I'm Back!

So, there are a very select few of you who actually read this on a daily basis who have been extremely unhappy because of the lack of new posts. I have been soooo sick the last week and a half (basically ever since I came back from Wenatchee) and have barely made it to work, home, and in bed - let alone anything else. But, you'll be happy to know I'm back and feeling sooo much better, so get ready for some new stuff.

This last weekend was the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. Because I was finally feeling up to going out, Joe and I met Stuart downtown and we walked through the cherry blossoms to the Jefferson Memorial and watched some of the stage shows that were going on.



It ended up being really warm that day, and both Joe and I got sunburns on our heads (because we happen to be the palest two people in the history of the world) but it was so nice to be outside in nice weather.


I thought these were such great photos - this is Stuart showing off his artist ability:



Along with our fabulous day out in D.C., we also found out some very exciting news this weekend! Joe's cousin, Malinda, got engaged to her boyfriend, Quentin! Congratulations Malinda!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I know this is late, but I just wanted to say Happy St. Patrick's Day! I had my traditional green beer, and Joe made me green mashed potatoes to accompany our burgers and green beans. We had green-frosted cupcakes for dessert. So fun!

Weekend Trip to Wenatchee - Part II

More Pictures!!

Here I am holding beautiful Miss Ava Marie, my cousin's new baby girl, who is 4 days older than Mason, who my mom is holding. Ava is so beautiful and so much littler than Mason - it was so much fun meeting her!

Here are the moms with their beautiful babies. My niece, Kaylie, with Mason on the left; my cousin's wife Christina, with Ava, on the right.

My whole crazy family who met me for dinner at my favorite restaurant the night I flew into town:

(The Wok A Bout Grill in Wenatchee, is literally my favorite restaurant in the world. If you ever find yourself in Wenatchee, go there - you will love it!)

Here are the dads, with their babies. Nathan, my niece's boyfriend, with Mason, on the left; and my cousin Dustin, with Ava, on the right.

Cousins holding cousins!


Seriously, do they not just melt your heart?? I wonder what they will grow up to be - do we have a future engineer, pilot, teacher, rock star, artist, actor, or veterinarian on our hands? It's going to be SO much fun watching them grow and seeing who they become.

Weekend Trip to Wenatchee

I had a fun, crazy, whirl-wind weekend! I caught a plane at 6:30 a.m. Friday morning to Seattle. I had to be up at 4:00 a.m., so it was not a pleasant experience. But, it was worth it, because I was taking a trip to visit family. I grew up in Wenatchee, Wash., and most of my family sti

ll lives there. My mom picked me up from Seatac Airport and after a quick stop to visit a good friend of mine, we headed to Wenatchee.

Most of the reason I decided to take this super-quick trip home, was to see my niece and her brand-new baby boy Mason. I couldn't bear the fact that I wouldn't meet this newest member of our family until Christmas - so I made the trip.

Here is the family:

My beautiful niece, Kaylie, and her boyfriend, Nathan, are raising this precious, perfect bundle of joy. Mason is such a good baby, so handsome and sweet, so they are definitely doing something right!

Seriously, how cute is this child??

He is so loved by so many people. My mother, his great-grandmother, is no exception.

Neither is his great-grandfather, my dad!

But Mason is totally in love with my brother, his grandpa. He smiles at him and it is just heart-melting. It totally turns my 6'4" bear of a brother to jelly.

Mason has an aunt and uncle as well, and I couldn't forget them. Sadie - a sweet Boxer that keeps an eye on Mason and has incredible motherly instincts:

And Ozzy - a crazy, super-happy Pug mix who loves each person he sees the best! best! best! until he sees the next person and then he is so so so happy to see that person too! It's too funny.

More pictures to come as I get them from family. Of course the only ones I had on my camera are of the baby and the dogs. So me, I know. But it was an incredible trip and now I just need about 16 hours to catch up on sleep....

Update on Dr. Joe

Joe has received his business license and set up his insurance, so he is officially good to go! I have been very impressed with him - he's totally hitting the ground running and already has all these fantastic ideas to market himself and get his name out in the community. I guess he is just really excited to finally be able to do what he has been working toward for five years.

So, if anyone knows anyone in need of a chiropractor in the Alexandria, VA area, I know a great one! :-)

Sweet, Sweet Warmth

It was over 70 degrees this weekend and I was in complete heaven! Walking around without 17 layers of clothes on, warm evening walks with the dogs, and no need for the heater (saving $$, yes!) To celebrate, we took the dogs on a hike at Great Falls Park in Virginia. We had a great time, and Ava even enjoyed herself (mostly).


It's supposed to get cold again this week, but it was a nice preview to Spring, and definitely boosted all our spirits.

Dr. Joe

We are very happy to report that Joe received TWO job offers yesterday! He took the better offer and is now officially working in Alexandria, Virginia! The office is called Total Care Spine Center (www.totalcarespine.com) and the owner is Dr. Richard Solomon. Joe and Dr. Solomon got along well, he's very laid back and a nice guy.

Now, Joe has to get his insurance set up, and a business license, and then start marketing, marketing, marketing! He already has a huge list of ideas and no matter what he says, he's really good at that stuff. I've seen him in action and he's got this way about him that puts people at ease, and makes them want to come see him. I have no doubt he will have patients lined up in no time.

So, that's the big news!

Another Chiropractor in the Family

Looks like we have another chiropractor in the family. Ava wants to be just like her dad....

Snow Day!

Joe and I woke up to this yesterday morning:


Isn't it beautiful? We had so much fun taking Jack out in it - he absolutely loved it and it was the first time we'd seen him in any real snow (last winter we were in Europe and his grandparents got to see him loving the snow, we didn't).




We ended up getting around 5-6 inches, which completely shut this town down. My supervisor called and told me to work from home, so I set up a makeshift desk at home and worked all day in my pjs. It was the BEST WORKDAY EVER!!


Yes, that is Joe's massage table, his doctor's chair, and a cutting board under the computer. Worked perfectly, though. We did end up taking Ava out later in the day. I should have taken a picture of that - she 100% hated it. And would do anything and everything possible to stay on the defrosted parts of the sidewalk - hopping over any portion of snow. Too funny.

So, we finally got our snow. And it is now out of our system. We're done with Winter now. Summer, it's time for you to show your face. Please??

Pictures of the Pups

We've had a pretty laid-back weekend. Stuart came over on Saturday and we hung out for a while, and then took Jackson to the dog park. (It was pretty cold, so Ava, the little princess that she is, got out of it.) Stuart was nice enough to take some professional shots of the pups. Here are my favorites:

"Please, mom, don't make me go outside. It's cold out there... whimper, whimper..."

"Hey, Dad, get back here and throw this ball."

"What's he doing back there?"

"You want it? Come and get it!"

So, which is your favorite shot?