My Trip to the BEST Coast (my dad calls it the "Left Coast!")

I took my first official trip to San Francisco this weekend, (last time I was there I was still cooking and my mom was 8 months pregnant.) That place rocks! Not only do they have the Giants baseball team and HUGE Ghiradelli ice cream sundaes, but I also saw the fluffiest, thickest fog and the Golden Gate Bridge - so cool. I got to hang out with lots of fun people like Moose (that's him in the photo), Amiee, Eryn, the Brills, the Bormans, Meyers, and Fallavena's, and go to a really rockin wedding.

Shannon and Ian tied the knot and invited me to attend. This was my first wedding. I was a little nervous, but tried to play it cool and wore my hat backwards. I got to meet lots of my mom's childhood friends and their parents and I even danced on the dance floor - luckily my dance partner, Patti Hurst, said I was pretty smooth. Tracie and Marvin (the Bride's sister and brother-in-law in the picture) have a son Dylan. We hung out and I decided I need to be his friend because he's not only really fun, he's also twice my size at just six months older than me - so he can defend me on the playground.

I'm getting to be a pro on the airplane - although the large, hairy guy with lots of tatoos in seat 31C might disagree (I may have kicked his chair a few too many times). Five hours on the direct and I didn't even scream once. My dad gave me what he called a "sleep pep talk," before we took off, but seriously dad, there was WAY too much to see to sleep. Maybe next flight!

Sightseeing with the St.Jeor's!

The St.Jeor family came to visit us last week and we saw all of the sites in DC, it was a blast. We went to Mount Vernon (that's my dad jumping with Brenna and Tate at George Washington's boat dock), sweated in the heat, went to see Lincoln, Einstein, the Korean, and Vietnam, sweated more in the heat, went to the pool to cool off, went to the Capitol but had to leave because of a suspicious package. (Side note - Can I please request that you don't "accidentally" leave your backpack, briefcase or Heaven forbid, a wrapped package, anywhere in my city, it sure causes a lot of trouble and messes up tours, traffic, and fun plans) Okay, back to their visit.

Tate showed me how to use a toy Gentleman's Pocket Pistol - the kind George Washington use to carry - and Brenna taught me all about the art of Tic Tac Toe. Thanks St.Jeor's for making the long trip to DC, we loved having you visit!

From Machu Picchu to Me

My grandparents popped in to see me on their way back from Machu Picchu. And even though I have no idea what a Machu Picchu is, I think they're the best. My grandma brought me a sweater made of Alpaca fur. My grandpa said something about my belly being too large to fit into it - should I be offended?

We played all weekend - strolling at Eastern Market, swimming at the pool, and BBQ'ing. My grandpa even let me taste his fudgesicle, but don't tell my mom. By the way, that thing was heavenly.

I already can't wait to see them again in six weeks at the family reunion out West. Woohoo!

A Day for My Dad

Today was awesome. All day long I got to hang out with some of the coolest guys I know - my dad, my grandpa, and my Uncle Nick. Such fantastic luck that my grandpa was visiting from Utah and my Uncle Nick was visiting from Colorado and BOTH were here on Father's Day.

I'm really glad we have a day to honor our dads. My dad is the best. He plays with me all the time, dresses me in stylin clothes - check out my new golf pants in the photo - and takes me to lots of cool places. Even better, he reads to me every night before I go to bed and tells me he loves me.  

For Father's Day, I gave my dad matching swim trunks, so everyone at the pool will know which dad is mine. My grandparents gave my dad a Life is Good shirt that said "Log Off" and showed a guy sleeping and gave me a onsie that said "Night Owl." For some reason, everyone thought this gift was really, really funny. I also gave my dad some golf balls with "Bodie's Dad" imprinted on them. I heard someone say he looses a lot of balls on the course - so now when people find them, they will know who to return them to!

Thank goodness God gave us dads so we'd have someone to fly us like an airplane, teach us funny noises, and show us how to throw a baseball. Right now he's teaching me how to read the paper; I prefer the sports section.

When I grow up, I want to be just like my dad.

The Graduate

This older woman in Bodie's life is his cousin, Katie. We headed to Vermont for the weekend to celebrate Katie's graduation from high school. The weather cooperated perfectly and Katie accepted her diploma under the beautiful Vermont sky. The rest of the weekend was filled with good family time -- including Lisa's (seemingly) never-ending loosing streak at Scrabble. (Who knew that I married into a cut-throat Scrabble-playing family!) If anyone knows any of those random, only-in-the-Scrabble-dictionary words, I'd love some insider tips.

The drive home was a marathon ride - 11 hours. Two flipped cars on 95, one North bound and one South bound, just a few miles apart. We felt lucky we were only in the traffic and not in the accidents. But every minute was worth it to see Katie's accomplishment - congrats!

Take Me Out to a Ballpark & Get Me on the Jumbo Tron

Bodie went to his first professional baseball game today and debuted on the giant Jumbo Tron. Tony, one of Bodie's cousins, also joined us and we met up with a few other friends; it was a great afternoon at the ballpark.The Washington Nationals took on the Cincinnati Reds. The game was a bit blah - with the score being Nationals 2, Reds 1 - until the 8th inning. The Reds rallied big time and got ahead 4 - 2. Then the Nationals came back and tied it up 4 - 4 in the 9th. So the game went in to extra innings. The Reds pulled off the win in the 10th inning, with a score of 5 - 4.

But the real "win" was getting Bodie on the ballpark's Jumbo Tron. The camera panned the crowd and Bodie flashed a grin, with his hat cocked sideways. Dave thinks he heard the crowd go wild, but that may have had something to do with the Nationals scoring another run - but we can't prove it. So even with the loss, the first baseball experience was a success.

A Great Day for a Dunk Tank

I was once again reminded that I married the right guy when we both agreed a dunk tank was a "necessity" for our summer party. And today was the day for the dunking festivities. It's oddly unnerving to have someone throwing a softball as hard and fast as they can at a small target in hopes that you take a plunge in to the water below. Every time you hear the softball hit the tarp, instead of the clank of the metal target, you have a sigh of relief. And yet you sit there, on the little perch, like Humpty Dumpty, anxiously waiting for the inevitable - a splash into the tank.

It was an absolute blast. The weather was perfect and our friends were event better. Several dozen people took a turn in the tank and even more tried their hand at hitting the target. There are some pretty funny pics, we've put a link up on the side of our blog to the Snapfish album so you can take a look at all of them.

Thanks to everyone for a fun day!

FORE!

I had a fun opportunity on Friday. My company, Booz Allen, offered a golf clinic for women at River Bend Country Club. With forty golf pros from the DC metro area on hand, we were paired up in two's with one golf pro for each two people. The pros spent three hours coaching us at the various stations - driving range, short game, and putting. I got some fantastic tips. Booz Allen also brought in Heather Bowie Young from the LPGA. She was a former #1 on the LPGA tour (I think she's currently ranked 11). Anyway, Heather gave us tips on our game and took a few shots to show us "how easy it is." She dropped it on the target every time. After the clinic we headed in for lunch and by chance, Heather sat down in the seat next to me. We ended up chatting for almost an hour and I scored a few extra tips. Dave better look out - my game is sure to drop a few strokes!

Memorial Day Weekend

This year we stayed in town for Memorial Day weekend and had a great time catching up on house projects, going to a college lacrosse game in Baltimore, and enjoying the weather. We're so accustomed to traveling on the long weekends, who knew we could have so much fun at home! One of our neighbors just returned from Hawaii and brought Bodie three outfits. He sported one of these new digs this weekend - he looks like a mini Don Ho.

We put up new black shutters on the house then painted the flower boxes out front to match. We spruced up a few outdoor tables and moved three large trees in the yard. The biggest of the three trees is struggling right now, but fingers crossed it hangs in there - I guess the move was a bit too stressful.

We wrapped up our weekend by taking Bodie to his first college lacrosse game. Dave's alma mater, Le Moyne, was playing in the NCAA Division II finals at M&T Stadium in Baltimore. We were all smiles at halftime when Le Moyne led 8 to 5. But when the game ended, the tides had turned and Le Moyne lost 9 to 14. At least we got to enjoy the beautiful weather!