The storm before the calm....

These pictures are from when we first moved in. I forgot to post these first. So we have definitely come a long way from this. The first two pictures are from the living room, and then there is the kitchen and finally we have Nathan being swallowed up by the furniture, cushions and bedding. It was a lot of chaos, but a lot of fun.

You Know You Want to Come Visit!

Here are some pictures of the guest room and the guest bathroom. Since Ben's friend Joe is visiting we have the bed set up. Doesn't it look cozy? And the guest bathroom is nice and clean...and we request it is used only for the intended purposes a bathroom serves. Hehehe.

Well, I just wanted you all to know that you are welcome to visit any time. Can you tell I miss my family? :)

More Pictures....

Here are a few of the pictures I took. They are pretty self explanatory: Aida with the Christmas tree; the dining room; and the Christmas tree without using the flash on the camera so you can see all the lights! (I'm really proud of them :) )

Getting There

Well slowly but surely the apartment is coming together. Ben and I worked on unpacking the guest room and living room so unfortunately we have left our room to unpack yet. So I don't have any pictures from the master bedroom, but I will post those as soon as we finish the unpacking.

We love our Christmas tree. It has 1000 lights :) And Aida likes sleeping under it...she thinks she's a Christmas present.

So enjoy the pictures...and come visit!! :)

What am I?

Ben and I got this really cool shrubbery foliage plant at Lowes yesterday, but it didn't come with an information tag. So I was wondering if anyone knew what type of plant it was or how to take care of it. It's a mystery.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the apartment and Christmas tree! :)

Total Chaos

Well, Ben and I are officially moved into our new apartment. So far, we really like it. We are in the process of organizing everything and unpacking so hopefully we will feel at home soon. Mom, Dad, Nathan and Byron all came down to help us move. Good thing we had their help...i don't think we would even have everything moved over yet if it wasn't for them.

We have been here all of three days and have already received a note on our door from one of our neighbors complaining about our music being "way too loud." We can thank Nathan and Byron for that. They were playing Guitar Hero last night and I think they were trying to have their own "live" concert series. It was pretty loud. Hopefully it won't happen again though...we aren't fond of ticking off the neighbors.

Ben and I are pretty excited about our early Christmas present from Mom and Dad...A Christmas Tree!!!!! It is a big 7 1/2 footer, un-lit (the way I like it!...I love putting the lights on the tree myself :) ) and really nice looking artificial tree. It will be nice to have a tree for Christmas especially since I won't be home on Christmas Day:( We are excited. Ben has already opened the box so we can set it up...but I think we will wait until Wednesday so we can have at least some of the furniture and boxes put away :)

So stay tuned for pictures. We are still in the midst of chaos so I am not sure when I will be able to update the blog with pictures...but I will do my best.

Happy December!

Don't Run With Scissors

Well, that isn't exactly what happened, running with scissors I mean. But the way I did cut my thumb was just as dumb. So I decided to make stew for Ben and I on Saturday for dinner. And despite my mom's advice to use a cutting board when I cut vegetables (or anything), I did not use said cutting board. I was cutting the baby carrots length-wise and even thinking as I cut the first carrot that I should probably use a cutting board. I cut the carrot with the knife coming towards me. And I think that the knife had it in for me, because half way through the carrot it picked up speed and sliced not only the vegetable, but my thumb as well.

Needless to say, my thumb took a pretty good hit, but luckily no stitches were needed. The cut is still pretty tender, but it has started to slowly heal. Unfortunately the cut is still split open, so I have to keep band-aids covering it.

Oh well, I be dumb and I learned my lesson...i think. :)

Turkey Day!

7 days and counting until we come home! Can't wait to see everyone!!

Three Dog Bakery

That bakery we went to has a website if anyone is interested. The shop was really cute.
To check it out visit: www.threedog.com

Visit to Richmond

Ben, Aida and I took a trip down to Richmond to see Sara on Sunday. Aida did very well on the 2 hour trip. Once we arrived, as soon as I parked a BIG chocolate lab came wandering over to us. Of course Aida was barking her little head off at this point. The dog had no collar or tags but had a orange harness on. He (Ben found that out) seemed older and well fed. So we didn't want to just leave him, he was so sweet and laid back. Ben walked him around with the extra leash we keep in the trunk and asked people that were out if they knew whose dog it was or if they've ever seen him before. At first no one recognized the dog, but then some one said they thought it was one of the leasing agents dogs. He said that the dog has, in the past, pushed out the screen in one of the apartment windows and gotten out. So Sara called the emergency contact number since the office was not open on Sundays, and left a message that we may have the dog of one of the leasing agents. When the maintenance called back we found out it was in fact a leasing agent's dog and he had pushed through the window screen when his owner wasn't home. So long story short, we found the dog's home and all is well. If we hadn't, Ben was considering keeping him....I'm really glad we found his home.

After the lost dog incident, we hung out with Sara for a little bit before going to this really cool outdoor mall. The mall is really dog-friendly. Most of the stores allow dogs, including the Godiva shop! We went to this cute dog bakery called Three Dog Bakery. We picked up a couple bakery items: "chocolate" chip cookies, a pretzel, and a dipped bone. Aida was quite happy.

All in all, it was a very fun trip, Aida was well behaved, and we had a good time.

Aida playing with cousin Sara

Aida peeking thru her donut-shaped toy. That's really how she carries the toy around...

Just a Walk in the Park

Today, Ben and I took Aida on a walk by the government center. We took her down a path across from an outdoor shopping area. We have never gone that way before, so I guess you could say we went "left for adventure." The scenery was beautiful and now Aida is nice and pooped.

Ben is determined to make a runner out of Aida

Along our walk we could see the back of the government building that Ben had his graduation from the fire academy at.

There are trees in Fairfax!!!

The happy family

Finally we made it back!

Gotta Love Ikea

Ben and Dad found the Ikea chairs calling their names


*Just thought i'd post this picture for fun :)

More Fun With Mom and Dad

I have been having some issues with the computer and Blogger tonight so I wasn't able to upload all the pictures I had planned to. So here are a couple from Saturday and Sunday.

Mom and Dad helped put our slip-cover on the couch. It is an awfully stubborn slip-cover.

Here's Mom and Dad at The Silver Diner on Sunday. This seems to be the official send off breakfast place. :)

So far, things have been going relatively well with the new Virginia Dog :) Aida seems to be adjusting well. Although she did decide to give the apartment complex a wake up call at 4:00am and 5:00am. I certainly didn't appreciate it so I am assuming those who may have heard her didn't appreciate it either.

We had fun with Mom and Dad coming to visit. Dad left his rain jacket here so I was hoping they would just have to make a trip back to get it. This weekend works for me! But it doesn't seem that my idea is going to work :) Oh well, Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Can't wait to see everyone!!

More Friday Fun!!

We had dinner at the Red Rock Canyon and we ran into Bond, Bob Bond

Ben had not only a pound of pork chops, but also a gigantic size piece of key lime pie...You'll have to excuse his blow-fish-face

Pooped out after a long day

Fun Times on Friday!

Dad enjoys his Reeses Nutrageous Bar..maybe a little too much :)

Aida helps grandpa finish up his shake from the Silver Diner

Mom and Dad playing the Wii. So much fun to watch!

More Pictures of the New Apartment

Entrance to the Complex

Fountain in the courtyard area

Lobby Area

Common Room/Lounge

Movie Theater (Right in our clubhouse!!)

The New "Crib"

Today Ben and I took Mom, Dad and Aida to the new apartment. They were very impressed and seemed to really like the area and the apartment itself. Aida seemed pretty happy too. There are lots of windows for her to look out. So even though we didn't stay with the apartment with the balcony (it was smaller and more expensive), there is a lot more room for Aida (and us) and since the windows are pretty low Aida is able to look out. All around everybody is happy.


Don't mind the pictures...it was pouring outside so it is a little gloomy...but overall we captured the "essence" of the new place. :)

I took some pictures, but let me tell you, Dad was a picture taking fool. I will spare you the pictures of the inside of the refridgerator and other appliances...you can use your imagination as to what they look like :)

Aida was ridin' in the back seat with her grandma and grandpa on the way to the new apartment.

Our apartment is on the corner of Brandeis Terrace and Boston Terrace.

Here's Dad enjoying our new living room.

This is our new dining room.

And here's the kitchen, with granite countertops and brand new appliances :)

Virginia Visit

Aida bonds with her dad after her first night in her new home. :)

It's a Dog's Life

Aida's first Dog Park

Aida enjoyed her first dog park experience. We took her to "Bow Wow Beach" in Stow with "grandma" and "grandpa." As soon as we got there she took off straight into the water, no hesitations. She spent the afternoon swimming, drinking the lake water, and chasing and being chased by the other dogs.

We have been looking for a dog park here in Virginia, however we haven't found one with a swimmin' hole. But if we can't find a swimming lake for dogs we can pay for her to swim laps at the many Dog Resorts in the area. I am not kidding. For $35 a session she can swim laps at the resort. Or we could pay for her to enjoy many of the services that the resorts offer from manicures to facials to private cuddle time. It is ridiculous what people pay for around here. Not that I wouldn't do it if I had the money burning a hole in my pocket, but i don't, so we won't worry about it. Ben would probably kick me out :)

Aida gives grandpa a snakey lick on the face on the way to the park.

As Aida would run through the water, Baywatch style, she kept scooping up water in her mouth. It's amazing she didn't get sick!

After running through the water, she had to shake it all off. Of course it was usually as close to you as she could get, thus getting us all wet!

Grandma and Grandpa watch from the bench as Aida runs by.

One of Aida's favorite things is to be chased and Ben is really good at it!

Happy Halloween!

Ben and I went to get pumpkins from a farm about an hour away. My pumpkin is the cute small one and Ben's pumpkin is the big, manly, pumpkin.

We carved the pumpkins a few days later and they lasted all of about 5 days before they started to mold. The weather here has been so warm it actually is cooler inside than out. So we attempted to put the pumpkins by the air conditioning vent so that they would stay cool. However, due to the previously mentioned mold, they did not stay cool enough.

So although the pumpkins didn't last at least we got to carve our first pumpkins as a married couple :) I know corny, but I though it was sweet.

Happy Halloween!!

Last Try

I am going to attempt, yet again, to keep this blog updated. Not sure that it will last and based on my previous record...it won't. But who knows, it may stick this time!

So here goes nothing, enjoy it while it lasts!

I know, I know

Well, I noticed that my last post was in February. I know that at this point my fellow bloggers may not even be checking for new material anymore. However, I was trying to edit some recent pictures to add to the blog but this computer takes so darn long......all would be right with the world if we all had Apple computers :) Just kidding, but I have been longing for a Macbook Pro or a 27" iMac....

In the meantime, as most of you know, the surgery went well and the wedding is getting closer!!! Only a little over three months to go!! I think a lot of the big things are handled, it's those pesky little details that mom and I keep remembering that we have to do yet. I am quite excited though. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and the wedding will be here before we know it!

Aida is doing well. She is scheduled for her spaying in a month and she's I am sure just as excited as I am for it! But seriously, she has gotten bigger (about 20-25 pounds)and she definitely has quite a personality.

Despite the computer being awfully slow, I was able to get this picture of Ben looking heroic in his fire gear...check it out!

I will try to post more pictures as soon as I can get them on the computer..until then take care!!!