Last Day of 2009

I really cannot believe today is the last day of 2009! It doesn't seem possible that it has been a whole year already since Joe and I spent an insanely cold New Year's Eve in Washington D.C., toasting to a new year in front of the Washington Monument.

That day I made two resolutions - the first was to get involved in farm animal rescue and branch out from just dogs. That didn't happen. The second was to start a new blog and earn a little money by including affiliate links to some of my favorite companies. Well, I started the blog, but never started the money-making aspect of it.

So, another year's resolutions that went by the wayside. BUT 2009 did bring a TON of new adventures - mostly wonderful, and only a couple hardships. :)

Here is my year in review:

January - Inauguration of Barack Obama

February 1 - Ava Maria Spencer was born!

February 5 - Mason Isaiah Reynolds was born!

February 7 - Joe is officially a licensed chiropractor!

March - My first (and only so far) meeting with Mason

May - Heidi & Scott get married!

August 1 - We move to Connecticut, into a fabulous 2-bedroom townhouse

August 6 - Joe's parents visit and we meet long-lost relatives

August 10 - Joe starts his job with Grant Chiropractic

September - Ava's health declines and we fear the worst.

(But by October, she is on the road to recovery!)

September - My niece announces her engagement and asks me to be Maid of Honor!

October - Joe is inducted into the Connecticut Chiropractic Association

December - Joe & I make our first trip to New York City together...

...and the perfect end to a fabulous year - we get ENGAGED!!

Wow - what a year! 2009 has been a year full of new beginnings, and 2010 is going to be full of even more! It's going to be a great year! Happy New Year's everyone!

Merry Christmas 2009!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Joe and I are having a wonderful Christmas at home with our wonderful doggies. Yesterday was actually a very nice day out, which meant Ava had to go outside for a walk! And since it was Christmas Eve, we dressed her in her Santa suit! Isn't she cute?

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that Jackson and Ava got early Christmas presents from their Grandma Connie! It's a bit of a new tradition that she sends these fabulous rawhide cards. They love them!

Also, over the last few weeks, we've received so many cards from all our friends and family. It's so nice to feel so loved. :)

And look at all the presents we received for Christmas morning! We are so lucky! This is the dogs loot:

And ours!

So, this morning I woke up to an empty bed. Joe is like a kid on Christmas morning - he is up at the crack of dawn wanting to open gifts. It's so cute! I came downstairs and he said he was going to give me ten more minutes, and then it was go time. haha.

We started with our stockings.

Joe got M&Ms, sausage, and the movie Hancock.

I got Fun Dip, sour patch kids, and Starbucks Christmas blend!

Once we made a couple cups of coffee, we let the puppers open their gifts!

Can I open my present now??

Ava looks bad ass in her OSU bandana from the Stutzmans!

Jackson waiting for his cow frisbee from Joe's parents.

Ava cuddled up with her stuffed cow from Joe's parents.

Jackson looking stylish in his OSU collar!

Ava looks so cute in her "Spoiled Princess" shirt from Kaylie, Nathan, & Mason!

Princess meets athlete - I think she pulls it off!

Jackson opening his gift from Kaylie, Nathan & Mason

And then proceeding to carry it around and not letting it get out of his sight!

Once the dogs had their fun, it was our turn. And we scored WELL! :)

I got a fabulous paw necklace from Roxy, along with a dishtowel with dogs on it.

Joe got a calendar of famous golf courses from Roxy. She is such a thoughtful pup!

I got a very cool NYC shirt from my lovely niece Kaylie along with a "Plan Your Wedding on a Budget" book that will come in very handy. (She also sent cookies that Ava opened and ate last night when we were out walking Jackson. Grr.)

Joe got an ice scraper from the Stutzmans, which was a perfect gift, because he's been whining that we needed one (he's been using a credit card, which doesn't quite work, heehee).

Joe's parents got us a GPS system! We are so excited for this, because we (okay, I) tend to get lost. No more will we have to mapquest everything! They also got us a picnic backpack! We can put wine and snacks in it and take it to the park or on a hike. So fun!

We both got awesome new coats from the Stutzmans that have their company logo on the sleeve. They are really nice coats and warm! We love them!

I got Joe an exercise ball and the fourth book in the Bourne installment.

Joe got me the newest Stephen King book! I didn't even know there was a new one until we saw it out on display for Christmas. I'm so excited to read it. I took a picture of it, but unfortunately it didn't come out. But I'm definitely going to start it tonight.

So, thank you everyone for everything! It's been nice to Skype with the family during the festivities, but hopefully next year we'll be home with you all.

Love you all and Merry Christmas!

Snow Day

Our friends in Maryland and D.C. kept telling us about this huge blizzard they were dealing with yesterday and promised that it was coming our way. The weather channel said it would start snowing around 4:00 p.m. yesterday. So, Joe and I went out and rented movies and bought wine so we'd be prepared.

At 11:00 p.m. last night when we went to bed, it hadn't snowed at all. We figured it missed us. Joe was pretty bummed. But once again, all the snow hit us while we were sleeping and we woke up to this:

It's not as much as we were supposed to get, but it's still pretty nice and pretty much guarantees a white Christmas!

Joe took Jackson out this morning and those boys couldn't have loved it more! (Ava and I slept in, in the warmth and comfort of our bed.)

New York - Day 3

I couldn't stop smiling all day on Sunday. It was sooooo cold, but even that couldn't bring me down off of my high. I know, I know, sappy! But true!

We had most of the day to kill before we needed to catch the train back home, so we took the subway downtown and toured around a bit. We went to Ground Zero and saw the new building-in-progress. Not much to see there anymore, just lots of construction. Then we headed to Battery Park and walked all along the East River. You could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Battery Park

See her behind us?

We hopped on the Staten Island Ferry to take a free trip across the river, right past Miss. Liberty. It's such a great (and cheap!) way to see it.

On the ferry.

Statue of Liberty!

Our last stop was the Empire State Building. We didn't have time to go up to the top, so we just walked around it.

Of course, the Empire State Building was right next to Macy's, so we had to make a pit stop there to check out their famous window displays before we headed back underground.

We were a little late getting home, and all four of us were exhausted, but we arrived home to two VERY excited pups, who we missed very much. A HUGE thank you to Joe's cousin Jessica, who drove over and hour from Massachusetts to stay with Ava and Jackson Saturday night. The trip wouldn't have been possible without her, and boy - I had no idea what I would have missed out on!!

I already miss New York City and as much as I loved it before, it is now SO much more amazing and special to me. I have a feeling there will be many more trips to come!