all hallows eve.

we are off to put together our costumes and eat pumpkin cheesecake.
last night we watched a very scary movie, and then i couldn't sleep.

i love halloween!
have a spooky night.

scruff + soccer.

used our last real tickets of the season saturday night. and i decided makayla is my favorite person to go to any sporting event with. loved screaming, cheering and dancing with her every time we scored. she also understands the art of people (or in her case, leo) watching. seriously m, you are so wise. that is, in fact, what sporting events were made for.

in other news, did you notice g's sexy facial hair? i've been begging him to do this since day 1 of marriage. the man looks hot with a little bit of scruff. and i am currently in heaven.

30 never looked so good.

the birthday boy finally got to blow out some candles & eat a little cake. so far he is rocking his thirties & despite his age, still spent the better part of friday night prank-calling people with me. i love him.

i really love my mother.

here is just one reason why.

intercourse.

after gettysburg, we drove to intercourse, pennsylvania to find the amish! this is by far the least photographed stop of our trip, mostly because the sun was setting quickly as we arrived and almost all of the pictures had to be taken from the window of our car. we got lost on the way and drove all around york which we would definitely give 2 big thumbs down if asked to rate. don't bother.

intercourse didn't disappoint, however as it was full of corn fields, wide open spaces and charming farms. not to mention the horse & buggies! we stopped and bought some fresh bread from a little group of amish girls on our journey & decided they were the nicest people we'd ever met. later, we ate dinner at an amish restaurant, where they stuffed our faces with meatloaf, mashed potatoes and rolls. they were such nice people. they even encouraged us to pray before our meal...we felt a little too awkward to do so, but still thought it was a lovely idea. we give intercourse 2 big thumbs up. all in all, a pretty perfect day.

ps. how much do you love the name of their city? yes, me too.

this is my quote mirror.

and these suckers are specifically chosen to shut me up when i am feeling negative, discouraged or down. lately, i've been considering just tattooing them to my forehead already. what do you think?

ps. no, not depressed. just stressed & impatient. we're friends, so you get what i'm saying, right? also, thanks for your nice comments about our gettysburg pictures. it really was as beautiful as it looks and i think you should go there, too. more pics of our adventure coming soon.

gettysburg.

our first stop was to gettysburg, pennsylvania. we did a lot of driving on this trip, but it was all worth it. i was excited to go here mostly because i knew how excited g would be and let me tell you, he was like a kid in a candy shop the entire day. it was freezing, but the views and the gorgeous sites made it all worth it. i think g would say this was one of his favorite days of the trip. and it got even better, because after gettysburg, we drove to intercourse, pennsylvania to make friends with the amish, which is another post for another time.

honestly, dc was one of my favorite trips i've ever been on. loved being on the east coast, loved the changing leaves everywhere, loved all the 7-11 hot chocolate i drank and loved having so much alone time with my husband. and speaking of that husband, i didn't even know that he knew how to use our camera until this trip. he usually has zero interest in photographing anything and rolls his eyes when i ask him to pose for me, but what do you know, get him to a place that he is excited about and suddenly i have 8 million pictures of me looking at a tree.

enjoy.

ps. sorry about the no caps phase i am in. i am writing so many papers for school right now that when it's time to blog, i rebel & ignore punctuation & grammar. i'm hard core like that.

happy to be home.

yes, yes, it's true. we are glad to be back. but, i miss those sheep (and the trees, chilly weather, gorgeous scenery, amazing food, city lights and freedom) far more than i should. see you tomorrow morning, reality.

birthday boy (traveling edition).

first things first, this man turned 30 while we were gone. g had an incredible birthday, i can't wait to tell you more about it when i have the time, but for now...

happy birthday to the man who:
never loses his temper in insane traffic
lets me listen to crappy tunes on long car rides
always gives up his seat for strangers on the metro
loves & knows way too much about history
holds the door open for everyone
lets me have the window seat
laughs & takes pictures with me in a cornfield when we get lost somewhere in pennsylvania
has the best attitude
gives up his gloves in freezing temperatures
has the prettiest blue eyes & the sexiest scruff
doesn't complain when i fall asleep 5 minutes into our 3 hour drive
will carry my purse in public if asked
makes walking miles in freezing rain fun
and is my absolute favorite person to drive with, chat with, explore with, escape with or get lost with.

happy 30th, my love. thank you for being who you are.

and happy belated birthday t!
more birthday details, traveling stories and billions of pictures coming soon.

grateful.

after the piling on of several stresses (including one professor claiming to have never received a paper i wrote and another misplacing an entire project) last night i found myself in the midst of a little meltdown. eventually, i went to bed feeling very sorry for myself and woke up with puffy eyes, a bad migraine and an even worse attitude. tonight, however, i am going to bed with a grateful heart.

thank you to several of my friends & family members who managed to somehow just know that i needed a phone call, text or card. not to mention the new fall arrangement adorning my dining room table. today, i have been truly amazed by these random acts of kindness and can only hope to be that kind of friend in return. you may not have known why i needed it, but you can't know how much it meant to me. so thank you, ladies (you know who you are).

now, i'm off to the land of lovers...see you soon!
*and yes, the bad news came after i wrote my previous "life is good" post. figures.

life is good.

thanks so much for all of your dc tips.
thanks for taking the time to help me plan.
and thanks for being my friend.

i have a lot on my mind these days & lots that i would love to write about
but i also know that tonight i need to clean, do homework, wash clothes, pack and play with my pups
so that's what i'm going to do

but i just wanted to say thanks first
and also, isn't mr. briggs so cute?
g took these photos of him while we visited last weekend.
so many big emotions from such a little man.

virgina is for lovers, right?

me & g leave for washington dc/virgina this saturday. both of us are huge procrastinators & therefore, we have no itinerary yet. we are planning to hit-up the basics (museums, memorials, mount vernon & williamsburg) but we aren't sure we have enough to fill up 7 whole days.

if you've been & have any suggestions about things we must see or places we need to eat, please do share. i am completely clueless about what this city has in store for us, i only know that i am so excited for a trip with my lover. can't wait to spend his big 30th together.

thanks in advance.

i love these people.

welcome to the world, mr. briggs.
you are the cutest little man we've ever met
and we love you so much already.

{briggs was born on 9.27, so i've been waiting to post this darling pic for a while,
but of course, i wanted to wait until his mommy had the honors of introducing him first.}

these pups are nuts.

toby's tongue is always sticking out one side of his mouth

jack is afraid of any noise & jumps every time we breathe
toby is already shivering and the fleece sweatshirt is back on
jack barks at his reflection & other dogs on tv
toby growls & "runs" in his sleep

jack eats his poop on a daily basis (we've discussed this)

our pups are really weird.