Taking a Break from the DIY

We spent most of July working on the house, which was totally exhausting. Let's just say we've had a few days where neither of us wanted to do much of anything. But, if you know the two of us, you'll know we also find nature relaxing. Since we haven't had much time for a real vacation, we've been exploring the awesome hiking in Ithaca, as well as the fun summer activities here in town. As a bonus, Amit's weekday off is Wednesday, so we've been loving the fact that we get three whole days to explore together! (And Wednesdays make for some very quiet hiking, it's so nice to be able to avoid all the tourists.)

With three state parks all within 15 minutes, 

we've been getting a lot of good hikes in.

This was at Treman State Park.

We spent our Friday nights in July at Cornell, 

listening to the free concerts.

And eating some awesome ice cream.

During the week, we go for our nightly walk along the inlet.

Emma loves it!

The last time Ron and Mom were in town,

we took a little time out to do some shopping.

Mom and I are going to do some fun decorating with these!

We took this photo on our first hike in Taughannock State Park.

We had a big storm last week, 

and this was the same waterfall two days after the rain.

Unbelievable!

And this was the Upper Falls in Treman this past Wednesday.

We couldn't hike along the gorge because of the damage.

And what do we do on our Saturday mornings?

We go to the Farmer's Market, of course!

Well, after buying our eggs, meat and veggies for the week,

we sit next to the water and enjoy some fantastic breakfast burritos!
(And a little sparkling, fresh orange juice with a shot of beet juice.)

  

We're having a great time here in Ithaca and keep finding awesome new places to go! It's been great to have so much to do when we don't feel like painting trim.

Pensacola Adventures

In addition to totally spoiling Grayson, we were able to see some of the other attractions in Pensacola. On Monday, we explored the National Museum of Naval Aviation. We loved seeing all of the old planes and exploring the giant museum.

He loves his planes!

After the museum, 

we stopped by the Pensacola Lighthouse.

You can't climb the lighthouse in flip flops...

so I went barefoot!

On Tuesday morning, we woke up early and drove back to the base so we could watch the Blue Angels practice session.

After watching them fly all around, we went to spend another day at the beach. It was a beautiful day!

She is the cutest beach baby! 

We had such a great time in Florida. We miss those three so much already! We can't wait to visit them in their new home in Orlando - and have some new adventures!

Happy April Fools Day!

Aka... Happy Birthday to Krissy! And Happy Birthday (2 days late) to Dylan!

In honor of both of your birthdays, Amit and I bought cupcakes from Treat on Friday. Sprinkle Me Silly, with funfetti batter for me. Caramel Delight (now called Samoas) for Amit, he loves Girl Scout cookies.

Don't they look delicious??

  

I actually meant the cupcakes, but yes, that is Amit and Emma attempting to kiss right in front of my cupcakes! Don't ask me why they were kissing, I'm just impressed with my photography skills. (Don't worry- they did not actually kiss, they just got very close.) Happy April!

Snow Day!

During the summer months we missed our Midwest thunderstorms, but New England redeemed itself over the past 24 hours with a great Nor'easter! We were planning on staying home regardless of whether it was an official snow day or not, but I was so excited for the blizzard I could hardly sleep. I woke up several times to "thundersnow," with some very bright lightning, all of which Amit slept through. When I woke up at 5 to make sure I was off, Emma woke up and had to go out (of course). I opened the door to the back yard, she put one foot out, and froze. She looked around like she was thinking "What the heck happened to my yard?"! It was the funniest thing! We had some major wind gusts, so as soon as one hit, she came running back for the house.

Here she is exploring. Check out all that snow!

After we all went back to bed for a couple hours, we began our snow day with our official celebratory breakfast.

Waffles, anyone?

So I think that my New Year's resolution is to become as crazily organized as Martha Stewart. I spent most of the day indoors, mainly because Amit volunteered to shovel and refused my help. I did use that as an excuse to write a giant to-do list and finish most of it. I reorganized the pantry and dining room closet, did laundry, went through boxes of stuff and dumped a bunch of old stuff, went through old magazines and pictures, and brought a bunch of stuff down to the basement for storage. I was on a roll!! Amit did a great job shoveling. As you can see, he had a LOT to shovel.

Amit enjoying his workout. At least I think he enjoyed it.

 Here's the final covering of snow on the grill.

Crazy!

 Emma had a great time outside, too. She loved trying to find her tennis ball in all that snow.

We had a great snow day! Who could complain about a day off in the middle of the week? It was the first time we've ever experienced more than a foot of snow in 24 hours. We ended up with about 18 inches on the ground. It looks like we'll be pulling out the skis this weekend!!

Emma Anecdotes

Emma has been keeping us very busy! We go on daily jogs and walks, which she loves. We've only been her parents for 3 weeks, but she'll even heel for us now! We start doggy obedience training on Saturday, so hopefully she keeps up the good work. Since I haven't blogged in a while, you all need an update about some of Emma's funnier moments. She has had many, but these are just the few we've caught on video.

These aren't videos, but still funny!

Emma likes to play with her toys while laying on her back.

It is too funny to watch her hold her toys in her paws.

(I apologize for the fuzzy photo - I need to get my camera fixed.)

This one was cute, we caught it on my phone.

She was super tired last night, 

but apparently didn't want to let go of her bone.

Now on to the good stuff!

BU was off today, so the boys came over to play some video games.

We had no idea Emma was such a fan!

Tonight we discovered another skill. 

She has a keen eye and can easily catch a mouse.

She's a great dog and the three of us are inseparable. We love having this happy, hyper dog to come home to!

Double Feature

Here's a little snippit of Amit's finest dance moves. I suggest you turn on your volume so you can hear the music, especially for the second one. Enjoy! I hope they make you laugh as hard as I do every time I watch them.

Movie #1 - Amit's (Ray and Mom's, too) Crazy Country Dancing



Movie #2 - Amit's Favorite Song (note how excited he is)

Girls Weekend Highlights

I had so much fun on my visit! The whole point of it was Krissy's confirmation, but of course other crazy things always happen! Here are some of my other favorite moments from the trip...

I love Tricia's style of home decorating...

She got new faucets for her remodeled bathrooms.

I am OBSESSED with them! They were so cool!! 

I have to add this picture to my future home planning book. ;-)

 On Friday, Bruce went to Krissy's school for Career Day, 

even though his Krissy was ditching school to meet up with her favorite cousins for lunch.

We made him tell us all about his presentation,

including the three important characteristics of a good person.

Integrity, passion, and commitment.

It was hilarious!

Nate and I were cracking up, 

I love Mel's face as Bruce is "lecturing" her.

The house is undergoing a transformation, with a water theme.

The pool area was renovated, too.

It looks fantastic. 

I totally cannot wait to go down the GIANT slide!!

My other new favorite thing from Tricia's?

Her Mother's Day present!

Nate makes me laugh...

How cute!

 He also likes to steal my camera...

and use it to annoy Melanie.

Then there is the pool. I love hanging out in it... when its not 60 degrees with even colder water. If you go swimming then, you're just crazy. I guess Krissy's related to a bunch of lunatics, because the cousins went swimming!! Not me, I just stood on the edge of the pool and took some great video and pictures. My computer is not liking my videos right now, so for now you're stuck with pictures. Check out how sweet the slide is!

The slide looked like a lot of fun...
but everyone sure looked chilly when they got out of the water!

It was so nice to be back home, just chilling in Lemont and chatting with my favorite girls. It felt like I had only been gone weeks, not months. I love you ladies!! ;-)