Anniversary Celebration

Nate and I rang in our New Year at a Neko Case concert in Baltimore Tuesday night. I have loved Neko's music for a few years now, and it was exciting to see her live! She has a really unique voice - beautiful! I think Nate might have been a little bored by the music, but he certainly looked amused everytime I caught him looking at me! I'm just that cute :-)

Happy Anniversary!

Nate and I were married two years ago today, on a hot and sunny July day. During the ceremony, the priest said something that really resonated with me. He said that even though we were two people, that day we became a family.
In our first year of marriage, we became a family. In the second year, we began to add to our family. And as we enter into our third year of marriage, I can't wait to meet our newest family member with the same overwhelming love that Nate and I felt from all our friends and family on our wedding day.

"It always feels like...

Somebody's watching me!"
Seriously, don't the paint rollers look like the money we could be saving with Geico?? Nate was piling up the tools we used in the closet renovation, and this is what happened. By chance!

Besides a little clean-up this weekend, Nate and I visited with friends for an impromptu BBQ Saturday night. As soon as we arrived, of course, it started to pour. We had fun regardless of the weather!

The BBQ was a nice break for me, as I had spent all day working on a paper for class. I finished it on Sunday, and will edit it this week. Can't wait to have it turned in!

Friends and Renovations

Nate and I headed into the Big City this weekend to say farewell to our friends Anne and Stu, who are moving to Sweden. It's a bittersweet goodbye. We are very happy for them, and excited for their new adventure, but we will miss them!
The evening was a lot of fun though. Our friend Mandy came down for the occasion. We went to dinner at Marvin (yum!) and got to catch up. We were having so much fun, that we didn't leave DC till almost 3:00am! It was a much later night than I intended, but very worth it.

We also finally finished the closet project this weekend. We got all the shelves installed on Saturday, and tackled the doors on Sunday. The doors were a bear, but we finally wrangled them in place.

I think it looks great, don't you? I can't wait to get everything put back in - and off the guest bed!

One Weekend in Maine

Nate and I flew up to Portland, Maine, to spend the weekend with Parke and Sarah. We brought our good weather north, and had a fantastic time!

We arrived Friday night, and stayed up late chatting and catching up. Parke and Sarah have done a lot with their house since we last visited, and it looks great. On Saturday, we took a ferry across the Portland Harbor to visit Peaks Island.

Peaks Island is very cute. It's a small island, but quite pretty with rocky beaches and fun restaurants. We spent a few hours on the beach, absorbing the sun and laughing at the kids playing in the water.

We also laughed at Nate playing in the water. He swam all the way out to the tiny island way out past the beach. Nate said the water wasn't too bad. I thought it was frigid.

After showers and naps, we went out to dinner Saturday night at Fore Street in downtown Portland. The restaurant is really neat. It's both fancy and relaxed, with a gorgeous copper kitchen right in the middle of the room!

Nate ordered sea bass, not realizing he would be served the WHOLE THING. Luckily, our fantastic server was ready with fish knife in hand to gut the thing for him. I looked away, wholly grossed out!

On Sunday, we woke to a leisurely morning. Sarah and I had our toes done at a very cute salon. Then we all headed off to a Portland Sea Dogs game. It was quite hot sitting in the sun, and the Sea Dogs were not playing their best, but it was still a very fun afternoon! After the game, we went back to the house for some hamburgers on the grill. A very relaxing evening!

We wished we could have stayed longer, but we had to get back to Maryland and Riesling. We flew back Monday, and can't wait to see Parke and Sarah again soon!

The Big Announcement!

For those of you who haven't heard, Nate and I are expecting a baby! Bad Baby is due January 31, 2010, and we couldn't be more excited.

I am 10 weeks along, and feeling pretty good, despite a constant feeling of nausea. I am looking forward to the second trimester and feeling great! Even more than that though, I am looking forward to meeting our little baby in a few months. It's such an exciting time for our family! Even Riesling has been giving me extra sniffs and cuddles!

4th of July

Nate's whole family flocked to Harrisburg this weekend for a 4th of July celebration complete with poker and fireworks. It was great to have Grandma meet her first great-grandchild, Jameson. J is such a cutie! And a very good baby. He's not quite ready for poker, but the rest of us were!

Saturday night, Nate's parents hosted a poker tournament. $50 buy-in with three tables of six - and prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. What's not to like?

I was knocked out in the first round. But I had fun playing a few hands, and I wasn't the first out! Nate, on the other hand, made it to the final table. It was down to Nate and his sister - a very close game! Liz won the tournament with a 5 and a 2 - unlikely cards, but what a hand! Nate was pleased with his 2nd place win. Cousin Matt took third place. And who could believe that the first player knocked out in last years tournament (in the first hand, no less) would win the whole thing this year?!

It was a great weekend, filled with sun, pool, food and fireworks. Happy 4th!