Calyn's Wedding Weekend

Last weekend, my late great roommate formerly known as Calyn Reber got hitched to Kenley Stringer in Tallahassee, FL.  Aaron and I flew in and out of Jacksonville for the event and stayed around there for a couple of days to hang with great friends Linsday and Todd.

Here we are at the St. Johns Town Center hanging out!

Me and Linds!

Lindsay and Todd's dog Parker...we LOVE him! (probably because he's a wire hair dachshund-version of our dog, Noa)

Then we drove over to Tally and found Leshay right as we were getting out of the car in the church parking lot!  Here we are at the wedding ceremony together, all smiles.

Here we are now with the some of our all-time favorite people, the Stringers! :) :) :)  Don't they look so happy!?! 

After the wedding, we met up with our friends Ashley and Doug, and went the downtown winter festival.  Here's a picture of "Candy Cane Lane" on Park Street in downtown.  Tallahassee is such a cute place!

Love the moss-covered trees all lit up for Christmas!

We got trapped by the parade so we ended up in our hotel room downtown with everyone watching the ACC championship against Virginia Tech.  It was fun to watch them play again while being in Tallahassee in spite of the fact that we couldn't pull out a win.  (No hard feelings here, though, because we're surrounded by lots of great VT fan friends around here in Virginia, so no reason to be haters).

Anyway, school stuff is slowing down around here.  Finally.  I only have finals left, which sadly seems like a relief.  Tonight we're having a little hot chocolate soiree at our place, more on that to follow!!  Hope you're having a lovely December!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  We have much to be thankful for this year.  Nothing like some vacation and family time to give you a few moments to sit back and recognize all of the things we are blessed to have in our lives.

Today was our first time actually hosting family in our home for a holiday meal.  I was only slightly mortified to do this, but I need to give a shout-out to my rockstar of a sister (in-law) who helped me plan (and do) it all.

This morning, the guys did their part by getting out of the house to go golf (and, later, they flexed their dishwashing muscles).  The girls (me, Lianne, and Susan) did all the prepping and cooking.  Here are the photos from our Thanksgiving adventure.

Prepping the night before.

My ever-so-creative husband decided to work on his application to Benihana (Hibachi grill) when I asked him to slice a few onions.

The family on Thanksgiving Day.

The cozy table is all set!  

The bird...courtesy of Lianne!

Cranberry sauce.  Warning, I did in fact take a picture of every dish.  As my first Thanksgiving in the driver's seat, I wanted my accomplishment on record ;)

Stuffing!

Sweet potato casserole.

Green bean casserole.

Rolls.

Apple pie!  (Also courtesy of Lianne's expertise)

We had so much fun today!  So much so that we're all in turkey-eating comas and everyone has already gone back to respective hotels so the girls can rest up before doing some early shopping tomorrow.  

To our family in Stuart, Ft. Lauderdale, and all who are celebrating in Sylacauga, we MISSED you!  And love you!  

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Family's here and more are on their way!

Aaron and I are so happy to host family this weekend for the Thanksgiving Holiday!  Because times are getting busy and there will be LOTS to share after the fact, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak of our visit with AJ & Lianne, who came into town last Friday to hang with us, watch the 'noles, and do the DC thing.  Here are the highlights:

On Saturday, we went to the Florida State/Maryland game and we got to visit with some old friends (and new) from FSU for a pre-game tailgate.

The bro and sis!

Bryan and Hallie were with us, too!  (duh!)

We had some serious Seminole spirit up there in Section 303.

Bryan had the best 'nole gear of all.  A homemade cape.

Me and the boo.

The whole gang at Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD.

After going grocery shopping on Sunday, I took a picture of our fridge and pantry because I was mesmerized by the amount of food.  Pretty sure we've never had this much at one time.  Ever.  (But if we're gonna host Thanksgiving, we gotta deliver!)

On Monday and Tuesday (today), AJ, Lianne, & Aaron went into DC to do the city thing...while I went to WORK--no hard feelings ;)  Here's a few pics from their adventures...

AJ & Lianne at Arlington Cemetary.

AJ hangin' with his new friend Ben (the Chili bowl).

Visiting the capitol (though we get to go inside tomorrow)

The guys at the WWII memorial

Fearless squirrels the size of a small cat.

Abe and the Orlando Wilsons.

I love this pic.  Mostly because Lianne looks a little like a magical unicorn.

The pandas sat ladylike for them!  Rude!

And the parents are on their way, so gotta go, catch ya later, and - in case it's a while before I get to give the full update - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

It's Election Day!

I'm just not ready for the cold yet.  Have I said that before?  Probably.

Not like "throw on a light jacket and leave the A/C off in the car" cold.  We're talking "frosty breeze, UGG boots, and use lotion every 5 minutes" cold.  (Side note: I still refuse to wear my boots.  I just can't  do it yet.)

It seems we have skipped Autumn and gone straight to Winter here in DC.  I think this is a habit for this region (to skip seasons, that is).  How do I determine this lack of season, you ask?  It's mostly because there is a whole genre of clothing that it seems I have not worn this year.  And we have skipped to the next level of clothing (i.e. thicker jackets and socks).  I thought it was just me and the thinning of my skin in summer, but when Aaron walked out of our house with a wool jacket on, I knew I wasn't just thinking crazy thoughts about the frigid temperatures.

As we made our way to the car this morning, this is what we found...

Frost on the windows of Sydney the Solara, and my message of denial to mother nature.

And ice that I had to scrape off before we went anywhere.

In summary, if you have a visit planned in the winter months, pack warm.  Unless mother nature does what she did last week and there's a heat wave.  In which case you should pack shorts and flip flops, too.

Oh.   And if we have plans to come and visit you, Floridians, I'm packing my bathing suit, so get your Coppertone 45 ready.

In other, more important news:

Today is the day our family has been waiting for!  Why, you ask?  Because it's election day!  And - truth be told - it's not because we can't wait for Washington to be forever changed (although I wouldn't mind), but really this is because I can't wait to have my husband back (and he probably can't wait to go golfing and watch TV).  I'm using a lot of parentheses.  (Sorry.)

For those who are unaware, Aaron works in the elections industry doing work for a company that provides alternative access to ballots for overseas voters.  So basically his (our) life has been crazy for months, complete with weekly travel, all-nighters and long long hours.  So we're looking forward rest and relaxation and a little quality time (I think those are usually called weekends.)

Bring. It. On.

P.S.  I hope you voted.  (And not for an idiot.)

Ciao!

An afternoon in Harpers Ferry, WV

Today, Aaron and I were able to have a day off, so we wanted to fill it with something that we've been wanting to do for a while.

So, the beautiful blue skies and comfortable temperatures led us over to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia for the afternoon.  We made the drive (about an hour) after church, and on the way there, we were able to see lots of fall foliage, which was an added bonus to making the trip.

Our destination was a tiny town in West Virginia where Maryland and Virginia are also within view.  It's situated on the corner (wish I had a better word than corner, but 7th grade geography terms are currently escaping me) where the Potomac River splits into the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.  The riverside was a great place to walk around and take some fun pictures!  We also loved walking on the stone streets and steps to visit some of the shops, restaurants and museums.  At the end of the night, we even spent some time enjoying the simplicity of skipping rocks on the river by the railroad tracks (turns out it's not just a song).

Here are a few pics from our afternoon/evening:

Hanging around on the Shenandoah River.

A Catholic church at the top of a hill, with train tracks down below.

The Potomac River.

It's just about the halfway point of the Appalachian Trail.

The train tunnel.

Steps up to the church.

Some steps to a house in town.  We thought they looked pretty cool!

(Isn't my husband, handsome?)

The whole town was nestled pretty much on the side of a mountain.  Steep walkways and steps everywhere, it was pretty neat.

Skippin' rocks.

And a train went by! (I love trains for those of you who are unaware of my fetish.)

The mountain turned red as the sun started to set.

We caught a quick picture of the West Virginia sunset as we were driving away.

The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth 

 from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.  

From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

Psalm 50:1-2

Have a great week!