Earthquake in VA

We're fine, home safe, and only my shampoo and our waffle iron suffered from the quake.

As earthquakes go, this didn't cause major damage. I've seen a lot of humor, joking, and mocking - which I understand and have laughed at - but I've also seen some fear. Some people had flashbacks to 9/11 today. I know it's true in D.C. and I'm sure it's true of NYC as well. Most people around here aren't accustomed to earthquakes but we do know that we're in our nation's capital and it's always a potential target for terrorism. When things shake around here, most people's first reaction isn't "earthquake" but rather "bomb." I think not knowing initially what was shaking the ground made people extra freaked out. At first I was offended by people mocking us East Coasters - between the uncertainty and not being able to get in touch with family for over an hour I felt like I was going a little crazy. In the end, I think the humor helped me get over it. RIP waffle iron.

One scary bit of info about the earthquake still remains though: After the disaster in Japan a few months ago, Jason and I did a little research about Lake Anna's nuclear power plant since we spend a lot of time down there each year. We learned that it's the 7th most at-risk nuclear power plant for earthquake damage in the US (out of 100+ plants) and was only built to withstand a magnitude of 5.9 – 6.1. Today's earthquake was a 5.8 and the epicenter was a mere few miles from the plant. That's a little too close for comfort if you ask me. Maybe we should work on fixing the plants so they're a little more earthquake-ready? Yeah?

Moo Thru

The Moo Thru is a cute little ice cream place that we pass when we come home from the lake but until last week had never stopped to try. After seeing that it was up against our favorite local place, The Dairy Godmother, in a Northern VA "frozen treats" competition we decided it was about time we try it. Let me start by saying the Moo Thru has their own cows. They sell their own milk. And of course, their ice cream is homemade from the milk of those dairy cows. We noticed that people were eating in their cars rather than on the benches and soon figured out that it is because you can SMELL those cows when the wind blows. Ah, well, small price to pay for what turned out to be AMAZING ice cream! It'll definitely be our new stop on the way home from the lake!

Baby, You're a Firework

Well, our adorable little niece is definitely the star of the show.

She's a little firework in our lives and we love having her and her mom & papa around.
There was a big crowd down at the lake this weekend and we all had so much fun
floating in the lake, playing games, eating lots of food, watching fireworks...

Happy 4th of July!

*Title courtesy of my new obsession with Katy Perry seeing her in concert. I swear I haven't been listening to her music non-stop since then or trying to convince Jason to get pit tickets to see her live again while we're on vacation so we can be THIS CLOSE to her... That certainly doesn't sound like something I'd do...  No way...
You just gotta igniiiite the liiiight and leeeet it shiiiine, just ooown the niiiight like the fourth of July!

Favorite Toy

You know how babies seem to love things you wouldn't expect, like the boxes their actual presents come in rather than the present itself?

Forget bones and kongs! Our pup loves water bottles!

Over the weekend while we were at the lake, Rufus grabbed any unattended water bottles he could get his paws on and chewed them up.

We're loving that it's lake weather again!

Oasis

Sometimes you just need to get away from it all...

...and that's exactly what we did this weekend. 

Even when it's cold, gray, rainy, and no one else is around

a trip to the lake in the company of my husband and pup

makes everything seem better.

I forget my worries, or at least stop worrying about them for a while.

I feel free, like I can breathe again, even if just for a weekend.

And that's about all we can ask for, right?

Thank goodness for this oasis.

July 4th Weekend in Picture Form

Summer Lake Time

One of our favorite things to do is go down to Lake Anna and hang out for the weekend. Long weekends are even better! We love it at any time of year - in the winter time it's usually pretty empty. We build fires, make s'mores, and cuddle up with books. In the summer, it's full of life. I think we hit a record of the greatest number of people (and dogs) at the lake this Memorial Day - at least for as long as I've been around. These pictures don't even begin to show how many people there were!

Hello there, sweet girl.

Esme playing in her pool with Grandmommy and Mommy.

So sweet.

Meet Ranger... and his "big sister" Chris.

See that little person near the fire in the first picture? That's Gary. That's his fire.

Cutest in-laws. Esme reads to Uncle Jerry.

Our little family.

Until next time!

Radios and Refrigerators

I've grown an appreciation for the radio once again. For a long time I didn't listen to it at all, partially because I didn't have a car (and that's the only place I listen to it) and partially because they kept taking the "good" stations away in DC. Well, new ones are slowly popping up and I've stopped being a music snob enough to the point where I can now enjoy the crappy/catchy music on the radio. I think this is a good thing. Certain songs remind me a lot about certain points in my life and the emotions I was feeling at the time that they were new and overplayed on the radio. I want to be able to hear songs from today (even if they're crap) and remember these days I'm having now. My newlywed days! We have had quite a few warmer days lately and it's been so much fun to drive with the windows down and the radio playing! It makes me feel like I'm 16 and carefree again.

We had my family over for brunch last weekend. It was about time - this is the first time we've had them over to our apartment and we've been living here since August! It's shameful, really. So we had a mega waffle brunch.

Jakob, who was once afraid of dogs thanks to one biting his face as a toddler, let Rufus lay next to him and petted him for quite a long time.

We also celebrated Passover last weekend at my parents' house. Jason tried to take some pictures of me and the Sammy-Man, my littlest cousin. He was only a month old at our wedding... he's getting to be so big now! Look at his cute little smile! He loves his tongue just like his granddaddy - he even smiles with his tongue!

We've been getting a few really pretty days lately. I've broken out the spring and summer dresses and skirts and I'm loving it. I even convinced Jason to eat outside with me on our "porch" one night. It was so nice!

I love this time of year because we start getting yummy produce. I'm so excited for summer fruit and veggies. YUM! Here's something you might not know about me: I love to look in people's refrigerators. I don't know why, but I find it fascinating. So, here is what our fridge and fruit bowl looked like last week, before we cleared it out to go to the lake.

Spinach, wheat tortillas, strawberries, yogurt, cheeses, turkey, chicken, chili, hummus, blackberries, deli bread, flourless chocolate cake (yummmm), Simply orange/mango juice and limeaide, grapefruits, cucumber, asparagus, avocados, in the mystery containers: refried beans, waffles, and Jason's homemade chicken and dumplings.

So colorful!

We just got back from the lake a couple of hours ago. What a gorgeous weekend we had! I don't think we had been to the lake since before our wedding. It was so nice to get back there. On Saturday, Jason and I took a nice long walk. We walked across the dike to say that we had done it and also to look at a house I love on the other side. After about an hour walking out in the sun, we both got a bit of a sunburn. It's not cute, but it makes me happy that the sun is out once again! I relaxed more than anything and slacked off a little bit on pictures. Here are a couple of Esme - one with Uncle Jason. They're pointing to "Aunt Ki-Ki"!!!

Visiting the Lake

We went to the lake last weekend to see Matt, Emily, and little Esme... and wound up seeing quite a few other friends and family! It was a great time and we even managed to get a few pictures!

Emily and Esme (in the cute little outfit we got for her)

Bill and Aunt Diane

Little Ru

Matt and Esme

Ella and Esme with Grandma

Us with Esme - she is too darn cute!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! We're headed to Iwo Jima to see the fireworks tonight. Should be a fun night!

It's June? Seriously?

Life certainly hasn’t been slow! Allison says I’m still in “calm bride mode” and I plan to stay that way! Sorry for the lack of updates... This will be a big post!

Last weekend I helped Jakob make a cake for his elementary school's spring fair's cake decorating contest. And he won the blue ribbon!!! He was SO EXCITED and we were all so proud of him! Coincidentally, my dad's birthday was also around that time so we celebrated it with the cake!



My dad, me, and Jake (Jason was there too - he took the picture).



Jason and I spent the Memorial Day weekend at the lake - this year was a much better drive - we didn't hit any traffic! There were tons of people there - probably around 50 or so - and it was a blast! We got the jet skiis and boats out and even got into the water to swim! During an outdoor break, some of the ladies (Ali, Morgan, Linda, and Diane) took some time to look at old lake pictures while Terry looked on.



The view from the house.



We drove back early on Monday morning to make it to the block party on my parents' street to see all of my old neighbors... one of which even offered to marry us!

The Friday before Memorial Day weekend, my friend (and bridesmaid!) Ali came to DC for her brother's wedding so I got to see her for a nice little coffee break from work! I hadn't seen her in years, so it was sooooo good to see her! Please note: she works outside everyday and I am a cube monkey with no windows!



Jason and I have been looking around for an apartment for about 2 months now, hoping that we would find a place now so that we wouldn’t have to stress out about it later (our lease is up at the end of August). We ended up putting a deposit down on a place that is a little bigger than our current place and is only about a mile away (meaning we can still get to the dog park easily which is a major selling point). But... we weren't told to actually sign the lease so we're not exactly locked in (we don't think). So we're still on the lookout for a cheaper place but have the stability and peace of mind knowing that we have a place if we don't find anything better. We are NOT looking forward to moving. Again. It's not enjoyable to move each year, especially at the end of August when it is HOT out. We're obviously on the wrong cycle. Thankfully, this year we have moving helpers (thanks Eddie, Jessica, and Joel!!!). We’re hoping that with three extra heads and six extra hands things will be faster, more fun, and less nightmarish than last year’s moving experience!

My Uncle Steve sold me his old D-SLR for dirt cheap ohhh over a year ago now and I finally got lenses for it! I LOVE how beautiful the pictures are. A good camera and good lenses make ALL the difference. Here's my favorite subject:



I can't believe the wedding is now less than half a year away. I really only have four months left to plan everything which is a little crazy... but we're getting there! I just want October to be here already!