Indiana in October

Life has been busy for these newlyweds. Last month we went to Indiana to visit my family and catch up with friends. Thank you Christopher Columbus for "discovering America" and getting us a day off of work. There were two purposes to this trip: to experience harvest with my dad and to have a "Yay! We're married!!!" get together with Indiana friends. Well, everyone forgot to take pictures but it was so great to see friends and to introduce them to my HUSBAND. I love that word, and that man. And as for harvest, my dad was lucky enough to get his crops in early, but that meant no combine rides for me and Ross. Without further ado, this is what our trip looked like.

Ross got a wide angle lens just before the trip, and he had fun experimenting with it.

How cute are my parents? We went to Logansport for dinner and a movie. Ross caught this moment as we left the restaurant.

I am in love with this theater. So maybe it needs a little love, but it has such charm.

Sunday afternoon we visited the creek. This means we bounced around in my dad's truck as we made our way through the corn field to the woods along the creek. Of course, I was trying to get as much niece time as possible. :)

I think I could live next door to her and see her everyday and it wouldn't be enough. This little girl has completely won me over.

I wonder why she thinks Uncle Ross is silly.

Putting up a shock at harvest is a family tradition. For years, my sister and I helped my grandpa with it and have recently been helping my dad. Since the crops were in early this year my parents put it up themselves. But it brings me so much joy to see the littlest member of our family enjoying this tradition.

I joined the men for a little twilight croquet. I may not be good, but I look good doing it. Or not.

Enjoying the farm with the little one.

She's a farm girl just like her mommy. Let's just hope she listens when grandpa tells her to not go higher than second gear.

It's been a year and I still can't get over how beautiful my sister is as a mother.

I love my family.

Indiana Teaser

I'm currently gathering pictures so I can write a few posts, but right now it's movie watching time with the hubs. This will have to do for now.

What could possibly be so fascinating that I don't even realize I'm holding an empty plate?

Full House!!!

Forever Love

The more they laughed,

the more they loved,

and the more they knew

this was true...

forever love

Last week Ross and I tried really hard to be good about going to bed at a decent time. We were still trying to catch up on our sleep from jet lag. One night we got into bed but we kept talking and laughing and ended up being more awake than we had been all day. I looked over at him and said, "Being married is like getting to have a slumber party with your best friend every night!" And he replied, "Girl talk, girl talk, girl talk." Ok, so maybe I was wrong, it's not exactly like that, but it still provides plenty of light hearted moments.

For the record, that opener was stolen from one of the wedding cards we received.

First Week Back

It's hard to believe that we've been back from the honeymoon for a week now. While the honeymoon was tons of fun, it's been great to be back in our 'real lives' as married folk. The reality of it all is starting to sink in. We've spent the week trying to settle into the apartment. That means me getting rid of and organizing my things better so there's somewhere for Ross' belongings to go. We've had opportunities to grow as a couple during this process, but it's been an amazing week. Here are my highlights....

We watched a movie Sunday night and then Ross didn't have to go home – he was home! The joy I felt realizing that we now share a home, is a moment I never want to forget. I love knowing that there will be no more saying good bye at the end of an evening.

Ross had the day off on Friday, but I did not and was not looking forward to having to get up while he slept in. However, when the alarm went off he said, “If you get out of bed now you'll have more time to eat the pancakes I'm going to make you.” Pancakes and coffee with my love was a great start to my day.

Again this morning he let me sleep in while he returned the U-Haul. I woke up to a surprise in the kitchen – a Dunkin Donuts bag. (Note the trend that I don't like mornings, but yummy food makes them tolerable.) This one was especially nice since I tended to swing by DD on my way to his house and get him a donut as an excuse to buy one for myself.

Any of the times I've gotten to say “my husband Ross”

Getting attacked by silly string - twice. I've lived by myself for so long that I forgot how much fun roommates could be. It's a good thing I like this one since it's for life.

Seeing the people we love here. This week it's really been evident how DC is my home. Whether it's at work, church, a friend's birthday dinner, or just walking down the street, we keep running into people who are happy to see us back. And they're excited that we're married too!

Cheesy but fun

Married in the City

Ross and I recently returned from our honeymoon. One of the fun things has been reading the posts a few of my friends have done, so instead of waiting a few months to post about it myself, I'll let you see their pictures and comments on the day. Enjoy!

Alison and her lovely pictures

Jessica and her sweet memories

Sarah and her words of wisdom

Love For The Rents

Just after one o’clock today I got a call from my dad. Normally this means one of two things – something is wrong or his cell phone decided to spontaneously call me. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I don’t enjoy talking to my dad, but rather that talking on the phone is rare for us. I find out what’s going on with him through talking to my mom and vice versa.

I answered the phone with a touch of nervousness. He said he was with my mom at Macy’s looking at mother of the bride dresses. I paused, waiting for the inevitable bad news. Then he said, “They have an advertisement here that says you get a $100 gift card just for registering and you don’t even have to invite them to the wedding!” I had to ask him to repeat himself because surely he wasn’t calling to talk to me about wedding registries. Sure enough he was and that’s all he wanted. The phone call lasted one minute and three seconds.

Then this afternoon I tried calling my mom but her phone went straight to voicemail. This is odd because my mom always has her phone with her. Being the good 21st century daughter that I am, I immediately called my dad to talk to mom. But he didn’t answer his phone either. He is a farmer, so his phone is always attached to his hip unless it’s Sunday morning. How is it possible that neither of them answered their phone?

Finally at four this afternoon I see I have a text from my mom and it states, “you must must go see knight & day immediately. do not wait. it’s greeeaaatttt! mom & dad”. How fantastic is that? I called her and she proceeds to tell me I cannot wait to see this movie. I should grab Ross, or not grab Ross, and go see this movie tonight! I should not wait for it to come out on Netflix, but should spend a little bit of money and go see it in theatres.

As you can tell, today has been a great day of talking with the parents. I love how even though we live 665 miles apart we can still have these fun everyday conversations. Next week will be even better though because they’re coming out to visit for Tom Cruise’s birthday! Or something like that.

Welcome back!

Today I commented on a friend's blog (Happy Anniversary Brandon and Lindsay!) and it used my blog ID to post. All that did was remind me how long it's been since I posted. I had such good intentions when starting this. I thought it would be a good way to keep friends and family updated with what was going on in my far away DC life. Unfortunately it only works if you take the time to update your page. I think part of my problem is I think I need to have something earth shattering to be post worthy. And when something does happen, I don't take the time to write about it but then it seems odd to post about it weeks or months later.

Here's a brief life update:
I'm still living in DC and loving it. I've finally unpacked all my boxes, but there's still a pile of picture frames on the floor waiting to find a home. I'm still at the same job, and that's actually where I met my amazing fiance. We're planning a September wedding followed by a very relaxing beach honeymoon. Even though I live significantly closer to the ocean, I have yet to go since moving. Hopefully that will change this summer. As of October, I am now an aunt to the world's cutest baby. Seriously, this girl is adorable. I've found a church I really like and am being challenged and encouraged by my community group. A few friends and I have started our own book club. The meetings may not be consistent and on topic, but at least we're reading! For the first time since I was 10, I'm playing softball this summer. The team doesn't mind that I'm terrible since we're in the noncompetitive division of the work league.

I'm going to make an effort to be better at posting. I know this was brief and didn't flow, but at this point, a bad post is better than no post.

An oldie but goodie - out to dinner last summer

I told you she was the cutest baby in the world