Where Does the Time Go?

Nobody warned me that the days, months, years would actually fly by after a certain age. One day we’re celebrating our anniversary and the start to the summer heat, the next I’m pulling out sweaters wondering how it’s suddenly late-October and I have yet to buy a pumpkin. Before my memories start to fade, here are the highlights of our summer:

We went back to UD for our college reunion weekend. Naturally, we all acted exactly how we acted in college.

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There is a park in our neighborhood (Yards Park) that hosts bands on Friday nights all summer. It was easy to be regulars and convince friends to come visit for the evening.

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Looking back on my phone for summer photos my first thought was “Why did I take this photo?” Then I realized it was because this could possibly be my Lisa Simpson outfit (if I could only wear one outfit my entire life) – crab necklace, Ohio shirt, and polka dots. All my favorite things. And, I really love crabs. My crab necklace from Baltimore was a necessary accessory when we picked up a bushel of crabs to pick with friends on evening.

No other photos were taken because our hands were much too messy.

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We are really working on our camping skills, so for the Fourth of July holiday we went down to the family farm for some R&R.
IMG_4536.JPGIMG_4542.JPGIMG_4541.JPGIMG_4539.JPGThis summer I was busy with a “summer job” giving Segway tours around the city. It’s not over yet but it has been a total blast meeting people from all over the world to share with them my city’s history. I’m not going to lie, it’s been really nice having a willing (and paying) audience for my cheesy jokes. Remind me to tell you about the bushes outside of the White House…

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My parents surprised me one weekend with a visit to DC! I wanted to give them the full “DC Local” treatment since they normally come in the winter or over a holiday. We hit up Yards Park (I told you we went every week), visited the famed pandas at the National Zoo, and even grabbed some crabs from the fish market. All in a DC weekend.

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We also had a jam-packed weekend with one of our most favorite families. Not pictured: the parents.

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Went to the best and most entertaining concert of my life: Arcade Fire. I have never had so much fun at a concert.

IMG_4751.JPGSent some of our best DC friends off to London for a year of adventure and schooling:

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Went to Cincinnati for Labor Day and I got to see the WEBN fireworks for the first time (believe it) after a wild night in OTR.  Spent a lot of quality time with Mom’s kittens and my grandparents.

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Whew. I think that last photo sums it up! Now that I’ve gone through all of our photos, I realize we had quite a packed summer, full of travel and good friends – what more could we have asked for?

Holiday Recap

The holidays came and went so quickly I am in shock that it’s almost February. Here are just a few photos to recap our entire holiday season.

First up: Thanksgiving! My parents drove out to DC to spend the holiday with Kyle and I. This was our first Thanksgiving married, and were really pumped to use our new china to eat a meal prepared using our other wedding gifts.

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While mom and I shopped on Black Friday Dad andKyle spent the day at the Udvar Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

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For Christmas, we packed up the car and drove out to Ohio to visit both families. Lilly came with us too (hey, she’s old and can’t handle a new babysitter at this age). After visiting with the Zellers we spent most of the week with my parents in their new kitchen enjoying way too much food.

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I’m so thankful we were able to spend a fantastic night in Dayton visiting with some of my best girls before hitting the road.

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Speaking of the road, we took Rt. 50 the ENTIRE trip from Cincinnati to DC. It was an experience I would highly recommend to any fellow highway-haters out there. The trip is both scenic and fascinating, sometimes a trip through time.

You get rivers, mountains, valleys, crumbling towns, big towns, Civil War battlefields, and a lot of Dairy Queens. There was a lot of beauty I’d love to go back and capture for real sometime.

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And yes, that’s Lilly’s preferred spot for the car ride – except for when she was wanting snuggle time on Kyle’s lap. She’s so sweet when she’s sleeping isn’t she?

Once we made it back – it was time for New Year’s Eve! We were a little late to the party store and had to do a DIY-option with a pack of pirate hats. We just stayed local and low-key.

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Now that we’re rested, it’s time for another adventure! What’s next?

Trip Home & Cincinnati Zoo Visit

Kyle had one more sequester Friday so we took a trip back home to visit – unfortunately probably our last visit until the Holidays.

Friday morning we went to the Cincinnati Zoo with Zach and Jill – I think we got there at the perfect time to catch all the highlights – from a cheetah show, to the komodo dragon feeding, to spotting the new serrogate gorilla mom out with her baby.  One of my highlights: a stop at Skyline.

Saturday we headed to the Kentucky farm for a day of riding around on quads, shooting clay birds, and just hanging out with friends and family who made it down. I’ll put those photos up next (we all need a break from wedding photos).

We were exhausted when we made it back to DC, but it was definitely one of our favorite trips home.

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