12 Month Photos

Strawberries- YUM!

Last year Ryan and I planted some strawberry plants in our backyard. There were a few tiny fruits last year, but nothing to brag about. This year, we have TONS! Today we went out for our 3rd harvest, and picked another Tupperware container full!

Jillian had not tried strawberries yet ('they' suggest waiting til your child is a year old in case of allergies) so we thought her first experience could be with our own home grown, oh-so organic, pesticide free berries.

The verdict? She LOVED them!

P.S.- When I was not looking, she even ate the stem part. Oops! And, as you will notice from the photos below, she is quite a messy mess maker. Oh well- it's all a part of the fun, right?!

Memorial Day

Today Ryan and I were discussing what to say to veterans and active duty military on Memorial Day. "Happy Memorial Day" is just not quite fitting. Today is not really a day of celebration, rather, a chance to acknowledge the tremendous sacrifice of the men and women who have died protecting the American way of life. For us, that sacrifice is largely represented by SGT Mills, and SGT Hasse who were both lost in the attack when Ryan was injured. Today, and every day we miss them and are so appreciative to them, their families and friends, and countless other military individuals who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Ryan and I ended our conversation, not quite sure of the appropriate greeting one should say in passing, but are confident in this: A simple THANK YOU never really goes out of style. So, to SGT Mills, SGT Hasse, their families and others who have given their lives, or loved someone who has... Thank you.

Today Ryan, Jillian and I had a chance to be on a float in the DC Memorial Day Parade. It was wonderful to see hundreds of people lining the streets to watch the show, clapping, waving flags and holding signs of support for our military men and women. I've included a few photos of Jillian all dressed up for the float.

I'll leave you with info regarding flag etiquette on Memorial Day... The American Flag should be flown on Memorial Day at half staff until noon, and full staff for the remainder of sunlight hours. Just thought I'd pass that on in case you didn't know!

Take care,

Nancy

LOTS of photos!

Okay... Here they are!

Click HERE for Jillian's Birthday pictures!

:) Nancy

Cheese!

Sweet Jillian loves taking baths!

Have a great day!

Nancy

P.S.- I am catching some grief about not posting more photos of Jillian's birthday. I know, I know... I will soon. Promise!

Well... it IS Wednesday...

Whew! It has been a hectic but fun last few days. Since it is Wednesday, I could not go to bed without at least sharing a few photos. Old habits die hard... ;)

Natalie, Sarah and me. Ahh... I love these girls. Becky: we missed you! Sniff, sniff...

My cousin Heidi and Jillian. Heidi had the idea to bring coordinating outfits for the gifts that she brought for Jillian. There would have been another photo shoot (featuring two other matching pairs) but she mistakenly told Marilyn about the idea too, so our photo shoot time had to be split between them. Funny girls! Imagine what Jillian will think of these photos when she is about 13. "You guys are SOoooooooo embarassing!"

Finally, I had to share two photos from our trip to the Botanical Gardens. Jillian's on the "TOP OF THE WORLD!"

Jillian is ONE year old!

This weekend we celebrated Jillian's first birthday. We had a great time and ended up with over 30 adults, and about 15 babies. Jillian is spoiled (almost) rotten, and received tons of wonderful presents. It was a blast. I'm posting two pictures of her eating her cake... so cute!

I'm it!

Hello all-

I got "tagged" by Heather to answer these questions on our blog. So, here's a little get to know Nancy time...

Four jobs I've had:

1-Game and Ride Operator at the Renissance Festival (yes, I dressed up and spoke in an accent)
2-Line cook at Wildflower Bread Company (a LOT like a Panera)

3-Preschool and Kindergarten Teacher

4-The best job ever= being a Mom.

Four movies I've watched more than once:

1-Bachelor Mother (every time I was not feeling great growing up... my feel good movie)

2-Any of the Bourne Identiy movies- they are always on TV and even though we have them on DVD we always seem to watch them...

3-The Wizard of Oz

4-Mary Poppins

Four places I've lived:

1-Chandler, Arizona

2-Tempe, Arizona

3-Manhattan/Ogden, Kansas

4-Washington, DC

Four TV Shows I watch:

1-LOST

2-Super Nanny

3-Top Chef

4-Any of the home flipping shows...

Four places I've been:

1-Belize

2-The Hamptons (oh la la!)

3-San Fransisco

4-Las Vegas

Four people who email me regularly:

1-Heather

2-People from my MOMS club

3-Ryan

4-Heidi

Four of my favorite foods:

1-Cheese

2-Chicken

3-Soy Sauce

4-Salmon (ooo... I have to add- anything with lemon too!)

Four places I would like to visit:

1-Austrilia

2-New Zeland

3-Hawaii

4-Puerto Rico

Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:

1-Getting to know Jillian as a one year old!

2-Refining my daily routine...

3-Learning how to use my new camera!

4-Traveling

Hope you are doing well!

Nancy

Fun Mother's Day Weekend!

This weekend we took a trip to The Hamptons for a wedding... it was beautiful! We had a wonderful time- I had to share this photo I took! Such a lovely couple! (Sandy and Josh)

The wedding was on Saturday afternoon, and in an effort to be home this evening, we headed our fairly early this morning to tackle the 6+ hour drive back home. Since it was Mother's Day, Ryan and I stopped at a cute little local bakery for breakfast, and then hit the road with our friend Neil. We decided to have a special celebratory lunch as well. Our choices (other than fast food) were very limited, so we decided on Cracker Barrel as it was just a mile or so off of our route. Turns out, everyone and their Mother, (literally! haha) were there for lunch, and we didn't want to spend that much time off the road. So, we pushed on and came across a Boston Market as our second choice. Rather than eat in the car, we decided to let Jillian stretch her legs a little (and the rest of us!) and take our food to a small grassy area near Boston Market for a quick picnic. Sounds very cute, right?!? Well, you should know that this Boston Market was just off of the New Jersey pike, and our little grassy area was a stones throw from a pair of dumpsters, and was littered with trash. Ahh! Just what I had imagined! Thank goodness I keep a blanket in the car for just such occasions- we threw it out, and had a great time.
Hope everyone Mother's Day was as memorable as mine! Ryan and I are off to a movie this evening when Jillian goes to bed (wish Neil luck babysitting)!
Happy Mother's Day everyone!
Nancy

PHOTOS:

By the breakfast place in the Hamptons:

Mommy and Jillian!

Our "oh-so-picturesque" Mother's Day picnic! (I wish you could see the dumpsters and trash in the background!)

Ryan's 27th Birthday

I'll start our new blog with a little bit from Ryan's birthday on April 23rd. We had a ton of fun, and Ryan was spoiled like crazy. A few days later, we had a birthday party for him with some friends in the area at our local bowling alley. Ryan LOVES bowling lately, and got his own ball for our Anniversary on April 16th.

Check out the photos below!

:) Nancy



Ryan opens his present from Jillian... A new photo of the two of us for Ryan's wallet :)












Ryan blows out his birthday breakfast candle.













Yummy birthday breakfast!









Ryan got a bowling ball bag from his parents :)












And some playing card equiptment (a card shuffler and a shoe) from my parents