busy, busy fall

So I realize that it has been a solid 2 months since I've blogged about anything, but this has been one crazy fall! Since Labor Day weekend, Aaron and I haven't slowed down. The start of school, 3 trips to Pittsburgh, rugby, bible study, and training Marley has pretty much filled our plates. I never got to blog about our spectacular Labor Day weekend with my childhood (and still) best friends and their boyfriends. Alysa, John, Amy, and Craig ventured from Chicago and Pittsburgh to check out our new house and see Philadelphia. We had a blast!!!

all of us on the art museum steps

me, Alysa, and Amy

We have also made numerous trips to Pittsburgh to see Kelsey play in her last collegiate soccer games. She's been playing really well and the team is playing well too!

Check them out: http://www.geneva.edu/page/womenssoccer

It's also been really nice to see my (Kristen's) parents and finally make it to a Geneva homecoming. I got to play in the GWS alumni game and it reminded me how far from soccer shape I am! haha

me, Kels, and Mom at the Alumni game

The other thing we've really been focusing on this fall is training our pup Marley. He is a great dog but has a TON of energy. We've been working with Shannon who runs Polite Paws and he has come a long way. If you need a dog trainer and live in our area... call her! We've still got a long way to go but he is doing a lot better and enjoying our daily bike rides :)

Marley and me

One of these days, hopefully soon, life will slow down...

happy 25th birthday aaron!

hahaha how can you not love this man? :)

atlantic city

so, this week on thursday and friday, aaron and i were in atlantic city. Aaron had to do some work at the Borgata and, because of all the overtime he put in on a project earlier this summer, his company paid for us to stay over. So we got a sweet room overlooking the bay, a free hotel, and an awesome dinner at Wolfgang Puck.

the crazy hotel entryway

again

and again

aaron and the view from our room

our sweet shower

aaron and i (and my new haircut!)

sara and dougie

Last week our friends Sara Stevens and Doug Magee got married. Here are some pictures from the Sara's line dancing bachelorette party and from the wedding. Congrats friends!!!

sara's gettin hitched

my loves


my bef!

sara riding the bull

crazy!

sara and her dad... walking down the aisle

the happy couple

my love and i

instant family of four... make that five

A few weeks ago, Aaron and I got to watch our nephews Aidan and Ethan for the week. It was crazy :) But we loved it! While the boys were here, I was telling a friend on the phone that we had become an instant family of four... to which Aidan chimed in "family of five kiki -you forgot Marley!" We did everything from Chuck E Cheese and boating to cookouts and dirt biking. Yes, dirt biking, Aaron took both the boys out seperately and they loved it! We went swimming 3 different days... the boys are such waterbugs! Aidan and Ethan were both jumping off the diving board into "untle awin's" arms. The boys and Marley got along pretty well. With all of his crazy energy he can be intimidating but the boys told him "no mawlee dog!" when he jumped up or tried to take a chicken nugget ;) Marley got neutered and was at the vet's (or doggie doctor as we called it) overnight. When we went to pick him up, Ethan said... Mawlee dog we missed you. (it was the sweetest thing!) Erika and Todd (my sister and brother in law) came in for the weekend to see our new digs and pick up their boys. We had a great time out on the boat and just hanging out. Erika and Todd both got up on the wakeboard- it was impressive! And Aidan went out tubing with Todd. All in all it was a pretty fun week. We had a blast being a family of five with the boys! Here are some pictures from our adventures and from our weekend at the cottage before:

marley dog

ethan being cute

the boys on the dirt bike

the boys and mawlee dog watching diego

dad and ethan "floating"

kisses for bebe!

Aidan after floating down the river

CANADA

A few weeks ago Aaron and I traveled to Canada for a family vacation. Every summer we go to Aylen Lake which is in Ontario. Aaron's grandfather owns a cabin on the lake and the whole family goes. We had a great time, even though the weather didn't cooperate all the time. Here are some pictures from our trip.

beautiful view from our walk

the best windle family picture we've ever taken!

me and my hubby out to dinner

happy anniversary!

july 29th marks two years that aaron and i have been married. two years full of laughter, road trips, moving, making big purchases, LOVE, did i say laughter? what a lucky woman i am to have such an amazing husband!!!

marley... the pure bred mutt

So about 4 months ago, I started searching for different dogs to adopt. I searched for hours trying to decide the perfect dog breed for Aaron and I. Finally, we decided on a beagle. When we adopted Marley they called him "beaglet #7" and the guy (mind you it was the same guy who said he was a she) said he looked to be mostly beagle. In the beginning of July, Aaron and I took Marley to the vet to have his blood taken for his breed test. We really wanted to get an idea how big he was going to get and what he really was, although, I was positive it was going to come back a beagle/german shepherd mix. So after weeks of anticipation, the results came back. He was neither! Not an ounce of beagle in him, at least nothing that was traceable. The test said he was "an extremely complex mixed breed dog" and that "results like Marley's are found in only 15% of mixed breed dogs in the U.S." They were able to pull out "distant traces" of a few different dogs: scottish terrier (are you serious?) shiba inu, siberian husky, and weimaraner. The official analysis let us know there was a chance that maybe we'll see some traits from these dogs. haha So now, we are officially $100 poorer and own an exotic mutt. BUT, it's okay because Marley, beagle or not, is a great dog! And really, could he be any cuter?

roommate reunion

this weekend aaron had two of his college roommates, mike and justin, in for the weekend. kelsey came out to visit too and we had a blast! friday we went golfing and saturday we went to shady maple (best breakfast ever) and out on aaron's parents boat. they also of course spent hours playing video games :) mike, justin, and kels- we had an awesome time and can't wait to have you out again!

sista and i

crazy as always :)

on the beach

aaron and mike

ahh sweet summer...

Summer is in full swing. Aaron and I are getting used to living a Morgantown and I'm enjoying some time off from school. We just spent the July 4th weekend with my (kristen's) family. Here are some pictures from our weekend at the cottage: mainly of my nephews Aidan (6) and Ethan(2) and our fast growing dog Marley.

Aidan with sparklers on the fourth

where Marley spent most of the weekend, in the shade

Our Marley dog

Ethan watching Uncle Aaron play games

Uncle Aaron and Ethan "fishing" (and for those of you that know Aaron, you realize how much he must love his nephew because he HATES fishing! haha)

the boys throwing rocks




Ethan and "mah-lee"