Summer of Fun (Part 1)

Writing that last post just made me realize how far behind I've gotten in keeping up with our Weekly Family Photos. We had a busy and fun summer. Some of these pictures aren't the most flattering, but whatever. This is real life. Let's begin the run down of our summer.

Weekend roofers

Ross' dad was redoing part of their roof when we went to visit one weekend. I volunteered to drill all the screws for the plywood. This farm girl knows how to use a drill. On the down side, all that scooting on the plywood put two giant holes in the bum of my jeans. Good thing they were work jeans!

First BBQ

After years of living without any outdoor space, we were finally able to host a BBQ! It was an impromptu affair and we forgot to get a picture until after some friends had left, but it was so nice to be able to enjoy delicious burgers at home.

Celebrating the happy couple

Stephen grew up a mile down the street from Ross, so it's not a stretch to say they go way back.We spent the weekend in Philly for an engagement party for the couple. It was a lot of fun to meet Jenna's family and to begin the celebration for these two. I'm going to predict you will see them again in April 2014 because I can't imagine something making the weekly photo other than their wedding.

Skiing in the cold

We went to Indiana over Memorial Day weekend. Last year it was crazy hot, this year it was chilly. You can bet that didn't stop Ross from meeting up with my high school friends for a morning ski on the Lake. I chose to just watch from the boat with the heat on.

Week at the farm

Of course we visited the family in Indiana! We stayed for a week, but didn't try to get a group picture until right before we left. I love the girls in the this picture. Miss S just got a new watch that day, and Miss N is just adorable with her Pebbles pony tail.

Natitude

A former co-worker of mine had Nationals tickets he couldn't use, so he gave them to us FOR FREE. We were pretty excited and then we saw how close they were and felt a little guilty. But he told us to enjoy them, and we sure did.

Wedding season starts

We traveled with our CG to Connecticut for our friends' wedding. We all rented a house at the beach and had a great time hanging out and celebrating the happy couple. On a less sentimental note, we got an EZ Pass for the trip and loved passing all the people in the toll lanes. It's the simple things.

Sister time

My sister came to town for the weekend.We did what we do best: go for a run, get pedicures, drink coffee, and relax at the pool. We took her for Ethiopian and had long meals at the house. She also got to see our new house and neighborhood since it will be awhile before she can visit again. She was here for 48 hours, but they were filled with great sister heart to heart time.

Birthday sillyness

The perk to having an almost holiday birthday is you know your friends don't have to work the next day. A few days before we decided to host a cookout. We had fun, but probably should have done more cooking in advance. We ended up forcing people to stay late to have our homemade ice cream. (Yes, it's that good.) My favorite part about this picture is Alex's face. Cracks me up every time.

Their first MLB game

Going to bed after my cookout, I said to Ross "I need to admit something. There had been a few strange things about you the last few days that I thought my parents would surprise me and be at the cookout." We laughed about it, but then the next day they do show up at my house! It was a great surprise and coming the day after my birthday really threw me off. Good work mom and dad! We went to the movies and out to eat on the 4th to enjoy some AC. The next day we braved the heat and went to the Nats game. We didn't watch baseball growing up, so it was fun to take them to their first MLB game. And according to my mom, "They are a lot better than you girls ever were at softball. This is fun."

Spring Is Here

With April came the start of spring weather which meant we started to do outside activities. I forget how much I miss the sunshine until I get to enjoy it again.

Cherry Blossom bike ride

We tried to outsmart the tourists by checking out the cherry blossoms on bike. Big mistake. Our regular routes that we can just fly down were full of cars and mass amounts of pedestrians jaywalking. We thought we would go around Hains Point, but even that was bumper to bumper traffic. Defeated we turned around to go home. Oh and did I mention that even though it was late in the season and "peak bloom" they actually hadn't bloomed yet? We did get our picture with the one blooming tree on the ride.

Purdue College of Science Distinguished Alumni Awards

Now before you get too excited, I wasn't at these awards as an honoree. This weekend marked my first meeting on the CoS Alumni Board. It was inspiring to hear from the award winners about how their time at Purdue was fundamental to not only their professional but also personal lives. I was also able to have conversations with fellow board members and I was amazed at how even though we were on campus decades apart we had some of the same memories. Boiler Up!

Capitol Crescent with Caroline

It only took us a year and a half to go on this bike ride. We planned to do this October of 2011 but the day before the temperature dropped and it snowed a few inches. This time the weather was perfect! A nice sunny but cool spring morning, so we biked to Betheseda and back and then ventured into Dupont for brunch. It was one of those perfect DC outings.

Landscaping day

This picture doesn't quite do our backyard justice. We spent WAY too long at Lowe's looking at their plants. The next day we planted a few junipers and rose bushes in the back and got flats of petunias and inpatients to add extra pops of color. The front has 3 rose bushes, a hanging basket, and an azalea tree. You can't live in DC and not have an azalea tree! We did one thing I NEVER would have done on the farm. We bought a bag of compost and manure to mix in the dirt. I guess that's what it means to live in the city...

Hello Again

I began the year with a simple goal: post our Weekly Family Photo. But then life happened. I don't necessarily mean the normal day to day activities took over (which of course they always do). I mean the kind of things that are big in your life and you can't think of the right words to say to truly share what's going on. Here we are almost three months later and I'm still not sure what to do about it. Instead, I'm just going to move forward. I'm going to post a monthly round up and then circle back to fill in the gap.

March

Caroline teaches her first yoga class

Our friend and co-worker Caroline needed to teach a yoga class to complete her teacher training. We got up early on a Saturday to catch our bus to the other side of town. For years I've heard her refer to her "urban family" which is a phrase I love. It's encouraging to know that even though our true families are far away, there are people here to celebrate accomplishments and life events with us.

Snow day!

We got our first (and only) snow day of the year in March. Since there wasn't anything more than a dusting in the city we couldn't even play outside. We spent the day painting the basement bedroom and discovered I inherited my mother's skills for doing trim. I'm very slow, but good if you're looking to hire someone. Also the lighting of this picture isn't very good, but it's a nice light blue/green.

Alison comes to town

One of the hardest parts of living in this city is that your friends tend to move away. Lucky for us, our friend Alison still comes back to DC for work and fun. She's great about scheduling a time for friends to gather and catch up and have fun. And no, I didn't plan to match my little pal.

Date night

We finally made it the "little Italian restaurant behind the liquor store" our former neighbors told us about. And it was worth the wait. The food was good and there was something special about being only one of about 10 tables in this little neighborhood spot.

Easter brunch with the CG

Our Community Group (CG) from church got together to celebrate Easter with a potluck brunch. Ross followed my family tradition by getting me a corsage even though the person left about six inches of stem. (Obviously the person has never had to actually WEAR a corsage...) After brunch we walked down the street to see a house on the market and walked past an Easter egg hunt in progress. Before church we were able to Skype with my sister and her family and with my parents visiting her, the whole family got to be together in a very 21st century way.

That's the month of March! Well, not everything, but our weekly pictures at least!

Snow Day

In early January we took off work on a Friday and hit the slopes! It was the third annual Poconos trip with Ross' high school friends. On the first day we tried a new mountain, Camelback. With high speed lifts, no crowd, and nice runs, I think this one is a keeper. This year I ended up being the only girl with five guys, but I held my own. There were even a few occasions when they got schooled. Afterward, we stopped off at a brewry at the base of the mountain. Let's just say if you go to Barley Creek Brewing Company you have to get the soft pretzel and cheese. I was so glad when Stephen finished his pretzel because then I no longer had to be polite with my cheese usage.

I didn't go out on Saturday because the temperatures were high and it had been raining through the night. We did take the group pizza at the lodge and Ross skied a few runs. Saturday night consisted of lots of football. The Denver/Baltimore game was so good, but after trying to explain the rules for overtime for about 10 minutes we came to the conclusion that the rules are too confusing.

Happy New Year!

I’m back! After much encouragement from my mom and sister over the holidays, I decided to stop writing blog posts in my head and start actually writing them. What a concept! I then realized the easiest way to post at least once a week would be to blog about our Weekly Family Photo. Starting on our wedding day, Ross and I have taken a picture every week as a way to document and remember our lives. They range from pictures of us in a rainy tent to running into a 90s TV star at LAX.

We started the New Year by celebrating with one of Ross’ family traditions – eating pork and sauerkraut. This was my first attempt at making it and thankfully, there was only one snag. It took me forever to find sauerkraut in the grocery store. I finally asked this sweet old lady if she knew where I could find it. She offered a few suggestions then said, “You LIKE sauerkraut?!” 

Enjoying our pork and sauerkraut with a side of good luck!