New Year's Day Trip to D.C.

On New Year's Day, Joe and I packed up the dogs and headed down to Washington D.C.! It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment trip. Joe had a three-day weekend and we hadn't seen Stuart or anyone since we got engaged and we wanted to share everything with them. We didn't think we would be able to go because of snow conditions but that Friday morning we looked up the weather forecast and decided to chance it.

The dogs were very good for the trip, like always. I think they are used to these long road trips. I just imagine them saying, "Okay, guess we're moving again. I wonder where to this time?"

Doesn't Ava look chill? She's thinking "Hope it's warmer where we're going". (She was sorely disappointed.)

We got to Stuart's place around 5:00 p.m. on Friday. It was a looooong trip, but it was nice to have our new GPS that we got for Christmas from Joe's mom. It definitely made finding our way to Stuart's place on Capital Hill a lot easier.

We actually didn't do a whole lot while we were there, but it was just really nice to be able to see our friend and catch up. And Joe liked killing terrorists with Stuart via Call of Duty 4. They would listen to me talk about the wedding for a while, and then have to be 'boys' and play their game. :)

Such focus!

There is a dog park right by Stuart's apartment, so we took the dogs there once. It was so cold, though, by the time we walked the one block over, we were already practically frozen through. Ava REALLY didn't like it that I took her out in that weather. But I put on her coat and bundled her up and made her get out and see the city!

Right here in the sun is fine with me, mom!

Are you KIDDING me?? It's freezing out here!

And then there is Jack. "It's cold out here? Huh, didn't notice. Kick the ball again, dad!"

Aside from walking up to a Thai restaurant to pick up take-out our first night there, the dog park was our one excursion out. Didn't see much of the city, but that was okay. Stuart has a very nice apartment and we had a great time staying in.

Hanging out.

Stuart's "what up" sign.

All the boys.

My friend Laura from Birthday in a Box came to hang out for a while Saturday night. It was so nice to see her! We talked a lot about the wedding and she so graciously said she would help me with my flowers since she worked at a florist for ten years! Score! (Didn't get any pictures of her, though, darn it. Too focused on catching up to take any.)

The trip definitely made us realize how much we miss the big city. Our next move (whenever that may be) will have to be closer to a city!

New Year's Eve 2010

Better late than never, right? I haven't blogged in a while, and I need to catch up on a few things. First of all, our New Year's Eve celebration was pretty quiet, but really nice. We had won a magnum of champagne at a holiday gift exchange, so we saved if at opened it up that night. Not sure why I thought the two of us could put away an entire magnum, but it was fun trying. And of course I had to get sparklers, because no New Year's Eve is complete without fireworks. :)

Our New Year's Eve loot.

Ringing in the New Year!!

Joe with his last soda before our wedding.

Joe has an addition to caffeine. He spent 12 years being caffeine-free... until he met me. And then I introduced him to Dr. Pepper and took him to Europe where he HAD to try the coffee, and it was all over after that.

He says he can't give up caffeine entirely (who would I drink Starbucks with??), but he is going to give up soda... at least until the wedding. Let's all wish him luck!

Some of our other New Year's goals:

Begin a happy and healthy marriage.

Pay off debt.

Volunteer more.

2010 is starting off pretty great, actually, and it's going to be such an exciting year! Can't wait to share it with all of you!

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.)