Cardinals and DC Weekend

In what has become a tradition, Doug & I traveled to Washington DC last weekend to visit the Moses family and see the Cardinals take on the Nationals. Two years ago the game was in August and the hottest day of my life, so a May trip to DC was very exciting. We could see the last of the Cherry Blossoms, see how much Parker has grown, visit with our good friends & see some beautiful DC sites.

We started out our Saturday with lunch downtown and then heading to the new Nationals Ballpark. Unfortunately the Cardinals could not pull out a victory for us - but Doug did come very close to catching a ball pitched into the stands from the left fielder. But somehow a five-year-old was too quick - leaving Doug with no baseball - but a bump on the head from the effort. (The ball didn't hit him, he hit the concrete.)

After the game, we stopped by the Capital for a quick photo and then spent a great deal of time exploring Arlington National Cemetery. Such a beautiful, moving place to visit. We also stopped by the National Cathedral on our way to Georgetown for dinner - evidently just missing the Obamas who were having a date night in the area.

On Sunday, Doug & I left early - meeting my cousin David for lunch on our way out of town and sneaking in our first trip to IKEA. Such a fun trip! We are so lucky to such a short trip away from our friends Justin & Holly - plus they are such great tour guides of the DC area!

PS Can you tell the photos that were taken with my iPhone & Holly's super fancy CLR camera? For a hint, look at the red color in our shirts. So jealous!

At Lunch

The whole group
In front of the Nationals Stadium

Doug shows off his injury

On top of the hill at Arlington

The CapitalThe National Cathedral

Mountain Weekend

Well, we've been talking about it forever & it finally rolled around. Since we met our friends here in Durham, we have been talking about renting a mountain cabin so the guys could go fishing. It was pretty amazing with everyone's crazy schedules, but we found a weekend that everybody could go. We rented a log cabin in Boone- which was only a three hour drive and so beautiful. The guys could walk to the stream and the girls went shopping and just chilled out. We had the best weather - 80 degrees during the day, 60 degrees at night (perfect hot tub weather!) We had a great time hanging out, cooking and enjoying a weekend away.

On Sunday, Doug & I drove from Boone to Blowing Rock - checking out the cute downtown and beautiful mountain views on the way home. Such a fun weekend! Can't wait to go back!

Doug fishing on the Watuga - all the guys caught fish!

Gretchen & Michael

Tim & Alicia

Trisha & Justin

Doug & me

The rib eating contest

Trisha was ready!

View of Grandfather Mountain from Blowing Rock

Our pack dog Willie

At blowing rock

With Willie

Chi Town

I had a great opportunity with my work to take an intense training course in Chicago two weeks ago. It was a long three days but I did manage to sneak in a quick dinner with my friends Sarah & Nora. We worked together when I lived in Chicago. It was so nice to catch up and be back in the city!

At the new Millennium Park

My old work building on Michigan Ave.

Michigan Ave from our conference room

Oh how far we've come....

Doug (with a little help from me) has done so much work to our yard this spring. When we bought the house, the yard was sun scorched with an unbelievable hill in the backyard. Doug's vision and creativity have transformed it into the relaxing, retreat we enjoy today. Even with my budget restrictions - he has done an amazing job. I wanted to post some before, during and after pictures of the yard in progress. We really have enjoyed the process and especially the end result - sitting on our patio for meals or around the fire.

New House- May 2006
Check out that hill - Yikes!

Step 1 - Retaining Wall - April 2007
They moved so much dirt, it looked like a swimming pool was going in!

Step 2 - Patio - February 2008
A new patio, furniture & most importantly a fire pit!

Present Day April 2008
New plants behind the wall, new mulch & trees around the patio- I love it!

3 Years

View down river from our balcony.

Dressed up for dinner -with the US North Carolina in the background
Downtown Wilmington from the water
The Easter bunny carriage ride that I REALLY wanted to go on, but realized everyone else going on it was 5 years old. Ah, Snap.
In front of a sailboat that was open for tours. Owned by hippies, smelled like incense.

Doug & I celebrated our third anniversary last weekend with a trip to one of our favorite places, Wilmington. We left on Saturday morning and checked into the Riverview Suites. For any of you from around here - this is such a great place to stay! Right on the water downtown - you can walk everywhere! We had a very good, reasonable lunch - thanks to my new obsession with Restaurant.com. We walked down the boardwalk, window shopping, stopping for a glass of wine and a boat ride over to the Battleship North Carolina. It was a beautiful, sunny day to be outside and we enjoyed every second of it. We had a bit of a progressive dinner - wine on our balcony, an appetiser at one restaurant and main course at another. Such a great way to celebrate our anniversary- together.

On the Road Again

View of Willie from the rear view mirror.

I need to get caught up with blogging this weekend. We've had a busy few weeks. Spring is here, summer is in sight and we are busy every weekend until July. Wouldn't have it any other way. Stay tuned, it's going to be fun!

Hurricanes!

Doug & I have had the opportunity to go to several Carolina Hurricanes games this year. My agency does some work for the Canes, and we were lucky to get tickets to some games. They all have been fantastic tickets - boxes, luxury suites, VIP parking - such a tough life!

Needless to say, we enjoyed the games, the food & of course, the company!

With two work friends - Lindsay & Winters. Don't you love Lindsay's black eye from a volleyball injury? She looks seriously tough.