AUNT Adriana!!

Finally I was able to tell my sister. The week had arrived and mom, dad and I all headed to TX to welcome home Adriana and share my big news. In typical Army fashion her flight was changed about a million times. We even had to change our flights a couple times. We got to TX on Saturday and she finally landed on Tuesday afternoon. We didn't have much time with her since we left on Wednesday night but it is such a relief knowing that she is home for good!!

So I had thought that making a sign would be a fun way to tell her and as you can see below the sign read "Welcome home AUNT Adriana" I wasn't 100% sure the "aunt" would register since she is already Louie's Aunt but everyone reassured me that she would get it. So we bought some supplies and I got to coloring.

We headed over to post to get a front row seat for the arrival. We hid the sign when all the troops were walking in bc we wanted to take a picture of her expression. So everyone arrived and then the words we had all been waiting for "Families go get your soldiers" So there was a mad dash of everyone trying to hug and find their loved ones. We stood on the bleachers and waited for Adriana. When she got to us all she wanted was a hug and she didn't really read my sign. I know she was thinking "yeah yeah I get it welcome home....come give me a hug" But I stood there till she FINALLY read my sign and you will see below that her expression was worth the wait. It was such a great surprise and I am so glad I was able to tell her in person. It was such an emotional day to have her back and be able to give her a big hug.....oh no I am crying as I write this.

Ok well you get the point, here are some pics below. It was a great day and we are all thrilled that she is home for good and that she will be able to meet the new little one and won't miss anymore family moments.

Making my sign in the hotel room

All the soldiers

YEAH She read the sign. She will be an AUNT in December!!

I had been waiting all year for this hug!

Me and my sugar pie

The Cat is out of the bag!!

Well hello again....for any of you out there still reading.... I am sorry it has been so long since my last post. I lost a bit of inspiration and I also had not been taking a lot of pictures. But I am back and hopefully won't let a couple months pass in between posts. There hasn't been too much exciting going on here except for the fact that there will be a new addition to the family in December. Yep you guessed it we (I) am pregnant!!! As of today I just passed the four month mark. It still seems so surreal to me but we are both very excited.

We had kept this pretty much hush hush because I wanted to tell my sister in person before we starting telling everyone. This presented a problem because she was in Afghanistan (until a few weeks ago) so I knew I was going to have to keep my secret for a while. We decided only to tell a few family members. But now that Adriana is home I am happy to everyone. I was able to surprise her in person and it was so special to share that moment with her. (that will be another post later).

Mike and I are still filled with different emotions everyday. We are both very happy but nervous at the same time. We know our lives will change forever but we are excited about the future. I can tell you one person who may not be excited and that is Louie. I know he will be super jealous but I have reassured him that he will always be my #1.

Anyway I do have some pictures of myself that I will be posting later. But below are a few pics of when we told mom and dad. They were both completely shocked and it was so fun to tell them in person in my sneaky way. We had bought them a PSU tee-shirt and told them we just thought they needed a new one. So I handed it to them folded so they could not see the front of the shirt and when they both opened their shirts it was utter surprise and super cute. They are both very excited to be grandparents and can't wait till December.

Tan and Happy

Well the curse has been broken. Previous years when we have vacationed in Fl it has rained almost everyday....until now. This past trip was perfect (almost too hot) sunny hot days and clear skys. No rain in sight and no clouds in the sky. We had a great time laying by the beach and swimming at the pool. The ocean was very warm which was pretty surprising. I got to read a lot and relax even more. It was a perfect early spring get away. We had a great time with family and made some new memories. Here are a couple pictures of us on our trip.

April Already!

Yes I know...worst blogger ever! I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. I hope to pick back up again soon. I have been totally slacking in the blogging and the picture department. But what can I say there hasn't been many interesting things to take pictures of here in rainy, cold, DC. But the weather is beginning to turn around so that is a plus.

I have been super busy with work lately and on the weekends Mike and I have been trying to finish some of the remanning projects inside. This way when its warm we will be project free and ready to head to the boat....although I have learned you are never really project free being a homeowner. Anyway, in case you didn't know my sister was in town for her R&R a couple weeks ago and it was great to see her and spend some quality time together. We were having so much fun together that I hardly took any pics. Here is one on the merto on our way to happy hour. :) She will be back in the state sometime in June so I am counting down the days!!!

Mike and I are headed to Florida this week and I can not tell you how much I am looking forward to laying in the sun and reading my book. Now that I am so busy at work I really appreciate my vacation time and enjoy every minute. Florida is very special to me because this is were Mike and I took our first "vacation" together. My parents had a place in Cape Coral and now Mikes parents have a place in Fort Myers. (So we are very lucky to have places to stay). So I can't wait to head down to FL and make some new memories. Here are a few pics from our first vacation....hehe

Have a great week.

It IS the Oscars

So this was a great low key weekend in VA. Mike and I went out with some good friends on Friday night and it was our last hurrah before they move back to TX. I met Alice last year and our friendship blossomed. I always wanted to meet a best friend in my neighborhood and I did!! Sadly, Alice is moving back to TX to be closer to family. I will miss her SO much and so thankful I met a great friend.

On Sunday Mike and I went to an Oscar party (my first one ever), and boy was I excited. It was going to be a night of classy food and wine with casual wear. My kind of party. So I was in charge of dessert and wanted to make something special.....it is the Oscars! So I scoured my cooking blogs and found a perfect cake for the event. A Tuxedo Cake. Let me tell you this was one serious cake. With 4 cups of sugar, 2 sticks of butter, a whole cup of coco powder I knew it was going to be good. The cake has the name from the black and white theme throughout the cake. The cake was chocolate and it had a cool whip type icing and then a chocolate glaze. So it was a beautiful cake and classy enough for our party.

After I spent the day making the cake we headed out to the party. Louie even came too! We had some good wine, a champagne toast, and LOTS of good food. You can see from the picture we had home made sushi, great cheeses, and lots of other fun finger food. Mike and I each filled out a ballot in hopes to win the prize for the evening. I started out leading the pack and held this lead most of the way through the night. Unfortunately, I could not keep my lead and did not end up winning. But it was fun keeping score throughout the night. Here are a few pics of the ladies with our wine (notice our red teeth) and the boys with Louie. Thanks Val for a nice night!

Happy Whoppie Day

Hello virtural world out there. Happy Valentines Day...or Whoppie day. I have a bunch of things to share from this past weekend and today. So lets start with the weekend. Mike and I headed home to see Emma and visit with my parents. As I mentioned before she had ACL surgery. Before she went into surgery she could barely walk, so this was a much needed surgery. We picked her up on Saturday morning and she came roaring out of the office like a new gal. She is already able to put some weight on her leg and she was in great spirits. Here are a few pics of the patient.

Emma and her momma and giving us a big smile.

On Saturday I had an urge to bake and I had found the perfect recipie for the upcoming "holiday". They are red velvet whoppie pies. Now mind you I have never made whoppie pies so this was a first. Luckily mom was there to help and she helped me conquer the dreaded pastry bag. ( I am not the best using them and mom was a big help). These turned out ok not sure I liked the texture but they were still good. Here are a few pics from the baking adventure.



While we were at home we had a belated bday celebration for Mike. We all went out to a nice dinner and enjoyed the evening. So it was a great weekend at home visiting with family and taking care of my baby Emma. We all had to smoosh to fit in the pic!

And last but not least Happy Valentines Day. I still think this is a hallmark holiday so I don't go overboard celebrating. Love should be shared and expressed everyday not just today. But no matter how you decide to spend the day I hope it is with someone you love. Thanks to my Valentine for my beautiful flowers and our surprise dinner later tonight. Love you.

PS. Thanks Mom for the Valentines day gift card!! Mike and I can't wait to use it.

Special Thoughts

Thinking about my baby girl Emma today. She will be in surgery this morning to fix her torn ACL. I had no idea this was even an issue with dogs, but apparently it is common with bigger dogs. She has been in pain for a while so I hope this helps her out and gets her back to spunky Emma. I know her cousin Louie will be sad that they can not play for a while but she will be back to normal in no time. So thinking about you baby girl!