprised me!  He drove me out to the Shenandoah Mountains.  We had a picnic at Shenandoah River State Park, then we drove to Luray Caverns.  On the way to Luray Caverns, he had me open a sealed envelope that had our tickets in it to reveal where we were going.  After the caverns, we stopped at a pumpkin patch to check it out, and then made our way through Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive to enjoy the scenic overlooks and the sunset.  It was a wonderful day!  Click here to see the rest of our pictures of the day!

Commitment

All day today I was excited for date night...Chris and I don't see each other all that much due to our schedules, so we always try and plan one night that is ours.  Well, tonight, date night was cut short.  Chris's team finished practicing an hour later than usual, so we met at Outback for dinner, and not even 15 minutes after we saw each other, Chris got a call from one of his athletes who got injured and ended up having to go to the hospital to get x-rays.  At 9:15pm, we finished dinner and I drove Chris back to campus to attend to his job responsibilities.  In reality, Chris didn't have to go back to make sure this kid got into the ER ok and the paperwork was right...athletes go by themselves all the time because we are fortunate enough to have a hospital on campus...but Chris CHOSE to go back to take care of his athlete.  A couple of the athletes were still in the athletic facility and I walked in a little bit after Chris did, and one of the kids said, "it sucks you guys had to come back...but no other athletic trainer would've come back.  He is so dedicated!"  

Point of this post?  I'm grateful I married a man who understands commitment.  Before we even started talking about getting married, I knew he understood this concept because he has been committed to everything he does/agrees to/is involved in, and he sticks to doing things the right way regardless of how hard it is, how inconvenient it is, and how it effects him in the end.  What a great example he is to those kids.  They are lucky to have him, and I am I!

Joining the Blogging World

Growing up, my dad created the "Nelson Newsletter."  It was a family newsletter he published once or twice a month that kept everyone up to date with what each family member is doing.  With the "advances" in technology, this will be our family newsletter!  I'm not sure how much we will be able to post with our schedules, but our hope is that our families and someday our children, will be able to look back and see the different experiences we have through the years.  We hope you enjoy and will check back often to see what the Duncans are up to!

Right now, I am in the middle of soccer season at GW.  The team is 8-3-1 overall and having a great season.  This weekend they will be in our 4th and 5th games of conference.  The season is flying by!

Chris is working mainly with the baseball team at GW, but also helps out with cross country and squash.  He is enjoying the new big screen TV we got for free, and on college game days (while I am at work), you can find him watching three college football games at once!  He has also become quite the cook and keeping me well fed during season.

Together, we have found time to go on little dates here and there.  Some include watching the sunset from the Washington Monument, dinner for our weekly date night and movies.  Chris takes awesome pictures whenever we are out at the Mall or when he comes to my games!