Dirty Thirty

It's that time of year...or should I say the dreaded year for most of us. The 1980 babies are turning 30 this year. Yep 30!! I am not sure how I feel about this yet but I don't think I like it. I still have a few months to go so I can cherish my last few months in my 20's but Miss Aliza is in her 20's no more. She is now a member of the dirty thirty club.

I was fortunate enough to get to spend some quality time with Aliza for her birthday weekend. On Friday I drove to DE and we spent the day together and went out to sushi for dinner. It was soooo good and I have to thank Aliza for introducing me to sushi. We were able to catch up and have some much needed girl time that day. So we said our goodbyes since we normally don't see each other often. Aliza thought this was our bday celebration but little did she know that her husband had planned a surprise birthday party for the next evening.

So the next day I drove back to Delaware to meet everyone for the surprise. Vaughan had organized an amazing intimate surprise dinner with close friends and family. Aliza thought she was going to dinner with Vaughan and her brother and so when she arrived she was shocked. It was so great to see her so surprised and even better to be a part of her special day. I love surprise parties so it was fun to be a part of the surprise. It was a perfect dinner....great food &wine, good conversation & story telling, and of course an amazing cake. Vaughan did a great job planning the dinner and keeping it a surprise.

I am so happy Aliza and I are such great friends. We meet in middle school but didn't really become close till our junior year in high school. We have shared so many memories and I am so happy she is a part of my life. It was such a great birthday and I was honored to be a part of her dinner.

Here are a few pictures from dinner. They are in reverse order so her surprise face is at the bottom.

LOVE YOU ALIZA!!

"Vacations"

I am not sure what classifies as a vacation in your book, BUT in my book a real vacation is 5 plus days, total relaxation, no stress, no work, and no responsibilities. Which I think usually means the beach and laying in the sun all day (our honeymoon was the PERFECT vaca). Now, some people may say a weekend getaway may qualify as a vacation but I think weekend trips are too short and usually too jammed packed to be called a vacation. However for those of you that want to call it a vacation I will play along with you today. So the year of 2010 will go down as the year of weekend “vacations”.

Mike and I have a bunch of plans for 2010 and we have had a great time on the trips we have been on thus far and we are reallllllly looking forward to our upcoming trips. Here are a few pictures of places we have been so far this year.

Ski Trip with the gang in Wisp

(I didn't take the new camera on the slops so no action shots. Just mike jumping in the fresh snow)

My sis and I at the Grand Canyon

(How in the world do you pick the best few shots out of 500+ pics!!!)

Mikes 30^th bday and snow storms

(granted we didn’t go anywhere but I though these events deserved a shout out)

Raleigh for Kents surprise birthday

Florida with Scott & Meg----Still need these from Meg. HINT HINT

And we have a bunch of trips still coming up. On schedule….Mike is headed to Canada in July for his yearly fishing trip with the boys. Also in July I am headed to Texas to see my sister one last time before she leaves. Mike and I are going to Sacramento, in August, to spend a weekend with family on my cousins boat. We are headed to Alabama in September for the PSU game. In October we will go to Hilton Head with my family. And last but not least in December we are going to San Diego for a fun trip with some friends. So needless to say I am super excited for the remainder of the year. We have a trip almost every month (except November….any ideas) so bring on the rest of 2010.

Happy 4th

Well it is time to celebrate our independence. Time for sun, fun, cookouts, friends, and family. And of course time to think about those who serve our country and helped us gain our independence.

I am excited for some time off and to relax. I hope to work on my tan and start and finish my new book club book. I am headed to see my bestest friend Aliza to celebrate her birthday and then I will head down to the boat.

Mike is going to Canada for the week with the boys for some man time. Anyone have any fun and exciting plans? Gotta love sun time and no work! See you all next week. I hope you all have a safe and fun weekend. Enjoy!

Miller Time

So this weekend Mike's sister Steph and her family (Ryan, Alexis, and Gianna) all came down for a visit. The girls had never been to our place so we were excited to have them down and get to play with them. I think it is safe to say that the highlight of their visit was the trip to the boat. We went for the day on Saturday and I think we spent 92% of the time in the water. It was a blast, the girls LOVED it. Alexis said she wanted to stay forever!! It was super cute. We swam, went tubbing, and rode the wave runner. It was a first for the girls so we were glad to be a part of it. Today we went to the pool and swam some more. I swear those girls are going to turn into fish. Reminds me of my childhood. I loved the water. SO we can't wait to have the girls down again. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Louie was quite the water dog this wkend. He swam a lot as well

I think I laughed more than Lexi on the tube. It was so fun.

The Millers & Nardini's

Lexi jumped off the top of the boat with Mike. Which is SUPER high for a 4 year old!!

Mom & Dad and Lexi

Here are two pics from the previous weekend. Our first dinner at our table and Gram's famous apple pie.

This upcoming weekend is the 4th and Mike leaves on Friday for Canada and I will be headed to the boat with Louie for some relaxation. I am excited to start my next book for book club. Sounds like it will be a great boat read. We will be reading. Same Kind Of Different As Me. Any one read it already? I have heard great things.

Family Visit

June has turned into family month. With visitors almost every weekend we have had a great month so far. Two weeks ago the in-laws and the in-law grandparents came to visit us. Gram and Pap had never been to our new house so it was nice to have them see the place. We were able to spend some good quality time together. On Saturday we went to see The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I had only ever been outside the church and not inside. I had no idea how beautiful it was inside. We went to mass on Saturday afternoon so it was a nice experience to be there with family. I have put a few pics of the church below, but they really don't do it justice.

On Sunday we "christened" our new dining room table at the house. Mike and I just bought new furniture so Sunday was the first day we were able to use it. Donna made her always delicious braciole and gram made her famous apple pie. So it was a great way to end the visit. All in all it was a great visit and nice to spend time with family. I have a few pics of our meal that I will upload later.

The following weekend my mom and Nana came down to do some cooking as well. This weekend Mike's sister and family will be visiting and we will be heading to the boat. I can't wait to swim with my nieces and pull them around in our inner tube. I think it will be a great time and I will be sure to share pictures next week.

Heartbreaking

This is absoutly gut wrenching for me. Those of you who know me, you know that I am a total animal lover....so all this breaks my heart. I can't watch the stories on the news or read any of the articles anymore because I end up crying. The poor animals totally helpless and devastated by this oil. And it seems never ending......everyday there is a "new" date of when this will stop. In the mean time hundreds and thousands of animals are being killed. There is not enough man power to save them. Makes me wonder where are all the benefit concerts, and fund raisers to help save our oceans???? Ugh...I feel so helpless. I wish I could quit my job and go save all the animals. Day 50 and no end in sight.....

Memorial Day

I apologize this post is a bit late but things have been busy around here. As per usual we headed down to the boat for a weekend of sun and relaxation. And the weekend turned out to be just that. The weather was perfect and I had plenty of time to relax. The weather was so great we actually slept out on the water one night. Which is so peaceful and beautiful. I have attached picture from sunset and sunrise. The water was still a bit cold so I only got in super quickly to cool off. As always it was great to be with family and friends for the holiday. No major food update except I am embarrassed to say how much food we had so lets just say none of us went hungry for the weekend. I did make the PB cookies again and they were such a hit they may become a staple for boat weekends.

So the official kickoff to the summer was a success and I will be posting about many more weekends to come.

Happy Summer!!

Louie dead tired after an afternoon of swimming

Me and my Nana

Sunset on the water

Sunrise on the water...it was so calm that mike took advantage and went wake boarding at 7am

our raft up