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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Last Day of Tutoring

National Zoo

I got to spend yesterday morning at the National Zoo with my visiting teacher and her cute girls. (Much better than this morning, when I spent all morning at the DMV :)). I've been to the zoo a few times, but it was extra fun to be with a three year old who was sooooooooo excited about everything (I think she liked the statues and interactive displays even more than the animals :)). Cute little Megan.


I also got some killer looks at the Giant Pandas. The cool weather had all the animals out and about.


These little guys might be my favorite, though. Alpacas. I'm just sayin, if I had to be an animal...:)

Our Little English Garden



Ok...so it's not English...at all...except for the fact that we speak English--does that count? :) But it just sounded so quaint, I couldn't resist. In any case, it is a garden...kinda. Ok, so it isn't much, but it's ours! :) Peas, and tomatoes, and "johnny pop ups". :) I must admit, we are pretty proud of our peas.

Our balcony doesn't get much sun, so please keep your fingers crossed that we get veggies! Yum yum.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Time flies when you're having fun...

My parents and Meg came for a visit this last week, and boy did it FLY by. I loved every minute of their stay, but hated how crazy fast the week went!

Mt. Vernon was a blast as usual.



This next picture is perhaps my favorite of the trip. I've dubbed it "My family the Westerners". If you look closely, you can see the squirrel that my dad and Meg were stalking. Yep...squirrels cause quite the commotion when you're not used to seeing them all the time! :) This game went on for a good 5 minutes on the lawn of Mt. Vernon, causing other tourists to stare and laugh. (You can imagine...two adults sneaking on tiptoe across the lawn after a squirrel, cameras ready...and another adult standing off to the side taking pictures of them. People thought we were all nuts :)) I had the time of my life looking on--I love my family!


The museums were fun, as always, and we had a great time shaking things up a bit and seeing the monuments at night. They look awesome all lit up.

Ford's theatre and the house where Lincoln died were highlights. It was incredible to hear the whole story as we sat in the very room where the assassination happened.

Old Town is always a blast.

And Arlington Cemetery was extra cool this time around. There was a funeral going on, and we got to see (and hear) a 21 cannon shot salute. Very thought-provoking.


The Library of Congress was gorgeous! I'd never seen it before, and couldn't get enough. It was one of Meg's favorite parts.


And then, there was the highlight of the site seeing. Saturday morning we all got to go in the White House! A friend of ours squeezed us in at the last minute, and boy was it cool! We weren't allowed to take in cameras, but seeing the rooms and the historic furniture, and just...well...it was surreal. So glad I got to experience it, and so glad I got to experience it with all of my favorite people (minus Halee and Carly of course...sorry girls...we missed you!).

Anyway, couldn't have asked for a better visit. The Gotbergs brought amazing weather with them (Seriously...it had rained almost every day in May until they came. Then they showed up, and poof: clear, beautiful and sunny, 70's, and no mugginess the whole time. Good thing...you think my family isn't used to squirrels--you should see them in humidity.) They spoiled us rotten, too, with meals and groceries and all sorts of things (seriously, our pantry is exploding). But best of all, they were just here...seeing our life, playing Yahtzee, and making lots of fun memories. My family rocks. That's all there is to it!


Here's some more of my favorite photos!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Hopin for lots more like the first!!

What a great first year! We celebrated yesterday with a delish dinner at PF Changs (gluten-free even!). Then we came home and watched one of our favorite TV shows on Hulu (Bones...hilarious). We'd said no gifts because of the cruise... Brian apparently didn't think he had to stick to that. Punk. :) Seriously, this picture doesn't do these flowers justice...one of the prettiest arrangements I've seen!! What a sweet husband I found!

Luckily, I at least thought to make Bri a homemade cake. I was a little nervous; my first gluten-free cake. I was scared it would be more of a surprise for him than he bargained for. :) But it actually turned out pretty scrumptious, if I do say so myself. (Yummy Lion House recipe...they know their stuff!)

It was a really fun first anniversary. But nothing compared to our first year of marriage. We're so hoping that all the rest are just as amazing! (But maybe not quite as FAST!!!)


Monday, May 11, 2009

When...when...when?

Well...it's official. On Wednesday we will hit the one year mark, and we've officially hit the stage where everyone and anyone is asking us when we're thinking about having kids. (It gets kinda weird coming from the cashier at the grocery store, and the mailman...but...whatever... :) Ok...so that's a joke. Not a funny one, but a joke just the same.)

So, since inquiring minds want to know, we thought we'd post about it. When do we plan on having kids? Well, it depends on who's asking. If it's Brian's parents, then the answer is that we tried to bring in some tropical parrots from Belize and Nassau, but the custom signs at the port scared us off... so, accquiring some now is going to demand a lot of time and research and probably smuggling at some point. So, it could be awhile. :) If you're Amber's family, just remember that Amber and Brian are competing for the LAST grandchild, and since Meg's not even married yet...well...it could be awhile. :) If you're anyone else, for the moment we've decided to spare you the trauma of having little Ambris running loose in the world...but when we change our minds, you'll be the first to know (well...ok...so WE'LL probably be the first, unless we somehow COMPLETELY miss the growing stomach and moodiness thing...hmmm...well...the moodiness thing might actually be kinda hard to detect with me, but the stomach thing, THAT we should catch).

He he he...all joking aside, we love that people want us to have kids. It's kinda flattering. And we don't mind the questions--we think it's funny, actually. But know for now...no itch. No immediate plans. No babies on the way. I mean, really, after seeing this, can you blame us? Maybe reproducing isn't such a great idea... :)

Monday, May 4, 2009

Kinsey's Baby Blessing

This weekend we got to go to Elkin, North Carolina for my newest niece's baby blessing. Despite the 6 hour drive each way, it was really really fun to get to be there for the special moment. And meeting cute little Kinsey...so fun. She's adorable, and tiny, and looks just like her daddy (Brian's brother Scott).

Being the dorks that we are, me and Brian got home and realized we hadn't pulled our camera out once! So...no pictures. Booooooooooooooo! Except for this one from my camera phone where you can't really see her, and Brian's head looks distorted (he he he...sorry sweetie, but you agree, right? :)) Sigh. I can't believe I didn't get one of her in her cute little blessing dress. I'll do better next time--promise.



A big thanks to Scott and Alisa for letting us be there (and for making such a yummy gluten-free dinner!) and to Brian's parents for putting us up in a "swanky" hotel. :) And lots of kisses to cute little Kinsey!!