Ready for Fall....

Mom and I went shopping for fall decorations today. We counted up all of the places we went to and it added up to 8 stops (including a coffee break at Starbucks and dinner at Boston Market)! We had fun and got some good stuff. Can't wait to see your pics online Mom!

New Garage Door

I had a new garage door installed this week. The old one was a composite door that was warping and drafty. The new door is insulated and goes all the way down to the ground!!!! The old door was a dark green, so the white is a big change for me to get used to.

The Deck is Stained

I stained the deck this weekend. What a big difference from when I bought the house. Check out the transformation in the attached pictures.

Brandon - Thank you for helping me!! I would still be staining and getting sun burned if it weren't for you!!

Next - comes staining the fence....

Yard Work

It's interesting that plans to edge the driveway and sidewalk, and weed-wack the back yard can turn into a much bigger, weekend-long project. But...it was needed and looks much better. I ended up making mulch beds around the 3 big trees in my backyard. My arms are soooooo sore!!!!

Miranda rocked the Civic!

Krissie and I went to the Miranda Lambert concert last night and had a blast! It was at the Akron Civic and we had really good seats. She didn't play either of our favorite songs from her new album - but she played a great mix of new and old songs. She even did some really fun cover songs too! Randy Houser opened for her and he was great too. I didn't realize how much he can belt it out - have a new respect for him! It is official - we had a great time and I had a sore throat this morning when I woke up to prove it. Cheering and singing at the top of your lungs all night will do that to you!

New Pictures for the house

Thanks to my Mom, Jayme, Connie and Grandma for helping me choose some new photos/artwork for my living room/dining room area. Now I need your help choosing a wall color and some window treatments! :) I had fun at lunch on Monday! It was so nice to sit outside! Thanks!

More Cherry Blossoms

I love this first picture of the Washington Monument - the sun is behind it and it looks like the very tip of the monument is glowing.

The second picture is looking at the Washington Monument from across the Tidal Basin. You can even see the White House to the left of it.

O-H-I-O! We Buckeyes can't pass up a photo opportunity like this one!

The last two pictures are of the Jefferson Memorial down by the Tidal Basin.

The blossoms were so beautiful! What a great time of year to go to DC!

Mom's Birthday

It was Melanie's Birthday on Thursday. We had an AMAZING dinner at the Capital Grille. It was soooooooo delicious! We were so happy to all be together for her birthday!

Easter in DC

We had a great time in D.C. last weekend. The blossoms were in bloom, weather was great and it was so nice to spend time with the whole family! We went down to the Tidal Basin on Thursday and then again on Sunday. It was cool to see how much the color of the blossoms changed from white to pink in that short period of time. Pictures don't really do it justice - seeing the cherry blossoms in person is worth a trip to D.C. I have too many pictures to post in just one blog, so I will have to make a few different posts. These are from Thursday - our first day of the visit!

Ashley's 1st Birthday Party

Yesterday we went to Ashley's 1st Birthday Party. She was too cute! And check out that cake!

Ready for our Road trip!

John and Lilly will be here on Wednesday night and then we are heading out to DC first thing on Thursday morning. Rocco is packed and ready to go!!!

The project of installing new floors is complete - finally!

When Brandon and I redid the downstairs family room and installed new floors downstairs we ran into a slight problem when it came to the door jams. The problems was we didn't know how to finish them - remember we are beginners. :)

My Uncle Jay was kind enough to finish them off for me this week. He built, stained and installed my brand new thresholds. So the floors are finally complete! Now when I walk down the stairs I don't see the old eye-sore staring back at me!!! Love it!

My New Favorite Room in the house...

I know I am about 2 months late for the New Year's resolution to loose weight, but better late than never - right??? I set up a home office and gym in the downstairs bedroom - and it has quickly become my new favorite room in the house. Not because I love using the treadmill that much - more because of the computer and TV. :) I am looking forward to seeing the results from the treadmill though - keep your fingers crossed for me!

Missoula

I was in Missoula, Montana last week and it was beautiful! I was there for work, so I didn't get out much but here a re a few pictures.

The Drunken Sailor

I play poker with a group of friends most Fridays. It is a pretty friendly game but recently a new prize was added to the main pot....The Drunken Sailor. If you win, you get to take home the drunken sailor, but only for a week. You have to bring him back to the poker game next week and he is up for grabs for the next winner. It is silly - but fun! :) I got to take home the drunken sailor last week, however Rocco is not so sure about our temporary house guest.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

This Memorial Day Weekend I had a small cookout with some of my family. Dad drove over from Fairfax and my Grandparents came down from Avon Lake. We got to break in the new grill and patio set and enjoy the first official weekend of Summer. Rocco loved having visitors and wore himself out with all of the excitement - he was too pooped to party for the rest of the weekend! :)

We decided Grandpa and Rocco have similar hairstyles - do you see a resemblance?? :)

Rocco was so tired he fell asleep half on the couch - half on Dad.